Intensive Gaming Diary

Blog about different aspects of retro and new video games.

Category: Modern

What Have I Been Playing Recently

Posted on by Viljami

I realized yesterday that it has been already a bit over two weeks from my latest post to this blog. I have been busy with work, game designing and I have also met some friends. I have also played. Actually I have played a lot. I just haven’t had time to sit down and write about it.

Yesterday I also for the first time checked from Steam how many hours I have put in NBA 2K22. I am playing it with PC as you probably figured out from that last sentence where I mentioned Steam. I have played this game for 90 hours.  already described my progression in this game in the last post to this blog.

A while ago I stopped playing Gran Turismo 7. I played it maybe 40 hours. As you can figure I have played a lot this year already. After this I figured I should get into some driving games for PS4. I saw a nice discount so I bought Wreckfest and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered. I also got F1 2021.

Hot Pursuit is a remasterd version of the game that was released in 2010. There were also some NFS games published earlier and they were also called Hot Pursuit. The comncept here is clear. You decide which side of the law you are on. So you can choose to be a police or a racer.

I have already enjoyed playing this racing game for about 30 hours. At first I was a bit disappointed. I thought the game wasn’t realistic. Driving the same circuit for 50 times seemed very repetitive to me. And you didn’t progress much. I had played as a racer so I decided to try playing as a police.

Playing Need For Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered as a police is very fun. You basically try to drive as fast as you can, bust some racers and utilize means like using a spike strip, helicopter or road block to capture some racers. This play mode saves my experience. As NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered is not a realistic or enjoyable as a racing game it can be a nice experience as a game.

As it figures there’s too few hours for me to play every good game, be it a racing one or not. So I haven’t even opened Wreckfest or F1 2021. I have just been too busy lately. These games aren’t even the newest ones. As my dreams of getting myself a Xbox Series X seem to fade I have started to think about expanding my Series S’s memory. I just don’t know if there’s anything good and new to play.

Picking up what to play next is very common issue for me as a gamer. Thank you for reading. I try to write some more. I have a holiday of two weeks coming soon so maybe I catch you then. Maybe a bit earlier. Let’s find out!

My Relationship to NBA 2K Series

Posted on by Viljami

I have played NBA 2K basketball games for a long time. The game I have played the most to this day is NBA 2K14. Since I have a background in playing real basketball I wanted to have a little fantasy on being a professional basketball player playing in NBA. I played in my youth six years in a competitive level and continued to play weekly for about a year after that. In NBA 2K14 I managed to max my abilities to a level of 99 and eventually won the championship with my team. I remember immediately stopping playing after I won the championship. I had played this game a lot. And that means also a lot in today’s standards. We are talking over 60 hours of playing here.

I have played NBA 2K with Switch Lite, PC, PS3 and PS4. When I first created a character from my fantasies I made it a point guard that was also able to shoot some three pointers. I definitely wanted the character to have good ball handling and passing skills and also to have some common cleverness on the court. I decided to make the player the same height as I am. That means he is six feet tall. So it’s just enough to play as a shooting guard or point guard.

As a sport game series NBA 2K has had a long run in releasing these games that have had a good quality. The game has evolved as the series has progressed. There has been a game released every year. I am a fan of this game series. That is definitely true. But I haven’t had the interest to buy this almost same game every year. So that’s why I don’t have every game that has been released in this series.

The latest NBA 2K game is a very good one. As I have read some reviews also I think other journalists or reviewers have had some issues with other content in this game besides the actual part of playing intensive basketball. Does the latest game try too much to be a game that has all kinds of features that aren’t actually needed? The players and teams are the current ones but that solely hardly is a good reason to buy the game. NBA has a solid and huge fan base even outside of North America. I mean that I’m from Finland and I still very much enjoy this game. And it’s good to see our own Lauri Markkanen in this game.

I have currently NBA 2K22 installed to my PC. My overall is now 92. I am playing the third season with Indiana Pacers. We have won 47 games this year already and we are strongly heading towards the playoffs. I think we have an opportunity to win the championship this season. I am currently at the top position inside the game when it comes to discussion about the Most Valuable Player or shortly MVP. I have enjoyed the game very much. I even ended up competing in the All-Stars slam dunk competition. This current character I am playing with is 6 feet and 5 inches tall. So I am playing as a small forward this time.

We are very likely going to see NBA 2K23 somewhere in the future. How long does this last? Will it be a good game also? Will you and I buy it? So many questions and so little time. We will find the answer some day. See you then!

Grand Theft Auto

Posted on by Viljami

Do you find the mindset of Grand Theft Auto a bit weird? You go around driving a car and you accidentally drive over a person. Oops. The next thing that goes on is police starting to chase you. So what do you do? It wouldn’t be GTA if you wouldn’t shoot all the cops coming after you. Next thing you know is military coming after you. Maybe you end up driving a tank.

This is all a reality in Grand Theft Auto. But did you know that this game wasn’t at first meant to be as violent and somewhat absurd? That is the case. They were developing something and as they were working they got the idea of how the game actually could turn out to be. This of course was something that was never done before.

The first GTA game was released in 1997. At this time gangsta rap was dominating musical entertainment. Games like Fallout were released. This harsh realism seemed to be the trend. Hopes for better technology were rising. And there was also a hope for better tomorrow through using latest technology.

GTA series definitely wasn’t a one hit wonder. The sequel was released in the end of 1990s. What really pushed the gaming industry forward was the release of GTA III for PlayStation 2. It provided the player a full open world experience of violence and stealing cars in the midst of completing different kinds of missions for gangster bosses. At its time this was something revolutionary.

This wasn’t however the end for this game series. It wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning. There were more games released. The first of them was GTA IV. It was a deep experience in this dark criminal world. This was followed some years after as GTA V was released. There were several remakes done for the fifth game. Now we are hearing some talk that there would be a sixth game coming to stores soon.

Grand Theft Auto manages to bring different aspects of gaming together. It has an open world to explore. The driving in this game has an important role. It takes influences from shooters also. So this game brings you a solid experince for almost any gamer not depending on what kinds of games you like to play. It is a very diverse experience in overall.

I have enjoyed playing GTA. I remember seeing it the first time back in 1997 being played on a PC. It has remained at its spot as one of the most popular games though the history of playing games. And I am hoping to see the sixth game also soon.

Waiting for Forza Motorsport 8

Posted on by Viljami

Forza Horizon 5 was released in the fall of last year. I didn’t pick it up for some reason. Maybe I was so much into playing Diablo II Resurrected and Call of Duty – Vanguard. And to speak about it I’m not really such a fan of Forza Horizon series. I have to say that I am more into Forza Motorsport.

So there’s a new Forza Motorsport getting released soon. It is speculated that se might see it in the end of this year. However the final release date hasn’t been told. I have some knowledge of the first and also of the third game of this racing series. Actually, as you have probably seen from this posts featured image, I picked up, again, Forza Motorsport 3 and started playing it.

It is a very nice game. The graphics are a bit rude as you compare them to later games like Gran Turismo 7 on PS4. You have to consider how old Xbox 360 really is. It was released already in 2005. So we cannot compare it directly to these newer consoles. But if you put graphics aside you will find this game to be a nice and very playable. I am somewhat familiar also to the first Forza Motorsport game that was released in 2005. I don’t currently own a working original Xbox but you can however play this game with Xbox 360 because it has a backwards compatibility. Every original Xbox title doesn’t however work. I usually check a list from Wikipedia to see if a game is compatible. You can find it fast from your favorite search engine if you are interested.

I really like racing games. You might have noticed this. I first got into Gran Turismo and it was my first really realistic racing game. I played it a lot. Later I picked up some other racing games. At a time I had a keen interest in Need for Speed Shift one and two that I played with my PS3. That was maybe in 2010 or 2011. Back then I didn’t play so much retro games. And now, some years later, I found Gran Turismo again. I really didn’t like Gran Turismo 5. And of course I have to mention Colin McRae Rally series that progressed to Dirt series later. I think Dirt 3 and 4 were really good. I have some history also in Dirt Rally 1 and 2.0. Who doesn’t remember Richard Burns Rally? You have to really try it although it is already a bit old racing game.

So here we are. We are waiting for the next game in a series of racing games released for Xbox consoles. I think I will have some space left in my Xbox Series S for the new Forza Motorsport 8. I don’t know who won the race of these racing games. It is obvious that there is a competition between Xbox and PlayStation. I kind of finished Gran Turismo 7. I played it for about 40 hours. As there is some time I have to think if I should try finishing the third Forza Motorsport game. I have also played a bit Flatout 2 whic was develop by Bugbear which is a Finnish game company. You might want to check a game called Rally Trophy. I end this post by saying that Gran Turismo 4 was also a really good racing game.

Gran Turismo 7 – After Ten Hours of Playing

Posted on by Viljami

Gran Turismo 7 was released 4th of March. I got to play it early since I had ordered it in advance from a local game shop. Gamers all around the world have been waiting for this game to be available. Gran Turismo 6 was released on PS3 just before PS4 was getting to markets. So, we have been waiting for this for a while.

I would definitely like to play this racing game with a PS5. The circumstances are what they are and I have to satisfy my needs of some Gran Turismo racing with my PS4. I can see how a somewhat more advanced controller and better graphics would enhance my whole experience about this game. But even played with PS4 instead of PS5 I can be very satisfied how this game feels like.

I have to warn you. I usually play games longer compared to what is the average completion time expressed in for example How Long To Beat website. I have played already 48 hours of Diablo II Resurrected. It is said on How Long To Beat that its main story takes 18 hours to complete. Maybe I am a slow player or maybe I am a comletionist.

So, I have played Gran Turismo 7 for a bit over ten hours. This game made an impact as I started playing it. I had played a bit of Forza Motorsport 3 for Xbox 360 lately. It is older game but I immediately understood how good of a racing game the Gran Turismo is. You can set the difficulty level suitable for yourself. There are assists for breaking, steering and changing gears.

Gameplay is not simulation and it’s also not also arcade. It is somewhere in between. This can probably raise a question if it is a good game for some eSport sessions. Playing against your mates through network is an option if you like to play games that way. In the beginning of the game I chose intermediate skill level. I soon wanted to turn off automatic breaking. I tested a bit the settings and finally found ones that I liked. So there is a challenge for every racing fan that wants to play this game.

Graphics are amazing. Driving is fun. I don’t know how long it takes to finish the game since you can play it, I think, eternally, if you wish to do so. This is definitely the best we can get out of a racing game for PS4. I would like to try this game for PS5 but as you know there is a limited availability for a PS5 still. So you can play Gran Turismo 7 for as long as you want.

There are lots of goals in this game. You can try to called all the cars and unlock all the tracks. There is a cafe in GT7 from where you get missions, or menus, that give you something to achieve. You get a reward from achieving a goal. It is usually some new tracks or cars. You don’t immediately get to drive the fastest sport cars in the beginning of the game. You have to drive some time with some slower or not so sporty cars first.

After ten hours of playing Gran Turismo 7 seems to be everything I expected it to be. I have talked about this game with some of the persons I know since I heard that it was going to be released. It’s finally here. Now it’s time for me to enjoy it. I can definitely recommend this game.

My Xbox Series S

Posted on by Viljami

I decided to write about my dear Xbox Series S. I bought this gaming console last years summer. I originally placed it inside that Ikea shelf that has eight places for consoles. This shelf holds now seven of my game devices. So I actually moved my Series S to the right side of my television. And one place in this shelf has a basket in it where I store my controllers and also some cables.

Why did I move my Series S to its current position? I was thinking that it might not get enough air flowing through it. Although I haven’t heard of cases where a new Xbox console would have overheated. I thought about it for a while. As I placed my hand on the console I felt that it was extremely hot. So I thought I should place it better.

The console never gave me any error messages but I  noticed that it was cooling way better. I couldn’t feel almost any heating after I had placed the console better. I first thought I would place it on the floor but came to other thoughts a bit later. This was finally a good place for the console.

I have enjoyed my Xbox Series S greatly. I think the price was suitable. I hate that my Xbox doesn’t have so much disk space but I guess if you can play at least two or three games at a time and have them installed must be enough in these situations we are currenty still facing. I would have surely bought a Series X if they would have been available.

Some games I have for Series S are Call of Duty Vanguard, Diablo II Resurrected, Control and Mass Effect Legendary Edition. I have been content in having all of my games digital. I would like to play some of my Xbox 360 games with this new Xbox but as my Xbox 360 still works this isn’t so much of an issue. I love playing older or remade games also on my Series S. I really like the controller. It must be compatible with also a PC. I haven’t really tested. I do have  a USB to USB-C cable for the controller so I don’t have use batteries.

I think I got, once again, a nice picture for this blog post. That small device that is placed to the right of the Xbox Series S is my HDMI selector. It enables me to connect several HDMI devices to my television. I definitely had to buy this because I have so many consoles and my television had only three HDMI inputs. I also have room for up to three SCART connections in my television.

I might some day take some more pictures of my collection and setup that I have for gaming in my home. I do have lots of games and so little room. I just other day moved some of my games to storage. I still kept most of my games in this gaming corner that I have.

Is it a Good Moment to Buy Nintendo Switch?

Posted on by Viljami

So, this is my first post of the year. Welcome to 2022 for all you that are right now reading this blog. Before Christmas I was thinking and actually seeing conversation about how Switch would be sold for something like 250 euros after holidays. It is not that I would need a new gaming console. It is that that it is sold for so low price.

I have also been waiting for Xbox Series X to be available. I am actually thinking if I should buy Switch while there is no Series X available at the moment. While newest PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles have had serious issues with availability Nintendo has been ready to bring their consoles to gamers worldwide.

The price for Switch gaming console has been for a while about 320 euros. The price didn’t, at least yet, fall so much as was predicted. When I made a search for the price it was about 270 euros right now. That is the current lowest price of the console here in Finland.

Should you buy a new Nintendo console instead of Series X or PS5? There is of course the possibility to get the new updated Switch OLED which costs a bit more. The curent price is 399 euros. This console doesn’t bring you 4K graphics or anything even near that. This is propably a good time to have a conversation on the topic.

Nintendo Switch keeps selling. Nintendo is bringing many games to their console. For consumers there is also an option. That means that you have to wait. Maybe you wait for the newest Playstation. Maybe you wait for the newest Xbox. Or could it be that you are already waiting for the newest, upcoming, Nintendo console.

While Nintendo is dominating handheld gaming Sony and Xbox are struggling for their spot in the living room of gamers. Is it cool to play video games with your smart phone? Whatever your question that you want the answer to is one thing is certain – there are many question here. It seems to me that waiting might be the solution.

 

How to Maximize Your Performance in Competitive Gaming

Posted on by Viljami

When talking about how you perform in competitive gaming it first comes to mind that you have to practice a lot. You have to be young enough but also still old enough. You need your wits. You also have to be balanced in your life in overall. Make sure you get enough sleep. You might also figure that drinking is not good and you perform badly if you have a hangover.

But what I have to say is that one of the key things is concentration. You might remember how school was when you were a child. I remember that we had 45 minutes of class and then we took a break for 15 minutes and got some fresh air and then begun the next class. This seems to be somewhat optimal time for a person, a player, to concentrate. So keep this in mind. You can continue playing longer than 45 minutes but I think you should at least have a break after you have played for 2 hours.

Your age matters actually a lot when competing in gaming. It has been said that after the age of 27 years your nerve system starts to weaken a little by little. Well, I’m myself right now 37 years old so it seems I wouldn’t be able to compete against some younger players. This seems to be the case when considering especially first person shooter (FPS) games. But you have to also remember that while you play a game your nerve systems forms memory out of your actions and you might have a huge advantage if you have played some shooter game a lot. Like it is with athletes – very few of them are over the age of 30 and if they are they won’t be as good as they were younger.

While age matters and young players are more likely to succeed you have to remember that winning might not be the most important matter when it comes to gaming. I can say that I definitely enjoy playing games like an old soccer players enjoys playing. After all you are the one that sets your goal and the amount of effort you put in to playing games. Everyone doesn’t have to be a professional.

As it is important for competitive players to practice it is also important to have enough sleep. You also have to be in, so to say, good balance with your life. Gaming might not be your best shot as a career. It might not pay your rent. But it can be part of your successful life. It might be your dear hobby. It might be a way to spend some free time and get your thoughts out of your studies or work. For some people it might be a profession. Not for everyone.

The last thing I want to talk about in this blog post is that your equipment does matter also. Think about what genre you are going to compete in. For driving games you would like to have a steering wheel and paddles, fighting games require certain type of joystick, FPS’s can be played with keyboard and mouse and real-time strategies require these also. There are many tools for getting the best out of your performance.

About Crysis 2

Posted on by Viljami

I have hyped some games that I really enjoyed in this blog. So I guess it’s time to say something about a game I didn’t get so much in to. I’m not saying it is a bad game. Also I’m not saying I haven’t played FPS games at all because I somewhat have played them. Actually I’m currently playing Call of Duty Vanguard. There are lots of differences between these two considering that they are both in a same genre. In this text I would like to write about these differences and explain why I didn’t play Crysis 2 so much.

Crysis 2 is a good game. But my point here is that it is really difficult. What makes this game hard? At first it looks like your regular FPS experience. When you get to action you suddenly notice that the enemies are all over the place. When you fire a shot lots of enemies notice you and start shooting at you from different angles. You can dodge and take cover but because there are enemies behind you and in front of you…the game forces you to shoot accurately. If you miss a shot you get punished. There’s not lots of ammo also.

If we compare Crysis 2 to some Call of Duty, lets mention Vanguard here, we can see a clear difference. Call of Duty is easier. You can play it even if you are a casual shooter game fan. The enemies appear mainly in front of you. You can take cover easily. You just have to remember to reload your weapon and if there are lots of enemies you have to take cover if they fire at you heavily and if you get also wounded badly.

Weapons are a bit different also between these two games. Crysis 2 brings you some futuristic weapons while in Vanguard you get to use old weapons used in World War 2. But basically in Crysis 2 you get a shot gun or a sub machine gun with a bit limited aiming. In Vanguard you get to shoot with a sniper rifle a lot and also with some basic rifles and you can effectively use sub machine gun at close combat. Vanguard also features some stealth action and it may have more of it than Crysis 2.

So all I wanted to say about Crysis 2 is that it is basically a very good game. It’s just that it’s in my opinion just too hard. I know there are lots of fans of Crysis series all over internet. So please don’t be offended. Crysis 2 was originally released in 2011 for Xbox 360 and I think there is currently available a trilogy of HD remakes that includes all three Crysis games remade with todays graphics.

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