The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U)

Date Purchased: March 03, 2017
Date Completed: March 25, 2017
Price: $79.99

I've been putting off writing this because I don't know what to say to give this game the praise it deserves.  It's fantastic.  The game is ultimately about exploring, I've played many open world games, but never did I ever want to "go onto that roof" in GTA, just to see what's up there.  This game changes all that with something cool around every bend, every peak, and under every stone.  Okay, so not every stone, but lots of them.  There is such a huge world out there to explore, and the verticality of  it all makes it even bigger.  The game is simply a joy to explore, I keep going back to it on my son Cole's profile to "help" him along, but really, it's because I like to revisit Hyrule.

The game does have a story, and it succeeds, it's interesting and doesn't force itself or try to be overly complex.   You've played the story before, it's the same story of every Zelda game, but this one's told in a series of flashbacks.  It's nicely done and allows you to explore the world and take on quests in any order.   To finish the main quest I was at around 80 hours, not including probably another 20 I spent watching and or playing on Cole's account.  When I finished the main quest, it showed me that I was 18% complete the game.

A sub-story are the shrines which grant you orbs to increase you abilities.  There are over a hundred of these shrines and they each contain a series of puzzles the series is known for.  This time around, many of them are physics based, something I don't recall from previous games.  The shrines could be a game in and of themself ala Portal.  Most (not all) are fantastic.

I've written longer reviews, but I don't need to go on at length about this game. It's a sense of wonder I've never experienced in a game before.  It's got that whimsy.  I want to play it right now.  Game of the year for 2017.  Calling it now.

Titan Souls (Vita)

Date Purchased:  January 19, 2017
Date Completed:  March 6, 2017
Price: Free (PS+)

This game's been on my radar for some time, so I was excited when it was "free" with PlayStation Plus in January.  I'd remember hearing some comparisons to Zelda, but it's actually much closer to Shadow of the Colossus if we're going to be making comparisons.  There's a vast overworld, but there's not a whole lot to do in it, and your character, equipped with a bow and a singular retrievable arrow must take down 18 titans to reach the credits.  There is a 19th boss, but typically when I see credits, it's time to move on to another game in the pile unless I'm really enjoying it.  Well, I didn't really enjoy it, so this one's getting shelved.  It was a love/hate relationship with game, it's brutally difficult, but when you do fire that perfect shot and take down a Titan, there are few better feelings in video games, that's what kept me chugging through 6 hours, 21 minutes, 51 seconds and 495 deaths.The graphics and sound are quite nice, the game plays well on Vita despite some very long loading times between deaths, thank goodness for smart phones in that regard.  Even though I didn't particularly love all my time spent with the game, if you like a challenge, those 18 (19 if you're a completionist) moments where you reign victorious, just might make the whole thing worthwhile.  In the end, I'd have to say, recommend.

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That's a lot of cursing.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PS4)

Date Purchased: February 25, 2017
Date Completed: March 1, 2017
Price: Free (Borrowed from co-worker)

I knocked this out in 3 sittings, one of them particularly long, but still...3 sittings. It's a rock and roll campaign of what you'd expect from COD story.  The action starts and doesn't stop.  I'm glad I played it and am even happier I didn't buy it for full retail.  It was a fun campaign but I didn't love the whole Call of Duty "IN SPAAAACE!!!" aesthetic happening, it could be I'm just burnt out on space after playing Doom and all 3 Dead Spaces recently.  I didn't get into the multi as I'm not a fan of these ultra-competitive shooters.  If you can play this game for cheap like I did, go for it, but the campaign alone is not worth the retail price.  Pass.

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