Secret Blogger Santa: Merry Christmas McWritestuff!

Merry Christmas one and all, I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season. Todays the big day where we all get drunk and fat and spend far too much money on video games. Okay, maybe that last one might just be me…anyway its time to reveal my Secret Blogger Santa thanks to Ellen from Livid Lightning. Be sure to check her work out.

I had the absolute joy of receiving McWritestuffs as my secret Santa and reading through some of his work from his open letters to the video games he loves and hates, to his short stories and all the satirical and alcohol-infused stuff in between.

So spare some time with me this Christmas morning whilst I talk a little about Alex McHotstuffs site and the gift I’ll be giving him this Christmas.

Alex from McWritestuff surprisingly likes to write stuff. All kinds of stuff. The repertoire of content you can read on his site is downright staggering. I’ve spent the Christmas season reading through some of his best work and I’ll be sharing some of my personal favorites here with you. Whether its short stories, video game reviews or reviews on anything for that matter, poetry or his sites infamous Badvice series which is crammed full of witty sarcastic comedy there’s something for you to love here.

Dear Video Games

As I’m sure was no surprise to anyone, the first page I checked out was Alex’s Dear Video Games series. A critique of both the good and bad when it comes to video games. Spider-Man PS4 was a personal stand out for me. Like Alex, I too couldn’t put it down and it kept me playing long enough for me to claim its platinum trophy. Genuine criticism mixed in with a healthy dose of humor, if you enjoy reading video game reviews you should definitely check this out.

Short Stories

Who doesn’t love a short story? Sometimes shorter stories can be the best, and hey if they’re bad at least you didn’t waste too much time reading them. Luckily Alex’s short stories are brilliantly entertaining. Spaning all sorts of genres. Yet again one that really stood out to me was a gaming-related post; A Witchers Ballad. Mainly because I myself am a big Witcher fan and the recent Netflix show has got me right back in the mood. I promise I don’t have an obsession with anything Video Game related. A seriously funny story of a Witcher fan expressing his love for the licenses in the real world with a genuinely brilliant bard mixed in the middle. It’s a great read for any Witcher fan.

Badvice

It would be rude of me to talk about McWritestuff and not mention his trademark posts. Alex’s Badvice series gives you all the advice you didn’t know you needed and most likely won’t use. Sounds pretty perfect to me. Easily his funniest work, my personal favorite has to be An Ancient Guide To sarcasm. This one spoke to me on a personal level, mainly because I am English and unlike our American friends we cant shoot someone in the face if they annoy us, so sarcasm and “piss-taking” are for the most part our weapons of choice. This one had me laughing all the way through with an easy 5 step guide to sarcasm. Seriously why haven’t you checked out the Badvice series yet?

My Christmas Gift

Now, this is a secret Santa so I suppose its time to start handing out the presents. Well, present (singular). Well, not really seen as its an item from a video game (cheeky spoiler) and you won’t actually receive anything. Expect this blog post of course which you could class as a gift but honestly thats a pretty lame Christmas gift and I’m the one writing this…

ANYWAY, I at first considered a Witcher related gift, but even I didn’t want to be that predictable. So instead I’ve gone for a slightly less, yet still rather predictable gift. A medieval weapon embued with mythical enchantments that will allow you to take on giants and Gods alike. I’ll be giving you the Leviathan Axe from God of War. This may or may not, absolutely, definitely, unquestionably, possibly, have something to do with the fact I just finished wrapping up my God of war playthrough and It’s still on my brain…  I’m sure Kratos won’t mind.

The Leviathan Axe was forged by the Dwarven Brothers, Sindri, and Brok, the same dwarves who forged Thor’s legendary hammer Mjölnir. The Axe was made for Laufey the Just, or Faye to her friends and she eventually passed it down to Kratos. Now I’ll be passing it down to you.

The similarities between The Levithan Axe and Mjölnir are pretty obvious to those of us with a degree in Norse mythology (or those of us who simply watch the Marvel Movies). The Axe harnesses the power of frost magic allowing you to freeze your enemies and throw icicles through their hearts…or you know just sling some snowballs if you’re feeling festive and a little less psychotic. You can also hurl the Axe towards your enemies and it will return to your hand when you call it.

This weapon will give you a Godly amount of power and as we all know with great power comes…great opportunity to cause carnage. Giving someone so sarcastic who may or may not have an unhealthy obsession with beer so much power may be the worst decision I’ve ever made (and thats saying something) or the best. Either way, I’m looking forward to the chaos.

So there we have it. Merry Christmas mate. I hope you and all yours have a wonderful time this Christmas and a great New Year. Be sure to check out McWriteStuff if you’re looking to fill your festive time with some great reading and once again thanks to Ellen from Livid Lightning for putting this whole thing on. Right, I’m going to go and get fat whilst playing Video Games…

PS Plus Games and Best Deals for September 2018

Welcome to the start of a monthly series where I talk through all the Free games courtesy of PS Plus we get this month as well as some of the better deals available right now on the PlayStation Store. Not all of these games are always great but there are some real gems hidden away sometimes (such as this month), and besides there all free so why not add them to your Library? September 2018 has 8 free games to download, 7 of which are playable on the PS4 and all of them are available right now so let’s dive into them.

Destiny 2

Yes, you read that right. Destiny 2 is now completely free to download and play as of right now. Yes, Destiny 2 has had its problems along the way but to get a game of this caliber for free is honestly kind of shocking. If you somehow don’t know what Destiny 2 is, it’s an FPS with sci-fi elements and RPG style grinding and progression, with armor, and weapons to hunt for and factions to grind with. Honestly, the story is pretty lackluster and the base game might not be worth playing without the added DLC’s although they weren’t the best. However, they are £15.99 and with the all-new Forsaken DLC being released recently now might be a perfect time to get into Destiny for the first time. Metacritic Score: 85.

God of War 3 Remastered

Next up is a straight gore-filled action-packed adventure. God of War 3 follows Kratos before he was the glorious 4K father we saw in his latest releases. Instead of Norse mythology, this game explores the various God’s of Greece as you go through beating them up for…some reason. In all seriousness, this game Is a great blast from the past and with the recent success of God of War I will definitely be picking this up and giving it a try. Metacritic Score: 81/100.

Knowledge is Power 

Knowledge is power is a returning PS Plus game from last month and is a general knowledge based parlor game which requires your phone to play. Not on the level of some of the other titles, we’re getting this month but pretty fun if you’re having a get together with friends.

Here They Lie

Here The Lie is yet another returning game from last month and is a survival horror game. This is advertised as a Playstation VR game and is most likely best enoyed with the VR but if like me you don’t own the VR you’ll be happy to know this game is completely playable with a good old regular controller so if your a fan of the horror genre, Here They Lie might be worth picking up and checking out.

Another World: 20th Aniversary Edition

Another World: 20th Aniversary Edition is the first of 2 PS3 titles available on the Ps4 and is a classic old-school platformer/puzzler. Try to escape an alien world with simple graphics, simple enemies, and simple puzzles with a few harder ones thrown in for fun Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition is definitely worth trying out if you want a REAL blast from the past.  This can also be played on a PS Vita if you want to go a little more mobile.

Qube: Directors Cut

Qube is a first-person puzzle game where you manipulate your surroundings to build bridges or open pathways, very similar to the likes of Portal 2, however, Qube is a little bit darker with average graphics but pretty damn good music to create all that added tension. Perfect for any puzzle fans out there. Metacritic Score: 76/100

Foul Play

Foul play is over on the Vita but also available for you to download and play in the PS4 and is a button mashing beat em up where you perform on a theatre stage fighting all sorts of enemies whilst crowds of fans cheer you on. Not anything revolutionary but certainly a lot of fun.

Sparkle 2

The final game on the list, and the only game you cant play on the PS4 as its Vita only is Sparkle 2. A color based puzzler/shooter. Any mobile gamers will recognize the formula and honestly its nothing to rave about. There is a story to go with it but its nothing too exciting unless you like these types of games in which case go for it.

Additional Deals

Some additional goodies include Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Bioshock the Collection, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, and Destiny: The Collection all being 60% off. There’s also plenty of games under £13 including Prototype 1 and 2, Brothers: A Tale of 2 Sons, and Fifa 18 which is only £9.99 at 77& off. Pretty Good deal.

So these are all the FREE PS Plus games available September 2018 as well as a few extra goodies going cheap. Will you be picking up any of the new free games or are you saving your time for Spiderman PS4 or Shadow of the Tomb Raider? Let us know down below or over on Twitter.