Anthem Demo

                                                                            

 OK so like many I was hyped for this.. Way hyped. I knew I would get VIP Access so I had my Friday Planned out. ...Didn't factor in EA screwing things up. Especially not in this away. So now that I have played a bit let's discuss the issues and the game  
                                                                                   

                                               One of the screens so many got stuck on
                                                               
          So on all platforms there were initial log in issues. I think this was exasperated by the fact that XBox and PC EA Access holders were also VIPs..not just pre-orders..fyi..dumb move Sony not taking it...so people were getting an infinite loading screen or they did like I did(Xbox) and got in but once it loaded we could start the expedition...then it was just stuck. So I browsed the settings screen and a small thing I saw that I REALLY liked was that subtitles default was on. Thats always irks me when they aren't default on . Deaf and Hard of hearing people game. People with kids game and you just get the information better when receiving it various ways.

                                                                           

                                                              The scenery is great                                                                     
We also couldn't access our Friend Pass codes which sucks because if you wanted to squad up with folks who didn't pre order or don't have EA Access, this was the way to do it.
They eventually got it up and running....so that was awesome. You can see gameplay here


Aesthetically, its amazing. Gorgeous. You can spend a lot of time just exploring and looking . Bioware has always made beautiful games, but this is a step up for them. The combat  well think Titanfall meshed with Destiny, but a bit better. Your "suit" is called a Javelin and one of the demo missions is to upgrade it. Fun stuff and its customizable to a point.
                                                                      

The combat is great. There are a few missions in the demo that let you really get a feel for it and how the suit can help out. There is also a chance to get an extra Javelin in the demo for when you get the full game. One of the funnier combat methods used by the enemies is freezing you, which can make for some funny screenshots. You also build up to an ultimate ability which can knock out a squad of lesser enemies .
                                                                                 

                                          He froze me! Thrusters defrost you quickly though


Again..its gorgeous game. The bugs to get into the demo were off putting, but it was almost worth the wait. I feel like it will definitely be worth the full game if EA doesn't mess it up with micro transactions. This should be another great game from Bioware but that could derail it.


                                                                        

                                              Another screen people were getting stuck on

Nintendo and the repair process. ...

So i gave my youngling  a special/limited edition 3ds for Christmas.

One day, it just wouldn't turn on.  Now he's pretty responsible and I plug it in and stuff so I knew it wasn't user error. I called Nintendo and explained to them the situation. .....their immediate response was water damage we don't cover. I didn't ask you that, nor did I say it was near water. I'm calling about a power issue. Guy starts a rant and rave about how their warranty is the best. Great..show me. Well we printed the label and shipped it out on the 22nd or so. They received it on the 24th. Mind you they are in the same state. Takes a week for them to even update it to received, but I had already checked the tracking by then. It sat until the 31st with no change in status. The 1st it shows that it's in repair.  Then they email me saying there's an urgent issue. This was what I was not looking forward to.  From  what I had read, Nintendo is infamous for cop outs on the warranty.  Well their issue wasn't that, it was what color system did he want because they couldn't repair his.  Of course he was devastated because he loved that blue. In fact they only actually had 2 colors to pick from which I found kind of sad. People spend the extra money on limited editions/ special editions and are kind of screwed if nintendo can't fix it. If it's your fault that the system messed up,  fine,  but if not,  you lose. They are at least sending a factory certified instead of refurbished so at least the parts are new and the warranty is reset. One guy who lost his special edition legend of Zelda 3ds due to a motherboard issue said that was the last time he purchased one.  When he brought it up to them they said he only paid for the game, basically said the case didn't matter. I'm not sure I totally agree with that. People have preferences for a reason. I'm not sure what they could do to fix that, but may be something they want to look into.  Overall I think they have one of the  better warranties,  but the execution leaves much to be desired.