The Destiny Principle of Rocket Cars

I managed to get back into some gaming last year after not having to travel so much for work. These games are all on the PS4, as that is my preferred gaming platform. The console works best for me as having to use a PC during the day it’s nice to sit back and be further from the screen.

Basing this on the most fun I have had two games come out equal top are The Talos Principle and Destiny.

The Talos Principle really hit the spot with the a great story, think Matrix levels of introspection. Its got nice tight handling controls when combined with the first person view point giving a good feeling of interaction, the level of freedom given in the game world means you get enough choice not to feel enclosed and have enough to do but not so much free reign as to feel lost. 

The game world works well with the many puzzles there are to solve, as when played over time you up skill and learn the systems so you get a great feeling of success from beating some of them and a sense that you yourself have improved. The personal feeling of progression with wanting to learn more about the story really are the two key things which push you through to see the end.

I saw the latest version of Destiny on sale on the Playstation store, and after reading the feedback on the latest patch and expansion thought it was time to give it another go. This is after getting the original release on the xbox 360 then getting it again in a bundle with the ps4. The graphics upgrade from the 360 to the ps4 did make this worth it.

Originally after reaching max level then getting bored of the grind for light levels it fell out of interest and I stopped playing before any of the expansions were released. They did not seem to offer good value or much content. 

The current version of Destiny is the original game plus three expansions, with the latest The Taken King being the largest, altogether it is a much larger game then when first released. The amount of content makes it great value now, they have also rerecorded much of the in game voice work and redone the cut scenes, making the story more detailed and easier to follow.

Its said that the Diablo 3 team gave advice to the latest work done on Destiny (Diablo 3 Team) and it really shows. Both Diablo 3 and Destiny are much better games than when they first released.

Basically if you liked the old Halo games or Borderlands 2 or Diablo 3 you should get on well with Destiny.

The last pick from the last year goes to Rocket League. I got this inclusively from Playstation plus, or I don’t think I would of tried it but it really is a little gem. The prequal for this, by the same developer, had such a great name, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars.

 

It’s just a nice game to play, the clear graphics with the style of little remote control cars suits it well, the matches are not too long and even when on the losing side its not annoying and you can still feel good. Its much less annoying than being on the losing side in Destiny PVP. For a quick blast of fun it really hits the spot.

Jay Played: 2015 in Review

2015 was a good gaming year for me, we tried out plenty of new games, many with a Star Wars theme, played a good bit of some classics like Pandemic, Dominion and Dice Masters and finally tried out 7th ed. of Warhammer 40k.

I record all my games played on Board Game Geek which is a great feature. I not only know what and when I've played games but also note down who wins and who played etc, really fun to look back at, I have stats going back to 2012. This doesn't include time spent painting and building models or sat in front of the computer gaming. So beyond what I have here I've also been working on my Dark Angels and Mentor Legion Space Marines and played a lot of Shadowrun games from Harebrained Schemes and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, an amazing group computer game.

Here is the list of 2015's games

Clearly up in the #1 spot is D&D, my group played all the way through the beta test for DnD Next and then at the end of 2014 we started playing the Horde of the Dragon Queen adventure module. It's been great fun, we've at this point only one character remaining from the original party after some killer DM weeks in a row and have a feeling of dread as we move in to the next module of the campaign. The last few sessions of the year have been a break from the Forgotten Realms with a classic Ravenloft adventure updated to 5th ed.



The five games of Muskets & Tomahawks were all in one evening. We were playing small 200pt games (about 20 men per side), of French vs. British in the Peninsular Wars  the games were fast, bloody, fun and amazingly narrative. I'm really looking forward to finishing the two starter forces I started last year and playing more of this great game.

My biggest regrets of the year have been only getting in the one game of Bolt Action (we gave the Tank Battle rules a try) and three games of 40k. I came to the 7th. Ed. party late but am quite impressed now I've tried it. Finding the time to play miniature games is hard, but I hope to manage a little more of it in '16. 

Not a game we'll bother with again

When it come to Star Wars gaming the Fantasy Flight Games rpg has been the best of a great bunch. I've GM'd the three times I've played and really enjoyed the way the rules allow for anything to happen and really embrace the "Yes, and/No, but" attitude to roleplaying I like. On top of the great rules we have beautiful rule books and an amazing community (The Order 66 podcast and twitter are great places for support) that make it such a fun game. 

Heroic Dark Angels & wip Mentors

I hope you've all played loads of great games last year and have a ton of fun memories from doing so, please share, comment with what you've played most, what you wished you'd played more or what your best game of the year has been. Hope to hear from you, good luck over the next 365 days.