What’s Going On With Call of Duty?

So the new Call of Duty is out, huh?

Hmmm.  Hmmm.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Let’s “discuss” Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Part 3).

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”
--Jeremiah 29:11-12

All right.  One for the road.

Don’t worry.  We’ll get through the campaign together.  Or...part of it at least.  So let's go ahead and get bloppy one last time.

Let’s “discuss” Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Part 2).

Jesus wept.

…I know I said that I’d find another long Bible verse for this intro, but there’s something that’s been on my mind.  I have a question that needs answering.

Is Call of Duty terrible?  I know that question’s as loaded as a Gatling gun the size of Montana, but let’s work through it, shall we?

Let’s “discuss” Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Part 1).

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

--Romans 3:23-26

*sigh*

Shit.

Destiny (Or: This Isn’t Funny Anymore, Video Games)

So have you ever played that game Tokyo Jungle?  I have recently, and the best way I can describe it is by saying…yikesy mikesy.  It’s been a while since I’ve played a game so amazing.  I’m even considering putting it in my personal Top 10.  It goes without saying, then, that it’s going to get a post somewhere down the line -- because it does everything The Last of Us did, but better.  Much better.

Speaking of coming attractions, I tried my first imported game -- and thus, I’ve gained one more level in nerdiness.  Can you guess what it is?  I’ll give you a hint: you can press buttons to do stuff.  Seriously though, I haven’t gotten into it as much as I want to, but it looks like there are plenty of systems to dive into.  Thing is, playing it kind of requires me to change my mindset; you kind of have to think like a pilot (hint hint) to survive, let alone win. 

And in non-gaming news, I’ve been pecking away at certain files.  And I’ve made some real progress!  I’m hoping that I can reach a point where I can talk about it in earnest, because there are some pretty cool things I can say.  Exciting stuff, without a doubt…for me, at least.  It’s not that often where I hype myself up with something I do, after all.

If you’re wondering what those points have to do with Destiny, then consider them little more than delay tactics.  From this point on, the post is set to take a nasty turn -- because I can’t think of time when a single piece of news made me this angry.

Excluding the announcement of a nostalgia-bait Power Rangers movie.  Man.  That was not a good week for entertainment.

RE: Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Well.  Here’s an interesting situation.

Some weeks back my brother picked up an old copy of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, presumably so he and our buddy could stumble through its co-op between beatdowns in PlayStation All-Stars or Smash Bros. Brawl.  It’s hard to say how far they’ve gotten in their little campaign, but what I’ve seen thus far has been something like watching two penguins on banana peels try to save America from terrorists -- hilariously inept to the point of becoming boringly commonplace at times, but a spectacle all the same.  I wouldn’t say I’d try the co-op for myself, but I’m glad those two had their fun with it.

It should go without saying, but my jam would be the single-player aspect.  And indeed, I was simultaneously interested in and worried by the prospect of trying Blacklist solo.  Its E3 showings turned me off for all the obvious reasons, but for the sake of trying to get out of my comfort zone and giving something with the Tom Clancy brand the benefit of the doubt, I decided it would be stupid of me to give it the cold shoulder just because it didn’t have the requisite full use of the color spectrum.  So I gave it a try.

And as I was playing it, a question suddenly popped into my head: who is this game for?

Let's "discuss" Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

…Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom

The power, and the glory,

Forever and ever.

Amen.

…So.  I tried CoD’s campaign the other day.