Pokémon GO - First Time for Everything

If you haven't heard of Pokémon GO in the last week you might be living under a rock. Pokémon GO is a free to play, location based AR (augmented reality) mobile game. It was developed by Niantic and published by The Pokémon Company and released almost world-wide on July 6, 2016. 

Now. That was a whole lotta words to describe a mobile game so let's break it down a bit. 

• Free to play: just means the app is free but there are in-app purchases.
• Location Based: gameplay evolves and progresses based on your location, typically using the built in GPS on your phone. 
• Augmented Reality (AR): is defined as "a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. Graham, M., Zook, M., and Boulton, A. "Augmented reality in urban places: contested content and the duplicity of code." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-5661.2012.00539.x 2012.

Basically you're entire environment is now teeming with Pokémon 

and with your phone you're able to see them and catch them. 

LIVE: Street Fighter V Stream - Laniray aka Gruvbox

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Here Comes A New Challenger: My Origin Story

When I think of how long I've been playing games, an obvious answer is..."My whole life." Quite literally I've spent my whole life playing games. But after reading Tina's blurb about how she became a gamer, It only seemed fitting that I share my origin story as well.

The Rapture is coming!

BIOSHOCK: THE COLLECTION

Guys, guys! Bioshock: The Collection is a real thing!  This is what happens when you send out vibes to the Universe. All that meditating-"I will play Bioshock on the XBOX One. I will play Bioshock on the XBOX One."-worked!

The original Bioshock for me was an eye opening experience. It was the first time I remember getting the "feels" from a game. It's dark. It's tragic. It's heartbreaking. It speaks to the ridiculous standards we try to achieve and very often fail at. And it's Mother F'n scary. Well, at least it was for me. The first time I heard a Big Daddy clomping around in the darkened, wet hallways of Rapture, the long, low anguished moan, it is something I will always remember. I've played the first Bioshock twice, and the subsequent games once each, but I for one can't wait to get back to Rapture and start the whole journey all over again. 

Bioshock, Bioshock 2 and Bioshock: Infinite are first person shooter games developed by 2K Games, Irrational Games and various other 2K studios. Games one and two are set in the underwater, dystopian utopia known as Rapture. Designed as a city managed outside of government control, Rapture is meant to be the pinnacle of architectural, societal and scientific achievement. But like most grandiose, God-like plans, they fall down and wreck havoc upon all of Rapture's residence. While Bioshock: Infinite is not a direct sequel to Bioshock and Bioshock 2, it is set in the same world with similar game play and world concepts. The DLC for Bioshock: Infinite, Burial at Sea ties all three games together in a neat, disturbing bow.

Bioshock: The Collection is coming to XBOX One, Playstation 4, and digital PC on September 13th in North America and September 16th Internationally. 

Have you played any of the series? Tell me your thoughts!  Do you think revamping older console games isn't worth while, or do you have a laundry list (like me) of games you want to see remastered?

Tina
OBSIDIANBLADE31

Image: 2K Games