Good morning Pixlbiticans! Monday is back, I’m not too happy because I felt that the weekend rushed by but it happens so here we are. I can’t complain, Monday has its charm and I am excited to start a fresh week even though the local weather gal said it was going to be 113° today so I need to hurry up and write down this latest blog so I can snap a couple of pictures before it gets way too hot…oh and I guess today is the big start of some conference about video games. I’m one of the folks who never actually wanted to go to E3. A couple of times I had the opportunity to, but standing in line to play a demo for a free shirt never appealed to me. I’d rather watch the Playstation presentation, and then either praise or complain about it on Twitter (for you folks who follow me on Twitter, I apologize in advance.)

The saga of NBA 2K15

This past Saturday while standing in line at the bank to do some depositing, I decided since I was in the area I should go pre-order Lego Marvel Avengers because there’s going to be a special Ironman Minifig. So after my trip to the bank I went over and looked around the store and spotted NBA 2K15. I thought about it, and decided it was time to give it a play. I bought the game and preordered my Lego game (I was also tempted to buy Lego Jurassic World because they had at least 10 of the preorder bonuses sitting next to the games behind the counter.)

The story starts to get interesting once I get home. When I finally decide to install it, I wait for the update to install before firing up the game. 54.27 GB later the game and update are installed and ready to go. Like in 2K14 I played through the Heat/Spurs demo because that gives the game time to install everything else and once the demo is done, I can go into main menu mode. It didn’t happen. I said ok, and I played the demo again (mind you the demo is played with 6 minute quarters) and after the game I’m stuck in this loop where I go to the fake start screen instead of the real main menu screen.

I checked the World Wide Web for answers and I guess when this game was released a lot of people were having the same problem.

Random Tangent: So a lot of links sent me to message boards where folks were discussing their problems. Why do some people respond with “Sorry I don’t know” Who the hell cares if you don’t know? If you don’t know the answer, don’t respond. Ok so I might be a little bitter because I spent $40 on a game it could be a paperweight.

I tried everything including leaving the PS4 running while I went out to run some errands and still all I got was the fake start screen with Kevin Durant. This was a frustrating way to end my Saturday.

Sunday rolls around, I hate my game but I take it back to GameStop where thank goodness I ran into the same employee who sold me the game yesterday. She was very nice and gave me another copy. She said don’t worry about it, there are always duds in prints and this one should work. I went home installed the game but before I could try it, my friend and I went out for CD Sunday. I got home played the demo and boom, create a character screen popped up. I quickly created a character because the latest WWE Pay Per View started and I wanted to watch. I created Johnny Kilroy from the Nike Commercials and last night I played my first Franchise game with the Minnesota Timberwolves. I downloaded a user roster that was updated to this year along with this year’s NBA Draft so I will have accurate rosters for this season. I did however cut two players so I can bring in two Aztecs currently in the NBA just like I did with 2K14.

Watchdogs – PS4: I started a new game because the last time I played it was around Thanksgiving. Anyways this time I’m really enjoying the game. I have a better grip on how to use the cell phone features and actually paying attention I’m digging the game. I am maybe five missions in, but I did spend an hour or so just roaming around and hacking people’s phones.

Ocean Command – Wii: So the .89 cent underwater shooter. I gave it a shot last week. The controls needed some getting used to. You use the Wiimote to target your enemy, while holding down a button to shoot. The little nunchuk controlled the ship. The controls weren’t the worst part about the game, it was the actual content of the game. The enemies were very generic and I ran into a lot of the same three enemies that needed multiple shots to get destroyed. I’m used to having the enemy AI be just as strong as the ship I’m controlling but when you face three enemy AI while having a weaker weapon, it’s going to be a long day. This game is so bad I don’t think I even want to add it to my Wii Hard Drive. 

Super Monkeyball Banana Splitz – PS Vita: I played through the Beginner and Normal levels of the Challenge Mode. The Beginner was I think one level of 10 puzzles, while the Normal level was five levels of 10 puzzles each. Normal took me two separate tries because I kept getting knocked off the final puzzle by a moving object. I’m playing with the left stick instead of using the Vita motion controls because I was lying down and trying to move the ball would have made me sit up. I have the Advance levels and those are a bit tougher than expected. I might need a couple of tries to play through these puzzles.

Free Flow – iPad: I am three puzzles away from finishing the entire game. I’m on the last group of 14x14 puzzles. They are tough but rewarding.

Simpsons Tapped Out – iPad: I thought they were going to do a community wide Pride game but so far it just looks like it was just some new items to add to your Springfield. Gil did make an appearance and for 100 donuts I get this item

It’s the Big Butt Skinner balloon from the episode where Bart discovers a meteor.

Spider-man Unlimited – iPad: Last week I completed the seven-day challenge and unlocked

I used him once and then went back to my four character lineup of four epic Spider-man runners.

Mortal Kombat X/WWE Immortals/Injustice – iPad: The trio of fighting games had special unlockable characters through solo tournaments

Injustice I got

Arkham Origins Joker.

Mortal Kombat X finally had the Raiden Challenge working and since I upgraded a lot of my characters it was fairly easy to go through the battles to get this Raiden

WWE Immortals was the most difficult because the game would glitch and the tournament wouldn’t be available at night (weird right?) I ran through the battles and finished the final four fights this morning before my alarm went off to get

Warrior Queen Stephanie McMahon.

I hope WWE can somehow get an agreement with UFC just in case Ronda Rousey comes back and has a storyline this year. I think it would be fun to have a Rousey character.

Sony’s presser is I think tonight and it looks like I’ll probably watch on the PS4. There’s no game I’m really looking forward to because I don’t follow what’s coming out other than Lego Dimensions. Hopefully there will be a demo for that. I’m assuming Meredith Molinari will be one of the reporters (Sony needs to not only bring back The Tester, but sink some money into production.) Anyways here is some info from Gotta Be Mobile on how to watch tonight.

Alright Pixlbit it is time for our chat to end for this warm Monday. Have a good week!

That’s all for now, more later!

-Chris