Crackdown 3 and Far Cry 5

So I started playing two games on the same day: Far Cry 5 on the PS4, and Crackdown 3 on XB1. These games have a surprising amount in common, which I really didn't expect.

They are both sandboxes centered around freeing parts of the map to take on the lieutenants of an "evil" organization. How do you free parts of the map in both games? Killing NPCs. Go to place, remove all the NPCs in it, and it is now yours. This is the main activity in both games, while one allows for more stealth, and the other for more direct assaults, both are possible in both games.

Both games handle vehicles in deeply flawed ways. In Crackdown 3 they serve virtually no purpose, as the player character has more speed and mobility when on foot. In Far Cray 5, you can start flying a plane with literally no speed build up or runway.

NPCs characters are often around to "help" in both games. And in both games, they never really seem to actually do anything. They show up, they are firing their guns, but none of the opposing NPCs ever seem to be killed by their actions. Making the inclusion in both games pointless.

Evil organizations have taken over the maps of both games. One is a morally corrupt business, the other is a religious cult. I guess both could be described as Apple.

Retrofitting a story.

So Borderlands 2 tells is meant to be a direct sequel to Borderlands. Except, all the story elements, and personalities of the characters are pulled from no where. Which is fine, it is used to make the game more interesting, and make the player care about the situation.

If you play the original Borderlands, it is made clear that all playable characters are only here for money. They have little to no personality, we get a few words of backstory, and now they are "vault hunters" and are here for fame and fortune. It is not exactly deep. The various antagonists get much more in the way of story and personality, but they are all dead by the end of the game.

Then you start Borderlands 2, you have 4 new characters, this time with backstory and personality out the ass. Which is good. However, you the meet all the playable characters from the first game (now as NPCs), and suddenly they are acting far different then what you would expect. Now the old characters have distinct personalities, and apparently are not just here for money, they want to protect the poor people of Pandora. Where did this come from?

No where. These personalities came from no where. There wasn't much to work with to base a sequel on after the last game, they had to make some up. The second game was more popular, and many of its players never played the first game. So, they get a pass on this.

Powera Xbox One Wired Controller

I was in need of a controller for my Xbox one. I also didn't have interest in paying for an official one. At Walmart I found a cheaper option. 

This is a wired controller made by Powera. It was only 20$. It is a pretty good deal.

It has a good hand feel. The buttons and d-pad are responsive. The analog sticks are accurate. As mentioned it is wired, it comes with a removable 8 foot long cable.

The controller is much lighter than standard controller, and its rumble motors do not seem to be as powerful. Neither of these are real problems, but worth noting.

For 20$ this is a great deal. Good to have around as an extra for player 2, or as a back up when your first party controller runs out of batteries.  It also works perfectly on a Windows PC.

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