True Reviews, Updates and Common Sense Opinions
After reading about the leaks for Naughty Dogs sequel to one of the best games I’ve played in my adult life, I have to admit I was thrown off. In my opinion, the leaks caused me and other fans of the franchise to think this installment would be unrelatable.
Continue reading “The truth about The Last of Us Part II”
I joined a group of my friends in the beta test for Black Desert. At the time of this writing, the beta is coming to a close. It’s a Fantasy MMO RPG adventure game. The initial release was in 2014 but the PS4 release is coming out on August 22, 2019.
So what about this game?
If you are a fan of Skyrim, World of Warcraft and other games like that, you will enjoy yourself. I played with a party of four people and we laughed the entire time and enjoyed leveling up.
My favorite aspect of the game is the amount of customization. I chose to be a sorceress, I made her hair blue and her skin bronze. She’s amazing.
I went to YouTube to find out a little about the classes available and as I unlocked her move set, I really started to get into the game-play. The combat is fluid, hard-hitting, and pretty to look at.
Yes, I said pretty.
In my group my friends played, Ranger, Wizard, and Bezerker. They all seemed to be having just as much fun as me.
Any Drawbacks?
There are some drawbacks. The biggest peeve in this game is the boss fights. You have to disband your party to fight them.
Every other instance, like grinding quest steps and gaining experience points you can play with friends. But as soon as the quest step requires you to defeat a boss, you need to disband your group and defeat it solo.
This could be a beta thing, but then again, the game has been out on PC and Xbox for a while and I was told that the situation is the same.
Action?
When the action is high energy and you are constantly fighting mobs, Black Desert is a joy. However, there are low points when you are traveling from village to village talking to different people just to complete quest steps. It’s a bit monotonous.
I understand it the RPG way, but that doesn’t make it any less dull.
There was also a point in our game-play that we tried to tame a horse. We tried for 45 minutes and failed. But it was fun trying. We ended up buying our horses from the stable keep for $15000 currency. I also realized you can fish in this game, but I didn’t get to try. I just watched a player for a little while. However, I did end up getting my fishing license after killing a boss. I’m sure there are a lot of activities to try within the game.
Overall, this game is fun to play with friends. I never played alone, so I can not tell you how the solo experience is. I’m told there is a strict RPG community that you can join if you are into that. I’m interested in trying that out once the game launches. But other than that, I had a lot of fun playing with my friends and enjoying this game.
Black Desert releases on PS4 on August 22, 2019.
Apex Legends is a high octane, intense concentration, three player team battle royale. The new season just released last week and guess what, it’s hard!
I finally put time aside to jump back into Apex Legends and I was not expecting to be so out of my element in Battle Charge.
But I guess that is what happens when you take long breaks from something that you didn’t really spend a lot of time in to begin with.
But I digress.
I went in with a full team of three and I quickly found out that there is a high learning curve and in order to be of some use to my teammates, who have played somewhat since season 1, I needed to “Git Gud”.
So if you are like me and want to give Apex Legends an actual place in your gaming rotation and don’t know how to get in the rhythm or you just want to giggle at the 3 things that became apparent to me in my first game, read on.
How to survive a match in Apex Legends:
1.Location
At this point, assume everyone is better than you because they’ve been playing longer and more frequently than you. Enter defense mode from the moment you choose a location to jump to. I found the road less traveled is kinder to newbies like myself. So choose Skull Town. Always choose Skull Town.
If you’re lucky, no one will follow you and you’ll be able to get body armor and a half decent weapon. I managed to save my life by throwing a grenade point blank. It was the first thing I found, my teammate was screaming immediately and I panicked! It worked out. Not for long but it felt good.
2.Button Configuration
Check your button configuration before you start the game. I know it sounds like common sense, but I didn’t realize that Apex Legends swaps around your buttons. When I finally picked up a weapon I didn’t think about my buttons. I ended up in a fight with another player, every shot I took was followed by a half-cocked melee attempt, and it got me killed.
That’s because my melee and shoot buttons were too close. I was told I was turning too fast.
HUH!
Anyway, I changed my butting configuration to Button Puncher and I had better luck for it.
3.Pinging can be annoying
Pinging is good sometimes, but you’re annoying if you ping too much. I was bleeding out. The incoming team sniped me and I was trying to be helpful, so I hit my R1 and pinged the enemy location.
How many times? More than a couple.
My pinging ended up being more of a hindrance than a help in that situation. My advice is to ping once or twice and then use callouts. Especially if you are in a party with people you know.
Honorable mentions:
A few things that happened to be very annoying during my first game included …
Granted, I am not a battle royale player per say. I’m use to a “regular” PVP environment, but I’m sure I can enjoy Apex Legends once I get down the basics. I played as Lifeline and I’m thinking she’s newbie friendly. You can judge for yourself.
Over the last year, my interest in Formula One racing has really ramped up. My official introduction to the sport came in 2001 thanks to Sylvester Stallone’s Driven, but more on that later.
My interest in Formula One has led me to watch every race in the 2019 season, so when I realized a new racing game was being released, I figured I’d give it a try.
Game Play
This being my first Formula One gaming experience, I didn’t know what to expect from the career mode. I honestly appreciated the Formula Two introduction to the circuit. It was a nice starting point for the game.
There were little story elements that made the game interesting, plus the opponents that you come into contact with had some personality.
The racing component started off simple enough in F2, but once you accepted your offer with an F1 team a whole new world opened up. I’ll compare it to the Batman: Arkham series. Once you choose your team, you are able to see what upgrades your car needs in order to be competitive.
As you play through the game with practice and qualifying, you gain points that allow you to unlock upgrades to have a better pace during the race.
Opinion:
This game is so involved! Your engineers are in your ear letting you know what to do in order not to botch up your race. You have to choose what strategy to accept to give you the best chance during your performance. You have to pay attention to your tire health and your engine health. And depending on what team you choose, you may still suffer on the circuit.
I was completely and positively surprised at the amount of involvement from the player character. I actually have even more of an appreciation for the sport since I assume that it’s much harder to plan all this out in real life.
I also think my dad will really like this one. He’ll enjoy unlocking the legends and classic cars, so he’ll get a copy for sure.
I mentioned this game earlier this month in my blog about games that should pique your interest from E3. My Friend Pedro looked so fun during the Devolver Digital showcase. In my brief overview, I mentioned that the game reminded me of Super Hot because of the slow-motion mechanic. And since I really enjoyed Super Hot, I figured I’d enjoy My Friend Pedro as well.
It released on PC and Nintendo Switch on June 20, 2019. I finally had a chance to experience it this weekend and I was not disappointed.
Game Play
It’s a side scroll format and it has a few cool mechanics. We knew about the slow-motion mechanic, but you can also split your bullet directions while you’re full hardcore parkour! You end up hanging upside down from zip lines, balancing on barrels, and shooting while skateboarding. Plus, you run up your damage output the faster you put down enemies.
On normal difficulty, the game is forgiving to an extent. If you get sloppy, the game will call you out for it at the end of the level. At the end of the level you are shown your best moment, so that will make you feel good.
The most difficult level is called Bananas. I may not be able to survive on the hardest level, but I’m sure eventually someone will be able to. I can’t wait for speed runs of the highest level to pop-up on YouTube. I really hope they do.
The talking banana does throw me off sometimes. There’s one point where the banana is talking about how he used to go to parties and how wild it was. In my mind I’m thinking, this character has to be hallucinating. How else would a talking banana make sense?
But seriously, My Friend Pedro is a chill game to play through. It’s like you are in the world of the Matrix or John Wick, but you’re a random street runner. It’s fun to play, it has manageable controls and it has a great soundtrack.
Usually, I’ll mute the game soundtrack and play my own music. But, the soundtrack in My Friend Pedro has a great mood that adds to the enjoyment of the game too.
You could lose track of time while playing this game.
The only thing that would make it better is a competition mode. Maybe players could go head to head to see who can clear the level the fastest and get the best score.
Overall, I’m really glad this game is as entertaining as it seemed to be at E3 and I’m going to keep playing!
Do you remember the days of the PlayStation? Can you hear the very first boot up sound that the original PlayStation one made playing in your head? Can you feel the nostalgia?
Same.
The other day I was having a chat with my cousin about some of our favorite games from the PS one days. Please trust me when I say there are a lot of them. But, we harped on one game in particular.
Bust a Groove!
I have fond memories of playing Bust a Groove 1 and 2 on my living room floor. Hearing the 9-8-9 Studios introduction and tone that lead to an amazing dance montage video.
Playing Bust a Groove meant seeing a whole group of diverse characters with different dance styles. It meant experiencing an original soundtrack with songs and level designs specific to each individual character. It meant adapting to levels of difficulty with complex dance combos as you scaled the computer competition. Plus, you had to fend off dance rival attacks, whether you were playing against the computer or person over your house, while still keeping the rhythm!
Super hype!
I remember the day I “got good” enough to unlock the hidden characters. That was Robo-Z in Bust a Groove 1 and Panda in Bust a Groove 2. Both of those levels were the most challenging experience in the game and required attention to detail that, as an 8-year-olds, I really worked hard for.
Why am I bringing all of this up?
Because I think Bust a Groove needs to come back. We need a new opportunity to experience this type of creativity.
How could this game be brought forward? I hear you asking.
Think about this. What if we had the same uniqueness that this game exhibited in 1998 but with some added features of today? Think Jump Force but dancing. Keep the standard campaign mode and expand the player vs. player option online. There could be a tag team mode, character customization and ranked leader boards.
As you can see, I’ve thought about this. So Square Enix, formerly known as Enix, and Namco let me know how I can help!
-AM
In case you were not aware, Borderlands 2: The Handsome Collection is free if you have a PlayStation Plus subscription or the Xbox Game Pass. It’s also free on Steam. During E3 last week, Gearbox announced a free DLC to get players pumped for the next installment in the Borderlands franchise.
It’s called Borderlands 2: Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary. Seeing how all of this content is free right now, I decided to jump in and check it out.
First, I do have one confession. I needed to use the newcomer boost to get to level 30. I wanted to play the new content, and even though grinding power levels is a wonderful pass time, I chose the most effective route to get to the new stuff. So thank you Gearbox for the option.
Don’t judge me.
Once I got into the game, I was very impressed. The gun-play feels so good and your character feels very powerful. Plus, some of the commentaries by the NPC’s made me absolutely belly laugh at times. Whoever wrote the script much be hilarious in real life.
Story:
In the campaign, Lilith and the rest of the Crimson Raiders are discussing what their next steps are going to be. They currently have no commander and their ship, Sanctuary, is falling apart.
In the midst of their confusion, Colonel Hector attacks Sanctuary with his Pandora soldiers. He commandeers the ship and steals the vault key.
During the attack, Colonel Hector floods Sanctuary with gas causing people to turn into “Vine Freaks”. Lilith can’t even teleport into the area because it’s so overcome with gas. This prompts her to lean on you, a Vault Hunter, to help get back control of Sanctuary.
You go through your mission complete a set of tasks to help Lilith get back onboard the Sanctuary.
Here’s a broad overview of what you are tasked to do:
Thoughts (some spoilers):
Overall I had a good experience. With this being my first real experience in the Borderlands world, I liked it. I’m familiar with the post-apocalyptic vibes so getting into the gameplay wasn’t too jarring.
Again, the writing was great to me. I thought most of the lines from Vaughn, Cassius, and some from Hector were hilarious. Tannis made me laugh the most during my play session.
While explaining how the gas is causing humans to mutate, Tannis compares the human mutation to plant mutation. Basically calling us dumb, she says, “Gas makes plant go Big Big and do the ouch”.
Did you laugh? Maybe I’m simply pleased. Maybe you had to be there.
At the end of the story, your player character does face off with Hector. It’s an interesting encounter. He infects himself and grows vines. You have to shoot some pus bulbs off those vines to make him vulnerable.
My only hesitation to be fully satisfied with the end of the story is the very end.
Instead of your player character being the one to give the final blow to Colonel Hector, a cut-scene starts and Lilith takes over.
I get it because the story is about her becoming commander so it makes sense. However, I’m used to getting rid of the big bad so a cut-scene didn’t do it for me.
That being said, it was a good cut-scene.
Cut-scene spoilers:
Lilith destroys the Sanctuary to kill Infected Hector because his vines grew deep down into the ship. Everything explodes. Tannis reveals that the ship was probably going to blow up anyway. And no one is really bothered by the demise of the ship. The Crimson Raiders are just glad Lilith is cool.
Lilith sends the remaining Crimson Raiders out into the world to find vaults, while she stays because to rebuild, recruit new members, and look for the vault map that she believes is still intact in the area despite the explosion.
And that’s how we enter Borderlands 3. I’m actually excited for a fresh start going into the next saga of Borderlands. It comes out on September 13, 2019.
A lot of anticipated games were shown at E3. And it’s expected for people to be excited about them. But, beyond the critically acclaimed franchises, there were some gems announced as well. I’ve listed a few games that have piqued my interest beyond the main titles that have been showcased.
Twelve Minutes:
Twelve Minutes was shown off at the Microsoft Xbox E3 conference. It has such an intriguing concept. You have 12 minutes to figure out how to not die while you’re stuck in a time loop. The trailer gives off this psycho-thriller vibe. While trying to figure out how to change the events predetermined in the game, I expect to have an intense experience filled with absolute concentration and frustration.
Another exciting thought about Twelve Minutes surrounds the distractions and roadblocks in the game. How will the game respond when the player almost figures out a way out of the loop?
Developer: Luis Antonio /Publisher: Annapurna Interactive / Platforms: Xbox One, PC
GhostWire: Tokyo
The GhostWire: Tokyo trailer debuted at the Bethesda E3 Conference. It was actually one of the most interesting upcoming games mentioned during the conference. It had a brand new feel without any preconceived hype. Planting its feet firmly in the horror genre, GhostWire: Tokyo looks like it will rival The Evil Within which was created by the same developer.
Players will roam a ghostly version of Tokyo after mysterious happenings force you to uncover the reason and purge the city of evil. This sounds like a great opportunity for those of us who faithful play Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and even Parasite Eve.
Developer: Tango Gameworks /Publisher: Bethesda
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Wolfenstein: Youngblood has the potential to be the best Wolfenstein of the franchise. Why? Because you are able to play in online co-op with a partner. It’s the first Wolfenstein with co-op. If this set up works well, I can’t see co-op not being an option in future Wolfenstein titles.
Another reason why this game is on the list is due to the release date. It comes out on July 26, so it’s an option for some summertime entertainment.
Developer: Arkane Studios, MachineGames /Publisher: Bethesda / Platform: Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation
Death Loop
Death Loop seems cool. It’s two assassins going head to head to see who can get the kill first. The premise of the game is that you are at a constant loop to kill the other assassins while evading other enemies as well. I may have missed this in the presentation, but the trailer does not mention if this is a co-op experience. If it had a co-op mode, that would most likely be the highlight of the game.
Develper: Arkane Lyon, Studios / Publisher: Bethesda / Platform:
My Friend Pedro
My Friend Pedro is the most unorthodox game that I’ve seen so far in E3. Not only did Devolver Digital have the most memorable showcase, but this game developed by DeadToast Entertainment also stood out among everything else. It reminded me of Super Hot. If you recall Super Hot, you’ll remember its a game where you can slow down time to shoot your enemies. Well, this game reminded me of that, but on a train with parkour.
Developer: DeadToast Entertainment / Publisher: Devolver Digital / Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
Which games stuck out to you?
The final encounter of the raid with Gahlran incorporates all of the mechanics that we’ve experienced thus far. Think back to the Hive Ritual. The final part of the raid involves crystals, Witches Blessing (WB) and Non-Blessed (NB) player combination attacks, and using Witches Vessel to swap assignments.
If you need the second and third encounters – click here.
Encounter 4: Gahlran, The Sorrow-Bearer (part 2) – simplified
First:
Shoot Gahlran in the face to start the encounter. A green puddle/plate will spawn in the middle of the room. It’s just like the Hive Ritual at the beginning of the raid.
Three players step into the puddle to get WB and go back to your NB partner.
Three Gahlran’s will spawn in each sector of the room. They’ll be huge and they will shoot firebombs of death from their hands. Try to avoid those.
Second:
While your avoiding firebombs, kill ads and don’t forget to destroy void crystals when they spawn.
Remember, a player who has Witches Blessing (WB) and a non-blessed (NB) player need to team up for a combo attack to destroy the crystals.
Also, don’t forget to use your Witches Vessels to swap blessing between you and your partner.
In this encounter, EVERYONE can use the same vessel to do a massive swap of the blessing.
Third:
When you are not destroying crystals, kill enemy mobs. WB players kill knights and NB players kill thrall, acolytes.
Non-blessed players will also be responsible for ogres if they spawn. IF THEY DON’T SPAWN, that means a deception aka immune Cabal buddy has spawned instead.
Fourth:
If the deception spawns, you’ll need to team up for another WB/NB combination.
You need to get Gahlran to destroy his own deception.
How:
Coax your deception to the platform in front of big Gahlran. Do the WB/NB punch or shoot combination on the deception and that will stun the deception and leave him standing.
Next, wait for Gahlran’s hands to turn green. You and your partner need to shoot his hands until he stuns and then wait for him to draw his sword and slam the platform in front of him.
The platform should still have a shieldless deception on it and the sword slam will kill him.
Each group will need to do this in their own area. Three deceptions should be destroyed in total and then the damage phase will start.
Fifth: Damage Phase
Remember there are three Gahlran’s, one in each section. All of them will try to raise their green hands to their heads. Don’t let them!
Phase 1:
In your group of two, you and your partner should be shooting each hand to stun him. After he is staggered, shoot him in the head. This will reveal the actual Gahlran.
Swap blessing at the vessel and then meet up with the group that Gahlran stayed in front of.
Phase 2:
After everyone meets up, shoot his hands until he stuns and then do DPS to his face. You’ll have to repeat this practice three times. Do as much damage as you can before the third phase is over.
After you do the hands, face stun routine three times, Gahlran will go immune. When he goes immune, you will have to repeat the process of phase 1 again by baiting the deceptions again.
Don’t forget to swap your Witches Blessings at the Witches Vessel as needed.
Enraged comes after you’ve done phase 1 and phase 2 three full times. So do as much DPS as you can and kill Gahlran before enraged comes.
We are picking back up in the Crown of Sorrow raid with encounter number two. It’s a jumping puzzle. It uses a lot of the same mechanics as the first encounter. You can find the first encounter: HIVE RITUAL – by click here.
Encounter 2: Jumping Puzzle
Remember the Witches Blessing? It’s still important.
Things you need to know:
First:
Three players grab the WB. Get back in your 3 groups of 2 members.
Second:
Platform upward while making sure you are destroying all of the crystals.
You can shoot the ones without a shield from far away, you will need to get close inside the bubble of the crystals with shields.
Encounter 3: Gahlran, The Sorrow-Bearer (part 1) – simplified
Things you need to know:
First:
There will be three deceptions in the room in each section. Hit a deception to start the fight. Two will disappear. Whichever one stays is the real deception and its goal is to ruin your life, especially if you are low light.
If he stays in your section, it’s best to stay back and stay high so he can’t hit you. One of his hits kills especially if you are low light.
Just avoid him and kill mobs. Your group with be the last to wall to come down.
If you have a green puddle in the back of your area, that is the witches blessing. You will be responsible for giving the rest of the team blessing. ONLY ONE playing in the group of 2 should pick it up.
Blessed players shoot thrall and knight, Non-blessed shoot acolytes and alternate killing ogres.
When the time comes, you will need to go over to the Witches Vessel that will spawn to your RIGHT. TWO players from the blessed-giving team step in to the vessel, ONE player from the receiving team steps in to the vessel.
This should make one person on the receiving team blessed and SWAP the blessing for the team that started the encounter blessed.
If you are the team with no deception and no blessing to start, you will be the FIRST team receiving the blessing and your wall will break down.
Kill your ad mobs and your ogre and wait for the blessed team to meet you at the designated vessel.
Second:
After you use the third vessel to break the walls down for the team with the deception, all the walls should be down.
EVERY TEAM MEMBER should RUN to the available witches vessel, SHOOT the vessel at the same time and get assigned WB or NB.
Damage phase then begins.
Well of Radiance with Luna Faction Boots is very helpful with this section.
Third:
Damage Phase
To break the deceptions shield, a WB/NB combination NEEDS to punch or shoot him at the same time to allow the rest of the NB teammates to do damage.
There is should be 3 or 4 blessed players, giving you 3 or 4 opportunities to do damage.
His shield will keep coming back. So make sure you have your WB/ NB teams ready to keep cycling punch combinations until everyone with WB runs out and damage phase is done.
If you are blessed but not punching, step back out of the way or you will lose your blessing. I prefer the numbered method to determine who will punch 1st, 2nd, rd, and 4th.
After the phase ends, go back to your teams, punch the deception again to make the walls come back up and repeat the cycle from part the beginning.
Rinse and repeat two more times until the encounter is done.
CLICK HERE FOR THE NEXT ENCOUNTER.
Rinse and repeat two more times until the encounter is done.
How excited am I about the new expansion for Destiny 2?
Very!
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is coming out September 17, 2019. I think I can speak for a lot of the Destiny community and say that hearing Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy talk about all of the changes Bungie has implemented as a result of separating from Activision was like breathing new air. They released a new ViDoc and Trailer for Destiny 2: Shadowkeep.
I personally tweeted that watching the ViDoc in the live-stream from Bungie felt like watching a butterfly emerge from a cocoon. This is a very exciting time to be a Destiny fan, especially off the back of the Season of Opulence release this week.
Important notes from the stream:
Exciting mentions from the ViDoc include:
I think I saw Crota in the ViDoc as well. That’d be a great throwback!
Take a look at the ViDoc for yourself:
Apex Legends starts a new event tomorrow called the Legendary Hunt with new challenges and rewards. The main attraction for players looks like it will be the Apex Elite queue .
For players who finish their matches in the top five of the leader board, there is a special place for you. You’ll join up in the Apex Elite queue and face off against the best of the best.
In addition to this Apex Elite queue , new weapons and skins are available. Plus, it’s a double XP weekend from June 7th to June 9th.
The Legendary Hunt event ends on June 18th and will mark the end of season 1 in Apex Legends.
How much fun did I have yesterday with the new content in Destiny 2: Season of Opulence?
So much!
Bungie hit it out of the park with everything regarding the Season of Opulence, in my opinion.
Invitation:
You start off the season with an invitation from Emperor Calus to come back to the Leviathan. Before you can get on to the Leviathan you have to go through a series of tasks to acquire your Chalice of Opulence and allow you to enter The Menagerie.
You also open up new daily and weekly bounties from Benedict that will give you a treasure map to a chest. The chest rewards you with a powerful engram, a rune, and Imperial currency for your efforts.
I enjoyed running through Nessus getting the Invitation done. It didn’t take long, but it did require some thought as each step introduced a new mechanic of utilizing your Chalice.
Knowing how to work your Chalice of Opulence is key this season and as soon as you reach The Menagerie and opened the final chest, you’ll know why.
The Menagerie:
To me, each room in The Menagerie felt like an ode to the best encounters in the Destiny universe so far. Besides the obvious gauntlet room and cranium uses, which made an appearance in Destiny 2 year 1 in the Leviathan raid and the Eater of Worlds raid lair, I saw so many nods to endgame activities already in the game.
For instance, in one room, you need to use swords to take down Hive Knight shields.
Hey Crota!
In another room, you had to keep feeding your well to keep the shield up. I found it to be a nice upgrade to the Blind Well in the Dreaming City, which is already a great activity.
Then we fought an Atheon-like boss this week! With the added killer vex walls, it really made for a blood pumping encounter.
Leveling:
Yesterday, I ended my playing session at 712 power. I chose to play one character, my hunter. I ran The Menagerie twice, some Dreaming City activities, a Nightfall, three strikes, and Gambit. I completed all of the Benedict bounties, as well as Ikora’s weekly.
I would say leveling was fair. Sure, you need to do all of the activities available to you, but I think that worked out fine. To be at 712 power without pushing myself for the grind is a good thing. That is a balance that I very much appreciate.
Overall, I have a very positive impression of Season of Opulence. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in the rotation for next week and stepping into the raid this weekend.
Plus, I’m waiting on June 6th to find out the big announcement from Bungie about the future of Destiny 2!
I one hundred percent knew that the new Destiny 2: Forsaken raid Crown of Sorrow would end up being hive. Plus, I have this outrageous theory that somehow Savathun is involved in this. I mean she was in control of Riven in the Last Wish raid, so it wouldn’t be completely impossible.
Maybe Savathun is planning something to do with Calus.
Either way, I am excited for Season of Opulence to start tomorrow! I will be jumping in the raid too. As long as RNG is my friend. I’ll update you then.
Also, read my semi-preparation guide for Season of Opulence. It’s not to late to do some of the techniques I mentioned – Preparing for Season of Opulence (Destiny 2: Forsaken).
Lore: https://t.co/uDCY6ixAku
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I started playing Rage 2 two weeks ago. I wrote my initial thoughts piece about it the same week it came out. I posted my thoughts just as I reached the leveling part of the game for your Dagger faction in order to progress in the story.
My initial opinions of Rage 2 were positive. You can read the entire rundown about the beginning of the campaign in my previous blog – I’m playing Rage 2 and… (review).
Update:
The grind of leveling up the faction allies was fine. It’s what you can expect. The level requirement to continue forward with the main story was level five for Lily, Marshall, Kvasir, and Loosum.
After you reach level five with all of the Dagger allies, you can continue with the main campaign. You end up fighting with General Cross, the leader of the Authority before the final boss encounter.
Boss Fight:
It’s a complete fake out. It seems like you are in the final boss fight, but it’s actually the fight before the final fight.
Cross is a bullet sponge at first, but then a cool mechanic kicks in where you need to destroy his tech to stop his immunity.
Quick Tip:
In between killing the enemy mobs and shooting at Cross, you need to shoot the tech hanging from the machine.
That allows you to go straight for Cross. However, he was baiting us all along. He was only buying time while he prepared his new clone body.
Do you know what this situation reminds me of? The Sixth Day. Not plot-wise, but the way Cross keeps cloning himself to make himself “better” and transferring his memories into a different host in order to take over the world. That reminds me of the ending of The Sixth Day.
Cross ends up getting away in his new clone body, but we acquire his old head as a DNA sample to help Dr. Kvasir. Kvasir makes the Nanotrite serum to stop Cross from being able to clone himself.
The Authority Stronghold and Final Boss:
The final mission of Rage 2 involves infiltrating the Authority stronghold and killing General Cross. That’s the main goal. There are two parts to the break-in. The first part involves driving and the second involves going through mobs of enemies in a mini maze on the way to Cross.
This part felt a little unnecessarily prolonged, but I understand why it was there.
When you finally get to General Cross, he activates his gigantic body ogre beast extension. There are three phases to the fight. The mechanics mirror the same actions that you use to kill the regular ogres throughout the game.
Phases:
Be mindful:
After you finish the encounter, a cut-scene makes our player character stab Cross in the eye with the Nanotrite Virus and it infects us as well.
Lily comes to save us and it seems like the player character is probably going to die from the virus.
Roll credits
Dr. Kvaris is able to save us somehow. We wake up to all of the Dagger allies telling us there’s still work to be done and then we are inserted back into the open world to finish up side-missions and level up factions.
Final thoughts:
General Cross’ entire plan was to wipe out humans and replace them with clones. Our mission was to stop the creation of said clones and kill Cross because he killed Lily’s mother. In the process, I think we saved the world too.
That’s a pretty straight forward goal.
You have the option of keeping the game going after you finish the main campaign. And if you are like me and only did the minimum leveling for your Dagger allies so that you can move on with the story, you have plenty left to do.
The gun play feels great in Rage 2. It’s fast-paced and the combat is the best part. It’s a pretty solid and entertaining game.