Firewatch

Firewatch, a genre defying adventure(ish?) game from Campo Santo is a beautiful, emotional journey. I played Henry, a middle aged man who takes a summer job working in a fire watch station in Wyoming. Between exploring the wilderness, yelling at drunken campers, talking to my boss, and watching for fires, a story as engrossing as the beautiful scenery unfolded.

Rocket League Adding Free Hoops Mode April 26, Championship Happening Now

Rocket League, the incredibly popular motorized arena sportsball game is adding a new basketball themed mode next week. In keeping with their other numerous updates, the new mode will be offered for free on all available platforms. In addition to the free DLC, Psyonix has partnered with the NBA to offer a premium collection of NBA team flags for players to decorate their cars with.

What I'm Playing (Besides The Division)

I've been talking about The Division a lot. It has occupied the majority of my game time since its release, but I have been playing a few other games here and there. None are really new games, just games that I'm playing for the first time on this PC or games that I decided deserved a second playthrough.

REDUX: Playerbase Desynchronized

The big April update for The Division has added a lot of content to the game, but has caused just as many problems. People are reporting that the Dark Zone is an absolute nightmare for the average player, the high end gear most players thought would be dropping regularly is scarcer than a dodo riding a unicorn, and some players on XBox One (the flagship console for the game) have had their characters wiped entirely. People have been understandably upset with Ubisoft and Massive in the wake of this and both are working damage control heavily. All this brings to mind the hype and release of Assassin's Creed Unity. Wiped that one from your memory? Don't worry, we'll help you remember.

Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival Board Game

As an Animal Crossing purist, I did not expect to enjoy Amiibo Festival nearly as much as I did. I quickly discovered that the little party game was a wonderful way to pass the time. With  multiple games to play, from a quiz that tests my awesome knowledge of Animal Crossing, to the board game mode that pits players against each other, racing around a board to collect various things before the end of the month. Like any good party game, it only gets better the more people who play!

Ubisoft Adds Survival Mode to Far Cry Primal, Makes the Game Appropriately Hard

When we last spoke about Far Cry Primal, I mentioned that I had taken measures to make the game more immersive and difficult, in an attempt to better simulate the world in which the game takes place. Every developer diary described the land of Oros as dangerous and unforgiving, but the vanilla game give the player numerous outs and exceptions, including a minimap, reticle and a bomb dropping owl. Survival mode eliminates all of these things a more to create a truly harrowing stone age experience.

[Pathfinder] Magic + Skills = Winning

When the Advanced Class Guide came out, one of the major hybrids a large number of people were surprised to find missing was a Rogue/Caster combination. Fortunately, Marc Radle and Kobold Press have filled that hole, and they've done so with flair and skill.

Star Wars Rogue One Trailer Looks Like a Steve Perry Novel

I was really pleased with Star Wars Episode VII. I think J.J. Abrams did a wonderful job of bringing back the Star Wars universe so many fans thought was lost after the nightmare that was the prequel trilogy. Today, we saw the first glimpse of Rogue One, a film that takes place between Episodes III and IV. It certainly seems a bit darker in tone that the standard Star Wars film and it has an outstanding cast to boot, but it reminded me of a certain expanded universe novel which is, sadly, no longer considered canon.

I Am Still Excited About VR, But not With the Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift has been the face of virtual reality for a while now. The first dev kit launched in 2012 to spotty support and more than a few jokes about the Lawnmower Man. As the platform developed, more and more people took notice. When Oculus was purchased for $2 billion by Facebook in 2014, most of us knew that VR was about to become a very big deal. With the official release of the Rift last week, some people have noticed some unsettling things about the incredible device.