Starcraft 2 Tournament at GameTyrant

We recently had the opportunity to help organize and cast a Starcaft 2 LAN/Tournament.

It was an absolute blast and I can't wait for the next one!

Here is a quick highlight video of the event.

New Hardware!!! GTX 1080

I made it nearly 2 years with my 390x and that card was a champ that's for sure.

I've been wanting to get another AMD video card because I am a fanboy of theirs and they're also the only cards I've owned for well over a decade.

With their current offerings I was a little less inclined to pick one up.

The performance is ok on their cheaper cards and adequate on their more expensive cards but their power consumption is just astronomical! I've been so over having my computer area go up in temperature and noise so I finally made the jump to... Nvidia.

I resisted for so long and now that I'm here on team green I have to say I can't believe how much better they are. From drivers, to performance, to power usage, and all of the little details in between.

I will absolutely still recommend AMD in the future but I'll definitely be putting Nvidia in the mix too.

Now on to the important stuff. Benchmarks!!!

I currently use a 1440p monitor but all of my testing was done at work on a 1080p display.

As for programs I used Unigine Heaven and 3Dmark.

Heaven.

390x 

Score: 1728

FPS: 68.6

Temperature: 80 Celsius

GTX 1080

Score: 3541

FPS: 140

Temperature: 65

3Dmark.

Firestrike.

390x

Graphics Score: 12541

Temperature: 80 Celsius

GTX 1080

Graphics Score: 21570

Temperature: 66 Celsius

So as you can see these scores are either double or close to double the performance.

And I couldn't be happier!!!

If you want to see my last hardware upgrade from a 270x to the 390x hit the link below.

http://www.sakegaming.com/2016/01/new-gpu-about-time.html

Gran Turismo Sport Beta (Demo)

Gran Turismo Sport comes out October 17th and they are currently doing a beta to hype people up.

Now I have to tell you I was not used to this kind of beta. It has bugs, like a real beta should.

Most developers release a "beta" that is more or less the complete game and that is to get people excited about purchasing the game. They are usually pretty much perfect and the Gran Turismo beta through me off being an actual beta.

I only just downloaded this (45GB) and played for about 30 minutes so I really don't have a solid opinion of it yet. I mostly just wanted to share a few screenshots of how absolutely insane this game looks!!! The first two are ones I took and the last three are from me being afk and the game started a "movie".

Mario+Rabbids

I have to tell you, the premise of this game sounds so absurd. The crossover is too preposterous!

But boy it is fun!!!

I've only put a couple of hours into the game so far but it has been a great experience.

The pace is perfect so far, the music is perfect, and the combat is perfect!

What more could you ask for?

For now I just have a few screenshots to share, once I get some more time into the game I'll give a better review.

No Man's Sky - Atlas Rises Update

Despite my infrequent posts and long gaps between I have been gaming just as much as ever.

Lately I've been putting a lot of time into PlayerUnknown's Battleground and have been absolutely loving it. The game is so much fun and different every time. It reminds me a lot of my favorite game of all time Starcraft 2. Despite being the same maps, same units, etc. each match is different and that's how PUBG is.

BUT that's not what this post is about. Recently Hello Games released another major update for No Man's Sky. This game just hit its one year mark and I avoided it at launch due to overall negative reviews and backlash. Which in my opinion seemed to be just.

Well over the last year Hello Games have been busting there butts working updates and have improved the game substantially.

Almost every recent review of the game (post update) has been very positive. With so many people saying how much better the game is now and that the current state is how the game should have released I finally took the plunge and picked up the game. It also helped that it was on sale for $24.

Here is the update video and hopefully a review video of mine will follow.

Let me know what your thoughts on the current state of the game are.

The Most Important Things From E3

Two new Metroid games.

I cannot believe it.

I am so incredibly excited and will be picking up both!!!

#blessed

Metroid: Samus Returns on the 3DS.

And Metroid Prime 4 coming to the Switch.

Two things...

I finally got a horse...

And we got the Master sword last night!!!

It was so much fun working to get more hearts with my son and seeing the look on his face when we were able to pull the sword out. He was so excited!

That to me is what gaming is all about. Pure joy.

Full Throttle Remastered!

Full Throttle came out in 1995 when I was 10 years old!

I remember being obsessed and in awe over how cool the game was. The graphics, the story, the puzzles, everything.

I've wanted to revisit this game for some time and I was thrilled when I discovered they were going to remaster it. I ended up picking it up on PS4 which comes with the PS Vita version. It's also available on PC (steam link).

It is pretty surreal coming back to this game after so many years and remembering it so well. The remastered graphics are pretty awesome and the option to switch between classic graphics and remastered is perfect. I am honestly surprised at how terrible the classic graphics are, my memory of the game was so different.

Considering the price is so cheap ($15 at the time) I think you would not ever regret picking it up if this is a brand new game to you.

Here are a few screenshots showing off the remastered and classic graphics.

Had some fun in Spintires. Made this dumb video. Love it.

Zelda Breath of the Wild Screenshots

The Switch has finally released and alongside it the new Zelda!!!

I've really been having a lot of fun with this game. The graphics/art style are excellent and suits the game incredibly well. The abilities you get in the are really fun and add a lot of variety to the way to tackle enemies and obstacles. I've barely scratched the surface but I'm looking forward to what the rest of the game has to offer.

The switch will get its own post eventually. It's a really cool system but it is severely lacking in many areas. One quick example, the friends list is almost worthless. Other than seeing who is online you can't do anything. No parties for voice chat or even sending them a text message. It's pretty crazy how many barebones features this thing shipped without.

Nioh!!!

After a week long family vacation I've finally been able to play Nioh.

It has had me gripped since the start!

Enjoy these early game screenshots.

Nioh. Last Chance Trial.

So I waited until just a few hours before this demo expired and truly I should have played it the entire time is was available because this game is so cool!!! I plan on picking it up on release and I told myself I'd actually finish it!

Essentially what we've got here is a game that gets inspiration from the Dark Souls series and throws a Feudal Japan spin on it. Which is quite literally something I've always wanted since playing Demon's Souls 8 years ago. It comes from Team Ninja who are known for the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series. They make excellent games and I don't expect anything less out of Nioh.

For those of you unfamiliar with Dark Souls it is an action RPG that is famous for being unforgiving in its difficulty. You will die. And die. And die. But once you've finished that level or boss the amount of satisfaction is that much more rewarding.

I recorded some gameplay clips and for whatever reason they are corrupted once they get to my computer so sadly I only have some screenshots and a trailer video.

Pick it up February 7th if you think you can handle it.

2016 GOTY

Let's be honest. I'll probably never get around to making a better post so I'm just going to put something really sloppy together to discuss my favorite games of 2016.

I can't really pick just one so I'm creating different categories.

Best indie title.

Oxenfree.

PC (Steam)

PS4

Xbox One

I absolutely loved this game. You can beat it in well under 10 hours and it has a lot of replayability if you want to get that perfect ending. The art style is one of my favorites and the story telling was really good. Excellent game to play with a "non-gamer" because you have a lot of dialogue options to choose from and choices you can make.

Best FPS with demons.

Doom. (2016)

PC (Steam)

PS4

Xbox One

Doom was an insanely wild ride from start to finish. Finish is a loose term right? I have to confess I haven't finished this game yet. I'm sorry!

The graphics are mind bending and the music fits this game so perfectly you can hardly believe it!

If you were tempted by this game but didn't pick it up I can promise it is worth it.

Best team based FPS.

Overwatch.

PC (Blizzard)

PS4

Xbox One

I don't think Blizzard has ever done a poor job of anything. And if they have, don't remind me.

Overwatch is just pure fun. The colors and graphics are beautiful and how smooth this game runs is ridiculous. This game is so well optimized it can run on pretty low end hardware without any hiccups. Now I said this game is pure fun but it can also get incredibly infuriating when you are getting destroyed by a better team. The most fun you can have with this game is by playing with a group friends all using mics. The fun only ends when someone (usually me) decides they are too tired and jump off, encouraging everyone else to be responsible and quit as well.

Best mech FPS.

Titanfall 2.

PC (Origin)

PS4

Xbox One

Another incredibly fun game. I was resisting picking this up because I'd already bought a few games I barely played as it was. There was a pretty good discount and I resisted, then  a deeper discount game around and I took that as a sign I need to play this game...

Well, I did. And this game is amazing! Seriously, amazing. How well they were able to get this game to run is mind boggling. It doesn't stutter, ever. The variety of Titans and weapons you can use is staggering. In or out of the Titan is a blast. This game is just so good!

Most neglected by me of 2016.

Pokemon Sun/Moon. Deus Ex Mankind Divided.

Look, I bought the game because it looked pretty rad and they changed a few things about it.

I haven't played a pokemon game since blue.

I think I've clocked 5 hours maybe...

I'm sorry Pokemon.

Followed by a close runner-up of Deus Ex Mankind Divided. I think I got close to 10 hours in this game. It is really, really good but I just got to involved with other games.

I'm sorry Deus Ex.

Let me know what your pics are!

Salt City Gaming Podcast 003 - Nintendo Switch Presentation

We did a podcast during the Nintendo Switch presentation and I have to say we are all very excited! March 3rd can't come soon enough!

The Snowstorm Was Calling Me.

This snowscape was too good not to take a Fallout picture!