Happy Holidays! (Monday Musings 24)

Happy Holidays! Wishing you all peace, love and happiness!

The How of Happiness Review

MH:W Free Beta Access, Amusing Video Game Experiences (Monday Musings 23)

Monster Hunter World Free Beta Access

If you missed the last free Beta access, the Monster Hunter: World demo will be available again world-wide for Playstation 4. Even better, this time around, you do NOT need a PS+ subscription. Because of this, if you don't have a subscription, you won't be able to use multi-player features, only solo. Here are the details:

Friday, December 22: 5 PM UTC (Noon EST) through
Tuesday, December 26: 4:59 PM UTC (11:59 AM EST)

Here's the UTC Time Conversion Calculator.

It's worth it to play the game solo if you don't have PS+ subscription, and in fact easier than playing with a team due to the increase in the monster's health when COOPing as explained here.

Capcom is doing a great job marketing this game, however, if they truly want to capture the Western Audience, they must make this Beta for Xbox users as well.

Amusing (Hopefully) Video Game Experiences

I was thinking of this topic when I restarted Borderlands 2, but kept dying over and over again because I didn't take cover. The issue is, due to my lack of experience with first person perspective, I couldn't tell if I'm in cover or not. Each time you're revived, you have to pay $11, so my $100 quickly went down to $45. I thought that once it goes to 0, it's game over, which I found out later isn't true, but since I didn't realize at the time, I decided to quit and sadly thought that I can't play this game.

The issue of not being able to take cover reminded me of my Uncharted experience. After playing Gears of War, Remastered on easy difficulty level, I enjoyed the game so much that I decided to play Uncharted, restarting yet again. I tried multiple times before, but it didn't click. However, since I got the remastered Uncharted series, the Nathan Drake Collection, I decided to give it a go again.

I decided to play on easy difficulty as per the internet, the enemies are bullet sponges, and because I have minimal experience with shooters, it made sense to me to try on easy, and I can always go to normal if the difficulty level is too easy.

The very first part of the game starts pretty quickly. You're attacked and the game instructs you to take cover. I was too lazy to take cover, and thinking that it's on easy, I can just stand and shoot, tanking my way through the introductory sequence. With my friend watching, I told him that I refuse to take cover, because I'm too tired, explaining that it's okay since this is on easy. However, in less than 1 minute, I died to a rain of bullets. My friend, watching, said "OMG".

Another gaming incident that is very Dark Souls is when I was COOPing with my friend in Bloodborne, and we made it to the Forbidden Woods area. I confidently told my friend since I've completed this area so many times, that I can find the shortcut for him, and he can wait by the lantern (i.e. bonfire). The shortcut that you unlock leads right back to this lantern. Further, it only takes a couple of minutes at most to unlock it, if you run past all the enemies and make a beeline to the shortcut.

Of course, with my sense of direction, I got lost. I saw the invasion screen, which being rare, you tend to forget about, and my thought was "Oh shit". My friend was panicking, "Hurry, Alice, I'm about to be invaded". I then told him that I got lost, but hopefully will find the elevator shortcut "soon", which he clearly was neither comforted nor convinced.

Since he kept telling me to hurry up in increasingly panicked tones, I got more and more anxious and flustered myself, which makes it harder to find my way through. My friend announced that the invader arrived (it takes time between the warning and the invasion). Somehow, I found my way to the elevator, and seeing the intruder about to attack my friend, I flung myself through the elevator shortcut door straight towards him. The invader, seeing me come at him like a bat from hell, then jumped off the cliff to his death. My friend and I had a good laugh about that.

Quite a few of my platforming experiences were disastrous, and there were many examples of this in the Metroid series. There were quite a few areas that I simply couldn't jump flawlessly on the platform to avoid acid, lava and other dangerous liquids, so my strategy is to kill the enemies until I get my full health back, since the enemies can leave behind healing items. With full health, I can then run through the acid, so I tanked a lot of the platforming elements in Metroid in this way. It actually worked, so that was one of my main strats for the series.

If I ever stream, I would cater to a niche audience, those who are beginning at gaming and need help in difficult areas of the game. The strats would involve leveling up, tanking, and so forth, ways that the developers did not intend a gamer to do!

I'm 100% sure that you have equally, if not more, amusing stories, so please share them here!

The Game Awards--Best Award Show? (Monday Musings 22)

The Game Awards, Best American Award Show?

This year's Game Awards is the first Game Awards I've seen, and I feel it's the best award show for its intended audience. It's been perhaps more than a decade since I've seen the other major awards such as the Emmy, the Grammy and Oscar Awards, but there's a reason why I stopped watching because they are boring, even though I enjoy music, movies and tv.

I think all awards shows should follow the programming of the Game Awards. I noticed that the show was very efficient. They immediately announce the category, the nominees, announce the winner, and speech. It seems like other award shows, this process drags on and on.

This is even more bloated by the number of ads, and this is where the Game Awards shines over the traditional awards. All of the ads are about video games, which are of interest to gamers because we want to know what games are coming out, unlike the Oscars where they might have advertisements that aren't related to movies, of which the intended audience may or may not be interested in.  Often these ads are boring such as ads about detergent. The Game Awards gets rather funny ads such as these:

This one is from Bethesda: 
https://youtu.be/DPl-YMq2WTM

and another from Psyonix:
https://youtu.be/l34F_zjsIVQ

There's one special musical guest, instead of so many musical guests that the show drags on even more if that's possible. This year's Game Awards musical guest, Phoenix, was rather pleasant, and thankfully performed one song.  

Live audience of these traditional awards shows are going down, and it's probably because no one wants to sit through often bad musical entertainment, boring ads that aren't related to the subject at hand, and long drawn out speeches. They are often saved on DVR, to be fast forwarded. Or, to save even more time, read about after the shows end.

Not only is the Game Awards interesting, it was also informative as it highlights upcoming video games and is targeted toward the intended audience. If the other traditional American Awards shows can follow the concise and relevant format of The Game Awards, they might gain viewers.

Monster Hunter: World Beta Impressions
The Beta is everything I hoped for in a Monster Hunter! I completed all three missions solo on day of release. The trusted Monster Hunter sources, Arekkz Gaming and Gaijin Hunter were correct in reporting that the gameplay is very much like the old Monster Hunter series.

To enjoy the Beta more fully, definitely make use of the training room to test any weapons you're interested in.  While testing out the weapons, the screen will show basic moves and recommended combos. Further, in the options menu under "Hunter's Notes", the basic moves and combinations are listed more concisely.

Instead of targeting the breakable barrels, it's better to practice on the un-breakable pole in the middle of the training area. Sometimes you can't continue combinations if the item breaks, so to play out the full set of combinations, it's best to target the pole. Further, it's easier to see damage numbers when the combinations play out fully, so you can find out which attacks/combination of attacks are the strongest.

Once you get used to the move-set of your weapons and ready to start the mission, you need to tweak some settings. In the options menu while in-mission, change the item wheel to type 2. In type 2, you chose the item and then press R3 to use. With type 1, you point to the item then release the buttons, and the item is supposed to register, but often it doesn't.

If you don't want to use the item wheel, look at the items at the very bottom right of your screen, and cycle through them using your D-Pad right and left arrow keys. Press square to use.

If you have a PS4, I would recommend favoring resolution. Here, I'm hoping the real game improves in the resolution. I would like it to be more crisp and clear, even if it means reducing texture details. However, this is infinitely improved from the 3DS counterparts where my friend couldn't coop with me because the graphics caused eye strain and headaches.

For the third, expert mission, Anjanath, please play this solo, or at least with 3 people on your team for multiplayer. Since initially I couldn't beat it the first time, a friend coop'd with me (he beat the mission solo) and we couldn't defeat it because of its large health pool, and we must've tried 8 times.

We found out that it couldn't be defeated when my friend saw the Rathalos do 1,500 damage to Anjanath when he was almost dead (signified by limping), and yet he still didn't go down. Between the two of us, we were doing at most 100 per hit. However, after these many defeats, when I played the quest solo, I was able to defeat Anjanath.

I believe in solo mode, the mission is scripted so that you can learn the basics of hunting, because at the end of my first successful solo mission run, they made sure Anjanath was stuck in an infinite trap. Next play-throughs against Anjanath, when I became more proficient, it only took a couple of combinations to take him down, otherwise I feel that they would have Anjanath move to a trap pit.

My friend and I then coop'd with his friend, and we were able to defeat Anjanath so with three people, the mission is doable. A two-player team may not do enough damage, so please avoid this frustration.

The Beta is proof that Monster Hunter: World isn't made to be "Easy" or simplified for Western audiences. Weapon and battle mechanics are just as complex and deep as they've always been. I'm hoping that I would love World even more than my current favorite, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.

Have you played the Beta and what are your thoughts?

Monster Hunter: World Beta Access and Hype!

Free Beta Access Starts December 9

Hold onto your hats, Monster Hunter: World is coming soon!

If you have a PS4, a Playstation Plus Subscribtion, and online access, it's a no-brainer to pre-download the FREE Monster Hunter: World Beta access (you must be online). Unfortunately, the time frame is very limited. I'm hoping that if this is successful (i.e. tons of users), they may even extend the time frame, but don't get your hopes up, we must prepare to be ready and play during the strict time limit which is as follows:

Saturday, December 9: 5 PM UTC (Noon EST) through
Tuesday, December 12: 4:59 PM UTC (11:59 AM EST)

Use this time converter for your zone.

They will present 3 quests, varying from easy, middle and difficult, and if you beat the quests and purchase the product down the road, you get rewards.

From watching all the video clips and information provided by the developer, Capcom itself, as well as prominent Monster Hunter gurus such as Arekkz Gaming and Gaijin Hunter, Monster Hunter: World will be the best of the series. I'm going to pull together the new, improved quality of life features as to why this game will not only be the best Monster Hunter yet, but even a Game of the Year contender.

Graphics and Draw Distance
I'm definitely not obsessed with Graphics, all I'm asking is for clean graphics without jaggies, and today's technology can achieve that, as seen in Gravity Rush 2, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest and I can list so many more games. I'm certainly not saying that better graphics = better game, but if you improve the graphics so drastically within the same series, I think it does improve the game.

Monster Hunter has finally entered 1080p definition, improved from the ridiculously bad 240p (!???!) of the most recent 3DS version of Monster Hunter XX (March 18, 2017). 240p in 2017 is not what I'd call standard graphics on modern day consoles, especially when some gamers are now looking down upon 1080p due to 4K.

Playing the 3DS western version of Monster Hunter XX (Generations), the graphics were so bad that my friend, who was thinking of buying it so he can coop, took one look, got eyestrain and headache, and my hopes of ever playing this series with him was forever dashed, as I thought this will always remain on the 3DS, given the success in Japan. He actually felt bad and said he just couldn't get it because it hurt his eyes and he started getting a headache. 

I think by improving the graphics to the point where it doesn't cause eye strain and headaches pushes Monster Hunter: World ahead of past series.

You only need to look at Arekkz video of the Palico (Cat) armor and weapon set. Look at the

Palico Armor Set from Arekkz Gaming

detail of each armor and weapon set.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so I recommend clicking on the YouTube link for more armor sets! The cat goggles and backpacks are such that I would rush out to get all the materials to make those sets, looking forward to the hunts. I must admit that after awhile, if you need a particular part for your armor, it does get a bit old grinding the same Rathalos (I still have NOT gotten the Rathalos Ruby), but the incentive will be there to obtain parts for those cute goggles!

The other huge problem is the draw distance. I don't have the best vision, but from far away, I thought this blue blotch was the herb I need for the Insect Glaive (I ended up maining the trusty Switch Axe), and upon approach it was the blue Velociraptor. I don't need to explain in detail why this isn't a good feature in gaming. World will have improved draw distance.

Level Design
Monster Hunter has the trademark map with areas that are segmented, so you go from zone to zone, which halts the action as you wait for the map to load. When I saw the gameplay of Horizon Zero: Dawn, I knew I had to get the game, because it was exactly how I wanted Monster Hunter to be. Fighting monsters without having to go to multiple load screens!  I was so excited seeing that 2016 E3 trailer of Aloy, taking down a Thunderjaw, using all the techniques that you use in the Monster Hunter series but without loading. Can you imagine, as you finally dislodge his rocket launcher, he runs away, and you have to chase after him (which is okay, b/c that's very similar to hunting), but then you have to go to load screen and wait a few seconds before you can blast the launcher. Guerrilla Games, the developer of HZ:D, also stated many times that they were influenced by Monster Hunter. Indeed, if you wear all pieces of the Playstation exclusive Aloy armor, your character (regardless of gender) will look like Aloy, and your Palico, a robot machine!

I cannot go into the level design of Monster Hunter: World but it appears that the developers have made a very cohesive world, with carefully thought out ecosystem. From my understanding, they build the world around one central figure, like an enormous tree, so the location has consistent foliage. Unfortunately, I have no clue about ecology, but they have studied various biomes and traveled to different parts of the world such as Australia to create a coherent ecosystem.  

Quality of Life Issues and Features
This is such a long list, such that I need to cut and paste for these new and improved features:

From VG24/7:

Multiplayer
• Offline play is available for solo players. No offline, local multiplayer.
• Multiplayer supports up to four hunters at a time.
• You can drop a flare at any time in the field to summon drop-in, drop-out multiplayer help.
• Multiplayer groups can also form up traditionally before setting out for the field.
• Emotes and in-game chat will be available.

Hunting
• Combat is more fluid with transition affects and escalating combos, such as the bow’s shoot-dash-shoot-dash-special fire arrow combo.
• Scout flies will help you find your target, but only after you uncover clues.
• Monsters can detect players through sight and smell.
• Stealth is a good tactic, but it’s optional.
• The monsters in each zone are arranged in a hierarchical ecosystem.
• Monsters can be lured into fighting or scaring each other.
• Monsters will not always be interested in players until provoked or lured.
• Lock-on is available in combat.
• Damage numbers indicate the effectiveness of attacks – but there are no health bars.
• Status changes will show up as visual effects on your character’s body.
• Mounting progress and success is indicated on the mini-map.
• Mounting attacks sometimes involve primary weapons.
• Mount interrupts can be recovered with a grappling hook.
• You can swim, but there’s no underwater combat.
• Hit boxes are more complex and expose complicated weak points.
• You can continue exploring the field after a successful hunt.

Environments
• There’s a hub town you’ll load in and out of between quests.
• The field is “open world” – that is, zones are seamless. You won’t see loadings screens during quests.
• You can fast travel between base camps in the field, but not during combat.
• Each field contains multiple numbered zones and is about 2.5 times the size of any seen before.
• Environments include interactive objects such as shock frogs, rock fall traps and poison plants.
• You can view the whole map in a menu in addition to a mini-map.
• Monsters can damage environments, opening new paths.

Inventory and equipment
• All 14 weapons from Monster Hunter 4 are present. Tonfas will not return.
• Grappling hook allows access to difficult terrain.
• Grapple also serves as launcher for rocks, bombs and other missiles.
• Weapon sharpness gauge shows decreasing effectiveness.
• You can change gear while in the field at any base camp.
• Capes called mantles have gameplay effects like stealth, lure or poise.
• A quick-use menu allows for rapid item use in the field.
• Traditional scrolling inventory menus are also present.
• You can move while using items like potions, but not sprint.

Miscellaneous
• Palicoes and Palico Armour return
• The E3 2017 demo included a tutorial with fully voiced NPCs and small cutscenes.
• Hunter Arts and Styles, and Prowler Mode will not feature.
• Fictional in-game language can be switched to English or Japanese.
• Global multiplayer servers – no regional gating.
• Gathering is contextual and sometimes instant.

10 More Additional Features from VG24/7:

1. Bounties and investigations: Every quest can now be done either solo or with friends, and will scale depending on how many players are in there. Where once there was filler quests, there are now bounties – instead of needing to go and kill 20 small monsters, for instance, you can just meet that condition while out in the world doing more exciting things. You can carry six bounties at a time. Investigations are optional hunting quests that hand out additional items, which are also new for World. This means that there should be less time spent grinding away at uninteresting objectives. 
2. A clear key quest line: You’re now given a much clearer idea of which quests are essential and what you need to do to progress, thanks to the ‘assigned quest’ list, in Monster Hunter World. It’s now easier to figure out what you need to do next to progress the plot forward. 
3. Daily bonuses: Each day when you log in you can get a bonus item and voucher just for opening the game. Solid! These probably won’t be huge rewards, but they’re a nice incentive to jump in daily
4.  Research levels: The scout flies you bring with you to track monsters level up as you examine things in the world. Eventually they’ll level up to a point where they can simply tell you where a monster in on the map without you needing to look for clues. You’ll also learn more about monsters each time you hunt them, eventually learning their weak points. 
5. House and pets: You will gain access to different houses as you progress this time. You can also get house pets – catch a spider in your net, for instance, and it will be your buddy in the new home you potentially just bought. Cool.
6. The Training Room: There’s now a room…for training. It’s actually very good – plenty of targets to hit, vines to climb, walls to run up, and lots of different tools for testing different scenarios. Arekkz says it’s very helpful and that they’ve ‘thought of everything’. It’s a great place to learn how to use weapons. 
7.  Squads: Basically Monster Hunter now has guilds/clans, which give you access to member-only online sessions and squad icons. 
8. Arm wrestling is back! In the lobby you can start arm wrestling other players at one of the barrels. A lovely little way to pass the time.
9. Weapon and gear previews: You can now try on a whole set of armour before buying, and get an idea of how it will look before you buy. You don’t have to buy a full set of armour only to find that it looks ugly together now.
10. The Wish List: When you mark that you need something for crafty with your Smithy, the game will start tracking it and let you know when you collect the objects you need. Very handy, and saves you from needing to obsessively check yourself. It sounds like the game is generally better at tracking your progress in its many forms now.

Conclusion: This is the perfect opportunity to see if you'll enjoy this GOTY contender! Requirements are PS4, PS+ subscription and online access. Are you excited about playing Monster Hunter: World?

What to Look For In A Video Game Critic (Monday Musings 21)

I was thinking about this topic as I notice my favorite video games tend to get relatively low Metacritic scores, so it appears that a lot of video game critics and I have such differing opinions that I can't seem to trust if I would truly love a game that scores "high", or not like a game that doesn't get as great a score such as the new Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a game that made me consider buying the Switch. I'm holding off for now as discussed here.

There are only two major critics that I noticed so far who have the same gaming tastes as me, and they happen to be the extremely controversial Colin Moriarty and Jim Sterling. Regardless of their politics and at times, abrasiveness, I find both refreshing because they're not afraid to criticize powerful game companies and developers when they are being unethical. In fact, whenever I see Moriarty blast a company for being anti-consumer, I enjoy watching his partners cringe and try to smooth things over, but Moriarty pressing his point even harder. However, both Moriarty and Sterling would also praise the same company when they do the right thing.

So, integrity is the very first thing I would look at to see if this critic is to be trusted. I don't have to spell out why someone who looks out for and wants the best for gamers is to be more trusted, over someone who shills for a large corporation for important advertising dollars and interview space at major conventions. 

While I do agree personality is important (most of Colin Moriarty's political views make me cringe and Jim Sterling can be abrasive to his readers), however, despite both critics having rather strong opinions and convictions, they have been humble enough to change their minds and perspectives if new information presents itself.

Although integrity is actually more important than the next criteria, you should also see if this critic (who has integrity) is enjoying the same games as you. However, even if the critic happens to love a game that you absolutely hate and vice versa, which will inevitably happen, it doesn't make sense to suddenly not respect him or her. 

If the critic tends to agree with the games you love, examine whether they are specific in detail, so you know why they find the gameplay compelling or problematic, and if it makes sense to you. Way too often, reading other video game critics' articles, I'd see an extreme score such as 10/10, but upon reading, one wonders why this particular critic feels that the game is so brilliant.

I'm generalizing, of course, but I would read something to the effect of, "this game is sheer magic and is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all times, if not the greatest", but then there's no explanation as to WHY it's magical, and worse, the critic would use further vague claims such as "I've never seen such depth and impeccable detailed level design", but WHY is the level design complex or intricate? I hear crickets.

On the other hand, you have Colin Moriarity, and here's a specific example of why I appreciate his criticisms. I'm a huge fan of Duck Tales and would spend my lunch money on the comic books, and watch the tv shows religiously growing up, so I have tons of nostalgia factor going into playing Duck Tales: Remastered video game. The game was even more attractive as it was free, so you'd think that I'd love the game.

I wrote this post and part of it went into why I hate Duck Tales so much. Although the topic is not about Duck Tales per se, even if I were to write a review of the game, I don't think I'd be able to explain why it's so unpleasant to me, despite the nostalgia and the added bonus of being free, until I read Moriarty's piece. He really hit the nail on the head, and offered rather specific instances of tbe problems he had with the game, most notably the unresponsiveness of controls, which I totally forgot about while forcing myself to play the game.

From my limited experience with platforming, precision of button pressing is of the most vital importance, otherwise one slip, you can't make a jump and die. And yet there are times that for unknown reasons, Scrooge doesn't react to the same button press you've been using as Moriarty clearly explains, so you'd die through no fault of your own. Although, I disagree with Moriarty's distaste about the added cutscenes, this is where his piece differs from many. He discusses them in detail and why he finds them annoying, so you can see if this is actually going to be annoying to you, or a plus. For me, since I like story, being a fan of the cartoon, that was one thing I actually liked about the game.

But as you can see, reading Moriarty's piece on the hated Duck Tales: Remastered, I wouldn't buy the game if it weren't free, despite all of my strong nostalgia ties.
  
Conclusion: Integrity, having roughly the same taste as you, and specificity in discussing gameplay details are the three criteria to look out for in a video game critic that you can mostly trust.  Ideally, you'll have a handful of such critics to then base your decision on whether you should invest in a game (or better yet, rent from library if possible).