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1Bit

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Blog Entries posted by 1Bit

  1. 1Bit
    I know a lot of people seemed to really dislike Zephyr as a character in the episode of MLP today, and yeah, I can see why some may not look at him as favourably as others. Just watching some reactors made me realise how those, usually who are much older, judge people like him and his general attitude towards life, responsibilities and growing up. Yet for me, he ended up being the most relatable character the show has ever thrown at me and it made me feel so uncomfortable about myself as a whole I had to take a good long walk outside just to collect my thoughts.


     

    But backstory and all that. To put it simply, I'm 17 and still currently unemployed as I make my way through college (The UK type, with A-levels and BTECs and stuff). I did have a summer job at a local restaurant last year but that quickly fell through for a variety of reasons; surprisingly not my fault though. Ever since then, I've really been getting, to put it simply, lazier and lazier. Sure, I still get plenty of exercise, I've been eating better and I've generally been cutting back on many of my addictions I've gained over the years. But none of it is stopping my addiction to complacency and procrastination. When I know that I don't NEED to do anything, my mind thinks "Then why bother?" and in thus lies the problem.


     

    My grades are damn solid with B's and A's across the board, despite the severe lack of effort and extra work I put into my education. I just, somehow, despite constantly telling myself to reach higher, never do and sink further into this pit of despair and lazy behaviour. And yeah, basically you can see some links between me and Zephyr. But it isn't just me. I know for a fact plenty of people out there, maybe even some of you reading this, have become victims or were victims of complacency. And it is dangerous, just as the episode teaches.


     

    Okay, rambling over. Time to just round this up before I kick the Hornet's Nest even more.


  2. 1Bit
    First off, I'm not some 343i fanboy. I'm not one to ignore the painfully obvious flaws of the Halo series. I'm also not one to shy away from criticism where it is definitely needed.


     

    Is that all cleared up? Good.


     



     

    Okay, so anyway, what I really want to talk about is the current state of the fanbase that ensconces Halo and all of it's bi-products. Halo has long been a household name for many gamers. The first two iterations of the first person shooter innovating and expanding an otherwise bland and stagnated genre at the time, as well as elevating the Xbox as a competitive platform against the heavyweights of Playstation and Nintendo at the time.


     

    However, it's impossible to hide from the fact that Halo can never really reach that same peak again. Even before Bungie freed its grasp upon the series, there were signs of decay, signs of frailty; a sign that maybe the Chief ought to hang up his Assault Rifle and get a little hut on a beach someplace nice. But we all know that did not happen, with 343i continuing to parade Microsoft's flagship title across each generation of Xbox.


     

    Even for those who liked Halo Reach, whether entirely or only some parts of it, it marked a point in the franchise where the community really began to change. We saw the divide, a line cut right through the middle of an otherwise unified body of gamers. The new loadouts, armour abilities like Sprint and Armour Lock, the shift in gameplay and focus...it was just that much different from previous Halo games that those who could not adapt, or did not welcome the change were left behind. Even when Halo 4 came around, it simply expanded on the foundations that Reach put in place; the seeds of the modern Halo game growing and flourishing year by year. This continued to increase the division, going over the line in a thick red paint to make it bold and obvious.


     



     

    And now we're here, with two distinct factions waging war within the small fanbase left: "The Halo Veterans" and "The 343 Fanboys". Neither name is really that pleasant, but that's the names that both sides give each other. You actually like Halo 5? You must be a 343 fanboy. There is no room for a middle-ground at this point, with fingers being pointed and arguments starting from nothing, like children in a playground arguing over a football someone found in the sandpit. And frankly, it's time for it all to just stop.


     

    Halo 5 has issues; it was rushed quite a lot by Microsoft leading to a lack of content at launch. There are numerous small bugs that plague the engine, as the move to next-gen was harder than they imagined. And this list can increase depending on your point of view about things like the art style, or the REQ system, etc etc.


     

    But it also has SO many good points too. Consistent, massive post-launch support. A deep relationship between the developers and the community to keep the game moving in the direction people want it to. It even, arguably, has the most balanced Halo multiplayer to date in terms of the sandbox.


     

    But do you ever hear anyone talk about the good things? Of course not. It's just complaining, and complaining, and more complaining. 343i did something right? Better find something else to complain about. There is no such thing as PRAISE anymore, because people seem to think that praise is never due when it most certainly is.


     

    When you compare Halo 5 to the other shooters it is competing with, it's almost laughable to think that the majority of Halo fans are disappointed with what we're getting. Monthly big content drops for free, a microtransaction system that is actually fair and you have no reason to pay money if you don't want to (Believe me, I haven't), and as I said before, the developers are constantly active with the community in any way they can be. I mean, can you imagine how Halo fans would react if Halo 5's post launch was similar to Black Ops 3? Ha.


     

    So yeah, I think by this point, I'm splitting off from the majority of the Halo content creators that I used to enjoy. The constant negativity they try to incite in their viewers and the constant hatred towards 343 Industries is honestly damaging to the whole Halo 5 experience. It's the kind of attitude that ruins games, and they give no consideration to the people who actually enjoy the very things they harper on about to get removed.


     

    Peace.


  3. 1Bit
    Tom Clancy's The Division has been coming for quite some time now. Many didn't even expect it to release at all with the amount of delays but here we are with the open beta, the game itself releasing very soon indeed. Like many games in the market now, The Division aims to try and piggyback off the success of Destiny, Bungie's first release under Activision. While Destiny itself is thought to be lackluster and simply a cash-grab, it still made a LOT of money, so developers see it as a model to base their games off. The Division takes this to the extreme, with a game that pretty much matches the same hybrid genre as Destiny, only now it's in a more modern time period and it's a third-person cover-based shooter.


     

    Many are hoping that The Division aims to be a better Destiny, with more content overall and less screwing over of their fanbase. While there are definitely things in the game which give me hope that this is the case, there are still some serious issues and concerns that the alpha/beta has raised for me which lead me to believe that the MMO/Shooter/Thing genre that Destiny began still has a long way to go before it works.


     



     

    First off, The Division seems to have a much more competent narrative than Destiny did. Good start. Despite only having access to the first mission, it already seems like Ubisoft was able to hire a writer who actually understood how to write a script compared to the monkey that Bungie hired to re-write the whole thing after tearing up Joseph Staten's original plotline.


     

    The game mechanics are also very solid. It seems like they have perfected the cover-based shooter movement and gunplay, with easy transitioning from cover-to-cover and satisfying fights that make every battle fun.


     

    But the darkzone is the real selling point of The Division. The PvP combat zone, where players can choose to work together with each other to fight through all the tougher enemies and acquire the best loot....or turn on each other and take everything for themselves. It's both terrifying and exhilirating with each encounter with another player.


     



     

    However, there STILL seems to be a lack of content here. PvE encounters are few and far between, are effectively copy and pasted in different locations, with little to no variation in the actual rewards offered. Perhaps this is just because they are low-level but if you want to keep people's attention, they need to open up the map and be overcome with options and choices of what to do, not squinting as they try to find out if there's ANYTHING to do whatsoever.


     

    There are also some poor design choices. The JTF (friendly characters) are poorly done with jeeps that look like they were designed by an idiot who just painted their initials on in a really bad font and the UI is a painfully bad downgrade from what was originally shown at the E3 demo. The world can also feel very empty at times. While there are tons of civilians dotted around, the atmosphere doesnt exactly scream death and destruction, and the so called 'gangs' are so unorganised that you only ever seem to see three of the grunts every few miles or so and that's it.


     

    I pray that the actual game will not disappoint, but here's some advice for all of you, wait for the reviews to come out before purchasing the game. It's still difficult to say whether it will be a great game, or yet another commercially successful piece of trash like Destiny was.


  4. 1Bit

    Some FH2 Beauty Photography

    By 1Bit,

    Forza Horizon 2 is a beautiful game. I absolutely love using it's photo mode for the sole purpose of seeing just how much I can do with the gorgeous game I've been given to work with. I thought I would share some images here
    No other editing software has been used, these are all made using only in-game tools

     



     



     



     



     



  5. 1Bit
    This is a blog post I want to get out before it slips from my mind, something important to write down before it's forgotten. And, maybe, some of you guys can learn something from it too. Possibly even feel a little different about yourself or some of the choices you make in life.
     
    So what is external validation? Well, it's something almost all of us RELY ON as human beings, something that drives us to do any task or create any piece of creative work. When you do a piece of homework, or draw a picture, what is one of the main things you do after finishing it? You show it to someone else. Whether that be a teacher, or your group of friends, you will show what you have to done to someone else, and more often than not you ask something along the lines of "What do you think?"
     
    THAT is external validation. It's that inner need we have for what we do to be VALIDATED by someone else. If you don't show someone else what you've done, how can you know for sure if it's good or not? How do you know if you have produced a decent piece of work? It's these questions that drive us to need EXTERNAL VALIDATION. It's like an addiction for some people, where everything you do, every part of your life, you feel the need to tell somebody about it, just to see a reaction, just to hear what they think about it all.
     
    And one thing I found is you never really think about it until a post like this confronts you with that ugly truth. You don't really think about it when you go on Youtube everyday, checking to see how many views one of your videos has gotten. You don't really think about it when you submit a piece of art to a competition, to see what others think of it and how well it can do. Even something as simple as releasing a post like this online, is still all to do with that NEED for validation. The basic human need to know that what you do MATTERS to people, to feel CONTENT.
     
    But is all this healthy? Can it sometimes go too far?
     
    As the internet has grown in power, we can clearly see examples of this going too far beyond what is healthy. When someone puts a particularly lewd video or photo on facebook, in the hopes of it gaining more views/likes/friends. When someone creates a clickbait title/thumbnail for a youtube video, to attract more people to watch it. It's at this point, that the need for external validation has gone too far. Where you are now incapable of living a CONTENT life without all of these other people around you, commenting and looking at what you do all the time.
     
    As I've said before in this post, external validation is nothing to shun or hide from; it's good to share your work with others, it's how society's gears turn and creative minds spin. But it doesn't mean you can't be CONTENT with what you do without it. You don't HAVE to show everyone that picture, why can't you draw it just for yourself? Just be happy in knowing you were the one who drew it, and in your opinion, you drew a pretty damn nice picture. It doesn't always matter what other people think.
     
    ----
     
    Phew that was lengthy! Well um, thank you whoever read through all of this really it's just a ton of thoughts that have been swimming around in my head for a while now, and I wanted to just finally write them down.
  6. 1Bit
    Positives
    - Nice mix of CGI and Practical Effects
    - Nice to see returning characters
    - Stormtroopers are actually threatening compared to the originals
    - Generally an improvement over originals
     
    Negatives
    - Generally copy and paste of Episode IV's plot
    - Acting is...average for the most part
    - Cliche
    - Stormtroopers STILL can't aim
    - Kylo Ren is nowhere near as good a villain as Darth Vader.
     
    Overall
    7/10
    A decent film.
     
    -----
  7. 1Bit

    Food for thought

    By 1Bit,

    definitely worth a read, guys have a good saturday
     
    http://brightside.me/article/stop-saying-sorry-if-you-want-to-say-thank-you-a-seriously-insightful-cartoon-57255/
  8. 1Bit
    Over the past day, its an understatement to say that the finale tore a divide in the fandom. A lot of people didn't plan on Starlight being redeemed at all and I will admit, I was in the group of people who wanted her to stay a villain before watching the finale.
     
    But her reformation made a lot more sense than many seem to give it credit for, so I decided to write down all my thoughts here so that those who may be interested can see why Starlight's reformation was the best route the finale could have gone down.
     
    1) Traumatised And Hurt...
     
    I've seen many people complaining that Starlight's backstory does little to justify the things she has done in both the premiere and finale of season 5, and certainly if the events occurred when she was more adult, I could agree.
     
    However, this all happened to her at a very young and impressionable age. Imagine it, your inseparable best friend who you do everything with is suddenly taken away from you. No goodbyes, no explanation of why, there is just suddenly a void where that friend used to be. All because they got their cutie mark.
     
    At Starlight's young age, she couldn't have fully understood what transpired, all she knew is that the one friend she had was gone. All that sadness and hate inside of her would grow as she got older. Without ever being told otherwise, she grew up believing cutie marks just drove ponies apart like it did with her and Sunburst. While it may seem petty enough to make her creating an entire cutie-markless town ridiculous, having that much hate fester in your mind for such a long period of time can really change someone. Especially when all that hate is based around cutie marks.
     
    What Twilight does however, is tell her the one thing no-one in her life ever would; that just because that one friendship was broken as it was, doesn't mean that any others will end the same way. Twilight's friendship speech was all about breaking the shell that Starlight built up around herself. We saw the exact same sort of thing in Tanks For The Memories, when Fluttershy told Rainbow that her winter would be pet-less. It broke Rainbow's shell and resolved her internal conflict.
     
    2) Who's to know?
     
    Villains like Tirek truly deserved the punishment they got, he was a villain through and through and there was no reforming that. Starlight on the other hand, WAS reformed so any punishment would be more minor anyhow.
     
    But the main reason I believe there is a lack of punishment, is because in the long run, her actions didn't really do that much. In the premiere, she had a little town in the middle of nowhere that run off some ideals. While what she was doing was wrong, no-one was hurt and in fact, those in the village made new friends with each other and made something out of the town.
     
    And in the finale, her actions literally had no effect. They couldn't have otherwise the entirety of time would be a total mess. Apart from Twilight, Spike and Starlight, no-one in Equestria would know anything ever happened with her trying to stop the rainboom. How can you punish someone for a crime that never happened?
     
    And also...this IS a kids show where they're trying to promote friendship and kindness. What better way than to show kids that even your worst enemies can become friends if you give them a chance to be?
     
    3) That Starlight must be PRETTY magical
     
    Twilight made a smart move keeping Starlight around. Not only do we get a new recurring character to bring something fresh to the table, but also it makes her reformation feel much less rushed.
     
    One of my main peeves about Sunset Shimmer's reformation is that it was INCREDIBLY rushed, I mean seriously, one film she's evil, two minutes of redeeming and then the next film she's super good! All that aside though, Starlight's reformation still felt quick but having her as a character that will stay in season 6 allows more time for her character to develop and her reformation can be much more appreciated.
     
    Maybe we get to see some reconciliation with Sunburst? Or at least we see her begin to let go of all the pain Sunburst's departure caused? Perhaps we can see more of her amazing magical capabilities? Better still, how she learnt it all?
     
    ------
     
    Her character has a lot of places it can go, if given the opportunity. I am happy with the finale's ending as it is. Starlight was a worthy villain but she is an even more worthy ally with all of her power. And plus, her character has a lot of room for some really healthy development.
     
    ------
     
    Well if you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed my ramblings Did you guys think Starlight's redemption was a good thing? Or a bad idea?
  9. 1Bit
    Well, this was a long time coming and it only seems fitting to discuss it now, considering the current news from the court room involving Bungie. As we all know, Destiny wasn't exactly the game we expected it to be; the sweeping, epic narrative was little more than a dried raisin with a few cutscenes thrown in. The multiplayer was unbalanced and lacked sustenance. The side missions and strikes were horribly grindy and repetitive. And then there's all the DLC and NOW MICROTRANSACTIONS AS WELL...
     
    Where is this masterpiece of a game we were once promised? How could such a prized and loved studio like Bungie possibly fail to deliver?
     
    For the simple fact, that the Bungie currently creating Destiny is not the same as the one we used to know.
     
    -----------
     
    Starting right from the beginning, we know that Destiny was already a thing way back during Halo 3 ODST, with all the little Destiny easter eggs that only were discovered when the game was revealed. Halo 3 ODST was released all the way back in 2009...meaning Destiny was in development for the good amount of 6 YEARS, knowing that 343i and a much smaller percentage of Bungie employees worked on Halo Reach. 6 YEARS and we got...well, a failure of a game. Almost akin to the more recent Duke Nukem installment.
     
    All the way up to E3 2013 it's clear that Bungie was still Bungie; that first Destiny reveal left the world in awe, promises of a game that you could sink hundreds of hours into and still have barely scratched the surface...but even in that first trailer, there was a problem. Martin O'Donnell, the genius behind the Halo soundtracks and the man who made the entire Destiny soundtrack as well, had his own work cut from that preliminary trailer and replaced by some of Activision's own music.
     
    This...was the beginning of Bungie's downfall.
     
    -----------
     
    It's clear that after that trailer, things got progressively worse at Bungie. It's possible Activision continued to play with creative control over the game whenever they saw fit to and our first truly public clue to this was when Joseph Staten, the head writer and one of Bungie's founders, left the studio. Why? Well it's clear that the sci-fi epic that was Destiny's story was gone, cut to pieces. Even now, it's unclear as to how much of the story we have today was Staten's work. Perhaps none of it is and it's been entirely redone. But it's clearly nowhere near the quality we all expected from Destiny upon release.
     
    Various other employees also left, most in smaller roles, but all played some crucial part in the games development; cinematographers, writers, animators...all leaving Bungie mysteriously throughout 2014, some even crawling over to 343i to continue working on the Halo franchise. Even now, we know that Joseph Staten is back with Microsoft and is soon to release a new Halo novel.
     
    The once great game that Destiny was, slowly descended into the shadows of corruption and mystery, not that anyone knew at the time. Even just before launch, people were blind to all of Bungie's shady moves in the past year or so. Of course, it's easy to point out Activision as the evil guy in all of this but, despite what the Bungie fanboys may tell you, there's one piece of evidence that proves Bungie is just as bad as they are: The Martin O'Donnell court case.
     
    ----------------
     
    After Destiny was released, many fans were disappointed to not see the soundtrack released to the general public on things like iTunes like the Halo soundtracks were. It was odd knowing Marty's past for it NOT to be released, but this was just the beginning. Almost every time any Destiny trailers were released, Marty would put up tweets specifically telling fans "that's not my music in the trailer". Obviously, no-one seemed to blink an eye as to why these tweets were made but clearly, Bungie did.
     
    Only now do we realise that Marty was trying to break free from the machine. Bungie and Activision were taking his creative freedom and crushing it with an iron boot. He tried to reach out to the fans, tell them that his work was not on display like it should have been, and he was punished for it. He was sacked, quite abruptly, and not to mention, Bungie illegally stole money from him through this. Unpaid wages...profit cuts...etc. Despite Bungie's sugar-coating of the matter, Marty had not left on 'good terms'...he was kicked out of a studio that was slowly turning into a developer you love to hate. Not only that, but Marty has said that the ordeal has destroyed his passion for making music.
     
    Although, it didn't turn out too bad for Marty in the end. The court was able to give Marty all the money he's rightfully owed, and Marty will still be receiving a cut of Destiny's profits until his contract was meant to expire sometime near the end of the Destiny franchise. And what do we take from this? Bungie is different. Activision may be the boogey man, but Bungie are their lapdogs. The CEO is all about the money and very little concern is given to the community. Bungie Day has practically disappeared, their brave ideals of 'a new world' and 'world domination' are gone. Now, they're just another copy and paste company brainlessly puking out products for the big snobs in their ivory towers (yeah, looking at you Activision)
     
    ------------
     
    Don't know why I felt the need to do a rant at 2AM, but hope you enjoyed anyhow. Just trying to spread some truth
  13. 1Bit

    Kung Fury

    By 1Bit,

    seriously, you all need to watch this piece of pure art Kung Fury is a short film packed with action, comedy, dinosaur-riding vikings with miniguns, nazis and kung fu, all in a nice VHS style video celebrating the beauty of the 80s!
     

     
    Also who could forget the wonderfully 80s style theme song sung by Hasselhoff?
     

  14. 1Bit
    So, it seems the long awaited 100th episode hath arrived, bringing with it a colourful cast of background ponies and a multitude of crazy shenanigans that only such an episode could pull off. Many were worried about this episode; sure the concept seemed a little off, there was a lot that could go wrong.
     
    But in my opinion, it was one glorious celebration of both MLP FiM and its large brony following.
     

    ----


     

    THE STORY


     
    So, first off the story. One thing leading up to the episode that worried me is how they could possibly craft the episode so that it was both somehow believable in its story and yet still connect all the different ponies it intended to include and I must say, the staff did a fine job of creating a story for the episode.
    Using Cranky and Matilda's wedding as a backdrop meant that the episode could easily transition between the various characters as they prepared for the wedding without it seeming forced or weird or out of place, which was a relief to say the very least. All of their little story arcs were entertaining and very well done. There was clearly a lot of fan service going on with each of these arcs...but more on all that a little bit later
     

    THE CHARACTERS


    I think that everyone had their own ideas about how certain characters might be portrayed in the episode. It was difficult to guess how much the writing staff would follow what the fandom had made up about the background ponies and I think we got a nice balance of fan ideas and the writing staff's.
     
    Personally, I believe Dr Whooves contributions to the episode as well as Octavia and Vinyl's scenes were the most entertaining overall. I think that the doctor's character was well written with a nice hint of quirkiness in everything he did or said as well as the little references to the fandom's portrayal of him. Also, his voice was rather well done too! Although, I mean...David Tennant would have just been too damn amazing to have voice him!
     
    Octavia and Vinyl's crazy chaotic rampage through town was one of my favourite moments of the whole thing. The music was crazy, the speed of it all was crazy, the amount of ponies flying all over the place was crazy! I just sat for the entire scene with a gaping smile on my face thinking "what am I watching right now?!" and to be honest, that kind of describes the episode as a whole; It's not to be taken seriously, it was pure, ridiculous fun to celebrate the show. So sorry to anyone who expected anything else, but thats what the episode is...pure fun.
     

    THE FAN SERVICE


    I've seen quite a lot of people saying it was all a little too 'overdone' in this episode, crossing over into fan pandering territory. While I can see WHY people may think that, I would disagree. The episode was inspired by many fan ideas, but it still felt like it wasn't too overdone so that a younger viewer with no knowledge of the fandom's creations and input would still be able to enjoy the episode's silly craziness.
     
    In fact, thinking back, there is no real fan idea that's been fully canonised by the episode, just small parts. Things like Derpy's muffins or Octavia and Vinyl being roommates; they're just little nods to the fandom's ideas surrounding these background ponies and I think it was all executed very well indeed.
     
    To be honest, I really thought I'd have more to say for this section...hm.
     

    CONCLUSION/JUDGEMENT


    To truly enjoy this episode, you need to take it for what it is. It isn't the same deep and sometimes serious episodes we've had from FiM from the past. It's just a whacky celebration of everything that is just entertaining and fun. Nothing more, nothing less. Although Mayor Mare's words at the end during the wedding ceremony do point to some sort of possible lesson in the episode. So, in my opinion, 'Slice Of Life' was a wonderful, bright episode which celebrated the fandom we all love and the show we all enjoy. I always find something new each time I replay the episode and each time, I still find it all as entertaining as I did the first time.
     
    SCORE
    9/10 - A thoroughly entertaining episode!
     
    Good Points
    -Clever story which allowed for smooth transitions between individual story arcs
    -Right mix of fan service and the writer's own input
    -Gummy's scene...goddamn
     
    Bad Points
    -Bon Bon's secret agent scene was a little overdone
    -Despite them meant to having a smaller role, it would have been nice to see more input from the mane cast
  15. 1Bit
    Life has been hard as of recent for me. I guess we all go through it at some stage and if you don't, you're one of the lucky ones. The human condition and the self-awareness of our minds leads us down paths we will always regret and puts us in holes that we never wanted to be in. During this time, we can feel more miserable than we imagined possible, no matter how good a person or how happy a person you thought you were.
     
    But we all have that safe haven we can retreat to.
     
    People think it's always a place or a person we require, to give us comfort. But in fact, music can more often than not directly influence us and create certain emotions in us even when we feel down. That's the beauty of good music. There is no true way of describing good music because it is all in the eye of the beholder. And yet, I believe good music is whatever is able to truly evoke emotions in us, and make us feel a certain way or calm us down when our anxiety is high or comfort us and tell us that things get better. That is what good music should be. At least to me.
     
    Hope you all have a wonderful day <3
     

  16. 1Bit
    Ah, Rainbow Six Siege.


     

    It's honestly surprising to recall that the last time we received a Rainbow Six game was all the way back in 2008, with the launch of Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Since then it's been nothing but silence and cancellations. I doubt few even remember much of Rainbow Six Patriots (What Siege originally was meant to be) as it only released a trailer or two before the axe came down.


     

    But here we are, in 2016, just after the launch of Rainbow Six Siege in December, 2015. While it appears to head in a bold, new direction for the franchise, it still feels very 'Rainbow Six' and maintains the tactical finesse that made the older games stand out so much. If anything, this is one of the game's biggest successes when the market is dominated by twitch shooters such as Call Of Duty or Battlefield. The developers stayed true to the franchise's pedigree instead of caving in to the mainstream audience, and I respect that greatly as the work they have put in has created a fun, addicting game with high stakes and even higher tension every time you play.


     



     

    Rainbow Six Siege features three prominent game-modes presented to you right off the bat : Situations, Terrorist Hunt and Multiplayer. Situations is Siege's dedicated single player experience, offering a variety of missions that teach you the basics of the game while also incorporating the underlying narrative of the game itself. Through these situations, you begin to learn about a new terror group known as 'The White Masks'. Little is ever told about these mysterious new antagonists, but what is clear is that they are a threat large enough to mean Team Rainbow is to be redeployed.


     

    The narrative serves little other than to give the game some basis to work on. The Situations aren't a single player campaign, so, similar to Titanfall in some ways, the story is really just ongoing with no pre-determined resolution or conclusion. However, in the brief cutscenes before each Situation, it is soon clear that The White Masks are a truly terrifying group, making killing them that much more satisfying. These situations are fun and very intuitive in introducing you to the basic mechanics you will be using throughout your time in Rainbow Six Siege, and the hefty rewards offer all the more incentive to play them.


     

    Terrorist Hunt is a mode any classic Rainbow Six fan will recognise in an instant. As Team Rainbow, it is your job to enter a building and clear out a hostile hold-out. What's great about Terrorist Hunt is it is enjoyable in both singe player and co-op play, with difficulty nicely balanced to the amount of players in the game. One major step-up from previous iterations of the mode is the inclusion of different versions of Terrorist Hunt such as disarming a bomb or extracting a hostage from a fortified location. It helps keep things fresh, so you're no longer just exterminating the set number of AIs dotted around the map.



    Speaking of AIs, this is another area that Siege absolutely excels in. While PvP may have been their main focus, the developers clearly put a TON of time into making the AI some of the most realistic I've seen in any FPS to this date. During your assualt, terrorist's will find flanking routes or retreat into rooms in order to lure you into an ambush. When one terrorist with a shield pushes your position, another one or two will use him as cover, occasionally peeking out to try and hit a few shots on you. All of this really adds to the enjoyment of it all, knowing that you can't rely on the AI being stupid in order to win. You need REAL tactics.


     



     

    And now for multiplayer. I've sunk quite a few hours into Siege already, and about 90% of those hours are dedicated solely to the PvP elements. There is something incredibly addicting about Siege's multiplayer. Is it the rush of adrenaline you feel when your the last man left on your team? Is it the wave of relief that sweeps over you as you defuse the bomb with mere seconds remaining? Is it all the excitement as your team breaches into a room and things swiftly turn chaotic as both teams hunker down and try their best to outmatch one another? It's the little moments in Rainbow Six SIege, when its all down to the wire, that make it special.


     

    Rainbow Six Siege has a wealth of characters available to you for online play (your introduced to many in the Situations). These characters harken from all around the globe, recruited to Team Rainbow from organisations such as the SAS and the GIGN and it's very clear who's from what faction as every special forces seems to have a 'house style' which every character follows in some way. Each of these characters is fully fleshed out with background information, psychological profiles and past military experience which makes them feel VERY real, which in turn, makes the game feel more real. All of these characters also have their own specialisations, wielding unique gadgets and weapons which provide different uses to your team. A good team knows what operators are best for what situation, and plan accordingly.


     




    From Smoke's Operator Cutscene. He is portrayed in both a haunting and menacing way with a beautiful use of colours and cinematography.


     

    However, all of this praise does not mean Siege is perfect in any way.


     

    Just like any Ubisoft game at the moment, Siege suffers from various server-side issues such as extended matchmaking times, connecting to the wrong data centre and failures to synchronise your data from a match. All of these are frustrating when they happen, and we only have to hope these are all quickly resolved considering steps have already been taken to improve all of them.


     

    Another problem is the UI. Not in the design itself, but it is incredibly slow. Menu's seem to take longer to load than they should and the frame rate seems to stutter if you try to move through the menu's at any great speed. It seems like a small thing, but it can grow to be a nuisance during extended play times.


     




     

    Overall, Rainbow Six Siege is an incredibly fun experience. It offers unique gameplay (especially in the console market) as well as having a large amount of replay value due to the unprecedented amount of freedom when it comes to tactics and destruction. Siege decides to focus on its most tense moments, to make sure your blood is pumping and your heart is jumping out of your throat. It wants your sweat and tears for its own.


     

    FINAL VERDICT : 9/10



    While I originally intended to give it an 8, the developers have done a brilliant job keeping on top of many of the problems plaguing Siege and have taken plenty of steps to not only rectify the situation, but improve upon what was already there.


     
     
     

    Also free DLC. Y'know.


  17. 1Bit
    wow, crazy to think season 5 is already over. Feels like it wasn't too long ago the premiere came out
     
    and what a finale it was! and with what a surprising writer!
     
    The episode certainly played out differently to how I expected it to but what was most surprising to me was seeing that Josh Haber wrote the finale. Kudos to him for making such an exciting finale, he's certainly becoming an incredibly good writer since the beginning of season 5
     
    There was a lot of interesting parts to this finale, especially the depiction of each alternate universe which made for tons of cool moments as well as so many opportunities for artwork, fanfiction and music. Seriously fandom, get on that!
     
    While I was hoping Starlight would stay evil, I'm not too frustrated by the redemption since she'll be a recurring character in season 6 so it'll be a much smoother transition from evil to good than just the finale.
     
    As I say, this is just early impressions so no in-depth details and just a lot of generalisations but take it for what you will
     
    Overall I'd rate the finale a 9/10, easily being one of the best finale's I've watched from the show. Good job Josh Haber on making a memorable and exciting adventure for the final two-parter!
  18. 1Bit
    Prior to the game's launch on October 27th, Kazuma Jinnouchi has released the full soundtrack on Soundcloud for our ears' pleasure, and after listening to it multiple times, I feel like giving my quick, humble opinion on the score for the game!


     
     
     

    -------------


     
     
     

    All in all, nothing to complain about! Kazuma's abilities as a composer clearly shine in this soundtrack with his masterful combination of themes and motifs from both the classic Halo trilogy and Halo 4's newer, more synthesized pieces. His ability to switch between the two helps to also distinguish the two main characters within the story itself; Master Chief and Spartan Locke.


     
     
     

    While Chief's tracks often pay respects to the classic motif's and are characterised by violins and big brass, Locke's tracks have an extra amount of complexity to them, with unique and interesting synthesized layers combined with the large orchestra befitting of a sweeping sci-fi narrative.


     
     
     

    --------------


     
     
     

    At this point, before seeing how they're implemented in the game itself, my favourite track from the OST has to be Blue Team. This track pays homage to the fan-favourite piece 117 from Halo 4's OST as well as involving new and fresh elements which give it the distinct Halo 5 vibe.



    It is notably more emotional and dramatic than it's predecessor and is one hell of a track overall. The Trials may be excellent due to it's capturing of some of Halo CE through 3's most memorable motifs, but Blue Team is a masterpiece.


     
     
     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDT_qESA8Xc

     
     
     

    Some other notable tracks that made an appearance on the score would be Scavengers and Crypt. These are two more stand-out pieces that are not only used beautifully in the game but also are excellent to listen to by themselves.


     

    Scavengers most recognisably takes elements from Halo 2's soundtrack and, unsurprisingly, is one of chief's themes. The constant of the drums driving the narrative of the track are incredibly reminiscent of Marty's and marks one of the few examples of the newer Halo tracks that makes use of Halo's history with scores lead by powerful drums alone. This when combined with it's incredible third act, where all elements of the orchestra come together in one final effort (see what I did there?), make Scavengers yet another piece Kazuma can be proud of.


     

    Crypt in comparison, seems to stray slightly from the classic motif's and yet still retains poise, elegance and an exhilarating 'Halo' feel. The track makes use of more electronic sounds, befitting of the moment in the game when it is used (traversing Genesis' landscape trying to locate Cortana). This is infused with the 117 motif that is a recurring element of the track to make a piece that feels personal to both Chief and Cortana simultaneously, in a similar way to how Green And Blue did before it in Halo 4's campaign.


  22. 1Bit

    Music Of The Day =3

    By 1Bit,

    Hope you guys are all having a wonderful day The sun is out and shining over here and the music is blasting Catch a track down below
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRuv0P2GB1M
  23. 1Bit
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Forza Horizon 2 is the latest entry in the highly successful 'Forza' racing series, exclusively available for the Xbox platform. Unlike the the franchises signature 'Motorsport' line of games, Forza Horizon 2 takes an open world approach at the simulator, offering a more casual experience inviting to both veterans of the series and newcomers.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Forza Horizon 2 delivers on every level. It's quite easy to say this might just be the greatest Forza game to date.



    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    The Open World



    One thing that is apparent with Forza Horizon 2, right from the beginning, is that this is a game that wants to immerse you in the world. Straight from the get go, you find yourself hurtling down the coasts of Europe, with the primary goal of reaching the Horizon Festival (sort of the main hub), taking in the stunning views, breathtaking detail and wonderful cars.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    There is so much eye candy in this game. Every inch of the world is beautiful.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Yes, the world might look pretty. But is it interesting? Is there plenty to explore? Oh yes, there is.



    The map offers a variety of locations to drive through with six key destinations; Castelleto, Nice, Sisteron, San Giovanni, Saint-Martin and Montellino. Each one of these locations has something new to offer. While you'll be dodging and weaving through the busy traffic on the tight streets in Nice, you'll be barrel-rolling and flying through rolling fields and vineyards in Montellino. This kind of variation keeps the game fresh and new as you travel to each new location.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Unlike it's predecessor, Forza Horizon 2 allows for a lot more freedom in its open world as well. Feel like leaving the beaten path for a while and carving your own path through massive forests? Go for it. Feel like you'd rather see if your car can fly than actually race it? Why the heck not?


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it's a pick-up truck.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    While the world may be smaller than that of other open world racing games such as The Crew, Playground Games did a great job at making it feel alive and exciting.



    It's a shame the experience is slightly soured at times by invisible walls which plague some parts of the map, however, this is just a nitpick. Really, I've only had problems with such walls once or twice in the 200 hours I've sunk into the game.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    The Cars



    Many a time in the campaign will the game remind you that the Horizon Festival is truly a celebration of cars. With the lineup of vehicles that Forza Horizon 2 brings to the table, its quite easy to believe.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    Every car is just gorgeous in this game. A lot of love has been put into their design.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    You have everything from Modern Supercars to Cult Classics in Forza Horizon 2, each car belonging to its own class and each car feeling unique and fresh. Forza has had a long history of delivering excellent sound design and realistic physics which makes it stand out from other racing games out there. Sadly, the first Forza Horizon lacked much of what made the series great; the tuning, the physics, the full customization.



    Fortunately, all of this has been put into Forza Horizon 2. With full access to tuning and car customisation, alongside the Forza Motorsport 5 car physics, Forza Horizon 2 still retains a lot of what makes Forza great in terms of cars. Sometimes, I feel like racing in my Lamborghini Huracan (my favourite Supercar in this game) and other times I feel completely silly, so grab a tiny little hatchback and supercharge the thing. It can get pretty ridiculous.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    With some upgrades, this becomes the most terrifying car ever. Don't let the pizza fool you.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    The Content



    As I stated previously in this review, I have put around 200 hours into Forza Horizon 2 already (Yes, the game's been out for a while but I felt I needed to spend time with it if I was to give it a proper review) and I have only completed 30% of the game. Yep. 200 hours and only 30% done.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    That is 168 championships in total. Each consisting of 4 races.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Road trips across the open world connect each location. After you've finished a championship in Nice, you get to enjoy a road trip across the map to Sisteron, taking in more and more of the landscape. It also gives you a chance to test out whichever car you've chosen for the championship in the given location. These road trips are a refreshing break from the intense races and battles against other racers, allowing you to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.



    Aside from the main championships, there are also bonus activities that gradually open up around the map as you progress through the game. 'Bucket Lists' are small events, often asking you to beat a time or set a high skill score, in some of the rarer and more expensive cars of the festival. Especially in the lower levels, these Bucket Lists are great tasters of some of the best, exotic cars the game has to offer such as the Koenigsegg Agera or the McLaren P1.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    The Bucket Lists are a nice change-up from the standard championships.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    But, what really stands out in this game, are the showcase events. These showcase events put you to the test against all kinds of things, driving a variety of vehicles. These showcases are the highlights of the Forza Horizon 2 campaign. Each one brings its own set of thrills and the game does an excellent job of making the race feel incredibly close (whether you drive well or not). I wont spoil everything...but these events will leave you craving for more.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    Yes, that is a train you're racing against.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    The multiplayer of Forza Horizon 2 is equally entertaining. The game's boasts of seamless multiplayer is completely true; It's incredibly easy to alternate between single player and multiplayer with the click of a button. A lot of what is available to you in the single player can also be accessed with friends. Co-op bucket lists, Road Trips, Championships and special Playground gametypes (Infection and King) fill the multiplayer with even more hours of content for you to enjoy. It's just a shame so many players are such dirty racers half the time. It can detract from the otherwise wonderful multiplayer experience that Forza Horizon 2 delivers.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Final Verdict



    I truly can't praise this game enough. Whatever shortcomings it may have are just completely outshined by everything else in Forza Horizon 2. I follow many others in saying...Forza Horizon 2 has set a new benchmark for the racing game genre.


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    10/10



    ​+Wonderfully crafted world



    +Excellent overall polish



    +Exciting Showcase Events



    +A wealth of content



    +Well designed multiplayer


     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    -Invisible walls can be annoying at times



    -Dirty racers can sour multiplayer races



    -Ben, your so called 'friend', is a complete arse.



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    A 10/10 is not by all means perfect, but is pretty darn good overall!


     
     
     
     
     
     
     





    There are times when you question your life choices.



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