Working out a schedule where I can fit in work, writing, and fun is difficult - mainly because the whole "fun" portion of that equation constantly croons its siren song into my ear. After waking up at 4 AM to serve coffee to the sleepy masses of Colorado, finishing up my shift, and driving home I find it hard to dig deep and find the drive to get writing done - another tool in my writing toolbox that has long been blunted by disuse, discipline. Balance is what I need, however I digress - let's talk about some things shall we?
First and foremost, I'd like to address The Evil Within (for Xbox One in my case) once more. If you read my last entry about the title you'll be surprised to find out that I did not immediately return the game to the store for whatever meager store credit they decided to give me - I pressed on into the title hoping to dredge a positive experience out of it. Now, I still have yet to complete the game (thanks to the next game I'll be discussing being released recently) but I don't hate the idea of playing it - a major step up from my first opinion no doubt, but why? Well, to be honest - because it feels like playing this.
As I have progressed through the first seven chapters at this point, expect some spoilers ahead. If you are interested in playing the title then avert thine eyes and scroll down!
Dumb characters aside, so far I have yet to run into a human being I have given an ounce of a crap about, something keeps me pushing forward. Even though I constantly bad mouth the silly storyline, the ridiculous one liners, and the general confused nature of the narrative the combat still brings me back. Similar to passing someone on the street who wears the same perfume or cologne as an ex you may have dated in the past, when I'm aiming down the trembling iron sights of my pistol hoping to whatever deity happens to listen to my cries that my final bullet will do the job, I feel like I'm playing Resident Evil 4 - and as I've said, Resident Evil 4 is amazing. Then the fight ends, and the disappointment reasserts itself, I'm not Leon Kennedy - I'm some random detective guy. Back to solving puzzles that you could solve in your sleep - or my new favorite scenario, "protecting" a colleague while they open a locked door for you. In this sort of environment I've found that the easiest way to deal with things is to simply jog around the room in slow circles like an aging man getting his hammies loose for a long distance run. I completely ignore the laughably slow undead trying to catch up to me, because they are defeated by running in slow ovals. Not exactly scary, now if our friend the Xenomorph from Alien: Isolation caught a glimpse of me out of the corner of its eye it would be on me like Thanksgiving dinner before I could utter a surprisingly feminine shriek - I mean a manly bearded..cry..of...something, shut up.
Long story short, The Evil Within is not as bad as I first thought. Is it still "bad?" In my case yes, in my own personal bubble I find this game to be lacking - however I'm finding that the more people I talk to about it seem to be enjoying the title. Maybe you'll find something I do not in the game, so by all means if your curiosity gland has been tickled - rent it, don't buy it unless you've got that kind of money just laying around. I myself will be pressing on with the hopes of completing the title, but something else comes first - a recent release that I have fallen completely in love with.
Sunset Overdrive is a title I've had my eye on since I first heard its name. While I may consider myself more of a "hardcore" gamer, or whatever silly label I fall under, I do still believe in the idea that sometimes a game just needs to be fun. Not everything needs to be Dark Souls (as much as I love the struggle and the payoff). Sunset Overdrive puts fun at the very forefront of the game from the opening cinematic to the end.
In a nutshell, Sunset City is in the grips of an apocalypse caused by Fizzco - a soda peddling corporate giant who is launching their new beverage - Overcharge. Sunset City, being the lucky place that it is, is the first to be allowed an early access taste of Overcharge during a music pumping party. Your hero (who you get to choose and customize) is working as a garbage collector during the event when things go horribly wrong - Overcharge is a little more than energizing, it also happens to mutate your DNA into horrible monstrosities called the OD - and they now flood the city in endless numbers. Thus the fun begins.
I don't really know what else to say, the title is funny, action packed, full of amazing guns (it is an Insomniac title after all), and just a downright blast to play. What you are left with here is a game that feels like you are playing a version of Tony Hawk - on speed - with better music - with GIGANTIC guns - TONS of enemies - and DID YOU SEE HIM GRINDING AROUND ON THE ROLLER COASTER? Sorry, I spent about half an hour just going around and around that thing. Sunset Overdrive is all about fun and style, you are at your most powerful while mobile - be it hopping off a bouncy umbrella or grinding along a train-track you'll find yourself constantly on the move. Once you get a grip on movement, which is only slightly difficult, the game becomes a symphony of beautiful destruction. Things called Amps also play a vital role in making the game more fun, as you progress through the story you'll unlock said Amps - these can range from Melee Amps that can do awesome things like make your melee swings shoot out waves of stunning electricity or Amps that directly effect your Hero, like making the ground you walk on rumble and shoot out gouts of burning lava. As you grind, wall-run, and bounce through the city you'll accrue style - if you throw in some fancy gun play you can even max out your style gauge causing all of your Amps to become active at the same time leading to some truly spectacular fights.
I don't have enough good things to say about the title, in fact as soon as I'm done here I'm going to go finish up the main story line. Sure, some of the jokes fall flat and the characters (besides your own hero) fall flat and are unremarkable at best - but guess what? None of that matters when you're grinding down a telephone line at 90mph with a rocket launcher that you've amped up to randomly cause nuclear explosions. Buckle in, drop your worries off at the front door, and believe me when I say that Sunset Overdrive is a must play and one of the few next-gen titles that TRULY impressed me.
Until next time, I've got some OD to deal with!
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