Gamers

Bethesda is Doing Just Fine, Seriously

February 13, 2019 Editorials

Bethesda has been getting a bad wrap lately. And, it’s not just because of Fallout 76. A bevy of lawsuits, middling fan reception to their latest two releases and a seemingly big push towards mobile all have hardcore Bethesda fans scared. That being said, artistically, the company is doing just fine. Seriously, there’s no need to worry. Before we get into the nitty gritty details of what’s going on with Bethesda right now and the seemingly chaotic turmoil their PR is dealing with, let’s slow it down. Let’s break down what got Bethesda on most gamers’ radars. Bethesda Game Studios earned their place as the proverbial top dogs of RPG games back in the early 2000s. With the release of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, later followed by the more commercially successful title Oblivion, Bethesda claimed their spot among the great developers for wide eyed, RPG playing video game fans around…

Why is ‘Super Smash Bros.’ Adored by All?

January 23, 2019 Editorials

The first Super Smash Bros. changed the game (pun intended) when it came out in 1999. Never before had characters across other games come together like that. The concept of the game was relatively simple: various characters duke it out on stages designed after each character’s respective games. Who would’ve thought how much impact this would have on the gaming community. There are so many things that make Smash Bros. adored by the gaming community. One of the first is the story mode. Having to battle your way against enemy after enemy on their home turf with limited lives can be challenging. All of the times you get eliminated off that stage makes it worth it when you complete the story in full. That Master Hand was such a tough last opponent, and watching the hand explode and crumble away is such a satisfying feeling, no matter how many times you defeat…

Nvidia Geforce RTX 2060 to Replace RTX 1070 TI

January 7, 2019 News

Graphics cards are expensive. Just, outright expensive. Buying a video card these days boils down to: Potato Tier: GTX 1050 – Sub $100Cheeki Breeki Potato Tier: RX 560 – $130 (570 & 580 are valid too)1080p No Problem: GTX 1060 6GB – $2501440p No Problem: GTX 1070 Ti – $350~$4004k Eh 1440p Bliss: GTX 1080 / 1080 Ti – $400~$6004k No Problem: GTX 2080 – $800 The RTX 2060 will replace the 1070 Ti at MSRP of $350 also known as “sold out day one on sale for $600.” Which I guess is nice? I mean, video cards are becoming like iPhones, there is little reason to upgrade anytime soon for any reason or anything. Once you reach the 1080 level, you can pretty much run 4k gaming at reasonable frame rates. I mean realistically the 1060 can push through 4k gaming, although at low frame rates. After the cryptocurrency…

Project Stream is a Future in Which Gamers Win While Consumers and Pirates Lose

February 28, 2019 Editorials

It’s no joke that game piracy really hurts the industry. How it hurts the industry, I do not know. Most of the pirates I’ve seen probably don’t have enough money to buy the games they “steal” but nevertheless it’s a problem. I mean, if games don’t make money then investors don’t invest in games and then we’re stuck with GoFundMes and Kickstarter games that have as much success making it past the first released alpha build as you do getting your order right at the local fast food restaurant. The key to piracy is that the games code is executed within the PC that it is installed in. If you play, for instance, Fallout 4 then there is very little online connectivity built into the game. Everything, from NPCs to damage calculations, is ran through your processor and graphics card to present the game to you. The game’s code is…

Epic Games Store is a Schism The Gaming Community Doesn’t Need

May 8, 2023 Editorials

Update: It’s 2023 and the following still remains mostly true. The EPIC Store continues to be a pain in the gaming community’s side. Fighting Steam is the past time for many people in this world it seems, as we’re now seeing the Epic Store vs. Steam battle keep raging on. Which is much like the golden ages of MMOs where almost every month a new WoW killer was coming to fight the champion, who won the war via attrition and investors tired of sending their money down a bottomless pit. Now Epic Games, Discord and even Kongregate the flash game site is trying to lure you into replacing Steam with their awesome storefront. This isn’t new, Razer started selling games in their zCoin software forever ago. Twitch has the ability to buy some games, but the purchases often help the streamer. Humble Bundle was once a monthly bundle of games…

Fallout 76’s Game Freebies Alienate Community

December 30, 2018 News

Bethesda recently announced that they will be giving gamers a free copy of both Fallout 1 & 2, along with Fallout Tactics, as an extra bonus for all of the problems and issues that gamers have ran into. Normally, such giveaways are just a bribe, but in this instance, I actually like the gesture. It’s nice that gamers are able to get something extra with a game they purchased and for the problems they’ve experienced. What’s even nicer, the free software is actually something that most gamers won’t even think of or consider. Fallout 3 was the third main Fallout game, a huge departure from Fallout 1 & 2 which were top down ARPGs. Back when Fallout 3 came out, Fallout 1 & 2 were still popular games because it was 2008, ten years since the release of Fallout 2. It has now been ten years since Fallout 3 and…