QCF: We Happy Few

fter multiple showcases at conventions, and a buzzworthy trailer debut during Microsoft’s keynote at E3 that was soon followed by a number of delays, We Happy Few has finally out on store shelves. Not only did the latest first-person narrative adventure from Compulsion Games have some lofty expectations to live up to, but it also had to stand out within a year that had so many high-pedigree releases like God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and so many more.

Regardless of the imposing odds that lay before it though, We Happy Few, unfortunately, falls under the weight of its own ambitions, and quickly devolves into one of the worst releases seen in 2018.

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PAX East 2014: Getting trigger-happy with Wolfenstein: The New Order

he First-person shooting trend is only getting bigger; it’s funny to think just how much more advanced the design has gotten over the years too. I mean, with games like ARMA, and Battlefield, the humble days of strafe ‘n shoot is far long into yesterday that it can almost be sub-categorized into being a completely different type of game.

I only mention this because as soon as I started to play the newest entry to one of the most iconic series of the genre, Wolfenstein: The New Order, that I reveled at the decision Machine Games made, to return the game back to the simplistically dumb action roots of the original—the results are surprisingly refreshing.

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PAX East 2014: Hands-on with Evolve

ith all of the competitive multiplayer titles being played for eSports and even more down the line of 2014, there’s one particular title that’s bringing back the intensity of competition through cooperative play in a whole new way. The folks behind Left 4 Dead have channeled the same frenetic combat of the infamous tank encounters from the hit series and have filtered it into what looks like could have only been inspired from marathons of watching the original Predator film; Evolve is poised to be a familiar kind of shooter that’s refreshing in all of the right ways.

With the promise of additional hunter classes and monster types, the hands-on play began with the introduction of the Assault class (which I manned), Trapper, Support, and Medic as we were tasked to bring down the Goliath monster. As the match was starting, the map panned us through a tour of the intergalactic tropical locale, and out prey as large as he was, was still dwarfed by the sheer size and real estate of the stage.

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QCF: Payday 2

n the tails of Left 4 Dead, pure multiplayer co-op experiences have risen again and won over the hearts of gamers with unique campaign games. Suffice to say these types of games have a lot of potential. However, the unfortunate fates decided that many games after Left 4 Dead tended to continue the path of non-stop shooting instead of exploring the new crazy ideas this potential could offer. There's nothing wrong with pure-action experiences, but sometimes you just end up craving for something more—something more... criminal...

Well Payday 2 seems to be the answer to this. With exciting gameplay and almost cinematic mechanics, this game has had me more interested in FPS multiplayer games, than I ever had been, and made me wonder why we haven't seen this type of game everywhere else by now.

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QCF: Killzone Mercenary

ince the release of the Playstation Vita in February of 2012, the system has had a tough time of attracting gamers to their portable experiences. A few attempts at first person shooters proved to be critical failures, unable to capture the fast paced action on a much smaller screen. When Killzone Mercenary was announced, many thought that the Vita could finally have a competent shooter on the go. Thankfully after playing through the campaign as well as dying more than several times in multiplayer, I can say that the Vita finally has its shooter.

The player assumes the role of Arran Danner who is, as the game’s title suggests a mercenary. If you happen to forget about what your job description is do not fret; the mention of money and doing a job for the quick paycheck will be mentioned several times. The plot of the game is very thin, and features the same beats from most action movies that tell the tale of one man who battles not only an endless army, but his morality as well. The story is easy to disregard, since the main campaign will take most players to about the five hour mark to complete. However the action held within these few hours will be worth the price of admission for any Vita owner.

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QCF: Primal Carnage

Is it just me, or has there never been a truly great dinosaur game? Turok doesn't seem to hold up and the recent Jurassic Park game received poor reviews from both critics and fans alike. On the surface, this doesn't seem like a valid issue or concern. But when you think about it, these prehistoric creatures would make perfect cannon fodder for any videogame, and it's a damn shame that I can't think of any fantastic dinosaur-centered games.

Enter Primal Carnage, a first-person multiplayer Steam title that aims to give players the thrill of hunting and becoming the lethal predators that stalk various media. A thrill which, unfortunately, has a lot of problems scattered amongst its few fun moments.

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