Nothing particularly interesting to report outside the media room. Soccer, vball, tennis, and occasional laundry - the usual. So, games...


J came out to visit so we binged on The Division. Any game with teamwork and a loot system is a pretty good draw for us, we were hoping Ubi would execute better than Bungie did with Destiny.


And teamwork is pretty important. While we never expanded our fireteam beyond two, the benefits of complementary skills, items selections, and tactics is pretty obvious. And in contrast to the Borderlands 2 endgame, there really doesn't seem to be a dominant set of skills/items/tactics.


Cosmetic modifications aside, the skills/inventory system is pretty deep. Weapons and armor all have rarity, modifiers, and special bonuses. There are usable skills and passive traits. Vending and simple crafting, too.


I'm saying this about most games nowadays (maybe not below), but the graphics and ambiance are fantastic. The game is set in post-outbreak Manhattan, so there's a mix of GTA-level fidelity and Mad Maxitude.

The high tech feel has been cranked up to 11 though. In addition to the regular HUD stuff, you'll find navigation, teammate info, enemy info, scan info, cover highlights, and movement lines. It takes some getting used to and isn't always helpful.


The over-the-shoulder perspective places the gunplay about midpoint on the hardcoreness spectrum. Other controls are hit-and-miss. Forty hours in I still pop out of cover with what feels like the slightest tug of the joystick, yet remain glued to a wall while a shotgun-toting ruffian has decided to rush my position. I'm glad you can't get by x-mashing like in Assassin's Creed, but I miss the smoothness of those player controls.



There really isn't all that much variety in missions and enemies. Defend cache, push button, or take down evil guy - nothing too creative. The individual enemies have unique properties, but outside of the above vehicle, they're all just dudes with some type of gun and some amount of armor. It doesn't feel tired after 40 hours, but might do after 80.



Having beaten the campaign and almost maxed out level, the remaining challenge is the loot-filled, PvP-allowing ball of ominousness called the Dark Zone. Gear is great, but only if you have something to use it on, so hopefully the DZ will bring some interesting new challenges.






We did need something light to play while patching The Division, so we rescued POWs and Murica'ed it up with Broforce.



It's a self-aware Contra knockoff starring a cast of action flick knockoffs. And it's co-op.


With heterogeneous, destructable terrain, there are always alternate paths to the extract point.



A few more shiny shots from Helldivers. I really should try an Enemy Master level mission before putting it down.