What I'm Playing: Cal

This weeks gaming highs for Cal, the bearded one. Watch as he dazzles you with video game words.

Disney Infinity 2.0 - Marvel Super Heroes (Playstation 4)

I'm a 28 year old man-boy, I have a son who's almost two, and I've brought Disney Infinity 2.0. Is it for him? Of course it is. 

Is it really for him?

No. It's obviously for me, and he is just the face of my evil façade in which I'm not judged by the workers in the shop when I buy an Infinity figurine.

Other than them judging me for buying said figures for an (almost) two year old and then judging me for being the aforementioned 28 year old man-boy that I am when they deduce my plan.

But I don't even care.

For those not in the know, Disney Infinity is Disney's answer to Skylanders, in which you buy character figures with special NFC disks on the bottom, which you place on a pad, which in turn 'magically' pops said characters into the game. It works really well, and is actually quite satisfying to see your new figure appear in your game. The obvious outlook to have here, is that the figures themselves are the money makers, not the game itself, which is true.

I was going to buy Disney Infinity 2.0, but with a RRP of £60+ I lost interest. That is until I managed to get it off Amazon for the handsome sum of £37. That got me the game (PS4), 

Iron-Man, Thor and Black Widow figurines, 2 power disks and the Avengers play set. Bargain.

My girlfriend then went out and got me Venom because, and I quote from her "he was the best looking one they had. He looked awesome". And he does, he looks sick.

But the game in itself isn't as 'childish' as you may suspect. It's actually pretty deep in terms of content, and whilst the various play-sets story modes are your typical "go here, fetch that, destroy this, destroy that" affair, the character skill tree is pretty robust, with a wealth of upgrades and stats, that not only upgrade your character, but the figurine itself, so if you take your Iron-Man to a friends house, your Iron-Man could be stronger and have a larger move set than his/hers. It's pretty neat. 

My biggest draw, other than the fact I love collecting Marvel toys, is the Toy Box mode, which allows you to build levels, worlds and even make your own games using logic gates. Yes, logic gates. In a kids game.

When talking to Dan about it, I've likened DI:2.0 to DC Universe Online, only DCU doesn't have the figurine element, but the missions, play style and even controls are very similar to the comic MMO. I've also realised that putting DI:2.0 instead of  Disney Infinity 2.0 looks really fucking cool.

The Order 1886 (Playstation 4)

I started playing the Order 1886 a few weeks ago, and I've STILL not finished it. And I wish that was because I had a special copy with a longer campaign, but the truth is I've been playing alot of games these last few weeks, so I'm only getting a short amount of time with it. 

But my God is it beautiful.

One of the most gorgeous games I've ever played, The Order 1886 is stunning in every aspect, and a true example, even in it's early stages, of how powerful the Ps4 is. As I said in podcast #51 a full review will be up soon, but for now, just know I'm enjoying the shit out of it. 

When I play it at least.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeros (Xbox One)

Dan loved Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeros, and whilst I love every Metal Gear Game, I'd yet to play Ground Zeros. But now I have it, and I love it, Another "it's too short so it must be shit" mentality from some of the public, overseeing the fact that it's genuinely a brilliant game, and the first foray into bringing MGS into a sandbox world, I honestly can't see why, other than the steep original RRP of the game (come on Konami, full retail??) what peoples problems was. 

The graphics, even though it's widely known the XBO version was the weakest compared to PC and Ps4, are still pretty good on the old XBO, although I would have opted for the Ps4 version had I gotten the choice (which I didn't), but, even still, the game looks great. Controls are a bit finicky to start with, but once I got used to them, I was making Snake/Big Boss look cool as fuck, taking out guards, hiding under stuff and just being an all-round badass.

Rayman Legends (Xbox One)

Free on Xbox's Games With Gold scheme this month, Rayman Legends is a total blast. Gorgeous, crisp and almost story-book like in aesthetics, Legends is a 2D platformer boner statement. 

Gameplay is top-notch and level design is just staggering. Myself and James played through the first few levels (he's already completed it a bazillion times, mind you) and my girlfriend and I did some more the next day, it's a great game to pick up and play and not realise a whole bunch of hours have flown by.

Also, the music levels at the end of every world are just the fucking best!

Far Cry 4 (Playstation 4)

I got this the day it came out, and I'm still exploring Kyrat and all its wonders. 

The game is fucking huge. 

I'll be honest, over the last month or so, I've opted out of the story, and I've been focusing on the side missions, karma stuff, outposts, belltowers etc and just trying to max out every upgrade. And not once have I gotten bored. The graphics are stunning, the gameplay and controls are almost perfect, and it's just a ton of fun. I've been trying out the co-op mode, but being paired with a few idiots that didn't know what they were doing put me off that. But James has brought it now, so at least there's hope!

Honourable Mentions

These are the games I'm playing in between everything else!

Counterspy - PS4/PS Vita

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! - PS4

Kick & Fennick - PS Vita

Valiant Hearts - PS4

Halo: Master Chief Collection - Xbox One

 Sunset Overdrive - Xbox One

Alien Isolation - PS4

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Xbox One

Callum Povey  PvP Presenter/Website Editor

He's the hairy one. More than once he’s been described as both ruggish AND dashing. Cal was once a born again unicyclist, until he discovered that he wasn't. True story. You can find him writing for publications such as Blogcritics, VentureBeat, GamesBeat, For The Geek. He also has two books published, which you can buy with your hands and read with your eyes. Imagine that!.