The Easy Carrot: Talking 'bout My (Re)Generation

Well, after some twenty or so hours of gameplay, I finally hit Level 50 in Titanfall and was presented with the opportunity to regenerate.  Having not played much Call of Duty, I wasn't completely familiar with the mechanics of the "prestige" other than to know it was something all the cool kids did.  And so why wouldn't I want to be a cool kid in Titanfall and regenerate.

I guess I should have taken the multiple prompts as hints that regenerating wasn't all that smiles and benefits.  No, in fact, to get the cool designation along your gamertag in Titanfall lobbies, you had to sacrifice game progress.  Weapon upgrades, challenges, customizations... all gone.  Level 1 is Level 1 with minimal benefits from the regen.  Having unlocked Ogre and Stryder class titans, those unlocks would be available to me.  Of course, I didn't really comprehend at the time of the regen that meant I still couldn't access them because Level 1 is Level 1 and there was no customization of Titans.  Actually, if you remember Level 1, that means not even having all three pilot types available let alone customization of pilots.  Players keep burn cards and XP is earned at a faster clip because of the regen.

So after the regen, I lost all my scopes and extended magazines, any of the bonuses that give the player that slightest advantage -- gone.  And for what?  To get the notation and to begin again.  It's so weird to begin at the beginning, where challenges aren't even readily available.

I will say leveling up seems to occur fairly rapidly as a couple of days and a couple good sessions later, I find myself sitting at G2, Level 10.  I did unlock the challenges a little earlier and at Level 10, regained the ability to customize titans.  I'm glad because I think I hit a very good strategy in LTS (chaingun + extended magazine + cautious play = quickly acquired damage core).  Of course, I was looking at unlocking/upgrading everything but find myself with factory issue weapons again.  I had unlocked all of the upgrades for the R101, the EVA-8 and Smart Pistol pilot-wise and the extended magazine, accelerator for the chaingun and upgrade for the ARC cannon titan-wise.  Gone, gone and gone.

It's not terrible but I do wonder for what reason... there, of course, is a chivo associated with the regen.  And in fact, there is a chivo for reaching Generation 10.  I do like the notation of having played enough to be past Level 50.  I suppose there is some behind the scenes reason.  Cynically, the idea of the regeneration creates artificial replaybility.  There's the carrot of the max level cap and players will want it, even if it is Level 500.  I guess perhaps more importantly and ideally crucial to the balance of gameplay, regeneration can even the playing field albeit temporarily.  What happens is a G2, Level 10 does not have the firepower of a Level 25 even and though theory would say the former has more experience and arguably skill, at least at that point, in working back up the ladder, he's still unlocking upgrades.  Maybe not such a bad idea after all...

And did I mention I'm the one in the lobby with the G2 designation?  Yes... that one.

Titanfall: Fun with Friends

I have played Titanfall every day since its launch and I have enjoyed every minute of it.  Certainly, what others have said about its balanced gameplay and general fun factor, I do not disagree with.  The tease and addiction of challenges and burn cards also give incentive beyond just playing to continue playing.  Whether those will eventually wear thin or unsatisfying or get to the point where they are not earned with the frequency they are currently doled out remains to be seen.  The game is a joy to play and I look forward to playing it whenever I can.

It's been great to play with friends.  Probably for me, it hasn't been since Halo 4 when there was a game all of my friends were able to play and not only play but play together.  I smile deep inside seeing a friends list full of people all playing the same game, the game I am about to play.  But you know what's more fun than playing with friends?  Playing against them.

So there's of course talk that a future update will include the option of private matches.  And really, what better way to extend the life of a game that give us a reason to be better, to improve our weapons.  Sure, there's a leaderboard now that I can see for all of ten seconds before moving to the next stat screen.  But there's something about Halo and Gears of War and Call of Duty that Titanfall has not quite tapped into... the desire to best your friend.

I mean, what's the point of upgrading my chaingun if I can't unleash it and its extended clip on Tengaport's titan?  Why activate that rematch burn card if it's not to turn around, respawn where Reecer just took a hardpoint away, and surprise him with a comeback kill and accrue more defense time points?  While it's fun to teabag a random, it's that much more enjoyable when it's someone you know, you know?  I don't know whether the female Titan has that same capability, but don't we need to know?!

I like working together, but let's stop being nice and start "attritioning" each other.

Titanfail?: Day One with the Most Important Title in the Xbox One Lineup

Well, it wasn't quite what we were all expecting, was it?

First, the ugly and uglier.  Seems like I was even more right than I knew regarding that midnight launches would never be the same.  So I did what I could to see how close I could make it to the 12 a.m. PDT online availability of the game.  I wanted the digital download and don't regret having it for a second.  At 2:00 a.m. EDT, I couldn't make it and off to bed I went.  Up at 5:30 a.m., I began the download.  And it crept along.  At 9:00, when I had to head off to work, I think it was around 45% so I left the machine on.

I know there is supposed to be background and console-off downloading, but for whatever reason, I thought if it were on, it would download it more quickly.  I had turned off my auto off function in the settings.  When I returned around 3:30 or so, it was only about 70% complete.  Still no Titanfall for me.  No training, no nothing but a slow crawl that looked like maybe, it had even stopped.  So I hard-powered down and tried again and it seemed to move along a little better.  Around 5:00, I finally had the game and ran through the demo.  I hadn't completed the entire demo in the Beta so I figured I would, for the chivo if nothing else.

Went out for a bit and turned the Xbox One and system on around 6:30.  Had it on the rest of the night for listening to music, watching TV with the wife, and Titanfall later.  I would later discover that being on maybe saved me from a long night of grief, not that I still didn't feel awful for the way the Xbox Live failure and its blemish on the Titanfall launch ruined the fun a bit.

Logged in to XBL, I popped on about 9:30 p.m. and played until a little after 2:00.  I loved just about every minute of it.  There was some getting used to the party system and invites and it didn't take us long to discover that hitting the party limit of six will happen with more frequency than I'd like.  But the game itself feels great.  Win or lose, good game or bad game, I never felt frustrated.  I never felt over-matched or that a higher ranked opponent had better weapons or loadouts.  I never saw lag, perhaps the occasional framerate stutter, but definitely no occasion to cry shenanigans or toast.  Perhaps in the restrictions and set-up, that has been taken care of.  All this and with at least one or two people broadcasting the action on Twitch as well?  The future of gaming?  It certainly can be bright albeit with bumps on the road.  That's one thing we joked about last night, this idea that the game is still in process, that a later update will add options, fix or improve resolution, add gametypes and Voltron.

Is it the greatest thing since Halo 2?  COD4:MW?  Gears of War?  I don't know.  But what I do know is that I have a lot of friends playing it and that, to me, is a system seller.  That makes it worthy of the hype.  That is why I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. playing... oh, that and wanting to unlock the Stryder chassis for my custom Titan loadout.

War is Hell

Last summer, I endured this:

And then there was the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition discussion or Framerate-Gate:

How about a March 2, 2014 editorial about how Sony is winning the console war?  At least Microsoft offered Civilization Revolution and Dungeon Defenders in their Games with Gold program.  More power, lower price... focus on the gamers...

"Your Titan is ready."

Wait.. what?

Random Musings

Just a quickie here.  I am some thirty hours in on Bravely Default and I am really loving it.  I've actually logged more time with it than Pokemon X.  And while certainly the former has the "new shiny" effect going for it, there's something in the game that has made it that much more accessible -- the encounter slider.

Not since the Forza series introduced the Rewind button has a feature so increased my enjoyment of a game.  The encounter slider can be moved up or down increasing or decreasing the chance of encountering baddies while traversing the map.  It means choosing whether I want to fight extra baddies so it's easier to grind up or avoiding them altogether so I can head to town to spend a night at the comfortable inn, replenish all of my party's HP and MP and revive any KO'd member.

How awesome is that?  If you've ever run out of repels, you'll appreciate it that much more.  The game is great for reasons beyond that, but it's something that can really ease frustration and that's fine by me.

A Whole New World: Saying Goodbye to the Midnight Launch

Titanfall drops in a mere ten days.  Since the demo ended, I've hardly been able to contain my excitement for the first big game of the next generation of consoles.  Who knows what exactly the game holds -- a new approach to multiplayer only, a new way to utilize Azure, and sadly, for me, a new way to view a midnight launch.

I can't wait to get my hands on Titanfall, but the thing is, I don't think physically, I ever will.  Digital download is going to be the route for me because yes, I feel giddy Kinecting my way to the game.  Had I realized how nice it was to switch from Forza to Ryse to Battlefield 4 without getting up and changing discs, I don't think I would have bought hard copies.  Ultimately, when I trade in BF4, maybe I'll be glad I didn't, but it's that cool of a feature.

The joy of the midnight launch has been those moments of communal anticipation, the sharing of stories or playing of games with others while patiently waiting to pay for your game, get out of the store, and fire it up.  My Xbox One launch night was like that.  But firing it up meant updating and installing and waiting.  And the waiting is the hardest part.  With the required install, what use does a hard copy serve?  None in this instance.

I'll look at my Gears of War 3 and Halo: Reach winter cap swag with nostalgia, along with my Gears of War 2 dog tag and inflatable Spartan helmet.  No more midnight launches for me.  "Xbox, go to Titanfall."