Into the Depths: Brian Plays Below

Brian sets sail for a lonely adventure filled with darkness and death.

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About Below:

Below is an action-adventure roguelike video game developed by Capybara Games. It was released on December 14, 2018. Below is an action-adventure game viewed from a top-down perspective. The player-character is a “tiny warrior exploring the depths of a remote island”. The game is about exploration, though that goal is contingent upon the character’s survival. Microsoft’s Phil Spencer described the game at E3 2013 as a “creative take on roguelike gameplay” in a “mysterious world”. The environments are randomly generated. The game is designed to be difficult, with “brutal but fair combat” and permanent death.

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Expedition: Exclusive Begins Soon!

E3 week is upon us, and we’re all excited to not only hear about new games, but new consoles, like project Scarlett and Google Stadia. Sony already started talking about the PS5, and with Stadia launching this year, the next generation is ready to begin.

It’s this type of excitement that leads me to buy all the consoles each generation. I am pulled in by the reveal of exclusives, games I can only get on one console or another. But guess what? Here we are, on the brink of a new generation, and there are a ton of current gen exclusives that I either haven’t played, or never finished.

I’m gonna fix that.

Starting this month, I’m going to dive into the list of exclusives that are still on my list to either play or finish, and I’m gonna beat ’em. I’ll be streaming and recording a lot of the gameplay. The series will be called Expedition: Exclusive, and it will be up on our YouTube page if you want to follow along with me.

So keep your eyes peeled, as it will be starting up soon. On Xbox One, I’ll be jumping back into Crackdown 3, and on PS4 it will be Spider-Man.

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I Can’t Stop Playing Apex Legends

Since it’s launch out of almost nowhere on February 4th, I have been absolutely obsessed with Respawn’s new Titanfall-adjacent battle royale game, Apex Legends.

And let me be clear: I am terrible at Apex Legends.

I also have not cared about battle royale games until Apex Legends.

I also have not been this addicted to a shooter since CoD 4: Modern Warfare.

And that is the magic of Apex Legends. The game is so well-designed. From the innovative pin system to the the three-person team structure, to ebb and flow of action, Apex Legends just feels incredibly fun to play. Sure, i get frustrated when I inevitably lose a 1 on 1 battle, because my aim is terrible. And yes, coming in second when you know you were one choice away from victory can be maddening. But those moments only serve to have me readying up to jump right back into the action.

I seriously cannot get enough of this game, and I can’t wait to see new heroes, weapons, skins and eventually maps for Apex Legends. Nick and I will be kicking off a new season of the Co-Op Critics podcast very soon, so you’ll get to hear us take a deep dive into our experiences with the game. And we will definitely be streaming a bunch of Apex on the Co-Op Critics YouTube channel, so make sure to check us out over there. Stay tuned!

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Games We’re Excited About: March 2019

It already March! Where has the time gone? That question is for another blog to ponder, but right here, right now, we want to talk about video games. Specifically, the video games that are releasing this month. More specifically, the three games that we are most excited about for March 2019:

The Division 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) – March 15
Both Nick and I poured quite a few hours into The Division when it came out three years ago. But as much as we loved the co-op campaign, we did not get into the Dark Zone multiplayer. It sounds like Ubisoft has made a lot of improvements to the multiplayer experience, and with the new setting of D.C., we are fired up to jump into this new installment.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PS4, Xbox One, PC) – March 22
I am a From Software Games junkie. Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne–love them all. And I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when I first learned that From’s new game wasn’t Bloodborne 2 or a new Souls game. But that passed quickly when I took one look at the game. Sekiro shares plenty of DNA with those other games, but looks be offering even more dynamic combat than any From game before it.

Yoshi’s Crafted World (Switch) – March 29
Nintendo is absolutely killing it with the Switch. And while it’s awesome that we have new Mario and Zelda games, I’m actually excited to dig into some of the secondary franchises on the new console, like the adorable Yoshi. And Yoshi has never been more adorable than he is in this new, paper craft-themed platformer.

Those are the games we’re excited about here at Co-Op Critics for the month of March. What’s on your list of “must buys” for this month’s games?

We’re Back, Agents! Brian Plays Crackdown 3

It’s been ten years, but the Agency is back to take on a new threat–the Terra Nova Corporation, who has the city of New Providence under its thumb.

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About Crackdown 3:

Crackdown 3 is an action-adventure video game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One with development being headed by British developer Sumo Digital and published by Xbox Game Studios. Continuing the series nine years after the release of 2010’s Xbox 360 video game Crackdown 2, the third title focuses on Microsoft Azure-powered mass scale destruction that enables everything in the game to be destroyedThe game was released on 15 February 2019.

Crackdown 3 retains the core gameplay of Crackdown and Crackdown 2, featuring a number of different organizations controlling the city of New Providence that players will need to take down by killing their bosses and Kingpins, destroying their facilities, and destabilizing their infrastructures. Players can use a variety of weapons to achieve this end, from guns to grenades to rocket launchers, as well as their own physical power. Players can also drive any vehicle found in-game. The game features the “Skills for Kills” system as found in previous games, in which killing enemies with different tools and finding pickups hidden throughout the city will award the player with orbs, which increase the player’s core skills – agility, firearms, strength, explosives, and driving.

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Games We’re Excited About: June 2018

With all the focus in June being on E3, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a pretty sparse month as far as game release. Not So. This month we’re getting expansions, new IP, returning franchises and megahit ports. Here are the games were excited about this month:

 

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The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset (PS4, Xbox One, PC)–June 5
I first bought ESO when it launched on XBox One, and I probably pout four or five hours into my first character. But as a solo experience, it just didn’t match games like Oblivion or Skyrim for me. I finally got Nick and Jeff to get on board with Summerset though, so you can expect some co-op adventuring from us int he near future.

 

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Vampyr (PS4, Xbox One, PC)–June 5
I know next to nothing about this game, except from what I’ve seen int he trailers. It has a very “The Order: 1886) feel to me so far, and that’s enough to make me interested in checking it out. I’m hoping the blood-craving system has some sort of sanity-like effect that is deep enough to make being a vampire interesting.

 

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Flashback: 25th Anniversary Edition (Switch)–June 7
Flashback is still one of my favorite SEGA Genesis games of all time. It was mind-blowing when it came out, and I was such a fan that I actually tried several times to play its terrible sequel, Fade to Black. I didn’t pick up this remaster when it originally came out a few years ago, but i will gladly play through this again on the Switch.

 

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Mario Tennis Aces (Switch)–June 22
I like my tennis arcade-y, and I like my characters Nintendo-y. Enuff said.

 

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Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Switch)–June 29
I still haven’t played the first Wolfenstein, despite having it on the hard drive of my PS4. But being able to take the sequel with me when i travel for work will definitely get me to play this one.

Those are the games piquing our interest this month. What’s on your list?

S9 PLACEMENT WITH MOIRA! – Brian Plays Overwatch

Brian completes a few placement matches with Moira for Season 9 of competitive play.

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About Overwatch:
Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer online first-person shooter video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released in May 2016 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Overwatch assigns players into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a roster of over 20 characters, known in-game as “heroes”, each with a unique style of play, whose roles are divided into four general categories: Offense, Defense, Tank, and Support. Players on a team work together to secure and defend control points on a map or escort a payload across the map in a limited amount of time. Players gain cosmetic rewards that do not affect gameplay, such as character skins and victory poses, as they play the game.

NOOB QUEST! – Brian Plays Monster Hunter: World – EP 1

Brian jumps into his first Monster Hunter game with new character Osuria and her Palico companion Baddy. It’s noob city as Brian figures out how to play this game.

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About MHW:

Monster Hunter: World is an action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom. A part of the Monster Hunter franchise. In Monster Hunter: World, the player takes the role of a Hunter, tasked to hunt down and either kill or trap monsters that roam in one of several environmental spaces. If successful, the player is rewarded through loot consisting of parts from the monster and other elements that are used to craft weapons and armor, among other equipment. The game’s core loop has the player crafting appropriate gear to be able to hunt down more difficult monsters, which in turn provide parts that lead to even more powerful gear. Players may hunt alone, or can hunt in cooperative groups of up to four players via the game’s online services.

Return to Lothric! – Brian Plays Dark Souls III

Brian returns to Dark Souls III after a long hiatus! After defeating Yhorm and the Boreal Dancer, Molly Metalhead sets about exploring Lothric Castle, which is crawling with Knights of all kinds. NOTE: The audio on the commentary is a bit low, so I’ll get that sorted out for the next installment.

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About Dark Souls III:
Dark Souls III is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The fourth entry in the Souls series, Dark Souls III was released in Japan in March 2016, and worldwide in April 2016.

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Games We’re Excited About: January 2018

The New Year is here, and while January isn’t a smorgasbord of game releases that we’ve come to enjoy in the months leading up to the holidays, there are a couple of pretty bog releases this month. Here ate the ones we’re excited about:

 

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Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (PS4, PC)–January 16
I bought Street Fighter V for PS4 when it came out, and fell off of it pretty quickly. Capcom really screwed up the launch of SFV, and hopefully with this arcade edition, they can bring people back to it. This version will include all of the characters that have been previously released, a handful of new ones, as well as a new arcade mode and team battle mode.

 

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Ni no Kuni: Revenant Kingdom (PC, PS4)–January 19
I put about 20 hours into the original Ni no Kuni, and while it was completely charming, I felt like it took a really long time to get going. I’m hoping its sequel–whch will no doubt be meant to appeal to those unfamiliar with the series as well–will bet better paced. But there is no denying that the visual style of Ni no Kuni is stunning, and that alone would have me checking this game out anyway.

 

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Lost Sphear (Switch, PS4, PC)–January 23
From the studio behind I Am Setsuna comes as new JRPG that hearkens back to the glory days of the SNES and PSX. I am expecially excited about the fact that this is coming to Switch, as Nintendo’s hybrid console is quickly becoming my RPG machine. The story in Lost Sphear involves a hero trying to save reality by restoring memories (I think).

 

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Monster Hunter: World (PS4, Xbox One)–January 26
Monster Hunter is another series I have tried to get into a handful of times, mostly because of the comparisons to the Souls series. All of the previous games have been too dense to hold my interest, but I’ll be lining up to try again when Monster Hunter: World arrives. From what I’ve read so far, the tutorial system is better than in previous games, which has me excited.

 

And those are the games we’re looking forward to this month. What’s on your list? Let us know in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter @CoOpCritics!