What I'm Getting—August 2016 Edition

No Man's Sky is out today... and I didn't get it. That's not what this post is about—sort of. It relates, but only because this blog post is about the games I'm looking forward to for the month of August.

Much to my surprise, there are plenty of games coming out this month, but there are only two games I'm wanting to buy this month. The first game on my radar is the King of Fighters XIV for the PlayStation 4. It is coming out on August 23. If you've followed me on social media and on this blog, then you'll already know this: I love fighting games. Am I good at them? Sometimes, but not really. I do enjoy the challenge and the demo that was released last month on PSN has me convinced that I'll have a good time with this game.

The second game on my list for the month of August is a RE-release of a RE-release. Does that make it a re-re-release? Is there an official name for a re-release of a re-release? By the way, did my two terribly placed hints give away the name of the game? If not, that's okay because all I'm doing is making this post longer by not telling you the name of the game anyway, so I'll end this sentence and tell you the name of the game in the next sentence. Resident Evil 4 is finally making its way onto the PS4 and the Xbox One. I'm not sure why Capcom went in reverse order, nor do I really care to do any investigating of my own, but if someone happens to know why Capcom released Resident Evil 6 first, followed by Resident Evil 5, and now Resident Evil 4, go ahead and let me know in the comments section.

Anyway, I loved playing Resident Evil 4 on the PS3, so I'm pretty darn sure I'll end up getting it on PS4. It'll be $19.99, so it isn't like it'll hurt the bank. I think. And hope.

What are you getting this month? Did you get No Man's Sky? Will you be getting KOF XIV and/or Resident Evil 4? Are you leaning more towards Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse (I still need to beat SMT IV first...) or something else altogether? Lemme know in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

REVIEW: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes for PlayStation 4

Since E3, there have been quite a few game series I have been obsessed about. Metal Gear Solid is one of those series. I have been a huge fan since I played and beaten Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes on the Nintendo GameCube. (Fun fact: I haven't beaten the original Metal Gear Solid. I need to do that.) I can remember tricking my mom into buying me Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the PS2. I still feel bad about that, too. As you can see, I have a history with Metal Gear Solid. There is more, but I will stop for now.

Going into Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, I knew I wasn't going to experience a six to ten hour story. I also wasn't expecting to beat the game in an hour. Taking place a few months after the events of Peace Walker, Big Boss finds himself having to rescue both Chico and Paz from an American black site on Cuba. As with any Metal Gear game, Big Boss must infiltrate the base without getting caught. Unlike recent Metal Gear games, there aren't too many cutscenes in Ground Zeroes.

The thing that bothered me the most about Ground Zeroes was how abrupt the ending was. I was expecting more gameplay during the main mission, but it comes to a sudden halt. I also felt that a lot of what you see in the cutscenes were shown at E3 2013 and in subsequent videos prior to the release of Ground Zeroes. The small amount of gameplay really makes it hard to justify its current price point on any of the consoles.

Having played MGSV on PS4 and PS3, I am really impressed by how much better the game looks on PS4. I originally bought the PS4 version of the game, but I wanted to see how different it looked, as well as played, on the PS3. Both games felt the same despite having a couple actions mapped to different buttons. The biggest difference was in the quality of the game. Ground Zeroes looks good on PS3, but it looks great on PS4. I really can't wait to get my hands on The Phantom Pain.

If you are familiar with a Metal Gear game, then you will know that the objective of the game is to avoid any confrontation with the enemy. Ground Zeroes is much like Peace Walker, as you will receive a grade after you complete a mission. In Ground Zeroes, there is the main mission known as Ground Zeroes and then there are side-ops within the mission itself. The side-ops missions are pretty fun. They also add a little diversity to the main mission of the game. Sadly, all the missions take place on the same base. Enemies will appear in different locations and the weather may be different, but other than that nothing else changes.

There are some neat features in this game, such as a Reflex feature. If Big Boss is spotted by an enemy, the game will slowdown so you can take the enemy out by any means necessary to prevent him from notifying his comrades of your location. You can also pinpoint enemies by using your binoculars. It can be really helpful when you want to know where an enemy is when you're trying to sneak around them.

Ground Zeroes is a lot of fun, but it's downfall is the length. MGSV: Ground Zeroes will cost you $19.99 on PS3 and Xbox 360; on PS4 and Xbox One, you will have to pay $29.99 for the game. It definitely is the best looking Metal Gear Solid game and I really like the new stealth mechanics thrown into the mix. I just wish there was more to Ground Zeroes than what we ended up getting. We are being constantly told that The Phantom Pain is 200 times bigger than Ground Zeroes, but I don't know how impressed I am about that considering how small Ground Zeroes is. I liked it, but my only wish is that it were a longer game. Who doesn't want more Metal Gear?

OVERALL SCORE:

7.5/10

REVIEW: Tomb Raider Definitive Edition for PS4

Ever since I played Tomb Raider on the PlayStation 3 I have wanted to write a review for the reboot. It was the first Tomb Raider game I have ever finished. It wasn't my first Tomb Raider game, but the reboot of the franchise has made me a fan of the series and of Lara Croft. I have only really played Tomb Raider: Underworld and a demo of one of the PS1 Tomb Raider games, and this version of Tomb Raider is much more intense than either of those.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is the re-release version of the Tomb Raider game we got last year on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. When I played Tomb Raider on the PS3, I thought the game looked fantastic. I immediately pre-ordered Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition for the PlayStation 4 the moment I found out about its imminent release. I loved playing the single player story and I had been itching to play it once more. I never expected to play it on PS4, though.

Developed originally by Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition was optimized for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with some help from Nixxes Software and United Front Games. The PS4 version was done by Nixxes Software and the Xbox One version was done by United Front Games. I have only played the PS4 version of the game since I don't own an Xbox One.

If you played Tomb Raider last year, then you are already familiar with the story. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is Lara Croft's origin story. She is on her first expedition in a search for the lost kingdom of Yamatai. Following her gut, Lara suggests that the team head east of Japan and end up shipwrecked on an island. Separated from from her team, Lara must struggle to keep herself alive, as well as the others. This is when Lara's wits and skills are put to the test.

Much like last year's version of the game, I still enjoy the story that is being told in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. It hasn't changed, and I am okay with that. Camilla Luddington does an amazing job portraying Lara Croft. She is by far the best voice actress in the entire game. Although the supporting cast is still a letdown in the PS4 and Xbox One versions, Luddington is still able to hold the game's story together.

Where Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition shines are in the graphics and the enhanced controls. When I played Tomb Raider on the PlayStation 3, the graphics blew me away. I know that it looked better on PC, but I mostly game on a dedicated gaming console. That being said, I wasn't sure how impressed I would be. I once owned Madden NFL 25 and that game failed to impress me. It didn't look much better than the PS3 version of the game. Battlefield 4 and Lego Marvel Super Heroes do look amazing on the PS4, but I feel as though Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition does an even better job of taking advantage of the next-gen hardware. The game runs at 6o frames per second. Its natural resolution is 1080p. Everything about Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is simply breathtaking. It has been several months since a game has made me want to stop playing and simply take in what I was looking at. The last game to do that for me was The Last of Us. The game runs silky smooth. The character models looks fantastic. It has taken me a while to get used to Lara's new face, but I like it now. She looks more realistic, and even looks more like her voice actress.

The controls feel tighter in the re-release as well. If there was one thing I didn't like about Tomb Raider last year, it was the controls. For some reason it felt somewhat difficult to maneuver Lara during certain points of the game. That hasn't been the case for me in the re-release. I haven't had any trouble playing the game as far as controls are concerned.

I also feel that the Quick Time Events aren't as difficult to perform in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition as they were in last year's game. I often found myself dying because I kept screwing up on the QTE moments of the game. There is a learning curve, but I don't feel it is quite as steep as it was before.

Like other games, Lara acquires new weapons and equipment to further aide her as she searches for her team and a way to survive the island they're on. The equipment she acquires can be pretty awesome. I won't say too much about it. You will just have to find out for yourself.

I never really got to play any multiplayer when I bought Tomb Raider on the PS3. I hadn't heard too many great things about it. I have played online a couple of times, but the lobbies are pretty dead. There aren't many people playing online. I am hoping it is because they're busy playing the story mode. There isn't anything great about the multiplayer. Honestly, I am only attempting to play online for the trophies. Once I have all the online trophies, I probably won't play online. There aren't many modes to choose from. What makes it worse is that when you find a game to play, there aren't many people to compete with. I wasn't sure why they included multiplayer when Tomb Raider came out last year and I'm still unsure as to why it was ever thought of.

Aside from the weak multiplayer, everything else is great about the game. The visuals are definitely the best part of the game. Everything from Lara's hair to the plants blowing in the wind. It all just looks great. I definitely can't wait for more Tomb Raider. Until then, I will continue to play Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition on the PlayStation 4.

OVERALL:

8.5/10

REVIEW: Elgato Game Capture HD

I have wanted to be able to record the video games I play onto my computer for the longest time. I love playing video games, and I enjoy writing about the games I have played. I was always under the impression that you needed a certain video capture card placed inside your computer, but since I currently have a laptop, there was only so much modifications I could do to it.

After coming to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to fulfill that desire, I gave up looking for alternatives, assuming that the video capture card was the only method. When The Last of Us arrived on PlayStation 3, I encountered a tweet with a picture attached to the tweet of a person getting ready to record gameplay on their MacBook Pro. I was vastly confused, considering how little customization one has after purchasing a MacBook Pro. I then noticed the hashtag "#Elgato."

I began searching for what an Elgato was. To my amazement/excitement, I finally found what I had been looking for all this time. It was pure coincidence that I even found out about this device.

I ordered my Elgato device on Amazon. It was only $159.95 ($20 less than its original price), and goes by the name "Elgato Game Capture HD PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 360 Recorder for Mac and PC up to 1080P (10025010)" in case you want to search for it on Amazon.

Although the name of the device states "PlayStation 3/Xbox 360," you aren't limited to just recording from a PS3 or an Xbox 360. The Elgato Game Capture HD is also capable of recording from an Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. These are the devices I have, but here's a list of what the Elgato Game Capture HD can record:

• Atari Jaguar,
• Microsoft Xbox
• Nintendo Wii U
• Nintendo Wii
• Nintendo GameCube
• Nintendo 64
• Super Nintendo
• Nintendo Entertainment System
• >Sega Dreamcast
• Sega Saturn
• Sega Genesis
• Sega Master System
• Sony PlayStation 2
• Sony PlayStation 1

(I got the list from Elgato Systems Technical Support forum.)

I mostly use my Elgato Game Capture HD for capturing gameplay from the games I play on my PlayStation 3. I plan to do more with it (such as record gameplay from the Xbox 360 we have back home in Oregon), but I really like what I am able to do with my PS3.

The PS3 does present a bit of a problem as far as recording is concerned. The Xbox 360 presents no problems at all, as all you need to do is connect an HDMI cable from the television to the Elgato device and then another HDMI cable from the Elgato device to the Xbox 360. Using the HDMI port on the PlayStation 3 is impossible due to HDCP (high definition copy protocol), so using an HDMI cable is out of the question. If you want to connect your PS3 to the Elgato Game Capture HD, you will need the PS3 cable that comes included with the PS3. I left mine back home since I never thought I would be in need of it. Fortunately, included in the box was a PlayStation 3 cable, so I was able to connect my PS3 to the Elgato Game Capture HD box without any issues. You can still use an HDMI cable for the television.

Since I've already mentioned what also came in the box, I will go onto mention what else is included. The other items included with the Elgato Game Capture HD and PS3 cable are: Quick Start Guide, USB cable, HDMI cable, and Component adapter. Elgato has you covered in case you're missing any of these cables, which is a huge plus to me.

The USB cable is very important, as you need it to hook up your computer of choice with the Elgato Game Capture HD in order to record video. The videos are then stored onto your computer to do as you please. You can record your voice while you record or you can do so afterwards when you've edited your video. Videos can be edited from the Elgato software or you can use your own video editor of choice to make any changes you deem necessary. The software is free to download from www.elgato.com.

One of the best things about the Elgato Game Capture HD is how simple it is to use it. There really is no learning curve at all. Just connect the device to your computer, television, and the console (or other electronic device) you wish to record from and press the big red circle to begin capturing what is on the screen. Once you're done, you have a couple of choices. You can upload the video onto YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. You can even send the video via email to someone.

Other features include changing the video format to be able to play it on an iPhone or iPad. There's even a feature to be able to play it on an Apple TV. There's a lot you can do with this device, and I love it.

Not only can you upload videos onto YouTube, you can also stream videos live on YouTube or Twitch. If you have a fanbase, you can have them follow you playing a game live, which I think is really cool. When I bought the Elgato Game Capture HD, I couldn't stream videos live on YouTube. A recent update allows you to do so. This goes to show just how supportive Elgato is of their game capture machine, and I am super grateful for that. With PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, videos can be recorded in 1080p as well, which is awesome. Other devices may not record in 1080p depending on how old they are (such as the PS2).

Be aware, though, that you need to know how much storage you have left on your hard drive. Videos can take a lot of room on your computer if you're recording in 1080p, so it is always good to know how many GB is left on the hard drive.

I love how many things you can record using the Elgato Game Capture HD. I was only intending to use it for my PS3, but since I can use it to record on other consoles and machines I plan to do so. This device is so simple to use and everything you need to record comes in the box. This is what I was looking for, and I hope it is of great service to you as well if you're in need of something like the Elgato Game Capture HD.

OVERALL SCORE:

9/10