Nerd Vs. Wild!

So a few people have been asking about my trip around Australia last year. I can't remember all the details but luckily I wrote them down every day. So I will take these notes and post about my adventures around Australia in short little snippets. Don't worry, this isn't like the Hunger Games where you have to slog through  most of the book before the games actually start, I'll try to get to our misadventures quickly. so without further ado, here's my account of how things went down last year...

1. In the beginning

Let me tell you a bit about myself. My name is Joshua. I park in the same spot at work, I sit at the same seat at a restaurant and even order the same thing every time. I follow the rules, avoid confrontation and try to get along with everyone…

So who is Joshua?

Just an average guy working an average job who never steps outside the box fearing he may upset the balance of his average lifestyle.

In short, Joshua is scared.

My wife however is the opposite… Free spirited, speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to try new things. The reason I now eat sushi? Courtenay. The reason I can now swing a golf club? Courtenay. The reason I eat Ravioli Milanese? Courtenay. So if you were to ask yourself “Why did these two idiots just pack up and leave with no idea what they are doing?” I don’t want to point fingers but the culprit would be Courtenay.

So in the space of 48 hours we have decided to quit our jobs, grab a caravan, and spend the next 6 months travelling around Australia. Still deciding whether to take our lapdog, a 38kg Labrador, “Ruby” along with us. Frankly I’m shitting myself. Court on the other hand has embraced the new decision and gone at her speed which is 1000 miles an hour and I am trying to slow and steadily come to terms with it. I ask Court “Honey so where are we going?” her answer?

“South!”

That’s about as planned as it is so far. So planning to go south, with a dog, and only about $6000 for fuel and accommodation, food and water and I guess we have to get dog food as well. Considering our dog eats about as much as a Tyrannosaurus Rex I’m not so sure our trip is going to last for the planned 6 months. Oh and did I mention we have never towed or setup a caravan for that matter?

Snoring wife and dog next to me, I conclude writing this page. The introduction to our life just beginning…

So that's my first thoughts on our trip. Tomorrow I'll post about saying goodbye. Goodbye to friends and family, and goodbye to a fairly impressive video game collection... Stay tuned!

-Sarge

Assassins Creed: Black Flag

Yarr! Assassin's Creed 4 has been announced me harties! Now even a blind scallywag from Tortuga could have seen this one coming after the largely successful Assassin's Creed 3 implemented naval warfare so well. So what's it about? Long story short, Pirates.

The game follows Edward Kenway who, if you recognize the name, is Haytham Kenways father. It is set in the Caribbean during the golden age of Piracy in the early 1800's. The game allows player to free roam between the major cities of Havana, Nassau, Kingston and everything in between. Gameplay will be seamless meaning no loading screens during the transition from sea to land as you blast and cut your way to riches looting treasure and robbing galleons.

See the trailer here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNCcPiwT2AA

Strangely Enough, Naval battles will not be present in Multiplayer which seems like a huge oversight by Ubisoft and a missed opportunity to deliver a true pirate multiplayer experience.

The game is set to release this year in October on PS3, 360, PC and Wii U. Next gen console releases have been announced but no word on when. I have a feeling Assassins will be a launch title on Xbox Next and the PS4.

Little is known about the game at the moment, but stay tuned to find out more as soon as we know. In the meantime retailers are already taking pre-orders so grab some dubloons and get ready to reserve your copy soon!

-Sarge

*Update* Medal of Honors cancellation

So a few weeks back I contacted Medal of Honors development team to save the title from a dishonorable discharge. Well, EA contacted me about it in what appears to be written by Mr. Copy and Mr. Paste, the original letter can be found here (http://sogwhatsitlike.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/medal-of-honor-cancelled.html)

This was their response...

Hi Sarge,

Thank you for the time you have taken to contact us and provide us with your thoughts and ideas.

We recognize and appreciate the effort that goes into game and product ideas and submissions. We have thousands of employees worldwide who are constantly generating and developing games and new game features. Some of these ideas see the light of day, but many do not. Because of our creative scope, we seldom look at product ideas or game concepts from people outside of Electronic Arts.

Regards,

Cory R.

EA Support Australia

So I'm guessing they didn't read the letter properly of didn't like being called french. Either way it looks like Dusty and friends wont be returning anytime soon. Perhaps we will update their status as MIA?

-Sarge

Memory Wipe

Doctors say that no two brain injuries are the same. For me, one of the wonderful side effects of having a stroke is memory loss. I have entire sections of my life wiped away like accidentally deleting the "My Documents" folder on your desktop. Friends are strangers, Familiar places are now foreign and Events I attended never existed. Now this is actually a positive, let me explain...

A few weeks ago, my darling wife decided I should get a new game to keep me occupied for the weekend. We went to our local game store and I picked up a copy of "Crysis 2" for a bargain price. When I got hope I popped the game in the disc tray and begin to load it up. The game started at the end credits... Either I had played and finished this game before, or my wife was a ninja gamer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX09CzfRJtc

The beauty of this was that I get to have new experiences all over again. Curious of how many games I may or may not have conquered, I browsed my save files on my PS3. There is an entire library of games on my PS3 and on my games shelf that I have no recollection of! This is fantastic!

The best part dear readers, is that my memory loss now allows me to enjoy games that may have been over-hyped in the day and I can have a fresh perspective, delivering an unbiased review on games you may have missed.

The downside? Well currently my health is about as good as Aliens: Colonial Marines but that's a story for another day!

So readers, if you could play a game all over again without the hype and experience the game anew, what game would you choose? Head to our Facebook and share your thoughts.

-Sarge

Max Payne 3 Reviewed by Max Payne

Hello dear readers. While I was away in hospital you may have noticed a lack of content on the site. While I apologize for this I decided to hunt down gamings anti-hero Max Payne to help me write a review of Max Payne 3. I found him in a rundown bar in New Jersey, this is what he had to say...

I had been sitting at the bar for 5 minutes, or 5 years depending on how you look at it, thinking about game sequels. Some are done well, some leave a bullet sized hole where the gameplay should be. Rockstar decided I should return. They wanted a good game so in return they got one. Say what you want about Rockstar but they understand capitalism, you pay for a quality title and you damn well get one. So a guy called Sarge approaches me, saying he wants me to review my own game. I decided that if I was going to do this review, I was going to do it sober...

This was it. Up until now was an exclamation mark on what I had done. A lifetime ago this would have been a cash in sequel, I had been living in the past so much I didn't even know what year it was anymore. It was time for me to come back. Come back to this existence. Come back to the chaos of my life...

My story is interesting to say the least. I'm no longer the young detective who was leaping around Hells Kitchen dealing death to the scum who would market Valkyrie. That was then, this is now. Before I moved to San Paulo you could find me in the depths of a bottle of whiskey, drowning out the loss of loved ones taken away to soon.

Passos, who once worked the beat with me comes in and offers me a job, a change of pace. I wasn't interested until like most things I do, I ended up complicating situations and had to leave. I was promised a new life, a fresh start protecting the rich family called the Brancos. Then all hell broke loose...

The city of San Paulo is a lively one. High rises of the rich look down on the poor in the favelas both metaphorically and literally. Me? I'm showing my age now. Boozing it up has made me age and I look like hell. Personally I blame the goddamn detailed high resolution graphics engine. The areas where I travel in search of the missing Brancos are full of detail. Newspapers blow through the streets carrying stories on the wind. The favelas are dirty and full of rubbish that my bullets tear through, smashing bottles in a ballet of destruction. Gamers want to see a gringo causing trouble the only way I know how, I may as well look goddamn good doing it.

I can hear the gunfights like an orchestra of mayhem, bullets ricochet all around me as I dive and dodge incoming lead death. The people in my story are well spoken and likeable (except the ones I'm shooting) and their voice acting is done well enough that I want to shoot the annoying happy guy.

The cop in me wanted to see more out of the multiplayer, but the deadbeat in me didn't give a shit. It's more of the same, feels like when you get extra cinnamon on a glazed doughnut, it's kinda enjoyable but it isn't very necessary.

All in all I feel my return to the stage is like a street vendors hotdog (with cheese,) it's dark, gritty, and will take you on a journey of ups and downs, then somehow when it's finished, you can't help but want more.

-Max Payne

So What's it like?
Like the day after a loved ones funeral... And the goddamn Matrix.
I give it 8/10

Battlefield 4 revealed?

So guess who got an invite to EA's upcoming press event? Not me! But whoever did leaked this online to let us all know what we can expect soon. Rumors have been circulating of a current gen, and next gen release! We aren't certain of many details yet but keep your eyes peeled to our Facebook page and this site on March 26th for the full scoop!

Until then why not head over to our Facebook page and tell us what you want to see in the new Battlefield. Personally I would like to see dolphins with laser beams on their heads...

-Sarge

What's It Like's YouTube Channel

Just a quick note to let our readers know we are on YouTube now! Don't worry, you won't have to see my ugly mug, we are just putting up game trailers for the moment until we can get some video reviews going. Feel free to check it out with our first trailer being Pokemon X & Y which releases October this year!

Check out our channel here - http://www.youtube.com/user/SOGWhatsItLike
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