Call of Duty Black Ops 3 (PS4): Despite currently having a hectic work schedule that doesn’t leave as much time as I would like for gaming, I decided that a PS4 was at a low enough price point and worth the investment. I also decided to go with the Call of Duty Black Ops 3 bundle, as I’m a fan of the shooter genre. More so the zombie/ sci first kind as opposed to military style games. However last year Shawn brought over Modern Warfare 3 and despite being unable to complete the first mission (go ahead, laugh, I’ll wait……………….done?), we had a decent time laughing at how awful I was. With that in mind, I decided to improve my skills with a next gen Call of Duty title. I really wanted to like this game. I really did, but it just felt like more of the same. Yes, the visuals were improved compared to the older titles on X360, but once you get past that, it’s essentially the same as the others. You run around shooting bad guys, hopefully in the head (gotta get those trophies ya savages), complete missions..etc..rinse and repeat. There is a zombie mode, but it’s lackluster at best and not enough to make this game interesting for me.

Grade: Yes I’m grading games now, kind of a TLDR thing, don’t want to read my insightful reviews, then just skip to the grade. Ok, so without further ado…C

Shovel Knight(PS4): As you may know, I’m a huge retro gamer, I still play my Neo Geo just as much as my PS4. With that said this game blew me away. The game was designed to look like an NES game, complete with 8 bit graphics and classic platformer/Action RPG gameplay (it reminds me of the 2nd Legend of Zelda). You play as the Shovel Knight who’s main weapon is…say it with me, a shovel. It allows you to find hidden rooms, collect treasure, and beat some monster ass. You travel to different realms hunting for special weapons, completing quests for villagers, all in the quest of defeating the evil sorceress who has corrupted a handful of knights who serve as level bosses. Sounds easy right? Whack a baddy with a shovel, find hidden stuff, beat the heck out of some magical chick. Slow down there tiger, the difficulty ramps up about 3-4 levels in, and some levels/bosses can be frustrating. I actually had a pretty hard time defeating the boss of the Lich Yard, the Specter Knight, and that’s only a few levels deep. It never feels impossible though, which is a good thing as PS4 controllers are expensive and I don’t want to break mine in a Shovel Knight-induced fit of rage. All in all just a great game that I can’t recommend enough.

Grade: A