Watch Dogs 2 and Wrench Figurine!

Watch Dogs 2 from Ubisoft was released the other day, i pre-ordered and picked it up release day!

Although the first one wasn't the most popular among the gaming communities, i enjoyed it. I didn't like the games protagonist, Aiden Pierce, i thought he was very boring and his story was just a typical run of the mill revenge based story. But i did like the gameplay and the fact that Ubisoft were trying something a little different, in terms of the hacking elements of the game. So when Ubisoft announced Watch Dogs 2 i was always going to pre-order.

The game is fantastic, it is a huge upgrade on the first game. The protagonist in this one, Marcus Holloway is far more likeable and interesting, the story is also much more compelling and ties in a lot more to the idea of hacking, as he joins a hacker group and therefore it makes much more sense that he has access to hacking technology than Aiden Pierce did in the first game. The setting is also cool and makes sense, the fictionalised version of San Francisco and it's Bay Area feel like the perfect home for the game, Especially as it is home to Silicon Valley. The game has good comedy in the cut-scenes and the world is the best i have seen in a video game in terms of the NPCs living inside of it. They all appear to be living their own lives within the world as opposed to a lot of games which fill the world with characters who just appear to be standing around doing very little. A great is example is the other i day i was in the middle of a story mission, and while outside of a building, i was looking for a potential way in, and at random a NPC came walking down the street with a baseball bat in hand, approached a parked car and started to smash the car with the bat, while screaming about someone having cheated on him. I stayed to watch in amusement while other NPCs did the same. One of them phoned the police, who subsequently arrived, to which the man then ran to another parked car, broke the window, opened the door and sped away while the police gave chase. All of this just happened at random in the world created by Ubisoft and it really makes the game feel more alive.

One element of the game i am not a big fan of is the driving. I don't feel as though it matches up to some other open world games, such as my personal favourite for car handling, Mafia 3. The car handling is something which you will adjust to, but does feel a little weak and arcade-like.

The game offers some familiar hacking elements as the first, but also adds a host more hacking options. The introduction of better hand to hand combat and a stun-gun, mixed with stealth, an RC Car and a quadcopter means you can complete the entire game without killing anyone, which i always try to do on the story missions, although playing on the toughest difficulty level, i can not always achieve.

Overall, i am very much enjoying the game, and only the fact that Planet Coaster was released two days later has seen me stop playing.

I have seen a lot on Social Media complaining about Watch Dogs 2, but a lot of the criticisms seem to be from people who are just anti-Ubisoft and haven't even given Watch Dogs 2 a chance. Should they do so, they might find that Ubisoft have really changed as of late. They did say in an honest interview earlier in the year, that they wish to change their ways a little with regards to misleading trailers and announcements. They said that they wanted to steer away from overhyping games and showing actual builds in trailers. You can really sense this has started to happen with Ubisoft now with Watch Dogs 2, which has definitely not had a graphical downgrade.

It's definitely, in my opinion, the best open world game of the year, and one of (if the) best titles in the genre and i would absolutely recommend the game.

Video Game Collectables!

I love to collect video game collectables. The ones i have been collecting are figurines (mostly from the ubi-collectable series) and video game posters. These are some of my figurines. I will post another collection showing my video games posters soon. I purchase my collectables from the Forbidden Planet store in Shaftsbury Avenue, London.

Assassins Creed: Altair Ibn -La'Ahad from the first game in the franchise and Ezio Auditore Da Firenze from Assassins creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations.. Ezio is my favourite character form the franchise. I liked his charisma and personality, he also had one of the most engaging stories across the Assassins Creed games. Altair was also a great character with an interesting background and introduced us to one of my favourite video game franchises ever.

Assassins Creed: Jacob Frye from Assassins Creed: Syndicate and Ratonhnhake:ton (later dubbed Connor) from Assassins Creed III.. These two characters are from my two favourite settings within the franchise. I live in London and always wanted an AC game to be set within the city. And the setting and time period for AC3 (Colonial Boston and New York before, during and after the American War of Independence) was amazing with its mountains, forests and sea. Although they were also my least favourite games in the series. I found Connor himself to be quite dull and the story was basic revenge, and although the character of Jacob Frye was great, some of the gameplay elements introduced in the game were not to my taste and were a little nontraditional for the AC franchise.

Assassins Creed: Arno Dorian from Assassins Creed: Unity and Edward Kenway from Assassins Creed: Black Flag.. Arno was the lead in AC: Unity, which was set in one of the most stunning settings to date, Paris. The game itself was heavily criticised, but i loved it. I didn't experience the level of bugs that others reported and enjoyed the game thoroughly. Arno himself was charming and a very relatable, likeable character who brought a great story with him. Kenway was also a great character, he was very charismatic and brought a great setting of the high seas. Sailing ships around the games map and discovering islands was incredible.

Far Cry: Ajay Ghale from Far Cry 4 and Vaas Montenegro from Far Cry 3.. Both of these characters were the antagonists from Far Cry 3 and 4. Ajay was an excellently designed character, he had lots of charm, but was psychotic and it was excellently performed. I feel like you didn't see enough of him in the game though. Vaas Montenegro is my favourite video game character of all time. The performance of his character by actor Michael Mando was incredible. He not only voiced him but was motion captured and also created the character himself. Ubisoft originally had a very different idea of who Vass would be, but Michael decided to change him at the audition and Ubisoft loved the performance so much they re-wrote the character to match. He was mentally very unstable, but witty and had a charm to him.

Uncharted and Watch Dogs: Nathan Drake from the Uncharted franchise and Aiden Pierce from Watch Dogs.. Nathan Drake is the very lovable lead character from the Uncharted series of games. Created by Naughty Dogg, it was one of the greatest video game franchises ever. Nathan has a great (if predictable) look, a great sense of humour and it always excellently acted out throughout the series and is in many ways a mascot for the Sony Playstation. Aiden Pierce, is in my opinion, a very dull, un-interested character with a poor back story to match. It is a shame because i really enjoyed Watch Dogs, but the game was definitely its strong suit rather than the lead character. It's no surprise that Ubisoft have replaced him in the next game in the series. Having said that, i still have the figurine because i enjoyed the game.

Weapons of Choice!

These are my weapons of choice! Obviously they are all video game controllers. Video games are my biggest past time/passion. I only play video games for pleasure, i've never considered professional gaming, but have been a avid gamer since receiving my first games console in 1992, a Sega MasterSystem, to which i still own to this day, albeit for nostalgic purposes rather than because i still play, which is why i didn't include it in this post. 

I remember the days sat in front of my TV playing my MasterSystem, such games as Dynamite Dux, Golden Axe, Alex Kidd and my personal favourite Double Dragon. 

These days i have an array of consoles and a gaming PC to fulfil my gaming pleasures. These are some of my most used 'weapons'

Steam Controller! 
Steam OS, PC, Alienware Alpha R2 Console.

I bought one of these because i love PC gaming, but was brought up on consoles. I like the experience of being able to combine the two. I use it with both my Alienware Alpha R2 and Gaming PC. It can replace keyboard and mouse on most games, and although most will ask the question 'why on earth would you', i have just always preferred to game with a controller than keyboard and mouse. Including FPS. My most played game with this controller to date is Cities: Skylines. Other mentions go to Empyrion Galactic Survivor & TerraTech.

Dualshock 4 Controller!

Playstation 4.

I have had every iteration of the Sony Playstation. Overall would have to say it is my favourite console franchise. Some of my most notable games and franchises across the playstation family are GTA, PES, Battlefield, Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider, Uncharted and Last of Us. My current most played games on the playstation 4 however are Battlefield 1, NBA 2K 17, PES 2017. With BF1 being my current go to game. I am aware that i can get a slightly upgraded experience playing games such as Battlefield 1 on PC rather than PS4, but console is where i am most at home in my enjoyment. The simplicity of consoles is a comfort. And although i love great graphics, i am not that concerned with increasing frame rates and res. As long as the spec is what i consider to be playable, i am fine. When playing certain games, i love to plug my over-ear headphones (Bower and Wilkins P5 Series 2) to increase the audio aspect of the games. And even with a sound bar connected to the TV, the experience is incomparable.  

 

Xbox One Controller!

Alienware Alpha R2 and PC.

I don't actually own an xbox One console, but bought the controller for use with my Alienware Alpha R2 and PC. I have a steam controller, but the lack of a second thumb stick makes some games, such as FPS less enjoyable and more cumbersome. I have to say, the Xbox One controller is my favourite in terms of design, build quality and in terms of comfort. My most played games on those two machines with this controller are Payday 2 and Call of Duty. 

Nvidia Shield Controller!

I bought an Nvidia Shield TV Console because i am a fan of casual gaming as much as what would likely be considered more hardcore gaming. I like to spend evenings before i go to bed playing a slower paced, more casual game on the Shield. The controller for this is a little too large in many ways, i have seen some plans from Nvidia for a re-designed Shield controller which would help with this issue, but as it is, the controller itself is actually comfortable to use and although large, doesn't suffer from cramping my hands which you might expect. I enjoy the shield as an entertainment centre as much as a games console. Using the YouTube app and catch up TV services. My most played games are Asphalt 8, Crossy Road (because someone has to play it) and GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas. Handily the shield console itself is compatible with my Samsung TV and remote, so if i am using the console just for entertainment purposes, i don't need to use the gamepad for it. 

Nyko Bluetooth Gamepad!
Android devices.

This is a bluetooth controller from Nyko, it can be used with an array of devices, although i originally bought it and primarily use it for use on Android Tablets (before the introduction of the Nvidia Shield) plugged into my television. I don't use this too much these days, except maybe when travelling on a plane. I bring an Android tablet pre-loaded with games and enjoy them on the flight. My most played games would include Asphalt 8 (pre-shield), Beach Buggy Blitz and Shine Runner.

Nintendo Gamecube Gamepad!

I have always been huge Nintendo fan. Especially in their earlier days, with consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, The N64 and Gamecube. I have owned all Nintendo consoles except for the Nintendo WiiU. I still have and play the N64 from time to time. Some of my favourites from the history of Nintendo consoles would be Super Mario World, Mario Sunshine, NBA Street, Burnout, Freedoms Fighters, Mario Kart and James Bond Goldeneye. One of my all time favourite games across all consoles and PC, not just Nintendo is Freedom Fighters. A game i wish would someday receive a sequel, but fear it never will. It was revolutionary at the time for its squad based combat. I still play that game to date along with Burnout 2 - exclusively for the Crash Mode. In terms of design, i have to say no controller has come close to matching this one in terms of the two triggers. Somehow they have the best experience which has not be replicated even all these years later. 

Elephas EPR60 Portable Projector!

Compact portable projector - purchased from Amazon for £65

I purchased this affordable, compact projector before going on holiday. I wanted to take something with me in order to entertain myself while staying in a family home away in Spain. I opted to take my Nvidia Shield console because i am an obsessed gamer and i had also stored some movies on a USB drive - both of which could be utilised with the Nvidia Shield. The issue was, the old television set at the home we were staying didn't have HDMI input. So i was looking on Amazon for a cheap projector with the plan to take it away with me then sell it on Ebay when we returned. I found myself enjoying the projector so much i have held on to it a year later and continue to use it around my home. It would be easy to assume a poor quality due to the price point, but i was pleasantly surprised.

I love just spending evenings watching YouTube videos projected onto my bedroom wall. Or watching to odd movie on an equivalent 100" screen.

The Elephas EPR60 displays a picture size up to 110" (inches) @ a resolution of 720p. So while not full HD, still represents a good quality, especially considering the low price point. The weakest point of the projector is definitely its built in speaker, which while reasonably loud, has little to no bass and therefore is very tinny at loud volumes. This is easily fixed, as i did, by connecting a small external speaker via the 3.5mm headphone jack.

One cool feature is the USB Out, meaning if you do choose to plug in an external speaker, the projector will actually charge the speaker at the same time, meaning you won't need to worry about the speaker running out of battery before you have finished.

The Elephas EPR60 comes with a 1000 lumens bulb. So it does require a fairly darkened room in order to get a good watching experience. It has a lever for optical focus, so you can sharpen the image depending on how far away you are from the wall or surface you are projecting to. It also allows you to tilt the projection, so if you are pointing the projector to a wall at an angle, the image will not be distorted due to the tilt. It does not allow for optical sizing however, in order to determine the picture size, you will need to physically move the projector backward or forward.

My experience of using this projector has been a positive one while using it to play games on an android console, watching movies and YouTube videos. The picture quality is certainly usable at 720p. But if you are a graphic or pixel number enthusiast, you may be disappointed with the lack of support for 1080p. It will certainly not match up to your full HD television set, but it was never meant to compete with those.

This is made for those who want something portable. Maybe those who travel regularly. It is ideal for playing games as i did on an Android format as those games are not so graphically demanding. You could easily hook up a PS4, Xbox One, DVD, Blueray or other device, but your experience will depend on your willingness to accept the lower resolution.

If you are someone who is curios to try projection televisions, but do not want to commit to the purchasing an expensive set. This could be a great way to see how it suits your lifestyle or home without having to shell out a small fortune. You could consider this a starter or introductory projector. Just make sure you have a 3.5mm connectable speaker to use.