A Whole New World

             A whole new world, sounds like a song I know. Here we are in a new year with a whole batch of new games to look forward too and hopefully many of you received a new computer or console to play those games on as a Christmas gift. I was one of the fortunate ones and managed to secure a PS5 right at Christmas. Since that acquisition, I have been playing like a madman on the device.

        The Playstation 5 is certainly billed correctly on the loading times and cut down on fast travel waiting periods. My load-time from start page to gameplay for AC Valhalla on the PS4 was five minutes without jiggling the controller. Now, on the PS5, that same transition point takes maybe thirty seconds and fast travel is like two seconds. I knew the graphics were going to be incredible but the load times are so welcoming that I am still doing my happy dance.

        As alluded to earlier, there are new games that will be coming that the new consoles can accentuate. One of the games I am really looking forward too is Horizon Forbidden West. This sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn looks so good and has been hyped so much that I am almost scared the game is going to let me down. But, I will push those negative thoughts away and say, "Take my money." anyway come February 18th.

        If you have not played the first installment of Horizon Zero Dawn, I encourage you to do so. I was so hesitant when that game first released. I saw it as a dino-killer that perhaps was an upgrade to Monster Hunter. The game continued to garner so much praise from the start that by the time it was available as a free game on Playstation I was ready to give it a try. After beginning to play for just a small amount of time I was caught - hook, line and sinker. 

        The story is interesting. The graphics are immersive and wonderful. Controller mechanics were simple and straight forward. The music was enjoyable. I had to knit pick to find cons about the game, like the inability to climb anything at anytime in the world. You had to either use the jump command or climb on what the game designated for you to climb (think yellow bars of Uncharted Series). 

        So, other than specific observations like the climbing ability in Horizon Zero Dawn, I really liked the game and have liked it so much I'm playing it for the fourth time, getting my fingers ready for the next version to come out soon.

        I have seen a couple of trailers for the upcoming Horizon Forbidden West game but I recently saw a video that gave a good taste in my video gaming mouth for this sequel. I will post it below, sign off here and hope you try the first one if you have not played it and grab the second one if you have.