My last Let's Play was one of the most popular posts I've ever done so I thought why not do another one and tell you about the games I've been playing so far this year. There haven't been any big new releases yet in 2018 so I actually picked these games up before Christmas during the Black Friday sales and got a couple of really good bargains. Enjoy!
Assassin's Creed Origins
First up is a game I've been obsessed with over the past few weeks and certainly one of my games of the year for 2017 - Assassin's Creed Origins. I've been a fan of the series for a long time but fell out of love with it over the past few iterations, but buy has this got me right back into the franchise! Set in ancient Egypt, your character is on the hunt for revenge and discovers the secrets of the Pyramids and the desert along the way. Amazing game, great combat and visuals with amazing RPG elements this time around. In terms of reinventing a stale formula, Origins knocks the franchise's previous entries out of the part. A beautiful, huge open world populated by realistic characters and interesting events around every corner. A must buy for any gamer.
You can pick it up on Amazon here.
Destiny 2
Now this next game has caused a huge amount of outcry from fans of the original who say it's just a copy and paste of the first game with a somewhat boring story mode this time around. Destiny 2 has truly split the gaming community. There are those who loved the addictive multiplayer and futuristic weaponry from the original game and are happy for more of the same, but then the other side of the argument is that is this really worth £50 for what feels like DLC more than a fully fledged game?
I sit firmly in the first camp and believe this is a stand out game that feels far more polished and better executed than Destiny 1. Players will notice immediately that the storyline has been given much more focus which is nice to see since this was one of the biggest complaints about the first game. So far the stability has been good for me, in around 30 hours of play time I've only been kicked off 3 times. The gameplay is just as good as ever and there are a whole host of minor improvements which will really please veterans of the original Destiny.
The campaign is brilliant but a little short, that is not a criticism though as it's such a tiny part of the game, the real bulk of the game is working your way up to the current level cap of 300 and getting good enough to complete the raid, past level 265 progress is slow but there is still so much to do. I have to admit I'm slightly addicted and can see myself racking up many, many hours on Destiny 2!
You can pick it up on Amazon here.
Call of Duty WW2
Fans have been waiting for this game for what feels like 5 years. Boots on the ground COD in a world war 2 setting has been what fans of the franchise have been asking for for a long time now and we've finally got it. The new Call of Duty is a vastly different game from previous iterations that have been set in a futuristic world with jet packs and crazy weapons (think Destiny 2) but now the franchise has gone back to it's roots with this gritty WW11 thriller of a game. The campaign is short but very respectively presented whilst putting the player right into the boots of soldiers on both sides of the war.
Some of the better moments of the campaign I felt were around the stealth aspects including a tense level of spying in the German headquarters in Paris. Trying to return a child blended both the gameplay and cut scenes brilliantly to make you feel like part of an action scene that had some emotional weight. Even supplying ammo to frontline soldiers in the Ardennes forest was welcomed as a change of pace from the run-and-gun moments that you see plenty of (albeit in a hand-held way).
Multiplayer has followed suit with Destiny by having a community ‘lobby’ where you can equip your soldier, test weapons, prestige your class, take up daily and weekly orders – there’s bloody loads of stuff! At first it can seem daunting as there are lots of things you need to do and the game itself doesn’t do a great job at helping you to get started. There are so many things going on at once – daily orders, weekly orders, weapon upgrade tasks, player upgrades, perks, ribbons, appearance unlocks it can be a headache to navigate especially as there are so many menus to go across and the UI isn’t the best. It took me ages to find some features and in the end I had to just google ‘How do I…” and I found the answers. I’m not in a hurry to get the most badass class going so I am taking my time with a lot of the things and I feel I enjoy it more, the game can feel a little pressuring on some of the options as there are time restrictions to achieve objectives from a week down to 30 minutes for some. A lot of the rewards are either coins or loot crates.
You can pick it up from Amazon here.
What games have you picked up recently? I'd love to get your recommendations on what to play next.
Assassin's Creed Origins
First up is a game I've been obsessed with over the past few weeks and certainly one of my games of the year for 2017 - Assassin's Creed Origins. I've been a fan of the series for a long time but fell out of love with it over the past few iterations, but buy has this got me right back into the franchise! Set in ancient Egypt, your character is on the hunt for revenge and discovers the secrets of the Pyramids and the desert along the way. Amazing game, great combat and visuals with amazing RPG elements this time around. In terms of reinventing a stale formula, Origins knocks the franchise's previous entries out of the part. A beautiful, huge open world populated by realistic characters and interesting events around every corner. A must buy for any gamer.
You can pick it up on Amazon here.
Destiny 2
Now this next game has caused a huge amount of outcry from fans of the original who say it's just a copy and paste of the first game with a somewhat boring story mode this time around. Destiny 2 has truly split the gaming community. There are those who loved the addictive multiplayer and futuristic weaponry from the original game and are happy for more of the same, but then the other side of the argument is that is this really worth £50 for what feels like DLC more than a fully fledged game?
I sit firmly in the first camp and believe this is a stand out game that feels far more polished and better executed than Destiny 1. Players will notice immediately that the storyline has been given much more focus which is nice to see since this was one of the biggest complaints about the first game. So far the stability has been good for me, in around 30 hours of play time I've only been kicked off 3 times. The gameplay is just as good as ever and there are a whole host of minor improvements which will really please veterans of the original Destiny.
The campaign is brilliant but a little short, that is not a criticism though as it's such a tiny part of the game, the real bulk of the game is working your way up to the current level cap of 300 and getting good enough to complete the raid, past level 265 progress is slow but there is still so much to do. I have to admit I'm slightly addicted and can see myself racking up many, many hours on Destiny 2!
You can pick it up on Amazon here.
Call of Duty WW2
Fans have been waiting for this game for what feels like 5 years. Boots on the ground COD in a world war 2 setting has been what fans of the franchise have been asking for for a long time now and we've finally got it. The new Call of Duty is a vastly different game from previous iterations that have been set in a futuristic world with jet packs and crazy weapons (think Destiny 2) but now the franchise has gone back to it's roots with this gritty WW11 thriller of a game. The campaign is short but very respectively presented whilst putting the player right into the boots of soldiers on both sides of the war.
Some of the better moments of the campaign I felt were around the stealth aspects including a tense level of spying in the German headquarters in Paris. Trying to return a child blended both the gameplay and cut scenes brilliantly to make you feel like part of an action scene that had some emotional weight. Even supplying ammo to frontline soldiers in the Ardennes forest was welcomed as a change of pace from the run-and-gun moments that you see plenty of (albeit in a hand-held way).
Multiplayer has followed suit with Destiny by having a community ‘lobby’ where you can equip your soldier, test weapons, prestige your class, take up daily and weekly orders – there’s bloody loads of stuff! At first it can seem daunting as there are lots of things you need to do and the game itself doesn’t do a great job at helping you to get started. There are so many things going on at once – daily orders, weekly orders, weapon upgrade tasks, player upgrades, perks, ribbons, appearance unlocks it can be a headache to navigate especially as there are so many menus to go across and the UI isn’t the best. It took me ages to find some features and in the end I had to just google ‘How do I…” and I found the answers. I’m not in a hurry to get the most badass class going so I am taking my time with a lot of the things and I feel I enjoy it more, the game can feel a little pressuring on some of the options as there are time restrictions to achieve objectives from a week down to 30 minutes for some. A lot of the rewards are either coins or loot crates.
You can pick it up from Amazon here.
What games have you picked up recently? I'd love to get your recommendations on what to play next.
2 comments
Baby Driver
This is one of the best films I've seen over the past few months so I thought why not pick up the vinyl of the soundtrack, which was incredible. As a "soundtrack" it's great. Many songs and instrumentals you hear, you can easily have the scene running through your head. That's the sign of a great and memeroble soundtrack & film. But as an "album", playing in your living room or car, the tracklisting is all over the place and doesn't flow well at all. Going from the Damned's "Neat, Neat, Neat" to a slow, soul ballad doesn't sound good at all. What would've been better would be to collect all the tracks used in the film and rearranged their sequence, just to flow better instead of putting them in order of the movie. You can buy it here.
Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin'
Dylan's second album from 1963 has hardly dated at all, and contains some of his most famous and most remarkable songs. Any album that contains the originals of "Blowin' in the Wind", "Girl From the North Country", "Masters of War", "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice" has to be essential listening. Each of these songs remains as relevant today as when written. The album also features one of his most beautiful love songs (Girl From the North Country) as well as the first of many brilliant and caustic put-downs (Don't Think Twice). This album really is a classic and your collection shouldn't be without it. You can pick it up here.
Gavin James - Bitter Pill
Gavin James is an incredible British artist with some amazing (if very depressing) songs. His debut 2016 album Bitter Pill is a great example of this. Previously known for supporting Ed Sheehan at various performance, here Gavin gets the chance to shine on his own and he really does! m so glad that he is getting the recognition he deserves, proof that talent and hard graft can win out. I've never seen him live but would love to oneday. For now, I'll satisfy myself with listening to his haunting melancholic voice and beautifully structured songs.
What are some of your favourite new releases? Any recommendations for what i should pick up next?
Check out my other Vinyl Arrivals posts below:
Vinyl Arrivals #1
Vinyl Arrivals #2
I thought it was time i brought back a series from a little while ago called Weekly Wishlists. Each week I pull together my favourite new fashion arrivals from around the web and group them into chunks or trends. This week I thought I'd focus on a category that's sure to be big in the early part of 2018 - happy new year btw - Sweats!
The popularity of so-called "Loungewear" over the past few years has sky rocketed and it's high time that your Sunday Comfies got an upgrade. Sure enough, everywhere you look there are people out and about wearing what would formerly have been considered stay-at-home clothes. At one end of the spectrum, it’s no longer a surprise to see people in pyjamas at the supermarket, or in their cars on the school run. At the other end, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken loungewear into the boardroom with his trademark hoodie look. I've picked the best of the bunch below so enjoy!
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Jack Wills Cruxton Crew | ASOS Pink Contrast Sweatshirt | Acne Fleece-Back Crew Shop The Looks |
It still hasn’t quite sunk in that it’s now 2018. Seriously, where has the time gone?! For the first time in forever I don’t feel anxious and uneasy about the new year starting, it just feels like another day, which I love! It’s that time of year again, time to look ahead to the next twelve months and do some goal setting!
1. Travel to at least 3 new places
I don’t think a list of goals would be complete without striving for some more travelling. Over the last year I have become a real homebody so hopefully this year I can get out of my comfort zone and explore new places. Topping my list is Prague, Bath and Canada.
2. Be more content
This is my number one goal for 2018. To be more content. To spend less time contemplating what other people think of me, how I should be spending my time, who I should be spending time with. Basically I want to feel happier and more secure in my own skin and to feel totally content with the decisions I’m making.
Instagram is not real life. Yet I compare myself to others on there on a daily basis! I honestly didn’t realize I was even doing it at first. I would spend hours looking at other bloggers perfectly curated stories & IG feeds and would think thoughts like “Wow, they’re so much more successful than I am”. This year I need to put my focus into my OWN content and stay in my lane. I no longer want to compare myself to other people’s highlight reels on social media.
3. Plan blog content & post consistently
This year I want to create and stick to a content calendar. Planning out blog post content so I can share posts on a consistent basis is a main goal for 2018. It always helps when I create a very organized calendar, so that’s what I need to do!
4. Grow my socials
I've had some pretty good growth across my socials over 2017 but would really like to take it to the next level this year! I'm hoping goal 3 can help massively with this - posting content consistently is kew for growing an engaged audience so that's the plan. My goals are 2k on Twitter and 20k on IG. You can follow me on most platforms @MattMaidment
5. Minimise
I'm by no means an expert in minimalist living but i did have a good go at it earlier in 2017. I wrote a blog post about my experience here. I'd love to get back into this in the early part of this year and really make an effort to de-clutter and minimise unnecessary purchases. No-spend January here i come!
Do you believe in making goals and resolutions? Have you made any for 2018? I’d love to hear about them!
1. Travel to at least 3 new places
I don’t think a list of goals would be complete without striving for some more travelling. Over the last year I have become a real homebody so hopefully this year I can get out of my comfort zone and explore new places. Topping my list is Prague, Bath and Canada.
2. Be more content
This is my number one goal for 2018. To be more content. To spend less time contemplating what other people think of me, how I should be spending my time, who I should be spending time with. Basically I want to feel happier and more secure in my own skin and to feel totally content with the decisions I’m making.
Instagram is not real life. Yet I compare myself to others on there on a daily basis! I honestly didn’t realize I was even doing it at first. I would spend hours looking at other bloggers perfectly curated stories & IG feeds and would think thoughts like “Wow, they’re so much more successful than I am”. This year I need to put my focus into my OWN content and stay in my lane. I no longer want to compare myself to other people’s highlight reels on social media.
3. Plan blog content & post consistently
This year I want to create and stick to a content calendar. Planning out blog post content so I can share posts on a consistent basis is a main goal for 2018. It always helps when I create a very organized calendar, so that’s what I need to do!
4. Grow my socials
I've had some pretty good growth across my socials over 2017 but would really like to take it to the next level this year! I'm hoping goal 3 can help massively with this - posting content consistently is kew for growing an engaged audience so that's the plan. My goals are 2k on Twitter and 20k on IG. You can follow me on most platforms @MattMaidment
5. Minimise
I'm by no means an expert in minimalist living but i did have a good go at it earlier in 2017. I wrote a blog post about my experience here. I'd love to get back into this in the early part of this year and really make an effort to de-clutter and minimise unnecessary purchases. No-spend January here i come!
Do you believe in making goals and resolutions? Have you made any for 2018? I’d love to hear about them!
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