Forza Motorsport 7 Ultimate Edition: Few Days Of Playing.

The day one update for Forza Motorsport 7 was 32GB large! when installing the game I expected the update to be around 5GB or maybe 10GB - 15GB tops, but I did not expect 32GB. Now, internet speed is not a problem for me now. Installing and updating at 2AM in the morning was a little. Thankfully it was on one of my days off. Now on to the game.

I've been playing Forza Motorsport since the first game on the original Xbox. It's been my go to racing game since then because the development cycle for Gran Turismo takes a very long time.
I've enjoyed every Forza Motorsport game. Well maybe except Forza Motorsport 4 was my least favorite because Forza 4 is the only game I wasn't able to adjust the carrier difficultly. I just like having the control to adjust difficulty and it wasn't cool when Turn10 took that away in Forza 4, and I digress.

Forza Motorsport 7 retains all the controls for difficulty in carrier since it was put back in Forza 5. So far I am enjoying the game play of Forza 7. It plays allot similar to Forza 6. However, there are much more cars and the track with some dynamic weather for the first time in the series. I say some dynamic weather because some tracks do not have night or rain options available for the tracks.
Forza 6 had rain, day, and night but they were not dynamic and did not change while during a race. Forza 7 track starts of as cloudy and ends in heavy down pour with thunder storms, and it changes the race while in the middle of the race, and I really like the dynamic change while racing.

Forza Motorsport 7 does have loot crates. Forza Motorsport 6 had mod packs which is kind of like loot boxes, but gamers did't really make a big deal over Forza 6's mod packs then they are with Forza 7 loot boxes. I had a problem with both because Forza 6 mod packs could be purchased with real money and some where in the future there will be micro transaction for Forza Motorsport 7's loot boxes.

VIP member ship also returns for those who got the Ultimate Edition. However, at first in Forza Motorsport 7 the VIP membership only had 3 VIP loot boxes that could only be used in 25 races, and that is it. Previous games VIP had a permanent 2x boost to credits and XP.
However, since the out cry by gamers for the VIP membership for Forza 7. Turn10 will now change it back to the permanent 2x boost like it did in the previous games.

I will try to post more as I play more of the game.

Destiny 2: 128 Hours Gameplay!

So I've played about 128 hours of Destiny 2 and I have all three characters at level 20 with a light level of over 172, and I am enjoying the game. Here is what I think so far.

Micro transactions:

• Micro transaction is still in the game in the form of  Silver, which is an in game currency that can only purchased with real money. With the silver, the player can purchase 'bright engrams' which is Destiny 2's equivalent of a loot boxes.
• So far, I haven't been forced to use real money to buy any silver to purchase 'bright engrams.' After level 20, the player is rewarded 1 bright engram each time the player levels up.
• When opening the bright engrams, the loot that comes out of the bright engram is random and lately I haven't had any really good items come out of my bright engrams which is frustrating. My other friends seem to get cool stuff like exotic space ships and sparrow.

Gameplay:

• The gameplay plays like the first Destiny game, and in many ways it fells more like Destiny 1.5 then a true sequel.
• However, Destiny 2 plays allot better then the first Destiny. Early on in the game I got my first exotic item. In the first Destiny it took me a long while before I got my first exotic, and Destiny 1 didn't even make it clear on how to get exotics. Getting rare exotics early in the game makes me fell accomplished early on.
• The gun play is still tight and even better then the first game.
• What I really like is that it is easier to infuse and upgrade exotic items with out the use of exotic shards. In Destiny 1, one of the only few ways to get exotic shards is to wait for the weekend for an in game NPC named Xur to randomly pop into the game and then I could buy exotic shards with an in game currency called 'strange coins.' In Destiny 2, it only takes legendary shards to infuse exotic or legendary items which can be obtained by dismantling legendary or exotic items.

Story:

• The story in Destiny 2 is much better and focused then the first Destiny. I still don't know the full story of Destiny 1 and in which order the story goes by.
• Destiny 2 has much more focused story with clear cinematic cut scenes. The main story is not very long which I don't mind since I can fully under stand it.

Content:

• There is allot more content this time around. Destiny 1 there wasn't much to do when the game first came out, and more content is being added quicker in Destiny 2 then the first game.
• Grinding! Yes there is allot of grinding in Destiny 2, but that is expected from a loot driven game like Destiny 2. It feels less grindy then the first Destiny though.

This game is nothing new, and it doesn't feel like a squeal, but I am still having fun playing the game. Now if only I can finally finish the leviathan raid at least once...

Forza Motorsport 7: Loot Boxes, VIP Membership Not Permanent, Micro transactions Oh My!

I was excited to get the new Ultimate Edition Forza Motorsport 7 for the Xbox One that is until I heard that the VIP membership that comes with the ultimate edition is now a consumable and only last 25 times. Then it's gone! I suspect the little crown that is next to your gamer tag stays to indicate that you are a VIP, but all the benefits of VIP only last 25 times!
In all the Forza Motorsport games the VIP gave me special cars and credits as long as the game was in installed. Now, it has been taken away, and I don't see the point in spending $100 for the ultimate edition.
There is also loot boxes in Forza 7. Yes you heard me, loot boxes! These contain items such as car mods. Loot boxes also means grinding to buy them. It also means that it will lead to micro transactions later down the road.
It looks like Forza 7 is designed around micro transaction from the start.
Forza 5 had this too, and it didn't do very well because of the micro transaction back lash.
Forza 6 was much better. It had Micro transactions, but not as bad as Forza 7 is going to have.
Am I surprised by this? Not really.

• Do I like how games are turning to micro transactions and loot boxes even when the game cost $60 - $100 depending on the version of the game? NO! Several times I spend $100 for an 'Ultimate/Gold Edition' just to have items in game behind a pay wall forcing me to spend real money for them. 
• Do I spend the real money? No. I just have to live with out those items while playing the game if I even do buy the game in the first place. (At first there will not be micro transaction in the game, but just like Forza Horizon 3. The micro transactions will be added later in a future update). 
• Will I get Froza 7? I don't know at this point. I did get the game. Have not installed it at this point due do work and life stuff.

The excitement of getting and playing Forza 7 is gone. The excitement of getting and playing Forza 7 is not gone, but the frustration remains. Spending allot of money on a game and not being able to to get value is really frustrating.

• October 4th, 2013: I did get Forza Motorsport 7 because I've enjoyed the game series since the first Forza Motor sport and I couldn't pass down racing in this new game.
• Good news everyone! VIP membership will be fixed to its original state. This is good because I did also get the ultimate edition too.
• The frustration is still there. Knowing they even would go down a path that would take value away from VIP in the first place and the only way for change is to hear frustrated and angry gamers is also frustrating.
• October 6th, 2017: Still have not installed the game because of work and life stuff. That and I've been playing Destiny 2 and trying to complete the leviathan raid at least once!

Even More Micro Transactions.

I've been running into allot of micro transactions in games lately. Even games that never had micro transactions are now implementing it in their games.
Allot of these micro transactions take the form of 'loot crates' that give the player extra mods, skins, characters etc. Some games allows to purchase these 'loot crates' with in game currency that can be earned through playing the game and 'grinding.' The catch is if you want more at a faster pace, the player can pay real money for faster and more 'loot crates.'
However, there are some games that block some of these crates behind 'pay walls.' What is a 'pay wall?' It is an item or 'loot crate' that can only be purchased with real money.

For example, Gears Of War 4 has crates and items behind a pay wall. Some crates that could only purchased with real money. Their excuse is that the money go towards e-sport competitions. I don't care where the money goes too. I payed $100 for the gold edition and season pass just so that to get those items I would have to pay more money, and these loot crates run from $10 - $20 each.
I took a break from Gears Of War 4 because of this and other reasons.

The Division is also another game that added loot crates.

Then there is pay to win games... These games not only have pay walls but forces players to pay money to get items that allows them to advance and win the game. These games I refuse to play.

Forza Horizon 3 came out with no micro transaction. It was later added via updates.

There are some games like Halo 5: Guardians where all of the DLC's are free but have micro transactions to pay for loot crates, but are also not behind pay walls. There is allot of grinding in the game to earn enough in game currencies to buy the loot crate. When playing personaly, I did not see a pay wall. I got tired of the grinding though, and I uninstalled the game because the size of the game went over 100GB and I wanted to install and play others games on my Xbox One.

Micro Transaction is here to stay and won't be going away, and I don't like it.

Destiny 2: First Week.

I got Destiny 2 on day one for the Xbox One, and so far I am enjoying the game. It fells like the first Destiny but with allot of improvements.
Here are some of the things I noticed that have improved from the first Destiny.

1. The story is much more focused. I still don't know the entire story of the first story as a whole. Destiny 2 makes it easier to understand. However, the backstory is hard to understand because the first Destiny is still hard to understand the story.
2. Getting exotic gear early in Destiny 2. In the first Destiny it could take a very long time before your character can get an exotic item. (Exotic items are the highest rated items in Destiny), and I really like that.
3. Match making for Raids in Destiny 2. I didn't play much raids in the first Destiny because there were no match making system in place unlike strikes. So I missed allot of the story in Destiny 1 because I didn't have any one to go on raids. Destiny 2 allows for match making. However, the requirements for the raids are high. (As of this writing I have yet to meet the requirements for a raid).
4. No going into orbit when traveling with in the game world. Destiny 1 had the player go into orbit before traveling to other areas in the game. Destiny 2 allows to travel from the map anywhere.

There is one downside I see, and it's a well know downside. Two words, micro transaction!

• Destiny 1 had something called shaders in which you could change the color of your character so that all your armor pieces would match. This was unlimited use in Destiny 1, and I really liked reusing shaders when it fits my mood.
• Destiny 2 on the other hand removed this unlimited shaders changing it into a one time use only and requires a shader for each armor piece. For example one shader for the helmet, chest piece, arms, legs, banner and gun. That would be 6 shaders of the same color to get a matching set, and when I want to change armor I will not be able to reuse them. I would have to get more of the same color, and I am not guaranteed that I will get the same color dropped when playing the game. This leads to grinding, and playing the game over and over just to get the color shaders I want. Sometimes it could be quick and sometimes it takes allot of grinding. It feels a lot like gambling for a chance to get the colors shaders that I want.
• This is where the micro transaction comes into play. There is a in game currency called silver that can only be purchased with real money, and the only way to buy more shaders is to use silver, and even then I do not think it is guaranteed that the colors you really want will drop when you purchase these shaders. I don't fully know this new system because I refuse to the micro transaction system in Destiny 2 and I do not like any micro transaction all together. 
• Even the shaders that I have now I refuse to use because I am not getting the shaders that I really want, and when I find another armor set, which is more often that I change in Destiny 2. I don't get enough of the color, and I refuse to pay real money for a slim chance of getting the color.
• MODs are another thing...

Other then the micro transaction. Overall I am enjoying Destiny 2 much more then Destiny 1.

Summer 2017, Summer Of Smoke

The summer started off as mild and a little wet. It turned out to be very hot and with some of the worst air quality caused by allot of forest fires. In the past, we have had forest fires smoke blow our way, but not this bad.
The worst of these forest fires is caused by Eagle Creek fire in the Colombia River George that was set by a 'dumb kid' From Vancouver Washington. This kid and his friends showed no judgment are compassion for others and thought it would be funny to set fire works in an area very dry and could cause a fire. Because of this kid, there were some damage to the famous Multnomah Falls land mark.
Today started off a nice day, almost clear but in a matter of hours its tuned into a very smokey day with bad air quality again. I can't wait for the rain to come and help wash away the smoke and put out all these forest fires.

The heat was another thing. The smoke trapped some of the heat in making it more muggy then usual. The smoke did help prevent use from breaking a few heat records. If it wasn't for the smoke the highest temperature would have hit 108 degrees.

The good news was the past solar eclipse was on a very clear day, and not a hot day. It was also an amazing site to see and feel. Watching day turn night and feeling a drastic temperature drop. I would love to watch another one again.

Persona 5: The Cat!

I really enjoy playing this game allot. I wanted to play a really well made Japanese RPG for a while, and this game is huge. Some estimate that doing all the things in the game could take one hundred plus hours, and I really like that.
There is one small problem in the game, and that is the cat. Yes I said cat. One of the characters in the game is a cat, and each night I want to do something and explore the game. The cat says 'Hey!' and tells me that I am tired and that I should sleep. There are times in game that this happens every night! Part of the game is to explore, how can I explore when the in game cat won't let me because Morgana, (The Cat) thinks that I am too tired.
This is not a bug. This is part of the game, and it's a slight annoyance. Other then that, the game is really fun to play.