Confession: despite spending a little north of $100 on a Razer DeathAdder mouse and Goliathus mousepad, I (used to) play first person shooters with a cheap Logitech trackball.

I attribute my love for trackballs to the incredibly small desk space I had in college. In fact, our desks weren’t designed for computers (the campus was built in the late 50s); let alone a monitor, keyboard and mouse. I used my trusty trackball to vanquish evil in Diablo II, save the world in Command & Conquer: Red Alert and stopped a detonation or two in Counter Strike.

Sure, I used a traditional mouse for work, but it wasn’t until Blizzcon 2009 did I really evaluate a mouse in terms of a true gaming peripheral. The quality of the construction and the fluidness of motion won me over; following our return from California I promptly bought a pair for myself and the misses.

Yet, I still couldn’t get over the hurdle of using a mouse for FPS. I tried various tactics, loaded the custom software, and, for whatever reason, it didn’t make feel right. I decided it was better to stick with what worked, and I continued my adventures into modern gaming, trackball in tow. I wasn’t even aware of how much my gameplay had adapted until my friend sent me this video from YouTube, discussing some of the finer points of mouse sensitivity. I was floored.

In short, I paid a lot of money for technology I wasn’t fully utilizing. Sticking with the traditional USB trackball mouse meant that I was utilizing traditional USB polling. I didn’t even have any advanced mouse settings outside of what Windows XP/7 offered via the Control Panel. I relied heavily on in-game mouse sensitivity settings to fine tune my experience. It turns out I was only one third there.

From what I've gathered, choosing and calibrating a mouse comes down to three key things: (I’m talking 1s and 0s here, not ergonomics): sensitivity, polling rate, and DPI/CPI.

Here is my understanding of each below:

Sensitivity: This refers to the “jitteriness” of a mouse. Do you want to perform a complete 360 degree turn in a game by moving your hand one inch or one foot? For my new play style, I like to have to move my hand longer distances to bead in on a target. Although this requires more action on my part, each jerk of my hand results in less in-game motion. Whereas I could complete a 180 degree turn in a single swipe of my thumb (old sensitivity: 50%), I now require three mouse swings (left edge of my mouse pad to the right, pick up the mouse, replace on the left edge) to complete the same action (new sensitivity: 8%).

Polling Rate: Measured in Hertz, this rate details the frequency in which a mouse reports its current status (button depress, movement) to a computer. A standard USB polling rate is 125 Hz, which means that the mouse is telling the computer what it’s doing 125 times each second. When I played with my trackball, this was my default setting. However, with the Razer DeathAdder, I have software in which I can toggle this. I have since raised it to its maximum 1,000 Hz, which means I’m sending my computer eight times the information each second. Naturally, more data points means greater granularity.

DPI (dots-per-inch) / CPI (counts-per-inch): Although CPI is the correct term, DPI/CPI are used interchangeably by the industry and are a measure of how many times your mouse reports its position per inch moved. For example, if your mouse had 15 CPI, your mouse would transmit its location to the computer fifteen times over the course of an inch. If this sounds like a useless setting, you’re both right and wrong. To put this into context: CPI is useful for finding your preferred mouse sensitivity in applications that do not allow for manual adjustments. Since most games do this, a more practical example would having two different profiles that could be toggled quickly: one for sweeping motions (flying a jet) and one for smaller, more detailed motion (sniping at a long range). I would argue that I have significantly more control over precise movement if I’m required to move my hand over a longer distance to achieve it. There is much more room for error.

After reading about these three key parameters, I went to the Battlefield 4 Test Range to try my luck. I’m still getting used to not being to “twitchy” around corners (the result is I need to re-evaluate how I approach structures), but I can attest that my precision in lining up a shot has increased drastically.

While each person will have their own preferences (and own skill set!) to bring to the table, I highly recommend you invest some time in understanding how these settings work, how they apply to your personal preferences, and how to make the most out of your gaming experience. I know that I didn’t suddenly get better (skill wise) in a single session, but my score begs to differ after just one pass-through in Zavod 311.

Did I miss something? What about your settings? Let me know!

I must admit that for all of my years of gaming, I never really invested much into Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) / Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) gaming. I was aware of it during my Warcraft III days, but living in college with a pretty lackluster internet connection meant my attention turned back towards the PlayStation 2 and single-player computer games (wow, I feel old).

It really wasn’t until I went to Blizzcon last year did I really reinvest any significant time in a MOBA. As my wife stood next to me in line waiting to play Heroes of the Storm, I must admit that I really had no idea what the game was about. I sat down and browsed through the playable heroes. Quite a selection of Blizzard alumni was available. I picked Jim Raynor, and my wife picked Diablo. After getting a crash course on the controls, we were set free to reign supreme in glorious battle. We marched aggressively down the south lane into battle… and were subsequently annihilated at the first enemy tower we encountered. So began my bloody adventure into DOTA.

It was fun, although difficult; we seemed to lack the situational awareness of everybody else. In hindsight, we were not only new to the game, but the genre - and I suspect great targets for the opposition. Over the course of the next two days at Blizzcon, we tried various heroes and strategies, but always arrived at the same conclusions: walk slowly, work together, and always use AI fodder to your advantage.

I know my view of the game is overly simplistic, which explains why we were so horrible. Yet we managed to have an absolute blast, primarily because we were playing with Blizzard alumni. Thrall, Tyreal and Arthas all are great eye candy, and are the stuff of legends, even when you manage a paltry one win and six losses over a two day span. Of course, being at Blizzcon wasn’t too shabby, either!

Yet, going back home to the thought of playing League of Legends with non-Blizzard lore didn’t appeal to me. I browsed the website and thought, “cool story bro.” Don't get me wrong: lots of effort went into each character, but I don’t have the same love for Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover as I do for Sylvannis Windrunner, Queen of the Forsaken. The PlayStation 4 launch didn’t help out much, nor did the surprise Wii U my wife got me.

It wasn’t until last weekend when I was watching the Starcraft II World Championship Seriesdid I stumble across a playlist of League of Legends championship play, and realize what a mistake I had made. It looked fun! Sure, the characters were generic: knight guy, wizard girl, hawk archer lady, etc, etc. ... but that’s OK. The combat was fluid and I got the bug; so I decided to take the plunge and download the free to play title.

After a quick download and some patching, I jumped right into the fray. I was asked if I knew what I was doing or if I needed some help. Choosing the latter, I was taken to a tutorial of the game. And let me tell you: the tutorial is excellent. It takes all the scary parts of the game and breaks them down into manageable bite-sized pieces. I learned where to place my hand on the keyboard, how to read and understand the UI, and even managed to pick up some of the lingo that players use in combat. It was a nicely paced hand-holding session that left me feeling adequately equipped to enter some practice matches.

My adventure begins with four other human players battling against a team of computer players. It’s a great way to break into team combat against a formidable, although somewhat tactically oblivious, opponent. I choose Quinn, a marksman, and in Blizzcon 2013 fashion, gallantly strode down the south lane. This time, I waited for my AI support. As the battles of DOTA passed flashed before my eyes, I stalked my prey in the bushes and waited. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a 2 on 1, and I was mercilessly slaughtered. It didn’t end there; I finished dead last.

A whopping five levels below the next character in our game, to be more exact. “Quinn sucks” is probably now burned into the lower left corner of my monitor as the team chat seemed to focus around nothing else (who could blame them?). Ah, the online community. Now I remember why I typically only play multiplayer games with my friends. But that’s OK. I’m sure most of the community is friendly, like the people I meet here, but it did make me laugh. “I’m new!” I feverishly typed. “To bad, loser (sic).” Sigh.

Despite the hazing, you know what? I really enjoyed my session. Well, not the getting demolished part, but the actual gameplay. Althogh I performed horribly, I felt like I made a difference in key points in the battle. I used ranged and guerilla tactics to snipe off enemy forces, and managed to pull off a few well timed heal spells to keep my stronger allies in the fight just a little bit longer. I’m sure I was used as bait by my team mates, but we ultimately got the win, so I’m OK with that. Of course I still have much to learn, and I can only anticipate how much worse I’ll do against human opponents who are much smarter than the AI foes I faced.

So yes, I know I’m late to the party, but I’m here now. I was surprised to learn that League of Legends has over twenty seven million active players, daily. That’s a lot of competition to sink my teeth into. And a lot of experience I need to combat. A few of my thoughts:

What I love:

+ A real sense of progression from beginning to end, thanks largely in part to a smart gold system that rewards you for being near the action. Crafting new gear is intuitive as well.

+ Well-thought out skill sets that complement each character type.

+ Punishing “time out time” upon death forces a player to carefully navigate the battlefield.

What I don’t:

- "Last hit rule" causes some un-necessary friction between teammates

I’d like to deep dive this game for another week or so, and then shift over to Valve’s DOTA2 for a comparison. What are your thoughts about this genre, or this game in particular?

For as much time as I sink into Battlefield 4 with my friends, you think I'd have better morals. You'd think that after getting crapped on with buggy patches, I would throw my 870 MCS into the air, violently scream "F THIS!" and move onto different titles. Unfortunately, I'm addicted, and take the punishment like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on any given Sunday (yes, I'm a fan). For what's worth, I play this on PC.

The latest patch, which primary includes support for AMD's Mantle technology, has essentially broken many other aspects of the game. One nasty side effect we learned of last night is the inability to be secondary in any armor. That's right. If you enter the gunner seat of a LAV or a tank, guess what? Well, depending on your rig, one of two things happen. You either get booted back to Battlelog after a fifteen second black screen, or your spawn into a vehicle without being able to use any weapon at all.

Other infamous glitches included the unrepairable vehicle, server sound effects being eternally stuck in end game music (which overrides all sound effects - the best feature of the game!) and servers which, despite our sub 35 ms ping, have pretty insane rubber banding and stuttering issues. For a game that has been on the street since October, this kind of game patching is out of control. And disheartening.

Yet, for all my whining, I still stayed up until 2:30 last night playing with my buddies. So much for taking the high ground and turning my back to the game until it can prove to me that it has truly been fixed. Of course, after watching me still grind through Skyrim on PlayStation 3, you can definitely assume I'm a glutton for punishment.

Battlefield 4 is absolutely amazing when it works. The team over at EA / DICE have a real winner on their hands. I have no doubt I'll sink hundreds of hours into this title, will upgrade to Premium, and will most likely pre-order Battlefield 5 the day it is announced. It's that amazing of a game to me. Yet, I struggle with the comprehension that this game is so broken beyond belief. These are major companies, and it's not like they needed the money and had to rush a delivery. Sure, I understand it was all about competition and posturing, but I can't say for certain if other Battlefielders are as forgiving as I am.

So fellahs: take a minute, really think about what you're doing, and fix the game. Weekly 1 GB patches are kind of obnoxious, and when they break new issues, raise necessary suspicion. We should be into polish patching by now, not fixing major issues. So let's go EA / DICE, and make this right. My patience begs of you. But if you don't, it's OK -- I'm still a fan, because when it works, it works so well.

Here are my quick takes for the news, this fine day, 29 January 2013.

Kinect The Dots: Microsoft is preparing to increase the Xbox One's graphical performance by a marginal 8% by nerfing the Kinect's GPU requirements. As I accurately predicted way back in November, it appears that early "Resolutiongate" advocates were on to something: the Xbox One needs some help in the performance department. Although I'm quite certain the fine folks at Microsoft had already decided to make this change some time ago, it's kind of humorous the news falls in tandem with the news that Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition runs significantly better on the PlayStation 4. Whoops.

This goes back to my initial concern with the Xbox One's branding: who exactly is this console for? I was very upset that Microsoft decided to make the console less about pure video gaming and more about an all-in-one entertainment hub. Why is Microsoft turning their attention back towards processing power so early after launch? It seems like the team at Xbox One once again does not have a clear direction. First they hype up the Kinect as the next innovation in technology, and then they turn around and nerf it to provide more graphical processing power. Forza 5 is a really pretty game; Dead Rising 3 struggles to get over 30 FPS. Such inconsistency makes me wonder if the new system is hard to code for? As much as the news about Gears coming back excites me, this kind of thing worries me a lot. Hopefully Microsoft can figure this mess out before the PR message becomes too muddled to manage.

Nintendo'h: After the news about Nintendo not meeting any of their financial goals, today Nintendo President Satoru Iwata decided to give himself a 50% reduction in pay. His estimated salary is north of $500,000 so don't feel too bad for the guy. I was a late adopter to the Wii U, but really do enjoy the console and can't wait for games like Super Smash Brothers and Hyrule Warriors (working title) to be released. I also have grown really fond of the Nintendo Direct conferences, and have always been a huge supporter of the Club Nintendo rewards program. At this point, short of pumping out game after amazing game, I'm not sure what other tricks Nintendo has up it's sleeve to turn the company around. While the company is extremely cash rich, taking all of these financial hits isn't great. Here's hoping that Nintendo can make 2014 much more successful than 2013.

MMO Battle Royal: Apparently, World War III has broken out on EVE Online. Although I have personally not played the game, I'm no stranger to MMOs, as I was once a huge World of Warcraft player. Although I'm retired, I remember how socially irrelevant the game had become over the years. MMOs such as DC Universe Online, Star Wars Online, and even Rift have all fallen into the dreaded "free to play" model following dismal support. That's why something like this is nice to see: people getting passionate about MMOs again. I've read reports of people taking off work, following Twitch broadcasters, and even subscribing to join the action as a result of the latest battle. Any hype for MMOs is great right now. We will have to see how this momentum carries when Elder Scrolls online is released later this year.

When I heard that Epic Games had sold my most beloved franchise, Gears of War, to Microsoft, it made me think one thing: did I make a back the wrong horse? After all, I've spent the greater part of last year coming to terms with choosing the PlayStation 4 over the Xbox One. Although I'm sure I will eventually return to Xbox One in some capacity, I'm going to need a reason. Could this be why?

Although it just sits on my shelf now, collecting dust with the rest of my collection, at one point Gears of War 3 was my entire freaking life. My wife dubbed herself a "Gears Widow" as I would spend countless hours with my friends on Xbox Live grinding experience for the coveted re-up . I've said in BK's Bullet's Podcast that Gears of War 3 was my favorite game of last console's generation. Yes, my love runs deep for Marcus, Cole Train, and the rest of the Delta Squad.

Here is my wish list for the upcoming Gears of War title:

1.) The ending of Gears of War 3 was pretty epic. Keep the ride going. Let Marcus keep the helm. As much as I liked playing with Michael Barrick in the expansion, Marcus is the one I'm most interested in.

2.) While "score attack" modes were somewhat interesting in Judgement, the game play really shines in larger sandbox areas. Judgement felt so compartmentalized and so barren that the world wasn't really worth exploring (not that there was much to explore!). Open up the world, ditch the score screen every two minutes. Survival in of itself is reward enough.

3.) We need another major villain that carries through the story arc. General RAAM was one of the most beloved villains of the franchise, so much that he was brought back during later RAAM's Shadow DLC. Having a major protagonist will keep the story fresh and meaningful.

4.) Go all out on the multiplayer. Horde Mode and Beast Mode defined Gears of War 3 just as Overrun defined Gears of War Judgment. Don't make us pick and choose. Return them both, and add some other variety into the mix as well. I hate when games add something great only to take it away in the future iterations. Microsoft has a great opportunity to pack the multiplayer with tons of content.

5.) Leave the Pendulum Wars in the past. Prequels are OK but since we know how the Gears of War saga began, it will leave little room to craft a unique story. Flashbacks are OK, but Gears is based on human vs. locust, not human vs. human. Don't ruin the tradition!

I can honestly say I'm more excited about this game than Halo 5.

Please Microsoft, make me a believer...

My wife surprised me by telling me she wanted to head to a sale at the Florida Mall. "We can even go to the Microsoft Store after we're done." Well now... you've got my attention. Would this finally be the day that I would get to hold an actual Xbox One controller in my hand and not just stare at the display through glass like I have for the past two months at Best Buy? The answer is... YES!

I've heard rumors that Microsoft invested tens of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of dollars into this thing. I sure hope that's false! Overall, improvements in some areas are absolutely diminished by poor design choices in other areas. My thoughts are broken up in each component, the best I can remember.

The D-Pad: The D-Pad is actually a D-Pad. I like it. It's responsive and springy to the touch. Microsoft definitely got the hint that the Xbox 360 D-Pad was atrocious and provided an entirely new design. But what I don't like is that it clicks when you use it (like a mouse button). I don't recall seeing that in any review. Yep, it clicks every time you depress a direction. I guess the folks at Microsoft decided that not only would they actually make a usable D-Pad, but they would also ensure you knew it was working by making it click after every press. After my fourth defensive change on NBA 2K14, I decided I loved the feeling but hated the noise.

Verdict: Nice, but loud.

The Triggers (L2 and R2): The triggers have changed significantly from the Xbox 360 controller. They've got a longer pull (which I assume would work wonders on the throttle in games like Forza 5), they're wider, and they feel very sturdy. They aren't curved or contoured like the PlayStation 4 controller, but they still feel great. An added bonus is they fit the housing very well. There was no horizontal movement (my Xbox 360 controller has really sloppy trigger buttons; the triggers actually click if you shake the controller from side to side) at all. A worthy change, and considering a majority of the time you'll use these, you will not be disappointed.

Verdict: Very nice construction and feel. Longer pulls means greater accuracy when analog matters.

The Shoulder Buttons (L1 and R1): Oh man. These are horrible. They are elevated so you can't roll your finger off of the trigger onto the shoulder. It requires you (well, me at least) to bend your index finger like a hook and actually lift up. This causes your index finger bone to raise up on the back of your hand, and to cramp almost immediately. This design is what really gave the controller a smaller feel as it made the controller feel more compartmentalized. I actually had to think about transitioning between R2 to R1, and was unpleasantly reminded when my hand stung. As well as the D-Pad, they make an audible click when depressed. I don't like the click here either, but that's good because I'd avoid these buttons whenever possible. For what it's worth, my wife tried it she cramped up almost immediately too, and her hands are much smaller than mine.

Verdict: What's with all the clicking? The transition from the trigger to the shoulder is unnatural and extremely uncomfortable.

The Face Buttons: Not much to stay here, they are smooth and responsive. I had zero issues with the spacing, the force required to depress them, or my finger sliding off of them. They have a great, vibrant finish too that really stands out well.

Verdict: The color really pops against the controller, and they worked without clicking! A win in my book.

The Analog Sticks: Similar in contour to the new Dualshock 4, the analog sticks have a nice texture and feel to them. My hands weren't accustomed to the split axis on the Xbox One as opposed to the straight axis of the PlayStation 4, but once it was, they felt great. My only complaint is they seemed a little closer together than I remember. When I moved both sticks towards the center of the controller, my thumbs were hitting one another. I tried altering my grip slightly, but this was to no avail. I went home and checked out the Xbox 360 controller and I didn't have that issue, so it seems to me the controller is just a bit smaller.

Verdict: Smooth, responsive and very comfortable analog sticks. My thumbs crashed into each other on extreme movements (both sticks towards one another) but it wasn't enough to diminish the experience.

Motors: These things definitely have some kick to them. I could actually hear the motors vibrate. This was kind of surprising to me because the controller had such a sturdy feel that I wouldn't expect any rattling to occur, but somewhere, it did. The only demo was basketball, so I can't comment on the varying levels of vibration. As a note, Killer Instinct didn't have any vibration, unless somebody turned that setting off.

Verdict: Throaty little things. You'll feel it, but hear it, too.

Overall Verdict: Every gain seems to come with an unexpected loss. I'm not sure of why the D-Pad and shoulder buttons needed to have such a loud click associated with their use; it becomes obnoxious quickly unless you're wearing a nice pair of phones. If that wasn't bad enough, the shoulder buttons are incredibly uncomfortable and protrude out of the controller, resulting in some serious discomfort. The analog sticks and the triggers really feel really good and, had I been able to try them on different games, probably make a world of difference when that extra precision counts.

For those of you who own an Xbox One, what do you think about the controller? Do you eventually get used to the elevated shoulder buttons or do you find that extended play sessions result in unnecessary cramping?

My take on the Machinima scandal: Who cares? I'm not being paid for my blog, I do it solely because I enjoy writing and this is a fun, inexpensive (aka free) hobby. But if somebody were to come to me and ask me to write something in exchange for some cash, would I do it? Hmm...

So that's the situation we're in with the whole "scandal." Big companies wave money at people to jump through hoops. And they do. If you rely solely on commentary from YouTube to determine whether or not a game is good, shame on you. Sure, visibility into people playing games is insightful (both positive and negative). But major news organizations are blasted as left wing or right wing all the time, so people presenting their spin on news, based on their personal or company-driven agenda, is not uncommon in society. How is this any different?

I'm not naive. I know this situation raises awareness regarding what is personal opinion as opposed to company propaganda. Does that really change anything? I've seen high ratings for games I thought were rubbish; I've seen low ratings for games I just can't put down. Some dude on YouTube won't change my opinion. Don't let it change yours.

My impressions on Shadows of Mordor: It's a supposed Assassin's Creed meets Batman: Arkham (fill-in-the-blank) clone. Is that a bad thing? Nope. It looks fun. What baffles me is this whole "Nemesis system." For those of you not in the know, it's basically video game's take on taking out a mob family. You've got lower level guys who report to bigger, stronger enemies. By Eagle Vision... er, "Wraith Abilities" you can somehow learn who the next target is. Enemies that aren't dispatched return later, and remember your last battle. At least, that's what I took out of it. It's interesting, and I don't know enough about it to comment yet, but I already see two flaws in its execution. The first is that I will always kill every enemy in sight. Granting enemies no quarter = no future encounters. The second is that if the game forces you to have future encounters, that means cut-scenes ahoy as enemies get to flee the battle. I don't like either scenario, but that's just my first impression. We'll see how this title fares when it's released later in the year. Spoiler: it looks pretty impressive, nemesis system or not.

EA Announces partnership with Nintendo is alive and well: Today Peter Moore, COO of the most worst company in America (twice!), said that it's partnership with Nintendo is alive and well, despite Jeff Brown, spokesperson for EA, stated no games are currently in development last year. Maybe a change of heart? More realistically, sounds like the left hand isn't talking to the right. I haven't seen communication this poor since Assassin's Creed III development (zing!). Although nothing is on the radar regarding EA and Nintendo, I will cut them some slack as we're still in the post-holiday lull. What I do know is that NOBODY is making games for the Wii U, except Nintendo, so for once I won't bash EA on following suit with every other developer in the world.

Dear Nintendo:

Hi! Loyal fan here. Other than the Virtual Boy, I’ve owned every major console you all have put out. Yes, I was a little late to the Wii U party, but that’s OK as I’m here now. (To be fair, I was waiting to get Smash Brothers, but my wife decided to surprise me.)

I won’t pretend you’re hurting, we all know it to be true. I’m here to tell you why things happened they way they did, and to offer some friendly advice on how best to proceed.

I'm glad you decided against mobile gaming via cell phone applications, etc. I have a (3)DS for that. And to be frank, it’s pretty amazing. Not every game lends itself to a DS experience, and more often than not I’m just looking at a blown up map of the area on my second screen, but when games like Advance Wars come along, that always-on tactical information is pretty amazing. I know not everything can be turn-based, information-centric, but that’s the kind of innovation I bought into.

The same applies to your Wii U Gamepad. I knew trouble was on the horizon when New Super Mario Brothers U uses the Gamepad to display what I’m already seeing on my 60 inch television. It wastes battery and is a distraction. I’d love to see that turned off. I’m not really sure what a second screen could be used for in Mario anyway (outside of Boost Mode, but let’s not kid ourselves – that feature great for grieving and that’s about it). I can’t imagine your engineers sat around and decided to make a second screen to mirror the first. So step it up a notch. Now Ubisoft got it right with ZombiU, and I love what’s going in with Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 – that’s where your effort needs to be right now.

Let’s face it, you hoped that third party support would come in and lend a hand. News flash: you haven’t had third party support since the Super Nintendo (I’ll give you N64 too). That’s OK because your first party titles are amazing. Mario, Donkey Kong, and Pikmin are amazing games. Trust me when I tell you there’s no experience like it on any other console.

But those are your bread and butter games. So where are they? Star Fox, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Pilotwings… all are sadly missing from the Wii U library. Why? I mean, I’m not buying a Wii U for Arkham City: Armored Edition, so let’s figure out a way to keep the classics going, ok?

I’m happy you’re starting to focus on the Miiverse because that’s what people want right now: social experiences. You know: trophies, Twitch broadcasts, party chat, that sort of thing. I’m in the minority that doesn’t care about that stuff, so don’t beat us over the head with it – but it’s funny when a “Dear Bowser” letter slips through the filters on New Super Mario Brothers U with a picture of a wang on it. Yep, I’m immature. And people can draw very well with that stylus. Which reminds me, where’s Mario Paint again?

Let’s stop floundering. Don’t worry about your next console, it’s way too soon for that. And let’s drop the Wii name altogether. You confused people and the marketing was all over the place. Your best felling features (backwards capability, even with virtual store purchases!) took a back seat to everything. And you’re even DRM free! That’s sad that Microsoft made this a selling feature anymore, but I digress.

So get back to work. Make some must have games that will define this generation. Don’t expect anybody to find innovative purposes for the Gamepad. That falls to you now. Maybe you’ll get lucky and get some ports that send traffic your way, but I can promise that a majority of people playing Call of Duty aren’t doing so on your console.

I love you guys. I’ll stick with you to the bitter end. I know we aren't anywhere near that, either. It’s just sad to see you guys doing so poorly right now.

You are better than that; prove it to those of us who don’t know it yet.

Your Pal,

Jim

*LTTP = Late To The Party

In between pirating, world warring, and ranting, I've silently been playing Borderlands 2 on my trusty PlayStation 3, courtesy of the PlayStation Plus service. I've held out on throwing out one of my “quick look” blogs because I wanted to make sure the game held up to the test of time. Can the heavily stylized first person shooter keep game play fresh throughout the journey?

The answer is YES!

It’s no surprise this game won numerous “Game of the Year” awards in 2012. The character design and the leveling experience rival some of the deepest role playing games I've ever played. But if you’re not into that kind of stuff, the combat and looting structure will make you feel like you’re always progressing. That doesn't even touch on some of the insane missions, game play mechanics, and overall feel of the game.

My adventure started with Salvatore, one of the four selectable Vault Hunters (there are additional characters via DLC, but I’m only discussing the original version of the game). Salvatore is a gunzerker, a class which allows him to dual wield weapons for a short time. In theory, this is amazingly awesome… but it didn't match my personal play style. In restarting the game with Axion, the Commando (who uses turrets to assist in combat), I realized just how deep the character selection was. Zer0, the assassin, and Maya, the Siren, all carry unique tools to battle as well. It really is four games in one.

Leveling is a fun and never seems like a chore. Experience points are gathered and spent on skill trees. Each character has three different trees to select from, including passive damage boosts to new, special abilities. I chose to stick to turret damage and deployment time, something I greatly benefited from later on. My turret even had rockets on it, which always helped clear out those rooms of elite enemies. Whatever it couldn't finish, I could.

A deeper dive on the traditional leveling system is your Badass rank. Badass points are gathered from completing assorted challenges throughout the game play. Kill 5 enemies with a MIRV, use the shotgun to kill 25 enemies, or melee 100 characters are just examples of the hundreds of challenges the game offers. Completing a challenge rewards you with a Badass point, which is an independent leveling system from your primary experience. These Badass levels increase overall statistics, such as reloading speed, accuracy, and explosive damage. Best of all, they carry across all of your characters. It’s what the Diablo III paragon system has morphed into, almost assuredly a direct copy of Borderlands 2’s idea.

Of course, the game never takes itself seriously, which is greatly appreciated, as indicated by the turn in dialogue on your first mission. “You just moved five feet and opened a locker. Later, when you’re killing skyscraper-sized monsters with a gun that shoots lightning, you’ll look back at this moment and be like ‘heh.’” Now if that isn't cool, I don’t know what is.

Along your journey, you’ll meet some pretty memorable characters. I don’t want to ruin the fun for any of those who haven’t played it yet (I mean, I can’t be the last one on Earth, can I?), but let me just say that you’ll find it extremely entertaining. My hats off to the team for their incredible work with each character, as the voice acting, character look, and character dialogue are about as quirky and off-color as you can imagine.

But not everything can be midget psychos, bonerfarts, or dook huts (treasure chests). I found in my play through that game difficulty spiked without warning, which did require some unnecessary grinding. Nothing spells buzzkill faster than one-shotting to getting one-shotted in less than fifty feet. I know this game thrives on teamwork and co-play, but for those of us solo players, the challenge can be a little too aggressive. In a complaint I carry over from the original Borderlands hasn't been fixed: the map. It’s practically useless for navigation, as most of the terrain changes aren't properly captured (akin to having a two story map transposed on itself).

These are forgivable offenses, but noticeable ones.

This game is the Saint’s Row to GTA before there was a Saint’s Row. It’s one of the original innovators of nonsense, and despite the silliness, it manages to somehow stay grounded in reality. Handsome Jack is by far one of the meanest (and funniest) villains I've encountered in a long time. His hand-picked league of assassins will thwart you at every turn, but thanks to the insane amount of weapons to be found, can all be dispatched fairly easily. I personally enjoyed the shotguns that were thrown as grenades when reloaded. Because, why not?

For those of you who have already gone through this game when it was released nearly 16 months ago, I think you’re better for it. For those who haven’t gotten to experience just how great of a value PlayStation Plus is, or are curious to try something that’s completely out of the norm, I highly recommend checking out this title. After all, they are still making DLC for it.

Why are you still reading this?

Go!

Go play it now!