Game Pass is Kicking Some Ass

 I just beat Doom: The Dark Ages, and I just have to say, "Holy shit! This is a fucking great summer for games!" My next game is going to be Exhibition 33, and if there is one thing I've noticed about all of the games I'm playing currently...everything has been playable on Game Pass. My Series X has never been happier. It's getting the most action outside of my annual play through of the Halo franchise since I purchased the console (2 of 'em, one for me and one for the girlfriend). 

It began for me with South of Midnight. At first, I was dismissive of the game as a simple action/platformer. By the end of the game, my mouth was on the floor. Amazing boss fights; excellent graphics; music that remains in my Spotify playlist (Whiplash) to this day. I listen to "Benji" at least once or twice a day. "Two-Toed Tom" and "Life is A Fight (Worth Fighting For)" get played at least once a work-day. South of Midnight was an incredible game with imagery and themes that I'm still thinking about long after the credits have rolled and the game has been uninstalled and I've moved on. One of the best games I've played all year. 

Exhibition 33 has been stunning audiences around the world and sold over 2 million copies so far. I'm excited to dig into it, but I more include this here just to emphasize the bangers on Game Pass that have all been rapid fire released recently. I do not want to talk about whether or not I like it, as I haven't experienced it yet. 

Doom: The Dark Ages was my next game. I was so hyped to play it and my god it did not disappoint. The first Doom game I've ever completed (which blows my mind, I've been playing this series since the days of PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64). The Dark Ages is an amazing heavy metal experience that is rooted in legendary, maze-like level designs that will have you solving some simple brain teasers and movement based puzzles to find every secret to upgrade your Slayer into the ultimate badass. You can upgrade your guns, your shield, your melee weapons, and even some special shield upgrades later in the game. 

You can fly a dragon, pilot a mech like Pacific Rim and beat the hell out of kaiju level demons as you level the world around you. You will kill demons, angels, and cosmic entities that have existed since before your concept of time. It is outstanding heavy metal science fiction that makes absolutely 0 sense in the context of the rest of the series. How any of this relates to a space marine working for the UAC on a remote Mars facility that accidentally rips open a transdimensional gateway to Hell and then said space marine has to kick everything's ass and teach Hell that it shouldn't mess with humanity...I don't know. It's just a ton of fun.

To round out just how good this year has been for games, I also played Split Fiction back when it first launched in March. Split Fiction is still in the lead for my personal best game of the year. The way it played with the very nature of video games and the perspective of the split screen is some genre defying and defining art/entertainment that I've ever experienced in my almost 40 years of gaming. It was powerfully emotional, action-packed, and never once took its eye off the ball: providing an amazing, entertaining video game experience. The kind of personal experience that only this entertainment medium can provide. 

Looking forward on Gamepass I've got Exhibition 33, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, Metaphor, and more and more getting added to the roster every other month. I almost forgot Oblivion remake...damn...so many games and so little time. That's it for this blog. I've got to get back to watching wrestling and playing video games.