Kevin's top 10 games of 2017 - 10 & 9

#10:  Destiny 2

My feelings on Destiny 2 are complex, probably borderlining on apologist for some people. This is the sixth purchasable chapter of Bungie’s sci-fi space-opera shooter, but the rampant issues present as each month passes make it feel like a last wave of polish was sorely missing in development. Off the top of my head, the community has had to contest with a lack of endgame for hardcore players, loot boxes, obfuscated gearing mechanics, XP throttling and inaccurate user interface, a mediocre expansion, dlc locking previous content, grossly imbalanced weapons, and just to top off the year, broken consumables. If you’re wrapped up in the daily Destiny community, it’s easy to bag on the devs as each issue arises, especially if it’s one that should have been learned from one of the franchise’s five previous entries.

Pixel Loadout Plays: Until Dawn

It's our first Live Stream!  In the spirit of the season, we're playing through Supermassive's Until Dawn, and seeing just how many teenagers can make it through to the end!

Join us on Youtube tonight at 5PM EST if you'd like to hang out in the chat!  Hope to see you there!

Pixel Loadout Podcast - Episode 014

Great Scott! It's Oct 21st!  Payday 2's new micro transactions continue to develop, Destiny's origins get a closer look, EVE ships are blowing up and Youtube wants to offer you a premium feature.  The future is heavy, man!

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Quick Time Events (10/21/2015)

Overkill's micro-transactions are being lambasted by players, Glitches in Destiny are pushing back events, and Valve's Steam Machines and controller are getting some first impressions...

First Impressions: Star Wars Battlefront Beta

Give yourself to the Dark Side. 

    My first impressions of the Star Wars: Battlefront Beta were surprisingly pleasant. Immediately after jumping into the game I had the familiar Star Wars: Battlefront feeling of being in the middle of a chaotic battle between the rebels and the empire. The game aesthetically feels like SWB but how the does game play hold up? Overall I'd say the game play holds up very well albeit a bit stripped down from previous games. I went into this experience thinking it was going to be a Battlefield game with a Star Wars paint job. Luckily I didn't experience that during my four hours of playing the beta. 

Pixel Loadout Podcast - Episode 013

Jason Voorhees returns for some asymmetrical multiplayer action, Overwatch gets a beta date, and game sales are up all around.  What could possibly go wrong?

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The Pixel Forecast (Week of 10/19/2015)

There are some pretty big names coming out this week.

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate takes place in industrial-era London with a pair of siblings. Gameplay seems to be the next iteration of the common Assassin's Creed formula.

Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes is the new 3DS exclusive Zelda game. The new  Hero gets split up into three versions of himself to overcome the new challenges. This installment has multiplayer features similar to Four Swords Adventures. One of the interesting challenges is that all players share the same Heart Meter.

Follow the link for some other titles coming out this week on all the current platforms!

Youtube gaming app on Android now supports mobile streaming

Google's relatively young gaming-focused streaming playfor is rolling out a new features named "Mobile Capture" which allows local screen recording and screencasting.

Mobile capture supports 480p SD and 720 HD resolutions and also allows for integration of a front facing camera and the phone mic to record the player as well.

While the technology itself is not new, the true significance comes in the streamlining of the feature allowing content creator's a simple avenue to capture their mobile screen without the need of multiple apps or peripherals.

This technology is becoming ever more relevant as the mobile gaming continues to grow, as well as the integration with mobile apps as supporting technology onto main games (such as for Destiny).

The app also includes a simple video editor when uploading recorded content.

Destiny: The Taken King's New Player Experience Sucks

The new player experience is an aspect of design that serves to not only explain the features of a game, but it also facilitates the enjoyment of the game. There is a minor spoiler in order to clarify some examples.

Bungie's 'The Taken King' expansion for Destiny has injected a wealth of content, streamlining, and intrigue to the game. The Legendary Edition of the game was released as a bundle that packages the base game along with all three DLC's for newer players to jump right in on the action. While the practice of bundling games with post-release content is typical enough with other similarly structured games (such as MMO's), Bungie has yet again neglected to learn from mistakes and wisdom of other titles. In this case the lesson not learned is that of how to maintain a New Player Experience after the base game has been iterated on with several updates.

The Pixel Forecast: New Game Releases (week of 10/12/2015)

(The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone)

        The first major expansion for CD Project Red's The Witcher 3 is out this week. This expansion adds more of almost everything; quests, enemies, equipment, gwent cards, and more. This is the first expansion created for the game and is expected to give players at least 10 hours worth of gameplay. 

 (Dragon Quest: Heroes)

Dragon Quest: Heroes is a spin off to the Dragon Quest franchise which takes famous characters from the series and pits them in an open-field action combat, similar to the likes of Dynasty Warriors. Many of these games have been coming out such as the recent Hyrule Warriors and One Piece: Pirate Warriors. This game is an exclusive to the PlayStation platforms.

Tuesday, Oct 13
Back to the Future: The Game (30th Anniversary Edition)(PS4, XB1, 360, PC)
Corpse Party: Blood Drive (Everafter Edition)(PSVita)
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (PS4, PS3)
Jackbox Party Pack 2, The (PS4, PC, XB1)
Legend of Legacy, The (3DS)
Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 1: The Order of the Stone(PC, PS4, XB1, PSVita, WiiU, 3DS, PS3, 360)
Talos Principle, The (Deluxe Edition)(PS4, PC)
Wasteland 2: Director's Cut (PS4, XB1)
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The - Heats of Stone (PC, PS4, XB1)

Wednesday, Oct 14
Goosebumps: The Game (XB1, 360)

Friday, Oct 16
Warhammer 40,0000: Deathwatch - Enhanced Edition (PC)