Posts
Is Rage 2 worth an hour?
This is “Worth an Hour” where we ask whether something is “Worth an hour of your time” – today we are taking a look at the highly anticipated Rage 2!
Rage 2’s Plot
Rage 2 is set around 30 years from 2011’s Rage. The game is described as post-post apocalyptic. So, the world that we all knew from RAGE 1 has changed slightly. If we remind ourselves that in the first Rage, about 120 years prior to the events in the first game the earth was hit by a massive rock. Wiping the majority of mankind out. Leaving behind a wasteland, littered with factions, bandits and mutants.
Skip forward to 2019 and Rage 2, the wasteland is now booming with life. While there is the dusty deserts and wrecked ruins. Living, breathing areas such as swaps and colourful forests are apparent. There is life starting to emerge from the devastation.
Walker
You take on Walker. A special kind of ranger. SPOILER ALERT! Well, it’s in the first mission and it’s a tutorial mission, so can it be classed as a spoiler? Anyway, Aunt Prowley takes him on and raises him after the death of his parents. She get’s stabbed by General Cross. You then find yourself in an area where a holographic version of Prowley informs you of special powers that you possess.
Walker is one of the last remaining rangers in the wasteland of Rage 2. Walker is an Arkist. An Arkist is one of a select few who, from the old world, was frozen in freezers before the huge rock hit. He was infected with Nanotrites. A Nanobot which prolongs his life and gives him special abilities.
The Nanotrites are also responsible for the main villains in Rage 2. The Authority and General Cross. The Authority aren’t a pushover either. They’re highly equipped and have their sights set on the Nanotechnology to have complete control over the wasteland.
It is now your job as Walker to prevent General Cross and the authority from making everyone’s life a misery. You must take down the dictatorship of General Cross.
Although Rage 2 continues the story of Rage 1, I, personally don’t think that it is necessary for a play through. It’s a completely different story.
Huge thanks To GameGator for the breakdown of the plot, you can find a very impressive write up of Rage 2 by clicking here!
Graphics
Firstly the game looks FANTASTIC, I played this on a Playstation 4 slim and not the Pro, on a 55” HDTV and it looks beautiful and despite the wasteland that it is set in, the colours really do POP!
The graphics are incredible and the level of detail is something to be in awe of. But what sets Rage 2 apart from the rest of the shooters out there is the sheer colour that is in this game.
Think Mad Max went crazy and start playing with your little brothers finger painting kit and got luminous paint EVERYWHERE. That’s Rage 2. Think Coachella and the 70’s had a baby. That’s Rage 2.
There’s lots of luminous and florescent pinks, blue’s, purples, it’s everywhere and it’s a breath of fresh air. Especially when you activate the game’s OVERDRIVE feature. (Which you get by eliminating members of the authority in quick succession, which gains you combos, get enough combos to build up the overdrive meter and boom you’re like a kid in a candy shop after drinking 2L of soda. Your health get’s a slight increase, which increases as you go up the upgrade tree.) The whole screen gets colourful and you’re off wrecking havoc like there’s no tomorrow. – Though despite the vast amounts of colour in this game, there is a lot of gore!
Characters
Now understanding all the different characters within the game can be a little difficult for some. But what I especially liked in Rage 2 is that each time a character of relevance was introduced to you, before they tell you what they want from you, there’s a very short breakdown from Walker himself. Detailing who this person is and why they’re important.
Where to next?
Rage 2 is NOT linear. It is much like Grand Theft Auto. That’s not just because it is open world. It’s because there are your main missions which you could complete and be done with it. But, Rage 2 kind of forces you to complete side missions to increase your Walkers level before you move on to the next main mission. Therefore increasing the life of the game. There’s no rushing this one!
There’s also a range of projects that each of the three main characters give you that also need to be levelled up before you move on. Projects are perks that you can upgrade Walker with. They can help upgrade things like damage, how many grenades you can carry or how accurate your Wingstick is.
Rage 2 does NOT hold your hand, you have got to figure things out by yourself. That’s how I found it. The missions are listed above on kind of like a mini-map/compass which details where the next mission is and how far you are away from it. Plus along the way you will encounter things that aren’t listed on the map. They’re simply shown as a “?” A great way of promoting discoverability and not just rushing through from point A to point B.
Now, as I said previously Rage 2, does NOT hold your hand. Which is a great thing and makes playing this game more rewarding. On an early mission you have got to go back to the Winner’s Lounge after finishing a race. I found myself asking myself “Where on earth is the WINNERS LOUNGE?!” It weren’t until I wandered around aimlessly, opening the map a few times that I found it. Whether or not that’s indicative of how good of a gamer I am. I’ll let you decide that one.
Rage 2: Bosses
Speaking of how good you are as a gamer. Bosses are HUGE, MEAN and UGLY! They usually take form of monsters and they can be quite difficult to kill. I think it’s all down to how good you are as a gamer. I didn’t find them too difficult to kill. It was more the little minions around them that were more difficult. I got my rear end handed to me on more than one occasion.
As I did when trying to take over various strongholds, I made the mistake of trying to take out a higher difficulty of enemy. (The difficulty is listed before you decide to take them on, as kind of a warning to say. You may want to think twice about this) – I did find myself giving up on more than one occasion here. Sorry John Cena.
Rage 2: Vehicles
Lastly Vehicles. You will be using them a lot! You can fast travel. But I think it’s better to use a massive monster truck or a gun enabled car. It’s just so much fun to drive around in a barren wasteland and doing whatever you want! Point to note. Use your nitrous. I didn’t realise there was a boost button for a while and was wondering why the car feels so SLOW.
Rage 2: In Conclusion
Overall RAGE 2 is definitely worth an hour of your time. Many many many hours of your time in fact. It’s fantastic, frantic, hectic and crazy. But my god it’s insanely fun to play. I cannot stress that enough. It is a breath of fresh air and a blast to play.
Pick Rage 2 up this week. You will not regret it!
So, what are you waiting for? Purchase Rage 2 by clicking here!
Also listen to the guys chatting about this by clicking here!
Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!
Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!
Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!
Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!
RAGE 2 + Haircuts = INSANITY
Bethesda came to town and collaborated with grooming specialist Huckle the Barber to get Londoners full of RAGE! Bethesda took over Huckle the Barber on Wednesday 15th May 2019 between 12pm-6pm and offered FREE haircuts inspired by the game.
Mullets, Mohawks, High Fades all for one day only. Those who got the look of RAGE 2 also got a copy of the game. So they not only got a free haircut they also got a free copy of the game!
Rage 2 – The Game
Rage 2 is a crazy game and a lot of fun too! It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world, you’re in control of the character Walker. There’s Ugly mutants to deal with. Furthermore there’s the treacherous Wasteland Samurais. Plus there’s peaceful buffalo. However, these buffalo now may or may not whisper insults under their breath.
Therefore you got to keep your wits about you. If it exists in this wide-open wasteland, there’s going to be a chance that it’s out to kill you.
Rage 2 is an open world, so be aware of the insane factions and lethal hazards, not forgetting the smug cliffs that await you. It’s chaotic out there!
RAGE 2 is out NOW on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It’s a first person open world shooter from Avalanche Studios, ID Software and Bethesda Softworks. You can literally go anywhere, shoot anything and explode anything. It looks like serious serious fun! Purchase Rage 2 here!
Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!
Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!
Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!
Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!
Rage 2 Launch Trailer
The Rage 2 Launch Trailer is absolutely crazy! You witness the moment you almost get your head sliced in half by a glowing, wrist mounted fishook bladed giant, old, cyborg fella. That’s a mouthful! Sounds insane. But we really mean it. Just check out the launch trailer above.
Rage 2 is a crazy game and a lot of fun too! It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world, you’re in control of the character Walker. There’s Ugly mutants to deal with. Furthermore there’s the treacherous Wasteland Samurais. Plus there’s peaceful buffalo. However, these buffalo now may or may not whisper insults under their breath.
Therefore you got to keep your wits about you in Rage 2. As show by the Rage 2 Launch Trailer As if it exists in Rage 2’s wide-open wasteland, there’s going to be a chance that it’s out to kill you.
Rage 2 is an open world, so be aware of the insane factions and lethal hazards, not forgetting the smug cliffs that await you. It’s chaotic out there!
RAGE 2 launches on May 14, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It’s a first person open world shooter from Avalanche Studios, ID Software and Bethesda Softworks. You can literally go anywhere, shoot anything and explode anything. It looks like serious serious fun! Preorder it here!
Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!
Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!
Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!
Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!
Rage 2: Everything vs Me
Rage 2 is a crazy game and a lot of fun too! It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world, you’re in control of the character Walker. There’s Ugly mutants to deal with. Furthermore there’s the treacherous Wasteland Samurais. Plus there’s peaceful buffalo. However, these buffalo now may or may not whisper insults under their breath.
Therefore you got to keep your wits about you in Rage 2. As if it exists in Rage 2’s wide-open wasteland, there’s going to be a chance that it’s out to kill you.
Therefore it’s fair to say that in this crazy, frantic game, it’s “everything vs me”, check out the brand new trailer for this incredible game “Everything vs Me” in the video above!
Rage 2 is an open world, so be aware of the insane factions and lethal hazards, not forgetting the smug cliffs that await you. It’s chaotic out there!
RAGE 2 launches on May 14, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It’s a first person open world shooter from Avalanche Studios, ID Software and Bethesda Softworks. You can literally go anywhere, shoot anything and explode anything. It looks like serious serious fun! Preorder it here!
Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!
Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!
Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!
Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!
Google Stadia: Netflix of Gaming?
Google have announced an unveiled a brand new gaming platform. Which is very different to what Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are offering right now. It’s called Stadia and the games will be streamed to you via an internet browser. Which are said to be better than console quality! Stadia is said to work on existing desktops, laptops, tv’s and phones, said Phil Harrison VP and general manager of Google. Even the least powerful of PC’s can run Stadia!
The tech giant also revealed a controller for Stadia. It looks much like a regular console controller. Though it also has a Google Assistant button and a capture button to capture gaming and directly put it on YouTube.
ID Software announced that Doom Eternal will be one of the first games on launch. Which will be in 2019 in the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Exactly when that is in 2019 is unknown. No pricing was announced either.
Stadia: How?
How can even smartphones, TV’s and not so powerful PC’s play these top end games? Well, because the games run elsewhere on Google’s own high end hardware. You connect to it via the internet, the hardware then does all the hard work and sends you a video feed of what you are playing back to you. Essentially.
However, other services such as ‘OnLive’ which tried this back in the day (2010-2015) and Nvidia’s GeForce Now where some have encountered lag. They suffered due to the difficulty of offering high end games via an internet connection. But the question remains is it their end or is it the consumers own internet?
Lag: A delay between an action being performed on a controller or keyboard and the action being replicated on screen.
Google have said that the controller will connect to the internet directly. Which will then communicate with their servers which will reduce the amount of lag that players may encounter.
Impressively (if they pull this off) Google will be able to offer games at 4K at 60FPS and up to 8K 120FPS in the future. (Who needs 8K?!?) The Stadia is also insanely powerful with a GPU of 10.7 GPU teraflops while Xbox One X the worlds most powerful console has 6 GPU teraflops and the PS4 pro has 4.2 GPU teraflops. Basically, it’s very very good.
(BBC)
Google Stadia: We have some questions.
All very impressive indeed although we have some questions:
- Are the games like Netflix: Pay to play many games for 1 subscription fee
- Or we have to buy our own games?
- Can we download our games to play them offline?
- How does multiplayer work?
- Are the multiplayer lobbies/parties
- Is there protection from hacking?
- What happens when the internet goes down?
- How will my games me kept secure
- How many games are available?
- Will all the AAA games be available at launch
- Will the footage be flagged for copyright from Stadia’s own capture system from YouTube’s Copyright flagging software?
But most of all, how laggy will it be? People’s internet will need to be able to cope with the game, if there’s the slightest bit of lag it will put gamers off. Coupled with multiplayer games, if there’s double the lag, people will not want to use the service.
It’s an interesting time to be a gamer certainly as Microsoft have their cloud service in the works too with ‘Xcloud’ so is this the way gaming is heading or will it supplement good ol’ physical disks or downloads.
Microsoft/Sony Playing Nicely?
Xbox Marketing Manager Aaron Greenberg has told the folks over at GameReactor they are “talking to Sony” about the potential for crossplay between the two consoles. Crossplay is a term to describe inter-platform gamers to play against each other on games, regardless of what console they are playing. He reiterated to GameReactor that he feels the industry is moving towards a ‘customer first’ focus. Making note of Minecraft users being able to play people from Xbox One, iPhone and Nintendo Switch.
Of Sony Greenberg said:
“We’re talking to Sony. We do partner with them on Minecraft and of course we’d like to enable them to be part of that one community, and unite gamers… We’re hopeful that they’ll be supportive of it.”
While Playstation aren’t so keen, back in June Jim Ryan, Playstation global sales and marketing head told Eurogamer:
“It’s certainly not a profound philosophical stance we have against this. We’ve done it in the past….We’re always open to conversations with any developer or publisher who wants to talk about it. Unfortunately it’s a commercial discussion between ourselves and other stakeholders.”
With the PS4 being the most popular console and by a long margin too, it makes little sense for Playstation to be up for this and total sense for Microsoft.
Dirt 4 Review
Getting down and Dirt-y
The Dirt series has always been at the forefront when it comes to combining real world driving mechanics with a fast-paced arcade style that oozes with charm. After two failed attempts to push the franchise in different directions with “Dirt Showdown” and “Dirt Rally”, both expertly mediocre in all facets, the series has gone back to its roots with the official forth entry, Dirt 4.
And praise the gaming gods it has. As just when racing genre was starting to turn stale, Dirt 4 drifts through the pack to show just how magical racing games can truly be.
Much like its predecessor, Dirt 3, the forth entry has a minimalist approach to why exactly you’re racing. You’re an up and comer who likes racing, and so you race. You’re here for a racing game, so what other excuse do you need?
As you race, your character levels up by completing events and a selection of challenges given at the start of each race. As you gain more experience, different forms or race open up to you.
So, while you start off with good old-fashioned dirt rally races, by the end you’ll be taking part in massive dirt buggy events, night time speed runs, and hillside drift challenges that make Initial D look tame.
The verity of events to tackle is mind blowing. Then you find out that the game is also randomly generated, and soon realise Dirt 4 has the potential to technically create infinite tracks for you to race on forever!
Plus, the game now incorporates random events into races to keep you on your toes. Sometimes you might be notified over the headset that another racer has broken down, and so you’ll need to keep an eye out for their car on the track.
And at one point, a car had a crash and was wedged nicely into the trunk of a tree. These events keep the game constantly fresh and make the events feel like actual races, rather than static track you just drive along.
But when you’re not busy racing and laughing at your unfortunate opponents, you can also manage your very own team. You can buy cars from dealers or auction houses and start your own enterprise which involves hiring drivers and sorting out sponsors for your races.
While these menus are finicky and confusing at first, get it right and you’ll see a massive profit boost for every successful race you and your team manage to win.
Looking at your best time at the end of a rally to see that your team has also secured some other good positions in the leader board is a strangely satisfying feeling often unfound in racing games.
But what really pulls it all together is the games breath-taking visuals. Lots of racing games bank on their impressive visual presentation to hide their lacklustre gameplay (lookin at you Project Cars 2), but Dirt manages to weave its visual presentation into the very core of the racing itself.
While speeding through lush woods and glistening sands, a drone might fly ahead or a fox might run across the track after a rabbit. These little visual flairs go a long way to making Dirt 4 feel alive and full of energy.
If only the same could be said for the soundtrack.
After the masterpiece that was Dirt 2, the Dirt games have prided themselves on having star-studded soundtracks that perfectly encapsulate the rush of racing. Sadly, Dirt 4 seems to have forgotten about the joy of music and keeps it’s audible attractions to the most basic level.
Songs can be heard during menus, playback, loading screens, and diegetically through speakers when getting ready to race but that’s it. There’s no little prompt that appears on screen when a song comes on to let you know what it is, there’s no option to skip tracks, there’s not even a way to customise the music in the options menu.
It’s a missing feature that serious racing fans won’t even realise is missing, but for those who adored the way music was incorporated into previous entries, prepare to be disappointed.
But considering how the only complaint with Dirt 4 is that the music isn’t very engaging, it goes to show just how much of a racing marvel Dirt 4 really is. With smooth and addictive gameplay, beautiful graphics and enough replayabilty to keep you driving for years, Dirt 4 comes in at first place as a must own title for any gamer.
Thanks to Koch Media for supplying a review code
Sony takes sound to a new level.
Sony made it’s OLED display into a speaker to take TV audio above and beyond.
In our quest for the perfect flat screen – speakers are usually the first casualty but Sony is on a mission to change this.
Their Bravia OLED TV’s have done something simple in theory but complex in design – they’ve turned the actual glass of the TV into speakers.
The TV aims to create depth and space to literally put you in the action by directing the sound from it’s visual source or from speaker placed around the room. Results of this new technology mean an immersive viewing experience with picture and sound in harmony.
Injustice 2 Review
A battle of beliefs Read more