Upcoming Games: 7 Days to Die

"7 Days to Die" is a new game gathering major buzz in the underground gaming community. It has been described as a mix of Day Z and Minecraft. 

According to the developers, the story is set in the distant future where nuclear attacks and an unknown virus has devastated the remaining population and left them to survive. You play the role of a survive scavenging your way across an open world.

“7 Days to Die” is an open world, voxel-based, sandbox game blending the best elements of FPS, Survival Horror, RPG and Tower Defense style games. “7 Days to Die” will allow players to build defenses, craft weapons, barricade buildings, scavenge through houses, and survive a terrifying night and day cycle. 

The game has been Greenlit on steam and are currently raising funds on Kickstarter to further develop the game. The best deal seems to be the $35 dollar package because it allows you into the alpha, beta, and retail release of the game. Those wanting to promote without giving money can vote on steam's Greenlit program. It keeps them on the visible which helps a lot especially when they're trying to raise awareness and buzz.

Personally, I look forward to joining a server with a buddy and building a fort. For more information, visit the "7 Days to Die" website. Check back for first impression footage and game reviews.

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Payday 2 Complete Stealth in Bank Heist Mission

Preparation
Everyone in regular suits
Pistols with silencer
Crew Loadout: 2 Ghosts, 2 Technicians

Optional:
Body bags
Security scanner
Silencer

Rules:
Do not get spotted with masks or killing a guard.
Keep everyone suppressed
Intimidate/eliminate guards around map

Phase 1: Intimidate or silently kill roaming guards/outside civilians around the map

• Silently kill guards patrolling the sides of the building and the roof (do not do this in front of the window, with others watching, or directly above the lobby).
• Immediately answer their pagers.
• Have two other members wait on the street while this is going on. Eliminate or tie up roaming civillians on the outside without being seen by cameras or others.

Phase 2: Begin heist by killing groups of civilians then cuff the remainder

• Place a member by the tellers, the lobby, the cubicles, and back area.
• Storm the place together. Put down a security scanner in the lobby and the back cubicle area.
• Put everyone on the ground, kill remaining guards, answers their pagers, kill civilians outside the large groups. Tie everyone up and kill the remainder to prevent them from getting up.

Phase 3: Monitor street, begin drilling, open boxes

• Once this is complete you begin looting and bagging the items
• Open lock boxes

Phase 4: Transfer bags to van

Variables:

• If you have a higher level with a perk that allows you to answer the pager more effectively then you will have more success at tougher levels.
• Intimidate skills will also come into effect.
• At higher levels it is possible to do all missions on stealth.

Here is a simple walkthrough of what another group did. Apply the same concepts for all difficulty levels.

First Impression: Payday 2 Safe house

Payday 2 features a tutorial area for players to practice their bank robbing skills via the safe house. Here players will find areas to where they can learn how to drill a safe, use plastic explosives, pick a lock, use a key card, shoot their guns in a practice range, view their bank, and plan out missions.

It reminds me of the Playstation 3 home experiment. It is supposed to function as a tutorial section for new players. Experienced players will visit this area once and never return to it except to check it out while they wait for a friend to get online.

The crime.net system is setup perfectly for future DLC's and expansions. I can easily see a PVP function that can be added similar to GTA IV 's online free roam and versus modes. I would love to see a capture the hood area where two gangs can battle it out for drug turf.

Payday 2 Mission Walkthroughs

In this post, you will find compiled links and information about Payday 2. I will post information as it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Payday 2 Safe House Easter Egg Walkthrough

Jewelry Heist- Silent Approach

Bank Heist- Silent Approach

Payday 2: Complete Stealth in Jewelry Heist Mission

Preparation
Everyone in regular suits
Pistols with silencer

Optional:
Body bags
Security scanner silencer

Rules:
Do not shoot civilians or with a non silenced weapon.
Do not get spotted with masks or killing a guard.
Keep everyone suppressed

The jewelry heist can be completed as long as you do the following things:

• Silently kill guards patrolling the sides of the building (do not do this in front of the window or with others watching).
• Immediately answer their pagers.
• Have two other members wait on the street while this is going on. These two need to keep track of the number of citizens walking around in the street. They will need to be controlled in a few moments. It is best to tie them up.

• After you take out the guards in the back have one member enter the store and tell everyone to get on the ground.
• The other two from the back need to make their way inside to put the people in the back offices on the ground at then assist in the main lobby with crowd control. 
• The one of the guys from the street needs to tell the civilians they scouted earlier to get to the ground then cuff them. If there are more than two then keep then down until there are three in the main lobby then one of those guys need to cuff the remainder civilians walking in the street.
• Once this is complete you begin looting and bagging the items.Have one person going back and forth between lobby and street to keep uncuffed people suppressed and in anticipation of an unexpected NPC appearing in the front.
• The others need to drill (if applicable) and run bags to the van.

Variables:

If you have a higher level with a perk that allows you to answer the pager more effectively then you will have more success at tougher levels.

Intimidate skills will also come into effect.

At higher levels it is possible to do all missions on stealth.

Here is a simple walkthrough of what we did. Apply the same concepts for all difficulty levels.

The Think Tank: Are Gamers Lazy?

I have a secret which I don't tell people, in real life, because I fear they may judge me: I am a gamer.  When I try to connect with someone and mention games I get dirty looks from strangers.  So, now I don't say anything to them.  In fact, unless I see a shred of evidence that they might like geeky things, I stick to HR acceptable topics even with my offline friends.

The thing is, I feel that they think it is a childish hobby and my time is wasted.  This is ridiculous considering that I am a published adjunct professor studying to go into the public sector.  I've traveled all over the world, twice had a play produced, designed a board game, and recently have decided to focus on real world post- apocalyptic skills like shooting, making fire, cooking etc (in secret of course, shh!).  If I'm not gaming I am doing something, so what's up with that?

The other night a few of us were playing, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, when a discussion of whether gaming has broken out.  The discussion, in the above video, happens during the explosions and shooting of a co-op mission. The guys feel that gamers tend to be accomplished and well rounded. One of them argues that society has not caught up with the reality.

Gaming isn't just for kids anymore. The people I play with, are from all over the world, and twenty-five years of age or older. They come from different backgrounds with varying levels of education and most are working, accomplished professionals.

It seems as if the lost generation still views gens X and Y as the children they once had to tell to go to bed. Certainly, many professions have found a use for the technology and the skills acquired from gaming. One college in the states is using video game technology to help forensic investigators recreate crime scenes.

Here is one semi-scholarly article that explores whether gaming has more of a positive or negative effect on the player. This article details how gaming and game theory can be applied in the classroom: Productive Gaming: The Case for Historiographic Play. They question remains: Is there something to the image of the lazy gamer?

The adults in my experience that play games do not seem to be lazy and unproductive. As whether they are wasting their time that seems a matter of perspective. The people that complain about this hobby are always girlfriends, wives, non-gaming friends, and family. My friends, the ones that turn their nose at me, spend more than 25 hours a week watching TV. I don't see the difference. 

One thing I am trying to do is to find a better balance with my loved ones. I think balance time is a healthy practice for gamers to employ, as we do tend to lose ourselves to games. I try to spend time with my wife in a shared activity so we can talk, enjoy our company, and connect. This has been a recent practice but it has made all the difference. 

Game Review: Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army

Guest Stars: XSX, Douglas_G, Dr_Perceptron

Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army is a stand alone expansion of the Sniper Elite series. This game is not perfect and I would only recommend this to a group looking for 5 co op missions to blaze through. Most things that made Sniper Elite what it is are gone. This is the secret zombie mode of Black Ops.

The game's characters are nothing more than WWII avatars. They lack story, background, or motivations other than to kill zombies using sniper rifles. In this game, you can only play as a sniper. Any secondary weapons are limited by the amount of ammo that they carry. This is one of the limitations in the design. Yes, it might be part of the Sniper Elite series but its design forces players into this role once they have abandoned all the other elements of the Sniper Elite games is a design flaw.

I am horrible at sniping in every game out there. In this game, I struggle to get a head-shot. The choice to play the game as I see fit has been removed for me without good reason or suitable replacement.

The tone of the game is one of its strengths. As your group plays through the campaign maps you may admire the attention to detail which uses lighting, scenery, and sounds to create the creepy atmosphere.

(Excuse the video. It is my first attempt)

This game is worth a look if you can pick it up during a Steam sale for a few bucks. The maps are linear in design and once you go through them a few times you have seen everything. This games shines when you and some friends work together to fight through the hordes of zombies. 

In addition, I have not seen any update news from the developers. If I do I will post it here.