2019 Was Awesome I Hated It
March 6th, 2020 by Kurt "Chet" Christel

A final reflection on the games of 2019. It’s a bit late to talk about last year but I filmed this a month ago and it needs to be seen. Consider this a preamble to the HMG redemption arc.

I hate 2019, it was awesome.

2019 WAS AWESOME, I HATED IT.a final reflection on the games of 2019. it's a bit late to talk about last year but I filmed this a month ago and it needs to be seen. consider this a preamble to the HMG redemption arc.

Posted by Hard Mode Gamers on Friday, February 28, 2020
2019 Was Awesome, I Hated It.

That’s right, 2019 was awesome, I hated it. As of right now, YouTube sucks so I’m going to be sticking with Facebook Watch or any other non-YT video hosting platform. Plus, the FB page is where all the memes are at, so follow the video to my page and SMASH THAT LIKE.

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December 23rd, 2017 by Kurt "Chet" Christel

    We’re going to be doing on thing and one thing only…

    The grandfather of the first person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D became available by mail order on May 5th 1992, with the whole game on two floppy discs, totaling 2.88MB max, and was available for your computer of choice running MS-DOS. If you have no idea what any of these things are, it’s fine, you are just a little baby. I learned DOS promts when I was five, so if you were born after 1992 I’ve been playing games than longer than you’ve been alive. Anyway, onto more recent things, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a direct sequel to 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order, developed by Machine Games and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game features an alternate history where the Nazis won World War II and America now lives under the oppressive regime of the Third Reich. The game takes the Michael Bay approach to design and features many, many, many explosions. It got over shadowed by several other games that came out the same week, but is it worth checking out?

    [Reviewed on PC]

    GRAPHICS: 2/2

    This game took one look at my graphics card and laughed. As I cried and lowered the quality preset to low, disabled v-sync, and ran it in 720p, I finally got to a very solid and stable experience. Still, all that said, the visuals in this game are stellar. There’ a lot of great design with clearly defined setpieces. The Nazi armor is really imposing, a force to be reckoned with every time you encounter a group of enemies. Past all of that, the game has a lot of cutscenes that have found the perfect balance between realism and artistry. Coherent and consistent design runs across the entire game, as all the buildings, tech, and gear match up gloriously and never seem out of place nor unrefined.

    STORY: 1/2

    You know, I really don’t skip cutscenes in games on my first playthrough, but this game sorely tested my patience. In stark contrast to it’s cousin, DOOM (2016), Wolf 2 is filled to the brim with cutscenes. Long ones. The kind that teeter on the brink of being a Hideo Kojima game, without all the awkward grunting that usually ensues. The biggest problem was how the game goes at great lengths to show you just how bad the Nazis are by taking every chance it gets to further hammer just how ridiculously evil they are. At sometimes, it’s an absolute delight on an “Inglourious Basterds” level of suspense and shock value. Just when you think the game doesn’t have any more evil things for the Nazis to do, they just constantly up the ante. Which is fine, but again, the non-interactive cutscenes can get pretty long and get in the way of your enjoyment of the game.

    As I returned to the base mission after mission, I found myself ignoring everyone and just sprinting straight for the door that will lead you to the next level, as I had very little interest in the characters. They didn’t leave a lasting impression on me in the first game, and in this sequel I actually felt sort of lost in trying to keep track of the litany of characters being showcased throughout the game. There are definitely times where the game gets “over the top” levels of awesome in some places, but these are equal to parts that are little more than just exposition dumps and people arguing with each other. On top of this, the game needlessly felt like it had to add more depth to protagonist William “B.J.” Blazkowicz buy throwing in a new backstory. One about how his father was a Nazi who makes you shoot your own dog, beats his wife, and yells out you for hanging out with a black girl. The game was laying on that quite thick, and once I got to the level where you visit your old house, I found myself eager to skip each cutscene, as the game tries to further and further cement just how bad the Nazis and BJ’s dad are. We get it. They are Nazis. They are bad people. Really bad people. I believe you. I’ll take your word for it. Can we just get back to shooting them in the face now?

    AUDIO: 2/2

    Now THIS is how you make a stand out original soundtrack. When you mix rock and roll with orchestral arrangements and the occasional breakout of outright metal, you will always feel it when you’re kicking some serious ass as the battle music blasts. The music is timed very well with the game and definitely is made with lots of attention to the scene playing out. The ‘get ready’ music plays softly as the characters talk about things and then ramps it up to 11 as you start executing some unbelievable feats you and your resistance pals get up to. And the sound of the guns? Absolutely satisfactory. Through the sound, you can really feel the raw power of the weapons through the booming power of the sound effects alone. The shotgun hammers away, the SMG has a solid buzzing sound, and the lazers screech as you burn through enemies and some of the metal surroundings. Sounds like this empower the player and really engage at all the right moments.

    GAMEPLAY: 2/2

    Wolfenstein’s pedigree is on full display in this title. This is a no holds barred shooter that lets you dual wield shotguns. SHOTGUNS. Two at once! Or two SMGS. Or a pistol and assault rifle to mix things up. Or a giant laser canon. You get a solid run and gun experience with a big emphasis on the running as your sprint speed is about the same as wearing rocket powered rollerblades. This game supports many different shooting approaches, so long as all of them are aggressive. Each weapon is simple and direct, there aren’t any weapons that are odd or out of place. You will also find yourself running about trying to find health pack and armor, as this game isn’t too keen on letting you hid behind cover and waiting for your health to come back. Nay, you will face the Nazi head-on, guns a-blazing with a smile on your face. All that said, there are some nitpicks that need to be addressed in the next category.

    FUN: 1/2

    The game is not without it’s faults. For one thing, the difficulty slider could use some adjustment. And no, I’m not referring to the game ridiculing you for playing it on easy. If that offends you, too bad so sad, this is a shooter. Get good or accept the fact that you’re not good and just play the game on easy if its really that challenging. That’s what multiple difficulty sliders are for. Some games don’t give you that option, this one does. The actual problem comes from the scaling of the difficulties. The default game difficulty “Bring Em On!” is definitely a hard setting to open on, mainly because it takes a while to get into the rhythm of the game. Your instincts want you to to run for cover but sooner or later you’re going to realize that head-on is the best approach. But even then, the default setting is considerably challenging for a “normal” mode, while the next difficulty below that one doesn’t feel that much different. Then you go to the easiest setting “Can I Play, Daddy?” and the game goes from extremely challenging to a bit too easy. There’s no sweet spot.

    Also, there a bit of a problem with other play styles. The game has stealth elements available, but you don’t really get much of a reward for trying to be sneaky. It is far too easy for enemies to spot you and you will also frequently find yourself trying to sneak up on one of the officers so the alarm doesn’t get raised. Only the moment you’re seen, the game goes from 0-60 at breakneck pace and every enemy in the area knows exactly where you are at all times until you dash around enough to find the officer(s) broadcasting the alarm. You can try stealth, but you will frequently find yourself giving up on it as it rarely pays off.

    Besides all of these, some poorly placed checkpoints can lead you to get stuck in situations where you continually die after respawning. And there are several moments where one of the guns glitch out and just become a big jagged, uncontrolled mass that completely hinders your view and can turn enemy NPCs into walking blobs. The only way to fix it seems to be quitting the game entirely and re-launching it, which is a huge pain.

    If you are a shooter fan, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus would be right up your alley. Kickass combat and badass music and sound abound will keep you at the edge of your seat. The experience is only marred by a handful of issues, such as the bugs discussed above and some overly long cutscenes about characters you may not care about. They hold the game back from being the best it can be, but it is still a rock solid shooter nonetheless.

    SCORE: 8/10




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September 18th, 2017 by Vega Montanez

iPhone news, and Bethesda announces more Switch ports.

Another week has passed and Nintendo has made another strong play for all of our gaming attention. I mean how could we expect anything less? Nintendo showed up to 2017 with all intentions on smashing the competition. Not getting a stupid draw like the Canelo vs GGG fight but a full on technical knockout like Mayweather V McGregor. Fear not however, there is so much other news alongside the Nintendo assault.

1. It’s the return of the wolf goddess!

After it was prematurely leaked last month, Capcom had no choice but to announce the official return of Amaterasu! For those of you sad sad people who do not recognize the name, it means you have a second opportunity to experience the masterpiece Okami. And this time in HD. The game is literally about running around as the goddess Amaterasu in wolf form, painting life back into the world. That sentence still doesn’t do this game justice, but for only $19.99 believe when I say this is one of the greatest games you’ll ever play. Make sure you paint the world beautifully when the game releases December 12th on all consoles.

2. From the creators of Grow Home and Grow Up comes an online FPS.

Sharing only a unique colorful art style, the latest title from Ubisoft Reflections is Atomega. Don’t let the lack of the word Grow in the title fool you, this game will still have you growing your Exoform all the way up from small sphere to enormous robot. What makes it even more amazing is this all new gaming experience will be available on Steam on September 19th. Fellow gamers, at this point I would like to publicly say it’s going to be a busy holiday season.

3. ThatGameCompany sure knows how to name a game…

Introducing the latest title from the masterminds who brought us Journey, Flow, and Flower this new title is all about romance. Or something like that. I guess I should give you some official info now. Sky is being touted as a romantic social adventure game in which you play as the children of light with a goal of bringing light to where it is most needed. The game will support up to 8 players and will be launching first on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. No mention of how long the launch exclusivity is or if other platforms the will get the game, but given the relationship with the Playstation brand I’d bet we will see it on PS4 soon.

4. Speaking of That Computer Company…

It was a huge week for Apple fans who like to play games on their devices. During their annual iPhone event, Apple once again dug deep into Gaming and AR technology. At the event they announced three iPhones to chose from this year each sporting a brand new A12 chip and 6 core processor to make games look insane. The iPhone 8, 8 Plus, & futuristic (although a tad silly looking) iPhone X will also sport a brand new Super Retina OLED display. That combined with the massive processing power and Apple’s stranglehold on the quality of its App Store games makes for a very interesting direction the mobile landscape is heading. Super Mario Run anybody?

5. Oh no Call of Duty what are you doing!?

It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that the Sony and Activision partnership has spawned a Call of Duty PS4 bundle. What does come as a surprise however is how gross the console looks and that once again it is not a PS4 Pro. Seriously what the f*ck is going on up there people. We want PRO Bundles damnit. Rant over. The Call of Duty WWII bundle will come with a 1TB PS4 in the exclusive came green style along with a non0-camo green Dual Shock 4 and a physical copy of the game all for $300. I want the controller for sure but the console itself looks kinda silly. Oh well.

6. The Switch goes big!

We already knew Skyrim was coming to the Nintendo Switch, but now we have an official release date and so much more. Skyrim will be launching on Nintendo Switch on December 17th but thats not the real big news. The big news is that Doom and Wolfenstein 2 will also be coming to Nintendo Switch! Doom will be available this holiday season and Wolfenstein 2 sometime in 2018. Third party support for the Nintendo Switch is coming in hot, although delayed. There was a crap ton of announcements made regarding the Switch this week but Grandmaster Chet already did a really nice recap [Editor’s note: I didn’t, sorry.] so you can check it all out here. Thanks, Bethesda!

7. Good scary things coming from Korea.

I know, I know they just fired a missile so maybe making Korea jokes isn’t the best idea. However, I thought it was funny. Anyway, Coma will be coming to a PS4 or PC near you very soon. Originally scheduled to launch in August the game will now be releasing on September 19th alongside Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite (you all know I had to mention this game at least once). Now let’s talk about Coma, the horror game set in an abandoned highschool that forces you to make your way out while avoiding possessed classmates and teachers. A new trailer was released to remind us that the premise of this game is not funny. Also for all of you who are still butt hurt about the Korea joke, relax the development team is from South Korea. Those are the cool guys.




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