Review the Last Game You Played

[Wulfsbane]

Basically this topic is about giving us a review of the last game you played, what you liked/disliked about it, a basic synopsis of the game's plot and if you would recommend it to others here.

 

I''ll start things off with OverWatch

Synopsis: The backstory to Overwatch is described through animated shorts and other information distributed by Blizzard in promoting the game. (Yeah I ripped it from Wikipedia, sue me)

Overwatch is set sixty years into the future of fictionalized Earth, thirty years after the resolution of the "Omnic Crisis". Prior the Omnic Crisis, humanity had been in a golden age of prosperity and technology development. Humanity developed robots with artificial intelligence called "omnics" which were produced world-wide in automated "omnium" facilities and put to use to achieve economic equality. The Omnic Crisis began when the omniums started producing a series of lethal, hostile robots, which turned against humanity. The United Nations (UN) quickly formed Overwatch, an international task force to combat the Omnic threat and restore order.

Two veteran soldiers were put in charge of Overwatch; Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison. Though Overwatch successfully quelled the robotic uprising and brought a number of talented individuals to the forefront, a rift developed between Reyes and Morrison, and Morrison became the de-facto leader of Overwatch while Reyes took charge of Blackwatch, Overwatch's covert operations. Overwatch maintained peace across the world for several decades in what was called the "Overwatch Generation", but the rift between Morrison and Reyes intensified. Several allegations of wrongdoing and failures were leveled at Overwatch, leading to public outcry against the organization and in-fighting between its members, prompting the UN to investigate the situation. During this, an explosion destroyed Overwatch's headquarters, purportedly killing Morrison and Reyes among others. The UN passed the Petras Act, which dismantled Overwatch and forbade any Overwatch-type activity.

Overwatch is set some years after the Petras Act; without Overwatch, corporations have started to take over, fighting and terrorism have broken out in parts of the globe, and there are signs of a second Omnic Crisis occurring in Russia. Former members of Overwatch decide to reform Overwatch despite the Petras Act, recruiting old friends and gaining new allies in their fight.

Likes: It's Team Fortress 2 but with more personality and a much more enjoyable experience, ALL updates & DLC will be free, the game is balanced right out of the gate due to extensive Beta Testing, Battle.Net support, fun, everyone is unique with little overlap

Dislike: Lack of a single player campaign, balancing mechanic still needs work, the "One Strike & You're out" policy in which you cheat you're banned for good (i'm for the policy, but a few people have been innocently banned).

Would I recommend? If you love games like these go for it. It's Blizzard so the quality and time have been put into this. It's very good team and battle game with and with Blizzard constantly updating the game it will always feel fresh.

[WarTraveller]

Alright. Mine is Doom 2016.

Synopsis: In a time of a massive energy crisis on Earth, the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) stumbles across a new form of energy on Mars; Argent Energy, a limitless and clean source of energy that has only one drawback; it comes from Hell itself. In their attempts to colonise the realm for its energy like the oil fields of Texas, they come across a temple that holds a stone coffin containing a being the demons know only as the Doom Slayer; the survivor of a doomed realm who ripped and tore through Hell in a burning rampage before being captured. When higher-up Olivia Pierce starts to collaborate with the demons for endless power, head scientist Samuel Hayden and fellow AI VEGA release you, the Doom Slayer, to stop the invasion. Not that it matters to you; you're fueled by rage, and all you want to do is kill every single demon who dares get in your way. So get going.

Like:

• Gameplay is excellent. Smooth as silk, easy to learn, hard to master and immensely satisfying every single step of the way.
• Each weapon is fun to use and never either overpowered or useless. Each has their own use, but any can be used in any fight.
• Good range of enemies and bosses to fight.
• Huge levels that beg for exploration, with a of bonuses and secrets to find if you do.
• The game looks beautiful, even IF it is generally very dark and very red. Very, very, VERY red.
• Music is fitting, badass and perfectly placed in every level.
• The story. It's actually a decent story, one that has some interest in it but never gets in the way of what the player wants to do; kill demons.
• The Doom Marine himself. Through nothing but two arms and a camera, the game conveys his personality and actions perfectly. He doesn't give a single shingles and just wants to destroy everything in his path. Nothing more, nothing less.
• This game is METAL incarnate. It's WOW Factor never slows down, and it only gets more and more intense as the game goes on.
• Oh, and a campaign that isn't a measly four hours long. That bit's nice.  

Dislike:

• Some of the fights CAN get a bit hard, partly because the game spams high-end demons against you.
• Some secrets CAN be a bit too well-hidden for their own good.
• Multiplayer is...well, multiplayer is alright. But it needs a few adjustments to truly have some staying power. Mainly balancing changes so that people stop using the Electric Rifle all the bloody time.
• You get that feeling in the back of your mind that old-style shooters will probably never get as good as this.

Would I Recommend?

Definitely. Unlike so many other "old-school" retro shooters, which seem contempt to be 100% like the old games and bash the modern Military Shooters in an attempt to cater exclusively to bitter 20-something year olds who complain about things like iron sights becase e;g afdhag rwhaerhbaw...unlike those games, Doom '16 actually bothers to integrate some new conventions with the old stuff, and it works really well. It feels like a true evolution of the classic shooter genre, rather than wallowing in the nostalgia of the original. Much like Shovel Knight, it is more than mere nostalgia-bait, it is a proper old-school game in and of itself, perhaps way ahead of its time. It's brutal, it's metal, it's hardcore and it's insane. And I loved every second of it.

[ILOVEVHS]

Sonic Generations (Yes, it took me until now to finally own/play this game, fitting for the 25th anniversary)

Synopsis: Our favorite Blue Blur is celebrating his birthday with all his closest friends, when a mysterious beast appears and tears apart time and space, kidnapping all of Sonic's friends. Upon arriving in a white void where time doesn't exist, Sonic meets his younger self, before he learned any of his modern tricks, lost that weight, and got those green contacts. Seeing as how Sonic's speed restores time, they travel across many classic locations from the series to stop the sinister Time Eater.

Likes: This game features the best that Sonic has to offer. Fast, instense levels, amazing music and kick-ass bosses. Classic Sonic's gameplay feels as close as you can get to the old games, while Modern's is some of the fastest speeds I have ever seen in a video game. The customization system is also fantastic.

Dislikes: The game feels extremely glitchy at several points, and since I have a weaker PC, there's a lot of framerate drops. Also, some of the challenges are simply annoying, and the final boss is terribly designed.

Would I recommend it? If you've never played a 3D Sonic game, play this one. It has something for nearly every Sonic fan to enjoy.

 

Also, I REALLY just want to gush about this next game.

Kirby: Planet Robobot

Synopsis: The peaceful, dream-like Planet Popstar is visited by an alien menace. The Haltmann Works Company, an evil corporation that corrupts the planet, turning it's landscape into metal and roboticizing its inhabitants, including the likes of Whispy Woods and even Meta Knight himself! Kirby, having slept through the takeover, wakes up as one of the only organics left, and sets out to save his home. Along the way, he befriends a rouge Robobot Armor, a mech suit used by the Haltmann Company's machines. With his new mech equipped, Kirby can now fight fire with fire.

Likes: The level design in this game is some of the strongest in the series. Nothing is unfair or unobtainable unless you yourself make the mistake. Kirby's copy abilities are of course fun to use, but they get even better with the Robobot Armor's copying powers. The armor itself is seemlessly integrated into gameplay as well. In addition, there are also extra modes to play, a 3D puzzle game, a mini-RPG, a time attack where you play as Meta Knight, and a difficult Boss Rush, all of which are fun to play. My favorite part would have to be the final boss, which I dare not spoil, but it's an extra treat for old Kirby fans,

Dislikes: The bosses, while still fun to play are almost all rehashes of old Kirby bosses. Which is fine for newcomers, but for veterans, it's a bit glaring because of how original the Kirby series can get with its bosses.

Would I reccomend it? YES. Aside from its very few flaws, this is one of the strongest titles in the entire franchise, and my personal favorite to play. If you've never played Kirby, start with this or Triple Deluxe.

[Wulfsbane]

I'll be reviewing No Man's Sky soon

[F07E]

25 minutes ago, Wulfsbane said:

I'll be reviewing No Man's Sky soon

Oh my, i'd tread lightly with that one if I were you, that games overzealous fans make overzealous Steven universe fans look sane.

[WarTraveller]

9 hours ago, F07E said:

Oh my, i'd tread lightly with that one if I were you, that games overzealous fans make overzealous Steven universe fans look sane.

I think it's safe to say that, if they choose to behave like that over what is basically a mediocre video game, they deserve all the harshness they receive at this point. When you send someone death threats for merely reporting on a game's delay...yeah, you deserve the critical mauling your precious game may get.

[F07E]

27 minutes ago, WarTraveller said:

I think it's safe to say that, if they choose to behave like that over what is basically a mediocre video game, they deserve all the harshness they receive at this point. When you send someone death threats for merely reporting on a game's delay...yeah, you deserve the critical mauling your precious game may get.

I agree whole heartedly, same goes for fans of any franchise who choose to conduct themselves with such toxic attitudes.

[WarTraveller]

40 minutes ago, F07E said:

I agree whole heartedly, same goes for fans of any franchise who choose to conduct themselves with such toxic attitudes.

Including OURS, to be fair.

[F07E]

5 minutes ago, WarTraveller said:

Including OURS, to be fair.

Yup!

[ILOVEVHS]

Mighty No. 9

Before my review, I must stress, I never backed this game, I bought it on sale for curiosity's sake and this review will be ignoring how hideously mismanaged the production was. This is just for the game itself.

Synopsis:

During the "present year", robotics have advanced through Xels, a compontent which is used to create robots to serve or battle. The world is at peace, as battles are confined to a Colosseum, and only in good fun. Of these machines, the most notable are the Mighty Numbers. A group of 9 sibling robots built by Dr. White. One day, most of the robots are mysteriously corrupted by a virus and cause mayhem. One of the only robots left intact is Beck, the 9th Mighty No. To find out the source of the virus and save his siblings from corruption, Beck travels across the city, using his unique ability to assimilate and heal robots to save the day.

Likes: While the game is a very blantant Mega Man clone, there are a few slight alterations that freshen up the formula and make things a bit easier. Unlike Mega Man, Beck can grab onto ledges, and can dash in midair or on the ground to move faster. I also love the system where when you save a Mighty No. it may help you in other levels by destroying certain hazards. It shows how these characters are a family and it makes the road to victory easier.

Dislikes: First of all, the game runs poorly on Wii U, the version I played, possibility of crashing, framerate drops, etc. Some of the obstacles and bosses are unfair also, many of them having 1 hit kill attacks. The story is also bland while trying hard to be amazing, and the voices can be very annoying. I also was sadly dispointed with Ray, the DLC playable character. She's rhe moat interesting story wise, but her gameplay style does not fit the level design for this game.

Would I reccomend it? Well...no. I do like this game, more than most people, but unless you're a hardcore Mega Man fan, this game's faults will turn you off from it. And that's ignoring the controversy surrounding it.

[TheRedStranger]

8 minutes ago, ILOVEVHS said:

Mighty No. 9

Before my review, I must stress, I never backed this game, I bought it on sale for curiosity's sake and this review will be ignoring how hideously mismanaged the production was. This is just for the game itself.

Synopsis:

During the "present year", robotics have advanced through Xels, a compontent which is used to create robots to serve or battle. The world is at peace, as battles are confined to a Colosseum, and only in good fun. Of these machines, the most notable are the Mighty Numbers. A group of 9 sibling robots built by Dr. White. One day, most of the robots are mysteriously corrupted by a virus and cause mayhem. One of the only robots left intact is Beck, the 9th Mighty No. To find out the source of the virus and save his siblings from corruption, Beck travels across the city, using his unique ability to assimilate and heal robots to save the day.

Likes: While the game is a very blantant Mega Man clone, there are a few slight alterations that freshen up the formula and make things a bit easier. Unlike Mega Man, Beck can grab onto ledges, and can dash in midair or on the ground to move faster. I also love the system where when you save a Mighty No. it may help you in other levels by destroying certain hazards. It shows how these characters are a family and it makes the road to victory easier.

Dislikes: First of all, the game runs poorly on Wii U, the version I played, possibility of crashing, framerate drops, etc. Some of the obstacles and bosses are unfair also, many of them having 1 hit kill attacks. The story is also bland while trying hard to be amazing, and the voices can be very annoying. I also was sadly dispointed with Ray, the DLC playable character. She's rhe moat interesting story wise, but her gameplay style does not fit the level design for this game.

Would I reccomend it? Well...no. I do like this game, more than most people, but unless you're a hardcore Mega Man fan, this game's faults will turn you off from it. And that's ignoring the controversy surrounding it.

Wow...sounds like it's a utter game design disaster. Basically style over substance? 

[WarTraveller]

38 minutes ago, TheRedStranger said:

Wow...sounds like it's a utter game design disaster. Basically style over substance? 

More like promising the world and delivering a half-baked cluserfeckles that trades on nostalgia to truly get anywhere. Think of it as the Rise of Lyric of Mega Man games. Well, WORSE, actually; say what you will about RoL, it didn't steal money from the consumer to suck that hard.

[TheRedStranger]

5 hours ago, WarTraveller said:

More like promising the world and delivering a half-baked cluserfeckles that trades on nostalgia to truly get anywhere. Think of it as the Rise of Lyric of Mega Man games. Well, WORSE, actually; say what you will about RoL, it didn't steal money from the consumer to suck that hard.

The Creator of Megaman was an Illustrator mostly, correct? If so then you could have style over substance especially in constrast with the proposed crunchiness of the game mechanics. Games are not merely a "right-brain" excercise, there is a structure much like a poem. 

[ILOVEVHS]

It's not that they didn't want to sap money out of desperate fans, the designs and world in this game DO have potential. It's just that the production was hellish and long, until the point of coming out as a badly programmed wreck.

[ILOVEVHS]

Epic Mickey

Synopsis:

A long time ago, the visionary Walt Disney broke into animation with his beloved cartoon creation...Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Don't remember him? A lot of people don't. Which is why the wizard Yensid (from Fantasia) created a realm for forgotten cartoon characters, and Oswald was the first resident. As the world was finally finished, Disney's champion character, Mickey Mouse, finds Yensid's workshop. Using the wizard's magic paintbrush, Mickey unintentionally creates the monstrous Shadow Blot and causes great destruction to the forgotten world, rendering it a Wasteland. Years later, after Mickey's fame skyrocketed, the Blot has pulled him back into Wasteland, intent on stealing his heart and escaping into the Cartoon World. Now weidling Yensid's magic paintbrush, Mickey can choose to either restore Wasteland or destroy it as he journeys home, soon encountering Oswald, his jealous "brother".

Likes: 

This game is basically a combination of ideas from various video games, the expansive worlds of Mario and Banjo-Kazooie, sidequests reminiscent of Zelda and RPGs, and a morality system in someways similar to Infamous or Undertale (but with less of an impact). The story is this game's best feature, reviving many underrated Disney characters as Mickey tries to help them. The paint mechanic is particularly great. You can use Paint to restore objects, enemies or bosses, or Thinner to destroy them and this can have an effect on how Mickey acts in game, depending on your actions, Mickey either remains a hero, or returns to his mischievous roots.

Dislikes: 

This game is by no means flawless. The camera is abysmal and disrupts gameplay several times. This game also has an annoying habit of locking you out of sidequests if you screw up. It's supposed to make your decisions for the ending final, but that could've been done better.

Would I recommend it?

To platformer lovers and Disney enthusiasts, yes, I would. Though this game is very much a love it-or-hate it game. Keep an open mind when trying it.

[Wulfsbane]

Alright, time to do this.

Wulfsbane's review of No Man's Sky.

Synopsis: The player character, known as the Traveler, wakes up on a remote planet near their crashed spacecraft. They receive a message from an entity called "The Atlas" that offers its guidance, directing the character to make the necessary repairs to the spacecraft and collecting the resources needed to fuel a hyperspace jump to another solar system. En route, they encounter individual members of three alien species, the Gek, the Korvax, and the Vy'keen, that inhabit the galaxy.

As the Traveler moves towards other systems, they are alerted to a presence of a space anomaly in a nearby system. Traveling there they find a space station where two aliens wait for them, Priest Entity Nada and Specialist Polo. Nada and Polo have knowledge beyond what other aliens in the galaxy appear to possess, including being able to speak without translation to the Traveler. They are able to guide the Traveler towards meeting Atlas, either by directing them to the location of a nearby Atlas Interface, or to a black hole that can quickly take the Traveler closer to the center of the galaxy. The Traveler investigates the Interfaces to find themselves in direct communication with the Atlas which wants them to continue to explore and collect information all while moving towards the center, where the Atlas entity appears to be. The Atlas judges the Traveler's progress, and grants it an Atlas Stone if it deems the Traveler worthy.

(There's more but there's spoilers)

Like: With 18 Quintilian planets to discover and explore. While some planets are similar to one another there's a vast difference between them. Sometimes you can land on a lifeless rock of a planet, and I mean lifeless: No Flora or Fauna. There's times you can find an abundance of Flora and Fauna. Some planets have a lot of Sentinels (the guardians of sorts) that are hostile or peaceful, some planets are hotter than hell, cold as your ex's heart, or irradiated as much as the core of Chernobyl. There's definitely a lot of variety. It's also very relaxing in a way. I can explore all I want and I would feel alright, I can let my mind at ease and just relax. Space travel is also fun (GOING TO THE MOON! MOON RIDE x4!) and there's a lot of minerals to find. Learning the language of the species is kinda fun too.

Dislikes: A lot of planets do feel barren though. You would think you could stumble upon a planet with a massive city of sorts on it or a vast civilization but that's not the case unfortuantely. It's also full of "collect resources & craft" gameplay. There's just so much more that could be done but as of right now there's not a ton to do.

Would I recommend? Yes... and No. This game still has a lot of potential and with a bunch of free content updates to come and with a lot more expansion possible I would recommend the game. The game itself is fun and relaxing but it just needs more to it. It's still considered a technological masterpiece though for what it has done. Though a price drop could help.

[Mike Arcade]

Well it looks like over a month since a game review around here, it's long over due that I review a game here, so what better way but to start off with a recent game I finally got a chance to play, a legendary game from those crazy devs at Treasure of Gunstar Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, and Ikaruga fame, a game where I play as a different set of Heroes...

Mike Arcade's Guardian Heroes for Xbox 360 Review

Synopsis: We find Four Warriors, Samuel Han (Our Warrior/Barbarian), Randy M. Green (Our 1st Mage), Ginjirou Ibushi (Our Ninja), and Nicole Neil (Our 2nd Mage and Healer), after a quest of sorts (kinda like a D&D game XD) where they ended up obtaining The Sword of Legend, they get an uninvited guest who busts through the door. A Red Armored Woman named Serena Corsair who tells them that royal knights are coming to steal the sword. As you leave the village towards the graveyard with Serena or as Serena, you end up fighting a Royal Mech (Yes they have robots in this Medieval fantasy era) and barely hold your own, Han holds up the Sword of Legend which floats to a shallow grave and brings back a Golden Armored Warrior from the dead which wrecks the Mech easily. This Skeleton known as the Undead Warrior tries to attack this band of Warriors however find out they can now CONTROL this Undead Warrior, after a fight with the prince Velgar and his assortment of knights, creatures, and mages you are now offically enemies of the kingdom and with Serena and your crew have to make choices on where your journey will take you and where it will end. Can you defeat this corrupt Kingdom? What secrets does Serena know? What is the royal adviser Kanon the Grey hiding, and who are these mysterious Skyborn and Earthblood? The choice is yours in this multi path taking Beat Em Up/RPG/Fighting Game Hybrid!

Like: Where do I even begin? For one I'm reviewing the Xbox 360 Re-release which add in a whole lot more content to the game such as touched up graphics and Remixed gameplay similar to that of their fighting game Bleach: The Blade of Fate for Nintendo DS. You can however always switch back to the original graphics and Classic gameplay from the Saturn original, which that plays similar to Treasure's Yuyu Hakusho fighting game for the Sega Mega Drive.

Talk about gameplay progression, either way you play it however you're going to have a great time, the best way to describe it is like playing a game of Fatal Fury with it's plain switching and having gameplay similar to that of Guilty Gear before Guility Gear was a thing. You can juggle your enemies and even perform special moves, the way they are mapped prevents any sort of control issues and no need for a turn around button like Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero or Guilty Gear Izuka.  You're given a 3-plain field and able to switch on the ground anytime you want, so can your enemies and bosses, and of course your Undead Hero you can control.

Once you get the Undead Hero in story mode you can give him a few commands similar to that of a simplified RTS game by having him attack ahead or behind you, not at all, or even go nuts with special moves and a screen covering nuke for all your enemies to enjoy. You also have Magic and an MP meter where you can select your spell under a button (Default Classic Controls) or the Right Analog Stick Button (Default Remix Controls), however you can also perform your magic spells on the fly just like your special moves, and no the special moves don't take any MP away from you.

This already makes it vastly different they any other beat em up out there, not only that but it's Story Mode contains Multiple Paths which can give you a number of different ways your story will go and who you end up facing off at the end, you may take on the strange clown Zur, a White Knight, the Earthbloods or Skyborns, even a certain final boss from Gunstar Heroes.

How you go and carry yourself will lead you to 5 different endings, 2 with 2 variants leading to 7 endings total. The fun doesn't end there, not by a long shot. Once you beat Story Mode once you unlock Serena, if you go to Arcade Mode (which is more accurately a survival mode) and Versus Mode you'll notice something no Beat Em Up has ever done before. You can play as EVERYBODY in the game in these modes, not just the main characters but literally every enemy and boss in the game, you can even play as the villagers you may pass by under a few paths if you want to! Giving you 45 Characters Total to play as, each with their own movelists and playstyles that you can unlock by facing them off in Story Mode or under certain conditions. I have never seen anyone do this before or sense and my gosh is it glorious, not only that but the Arcade and Versus Mode allows you to play up to 6 (Saturn Version Only)/12 (Xbox 360 Version Only) Players to duke it out! Which is just staggering and gives the game an almost endless amount of replay value, did I mention that all these modes can be played online on the 360? Because you can do that, even now this is unbelievable to me.

Dislike: The rather useless and pointless Karma system, which can change up some dialogue near the end of the game and the dialogue in 2 of the Ending Screens, you do that by having Negative Amount of Karma which you can gain by attacking villagers, retreating enemies, some pots of plants, and juggling dead enemies after you beat them. But you REALLY have to go our of your way to do that and it doesn't add much to the game other then those varients, not really worth it but it adds an achievement to get on the 360 regarding collecting the endings.

Your characters can level up to the max level of 200, which is insane as under a normal playthrough the highest you'll get is around Level 30 or so, granted there are hidden arenas like in Arcade Mode where you can face wave after wave of enemies if you want to grind but that's up to you, though these Arenas are few and far between the paths. That and Undead Hero can cover for anything you lack if you so choose to, though without him the game would be MASSIVELY more difficult I'd imagine but with him or a buddy...or a few you can go through the game with a few stumbles along the way.

You're given 10 Credits to beat the game but with each player who jumps in on the fly you not only share those credits but also have to restart the level you're on over again, I'd say don't have allow drop ins online or locally as that can be a hassle, it's best to start a new game with buddies at the beginning (360 Version Only).

Lastly, Arcade mode being just a Survival Mode was rather disappointing to me as I thought it was going to be a no dialogue Story Mode playable with everyone, which would have been amazing but the game does so much right as it is I can forgive this flaw. Also if you exit out of story mode you can continue where you left off at the beginning of the last stage you were on, that's not a flaw I was just pointing out the good game design though I don't know if that's only on the 360. Though that doesn't really matter as an average game can last around 30 minutes to an hour at most depending if you want to skip story dialogue or not, though again the multiple paths add in a bunch of ways to play the game anyway so that fixes the length problem...man this is such a good game!

Would I Recommend?: OH YES I MOST CERTAINLY DO, GET THIS GAME!!! I don't say this lightly but this is one of the BEST Beat Em Ups I've ever played in my life, it's right up there with the Streets of Rage Games and Remake, River City Ransom, Final Fight, Golden Axe, ALL OF THEM. Best of all it is literally $4.99, that's right THIS GAME IS 5 DOLLARS, I am not even kidding if you have an Xbox 360 you NEED to get this game, I don't know if it'll end up comparable with Xbox One but I wouldn't be surprised, I hope so. Also I REALLY hope this comes out on Steam one day, it NEEDS to and the fact it isn't on there is just insane to me. With that said if you have a 360 and 5 dollars (circa US Currency) to spare get it right now, you will not regret it. To end this I'd say check out Treasure's other awesome games they've made throughout the years, there's even a sequel to Guardian Heroes on the Game Boy Advance called Advanced Guardian Heroes, though that game is very complicated to talk about, but that's a story for another time.

Pointers: Wouldn't be me if I didn't have anything else to say, so I'd recommend you guys first start off as Han and go from there, get used to how things work and have fun. Also if you choose to go to the forest and on the next stage choose to go to the castle, you'll end up on Stage 8 where afterwards as Han you can get a stat boost exclusively for him. However don't ignore everyone else, they all have a bunch of spells unlike Han who has only a fireball spell, Nicole seems to be the weakest character at first glance but has been said to be the most broken character in the game from what I've heard so take that how you will, she's surprisingly good though and is the only character who can heal themselves and other players. Randy I kept my distance and things worked out well, physically he's slightly stronger then Nicole but both hit fast which does help and can be surprisingly effective. Ginjirou and Serena I had the toughest time with oddly enough, Ginjirou has the 2nd or 3rd lowest starting health but is the fastest by default, his magic and can be very effective and borderline broken with his Thunder Fist Spell. Serena has balanced stats and can be played however you want, she has a bunch of Special Moves and Spells, though since she originally helps you in a few parts of the game when you play, playing as her means during those parts you're own your own which can make things a bit tougher. You can't go wrong with anyone, see how each character and how they play work out for you, also playing as the villagers are hilarious.

So yeah check it out, also this was basically spoiler free so yay for me! Let me know what you guys think and if I should do other reviews, till then.

[Rick Tyger]

Prototype 2

Synopsis: Alex Mercer is alive and has spread the Mercer Virus again. You are James Heller, a member of the military send to deal with the situation. Mercer's infected have killed your wife and (as you'll later find out) kidnapped your daughter (who you though had also been killed). During your initial attempt at revenge, Mercer infects you. And that's where the game really starts. From there, it's a matter of killing and absorbing the identities of key individuals, and laying waste to monsters that would be at home in a The Thing movie. Oh, and tracking down Mercer and killing him and rescuing your daughter.

Likes:

• This is likely as close to a "be The Thing" game as we'll ever get. Absorbing others for fun (and the occasional "because the mission says so") and to regain health and gain new powers is exactly the sort of game play one would expect from a "be The Thing" game.
• A casual player like myself can beat it, on easy mode. I was unable to ever beat the final boss of the original Prototype game, which was infuriating.
• I never liked Alex Mercer anyway. It's fun to tear him apart as he's the final boss.
• The characters and story make sense. For example, Rooks and Heller would be forced to fight in a more conventional game, but they come to an unspoken agreement over the sentiment that both have daughters. The humanity factor is there, which is a nice touch for a revenge-based game. Heller isn't the completely uncaring jackass that Mercer was/is.
• The super-powers are awesome. Personally, I prefer to stick with the Claws and Whip Fist. I really love the Whip Fist's range of uses: 1: bladed whip; 2: harpoon ("both long-distance attack" and "long-distance grab and bring to you"); 3: Long-distance grab of enemy vehicles (takes you to the vehicle for quick "hijack/weaponize/destroy" options). I also enjoy the "Viral Sonar" function.
• Re-playable through "New Game +", which allows you to keep all of your previously gained powers and mutations. It's a fun way to blow off some steam, even after you've completely upgraded Heller and beaten the game 20 or more times. For me, this is one of those game that just doesn't get old.
• The version of the game that I have came with a CD copy of the sound track, which is awesome.

Dislikes:

• The cut-scenes are "black and white with some red" format.
• The game itself is rather short, if you don't pursue all of the side-quests and object location challenges.
• The avatar rewards requite use of the "RadNet" function, which I can't use.
• A few of the side-quests are "beat the clock" races along rooftops and sometimes down to ground level and back up to rooftop level again. They can be infuriating if you don't have the proper mutations to make Heller faster.

Pro Tip: When fighting Mercer, don't use the same Powers that he's using. Switch to something else to beat him.

[Wulfsbane]

So I bought a GameCube recently because my Wii crapped out (think the laser broke on it) and I have a few GC games I wanted to play again. Most noticably...

METROID PRIME

Synopsis: Samus Aran intercepts a distress signal from the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon, whose crew have been slaughtered by the Pirates' own genetically modified, experimental subjects. After investigating, destroying a mutated Parasite, and inadvertently trigger the self-destruct sequence, Samus escapes and lands on Tallon IV after seeing her nemesis, Ridley, rebuilt on the frigate. Samus hunts down Ridley and discovers a whole Space Pirate operation on the planet, using a mysterious substance called Phazon for tests and modifications on animals and Space Pirates. So literally Samus stumbled upon a much larger operation by answering a distress call.

Likes: Even nearly seventeen years later this game still holds up. The graphics still look rather great although you can see some rough edges and is less detailed in some parts. Combat is still fluid and the enemies aren't static and have a good AI that gives you a challenge. The world is somewhat alive as you can go in one room in the beginning of the game but later on there will be more challenging enemies. The exploration is top notch, and there is a ton of scanable items that give depth to the world.

Dislikes: The game's age does show up a bit as controls can be not as responsive. No camera control kinda hurts and in the original GC version the Chozo Lore and Space Pirate Data are, at times rather hilariously, out of sequence.

 

Would I Recommend? Absolutely, though the rumors are we are getting a remastered version of the trilogy sometime before Prime 4 drops... in two to five years.

[Mike Arcade]

So for the past few months I really got into JRPGs, or Eastern RPGs as some call them. Specifically the Turned Based RPG Series that started it all. I'm of course talking about Dragon Quest. Some time ago I played through the first three entries and went through them, it was a very interesting experience that I'd like to share with you guys. Unlike Final Fantasy (which came out later), the first three titles were all connected with each other. This marked the first trilogy of Dragon Quest...

Dragon Quest: The Erdrick Trilogy Review

Overview: Dragon Quest I, II, and III made one of the biggest impacts in gaming. In terms of history, it's right up there with Mario and Zelda over in Japan for the Famicom/NES, which all three titles here originally came from. Now I didn't play the originals, but rather the Mobile ports available for iOS/Android. These versions of the game were in turn used their Super Famicom/SNES Remakes as a basis. Though many would argue the SNES Remakes are the best way to play these games, for me this was the most convenient way to play them and if you decide to get them are pretty cheap. Inspired by the PC RPGs Wizardry and Ultima, Dragon Quest was Chunsoft and Enix's way to bring RPGs into the console market. Needless to say, it worked out far more than anyone expected. I'll go over each game briefly with the normal format we have in this topic and tell you my experience with each of them.

Dragon Quest I

Synopsis: The story for the first Console, Turn Based RPG is very simple as you would expect. Years ago a Legendary Hero known as Erdrick banished the Demon Lord and brought peace to the Land of Alefgard. This doesn't last as the Dragonlord appears and kidnaps the Orb of Light that kept the world in check along with the King's Princess. Monsters invade the land and so forth. You play as the Descendant of Erdrick to save the world, I know it's very basic but keep in mind that this game was the testing grounds for this genre. We'll get into the more complicated stuff in later games.

Likes: The Music is pretty good, especially the somber overworld theme. The music was made by an orchestral composer, and for the first go around making music for a game he did pretty well for the time. Battles go by quick as it's always one on one, and the dialogue and world building that was done for the time was pretty interesting. The artwork is nice and pretty cartoonish (this coming from Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame) which transfers over well in the sprites. The face of the Slime enemies will be engraved in your mind. Also while you can rescue the Princess, you don't need to. That's right, it's not mandatory to save her, so you can just leave her or instead carry her in your arms for the rest of the game if you like. It's pretty funny how that works. The destroyed village you run into is a sullen reminder of what will happen if you don't save Alefgard, regarding story telling in video games for 1986 on the Famicom, it's pretty cool for what they did at that time. Also unless you use a guide you have to talk with almost every Villager you come across in order to find out what you are suppose to do. The game is pretty open world, where you are only limited to go depending on how strong the enemies you face in different parts of the land. It means that there's an actual purpose to these NPCs, they give out hints and an idea on how bad the situation is. While it's quite archaic now, this was quite something back then. I can see how this became so popular, especially since when this came out there was nothing else like it. It's exactly what it was meant to be, an entry level RPG that didn't stomp you in the face for walking like what Wizardry and Ultima did.

Dislikes:  Wasn't too crazy for the regular battle theme, a pretty weak track for something you'll normally hear. From what I can recall the hints you get from NPCs was fine and all, though for some players you could end up getting lost or confused pretty easily if you don't keep a few notes. But that's not really terrible as you can say that for almost any RPG. My biggest gripe for the game is it's Grinding. Now I know that grinding for level ups is a staple to the genre, and with this being the first Console RPG to pioneer it you'd think I'd go a bit easy on this....but yeah it can be a pain to grind out enough levels to stand a chance against the Dragonlord at the end of the game. It's not as bad as you'd think as I made it to his throne at around Level 15, but you need to be around Level 22 and Above in order to kill him. Granted, the SNES/Mobile version toned down the difficulty of the game. It's suppose to be much harder in the original. I will give them credit though, it's not as hard as say Ultima I - III or as skull cracking tough as Wizardry from what I know of them. I suppose difficulty was a lot different back then. XP

Lastly, the simplicity of the game kinda hurts it when playing it today. You only have one party member, that being yourself. Every fight boils down to either you or your enemy beating the crap out of each other in the most brute force way possible for any RPG I've played. Without other party members to mix up who attacks, use spells, and healing members of a party, the game can get pretty repetitive. I mean the Hero can use any sort of spell you can imagine, but really I only ever use a few status effect spells and heal myself until whatever is in my way is dead. I can't say this is a flaw to the game design as that was completely intentional. It worked for the time it was made, but some may not care for the lack of a party.

Would I Recommend?: This game was meant to be a jumping on point for Console RPGs as a whole, and for 1986 it certainly did it's job. It's a good game for it's time but an okay game now. It's not a bad game by any means, certainly it's an archaic game that I could only recommend for those curious in gaming history and RPG fans to see how it all began. The game is not long however, it's actually rather short and could only take you an hour or two to finish. It's not a bad time spent to see how it all got started, and I gotta respect this game for what it did for gaming as a whole. That alone for me made it worth my time, but then again I'm a sucker for gaming history.

To be continued in Dragon Quest II * III

[I'll be adding my thoughts on the next two games later, be right back.]

[Wulfsbane]

Pokémon Sword & Shield.

Grade: 7/10

 

Oh boy, this review may seem a little strange with the context I'm about to give but bear with me on this one. So to begin, Sword & Shield are the beginnings of the 8th Generation of Pokémon. This time around, it's set in the Galar region, primarily based off of England/Wales/Scotland for it's setting. This is the first main series title for Switch, as Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee were technically spin-offs and meant to be for the causal player or for someone who got into the series via Pokémon GO. The promises made by Game Freak was that when the next generation of Pokémon dropped (Sword & Shield) it would be designed for the more hardcore fans or more seasoned fans of the series and the adventure would be like the previous generations.

Promises made... not kept.

Almost immediately after Nintendo's E3 presentation the first major change was revealed in a Nintendo Treehouse by Junichi Masuda & Shigeru Ohmori: The National PokéDex would not be available in the game. For the first time in a main series Pokémon game you will be unable to obtain every available Pokémon that has been released. This, obviously, did not go over well. The reason given by Masuda and Ohmori was to obtain a more balanced game and that the decision to cut Pokémon was a 'hard one' to make. The two never revealed how many Pokémon were cut and the subsequent news led to the fans calling this Dexit, based off of Brexit. Oddly fitting because of the region it's based off of. Now a lot of fans in the US and Europe were upset by this news as the series tag line has been "Gotta catch 'em all" since Generation 2, completionists wanting to say they had the full Dex, and a few liked transferring Pokémon from game to game. While trying to create balance, this basically threw a wrench in the competitive scene as teams and strategies would have to be reworked to fit in with the game's reduced roster. Now I mentioned only the US and European fans being upset, and that's because the Japanese audience was never told about Dexit until the day the game out. So Game Freak straight up lied to their own home audience to avoid any potential backlash. Now, another reason given for the reduced roster a few months later was because Game Freak had to recreate the models for all the Pokémon. As you might have guessed this also was a lie... well mostly. Obviously the new Pokémon introduced in the games got new models but several old Pokémon, such as Machoke, needed new models because they didn't scale properly from the 3DS models to the Switch so some reworked needed to be done. The new models also were needed for newer "high quality animations." But data-miners got the game early and did some digging and found out by counting the polygons and triangles in the models that nearly all the Pokémon in game that came from previous generations had the exact same model as before. Game designers commented that the only way they could have gotten the same amount of polygons/triangles would be if they imported the old models into the game... which is apparently what they did. Also, the new animations they said were in the game really weren't high quality and were rather choppy. Hell some character animations were recycled from the previous game. Even Pokémon battle moves were basically the same as they have been since X/Y with little movement and action. Now according to a leak, the main reason why all of this happened was because the transporting software they use from game to game failed, which caused the already stressed team to have to re-import each character manually and basically start from scratch in terms of programming. To me this isn't all that surprising because Pokémon has historically had godawful coding and software errors.

Now with all the ranting about the games problems aside... I still had fun with the game, although I am disappointed with Game Freaks dishonesty about the game's issues.

Synopsis: You are a young Pokémon trainer who, along with your friend/rival Hop (terrible name), were chosen/sponsored by Leon, the Galar region Champion and Hop's older brother to take part in the Gym challenge, the typical challenge from previous games where you get all 8 badges then face the E4... though it's a bit different this time. While going through the challenge you face off against two other challenge takers, Marine & Bede, who have their own goals and reasoning for taking part in the challenge.

Likes: Despite a lot of my ranting about the problems above, Game Freak did a lot of quality of life changes that made the game more enjoyable. You immediately get the ability to fly via the Flying Taxi service in the game. TMs got spinned off a bit with TRs; Technical Records. TRs are like the old style TMs, you can only use them once and then they break. The Gym challenges in the game are a combination of the typical Gyms from Generation 1 through 6 and the Trials in Generation 7. For example the first Gym, Milo's, you have to heard twenty Wooloo from one end of the gym to the other while battling a few trainers along the way and avoiding Yamper who run around the area trying to scare the Wooloo, once complete you face off against the Gym Leader. These were actually rather fun and gave a bit of a challenge. A lot of the Pokémon designs in this game are rather awesome. When you go on the routes between towns/cities the Pokémon even appear on the grass so if you were looking for a particular Pokémon you can run into it, some even come up to you. Growlithe for example will see you and run up to you like a dog would when you walk into a house. The Wild Area is a supercharged version of the old Safari Areas and give a major area of exploration and catching Pokémon. Plus getting charged at by a 20 foot tall rock snake known as Onix is rather funny. The music in the game is probably the best in the whole series.

Dislikes: While the Wild Area is great, there were a lot of frame-rate drops and lagging, especially if you're connected to the internet. Leon, the Champion, is a rather one dimensional character who's only real traits were that he has a Charizard, and he gets lost all the time. Hop is basically Hau from Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra/Moon but more bearable at times (Hau was extremely annoying). The 'main villains' in Team Yell weren't really villains at all and it was kinda boring that way. There was also no real challenging areas like Rock Tunnel in Red/Blue/Yellow,  the Underwater areas from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, or Mt. Coronet in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. The always on Exp. Share was a major drag and while there are ways to balance training out I much rather have the option to turn it on/off. The move animations were extremely lacking as well.

Would I Recommend? Yes... and no. While I had a ton of fun with the game and was a rather enjoyable experience, I just can't help in being disappointed with the game, especially with Game Freak's dishonesty. For what is the series first main go on the major console it just left me with the feeling of wanting something more, especially compared to Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Odyssey. I feel like this has to do with The Pokemon Company's 3 year cycle for generations; I think it has finally caught up to them and with each game slowly becoming lesser in a sense they need time to develop. Overall, if you like Pokemon give it a go but I would wait to see if they do a 3rd game, like a Crystal or Emerald version.

[Mike Arcade]

So just yesterday Sonic Robo Blast 2 Version 2.2 came out, I then proceeded to do a playthrough with Sonic & Tails to beat the game. I succeeded, not that I would recommend anyone to do so under one sitting. I did take a few breaks, but not as many as I should have. Simply put, don't do what I did. @_@

To those who don't know, this is the Sonic Fan Game with the longest development time...ever. It first began in 1998 on the Klik N Play as a sequel (obviously) to Sonic Robo Blast, that in itself a very early fan game that plays barely anything like a Sonic game. But for some reason they later switched over to the Doom Engine instead! Sonic Team Junior over the course of 11 Years have managed to create a long lasting legacy with a game that resembles as close as possible to the Sega Genesis games. It's a testament to fans who can gather together to make something that everyone can enjoy, but how is it overall? I have yet to play any of it's multiplayer (aside from the mod of this game, SRB2 Kart, which deserves it's own review in the future), so this will only cover the single player of the game.

Sonic Robo Blast 2 Review

 Synopsis: After the events of the first game where Sonic destroyed his Ring Satellite (you really don't need to play it though, unless your curious), Dr. Eggman discovers a comet known as Black Rock which appears and disappears...pretty much like the Little Planet (before you ask, this was WAY before Shadow's Game). So he re-purposes it as his new base of operations...that's pretty much it. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles now have to find the Chaos Emeralds and stop him.  Considering this story has been slowly revised over the years to a minimum degree, there could be more but it's serviceable I suppose. But then again the story isn't exactly what this fan game is about.

Likes: This game works, somehow the mad men managed to make Doom into a Sonic Platformer. There are mouse controls of course, but any gamepad will do and work for you once you manage to get it set up. Either way, the game plays very well. Sonic's got an air dash much like in Sonic Adventure (minus the homing attack, that's the Magnet Shield's ability), which in this game is lovingly called the Thok due to the sound it's make. Tails and Knuckles play great as well, and since this entire game is of course in 3D, both characters are very cheap to play as yet very fun. Much like in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, you also have Sonic & Tails together and are able to fly with Tails now without needing a 2nd player. While I won't spoil anything for you guys, there are a few secret characters you can unlock as well. You'll just have to play the game to find out, but it's relatively simple to find them. Also the Special Stages are all based on NiGHTS and play like the levels of that game, so if you're a fan of the Purple Jester there you go! Lastly, under certain conditions you can unlock bonus levels, which I'd recommend playing as they're really neat, you may even get a few extras by beating some of them.

Dislikes: Now as fun as this game can be, there's a bit of a problem with the single player game, that being the difficulty spikes. Now the Special Stages are relatively simple and pretty easy going overall...until the 7th Stage. That one will show you no mercy whatsoever with walls that take away precious time from you. That last Special Stage seems a bit too difficulty considering how decent the others were. Speaking of which, I did have some trouble with Arid Canyon Zone, mainly do to some weird jumps and being a bit confused on how to solve the mine cart puzzles (Act 3's Boss makes it so worth it though). It's when we get to Red Mountain that the game spikes and ascends into almost lunacy. Now I could be a bit reckless in levels, but the amount of stuff you are thrown at Red Mountain is nuts. Gets even crazier in the last 2 zones with Egg Rock and Black Core. Egg Rock is a trial of new, impressive technical features, and interesting ways to kill you. It's like your trapped in a maximum security prison crossed with a deadly obstacle course. I never thought I'd see those Snail Badniks from Sonic 3 end up being so deadly to snipe you from afar. You also can't breath in space this time around for outside sections so keep that in mind as you rush to small pockets of oxygen. Black Core get me to the point where I'm not sure how this is possible with anyone other than Sonic in terms of speed, as you have to go through a course as fast as possible combining every sort of gravity flipping, oxygen depriving moments of platforming possible in a short span of time. If you aren't quick enough you start to lose oxygen until you die. As insane as that it, it is also really short...but it'll feel like an eternity. Last two boss fights though aren't really a problem compared to the last 4 levels, if you made it through all that you can survive them no problem.

Now I was aware that the last few levels in previous version were pretty crazy, heck we have much more checkpoints now compared to previous versions. However, that really doesn't ebb the crazy difficulty of what you go through toward the end of the game. They really should have tried to balance it out near the end....unless they already did. O_O

Would I Recommend?: Overall, yes...but tread lightly from Red Mountain and onward. That was some of the most difficult moments I've ever had in a Sonic Fan Game, not the absolute hardest but it's got the Silver Medal in my book for that. Still, it's a very fun game with plenty of replay value and extra characters to boot. With brand new, colorful visuals and a better soundtrack to go along with it I'd recommend any old school Sonic fan to check it out. But don't say I didn't warn you about the end game.

[Ishapar]

Last time I played this game I couldn't play for long before the camera got me sick. 

[Mike Arcade]

I got this re-release years ago, but had yet to finish it until now. Not by the lack of skill in it's difficulty, but rather due to other events and stuff I was looking into at the time. I'm glad I got to play this Sega Saturn Classic now. NiGHTS into Dreams is the flagship title of the Sega Saturn, since Sonic Team wanted to do other things and took a break from Sonic (We would have had a mainline Sonic Title, but that's a story for another day). To those that have played  NiGHTS it's another Sega Classic, among the many icons of Sega's Older Days that (of course) are not utilized other than cameos. NiGHTS did gain a sequel in 2007, but otherwise is another dormant IP among a foundation.  Despite that, it's be said to be one of Sega's best games and was a good reason to buy the Sega Saturn. Some copies of the game even came with a 3D Controller, as in one with an analog stick. Whlile NiGHTS couldn't save the Saturn, it was a massive hit for those who owned it, even inspiring a small fan base as well.

But how does this game hold up? With it's 2012 Remaster/Re-Releases (for PC and PS3/360, it's still available) I got to experience it years later for myse lf just yesterday. Besides, with an unlockable Christmas NiGHTS levels, seemed like a good time to play it.

NiGHTS into Dreams... Review

 Synopsis: There are two sides of the Dream World, Nightopia and Nightmare. When you dream you go to Nightopia, where specific parts of your personality form into Ideya, which are of course Multicolored Crystal balls (can't completely escape from Sonic XP). The Ruler of Nightmare, Wizeman the Wicked, is trying to siphon off dream energy so he can not only take over Nightopia, but the Real World as well. To do so he creates beings called Nightmarens, one of which is NiGHTS who rebels and gets trapped in an Ideya palace that contains Ideyas (it's the gate thing you see NiGHTS in at the start of every level).

Meanwhile in The Real World,  the city of Twin Seeds houses two teens with some problems. Elliot Edwards has confidence issues after failing to win a Basketball game against some older kids while Claris Sinclair chokes at an audition. Both of them have nightmares of the events and eventually find themselves in Nightopia. They meet up and find out that they both contain Red Ideyas of Courage, which Wizeman can't steal for reasons. Both of them meet NiGHTS and tell them what's going on. The Trio then proceed to stop Wizeman and his plans together.

The cutscenes of the game basically tell you this story without words, aside from NiGHTS backstory anyway. If you went in blind like I did, you wouldn't really know just what exactly going on until the end. It's certainly an interesting premise that was given a lot of thought, pretty sad it only got one sequel out of it.

Likes: First off, I got say that no matter if you play the game with the original or HD graphics, the game looks absolutely great with it's surreal visuals. The Re-Release has Brand New Dreams and Sega Saturn Dreams, the only difference is the graphics and each played stage will count for the other mode so you can't go wrong with either one.

The goal of the game is to get enough orbs to break the prisons that house the Ideyas and reach the Ideya Palace before the time runs out. Before you free NiGHTS in each level, Nightmaren monsters jack you of the other four Ideya, as either Elliot or Claris, you can freely roam the level around and even get some orbs and points earlier before you start the level. However, after some time as either of them an alarm clock will start chasing you around. Should it catch you, you'll get a game over before you start. Go to the Ideya Palace and free NiGHTS to start the game, or rather NiGHTS ends up possessing (?) your character and get to fly around throughout the level. Each Dream has Four Mares (Laps) to fly through as you can basically tackle and/or throw enemies that try to get in your way as you perform loops to gain a bunch of surrounding orbs and stars (stars give you points). You can also attack and damage enemies (as well as certain bosses) with loops, which can net you some points. It's kinda hard to describe this game, but once you get the hang of it you'll see what I mean.

There's also a Ranking System similar to Sonic Adventure 2, you can also run as many laps as you want so long as you don't reach the goal, just make sure to get the Ideya to the Palace before time runs out. At the end of every level is a Boss (also with a time limit), should you take out the boss fast enough the time can add to a 1.x - 2.0 times multiplier. What I'm saying is that the game is great for you Score Attack junkies. 

The music is wonderful, it's just as good as a Sonic game. Heck, some tracks are even better than most Sonic Games. You can really tell they went all out for this game. You have Seven Dreams you go through, each split between Elliot and Claris. There's no real order you have to go through regarding the two, but you do get the complete ending by beating both of their paths. The Final Level, Twin Seeds, is one of the best final levels I've ever played. It's an emotional ride to see Elliot and Claris grow so much. Without spoiling anything, it's a real experience for a game that's basically an arcade-like score attack romp.

Dislikes: So, you have a very visually stimulating game that's feels like a dream. If you aren't ready ahead of time for it, as fun as it is going in blind, you'll have no idea what you are doing or what's going on. Normally that's a bad thing, but it's not completely terrible as you can quickly find out how to play it. Getting really good at it is another, yet worthy experience. One problem that I do have however is knowing what to do during a boss fight. So I'll tell you what you need to do for the Fish and Jackle (Jester with a Cape). All you got to do with the Fish is fly through it using the two halves of the fish it's left behind to shoot out and crash toward it's side. It can be a little consistent with when it's okay to attack it (never do so while it's firing energy at the fish), but you can easily loop it when you get the first hit on it. Jackle (3rd level Claris Boss) is simple, grab him and throw him away from his cape. All you got to do after that is keep throwing him when he doesn't have his cape on. Claris' first boss can be killed via the Paraloop move, but under normal conditions you just got push the underside of it's chin a few times to take him out. The rest of the bosses are pretty easy to figure out, but Claris' bosses left me scratching my head. Also while you get the Christmas NiGHTS level for this re-release, you don't get the bonus Sonic into Dreams level sadly. Neither do you get the split screen multiplayer where you re-enact Reala's boss fight with a friend.

Oddities: I'm making this topic as an ode to the Nightopians. What are these bald headed, halo wearing faires you may ask? They are basically the inhabitants of Nightopia, and the precursors to the Chao from SA1 and SA2. The "A-Life" System first debuted in this game, it's one of the weirdest things this game has. Now while you can raise them in a sense, you can only really do so as NiGHTS in-game. There's no Chao Garden for them, the levels themselves is where they resiide. This also means you should probably be careful when you do loops near them as you can kill them easily that way, I even saw one cry after seeing it's friend get looped unto oblivion. Not exactly what I wanted to do...

If you drill towards them they'll be afraid of you, they basically kinda effect the mood of the level in some very minor ways. Nothing game play wise that can effect you, but still. Enemies you throw toward them that turn into a ball can be absorbed by Nightopians and turn into an egg to become a Mepian. It's basically a Nightopian/Nightmaren hybrid, you need these in order to breed (yes, just like the Chao they can breed) a King Pian which can build a tower in your honor depending on how well you treat these little guys.

Now I have no problem with Nightopians, but why can't I raise them freely in a seperate mode? Using enemies in-game to change them I get that, but it's just weird to have them just wandering around to be bred in a time based game. You don't exactly have a lot of free time to focus on raising these things, as interesting as they are with how they are programmed, it seems like they end up being more of an after thought. At the very least, we got the Chao because of them. So thank you Nightopians, I'm sorry about the few or so of your kind I've accidentally looped to death. This moment of silence goes out to them...

Okay that's enough, still though has anyone else played NiGHTS to raise Nightopians? Again, it's so weird. Who thought it was a good idea to leave them wandering around in the stages like that? I mean if the idea was to make Nightopia to feel like a living world, well you got me there I suppose. To be fair, they are usually only on the surface of the levels so you normally wouldn't end up getting them killed or scared. Overall, pretty interesting to see where the Chao came from.

Would I Recommend?: This was an experience, a good one. It hit me emotionally, I can't really say that about a lot of games. The concept of Nightopia and seeing Elliot and Claris grow throughout the journey from their opening cutscenes to the endgame got to me. Even then, it's a fun, quirky arcade-type of game where you can loop (pun intended) over it again and again until you get the best ranking and high score. The re-release does have an online leaderboard so there you go. It's both for Score Attack fiends and casual players who want to have fun, or story goers who want a decently told tale. It's a pretty easy game overall so you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. Even with the Christmas Levels, the game is indeed very short. It'll probably take you about two hours or so to get everything. Despite that, for you Sonic and Sega Fans out there or anyone interested, I'd highly recommend it. I don't know if this game would have been worth the price back then f or the Sega Saturn, but for the eight bucks (or less depending on sales) it's completely worth it.

[Mike Arcade]

Here I am again with another great recommendation. Though much like my Dragon Quest review (which I still need to review II to IV now that I look at it O_O), it's another old RPG game from the late 80's. This one however, is not one you would usually hear about. To those who were familiar with the Turbografx-16's CD add on, you might be familiar with a little title called Ys...

Ys I & II Chronicles+ Review

Overview: The Ys Series is created by Nihon Falcom, who since the very beginning of Japan's gaming scene has been very prominent. They aren't as big as other companies who would shoot to the stratosphere like Squaresoft, Enix, Konami, or Koei though, but they are a very important part of gaming history. They were one of the first companies in Japan to create RPG games before Dragon Quest. They made the Dragon Slayer series, which had a very archaic "bump" combat system where you would run into enemies to deal (and take) damage. It's the same sort of combat you'd see in Tower of Druaga and Hydlide, both Japan favorites yet not so much Internationally. Ys I (and it's sequel) broke the mold on how to make bump combat fun, as both games I'd say served as the zenith and finale for that sort of gameplay system. Needless to say, Ys I and II were a big success for Falcom when they came out, and numerous ports would come out all over Japan.

For the first two games, it's Turbografx-16 CD port would be it's most recognizable incarnation, even serving as a pack in title for some. It got rave reviews with it's great voice acting (yes, it's actually really good), amazing music, and addicting gameplay. Yet for many, it wouldn't be until it's PSP remake (itself a PC Remake from 1998/2001) where XSeed games ported it to make it's return. Of course this version of the game is the Steam port, where even now you can enjoy it.

"This little history segment is long worded Mike, where's the actual review? Can a game with such overly simple gameplay really be that good?"

You have no idea what you are in for...

Synopsis: The games that bare the title Ancient Ys Vanished Omen and The Final Chapter go like this. 700 Years ago, the Civilization known as Ys vanished without a trace. A land that was watched over by it's Two Goddesses and Six Priests. Why this happened and how is unknown, but the land near it known as Esteria in recent times now suffers a storm surrounding the island. Demons appeared soon after, threatening the island's inhabitants. You play as Adol Christin, a red headed young man who sought out to become an adventurer since he was a kid. Upon hearing what's going on in Esteria, he decides to investigate the island out of sheer (if foolish) bravery. Naturally, he gets caught up in the storm, but survives and is now ship wrecked upon the shores of Esteria. This is where Ys I starts off, Ys II on the other hand starts off directly after the first game. When playing these games, I'd recommend starting off with the first one obviously to avoid spoilers and to get used to the games.

Likes: Combat works like this, you ram into enemies in order to damage them. If you run straight in front of them, depending on your stats, you will (very likely) get damaged. What sets this game apart from it's older counterparts is this, if you attack them off-center (or behind them/from the sides) you won't get damaged at all. Also, this game is way faster compared to Dragon Slayer or Tower of Druaga. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it makes a world of difference. This game is pretty fast paced, once you get the rhythm down it becomes pretty addicting. The more Monsters you take down, the more exp you get to level up. You won't grind all that much compared to the original versions of the games or other RPGs for that matter. In Ys I, it's very easy to completely max out your level just by going through the game. Ys II has the same gameplay as Ys I, only with the edition of Magic you can use such as Fire (which is required to take down all but the two last bosses), but you should have plenty of MP in your run of the game unless you spam it out wildly. Also if you attack diagonally in Ys I and II with a decent level and equipment, you can shred through enemies pretty well (especially in Ys II). There are many ways to play these games despite the simple controls, and no matter what I can grantee you'll have a great time.

The music was co-created by Yuzo Koshiro, 'nuff said. For those who love the music of Actraiser and the Streets of Rage games, you know exactly who this is. For those who don't, he makes some of the best video game music of all time. Ys I and II is known for having some of the best music in gaming, better yet you are given three soundtracks for these games. The Original PC-88 tracks, the MIDI remixes from the 2001 Complete remake, and the 2009 Chronicles remixes. No matter which version of the Music you select, you're eardrums will be thankful to hear such great compositions. The Chronicles Remixes are absolutely rockin' (from the guy who does music for the more recent Ys games, whose music is also awesome). You can't go wrong with any of them, the music alone is worth it.

Now regarding the story, despite the games being made back in 87' and 88', the Remakes were fleshed out. They are Canon with the current entries and remakes of the series, so if you care about that there you go. Also, the writing is actually pretty great. While the overall premise of the story is pretty basic (adventurer goes out to fight the bad guys), it has a lot of great details and actual, memorable characters. Every single character (and enemy) is named, every villager has their own name and background. There are no generic NPCs as not one looks alike. You get to know the land of Esteria and the struggles the people have to endure, it helps that they are all likable in their own way. They're like good neighbors, and those are hard to come by in video games. Some are definitely more noticeable than others, as certain characters play bigger roles later on. A certain few characters are rather obvious on who they are, but you gotta be the one to piece everything together as you track down items to save the world.

A good RPG gives you good hints and information you need in order to beat the game, and these games don't hold back on that. As long as you pay attention, you should be fine.

On that note, in Ys I, Silver gets mentioned a LOT. So take note of that as you progress to the end of the first game. Also, in early points of both games you get items that allow you to stand and slowly heal in dungeons like you can do so in the overworld. I highly recommend you get those items. Also, talk to everyone in the first village, then talk to Slaff. You'll thank me later for the Gold you save.

Speaking of a similar situation, in Ys II when you go to the Ruins, go to the North-West to meet an old man before you buy a weapon. Again, you're welcome

Also, if you are achievement hunting for the Monster Bestiary in Ys I and II, you'll be leveled up enough to take on anyone.

Finally, the intros for both games are great! Ys I's intro really sets up the tone and scope of the story, while Ys II's intro just rocks out and is now one of my favorite video game intros of all time.

Dislikes: The Bosses of Ys I can be pretty tough, the first Boss shouldn't be too bad as long as you are patient. The third Boss requires a lot of patience and I gotta say that one is just annoying to wait on. The fifth boss on the other hand can feel like it's random on how you attack and take damage from it, you only take damage from it's projectiles as far as I know. There is a pattern, but it can be rough to find. The final boss is just about bullet hell, but as long as you have exactly what you need to get, you'll be fine but it is a challenging fight. I feel that some of Ys I's bosses translated a lot better than others, but it's not too bad. Ys II doesn't have that problem at all though. Ys I is a bit more difficult overall, but only by so much. It's also a much shorter game compared to Ys II as well, so it won't take a long time to beat either.

Some say that in the originals, Fire Magic breaks the flow of combat in Ys II compared to Ys I as being only reliant on Fire Magic. Honestly, I'd disagree on that notion, at least in the remakes. While Ys II does start off harder than Ys I, it doesn't take long to get some decent equipment let alone Magic. I used swords much more than I used Fire magic in my playthrough against normal enemies. You are only required to use Fire Magic on all but the last two Bosses, even then the Bosses of Ys II are better designed overall.

The first dungeon of Ys II can be annoying, and while the last dungeon of the game can be labyrinthine, it's pretty easy to tell where you are.

Be sure to check every nook and cranny as the last dungeon in Ys II got me confused on what I had to get in order to beat the game, but it was pretty obvious in hindsight so I'd call this my own flub rather than the game. But the last dungeons of both games can get pretty hectic, it's not too bad though. 

The overall message one of the characters states at the end of the second game is a bit on the nose, but it's not terrible and doesn't sour the satisfying ending of the second game. It makes sense in the context of the two games, and how everything played out. 

There aren't any plotholes I saw from my time in the story, believe me I looked. It's just a very solid story.

Can't really think of any other downsides, other than this. You can't carry over your save from Ys I to Ys II like in the Turbografx-16 CD version regarding Adol's level. I mean it's not hard to level up in Ys II, but it would have been nice to have such a reward for loading up a beaten Ys I file in Ys II ya know? But that's a minor nitpick honestly.

Trivia: The Main Scenario writer and Developer of the first three original games,  Tomoyoshi Miyazaki and Masaya Hashimoto, would later leave Falcom to create their own company called Quintet. They would create the first Actraiser and a "trilogy" of games with Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma for the SNES. Each of these games are great and classics in their own right.

Both Ys I & II were originally suppose to be one game, but were decided to be split into two games. I can't find any sources on this and why, it could just be popular consensus. It could also be due to hardware limitations. If anyone can find the exact source on if this is true and why just let me know, but it's very likely/possible this is true.

Adol Christin is one of the most recurring characters in any JRPG Series ever. He's appeared as the main character in every mainline title, with only the prequel Ys Origin as the exception. He's also one of the oldest next to Link from Legend of Zelda. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Where's his appearance in Smash? XP

Would I Recommend?:  I think you know the answer to this by now. These games are truly something to experience and I highly recommend them. Together, they are one of the best Action RPG games I've ever played and it tugged the heartstrings by the time I reached the end of Ys II. Plus, with a Boss Rush/Time Attack mode and a harder, Nightmare difficulty, there's plenty of replay value. I know the gameplay may be archaic, if even a little intimidating. Play it on Easy if you have to, please check these games out. The Steam release is the best way to play it, hands down. Though the Turbografx port is also really good too. You can't go wrong with the story of Ys.

After the original creators of Ys left Falcom, the company would write the scenario for the Fourth entry and give two developers permission to make their own versions of it. One for the PC-Engine CD (Turbografx in Japan) and Super Famicom (SNES). They would make the Fifth game on their own for the Super Famicom, then put the series on hiatus and develop the Sixth entry for the PS2. The Series has been going on strong ever since, with games since Ys VI being put on the PSP, PS Vita, and later on current consoles and PC. They certainly take their time to make Ys games and it shows. From what I've seen the rest of the series is awesome, though the original 3rd and 5th game are pretty rough from what I've heard. I think it goes without saying I'm a fan now. XD

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Also, regarding the Erdrick Trilogy of Dragon Quest, they recently got released on the Switch. Square-Enix re-released the mobile ports for the Switch with some cleaned up/improved art and visuals. Though from what I can tell you still don't have that awesome intro from the Super Famicom remake of Dragon Quest III or the enemy animations. That and they still don't have the game board mini game either in III, but getting all three in one package is a really good deal. Dragon Quest III is still an excellent game, even without those extras. So if you want the remakes officially on your Switch, there's a good option for you.

No word on them doing that for the Zenithian Trilogy, but that would be pretty sweet if they did. See you all next time!

[MoKat]

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Both Ys I & II were originally suppose to be one game, but were decided to be split into two games. I can't find any sources on this and why, it could just be popular consensus. It could also be due to hardware limitations

I've heard that too, and I vaguely recall that "hardware issues" was the most popular theory as to why it was split into 2 games.

According to the Wiki entry, They were later re-released together in the enhanced remake Ys I & II (1989) The source that was referenced is now a broken link but the interview page still works.

I'll have to do some more digging; haven't come across any official reason/statements yet.

[Mike Arcade]

Thanks @MoKat, really appreciate the feedback on what you tried to find. So everyone, I got another review in the help, and it's the first fighting game I'm reviewing for the site too! Despite what you may assume, it's not Street Fighter or from Capcom. It's not even an SNK game (though any of those would be fun to do) either. Today I'm reviewing the other fighting game series that's made a name for itself and is held in high regard...no it's not Tekken or Soul Calibur. It isn't Mortal Kombat either. I'm talking about Arc System Works series Guilty Gear. But which one? I'm going all the way back to where it started, and it's not Guilty Gear X. I'm talking about the PS1 sleeper hit that started it all...

Guilty Gear: The Missing Link Review

Overview: The Guilty Gear Series is the brain child of Daisuke Ishiwatari. This man here is the creator, writer, director, voice actor (for the main character, Sol Badguy), designer, and composer in every game in the series. In other words, it's pretty amazing what Ishiwatari-san and his team brings out every time a new game in the series comes out. In fact, the newest game in the series as of this post will be out this year (Guilty Gear Strive). But back then in the mid-90's, he just got out of vocational school and later joined the company Arc System Works. Before Guilty Gear, they did a bunch of games for companies like Banpresto (known for Super Robot Wars), along with SEGA and Sammy Corporation (way before they merged). With the president at the time's permission, he got 12 people together to form Team Neo Blood. These guys would develop a fighter who would spawn a series to rise above and rival the big hitters of Capcom, SNK, and Namco.

Synopsis:  The setting of Guilty Gear is really cool, and the (Shockingly accurate) manual from the release outside of Japan explains it well: 

[Set in the 22nd Century, mankind succeeded in developing a natural, limitless energy supply, and brought about the Age of Magic. Science and industry, sources of environmental pollution and weapons of mass destruction, were thus outlawed. However, the abolition of technology did little to soothe mankind's suffering. A war erupted, fueled by rapidly developing magical theory, that saw the birth of Gears—powerful biological weapons produced by fusing human and animal DNA with magic. The powerful military state that produced the Gears as little more than slaves monopolized the manufacturing process, bringing countless other lands under its control.

Yet among their ranks, a rebel appeared and announced herself to be self-aware—Justice. She gathered an army of fellow Gears and declared war on all mankind. Despite heavy initial casualties, humans put their differences aside and formed the Sacred Order of Holy Knights to combat the Gear menace. After one hundred years of brutal war, the Crusades came to an end when the Order sealed Justice inside an impenetrable dimensional prison, and the masterless Gears were rounded up and destroyed.

However, in 2180, five years after the end of the Crusades, the walls of Justice's dimensional prison unexpectedly begin to erode away. Assessing the threat before them, the world's leaders quickly organize an international fighting tournament to select members for a proposed Second Sacred Order. Few take notice of its suspicious rules, but the prize is tempting: The victor gets to make a "single wish... any wish at all".]

Later games flesh out the overall backstory, such as an entity that tried to break into our reality in 1999 by manifesting through electricity. Which resulted in the UN somehow putting a ban on all modern technology. This resulted in Mages showing up and introducing to the world literal Magic that replaces technology. Basically Magitek that doesn't need electricity and by 2010 they phase out old tech for Magic. 4 Years later the Gear Project is formed, but due to a certain accident two years later it doesn't go well. That is until in 2073 when Justice is completed and the Gear Project is restarted. After that, well you can see the text above you. The year GG1 takes place is in 2180 for anyone who is curious. There's much more, but I could always go over some more details later in some future reviews of Guilty Gear games.

Really the setting of the series is awesome, and the terminology is simple and welcoming to get into. Can't say the same for Blazblue, but that's an entirely different beast on it's own.

Characters:  This segment is just a (hopefully) short and basic overview on the characters of the first game. I'm gonna try to be brief, but give you enough to know just who some of these cool guys and weirdos are. There might be some spoilers for this game, but by this point some of these tidbits are well known. At the very least I won't tell you the endings for (most) of these characters less I find it necessary to tell you in case I do review other GG games in the future.

Sol Badguy: A bounty hunter with a bad attitude. He joined the Holy Order during the Gear Crusades at the behest of Kliff. He did not get along well with any of the other knights (especially Ky), and when Justice was sealed away he took the chance to steal a weapon called Fireseal (his sword in the game) and make his own way. (Kliff knew he'd do this, funny enough he was going to give him the sword anyway). Entered the tournament to take down Justice once and for all. Despite hunting down Gears...he's one as well...

Fun Fact: His favorite thing is listed as the Queen album Sheer Heart Attack. \m/

Ky Kiske: Wielder of the Thunderseal and the young prodigy who helped seal Justice away, this former Holy Knight turned police officer enters to quell any sort of rumors about Justice's revival and stop whatever's going on. He also ends up trying to settle the score with Sol as well.

May: Orphaned at a young age, this girl turned Sky Pirate wields an Anchor as her weapon. She joins the tournament in order to wish for her Captain Johnny to be free from prison. What she doesn't realize however, is that she's actually Japanese, which of course is a pretty big deal in Guilty Gear...but not because of what you might be thinking. You'll see when I get to another character later.

Kliff Undersen: A Hero of the Gear Crusades who trained Ky, this legend used his giant knife-like sword Dragonslayer to cleave giant Gears apart in his youth. He's retired, but once he hears about what's going on, he takes up his sword one last time. Sadly, he dies after the events of this game. But he is still playable in some versions of the sequels Guilty Gear X and Guilty Gear XX.

Potemkin: This hulking giant of a man is sadly a slave soldier for the Zepp Empire, the only nation that still uses regular technology. He's tasked to join the tournament in order to gain territory for his empire, but he and his Sargent Gabriel may have something else in mind...

Axl Low: A young man from 20th Century England. Back then on the East End of London, he used his unusual prowess in Martial Arts and Kusari-gama to clean up his neighborhood. Before he could enjoy the peace, he somehow ended up slipping through time to the 22nd Century. He joins in hopes that he can wish for a way back home to his own time.  He has this problem throughout the series, and is further explored why in later games.

Zato-One: A member of the Assassin's Guild who sacrificed his eyesight in order to wield a symbiotic weapon known as the Forbidden Beast. With the power to weaponize his own shadow, he became the leader of the Guild within a few weeks. Currently imprisoned due to being turned in by his former subordinate Millia, a mysterious benefactor releases him in order to enter the tournament and get his revenge. There's a lot that happens to him in the series, as well as his Shadow...

Chipp Zanuff: A former druggie and dealer for the Mafia, he was saved by the ninja master Tsuyoshi and trained in the art of Shinobi. When his master was found at death's door due to the Mafia, despite his pleas not to retaliate, Chipp vowed revenge and entered the tournament. He does so in order to start his own organization and take down the Mafia. Gets a lot of neat character development in the series.

 Dr. Baldhead: Once known across the world as the best Doctor in 100 years, the death of a little girl under his care drove him mad. He became a serial killer and was detained, but freed by the same man who released Zato. This benefactor handed him his extremely large scalpel to take care of his "Patients" at the tournament. It's implied in the manual and later games that her death was not his fault. After this game, No one ever sees Dr. Baldhead again. However, a very similar looking doctor appears in future games...

Millia Rage: A war orphan from the Gear Crusades, she was taken in as an infant by the Assassin's Guild. Trained to use her hair as a weapon, when she found the opportunity to betray the Guild she took it. Now running for her life and hearing that Zato was freed, she enters the tournament to take him down and finally be free. Her hair isn't normal by the way. For she was also embedded with a Forbidden Beast. There's a lot that she goes through in the series, and it's also implied there may have been a thing with her and Zato.

Testament: The real host of the tournament and a Humanoid Gear. He was once the Stepson of Kliff and joined a special program to become a Gear who could fight other Gears. It didn't go well, and is now a slave to Justice's will and ideals. By freeing Zato and Dr. Baldhead, he used everyone in order to spill blood and use a ritual to free Justice to continue where she left off. Serves as the sub-boss of the game. Despite how the game ends, he comes back in later games.

Justice: Type-01, the First Completed Gear. A Command Type Gear, she turned on the US and declared war on Humanity. She also blew up Japan, making the survivors an endangered people. Testament manages to free her in order to wipe out Mankind, it's up to you to take her down once and for all. Also despite the game calling her "him", and the fact she doesn't look like it, Justice is female. There's a LOT about her that is revealed in later games after this one, with the most spoilers than anyone on here. Like Kliff, she's playable on some versions of GGX and GGXX.

Baiken: The Hidden Boss of GG1 if you beat the game (or get up until Testament from what I've heard) with no continues as Sol or Ky. A Japanese woman who lost her family after Gears attacked the colony she lived in. Baiken saw the Creator of the Gears and swore to kill him. Self taught with a Katana and other weapons. While she's not playable in Arcade Mode, in later games it's said she entered to find and kill That Man and take revenge against Justice for Japan.

Fun Fact: As far as I know, Justice is the first Female Final Boss in a Fighting Game that doesn't come from an All-Female Fighter. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Likes:  The way a Guilty Gear game works is this, it's kinda like Marvel vs. Capcom. Only you use 4 buttons (and more in later entries) with Punch, Kick, Slash, and Heavy Slash as your attacks. You can air dash and (for most characters) double jump, basically there's a lot of movement options. You can fill up the Chaos Gauge (Super Meter) to use your character's super moves, if you drop to half health you can use them as many times as you want. You can launch your opponent up real high with S+HS. With P+K, you can initiate an Instant Kill move by following it up with double quarter circle forward and punch before your opponent does to cancel it. There's no penalty for failing to do so in this entry, unlike in later ones. The game is the basis for all other Guilty Gear games in the future, so if you are familiar with later entries you shouldn't have much trouble getting into it. Also, for all but three characters, you can use a special movement and the taunt button to charge up one of your special moves to make it more powerful. This sort of thing doesn't really show up again in future games. While it's not as refined as it's sequels, the game play is still really solid and fun.

Considering this was such a small game, you only have Normal Mode (Arcade Mode) Versus, Practice, and Options. Not much else really, but the re-release does include a move list on the pause menu. It's all about the game here, as well as the unique setting that inspired many others in the genre. The style for the characters is not like any other, back then and even now really. The stages you find yourself in really paint an odd yet intriguing picture, it's like Medieval Fantasy, Steampunk, and a Metal Album Cover all rolled into one. Speaking of which, if you haven't gotten it by now, there are a LOT of Music and Rock references spread all throughout the game and series. This doesn't just transfer over visually, but musically as well.

This is where you notice the soundtrack, it's absolute jammin' with guitar riffs of different kinds of sub-genres. Classic, Punk, Death Metal, Industrial, Alt, you get a lot of different tracks that not only sound good but fit each character. Several of these songs would later get carried over and remade for the GGX and GGXX games. While the audio quality is a bit low, it still transfers over extremely well. I could see myself just popping in some tracks as I go about my day (and I have).There's a lot to enjoy when it comes to the first Guilty Gear. Seriously the music is great, I'd even check it out online if I were you.

Also, Justice's boss introduction is one of the coolest cutscenes I've ever seen in a fighting game. It pumps your blood and shows that you are in for a heck of a fight.

Dislikes:  Despite my praises above, it's certainly not a perfect game by any means. It's a rough game in terms of how it looks and such, not just because of it being a PS1 game, but due to inexperience by the devs at the time. It's certainly not like the later entries, that's for sure. For one, if you couldn't piece it together up above, it's an extremely unbalanced game. At half health there's no cool down that can stop you from spamming super moves until whoever you fight dies. Another is the Instant Kills, ohh boy did I have my problems with them! Unlike in future games, there are absolutely no penalties for failing to pull it off. Not to mention that if an Instant Kill is done successfully, you don't just win a round like in later games, you win the whole match! All rounds, you win it all with an Instant Kill, but that knife cuts you both ways. In Normal Mode, you can relatively pull off IK easily for the first 4 matches of the game. However, so can the CPU, and it gets harder to counter an Instant Kill in Normal Mode as you progress to later matches. I can't count the number of times where I almost beat an opponent or Justice, only for them to pull of a IK and bring me to a continue screen. It's the absolute most bull-moment of the entire game. Especially if want to get that achievement for meeting Baiken and beating her, at least going through the game with Sol is relatively pretty simple if you are decent at fighters. Speaking of Sol, there are just some characters that are way better than others. Some character's attacks feel a bit awkward on how they move compared to later games, like May or Zato. But every character does have a certain strength, it's certainly possible to beat the game with everyone. Also, we gotta talk about infinites. As in combos that can be executed where your opponent has almost no chance of getting out of it, outside of human error. While it's not an uncommon thing to see, it's extremely easy to pull infinites off in this game even by normal standards. Some character are just flat out insane when it comes to damage output, mainly Kliff. He has the movement of normal characters, and causes big damage like our heavy thrower Potemkin. It's probably the reason why he was killed off in the first game and given status as an extra unlockable character in later games (he does get balanced out completely in Accent Core + & + R alongside Justice). As long as you and your friends swear not to keep using Instant Kills and give breaks from certain combos, you should be fine. Unless you want something similar to a Mario Party Massacre that is. XP 

Would I Recommend?:  The best way to describe Guilty Gear: The Missing Link is like an EP for a Band before they come out with their first hit album. It's pretty rough around the edges with a dirty sound quality to it, but it's still nice and interesting to look back at to see where it all started. Overall, I'd say yes if you get it on digital for sale unless you are a big or curious Guilty Gear fan. Otherwise, I'd recommend Guilty Gear Accent Core Plus R, Xrd SIGN, or Xrd Revelator as your first Guilty Gear before picking this one up.With Guilty Gear Strive on the way, that might be a good way to get yourself introduced to the series as well. You can get GG1 on Steam, Xbox One, and PS4 on digital. On the Nintendo Switch, there's a Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Pack with both this game and Accent Core Plus R. For a deal like that, if you want it on the Switch alongside one of the best fighters around I'd say go for it.

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Hope you like this review, and let me know if you'd like to see other fighting game reviews later on down the road.

[Mike Arcade]

I'm back again! Got another review for you all, this time it's a double header. I've got two game reviews for the price of one as I review the more recent entries (to be released outside of Japan) in the Puyo Puyo Series. Though some of you may know the game better as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Kirby's Avalanche, this series has been going on for a long time and only a few years back has finally returned internationally. Join me as I review...

Puyo Puyo Tetris & Puyo Puyo Champions Review

Overview: You may have played the above games mentioned for the Genesis and SNES back in the day, but those games were actually a reskin of a series called Puyo Puyo. What you may not know is that the series started out on the MSX2, created by Compile in 1991 (the same creators as the Zanac and Aleste Series of shmups). Inspired by Tetris and Dr. Mario, game designer Kazunari Yonemitsu's idea for the game was like dominos. Except that four of the same color would vanish after they were in place. To make the game more unique, they added in the characters from  their Madou Monogatari (Sorcery Saga) Series of Dungeon Crawler RPGs. An enhanced version of the game would be released for Arcades in 1992 and ported to other platforms like the Mega Drive that same year (which Mean Bean Machine is a port of).

As successful as the original game was, it's sequel Puyo Puyo Tsu (2) in 1994 was a nation wide hit in Japan. It ended up being the biggest Arcade game in japan since Street Fighter II. They was even gaming tournaments back then for the game! As great as that was, along with other sequels afterwards, Compile over extended themselves. By 1998 they ended up with the most debt a game developer had ever gained, and in a desperate measure sold the rights to Puyo Puyo (and the cast of Madou Monogatari along with it) to SEGA. Sadly, Compile ended up falling to bankruptcy, but did live on as Compile Heart, a subsidiary of Idea Factory.

After a few handheld titles, SEGA got Sonic Team to developer a new entry in the series with Puyo Puyo Fever for Japanese Arcades in 2003 with (most) new characters made for the series. Several Puyo games would be made over the years, yet despite Puyo Puyo Fever (localized as Puyo Pop Fever internationally) being localized, every other game in the series would remain only in Japan. That is until 2017 for the Nintendo Switch and PS4, when the 2014 title and crossover game Puyo Puyo Tetris would be localized. It would be released a year later on Steam. At the end of 2018 and  in 2019, a digital only title called Puyo Puyo Champions (eSports in Japan) would be released. Ever since SEGA got the rights and developed Puyo Puyo, they've moved 27 Million Copies. It's become a mainstay for SEGA alongside Sonic, Yakuza, and Atlas' titles.

Synopsis: There's an Adventure Mode for Puyo Puyo Tetris, but it's a pretty straightforward and comical romp. All the Puyo Puyo titles are like that. The main character for this one is Ringo (Protagonist of Puyo Puyo 7) and the space faring Tetris King Tee. The crew of the SS Tetra crash land on the World Ringo resides and run into her. After a puzzle bout with the other using a strange means to battle, Ringo and Friends help the SS Tetra crew out and later try to find the source for the dimensions merging. Ringo is joined by Compile-era Protagonist Arle and Puyo Puyo Fever Protagonist Amitie. Both Protagonists come from different worlds, as using Puyos somehow allows you to travel into other worlds.

Champions lacks any sort of Adventure Mode, which probably explains why the game is cheaper than PPT. That and Champions uses the same assets of PPT.

Likes: .I don't think I need to tell you guys how to play Tetris right? But if you aren't familiar, it goes like this. You match up Tetrominos in a row to clear a line of them. That's all there is to it, though you can hit up to hard drop the piece instantly to the board and hold a piece back for later use. Puyo Puyo is about matching four colored blobs together, but if you want to take your opponent down you have to form chains. Chains are stacks of puyos that match and follow up one after another.

How Puyo Puyo plays in PPT also works in Champions under the Tsu/2 Rule set. Another thing to note is that you can Offset your opponent's chain with your own to negate the effect of Garbage Puyos. They're the black blobs that get in your way. Champions has another rule set called Fever, where if you Offset 7 chains you build up a meter to enter Fever mode. In it, you are given a separate board with preset opportunities to form big chains to take down your opponent before time runs out of Fever mode. These two rule sets are the only game modes for Champions.

Puyo Puyo Tetris has a lot more game modes than Champions as it was a physical release. But it also does something that no other puzzle game does. When you select a character to play as in most modes, you can select which puzzle game you want to play. Meaning while you can play Tetris, you're opponent can play Puyo Puyo against you! This leads in to two other modes, Swap and Fusion. Swap is where you both play Puyo Puyo and Tetris in timed intervals. You can also follow up chains from the previous board if your puzzle piece has yet to drop before time runs out. Fusion plays like Puyo Puyo, with the addition of Tetris pieces and puzzle pieces that swap between Tetris and Puyos. You can crush Puyos with Tetrominos, which causes the crushed puyos to drop from above. Finally there's Big Bang, which works just like a constant Fever mode. Both can be played with both puzzle sets, where you have to gain more cleared lines or chains that your opponent before time runs out. They somehow manage to balance these two puzzle games out to work absolutely beautifully together, it's a sight to behold.

Simply put, no matter what game you get you'll have a fun puzzle game to play. While PPT has a lot more modes alongside an Adventure Mode with some pretty funny moments, Champions gives you the standard Puyo experience, which is a very good and well designed game on it's own merit. Swap has got to be my favorite mode in PPT, as it really gives you a lot of strategy on how to manage your boards. While Champions doesn't have as many game modes, it was updated with a Lessons Mode that gives you certain puzzles to solve with Puyos. Did I also forget to mention that both games have 4-player multiplayer? It's fun for the whole family! Now if I didn't explain the rules of Puyo Puyo or Tetris well enough for you, both games have a tutorial on how to play.

Dislikes:  Now the setting and aesthetic is very bright, colorful, and full of chibi anime-like characters. For those of you who don't like that sort of style, that can be a bit of a problem. You can turn the character voices off if they prove annoying to you, as well as character animations if that helps you out. Another is a problem that SEGA-era Puyo games have, that being each CPU opponent has a set AI and Difficulty. Meaning some characters you face off are harder than others, and you can't change that if you want to face off against a certain character but without being taken down. It's trial and error on which characters are harder than others, on that note don't take on the Dark Prince unless you're sure you can beat him.

I don't care for Big Bang mode. I mean I do like the Fever ruleset and it's basically a Fever Marathon mode, but it's just a timed marathon where if you are faster you pretty much win. It's really easy to cheese this mode playing Tetris if you know what your doing, but I can also say the same for Puyo players that know how to use chains. Fusion is a really cool mode, but very intimidating. I'd recommend easing your way into it, also here's a hint. Your chains work like Tetris links in this mode. Meaning you can drop and clear one set of puyo after another, but it won't be as effective as chaining puyos.

Now I need to remind you, Champions is much cheaper to get than PPT, but it only has two main game modes. It would have been nice to have at least one or two more game modes, like the rulesets of Sun and Yon. The game originally was only for multiplayer, but was given a Challenge Mode and Lessons Mode later on. So you do have ways to play the game if you don't have anyone to play with (like me ;_;). Speaking of which, I gotta talk about something. The Online Multiplayer for both games, from what I've seen works fine. Thing is, I couldn't find anyone to play a few rounds. Maybe I just hit a dry day, but that could be a problem if you want to play online. Especially for a game meant for Multiplayer. Granted, this is regarding the Steam versions of the game, so your results may vary for the console ports.

Trivia:  As mentioned before, the Puyo Puyo series is actually a spin-off of the Madou Monogatari Series. What you may not realize is that Compile Heart (formed by the devs of the long gone Compile) have recently brought back the series under the Sorcery Saga name internationally. It's latest title was released for the PS Vita back in 2013, with a port for PC that came out in 2018. Due to the licensing of Puyo Puyo and the original characters now belonging to SEGA, it has a new cast of characters. They also made a new puzzle game called Octomania in 2008 for the Wii. Despite Compile Heart no longer under the helm of Puyo Puyo, with a number of titles they have under their belt such as the Hyperdimensional Neptunia series of RPGs, they seem to be doing just fine.

Puyo Puyo and Madou Monogatari are in separate continuities, though one Compile employee did try to bridge the titles together. This was rejected by Compile, but at the very least Japan got some Madou Monogatari light novels that follow up on the concept.

Arle Nadja from Madou Monogatari and Puyo Puyo is a well requested character for Super Smash Bros in Japan!?
http://sourcegaming.info/2015/02/19/perception-of-smash-dlc-in-japan/
According to some data, there was a noticeable few who requested her as DLC for Smash Wii U/3DS. Whose to say there aren't still fans to this day who'd like to see the Wizard and Puyo Popper in the series? She'd certainly be an interesting addition if that were to ever happen, though it seems pretty unlikely.

SEGA has an extensive history with Tetris, having several games released on Sega arcade boards and consoles but mainly only in Japan. They're first Tetris title was released on December of 1988 for the Arcade. They even won a Game of the Year award from Gamest the following year for it! A Mega Drive/Genesis port was made and released in 1989, but had to be recalled as Nintendo had exclusive rights to make console Tetris games at that time. All but a few copies are left as the rest had to be destroyed, making a genuine copy of Tetris for the Mega Drive one of the rarest games ever. Though it has been re-released like in the PS2 Sega Ages Tetris Collection. A new port of the 1988 Arcade game would be made by M2 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini.

Would I Recommend?: I'd recommend both games, but one over the other that really depends. Champions is only 9.99* while Tetris is 19.99*, not counting online sales which usually cut the price in half for both games. Champions would be cheaper to get overall though it doesn't have as many game modes. Now if you also like Tetris I'd say get that instead. Wait for these games on sale if you don't think they're worth the default price. Both games give you the tools needed to know how to play the game. It all depends on you if you think which title is worth it and the content they provide. Either way, you'll have a good time. If you can manage to bring friends over to play, it'll make it all the better.

*Prices for the games stated are under the US Currency, your resulting price internationally will vary.

---

If any of you guys get either of these games on Steam hit me up! Maybe we can play a few rounds. Till next time!

[Nagol]

This is my non spoiler review of Resident Evil 3 (2020) on PC

 

Overview- Resident Evil has always been a series near and dear to my cold undead heart. Credit mus be given to the game for stopping my ticker for the first time, giving me my very first anxiety attack at nine years old Raccoon City  is like my blood soaked summer home that I've always wanted and anytime I can once again frolic down the moaning streets of the doomed city, I know I am in for a good survival horror experience. Capcom has blessed us with another REmake of a classic having found a good concoction of fun game play and suspense filled dark corridors, they have given the much needed face lift to there early 2000's survival horror title Resident Evil 3. Will 2020's Resident Evil 3 stand up to the test of time? Or fall victim to the disastrous decisions of a corporate overlord?

 

Synopsis- Jill Valentine, now ex STARS Alpha Member wakes up in her new york style studio apartment. She seems disheveled, her mind twisting from the unanswered questions from the mysteries and horrors she escaped just months ago. She hasn't eaten or slept in what the game describes as days. (Though the game starts with you waking up on your desk and a half eaten box of pizza on the table.) Not long after splashing some water on her face the phone begins to ring through the dark silent apartment. Jill's former STARS partner and pilot Brad Vicker  screams at Jill about a hostile situation unfolding in there once peaceful city of Raccoon City. Just as Jill is arming herself for the dangers ahead she hears a knocking through her neighbor's wall as the hulking nemesis charges through. The hunt has begun.

 

Characters

Jill Valentine- The seasoned STARS member is back and she is more than qualified to deal with the next outbreak to infect the rolling hills of the Arklays. Her demeanor when not burden by the professionalism of officer duty is one of snarkiness and disdain for anyone or anything affiliated with the Umbrella corporation. Go figure. 

 

Carlos Oliveira- Less of a boy scout this time around, Carlos along with other members or UBCS (Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service) seem to be having issues containing the biohazard threat the populates the city. Carlos reminds me of a combination of Chris Redfield during his bolder punching days and David Dutten from the Crazies survival instincts and love for one's partner. 

 

Nemesis- We can't talk about characters without including the big bad himself. Nemesis is a tyrant and i mean that both ways. He will stalk you throughout Raccoon City with his one eye on the prize...you. He comes out of the murky dark like a shark and like any primal predator he hits hard and is unforgiving in his carnage.  

 

Mikhail- Mikahil has always been a favorite character of mine in RE3. There is an untold story with his rough and tough former soviet soldier who is voiced by William Hope who played lieutenant Gorman from the movie Aliens. There are many aliens references in this game and I encourage anyone who is a fan to spot the one between Mikhail and Gorman. Mikhail in UBCS is commanding officer of the last surviving members of the small pocket resistance left to deter the undead. 

 

Nikolai-I personally left out Nikolai in the character data base since I feel like I can't really say anything without spoilers. I will attempt to give more info without spoilers in my like/dislike section. 

 

Likes- Game play is the shinning jewel of the last two Remake games. What worked for 2 works just as well for 3. Gun play is fun and flows well with the controls and you have an arsenal to blow all the baddies away in colorful shrapnel filled ways.

Character wise, the game has had an impressive upgrade with voice acting and writing from its 2000's counterpart as one would hope for in a modern AAA game. But what was unexpected is that the story feels better writing than even Remake 2 which only came out about a year ago. Capcom defiantly has come along way from "You were almost a Jill Sandwhich" territory. 

Enemy designs are great and Nemesis is a downright menace every time you see him. Crooked nose and all you feel like you are in the presence of an unstoppable terminator that wants nothing more than to kill you deader than the undead outside. Speaking about the undead a few new models were through into 3 but overall I'm disappointed in the zombies. I'll comeback to that later. I don't want to spoiler anything but Jill encounters a new enemy type in the sewers that had me absolutely giddy at its reveal. The redesign on this bad body made for an intimidating encounter and is one of my favorite overhauls of a previous enemy in a game.  

REplayable for many countless hours of fun obliterating enemies with some amazing firepower.

Dislike- I can sum up my dislike in about one sentence "Why oh why would you cut that from the game?" REmake 3's biggest let down for me was that it cut out some of the best content that made RE3 stand the test for time. I can't really reveal without spoilers but its a lot of things, and they are missed dearly. I had one possible hope (if you can call it that cause I hate paid DLC) in that Capcom would include it later as DLC but Capcom has announced no new plans on any new content. This is the biggest and most painful part of REmake 3.

Gripe- Not as bad as cut content but still kind of painful was the lack of results from REplay. Now what do I mean by that? I mean you can farm for end game items at the end of the game by just doing mediocre tasks that involve Resident Evil's ambassador system instead of getting omega awesome tier weapons by running the gauntlet that is S+ rank. Now I degraded this from a dislike to a gripe because this does give many players who don't have the time or skill to get an S+ rank to get all the amazing weapons but I like a challenge. I like blowing off zombies bodies with a missile launcher knowing I earned this carnage. 

Dodge mechanics are dodgy at best (Hehe see what I did there?) now RE3 2000's didn't have the best controls when it came to the dodge mechanic but that was due to limited hardware and camera being stuck to a camera like perspective. REmake 3's dodging is very unreliable due to it not registering in time and the hit box on the enemies being outlandish. Unless you are coming off the side of a zombie 9 times out of 10 even if you hit dodge you will get bitten. I never got bitten more times in a Resident Evil game than this one attempting to dodge a bitter. I gave up on using the mechanic early in the game and did not miss it.

Zombies are the exact same models I killed in RE2. Excluding a few new models it seems like Raccoon City's population consisted of the same 5 people. A little variety never hurt. While we are at it reduced zombie death carnage from 2. In Remake 2 you could blow off zombie limbs. in Remake 3 those limbs stayed attach no matter how much superior firepower you throw at them. 

Nikolai is better at being an asshole than being a villain. There I said it! Before you disown me for spoilers. Its obvious from the get-go that Nikolai was evil and his motives are for his own selfish greed. His character feels flat though I will say his design is menacing and great. I just wish Capcom added more depth to this character instead of  "I'm the evil character and I killed innocent people and feel nothing because of GREED!!!!" I can see why Umbrella hired him.

Nemesis, the hulking death machine can't handle 1 grenade 

zombie bodies explode for now reason at one point of the game (Like...I know its to save hardware space but could you have been more creative?)

Ending felt empty and unsatisfying

Would I recommend this game? If you are a down right fan boy. I say sure, but only if you look at it as a REimagining and not a REmake. Capcom sold us what they said was a remake but in the end of the day anyone who has played the original is going to prefer that version to this. Now I'm not saying its not fun. You can enjoy the game and I plan to play thorough it over on all the added difficulty settings but if this was a new player who wants to experience what made RE3 so coveted in the early 2000's. I recommend that version over this. REmake 3 feels more like a tech demo than an actual game worth 60$. 

 

If you want to check out my gameplay here is the link. I plan to do more reviews on this site and games on my channel so if you like my content give me a like and subscribe. It encourages me to keep making content. 

 

 

[Wulfsbane]

Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom Re-Hydrated.

8/10 for the PC

7/10 for the Switch.

 

What I liked: 100% 1 for 1 remaster of the original game. Nothing was moved, changed (in terms of item locations, abilities), and a few adjustments such as the amount of shiny objects you get upon destroying tikis and robots, which were increased mostly.

What I didn't like: The Switch version, for whatever reason (hardware limitations I assume) was locked at about 30-45 FPS, had some lag, and had texture and god-ray issues. The game was also rather brighter than the original so turning down the gamma was a necessity. Controls were a bit clunky at times and seemed a bit finikey as well. Sound was kinda off, as it was hard to hear some of the bots and the character banter was excessive. The amount of shiny objects you needed to get the Golden Spatulas from Mr. Karbs increased from 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5k, etc. to about 3, 6, 9, 12, 15k, etc. which felt rather excessive. It appears a lot of the "added cut content," such as the Robo-Squidward fight, was hidden behind the multiplayer mode. Also there's no way to access the Spongeball Arena after you beat the game, though it's really just an interactive credits screen.

 

Would I recommend? If you played the original then yes. If not, it's only worth $30 USD and it can easily give you about 30-40 hours of playtime.

[TheRedStranger]

On 4/19/2020 at 11:55 PM, Nagol said:

Not as bad as cut content but still kind of painful was the lack of results from REplay. N

How would you expand the content if you could. The Gold standard is REmake. It has tons of new modes to play. How do you think you could implement them?

[Wulfsbane]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.

 

9.5/10

Synopsis: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 & 2 re-made and remastered for modern consoles. The entirety of the game re-textured and rescaled up to look just a great as any major game out today.

What I liked: Exact 1 for 1 remake of the first two games, with expanded goals for the Pro Skater 1 levels. All the original skaters are in the game, all the levels are in the game with some getting expanded, all but three of the original songs from the original games are in the game (Unsane – Committed from THPS1, BlackPlanetMusic (feat. Alleylife) - Out With the Old and The High and Mighty – B-Boy Document '99 from THPS2 if you're curious). There's even fun little extras like giant mode, tiny mode, etc., cheats like perfect balance, and other little goodies that you unlock as you progress through the game. Park editor and Create-a -Skater is massively expanded and has a ton of customization factors that rival all the previous games combines. There's also a setting where you can have the moveset be only what you could do in THPS 1 or in THPS 2 for added difficulty.

What I didn't like: While I don't like the fact they added new, modern skaters to the mix, I understand those guys and girls would be the skaters who would predominately be available if this is the launching point for a new generation of Tony Hawk games. The added songs in the soundtrack are mostly rap and hip-hop with little to no rock, punk, or metal added in and the ones that were are kinda ehh. Some of the goals can be rather painfully difficult for where they are in the game. Game is still slightly repetitive but the ld games were too

Would I recommend: If you've played the originals at any point I would absolutely recommend the game. The price tag is rather high right now but if it goes down and you're interested I would recommend. The repetitiveness might make you play the game in blocks but the replay value is there. The game is a perfect example of a 1 for 1 remaster.

[Wulfsbane]

On 8/24/2016 at 12:14 AM, Wulfsbane said:

Alright, time to do this.

Wulfsbane's review of No Man's Sky.

Synopsis: The player character, known as the Traveler, wakes up on a remote planet near their crashed spacecraft. They receive a message from an entity called "The Atlas" that offers its guidance, directing the character to make the necessary repairs to the spacecraft and collecting the resources needed to fuel a hyperspace jump to another solar system. En route, they encounter individual members of three alien species, the Gek, the Korvax, and the Vy'keen, that inhabit the galaxy.

As the Traveler moves towards other systems, they are alerted to a presence of a space anomaly in a nearby system. Traveling there they find a space station where two aliens wait for them, Priest Entity Nada and Specialist Polo. Nada and Polo have knowledge beyond what other aliens in the galaxy appear to possess, including being able to speak without translation to the Traveler. They are able to guide the Traveler towards meeting Atlas, either by directing them to the location of a nearby Atlas Interface, or to a black hole that can quickly take the Traveler closer to the center of the galaxy. The Traveler investigates the Interfaces to find themselves in direct communication with the Atlas which wants them to continue to explore and collect information all while moving towards the center, where the Atlas entity appears to be. The Atlas judges the Traveler's progress, and grants it an Atlas Stone if it deems the Traveler worthy.

(There's more but there's spoilers)

Like: With 18 Quintilian planets to discover and explore. While some planets are similar to one another there's a vast difference between them. Sometimes you can land on a lifeless rock of a planet, and I mean lifeless: No Flora or Fauna. There's times you can find an abundance of Flora and Fauna. Some planets have a lot of Sentinels (the guardians of sorts) that are hostile or peaceful, some planets are hotter than hell, cold as your ex's heart, or irradiated as much as the core of Chernobyl. There's definitely a lot of variety. It's also very relaxing in a way. I can explore all I want and I would feel alright, I can let my mind at ease and just relax. Space travel is also fun (GOING TO THE MOON! MOON RIDE x4!) and there's a lot of minerals to find. Learning the language of the species is kinda fun too.

Dislikes: A lot of planets do feel barren though. You would think you could stumble upon a planet with a massive city of sorts on it or a vast civilization but that's not the case unfortuantely. It's also full of "collect resources & craft" gameplay. There's just so much more that could be done but as of right now there's not a ton to do.

Would I recommend? Yes... and No. This game still has a lot of potential and with a bunch of free content updates to come and with a lot more expansion possible I would recommend the game. The game itself is fun and relaxing but it just needs more to it. It's still considered a technological masterpiece though for what it has done. Though a price drop could help.

I'm thinking of redoing this one. It's been a few years and the updates have absolutely changed the game for the better. Plus we now know more about development so I'll include a bit on that.

[Wulfsbane]

Me being our resident Destiny player, I'll probably review New Light once Deep Stone Crypt raid comes out. Also I'm going to be a part of a streamer's team for World's First for DSC

[Wulfsbane]

I'll do Beyond Light next week. But for now:

No Man's Sky: Revisited

 

Synopsis: Same as above, but, here's the story added in Atlas Rises:

Upon waking up and getting your spacecraft fixed, once you enter space for the first time you are contacted by an alien entity named Artemis, who tells them that they, like the player, are a Traveler and wished to meet others of their kind. They stepped through a strange, ancient portal, but they got trapped on a sunless world. After triangulating their position and talking with the local alien species, the Traveler discovers that Artemis's location does not exist. After telling Artemis the news, the transmission ends mysteriously and the Traveler learns of another Traveler named Apollo. Apollo know Artemis and after a bit of convincing, he agrees to help you out. What comes next, well... that'd be spoilers

What Changed: You know how I mentioned there really was no story in the beginning? Well with the Atlas Rises update, it added a story to get the game rolling that immediately adds 20-30 hours of content to the game. The same update added perma-death mode and creative modes to give players more gameplay options. Foundations and Path Finder, the first two updates, added base building, exo crafts (vehicles), and home planets as well as sharable planets and a step towards multiplayer.  Next added multiplayer, bases anywhere on a planet, underwater bases, fleets, multiple owned star-ships and missions players can go on solo or in a group. Abyss and Visions expanded the underwater bases, added a mini story to the underwater portion of the game,  more biomes, abnormal flora/fauna, and discover more interesting aspects like Storm Crystals and Fossils. Beyond  added expanded multiplayer, VR, and more customization options for bases (such as power, automations, etc. To showcase, HG recreated Rocket League in NMS.) Synthesis overhauled ships and inventory. Living Ships added... well... living ships and a story to boot. Origins effectively doubled the variation in flora and fauna and added new planetary features like binary and ternary star systems, volcanoes, and localized weather patterns and effects.

What I Liked: Massive overhauls to the game and added a ton of features that were promised in the beginning and others that weren't asked. Hello Games has gone above and beyond to  give us what we wanted in the game and vowed to make things right. There's a lot more to do in the game now and it's still a rather chill, relaxing game. Exploring the cosmos is much more fun with each update and the game has a ton of staying power now. Also the VR update was free, Hello Games could have easily charged for a VR update or a whole new game to buy (cough, Bethesda, cough). Has everything been added that was promised? Ehh, there's still a way to go but at least they're making good on it.

What I Didn't Like: Well, there's still no Corossaut-like planets, though the in game lore kinda gives a good reason as to why. While there's exponentially a lot more to do, the game still should be taken in spades as you can get bored and put it down for a time again.

 

Would I recommend: Yup. Fun exploration, a lot more to do, a decent story, and it scratches the exploration itch.

 

Now, if you're curious about the development of No Man's Sky, what happened, what went wrong, etc. Internet Historian has a great 1 hour video on the subject (Language and minor content warning). Here.

[TheRedStranger]

I totally forgot about this thread. Will post a review of Long Dark shortly.

[IronCheeze]

I played Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order on play-station four. I really playing a hunted Jedi who hid his powers after Order 66. Really love the addition of Sith Inquistors in the canon, so you can have more lightside versus dark-side fights. The platform mechanics are especially fun, as well as the combat. It's cool how deep you can go in light-saber customization.

 @SorzoHave you played it yet? I know you don't like Disney's take all that much. I don't really either. But a game is a game.

[MoKat]

So I re-played The West of Loathing recently because I saw a playthrough on it (by Markiplier) and got annoyed that it left so many things undone

If you are familiar with The Kingdom of Loathing then you'll be familiar with the basic system, which is based mostly on 3 stats (Muscle, Mysticallity, & Moxie) and various class-related skills. The West of Loathing is a Wild West themed RPG in which you can be a Cow Puncher (fighter), a Beanslinger (mage), or a Snake Oiler (rogue). You even get to chose your reason for veturing westward: to help people, to make your fortune, or just to get off the stupid farm; this even influences some things, including the ending.

The humor is off-beat (which is why I like it); the fact that you can search spittoons and the Toilet Pistol exists (found in an outhouse at the Stearn Ranch, BTW) should tell you that the humor tends to be a little on the gross side). There are many locations to explore when you get away from Boring Springs; however, the map is split into 3 major areas, and 2 unlock as you complete quests for the railroad.

You can choose your "pardner" before you leave Boring Springs, though some have to be unlocked by completing quests. For example, if you read the headstones in the Boring Springs graveyard, you can get Susie's Cochran's quest (to get her ma's rifle) which unlocks her as a pardner after you complete it. Each pardner has different abilities, and I recommend at least 1 playthrough with Gary (the Goblin) as your pardner, even if it's just to see some of his funny responses/options.

The graphics are simple, yet amusing; your character is depicted as a stick-figure. Different equipment is represented distinctly though. TIP: be sure to search the bookcase in your bedroom for a book that unlocks the Stupid Walking ability - very amusing & you can turn it off if you get tired of it. The music is also simple but (usually) appropriate.

Overall, I really recommend this game.

 

 

[Mike Arcade]

Hi guys, I have a massive review I've been meaning to post for months on here, and it's finally done! Putting the finishing touches on it as a post it throughout the Retro Gaming topic here: 

I hope you all like it.

[MoKat]

On 5/24/2021 at 11:54 PM, Mike Arcade said:

Hi guys, I have a massive review I've been meaning to post for months

He's not kidding about it being massive 😏