Elaine is back this week! This is not a drill! Brace yourselves for the awesomeness that is Elaine, Carrie and Marcia bringing you the best in video game news, television and movies.
Flippin’ Houses
Dangerous Doses of Dopamine!
So, there’s a game called House Flipper that got and continues to get a fair bit of attention. It’s one of those games most people see browsing the Steam store and think, “Who the heck wants to play that?” And you would be wrong to judge this game by its seemingly stupid premise and dated graphics.
The Premise & Gameplay
House Flipper is a simulation game where you clean up and remodel houses. In the beginning you receive work requests from clients. This part of the game helps you learn the games mechanics and get used to the controls. You’ll do client requests until your tool kit is complete. After that you’re ready to begin flipping houses on your own!
Some of these client requests sure are snarky!
During the mission phase you’ll learn to clean, paint, demolish and build. You’ll learn the cold hard truth that some people really shouldn’t be allowed to pick paint colors and be privy to some of the most nasty, dirty houses needing TLC (prepare to vacuum up roaches, ew). And there’s clearly a radiator thief at large in this game based on how many of them you’ll install.
Earning money and upgrading skills to prepare you for your adventures in trying to make potential buyers happy by taking run down homes and turning them into cold hard profit margins, I mean.. lovely places for the buyers to live in or rent out. As the developers roll out updates you’ll have more things to play around with like new paint colors, flooring, and furniture.
What did you think of it?
You’re probably still wondering about that odd tagline I gave this post (did you even notice??). Well during the mission portion of the game you’ve got a handy dandy checklist of things to do in the client’s house. Checking items off a to-do list releases dopamine, that wonderful chemical that makes us feel all YAY because we accomplished something. It’s also one half of what makes this and any quest based game addictive. The other half is expressing creativity, which also boosts those happy, happy chemicals in your brain.
House Flipper is super addictive for people like me who love sim style games and creative outlets. I played about 25 hours over a few days and went back to it after more content was added. Like many other sims, I like to play it in spurts to try out new content or come up with my own challenges, which I find particularly fun for recording or streaming. This lets me enjoy the game multiple times without ever burning out on it.
10/10 worth every penny spent! Get a copy today on Steam.
What’s Coming in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
New Story, War Mode and More
Big things are coming in Azeroth, so whether you’re Horde or Alliance, it’s time to get your crap together. Gear up, alter your talents, because this war is going to be of epic stories for future generations. Pre-patch for World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth went live July 17, and people went nuts. While this was more of the changes for characters such as talents, War Mode, and the PvP toggle, we have to wait till July 24th for the storyline for the Horde and Alliance to begin. Along with the new expansion, the level cap has increased to level 120.
New Content
This upcoming storyline will venture us to Teldrassil as the Horde and Alliance fight against one another, which is three weeks before the Battle for Azeroth release on August 14. The escalation in the battle between the Horde and the Alliance will begin in Teldrassil and follow through in Lordaeron. This new conflict will be at the heart of Azeroth.
Some changes are already here, and one of them is the Orcs and their upright posture from the Burning Legion. There will be a customization option as well for players as they create Orcs as a new toon. Blood Elves now have golden eyes and a few new facial options as well!
No Races/Classes (Kind of)
No new classes with this expansion, but there are new races, sort of in the new expansion. These include the Highmountain Tauren and the Lightforged Draenei, amongst many others, a couple will also unlock with the content within Azeroth, like the Dark Iron Dwarves and Mag’nar Orcs. This is also a bummer for many players, but Dark Iron Dwarves do look fun!
PvP / War Mode
In PvP, things have changed drastically. Traditionally, servers had Normal, PvP, RP and RPPvP. Now, all servers are PvE, and to take part in world PvP, players must toggle War Mode either in Orgrimmar or Stormwind. Once players are outside the walls of their main city, players roam into the same environment as other players with PvP/War Mode toggled on. This way, those that want to quest without being ganked by the opposing side can move and enjoy the experience.
War Mode enables various bonuses: PvP talents chosen will be available anywhere PvP can occur, an additional bonus to experience while leveling and bonus gold and Resources from World Quests.Now that doesn’t seem fair for someone who wants to raid and run dungeons, now does it?
But for those that want to run instances and find gear for transmogrification, there is a little something for them. Running instances with 11 levels or more above the maximum for the content will automatically queue for Legacy Loot. A standing example would be a level 110 running Pandaria raids should get the Legacy gear. Under the rules in place, drops will include a chance for items for a full party or raid at the instance level.
Pre-Patch Updates
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Pre-patch notes are available here, so players can see what changes have been made in World of Warcraft.
Also, as this article was written, it was brought to my attention that players will no longer need to purchase the Battle Chest, which has Vanilla through Legion to play. Players only need to pay the subscription of $14.99 per month to play up to level 100, or 110 once Battle for Azeroth officially launches.
After some research, it looks that Blizzard has renamed the Battle Chest to WoW: Complete Collection. The bundle allows players to venture anywhere and everywhere in Azeroth, 30 days of game times, a level 110 character boost and a pre-purchase for Battle for Azeroth.
What Could Be Coming to E3?
Confirmed and Rumored
There will be an immense lineup, announcements, and products releasing at E3 is a great chance to see what’s coming. We’ve decided to take a sneak peek at currently what is rumored and confirmed, just so we can tantalize those thumbs for what is to come in the gaming world. Also, mark your calendars for E3 on June 12-14, 2018 in Los Angeles. E3 and GameStop typically partner and televise conferences so you can watch, and not tell your boss.
Confirmed:
I loved Defiance, which aired as a SyFy TV show and as a video game on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Well, it was fun while it lasted and people got bored quickly since the game was supposed to tie in with the show and the show only lasted three seasons. Thanks, SyFy. Trion Worlds is bringing Defiance 2050, a reimagined shooter for today’s audience and that should mean that it is coming on PS4 and Xbox One. Maybe even VR? Who knows!
Confirmed:
The Last of Us is beautiful and just mentioning it doesn’t do the game justice. When I first bought the PlayStation 4, I was so new to Sony, I didn’t know which games to purchase. The Last of Us was recommended and it’s amazing; from the story line to the graphics and mechanics. It truly is a treasure and there is a trailer for The Last of Us 2. My prediction is this will be on the floor to try out, and honestly, I want it now!
Confirmed:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is another game that is more than likely going to be on the floor to gamers to test. While I personally lost faith in the franchise after the game went Halo on us all and allowed for wall running and Exo-Suits to drive us all mad, I loved the Black Ops installments. I am hoping to see more of this game in the coming weeks because it is launching this October.
Rumored:
Kingdom Hearts 3, the Final Fantasy Disney crossover that made a huge splash on PlayStation 2, it will be, of course, the third game in the series. While we don’t know an exact release, a hunch is that there could be an announcement at E3 for some time this year. Noting pass release dates, my guess will be holiday 2018.
Rumored:
Borderlands 3 is rumored, I am ALL over this. I loved Borderlands and Borderlands 2, and have high hopes for the third, or fourth installment, depending on how you look at it. The last installment came out in 2012, so this is so welcome and makes gamers excited at the thought of this. Sadly, this could be a 2019 release according to the fiscal year. Although the fiscal year for 2K goes from April to March, so we could technically hope for a holiday launch. Lastly, there was a thread running around the interwebs that we could see Borderlands 3 teased June 10, just a couple days before E3.
Confirmed:
A console favorite for my kids has always been Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. Sounds like we will be seeing a third installment of the game and rumor is that it will also be on the floor. To those who are into the books, or their kids are, the Garden Warfare Volume 2 will tie in directly with the game. This is a game that makes me feel like a kid in the candy store.
Rumored:
Animal Crossing has been a favorite and while the website has been getting a complete overhaul, we could potentially be getting some news about a game for the Switch. This is totally presumptuous of us to say, but I think that would totally be cool if they took this update and gave us something along with it.
Other games that we are totally jazzed about include: Bioshock 4, Halo 6, Battlefield, we could be seeing some Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds in there, and Super Smash Bros.
In case you want to check out some of the press conferences this year, E3 and Gamestop team up to make these conferences easy to stream if you are unable to travel to Los Angeles. Press conferences are as follows: EA on June 9 at 11 am. Microsoft June 10 at 1 pm. Bethesda on the 10th at 6:30, Ubisoft June 11 at 1 pm. Please note there are a plethora of press conferences during this event and it is still extremely early to have a full schedule. The Mommy Gamers wants to know what you are most excited about.
Battle Royale: Fortnite vs. PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds
Battle Royale: Fortnite vs. PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds
Time has put these two 100-person survival shooters head-to-head. PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds and Fortnite have gained a multitude of attention and people are debating which one is better than the other. While everyone has their own opinion, we’ve looked into both of these games to look at the pros and cons of each game. Just note it was very hard to stay unbiased in this article, but it was certainly fun researching. Since everyone has a preference to which massive shooter they like, let’s duke it out and figure out which one stands the test of time. You can also shout out in the comments below and tell us your pros and cons or your go-to game!
MODES
Player Unknown’s BattleGrounds, A.K.A. PUBG, and Fortnite are very much the same, right? You couldn’t be any more wrong. You can pick between solo, duo or squads, but Fortnite kicks it up a notch and adds explosive modes with 2v2 and the newest game mode, 50v50. Now that sounds like an epic time! On the other hand, PUBG adds two different perspectives, first person or third person.
Character customization is also a neat feature that PUBG has which allows you to pick a few different skin colors, hair color, and length along with your wardrobe. Granted, Fortnite has outfits that you can choose from as you level up or purchase in the store. In Fortnite, you are also randomly generated into a male or female each game.
GRAPHICS
Graphically, Fortnite is very cartoonistic, and the llama piñatas are a party filled with loot. No chocolate though, sorry. Weapons also are featured with various colors to let you know which one is better. Let’s say you have an assault rifle on hand and its green. You come across a boring grey one. Nope, pass. Because that blue or purple, better yet, that orange one is the bee’s knees! The general concept is grey, green, blue, purple and then orange (gold).
PUBG is more worn down, rugged graphics that replicate an apocalyptic world for this setting, which does make sense giving the concept of the game. There are also two maps that I have noticed when playing, which means double the fun. Weapons, ammunition, and gear also glow golden color to show you where they lie. PUBG has a feature in its options button that will show you what is readily available for you to pick up so you can move on to a safe spot if needed.
The circle closes off much the same, but Fortnite is certainly more dramatic with a purple wall that makes you feel claustrophobic when it’s right behind you. PUBG sneaks up on you, and then you feel the air rush out of your lungs, and you attempt to run towards it. Fortnite also has the lines thickened so they are clear to see.
PRICING
Fortnite’s basic edition is free-to-play for the Battle Royale version of the game. If you want more, the Standard Edition of Fortnite will run you $30. Standard edition includes seven piñata packs and four in-game banner icons. The Deluxe Edition will cost you $60, and you receive a rare starter weapon pack that includes four weapons and a trap, eight heroes’, an exclusive founders pistol on top of 33 piñata packs, 50 vault inventory slots, ten in-game banner icons. Lastly, ten XP boosts for you and another ten to share.
PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds runs $30.
PLAYABILITY
Fornite is on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Fortnite is cross-platform play, and it’s great because someone could be on Xbox, a PS4, and someone on PC. There should be no issues matchmaking either! PUBG, on the other hand, has cross-playability on mobile (Android and iPhone), leaving PC and Xbox users to be all alone. The lack of cross playability on PC and Xbox also makes it hard to connect with other players. Rumor is PUBG will be on PS4 in the coming months, but will cross-play be in the works?
Both recently have gone mobile.
THE LITTLE THINGS
The party bus on Fortnite does not show how many people have jumped off, PUBG does.
There is no ax for materials in PUBG, where Fortnite, you have an ax for wood, stone, and metal.
If someone is shooting, there is no building a hideout and running or hiding.
In PUBG, red areas show on the map. Those areas are getting bombed, and you will wind up dead.
Fortnite updates much more often the PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds.
PUBG uses two different, and good sized, maps and randomly cycles through them. Fortnite only has the one, smaller map.
You can hear people in the lobby before dropping off the plane. When a person launches off, you can’t hear them.
Also, this is a multi-region setup, so you have players from all over the world on the server.
You can’t hear people on Fortnite unless you’re in a party.
You can drive certain vehicles in PUBG.
END RESULTS
Researching for this article was pretty hard regarding being objective and spending the $30 to play a game that I wasn’t sure that it was going to be worth it. I’m sure everyone has that same feeling when it comes to spending money on a game, and they hope it will be well worth their time. Granted, PUBG is fun and entertaining; there is something different about it, and honestly, it turns me away from the game. I much prefer spending my time with Fortnite and all the crazy Boogie bombs and other shenanigans. Let The Mommy Gamers know what your preference is in the comments
Hello, Mommy Gamers!
My name is Brittany, or Brie. On gaming platforms, I have some iteration of QueenBrie going on. I’m from the Pacific Northwest, a short jaunt from Olympia, Washington to be exact. I have two boys, 8 and 10, which qualifies me as the mommy part. But I game as well. I’ve been a gamer for most of my life, even as a kid on classic Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Atari and so on. When I started dating my husband, that’s when I became addicted to gaming more in the sense that it was a ritual to get friends together to play Call of Duty, Halo, or Borderlands.
This being my introductory article for The Mommy Gamers, I figured I would give you guys an insight to my life and introduce some of the weird mumbo jumbo that I believe in or am on the border about, and maybe things that really annoy me. Because it’s life and my fingers like to do all the talking.
Whether you believe in the astrology, planets and stars aligning or not, it’s been one hell of a week. Please tell me you’re with me on this one? It’s been one of those weeks where I’m thinking today is Sunday, and Wednesday I was thinking Friday would be the next morning, to only wake up Thursday thinking it would be Saturday. And it isn’t just me. It’s my neighbor, the kids, my co-workers, and everyone else so this has to be a thing, right? I mean, it can be an off week where there is just more wine consumed then normal, but I seem to think that this could be to blame?
These are some cute kids!
To outline my week, it’s also conference week at my boys’ school, so we’ve had half days all week. Nice, right? Wrong. Monday was pretty lazy and didn’t plan on being called in to work. Tuesday was pure chaos in itself. Sent the boys to school and went in to the doctor for the annual lady visit. Not only was I there on time, but I sat in the doctor’s office till 9:50 when I finally got called back. I sat cold and naked on the table, covered in paper for another 10 minutes. Granted, these visits are typically pretty quick, getting out didn’t happen till about 10:30am. Since I was off, I took the advantage of running more errands and by the time I got home, it was time to get the kids off the bus, moving out to their conferences and then rushing home to make dinner. I went through a bottle of wine Tuesday night. Maybe we should turn this into a drinking game?
Wednesday was pretty simple and nothing too crazy; same with Thursday, although both days did feel off. Friday being payday, I spent time grocery shopping, took the kids to breakfast, vacuumed, dishes and the five loads of laundry that seemed endless, and oh the errands, but I knew had to get done at some point. On top of it, friends were coming over, so I was cooking an Easter Dinner and also went through more wine. By the evening, I realized I hadn’t had wine and I was exhausted.
It was a week where I felt so blah and lazy, parts of it went by fast, others not so fast.
But let me get through the good stuff. Remember that lovely doctor visit on Tuesday? I finally quit being lazy and picked up my prescription. With Obamacare when it was put into place, women should have a reduced cost, or no charge at all for their birth control. Granted, I had three months, she rang me up for $72.99. I grabbed my chest, hoping I had air in them. She took my prescription card and the price was $65.48. What a savings! Granted, I can get a reimbursement for scripts, on a following paycheck, I wanted to cry. Mommies, do you have a similar story?
DJMax Respect – Playstation 4 Review
Hey Mr. DJ, Keep Playing That SongRhythm games are my jam. I owned every version of Guitar Hero, Rock Band, DJ Hero, and I even paid a bunch of money to import Beatmania. So when the email for DJMax Respect touted the game as “The Dark Souls of Rhythm Games” I thought to myself, “Ha. Well that can’t be right.” I loaded up the game, jumped into a song, and failed almost instantly.
“Must be digit rust.” I told myself as I did some finger stretches and hit “Retry”. Failed instantly.
“…”
“Retry.”
“Fail.”
“…”
I selected a new song.
“Fail.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”
DJMax Respect is a decade worth of DJMax games all rolled up into one glorious, colorful, rage-inducing package for your Playstation 4. Originally on the PSP, DJMax is a button pressing rhythm game with a ton of content. Now on the Playstation for the base game has over 140 songs with more DLC planned. Eventually every song from every iteration of DJMax will be available as DLC for DJMax Respect. That’s a LOT of songs.
It’s difficult to describe the gameplay of DJMax Respect. Like most standard rhythm games there’s a track where notes fall and you have to press a button before the notes cross the threshold. What makes it stand out is the positioning of the buttons. The game uses the D-Pad as well as the face buttons.
While you think this would be an easy shift from most other rhythm games, it’s just different enough to throw you. Even on the easy songs it took me a while to get used to the button configuration. For the truly masochistic, players can go from a 4 Button configuration, all the way up to 8 buttons. For the insanely masochistic, players can modifiers to make the game even MORE challenging.
The backgrounds and visuals for the game are super crisp and colorful. The game looks great and sounds even better. I will admit I didn’t know about 99% of the songs, but they were all awesome and sounded amazing. I would suggest playing with headphones or a really nice speaker system so you can hear every musical note.
In addition to the basic game there is also an online mode. This way you and a friend can jump online and go toe-to-toe in fast finger pressing musical masochism.
A lot of game pride themselves on being a difficult puzzle game, or a difficult action-adventure game, or a difficult retro-inspired platforming game, but this is the first time I’ve come across a difficult rhythm game. Believe it or not, it’s almost refreshing to see a game of this genre get a “Dark Souls-esque” label slapped on it.
I have yet to beat ANY songs on DJMax Respect, and to be honest, I am loving the challenge.
The reviewer was given a code of DJMax Respect for review purposes. Here’s a link if you’d like to buy DJMax Respect on PS4.
Using our link to purchase games via Amazon helps support The Mommy Gamers
En Masse Entertainment announced today that TERA, the true action MMO designed for consoles, releases for free on Xbox One and PlayStation®4 April 3, 2018. Come launch, gamers will be immersed in a massive world that combines the high adventure of epic MMORPGs with TERA’s own trademarked fast-paced precision combat mechanics.
Gamers too eager to wait for April 3 can purchase TERA Founder’s Packs beginning March 27 for $29.99. Founder’s Packs include a full week of Head Start access, also beginning March 27, and grant a variety of compelling in-game items to diehard players.
Watch the new TERA Coming Soon trailer HERE:
“There is a lot of excitement in gaming to finally see the action combat TERA is so famous for realized on console,” states Matt Denomme, Sr. Product Manager at En Masse Entertainment. “We had an amazing reception to our Open Beta test from TERA veterans and newcomers. We are pumped to finally bring the deep, challenging, definitive MMO experience gamers have been waiting for to Xbox One and PlayStation 4.”
Featuring streamlined interfaces, intelligent button mapping and new gameplay systems to compliment TERA’s trademark fast-paced combat, all of the skills, tactics, and high-octane combos that make TERA’s combat so deep and satisfying are now in hands of console gamers. With a character type to match nearly every play style and innumerable customization options, TERA gives every player a gameplay experience that is uniquely their own. Quest solo, bring your friends, make new allies and take on Big Ass Monsters (BAMs)… the world of TERA awaits.
TERA will be available across the Xbox One family of devices and the PlayStation 4 on April 3, 2018. Head Start for Founder’s Pack purchasers begins March 27.
For Founder’s Pack details, please visit: tera-online.com/founders-pack
Download the new TERA Coming Soon trailer and images HERE: press.reverbinc.com/5
For more information on TERA, please visit the official site tera.enmasse.comand follow the game on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.