Deals And Sales - Hitman Series Publisher 20th Anniversary and Humble Fallout Franchise Sale [Notification]

Just a quick Notification that there is a fantastic Sale going on this weekend that you don't want to miss before it's over, concerning two of my personal favourite Franchises: Hitman and Fallout.

For Hitman, it is the Publisher's 20th Anniversary (Happy Anniversary, IOI!) and they are celebrating with us all, offering a whopping 75% OFF at Steam.

This includes all past Hitman games and even the newer Hitman 2016 - for example, you can get the "Hitman Collection" (shown above) for less than $10 USD, which includes all of these past Hitman titles:

• Hitman: Codename 47
• Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
• Hitman 3: Contracts
• Hitman: Blood Money
• Hitman: Absolution Elite Edition

Even the newer Hitman 2016 - Game Of The Year Edition(!) is on for less than $20 USD!

For Fallout, Steam is calling it a Weekend Deal; but at HumbleBundle, it is called a "Bombs Dropping Sale" [hopefully not 'really' in real life - we need more time to play these great games! lol]. Want to play the Original "Fallout 1" or finally own "Fallout New Vegas"? They are less than 5 bucks each, right now!

Example of Sale Prices at HumbleBundle for the Fallout franchise

So, if you have been waiting patiently for Hitman 2016 or Fallout 4 to go on Sale, this is it! Now is the time! GOGOGO!

Question: Will I like Hitman 2016, if I liked previous Hitman games (other than Absolution)..?

If I may sum up the Hitman series so far (even though some of you might already know parts of this), the Hitman series was never really a 'play through a long storyline linearly through, a level at a time' game, like other games. That is why so many people liked Hitman. You had to figure out what to do by observing, exploring, finding things out on your own. That is also why some people didn't like Hitman - it was too difficult for many, not knowing where to go or what to do, at first. Overall though, Hitman games didn't have a linear level direction and one-directional-storyline to play through, one map at a time, like most games.

Hitman always was more of a 'play in a sandbox with some story plots around, non-linearly through an area at a time, figuring out all of the ways you can get a mission done, finding out which is the best for your playstyle (or what is required for a mission)'. Absolution wasn't like this as much as previous games; Absolution was more linear, like a traditional game, with one long Storyline and the areas had more of a linear playthrough style (only 'one large way to go' overall, in the levels).

Hitman2016 has both elements, it does actually have a bit of an over-arcing Storyline; but each area is its' own 'sandbox of puzzles and death' to play in. There are so many ways to get through a level - and the guidance/radar isn't as 'hand-holding' as it was in Absolution (one aspect many didn't like in Absolution). There are tons of Challenges ('special ways to do things') and lots of Unlocks (weapons, disguises, locations) per area.

My favourite part of Hitman2016 is the dynamic music - it changes on-the-fly to suit what you are doing - from sneaking, to exploring, to combat; it changes its' dynamic/pace/theme based on what you are doing, or even going to do... If you ever wanted to be in a 'Bond/spy' type of movie, sneaking around and interacting with people to music that changes as you do it all - this is it.


[I think that HITMAN2016 is one of THE most Polished versions yet... While it has only a few 'levels', they are huge and have literally dozens of play-throughs for each and every one (missions, escalations, contracts by players, etc). The graphics are great, the twists and turns of the [smallish] plot(s) are interesting, there is a good handful of weapons/toys to choose from; everything is great in HITMAN, imo!]



Note: I am not affiliated with, or partnered with, the above game publishers or developers or websites, in any way; and I have not, and will not, receive any compensation in any form, for mentioning them here. There are no Affiliate Links or other connections herein, to follow. I am merely an enthusiastic gamer that likes to share helpful information to other gamers, when I can. 

Deals And Sales - Star Wars Games, Most On Sale All Weekend - May The 4th Be With You! [Notification]

Just a quick reminder or for those that may not have noticed yet, that Star Wars games (on PC and Consoles) are going on Sale like crazy everywhere right now, most places having them On Sale over the whole weekend, into Monday or Tuesday. Check out places like Good Old Games (now GOG.com), The Steam Store, EA's Origin Marketplace, HumbleBundle (to help Charities!) and more... Have fun shopping for yourself or your loved one(s) - and have a Happy Star Wars Day and May The 4th Be With You!


Edit:
I forgot to say - if you Login to Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG by May 7th, you will get an Astromech Droid pet after May 9th! Details from swtor.com:

•  Log in by May 7th to qualify for your very own M4-Y7 Astromech Droid Mini-Pet! A deeply loyal and rugged Droid, the M4-Y7 Astromech Droid is known for its steadfast and stoic reliability. No matter how far your adventures take you across the galaxy, the M4-Y7 is your “DBFF” (Droid Best Friend Forever)! Your new Astromech Droid can be claimed beginning May 9, 2018 at 11:59PM PDT (May 10, 2018 at 6:58PM GMT) through your in-game mail.

The M4-Y7 Droid, animation/GIF from the SWTOR.com website

http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20180501-0




[Note: I am not affiliated in any way with GOG.com, Steam, EA, Origin, HumbleBundle, LucasArts, Disney or any other company mentioned herein and I have not, and will not, receive any compensation in any form, for mentioning them here. I am merely a fan of the Star Wars franchise/products and an enthusiastic gamer, wanting to inform and help out others, as I can.]

Free Weekend - Overwatch and Fallout 4 [Notification]

Just a quick notification for those that didn't know, that this weekend is a Free Weekend for two great games: Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment and Fallout 4 by Bethesda Softworks.
To commemorate this amazing alignment of the planets that these two behemoths occupy, I created this 'Mash-Up' Image Header as a Reminder, which I will release as a Full-Sized Wallpaper, for fans of these two franchises, once it is complete... Soon™

A big fan of both companies' products, I was so excited about it - but I haven't had a chance to play yet! So, I'm trying to help out all of you fellow gamers and notify you that these games are Free and Playable all weekend - including being sold at lowered prices - but it's almost over! Get out there and jump in - and have fun! GOGOGO

See You In The Game!

Battlefield Hardline: A Double XP Boost is on, starting July 27th! [Notification]

Just a quick notification to those interested in Hardline that a Double XP Boost currently on, as of July 27th!

http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bfh/

GOGOGO


Also, note that these smaller, frequent updates from these games ("Double XP Boost Events") will be listed in the future at The Game Tips And More Blog's Twitter, @GameTipsAndMore (https://twitter.com/GameTipsAndMore) and at The Blog's "New" Facebook Page, here:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Game-Tips-And-More-Blog-1646033402352335/



See You In The Game!

Battlefield 4: A Double XP Boost Is Currently Active ! [Notification]

Just a quick notification to those interested in Battlefield 4 that a Double XP Boost is Currently On!
http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/
GOGOGO

See You In The Game!


[Update: As of 2016-07-26, the Double XP Boost appears to be over... slash-sadface]

Battlefield Hardline: Beginning July 15th, A Double XP Boost is Active ! [Notification]

Just a quick notification to notify those interested in Hardline to note that a Double XP Boost is Currently On! Note that the notification was noted on Battlelog, as of July 15th - unfortunately, I cannot tell at this time if it is a Premium-Only Boost or a Double XP Boost for 'Everyone', as I recently subscribed to Origin Access (to test it for one month, to see whether you 'lose' patches/etc that you have earned while it is 'on', which I will share as soon as I find out). Still, check out Battlelog and see if it is 'on' for you! http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bfh/ GOGOGO

See You In The Game!


[Update: As of July 20th, the Double XP Boost is now over... See you next time!]

A Few Things This Week In Gaming - Saturday, July 11th, 2015 [Some Gaming News Bits]

I've had a lot happen this week [including going to the Hospital!] and haven't been able to finish any of the many posts I am working on at the moment, but I wanted to quickly mention a couple little tidbits of Gaming that have either happened this Week or is going on this very Weekend...

• Trove is out of Beta and was fully Released just two days ago! I was in the Closed Beta after buying a 'starter/support pack' of in-game Credits and was enjoying the Open Beta off and on. Similar to games like Cubeworld, Minecraft or Lego Worlds, it's a fun little game with a large, explorable MMO world that has Monsters and Crafting and Building to do everywhere, with RPG elements ('levelling up' a character, classes to choose from with various abilities, etc). I am working on a First Impressions And Screenshots article for it [that I started in the Beta] and hope to get that done Soon™. Try it out at: http://www.trionworlds.com/trove/2015/07/09/trove-launch-the-adventure-begins/

• Marvel Heroes is having a major giveaway [which is more of a Sweepstakes, in my opinion, since it's not a simple 'here', you have to 'hunt' for it] where playing the game and finding Drops has a chance of winning you $5000 (there are only five prizes available). Check it out at: https://marvelheroes.com/news/news-articles/marvel-heroes-2015-25000-giveaway

• For those that played Battlefield Play4Free, just a reminder that this coming Tuesday is the Last Ever day for BFP4F. I've given away a couple of Play4Free Funds codes here at The Blog [that EA had given out] and also noticed that EA has lowered the 'Deal Again' price for The Daily Draw way down to 99 Funds - super cheap, if you're sitting on leftover Funds in that game. Get over there and get some new gear while you can at: http://battlefield.play4free.com/

• And of course, some Deals and Sales are going on at various companies/websites this Weekend. I sometimes post when some Sales are going on, but not all the time - and this weekend I can see Steam has some Deals going on and Good Old Games [now GOG.com] has a nice Weekend Deal that includes Series' of many games, like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief and Hitman - ooh, I might pick up Urban Chaos for a buck-ninety-nine... See if you find anything you want here: http://www.gog.com/promo/weekend_promo_square_enix_100715

• Oh, I've uploaded a couple more videos at The Game Tips And More Blog's Plays.Tv page, including "Part 2" of a Minecraft Playthrough I call "To The End", where I play 'up to The End' area/stage in Minecraft, but not further - I don't want to 'spoil' the ending [as much as it is an 'ending'] for the game, but I'll play and record completely up to that point - creating a New World every version/update [something I started back in Beta, but lost most of the past videos for, unfortunately]. There are also some Battlefield: Hardline clips (a Tutorial and 'Living The Dream'), Hitman Series clips (some Glitches and Speedruns), a couple of Trove vids (with a short Tutorial one) and more. Check it out sometime, at: http://plays.tv/u/GameTipsAndMore

These are just a few things that are going on... but that's it for me, for now - See You In The Games!

Battlefield: Hardline - Double XP Weekend Starts Today! [Notification]

Just a quick post to let all current players of Battlefield: Hardline know, that this weekend - from today until Monday - is a Double XP Weekend! That's right - and in Hardline, that means double the cash, double the rate of ranking-up, and overall: double the chances for unlocks in your future.

So, say goodbye to your loved ones, stock up on caffeine, sugar and water, sign on, log in, suit up, grab your gun and put on your driving gloves - and See You In The Game!

And More: Deals and Sales - Easter Weekend 2014 Blowouts

This weekend there may be a lot of people huddling over their computers. Maybe you are trying to avoid people at a family "get together". Maybe you don't currently live near family and have noone to visit. Or maybe you just don't have much planned this 'long' weekend (if you are getting extra time off of work or school) or maybe you had purposely set time aside this weekend to catch up on gaming... Whatever your case may be, whether you celebrate Easter Weekend or not (or get extra 'time off', or not) you can still take advantage of some of the great deals being offered by some game retailers this Spring Weekend. Here are a list of some of the sales going on:

GameFly, formerly Direct2Drive, has up to 75% off of their SEGA games
(Click to see Full Size)

This long image is EA's total sales going on, with many games at half price like Battlefield 4, Sims 3, and more
(Click to see Full Size)

Classic EA Oldies are also on sale at Good Old Games, now called GOG.com, like Theme Hospital and more
(Click to see Full Size)

Check out your favourite shop or closest game store, to see if there are any deals that you can jump on - and See You In The Games!

And More: Deals and Sales - Black Friday Weekend 2013 Deals Are On Now

I don't usually talk about current sales/promotions on this site [or haven't so far], but after seeing all of the sales on out there, I had to make a quick post just to say that there are some great deals on now! 

Even if you don't live in the United States (for instance, I'm in Canada [eh]) you can still take advantage of them, as most electronics and entertainment companies are on the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend bandwagon, with tons of purchases available online - and it's all "nuthin' but good" for gamers... Steam, Origin, Gamefly and other digital gaming distribution platforms are all chock full of great sales, as is Amazon, TigerDirect, MemoryExpress and other local and online hardware stores, allowing you to finally get that Upgrade you've been wanting, should you decide to jump on a deal out there.

Some examples of games on sale are below; but whether you buy a few games this weekend or save your money and just play with the new influx of players in your own favourite online game - I hope you enjoy your weekend and have some fun:

An example of the Black Friday Weekend Sales for 2013 on Steam

A small example of the Black Friday Weekend Sales for 2013 on Origin

An example of the Black Friday Weekend Sales for 2013 on Gamefly

See You In The Games!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfware 3 - The Free Weekend and First Impressions (Feb and April 2012) Text-Only Version

[Currently this article is text-only, with no screenshots. They will be added in the near future (read: after the free weekend)]

Sometime around January/February, 2012:

Greetings all, TheTechnician here and I can honestly say that I have never played MW3 before in my life. This free weekend/demo of the game is my first time playing any other of the COD series besides the first, which I tried on a friend's PC back almost a decade ago, and even then, I only played a short while.

Three main things hit me right away after downloading the free/demo Steam version and starting it up. The first was the game/server matching system. I thought I was playing Left For Dead Joins The Army. Not that it is a bad thing, as most of the decisions were automated, but it was quite different than... oh let's pull a game out of the dark randomly here from hundreds of games... Battlefield3.

There was no huge server list to wade through, no filters to set, no options to play certain maps, no inviting friends to play on your maps with you (at least I didn't see these things at first, perhaps they were Unlockable, as most of the game seemed to be). Two comments about this: one, unlockables aren't bad. They are an attempt to keep people playing (their numbers are then high to submit to shareholders and industry press) and add a freshness to the game, as time goes on and there are 'new' things to find within playing the same game for a time; and two, simplicity isn't bad as well. I can see that this game was made more for Console players (let's try not to start THAT war now) from the beginning as the simplified matchmaking and server choices (no choices at all actually, that I saw at first) make for 'plug-it-in-and-get-a-drink-and-just-play' game starting, which isn't a bad thing either.

Coming from PC gaming (I have played consoles since PONG but only owned a couple such as the NES) it was quite a different feeling, not being able to set how many players I wanted to play with, what maps I wanted to try (if I wanted to limit it to one or two for a while to get used to them), and I can honestly say - as a PC Gamer remember - that I missed that. I felt my army-bootlaces were being tied together for me from the very start and to place a value judgement on it, I didn't really like that there were no lists of options that I could pick through to get the type of game exactly how I wanted. Perhaps I am 'spoiled' as part of The Master Race [according to Console vs PC wars] but to not have all those choices and be forced to play with a small group of people I didn't know in such an intimate (spatially and conceptually, not emotionally) way was.. uncomforting.

Small is the operative word now. Small as in a group of only 8 as in ONLY EIGHT people were present and the game started. That's it? Why didn't it wait longer (since it made me anyway, again no choice) and why only eight? Is that the minimum required to play? /gasp Is that the maximum?

The game started and I was thrust into warfare. I tried to switch weapons scrolling my mousewheel but couldn't. "Only one weapon?" I typed. Noone answered. I ran and sprinted but then I stopped sprinting for some reason. Is my keyboard dying? I'll have to troubleshoot that later... There must be more weapons as it definitely showed more than one thing on the screen at the start, what class did I pick again? I tried hitting some keys such as 'throw grenade' and "2" to switch weapons, ah there we are, feeling more comfortable now, things are getting learned. Wow, this game looks pretty good.

Yes, the game looked good. It was realistic. Nice shadows, detailed textures, this city map I was in looked great. I haven't watched any 'BF3 vs MW3' videos on YouChoob (I try not to watch much gameplay video before playing a game) but if they argure about detail and realism, I would say they are both very similar and both very good.

As I moved around, I felt a bit like I was 'floating' around, gliding on skates as opposed to ...oh I don't know ...some random game like.. Battlefield3. Don't get me wrong I am not complaining, it felt a lot smoother and I remembered right away how COD was based on the QuakeIII engine and when Medal of Honor and Battlefield1942 first came out, crossing over to those games [from Quake3] felt like I was running hip deep in water all the time. I don't know if MW3 is just a really-really-souped-up Quake3 engine, but the smoothness of movement reminded me of it, and it was nice.

***** TIME TRAVEL TO FREE WEEKEND APRIL 2012

That's where I stopped working on that post? Hmm.. well, from what I remember, it was a pretty fast-paced, action-packed couple of days. I only got to Rank 4 but was starting to learn the controls and the game. I even killed a few people. 

My biggest complaint (other than what seemed like the odd never-miss person, I don't like to throw 'that word' for them around) was the scope of the play areas. If the limited number of players gave me a taste I didn't like at the beginning, the limited play space by the end left a lingering, bad aftertaste. Perhaps I am spoiled (am I really using this phrase again?) by the sheer size and huge number of players in BF3 games, but to be put into a little kennel of an area, usually what felt like five rooms together and some open spots (read: small spots with no rooves) was just plain... small. Perhaps it is the limited hardware in consoles holding back programming for any larger scope of gameplay, but whatever it is, you either like it and love the close-quarters action - or you don't, and feel that you were just thrown into a kennel with other dogs, all just itching to fight. At least, that's what I remember...

*****

Fast-forward to the April 2012 Free Weekend of MW3 and... I can't play it. Every time I start it through Steam, my computer reboots itself. Great, now what's the problem? 

"Steam, verify the integrity of your cache."

"Yessir. All files successfully validated, sir."

"Understood.. hmmm."

Well, let's look at some forii and see if anyone else is having "mw3 crashes" or "mw3 reboots computer" problems... "Update your ****" well, thank you very much, I actually have the latest drivers, blahblahwait.. my BIOS. I didn't update that since I upgraded to my sex-core FX with Gigabyte Mainboard! 

Ah, Gigabyte, the gimmick-laden utility-dropping wonder of a manufacturer. Although I will usually say "ASUS" when people ask what to get at the lunchtable, for dependability (Remember Kids, It's Pronounced 'ahh-suhs' As In 'Pegasus', Which The Company Is Named After (sounding more like us-us than ah-sus or the ear-tearing ay-soos)), I also heartily recommend Gigabyte. Feature-packing and ready-to-go, I easily find the Touch Bios utility at the website, which allows BIOS access within Windows and tell it to Automagically Update the BIOS with the latest version found over the internet at the manufacturer's website. Oh, it's done already? 

REBOOT = SUCCESS

The game starts and I can begin to run around and die once more. What's this about Free Weekend = Hackers on the forum I saw? Bah.. too bad, but I'll still try to play some.. It looks like they are doing updates as the weekend goes even, updates are coming down the Steam pipe. [dude, steampipe, get it, dude]

So, for those having crashing issues with the April 2012 Free Weekend of MW3, after making sure all your drivers are up-to-date, update your BIOS through your manufacturer's instructions (will make a post on this in the future) and that should help.

See you in there!

[Screenshots and more to follow...]

Short versions of updating the motherboard bios from our Resident Techie:

• For Gigabyte: install TouchBIOS, run it and update via the internet for the latest version straight from them.
• For ASUS (and others): go to the company's website and find your mainboard through models/type/etc and in the Downloads section, download your board's BIOS, latest version. Install and run the manufacturer's update utility (usually on the disc, or dl it from the website) and tell it to update using the file that you downloaded from the company's website.
• Reboot.

[Back in my day, we took up the phone line to put the handset on the cups and we put the bios updates onto floppies and booted to dos and ran a separate flash utility and prayed and gave scented offerings to the gods that nothing bad happened and we liked it, dagnabbit]