Video Games
Destiny 2 Shadowkeep
Let me tell you a story. Let me tell you about my Guardian and what happened to me when Eris Morn found that pyramid on the moon.
I, Lodric an Exo Hunter class Guardian left for the moon on Tuesday after realizing I was needed in an assault that would establish a forward operating base from which more Guardians could travel deeper into this new Hive fortress that’s been built up on Luna. 30 Guardians fought alongside me through hordes of red tinted Hive combatants in order to establish this base. Our Light ensured that even those that fell would be brought back to fight on until we reached our goal. Other, non-Guardians joined us in our assault of the Moon and without the Travelers Light they weren’t so fortunate when the Hive eventually cut them down, but together we made it to our new base, Sanctuary. Along the way we found the pyramid, the Darkness. It showed us the Hive they call Crota. Except Crota should be dead, we killed him a few years ago, but he’s also here. [Rhino guy] and [Forsaken guy] were also there, but we’ve killed them too, unless… Eris Morn explains that the pyramid is showing her visions of her past as well, creating nightmares, faceless guardians we’ve lost in the wars of recent years. I wonder if Cayde is one of them.
Over the next few days we delved deeper into the Moon and found a way into the pyramid. Inside we found an artifact that would allow us to combat the Darkness, but the worry remains, if the pyramid wanted us to have this new artifact than do we want it? Eris seems to think that since it’s our only hope of fighting the Darkness we must live with whatever strings are attached.
Suddenly on Saturday Vex began to assault the Moon. I’m not sure what they want or why they’ve come but they are here and they’re angry, that is if Vex can even be angry. Some of our most talented Guardians saw an opening to attack the Vex at the closest thing they have to a home, The Black Garden. They began their assault on The Garden but the Vex counterattacks started almost immediately. I decided to help in what little way I could by preventing the larger and more powerful Vex from escaping the Garden by guarding it’s exit. Myself and 5 other Guardians made our way through and found a Gate Lord attempting to travel to the Moon and managed to stop it. I’ve heard that the fireteams that entered the main annex of the Garden were successful but it’s unclear if that assault has gleaned any useful information on why the Vex have shown themselves at this time. It seems so random for the Hive and the Vex to both want this one part of the Moon. Maybe they think they can harness The Darkness in the same way we harness The Light. I just thank all the Guardians who were able to hold back the Vex Minds in the Garden.
Call Of Duty Black Op’s 3 Review
So this week I was itching to play an online FPS after seeing new footage of Call of Duty WW2. Last year I loved Titanfall 2 but the player base has dwindled and gotten to a point where matches are either too difficult or too easy and never a good fit for me.
I found out that Call of Duty Black Op’s 3 still has a pretty good online multiplayer scene and that a multiplayer only pass was $15. So I bucked up and bought my first Call of Duty game.
I do not like Call of Duty. I used to think it was because I just wasn’t very good at it. I used to think it was because I never knew the maps, or the guns, or the load out’s. It turns out I don’t like the speed of death.
In Titanfall 2 you have to shoot your enemies for a good long time before they go down. Even the sniper rifles are 2 shot kills. This means that if someone is shooting you, you still have a chance. You can still fight back and potentially win.
In Call of Duty you die in 3 hits of an assault rifle. 1 shot from a shotgun, 1 from a sniper rifle. You have no recourse. If a person sees you before you see them they have to really mess up to not kill you. You never have any options.
Black Op’s 3’s death is incredibly fast, and yet the rest of the game is so so slow. Grenades are essentially useless as they take what seems like 19 years to explode. By the time it goes off you are dead, the person you threw it at is gone or dead, and it’s blown up an empty room. The game has a jet pack, but it’s slow and clunky. You can’t actually jump that high, you can’t jump that far. You can wall run but it’s slow, mechanical and nearly impossible to shoot while doing it.
Maybe nothing can compare to your first love. Maybe it only feels slow as someone coming from Titanfall 2, one of the fastest shooters since the Quake era, but after 3 hours and $15 I think I’m done with Call of Duty. I don’t know what I will play until Titanfall 3. Maybe I will just pray to the player-base gods for Titanfall 2 to stick around for the coming years. I’m just glad I finally know. Fuck Call of Duty.
Elite Dangerous: Kooi Resort
So I’m playing Elite and I’m landing in all of these space stations to buy shit and pick up missions.
So I’m playing Elite and I’m landing in all of these space stations to buy shit and pick up missions. and usually they are pretty metallic and sci-fi looking on the inside. But then I roll up on this station to drop off some information I had from another client and it’s so GREEN. There’s fucking foliage all over the god damn place. Look at how beautiful that is.
AND THEN! I find out that this is a resort space station. Kooi Resort.
So not only does it look cool and be all green and all of that jazz but it’s market is also resort-like. They need all kinds of commodities like food and water. But usually these stations sell some things and need others. A station over a rock planet has a bunch of titanium and gold but needs food and water.
But this is a resort so they don’t make anything and they need everything.
So! You can sell them anything you have in the entire game, but the only thing you can buy is Biowaste.
Halo
So I finished the last Halo game so it’s time to give the official definitely correct ranking of Halo games from a person who just now played them for the first time.
- Halo Reach
Bungie perfected their version of Halo. It has all the good storytelling elements from ODST mixed with 2 as well as the improved armor mod system of 3. The character customization and rank is really interesting especially since it effects the single player game. It’s a prequel which worried me but it’s a Rogue One style prequel where everybody is destined to die and you know that before the game even starts. This game is super super great.
ps - NO FLOOD THIS GAME RULES
- Halo 2
“Permission to leave the station”
“Why soldier?”
“I want to give the covenant their bomb back”
The flood parts are the only bad parts. Oh and the playing as the Arbiter is dope.
- Halo 5
The series finally made changes to bring it past 2007. Modern Warfare happened and now finally in 2017 or whatever we can aim down sights in a Halo game. The part where every mission has 4 people in a squad even if some are AI is cool. The game does a good job of making it feel like the other people matter. It’s also nice to see some Spartans that aren’t Master Chief. I hope going forward they get to use more of Kate and Buck and the other people from Bravo squad and hopefully rely less on walking tank man who’s sad about his AI friend.
- Halo 3: ODST
The art one is good actually. It’s not really a Halo game in the same way the others are but that’s what I like about it. The actual gameplay is kind of repetitive and boring though.
- Halo Combat Evolved
It’s kind of hard to play in 2019, it just always ends up feeling a little too old. Not to say that the game doesn’t age well it’s still perfectly playable which is not something you could say about most 20 year old first person shooters. It’s just that you have to see it from the perspective of the other dominant games at the time being Quake 3 and Half Life. It’s incredible but not amazing in 2019.
- Halo 3
It’s kind of like Halo 2 but the highs don’t hit as high. Master chief doesn’t do anything crazy cool like fly a bomb through space but it’s a nice end to the trilogy.
- Halo 4
This game sucks. Everything about it is dog shit. Master Chief is magically back from his long slumber after only a couple years and he somehow floated into a metal planet. There’s a guy there who wants to be a space cop because humans aren’t being good enough space cops. The new guns are mostly terrible and have to be fixed for Halo 5. The only thing about this game I like is the multiplayer. It’s the Halo multiplayer I go to but mostly because it’s modern-ish while still having the game modes I like. I’m not sure why Halo 5 got rid of those modes exactly. This game is terrible and the fact that it’s even on the same list as the rest of the Halo games makes me sad.
Metal Gear Story Recap:
Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater (PS2 2004):
1964 Naked Snake is new to FOX team and is tasked with infiltrating Russia to recover a scientist named Sokolov and destroy the Shagohad, a nuclear tank. Naked Snake about to complete his mission is then encountered by his former mentor The Boss, a woman world renowned for her fighting in the second World War. The Boss defects to Russia taking Sokolov and leaving Naked Snake to die. The Boss then joins GRU a splinter group from the Russian Government led by Colonel Volgin who fires a nuclear missile at a Russian City.
A week passes and Naked Snake is tasked with his mission again, with one major change. He must now kill his former mentor The Boss in order to prove the US was not responsible for the destruction of the Russian City. Naked Snake is to meat by an American agent Adam. Adam never shows but EVA does and helps Snake out of a tricky situation with a man named Ocelot. Eva helps snake find Sokolov and the Shagohad. Along the way Snake is captured and tortured by Volgin. Snake attempts to escape and loses his eye in the process. Through some fortunate timing with a guards explosive diarrhea Snake is able to escape his prison and goes on to destroy the Shagohad and kill Volgin. Snake then escapes with the plans for the Shagohad. On his way home he meets The Boss for the final time. They fight to the death in a field of white roses and Snake defeats his former mentor taking the title Big Boss from her.
Snake heads back to the US to celebrate his victory. He and his team then create the Patriots.
Metal Gear Peace Walker (PSP 2009):
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4 2014):
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4, Xbox One, PC 2015):
Metal Gear (NES 1987):
In 1995 Solid Snake is the newest member of FOXHOUND a special group formed for the most undercover military missions. Snake must infiltrate Outer Heaven a militaristic state and destroy Metal Gear, a nuclear bipedal robot. Snake goes in with the help of Big Boss the leader of FOXHOUND with no weapons and very little intel.
Solid Snake saves Gray Fox a FOXHOUND member that had been captured previously and destroys Metal Gear. But on his escape Big Boss reveals himself as the creator of Outer Heaven and destroys the base. Snake and Big Boss escape to meet again.
Metal Gear 2 (MSX 1990):
In 1999 Solid Snake is set to infiltrate Zanzibar Land to destroy a stash of Nuclear Weapons. Soon Snake realizes that Zanzibar Land is led by Big Boss. Snake defeats the new Metal Gear that Big Boss created, but loses his equipment in the process. Gray Fox confronts Snake in a minefield in the aftermath but ultimately falls to his hands.
Snake and Big Boss duke it out for a second time with Snake taking the day with the help of a helicopter 50 cal.
Metal Gear Solid (PS1 1998):
Meryl
FOXDIE
2005 Solid Snake has left FOXHOUND along with his commander, Roy Campbell, and is now entering Shadow Moses, a secret base in Alaska, to destroy Metal Gear Rex. Rex has been used to threaten the US with a nuclear strike unless they give up the body of Big Boss. Snake must also find the DARPA Chief and the ArmsTech President.
Upon Arrival Snake finds that FOXHOUND agents are everywhere waiting to destroy him. However, Snake is able to narrowly take out Vulcan Raven and Revolver Ocelot. He then finds Otacon a scientist who worked on Metal Gear Rex being intimidated by a Cyborg Ninja. Snake defeats the Cyborg Ninja and moves on to take out more FOXHOUND agents like Psycho Mantis, a psychic, and Sniper Wolf. Snake is captured and in a turn of events tortured by Revolver Ocelot who he had defeated mere hours previously. With the help of some explosive diarrhea on the part of his guard, Snake escapes his prison and moves to destroy Metal Gear Rex. One of the agents helping Solid Snake then reveals himself as none other than Liquid Snake, the weaker twin of Solid Snake and clone of Big Boss. Solid Snake defeats Metal Gear Rex and Liquid Snake in turn with the help of the Cyborg Ninja who reveals himself as Gray Fox.
Snake, Ocelot and Meryl escape unscathed from a self destructing Shadow Moses. However the epilogue reveals that Ocelot is in league with a third Big Boss clone, Solidus Snake who is the current US President.
This is the most sane of the Metal Gear Solid games by the way…
Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty (PS2 2001): (this is the weird one)
Olga
All a set up to create Solid Snake 2 / Shadow Moses 2
Raiden Torture
Liquid / Ocelot
In 2007 Solid Snake and Otacon have been together killing Metal Gears outside of any government or organization of any kind. There search has led them to a Tanker controlled by the US Government where they believe a new version of Metal Gear named Ray is being transported. Snake is tasked with getting as much intel about Ray as possible. Snake encounters some Russians including a pregnant woman named Olga before taking the pictures of Metal Gear Ray that he set out for. However before he can escape Ocelot appears and with the help of the Russians and takes total control of the Tanker. Ocelot then manages to kill the Russian leader, Olga’s Father, and steal Metal Gear Ray which he explains is the Metal Gear is to kill Metal Gears, before blowing up the tanker.
Fast forward to 2009 and we begin to play as Jack aka Raiden a new FOXHOUND agent under the command of Roy Campbell. Raiden is to infiltrate Big Shell an EPA facility on the site of the Tanker which has been taken by Terrorists and Russians. Among the hostages are the new president James Johnson being held for ransom of $30 Billion. Raiden must defeat members of a supernatural group called the Sons of Liberty. With the help of a mysterious man named Iroquois Pliskin, who is very clearly Solid Snake, he defeats many members of the Sons, however Fortune, a woman who mysteriously cannot be hit with bullets or grenades, and Vamp, a vampire that cannot die since he has died before, seem to elude death. Finally Raiden makes some progress in his mission to find out the happenings of Big Shell. Raiden questions the president to find out that Big Shell was in fact a cover up to conceal a new Metal Gear created by the Patriots, a group of men that create every major event in US history since the 1960’s, Arsenal Gear a Metal Gear to control an army of Metal Gear Ray’s using an AI called GW, before Ocelot shoots him. Otacon then thinks to find his sister EE who worked on Metal Gear Ray and is stationed on Big Shell. Through the help of EE the team creates a Virus to take down GW. Raiden on his way to install the virus runs into Solidus Snake piloting a Harrier Jet and defeats him taking the use of his eye. The team is then able to defeat an army of Metal Gear Ray’s and install the virus to take down GW. However, Ocelot is able to once again steal a Metal Gear Ray. Fortune is sacrificed in the process and Ocelot takes her powers. Raiden then fights former President Solidus Snake on top of the Federal Building defeating him and killing him. Snake is then on the case for finding the Patriots and destroying them.
Alright it’s going to get less weird from here on out.
Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS4 2008):
This one is less of a game and more of a 12 hour movie so this might get a little long…
2014 Solid Snake has had advanced aging and now appears to be around 80 years old. The world under the control of private military corporations (PMC’s) with soldiers injected with nanomachines capable of numbing pain. The largest of these PMC’s is controlled by Liquid Ocelot, the combination of Liquid Snake, Solid Snakes twin clone brother, and Revolver Ocelot.
Solid Snake is tasked, despite his age, by the UN to find and assassinate Liquid Ocelot with the help of Roy Campbell Otacon, and A young girl named Sunny, revealed later to be Olga’s orphaned daughter. Snake heads to the Middle East and finds that tiny Metal Gears have come to the forefront of fighting with he lack of Nuclear Weaponry. Snake’s attempt to kill Liquid Ocelot is a failure, however he discovers a new weapon that incapacitates any person with nanomachines. Snake’s nanomachines are quite old as he hasn’t been a US Agent since 2005 aka Metal Gear Solid 1, and so the weapon works on him a fair amount less than the other soldiers in the Middle East.
Snake travels to South America and is able to save Naomi Hunter one of his teammates from the Shadow Moses mission, who explains that FOXDIE is still in him and has in fact mutated to begin infecting any genome sequence instead of only those targeted by Naomi. She also lays out Liquid Ocelot’s plan to find Big Boss’s body and access the Patriots’ master AI to control all of the nanomachines inside ever soldier on the planet. Upon their escape they run into a group of Metal Gear’s that they are woefully under equipped for. Luckily a cyborg ninja appears, revealing himself to be Raiden, who then dispatches of the Metal Gear’s without issue.
Snake travels to France where he finds Eva has been holding on to Big Boss’ body. Liquid Ocelot destroys the body and shows that he has already taken control of the Patriots AI and shuts down all of the weaponry for the forces opposing him. He then decides to find Metal Gear REX in order to have a Nuclear Weapon of his very own.
Metal Gear Revengence (PS3 2013):
2018 Raiden finds himself with a private security company protecting a Prime Minister of an African country.
Epilogue
I’d like to give a big thanks to Metal Gear Timeline.