Et tu, MGS: Ground Zeroes?

Recently, Game Informer shed some light upon the prequel chapter to MGSV: Phantom Pain, info about the story, gameplay and length... What concerns me is that it was revealed that when they played through the main story bit it took them just under 2 hours. Not only that but afterwards they finished speedruns in about 5 minutes (when skipping cutscenes). 

Look, I'm a huge MGS fan, always have been, I even liked MGS4 which I understand is a controversial opinion, but something isn't quite right here. The pricing for Ground Zeroes is ranging from 20-40 dollars, depending on platform of choice and digital vs retail. 20 dollars I kinda can accept, there is bonus missions and collectibles in there, but that price is only available for those who buy the digital version for Ps3/360.

As soon as you want the retail version on Ps3/360 or the digital version for Ps4/XB1 the price goes up to 30 dollars, then 40 dollars for the retail version for Ps4/XB1. Now I get that it's completely optional to go for the most expensive version out there but already the digital version for the Ps4/XB1 has a pretty daring price. 30-40 dollars for a 2 hour game is rather week, with bonus content or not.

Lets put this in perspective, shall we? Last year I bought Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon for 15 dollars, a standalone expansion to Far Cry 3. The campaign lasted about 6-8 hours while all the extra stuff, collectibles, clearing outposts and side missions added another 6-8 hours. That's a very good amount of content for 15 bucks. Now compare that to the 2 hour prequel chapter for MGS that you can pay up to 40 dollars for, am I the only one that thinks this kinda stinks?

I will still buy it, of course, since I want the full story for MGSV. Though I doubt I'll be buying it at release, I am yet to get a Ps4 and I do want the best possible version. I'll be seeing if I can get it on a sale or if they will still bundle it with MGSV: Phantom Pain later on.

"Well if you were going to buy it anyway then why rant?", simple, I just wanted to put this into perspective. A staff member from KojiPro attempted to defend the length by drawing comparisons to Journey and Dear Esther. Sure, they were also 2 hour games, however they were both also 15 dollars or less. I assume it's to late for them to change much at this point but I hope it doesn't become a "thing" for the future.

Pissed you off, huh?

Five Finger Fillet (Knife Game, just for fun)

No time to talk, just enjoy the video. Or don't. Depends if your into people doing stupid stuff with sharp objects or not. 

The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqawZsDsTbs

Toying with the thought of doing it blindfolded at some point, sounds like a good idea.

Don't dismiss Alien: Isolation!

Looks like the real deal to me!

Alien: Isolation was just announced by Sega and it's waking mixed feelings. Some say it looks good, but remember the deception surrounding Aliens: Colonial Marines way too well. Others like it or just dismiss it as "crap" for unknown reason. Well I'm here to urge those who dismiss it to give it a second chance. Of course be skeptical, but there's potential here as well.

All right, so obviously there's not really a whole lot to say about it with only a tiny bit of information and with it just being announced and all. But in short Alien: Isolation is not a shooter, it follows Ripley's daughter as she ventures out to see what happened with her mother. What does she stumble upon? Thousands of aliens just next to a big pile of guns? Nope, one alien, and no military weapons to blast it away.

If that idea doesn't send chills down the spine of any Alien fan then I don't really know what to say. Sure we can all be a bit skeptical after Colonial Marines but we can at least be sure that Isolation will come closer to being the game they set out to be without becoming some mindless shooter. Look, this is what they're basically trying to do, a survival horror with one aliens and not a ton of guns, nothing more and hopefully nothing less.

I don't know what it will turn out to be but just a mere shooter it will simply not be. Colonial Marines were always advertised as a shooter, we just didn't know how bad it would be. Maybe they should've given the brand a rest but I think late 2014 (possibly early 2015, lets not be too optimistic) will work out fine in the end if they do this right. I for one don't rule out that they can save Alien as a good game franchise.

So I don't know, just trying to keep positive about this game. To me it looks great, and to be honest it can only go upwards for the franchise from here. Hopefully it will surprise a lot of people (in good ways) and not be dismissed because of past blunders. Keep your minds open about it, all I'm saying here.

Top 5 most anticipated games of 2014! [Thompson Edition]

Well I didn't even think about making this list but after the top 5 games of 2013 and seeing how these lists were popping up all over the place, I thought I might as well do it too. Might just remind some people about games out there, and with that lets get counting! List will be as the previous one, 5-1.

5. The Evil Within
I have to be honest, I'm not a big horror-fan. That said, The Evil Withing made by the creator of Resident Evil is looking very interesting!

4. InFamous: Second Son
After playing the first two InFamous games and after having a great time with both, all I can say is I can't wait to see the next chapter of the saga. On a new piece of hardware no less. 

3. The Order 1886
A completely new game from a developer that's only been making PSP titles in the past... It's looking very interesting, no real gameplay have been shown yet but reading previews and seeing screenshots so far have me believing this will be one Ps4 title you don't want to miss!

2. Uncharted 4(?)
Not having a number or even proper subtitle yet, a new Uncharted game was not too long ago announced for Ps4.  Being a franchise I also hold dear, I can't wait to see what Naughty Dog is doing with this one. There's no doubt in my mind that they won't disappoint.

1. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes/Phantom Pain
Well this was almost a given for me, been playing MGS since the first MGS on Ps1. Even played the original titles when the opportunity was given with the re-released MGS3 editions. They're spicing up the formula big time and I for one am very exited to see what Kojima is cooking

Bring on 2014!

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Top 5 Games of the Year! [Thompson Edition]

2013 was a good year with many quality titles finally seeing the light of day. I've been surprised by many games, disappointed by a few and some lived up to my high expectations. What will follow is a list from 10-1 with 1. being my GOTY. Bare in mind it's my opinion so don't be offended, if you have a different opinion you're simply wrong. Fight me.

5. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Look, this may just be a DLC expansion but I count it as its own game because... Well, it is. Blood Dragon is not related to Far Cry 3 in any way except the fact that they use pretty much the same core gameplay. Other than that it's its own badass retro adventure where you chew bubble gum and kick ass, and you just ran out of bubble gum.

4. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
I was a skeptic from the start, first a game about Raiden, please. Then Platinum Games took over, how could anyone but KojiPro make a Metal Gear game? Insanity! Luckily I was wrong, sure it was insane, insanely fun that is! That they managed to create a hack-n-slash game where the sword you wield actually feel like a sword, all in 60fps with so much going on... Truly impressive, can't wait to see where they go from here!

3. Tomb Raider
Another pleasant surprise, I must say they really messed up the marketing for this game. Only like a month before release they actually talked about the game and it was enough to get me interested enough to get it. Before I was expecting them to turn it into Uncharted with the very hectic gameplay and set-pieces but boy was I wrong. It was tense, you had freedom and the whole survival aspect payed off just fine. I love both Uncharted and Tomb Raider and it showed there's still room for both of them.

2. Grand Theft Auto V
Maybe not so shocking to have on my list after the huge success and popularity, but sometimes it's all warranted. The new three-character system was really fun and the heists were amazing and felt good to pull off (a bit few though) and I play the very fun multiplayer to this day. As long as you can stomach some glitches it's a ride worth taking.

1. The Last of Us
How could it be anything else? This game really came close to perfection to me. I'm big on good stories which is why I love this game so much, the storytelling, characters and cutscenes are all so perfectly done it was impossible for me to not make it my number 1 game of the year. Hell, maybe even of this generation. There's not a single aspect of it which I dislike, the crafting was fun, story like I said was great, and the combat is very dynamic with amazing enemy AI. Can't wait to see what Naughty Dog cooks up for next gen!

Hurray for Joel and Ellie!