Westworld is the only world

Growing up I never considered myself a “TV person”. I hated appointment TV. If the VCR didn’t record it or you missed the episode you were basically screwed. We're all spoiled nowadays with how easy it is digest your favorite show.

Unless it was some A Team rerun or Saturday’s Main Event, I'd only use the TV for gaming, movies and live sports. Even in college, I remember everyone having X Files viewing parties. I liked the 1st season of X Files, since each episode was it's own story and the overarching plot was unnecessary to enjoy it. If you missed an episode no problem. Once it became a continuous layered story and said fuck it. I will enjoy TV on my time dammit!

Now I'm most CERTAINLY a TV guy, like most of you out there. We're in a Golden Age of Television right now and thanks to technology and the Internet is impossible for someone to miss an episode. I have some favorites: Person of Interest (RIP), Hannabal (RIP), Spartacus (RIP), The 100, Daredevil, Vikings, The Walking Dead and of course, my absolute obsession on page and on screen: GAME OF THRONES.

I’m not here to talk about GOT, but I eventually will. I fucking love everything about that world. I'm here to talk about my newest addition to the list: WESTWORLD.

Holy Mother of God, what a show. Westworld is that 3rd round pick that just EXPLODES on the pro scene. He has potential, but can he deliver? Let me tell you something Westworld delivers. I'm confident by the end of season one it will crack my Top 5.

Before I get into it, just know up front I'm going to be talking spoilers. So if you haven't watched stop reading immediately and GO WATCH IT.

NOW!!!!!

Still here?

OK, this show is Science Fiction at its best. When a story based in the future (or another dimension or planet) can be grounded and thought provoking to contemporary people, it's just magnificent.

The setting is unique and familiar at once, which hooked me right away. The show is set in a Wild West theme park inhabited by lifelike androids. On it own, it nails the Western Vibe but the twist of a shifting theme park for the rich makes it very interesting.

I guess I have a thing for Westerns with a twist. My favorite book series is THE DARK

TOWER, and I recently read (and LOVED) John Hornor’s The Incorruptibles. Both of these stories take the Western motif and add high fantasy elements. In Westworld, it's a Western injected with Scifi.

Westworld’s look and setting got me interested enough to check the pilot. After that I've been completely hooked.

Unlike a lot of shows, you really need to pay attention to every detail. The use of music is a great example of this. The score is beautifully done on its own, but there are plenty of musical easter eggs that are just sick. Every episode (I believe, I need to rewatch) features some old timey piano playing at the whore house The Mariposa. Every song played is a rock / alternative hit. The first episode played “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden. Other episodes featured Radiohead and The Cure. If you recognize the song, and know the lyrics, it really drives home the overall themes of the show.

Sometimes the actual score becomes a cover of another song. The most standout scene of the entire series (so far), is when Maive asked to see a tour of the factory that made her. Here she is, walking slowly with a mixture of slow suprise, horror and disgust, being shown that everything she's ever known is manufactured, designed and ultimately a lie. All the while, “Motion Picture Soundtrack” by Radiohead is being performed by a String Quartet. It's a scene I won't soon forget….and it's only episode 6.

The show speaks to our current state of human society. Technology continues to improve everyday. The “uncanny valley” between real human intelligence and an artificial one becomes smaller all the time. At what point do our morals need be involved? If you don't know if the person standing in front of you is real or fake, does it really matter? We don't really think about how we abuse our appliances because they are simply cold machines, but if one day, they weren’t?

This conflict of morality really speaks to today's gamers. Westworld is basically the most realistic sandbox “video game” ever made. Open world sandbox games, made popular by the Grand Theft Auto franchise, allowed unprecedented freedom in a video game. You want to do the quests or find the collectibles? Have fun. But you don't have to! You want run over some pedestrians? Kill cops? Fuck a prostitute? Have at it. You want to be cop? A vigilante? A cab driver? It's all here. It doesn't matter at all what you do in those worlds because it's all 100% fake.

Now, Westworld takes that concept and increases it a thousand times. The consequences still aren’t there, but now everyone can  feel and breathe. What would do?

As William tell Dolores, “Now I understand It doesn't cater to your lower self, it reveals your deepest self; it shows you who you really are.”

Even some of the visitors to the park take up cliche gamer types. Logan is an old vet to the park, and knows how to maximize his time. He doesn't really care for all the extra details anymore, if he ever did. He's the guy that will skip the cutscene cause he just wants to get to the action. William, his counterpart, is a noob. He’s trying to figure out how this place works, sometimes failing miserably to Logan’s delight. William is also trying to stay morally “right”. Anyone who's played Fallout, Mass Effect or Fable can understand this concept too. He's given an opportunity to be a hero and he wants to do it. He wants to talk to every NPC and go on fetch quests because the simple “Fuck and/or Kill” rampages don't appeal to him.

Another tried and true video game troupe comes to us from The Man in Black plotline. His journey to the maze with Teddy is in essence an “Escort Mission” video game cliche. Escort Missions are notoriously annoying in games. You have no problem taking care of yourself and are practically unstoppable, so developers add in a stupid, squishy NPC to protect. The Man in Black has shown he is invincible in Westworld, so they saddled with him poor Teddy to protect.

It's just an amazing show. I'm looking forward to watching episode 7 tonight. Maybe I'll post a bit about it after I do….

AND IT WAS AWESOME! Of course it was. Bernard being a Host is something a lot of people called early on, however, Westworld executed the reveal so well it didn’t matter. Bernard turns from a sympathetic figure to a very scary tool for Dr. Ford. He’s the ultimate spy, and muscle.

THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS HAVE VIOLENT ENDS!!!!!

Thanks for reading.

If want to hit me up on Twitter or Instagram it’s @floworcrash

My Xbox Gamertag is xDon Snowx

My Thoughts on Titanfall 2

I know in my last post I talked about Titanfall 2 but since I just got it, I couldn’t really talk about it. I think I’ve put in enough time to come to some conclusions about the game.

Admittedly, I've only played the first few levels of the campaign but I must say it's seems very polished and fun. No surprise there, since a lot of Respawn Entertainment is comprised of ex- Infinity Ward people. And as you can see with IW’S recent track record, a lot of the magic is with that studio. I'm down to run through it. This weekend it's definitely on.

The real meat and potatoes is of course the multiplayer. Twitch shooter on steroids, with mechs. They made a bunch of changes from the original and at first I didn't like it. More of a good thing is what we all wanted in the sequel, and this game delivered on that front. BUT...no visual customization for the soldiers. Kinda whack.

I see why they did it. Respawn wants us to be able to recognize someone's kit by the way they look. For example, if you want to have the Stim ability, you are going to look like a chicken legged robot. Here's the thing Respawn: The game is so fast paced it's pretty impossible to recognize the look of a pilot. You know how I figure out what pilot ability someone has? I can see them using it. It doesn't matter if it’s some fat pilot with a fur coat or a skinny robot. Oh you can put skins on your pilot and guns but that's not enough in my opinion.

However, the loadout customization options for your pilot are ratcheted up BIG TIME. I really like that. There are 3 times as many guns, sidearms, ordinance etc. You get a bunch of loadout slots right out of the gate too, and you can edit any of them during the game….a welcome touch. A new rule is that you are forced to only hold 2 guns which puts me in a pickle. I want a pistol sidearm, but if I put that on I can't have an anti Titan weapon. That's a big change from TF1 that I don't understand.

The biggest change to multiplayer involves the Titans. Not going to lie, this part really pissed me off at first. I've only come to a begrudging understanding at this point. Hey it is what it is. In TF1 your titan was customizable. You picked a chassis and then outfitted it with guns, ordinance etc, just like your Pilot loadouts. Now that's all thrown out. Now, each Titan is a “character” of its own. You can unlock some options but essentially you're stuck with what you have. If you want the 40mm cannon (my favorite) you have to play as Ton.

This change is explained in the story, which I appreciate. The titans used in the first game are “Vanguard” class, just like your main character’s Titan in the campaign, BT. Right away you're told the vanguard class is extremely rare, especially after the events of the first game took place. The biggest thing about Vanguard class Titans is that they can be customized. Nice touch Respawn.

So what does that mean for multiplayer? Respawn wanted to balance the Titans out while giving them some character. You can also visually call out Titans now. I’ve always had a thing for giant robots, I grew up on Voltron, Robotech etc so I love the Titan models. Here's the big issue for me: if Respawn wanted to go this route with the Titans, they should've had more. Only 6 titans are available in the game, and can be all unlocked early on. That doesn't lead to a lot of variety. Yes you can unlock extra options on the Titans but those changes don't change the overall kit very much. This was done on purpose for balance and I get it, but you need more.

With the pilots, you're unlocking guns and perks deep into progression. It seems like you unlock lists of stuff all the time. For titans there's just not enough.

I praised Respawn earlier for multiplying the pilot armory by 3, but curiously, they took away the same amount with the Titans. For a game based around DROPPING HUGE ROBOTS FROM THE SKY, the Robots seem almost an afterthought.

Most of your play sessions should be 50/50 Titans / Pilots, but I think more of an emphasis was put on the Pilots to try to appeal to the COD crowd. Why have so much creative strategic opportunities with Pilot loadouts and Team Comp, then only have a paltry 6 options FOR THE COOLEST PART OF THE GAME??? Make no mistake, those 6 options are very cool, but there needs to be more. Hopefully we’ll see new titans release through DLC, but we should've had at least 10 titan choices to unlock with the vanilla version of the game.

The fast paced Pilot movement was one of coolest aspects of Titanfall, but now it seems everyone is doing it. It's stale before you even turn the game on. With the first game, it was still fun to lose and try to make it onto the dropship. It was a super empowering experience at all times even if you're not doing great. Of course it's still fun, but it's not fresh. The Titans make Titanfall what it is. I'm happy the campaign takes that seriously. I just wish the multiplayer did as well. Titans aren't some throw away killstreak move but it kinda feels that way.

Make no mistake, I enjoy the game. I'm happy there's a sequel and EA has already announced a third. Maybe next time there can be more of a happy medium in gameplay. Oh and maybe EA won't release its OTHER blockbuster FPS franchise within a week like they did with Battlefield 1!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Titanfall 2 or anything else in the world of gaming. Hit me up on Twitter: @floworcrash

Want to join me online? My XBL Gamertag is xDon Snowx. Till next time.

What am I playing?

Of course I keep gaming. I've been gaming as long as I can remember and God willing I'll never stop.

What's really great is that my son Ephraim has the same itch as his dad. This year he finally has his own TV and Xbox is his room and he gets to play on weekends. We actually had a weekly Twitch steam for a little while, but my computer sucks and it ended up being a real pain. Maybe I'll go back to it once I can afford to buy a new computer.

So yeah, I'm Xbox all the way these days. If I could afford a PS4 I'd buy one too, I'm not one of these herb fan boys who's "Team Xbox" or whatever. These kids don't know that these corporations don't give a fuck about them but their cash. I like the Wii U although it's pretty much dead. Splatoon, Mario Kart and Smash are awesome. I definitely want that Switch!

I have an Xbox One cause I love the exclusive games, and that extra TV functionality and Kinect was cool when it worked.

I'm so pissed about my Kinect not working. I actually really like the voice commands. It's too bad Microsoft doesn't support it. Mine only stays on for like thirty seconds maybe. It blows. It's a 60 dollar paperweight right now. The TV integration is really cool too, but I've recently had problems with that as well. Stuttering mostly. Plus your picture quality dips a little when using it so combined with the aforementioned paperweight, what's the point? Those things are bonuses for me anyway, it's always been about the exclusive games. Halo, Gears and Forza are dope franchises are console sellers for me.

So what am I playing? First and foremost I played the crap outta OVERWATCH this summer. I still would be if all these other incredible game didn't just come out. OW is the perfect combination of fighting game and FPS strategy. It's an unbelievably polished and fun game. Problem is that it needs MORE at this point. More modes, maps and characters. That stuff is on the way, but not fast enough. I really thought Blizzard would drop the hammer on the industry with a big content drop leading into fall but sadly they didn't. They currently have a Halloween event going on right now and of course we know Sombra will finally be out at some point. Cool but not enough to pry me away from these other great new releases. But I'll be back, it's that good.

I love FORZA HORIZON 3. I feel Horizon 2 was the best racing game since Grand Turismo 2, and this new one just takes it to a whole new level. It's exhilarating and relaxing when you want it to be. The social aspects are super easy to use, and I LOVE how you can download other people's car tunes and paint jobs. Just brilliant.

Of course, I'm rocking GEARS OF WAR 4. Let me tell you something, it might be the best one in the franchise. The graphics are unparalleled on a console. Gears to me has always been the "Mortal Kombat" of shooters with its fucking amazing gore factor. No shooter is more satisfying then Gears when blow someone in half with a Gnasher. Halo is my favorite but it can't top that. It's 3rd person system takes a different kind of skill to be successful, and high level play is amazing to me. I'm not high level lol. If I'm middle of the road most games I'm on a roll but It's the shit. The campaign is simply the best action experience you can have this year, movies and TV included. It's that much fun.

I just recently received Titanfall 2 for my birthday. I loved the first, so I was looking forward to getting my hands on this one. First of all, it's a well executed game. I'm happy there's a campaign this time and I'm looking forward to rocking that out. I played some rounds of multiplayer last night and it's pretty fun. Not as mind blowing as the first one was though. Maybe it's because every COD since has copied the best parts of TF (minus the mechs) and it's kind of stale. Maybe I'm just kind of sick of FPS games right now, especially with FORZA and GEARS still fresh. It's definitely dope, and it's cool to play with some old friends who wouldn't normally. I'm reserving final judgement until I rock it out a bit more. I can't judge a game based on other games in my library you know what I'm saying?

So there it is. I really want the NES CLASSIC, SKYRIM SPECIAL EDITION, FINAL FANTASY 15, TEKKEN 7 ETC ETC ETC LOL. I gotta pay bills though! Let's see what I can hustle up.

Hey if you want to connect with me, it's @floworcrash on Twitter & IG. My XBL gamertag is xDon Snowx . See you out there!

A Dad RISES

Man, sure is dusty in here. What is that, Pizza? Jesus it was Pizza, now it's trying to grow into a new life form.

It's been a long time. Too long. Life is one long Roller coaster boy. Sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes really down (is this thing broken). But just like the legendary Ric Flair said, "When you're a champion, you're never down you just STAY UP."

Staying up for me is writing. Creatively expressing myself. I've made too many excuses but I gotta get back at it man! Let's dust this place up and let's go!

I wrestled with the idea of changing the name of this blog, because the format is going to be different. If anyone remembers the old look, you'll notice it's different. Cleaner. I'm also using my real name.

My name is Richard Donohue, nice to meet you.

I'm still a Dad who games, and that will always be a big topic, but I want to expand this blog to encompass my other interests as well. Sports, Movies, Books...nothing is off the table. If I want to rant about current events, I'm going to.

Stream of conscience is the name of the game folks.

I decided to keep the blog name the same cause its a metaphor for life. I hope that you'll want to come on this journey with me, so that it can be a metaphor for you as well.

Those that know the "30 Man Code" or Konami code are of a certain age. I know now it's more mainstream pop culture knowledge, but if you needed to look in Nintendo Power, or watched in Gradius as your ship blew up if you tried it, you know what I'm about. 

Plus, in essence, what did the Konami code do for you? It gave you extra lives. Enough to make a very difficult game much easier. That's what life is: A very difficult game. This blog will help me get through it, just like the ol' Up, Up, down, down did for me all those years ago.

Thanks and I hope you stick around!