HOLY WEEK! What are you playing!?

Happy long weekend! Well, for those in the Philippines at least, thanks to this week's holy week. It's a bit late to create a post like this since holy week did start last Wednesday, but yesterday is really when everybody is in relax mode for the whole week, I'm sure some of you have plans to go out with family, but I'm positive there are some, like myself, are all set to get some gaming done. What are you planning to play during this long weekend??

Carlos: I honestly have a lot planned. Since I started my new job last month, I've had a couple of games neglected since I just didn't have the time to play them. I still want to play a few games of Smite, the Free-To-Play Third Person MOBA, to get a better feel of the game. and I've yet to finish Final Fantasy XIII-2 (I'm literally in the end, just need to cross that finish line). But thanks to me getting BioShock Infinite, I'm putting that as my top priority because the game is just too darn good.

I literally got glued to the controller once I started up my Xbox 360 with BioShock inside. I'm on my second night with the game and its a pretty lengthy game, which I appreciate. Because at this point, I really don't want  it to end anytime soon. I'm playing on hard on my first playthrough and I just realized that the Handy Man is the worst enemy to face if you don't know which Vigor to use. Keep a look out for them, they are no joke.

Arlie: For this long weekend I was just planning to play my backlog games like Dishonored (haven't touched the game yet). I knew Bioshock Infinite will be released this week but I really have no plan buying it. But when I watched and read some of the reviews, I knew I have to get the game at the last minute before the malls close for the Holy Week. I got a copy for my PS3 (shown above) and it includes the Original Bioshock in the disc that you have to install first before playing. Since it is a long weekend most of my Steam friends are online, we play casual private game of DOTA 2.

Migoy: Started playing Asura's Wrath last week and I think I'm almost done with the games. The last episode I played was episode 15 and most of the bad guys are already dead so yeah. After that the PS3 copies of Bioshock Infinite come with the first Bioshock on disc, I was so tempted to buy a copy though with holy week happening, I won't be able to buy a copy at least until Saturday (given that the shops still have it in stock). Aside from that, I downloaded a bunch of free-to-play games on Steam so I might try some of them out. That and I also downloaded Surgeon Simulator 2013.

Grand Theft Auto V New Screenshots

Rockstar Games just uploaded some new screenshots of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V on their Facebook page and they are looking beast.

When I opened the Facebook album, I actually thought that I clicked the wrong link because at first glance, I thought it was a tourism album. They weren't lying when they said that there'd be scuba diving in this game. Totally geeking out right now.

Pick 5: Captivating Video Game Worlds

A video game world is a key ingredient in any video game. It sets the stage for the story and the characters, and is essentially the playground for the player. Sometimes the world takes the spotlight more than any part of the game. Some developers take that extra mile to create a very captivating world that would tap your curiosity, making every bit of detail and information ever so sweet as you explore the game. With BioShock Infinite released this week, it was only fitting to make this week’s Pick 5 about those game worlds that really suck you in. There’s quite a lot that achieve this, some are quite iconic, but these five for me are game worlds that really got me invested in the game, taking it slow, taking in everything it has to offer.

Bioshock's Rapture

BioShock was a real shocker when it was first released. Rapture was a world not really seen before in video games, and Irrational Games really made this fantastic world a place worth exploring. From the outside, it looks like a busy city that doesn't sleep, but once you enter the city’s corridors, you find out the city has gone out of control, and its corridors now have crazed citizens and the iconic Big Daddy roaming its corridors. As you explore, you get a glimpse of Rapture’s good ol’ days, getting a good idea of Rapture in its prime. There’s a lot of mystery going on in Rapture - How the city fell in ruin, the Big Daddy’s and the little sister, the power giving plasmids, it’s a world worth investing and to this day, its considered one of the best game worlds to come out of this generation.

Fallout 3's post apocalyptic world

Bethesda did good in this one. The term post-apocalyptic was well imagined in the world of Fallout 3 making it an interesting world to get lost in. Not that I want to be in a world where the nukes have fallen, and now living in the aftermath. It’s just the way the game started. You, born and raised on an underground vault, now emerging from the ground, adjusting your eyes to the bright sunlight, and seeing the brutal wasteland for the first time spikes your curiosity since you yourself is very unfamiliar with this land. A land now filled with bandits and scavengers looking for any kind of food to stay alive, with many groups and organizations attempting to take power and some sort of order. Fallout 3 had a lot of interesting side stories, some are quite disturbing at times but it gave the sense of how bad the world is. With a game mostly focused about finding your daddy, going off course from the main path is the best way to play this game, and the open wasteland made it easy to do just that.

Elder Scroll's Tamriel

This is the mother of all high fantasy worlds when video games are concerned. Tamriel is one world you will most definitely get yourself lost for hours if your into RPG’s. With each game set in a different part, or continent in Tamriel, there’s always something different about each one. While each one is quite similar, the conflicts and issues are different. Tamriel is literally filled with lore if you bother to read a book every now and then. If you like, you can learn the history of a certain city or group. Stories of past wars, or the rule of past kings and queens that once ruled the land. You can actually spend hours on hours reading about this fantasy world. Its crazy how much content and effort was put by the developers making it easy for every player to spend more than 50+ hours just roaming around exploring. be it Skyrim or Morrowind, you’ll definitely not regret your time in Tamriel.

Welcome to Silent Hill

I had to include this. The first time I entered Silent Hill, of course I was terrified. The first game was scary as a kid, but I was really hell bent on figuring out what happened to this town. Why is it so foggy? Where did these creatures come from? What happened to the people in this town? Those questions are really what kept me going and it was great uncovering the mystery little by little as you move on. Silent Hill had those little details that make it memorable and iconic. The dense fog, the creepy static whenever a creature is nearby, and the oh so scary pyramid creature with the huge sword that gets introduced in the third game. The story of Silent Hill in general is a bit crazy, but I don’t think we’ll ever forget our first visit in Silent Hill, walking through abandoned schools and hospitals with a pipe and a flashlight, getting lost half the time.

Metal Gear Solid, and all its conspiracies combined

This is one world that just gets crazier and crazier each time a new game gets released. Ill have to admit that it can be a bit absurd at times thanks to the mind of Hideo Kojima, but I can’t help but absorb every little detail each game provides. A game that at first, was all about stopping the Metal Gear weapon, has become so much more. From Snake’s background, Foxhound, the conspiracies created by real events, all the way to the patriots manipulating the world, this world is madness. It was a wild joyride so far and as much as it has gone overboard in story, it’s definitely entertaining that you will be glued to the screen until the last bit of cutscene. Then, when the credits start rolling, you don’t quite understand some of it, thus the research via the internet starts.

Battlefield 4 Official Gameplay Reveal

It's March 27th and if you've been following the teasers of Battlefield 4 then you'd know that today is the release of the official trailer. Or should I say, official 17 minute long gameplay reveal.

While the gameplay demo may not have been as impressive as the Battlefield 3 one that they showed before (IMO), this has a more videogame feel and shows what looks to be actual segments in the campaign which I do appreciate. I've always been more a "not convinced until I see actual gameplay" kind of guy. CGI trailers are cool and all but that just won't cut it.

The graphics look incredible. The draw distance extends to about as far as the human eye can see plus all the active particles and even the tarps blowing in the wind on the constructed buildings are all moving. The people look photo realistic but you can still tell that they are virtual characters but at first glance, people could take this for a live action movie. To all you FPS and graphics nuts out there, sit back and enjoy.

Battlefield 4 is set to release in fall of 2013.

Borderlands 2's next DLC character is Kreig the Pyscho

I'm sure you don't need a reason to go back to Borderlands 2, but to add a bit more variety, a 6th playable Vault Hunter was announced during PAX East in Gearbox Software's panel. Who is he? He's Krieg the Pyscho! Check out the teaser trailer below.

Krieg the Psycho will be available in the Psycho DLC pack which will cost you $10. This piece of DLC is not included in the Borderlands 2 Season Pass, so this might upset some of you, but this character, just like Geige The Mechromancer(first DLC character), will have unique gameplay with three new skill trees to build him based on your play style.

The DLC announcement doesn't stop there. Gearbox also announced two more DLC planned for the game. The first one, will increase the level cap to level 61 and will include Pearlescent items(very rare item types) which only start showing up at level 51. This pack will be free for Season Pass owners, but for the rest, it will cost you $5. It will be available April 2

The second DLC though is free for all. This piece of content will include an Ultimate Vault Hunter mode. The purpose of this mode is to give players incentive to go for a third playthrough of the game. Again, it will be free to download and will be available April 2 as well.