I didn’t play Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Syndicate from here onwards) when it came out in 2015. It came up at a discount on the Xbox game store at $11.99 a couple of weeks ago during all the ‘Black Friday’ noise, and I decided to give it a try.
…
I completed Veilguard after 2 days, 23 hours, and 16 minutes of play time, reaching level 50 (the maximum) during my playtime. Endings in games that I enjoy are rarely ‘great’: they are coloured by the fact that stories I have enjoyed participating in are now over. Veilguard doesn’t buck this trend, but it does end well with a good sense that the main story threads have reached a reasonable conclusion.
And, along with my previous thoughts on the game, I feel like I can summarize my recommendation. Veilguard is a game that I’d strongly recommend to anyone who enjoys action oriented role playing experiences with deep in-game stories and character development. Tons of lore, enjoyable character interactions, and an excellent combat system made every hour I spent in Thedas enjoyable.
I have a bit more detail and caveats to offer in the balance of this post.
| Title | Dragon Age: the Veilguard |
| Developer | Bioware |
| Type | Action RPG |
| Platform(s) | Playstation 5, Xbox Series X / S, Windows; Reviewed on Xbox Series X |
| Kelly Score ™ | 93 / 100 |
I have a total of about 48 hours of played time in Veilguard at this point. My character is over level 40, and I’d guess I’m about two thirds to three quarters of the way through the main story. The game keeps drawing me in, providing events and stories that make me want to see what’s next even when sleep beckons.
…
Dragon Age: the Veilguard- hereafter referred to as ‘Veilguard’- released on October 31: at 9:00 AM Pacific time where I live. I’ve been having an absolute blast playing it since that moment. I think it is safe to say that Bioware has created a great game.
This isn’t a ‘proper’ review as I don’t think I’m far enough along in the story yet. I haven’t found all the companions I understand exist in the world, for one thing. Instead I want to talk a bit about some of my early impressions of Veilguard’s mechanics and why they are making me happy.
…
I am a long-time enjoyer of Bethesda games. Fallout and Elder Scrolls are near and dear to my heart. And yes, I like Starfield. I don’t love it with quite the fervour I have for Bethesda’s earlier games, but I have enjoyed spending over 100 hours of my time exploring their version of outer space.
I recently spent a day, perhaps ten hours in total, playing the first Starfield expansion: Shattered Space. I’m not finished as I am intentionally taking the ‘scenic’ route by completing several side quests. But I do have some initial thoughts, mostly in contradiction of some of the generally negative reviews I’ve read and watched.
My opinion: Shattered Space is good, a worthy expansion of a game I’ve enjoyed. But it won’t change anyone’s mind about Starfield if they didn’t like the base game.
…Starfield Shattered Space expansion: initial opinionRead More »
Every day I seem to see another article or Youtube video implying that the Xbox console is a dead platform. The decline in Xbox sales is definitely a real thing. Playstation 5 sales are easily double the number of Xbox Series X/S consoles that have sold. And Microsoft themselves have said that their focus is no longer on selling more consoles.
But I still prefer my Xbox Series X over anything Sony is making currently. Should I be worried? I’d say no, not at all: but I’ll put my stake in the ground here to refer back to when I’m proven wrong in a year or two…
…
Gamers are not in any way a uniform community: I would argue that, like a lot of ‘geek’ pastimes, one of the key characteristics of the gaming community is acceptance of differences. But sometimes I have to wave my fist at elements of the gaming fandom that I just think don’t belong. Today is one of those times.
There is a small group of loud and obnoxious ‘gamers’ who seem to be having a moment lately. These are the toxic cousins to the unpleasant gatekeepers who pose purity tests for anyone who wants to call themselves a fan. I’m talking now about the bigots and haters who don’t want people different than them represented in games. They often shout “Woke!” at any game that tries to be inclusive, and frankly I’m sick and tired of them.
One of their latest targets is an upcoming game called Dragon Age: the Veilguard. The game hasn’t even shipped yet, and a certain group is dumping hatred on it for the fact it doesn’t strictly represent straight white men in the role of ‘hero’. The ‘controversy’ is so loud that a developer often credited with creating the original series, David Gaider, has felt compelled to call the noisy weirdos out. In a world with fewer asshats, he wouldn’t feel a response was necessary.
…
I’ve been playing Star Wars Outlaws for the past couple of weeks, just finishing the main quest line last night after about 25 hours or so of play time.
Overall, it is a good albeit somewhat basic journey through some of the ‘darker’ aspects of the Star Wars universe. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Star Wars and the stories that occur in that universe, enjoys a bit of stealth action, and likes some direction to their narrative experience.
The hate and toxicity around Star Wars Outlaws are in my opinion just worthless noise. Kay isn’t ‘woke’ unless you consider ‘normal looking women’ to be ‘woke’. There was, in my experience, no egregious monetization or excess ‘Ubisoft quest marker’ spam. There were few bugs, serviceable AI, enjoyable combat, and good difficulty controls. The game is not ‘genre defining’ and may not be for everyone, but for me it was worth the money spent.
| Title | Star Wars Outlaws |
| Developer | Ubisoft |
| Type | Action / Stealth RPG |
| Platform(s) | Playstation 5, Xbox Series X / S, Windows; Reviewed on Xbox Series X |
| Kelly Score ™ | 75 / 100 |
Onward to some details…
…
The basics are in place and this site, Words of the AgingGamer, is now more or less ‘operational’. I’ll eventually create an ‘About’ page explaining who I am and what this blog is focused on, but here are the basics.
…
This is a short ‘public service announcement’ relating to an odd problem I encountered with my Xbox Series X.
…