Tag Archive

Fortnite (PVE) | Early Access Review

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

First marketed as a unique crossover between Minecraft’s base building & resource collection and Gears of War’s Horde Mode, Fortnite has been in the news recently for the success (and controversy) of its Free 2 Play Battle Royale mode. After spending countless hours playing the “Survive The Storm” Player Vs Environment mode on two different platforms I’m ready to give my detailed impressions of Fortnite’s PVE experience as it currently exists.

Early Access Disclaimer:  A copy of “Fortnite: Founder’s Edition Standard” was provided by Epic Games for the purpose of this review. No other loot pinatas or other Microtransactions were provided by the publisher.  This review reflects the state of Fortnite’s Player Vs Environment experience as it existed in Late September / Early October 2017.

Gameplay: Some Assembly Required

As I sat down trying to summarize Fortnite’s gameplay into a digestible description, I found the game almost indescribable. This isn’t because Fortnite is a bad game – far from it, Fortnite has quickly become one of my daily “go to” game alongside Overwatch and Final Fantasy XIV when I want a multiplayer fix.  It is just that there are so many interlinking systems to be found within the game that it is easy to imagine the unsuspecting player being overwhelmed at first blush.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to refer to the on-foot, in-engine 3rd person matchmaking multiplayer missions as Mission Gameplay and the menu driven, statistic management and item management portions of Fortnite as Housekeeping to keep things straightforward.

Mission Gameplay

Activities within Fortnite are divided into numerous mission types where the player must work alongside a team of up to 3 other survivors to secure an objective/survivor / x # of items within a large open chunk of the map and build a well-protected fort before initiating a horde mode-like defense sequence. If this sounds formulaic, it is, but the amount of creative freedom Fortnite affords players when it comes to base construction, strategy and bonus objectives allow each match of Fortnite to feel unique.

The opening segments of any mission within Fortnite can be thought of as pure chaos – an entire team of people working towards a common goal but each with their own needs. Player A might find the objective before anyone else is ready to begin the Horde mode defense section while Player B is searching for Server Racks to finish their Daily Quest and Player C is saving survivors to bolster their ranks (more on that in the next section). Uncoordinated teams or those with poor communication are often doomed to failure – especially during limited timed events and higher tier missions.

When it comes time for a team to construct their fort to defend their objective what is the best choice? Iron walls with protected by a constructor’s Forcefield? Cheaper wooden walls defended by all four Heroes with Melee weapons? The open-ended nature of HOW teams come to achieve their common goal is one of the beauties of Fortnite. I’ve played the same mission four times and had a different outcome every time: In one instance an entire team built a Zombie funnel with wooden walls lined with spike traps and on the same mission in another team we lined the front of our fort with jump pads which would cause the Zombies to fly into the air and land to their deaths.


Forts can be broken down into 4 basic components: Floors, Walls, Roofs, and Traps (which can be placed on either the Walls or Floor). Every Hero shares the same four basic kinds of Floors Walls and Roofs – Iron, Wood, and Stone but a team has to consider how much of each resource they have on hand. Each player can carry a maximum of 999 of each resource and the inventory for these is persistent between matches but when you begin reinforcing a well-constructed fort with Tier 2 or 3 defenses, individual resource pools can dry up rather quickly.  I lost more than a few missions simply because our team hadn’t brought enough resources to secure our entire Fort design and the back of the Fort was nothing more than a couple of timber pieces nailed to the wall.  Just as communication is key to WHEN an objective should be claimed, it is also just as important when it comes to fort design, which portions to upgrade and the team’s defense strategy.

Managing Statistics Is A Game In of Itself In Fortnite

Housekeeping

Once the action has calmed down, the heroes have saved the day and completed their mission what is there left to do in Fortnite? It turns out quite a bit, as long as you don’t mind managing and manipulating various statistics.  When not in a combat scenario players are encouraged to level up their playable heroes, manage groups of survivors who provide party wide buffs and additional boosts and spend their skill points. This probably sounds a lot like the back-end busy work of managing a party within an RPG, and not a shooter, yup, one of the most difficult things about Fortnite can come from deciding what type of build you’re going for and not the terrifying monstrosities of the storm. 

Leveling Up Heroes– Fornite’s heroes don’t just have a unique look and personality too them. All of them can be divided amongst four key categories: Constructor, Soldier, Outlander, and Ninja. Each class has its own strengths, for example, Soldiers can lob explosive grenades and have a buff to ranged weapon damage while Ninja’s gain a double jump and bonus to melee weapon damage. It is possible to pull two identical heroes with the same rarity (more on that in a bit), name, type & level yet still have them be different thanks to the randomization of the passive abilities that each Hero possesses. As you level up your playable heroes using XP from Llamas & missions you’ll gain an assortment of randomly tiered passive & active abilities. 

Managing Survivor Squads  – Survivors are non-playable “characters” that can be thought of more as collectible baseball cards than characters you’ll see in the game world. Sometimes after completing a mission, you’ll be rewarded with a handful of “survivor cards” & they can also be obtained from the Llamas for real-world cash as well. Each survivor has a “personality type” and “profession” and it is up to the player to slot these survivors into the appropriate squad (Tech, EMT, Firearms, Base Defense etc) to maximize their potential stats boosts. The higher the levels on your particular squads, the larger the passive boost from that squad and just like Heroes, Survivors are leveled up with their own unique form of XP points. 

Spending Skill Points / Research Points  – Skill points are accumulated passively regardless of whether or not you are playing Fortnite. Spending Skill Points on one of the four research trees allows you to gain purely passive buffs such as a small addition to your party’s fortitude, damage or build time or increasing a number of total items that you can carry.  

Recycling Duplicate or Fully Maxed Out “Cards” – Heroes, Weapons, Traps, and Survivors all come packaged as “Cards” complete with statistics, an independent level and Rarity. It may not seem important when you first start playing the game but the rarity of a card essentially determines how far into the overall progress that you can use it. After several dozen hours I’ve reached account level 25 and am doing missions that are rated for Heroes at power level 40. From my experience, it seems that Green (or uncommon) weapons and heroes max out around this point and I’ve started recycling them into the few blue (rare) drops that have the same type. Once a particular card has reached its maximum level and is no longer useful to you, or you have a duplicate, you can recycle individual cards into the various XP types and feed that gained XP into newer items.  

 

[Page 1 | Page 2]

Pages: 1 2

0

88 Heroes: 98 Heroes Edition | Review

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Meghan Kass

On August 8th, 1988 at 8:08 am I was but an infant when one of the most terrible acts of evil was attempted. Doctor Evil H8 almost had destroyed the world unless he was delivered his demand of .$88 octillion with a deadline of only 88 minutes! In order to save mankind from destruction by nuclear warhead, we needed the help of the brave, the bold, and the silly 88 heroes! This is the set up for developer, Bitmap Bureau’s, game “88 Heroes”. Now this game, published by Rising Star Games has come to the Nintendo Switch with some interesting challenges to add to an already interesting game.

The main game is a chaotic 2D platformer, with emphasis on the chaotic. You are given a random hero to make it through a level in 88 seconds. These heroes are what make the game different from other indie platformers like it. Some heroes possess great powers or weapons that can help annihilate enemies such as Laser Kittie who can shoot across a level with their laser or Hammerstein who can literally break through floors which can literally open opportunities to shorten your time getting through a level. Some heroes, however, are less than impressive such as Hard Hat Harriot who has an impressive jackhammer, but does nothing with it and has no impressive abilities or Wang Wei the panda on a unicycle who does nothing except the somewhat amusing trick of riding backwards which means an added annoyance for the player who would need to change how they control a hero in order to progress in the level.

If you lose a hero during a level either through death or time running out, that’s no problem at all! Another hero can take its place immediately and might even be better for the situation at hand. You have 88 chances to get through 88 levels and most of them will get you frustrated and groaning as you figure out how to get past traps, what awaits you around every corner and what types of heroes will help you succeed. If you get a hero you don’t want to use or won’t help you, you can “deton8” your hero and move on to the next if you wish, but I find there is literally no point in not at least trying to get past a level without blowing up your hero and losing one of your 88 lives anyway.  Along with a way to destroy your hero, you can also gain a hero back if you collect $88 worth of coins and picking one to be “reborn”. My favorite hero, personally, was Ms. Fortune simply for her gimmick. You can make her flip a coin and depending on the outcome she will either get you to the end of a level or die instantly. Most of the times, the heroes gave me a smirk or an amused groan usually due to a pun or silly pop culture references.If you need more of a challenge, there is always the magnificent 8 mode which lets you only chose 8 heroes to get through 88 levels with.

Overall, aside from a few frame rate issues that I didn’t experience almost at all, the game is a solid 2D platformer indie game. The Switch looks like it quite the console for indie games and this game is a fun addition. At the price of $30, I might recommend waiting for a sale for this game, but if you are craving a fun, lighthearted platformer, support an indie developer with a solid product and enjoy.

0

Monster Hunter Stories | Review

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Meghan Kass

“When a monster strikes, the fearful hide, but the brave? They ride” So goes what should be the motto of all Hunters, young and old. Long time fans of the beloved Capcom franchise, Monster Hunter, might have been fearful at the idea  of the spin-off “Monster Hunter Stories” when first discovered it would be a fairly large departure from the typical Monster Hunter game they have all come to know and love, but what of those who were brave and gave this Monster a ride? Was “Monster Hunter Stories” a pleasant addition? Or was this a bad egg? A closer look at the game will help you judge if this game is a ride worth taking.

“Monster Hunter Stories” has a completely different gameplay from previous titles. Instead of the real time combat usually associated with Monster Hunter games, Stories offers turn based combat instead. When the players comes against a monster or adversary, you pick from a selection of attacks. You can pick from power, speed or technical attacks and if you are successful in head to head combats with the enemy via a rock, paper, scissors type game you will raise your kinship points and be able to ride your monster and perform a special attack. If you chose to ride without performing a special attack immediately, you can further raise your kinship points and perform an even stronger special attack. Occasionally during battle there is also QTE type events where you must win at butting heads against your opponent by repeatedly tapping the A button. Another event is the air showdown where you press L and R to win and finally we have breath blast that require you to rotate the circle pad quickly. Doing this gains you extra damage and points for your Kinship meter. This may be a compete departure from past Monster Hunter combat but it is a unique, fun and easy going experience.

 

Another element of gameplay that is new to Monster Hunter is the element of collecting and hatching eggs. Throughout your adventures as a monster rider, you will locate monster nests. These nests contain an assortment of eggs for you to chose from. These eggs can contain herbivore or carnivore monsters and if you collect them, you can hatch them and build up your monster team. Some sub-quests also require particular types of eggs. As with many RPGs, there is a multitude of sidequests you can go on and jobs you can undertake. From collecting the dropped loot from certain monsters, to types of eggs, to specific crafting material there is always something that needs to be done in between main story quests.

The story is cute, even if it is fairly standard for a JRPG. You are a green horn rider and of course, you are now ready to leave your village and see the world. You get caught up in major world changing events and conflict happens within your social circle. It is clear that story was less of a priority than world building and gameplay, but it works for this game. This game aims for easy going fun and it hits the mark. The only minor issue was for non New3DS users, players might have some performance issues, but nothing game breaking as far as my understanding goes. Draw distance has also been a bit of an issue, as even I had the occasional NPC or enemy seemingly sneak up on me as I get closer.

Overall, if you are a fan of cute JRPGs or the Monster Hunter world, this game should be given a chance. It has charm, fun and a sweetness to it that is executed wonderfully. This game could have been a disaster if put into hands that clearly didn’t have a love for the world of Monster Hunter, but luckily the creators of this game showed care and respect for Monster Hunter while putting their own spin on it for a new ride that need not be feared.

 

0

Tekken Mobile | Review

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Bandai Namco isn’t exactly known for adapting the Tekken franchise for mobile devices. Over the past decade or so there have been two serious efforts: Tekken 6 on the PSP in 2006 and Tekken 3D on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011. Both of those previous games, although premium priced titles, had different shortcomings when adapting the technical fighting style Tekken is known for to both Sony and Nintendo’s handhelds. Seemingly coming out of nowhere – a free to play version of Tekken launched on the Android Play Store and iTunes App Store in Canada. What follows are my thoughts on this iteration of the King of Iron Fist Tournament based upon the still in limited rollout version of Tekken Mobile that is available.

There are a few key features that Tekken has been known for since its’ inception: like a complicated list of multi button combos, rock paper scissors like input system of high & low punches or kicks and three-dimensional movement. Let’s get the unfortunate news out of the way first – none of these well-known gameplay mechanics appear in Tekken Mobile at all. Drastic changes to the core gameplay experience may have longtime series fans asking “Does that make it any less of a true Tekken title if the strategy of move input is removed and movement is restricted to a 2D plane?”

Combat in Tekken Mobile is a huge departure from what the franchise is known for but it is also a huge departure from what Namco’s sometimes collaborator / sometimes rival Capcom have done in the mobile fighting space. Bouts are still 1 Vs 1 affairs but the three round system has been removed in favor of a single 90 second round. Basic attacks are performed by simply tapping the right side of the screen while blocks are performed using the left side of the touchscreen. Swiping in the center allows you to have your character dash forward or back quickly. Once I had adjusted to how combat worked in Tekken Mobile I found myself being able to time successful chains of blocks before rushing in and pulling off one of three available special moves for Asuka, Jin or Nina with ease. In place of the complicated input system by the console games or even the more robust virtual d-pads and buttons used by Capcom, these cards provide ways for fighters to pull off intricate interlinking combos by tapping the appropriate card. Tekken Mobile will even label cards with a “1..2…3” icon, signaling the proper order for maximum damage. Namco Bandai Vancouver has developed a unique fighting system that for the most part enables a sense of strategy while differing itself from the competition. It can be a little annoying when you think you’re going to tap on the right side for a basic attack and accidentally dash in but I chalk that up to my own clumsiness and not the game’s fault.

Characters in Tekken Mobile will be familiar to those who have played previous entries in the series, regardless of platform or generation. Mainstays like Jin, Kazuya and Steve Fox are joined by latter additions to the roster like Asuka and Shaheen. There are four brand new characters who were created specifically for this new mobile iteration – Isaak, Ruby, Tiger Miyagi and Yue. Each character has a rarity rating (measured in Stars), one set of equip-able bonuses tied to their Star Rating, a character level, an element type and a full deck of Wanza special moves. If all of this sounds a bit convoluted and confusing – well was for me at the start. Given that this is a free to play title, it makes sense that Namco didn’t hand over every fighter off the hop but managing fighters can become tedious (more on that in the next section). With 15 returning characters and 4 brand new characters there is a lot of room in the roster for expansion before Tekken Mobile becomes packed to the brim with fighters. Here is hoping that longtime antagonist Heihachi and newcomer Lucky Chloe make the cut in future updates.

Managing your stable of fighters can become daunting after a few hours of play but it isn’t an insurmountable challenge. Your fighters overall power appears tied directly to your characters level. Additional Wanza cards and slotted buffs can make a bit of an overall difference but they don’t appear to weight as high as the power rating that is calculated for each character. There is no restriction on the level of a character when challenging opponents – if you want to have a 2000 rated Jin take on a 400 rated Bruce or the other way around you certainly can. What will change is the amount of damage dealt and absorbed by the two fighters. Once a character has been eliminated in any of the three available modes they’ll be knocked out until a real world timer has finished (typically 10 – 15 minutes) or once their health has been restored. You can, of course, bypass these time limits with in-app purchases…

After all of this discussion about available characters, gameplay systems and adapting the Tekken formula for mobile devices the discussion comes full circle as the specter of micro-transactions rears its head.  Tekken Mobile contains not one, not two but four different forms of in-game loot boxes that can provide everything from Shards needed to unlock new fighters, to free revive and healing items to rare Wanza cards and elemental crystals used to boost characters overall level. This means that as a player you are managing multiple stats per characters, your level of crystals on hand and an in-game gold currency used for purchasing loot boxes. The drop of in-game gold is quite low: 100 for a win or 25 for a loss but since rounds can take as little as 20 seconds – you can earn a box in about 30 minutes of game play. Tekken Mobile wants you to fork over real world cash for an arbitrary gem currency for randomly generated items you have no control over, but you’ll never find yourself hitting a content wall unless all of your fighters die and you run out of revival items.

Tekken Mobile has quickly become one of my most played iOS games in the past few weeks – easily eclipsing long-time installs like Pokemon Go. Rounds are short enough that completing a single round campaign mission or a three round Dojo match can be done while waiting for the bus or standing in line at the supermarket. Once I acquired a number of fighters and leveled them up extended gameplay sessions were possible – the other morning I spent 45 minutes battling it out against the CPU before all of my 1 star fighters were retired.  Whether or not you’ll get enjoyment out of Tekken Mobile will probably depend on how much RNG loot boxes and fighter countdowns you can stand before uninstalling the game or forking over some cold hard cash for gems. I’ve probably sunk a good ten hours into Tekken Mobile and haven’t paid a cent. Complaints about the loot boxes and limited roster aside I’m impressed with the surprisingly functional combat system and this game is probably the closest a Tekken portable title has ever come to capturing the aesthetic presentation of modern entries in the franchise.

0

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice | Review

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Meghan Kass

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice has made quite the splash in the gaming scene as of recently. It is the indie game with the AAA quality looking to make a point to publishers, that it can be done without the AAA publishers sticking their fingers in the pie. Ninja Theory has labeled this game as the “independent AAA” game because of its focus on their strengths of strong character story, combat, and unique art style. They wanted to take these three key elements are far as they would go without anyone holding them back, but with that large ambition comes huge risk. Did this game pay off? Did it prove its point? A look at Ninja Theory’s claimed three key elements of story, combat and art will help make a conclusion. Is Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice more than just it’s slightly silly name? Or is there something deeper.

When we look at Ninja Theory’s first claimed key strength of character’s stories, there is a huge advantage that Senua has over many large budget AAA titles. It can take the story in directions that would scare off a lot of big publishers. In order to portray the main character’s psychological illness and psychosis with a degree of accuracy, neuroscientists were consulted along with non profit organizations who specialized in mental illness. Senua’s Sacrifice uses this aspect of Senua’s character to not only give subtle hints and guidance to the character through whispers informing you of incoming enemies and someone being behind you so you can evade or block them, but it allows for some interesting and even eerie imagery and visual storytelling. Senua’s visual hallucinations also allow the player to explore this character more deeply because we see how she reacts to different, sometimes extreme situations even though she wasn’t there, like when you meet a character named Druth and experience his horrifying story from when he was a captured slave through Senua’s psychosis and a bit of the supernatural. She also interacts with her auditory hallucinations occasionally or they sometimes try and speak for her intentions or her feelings. This could be assumptions that we have to decide are truth or mockery, but it adds to Senua’s character by showing the player her vulnerability and insecurities about her journey at least. Deep down, she has these thoughts and fears in her mind, adding greatly to her fairly silent character. Overall, Ninja theory has great characters and uses Senua creatively to tell an interesting and haunting tale that had me shaken down to my core at times.

The combat in my opinion is the weakest element, but still effective. Using the voices in Senua’s head to guide her during combat was a creative choice by Ninja Theory. The enemies are intimidating and while there are only but a few at a time, that works in the game’s favor as it makes the fight seem more intimate, intense and have more weight. There is no horde to slice through like a hot knife through cheese, but just you and your literal demons and a few strong monsters at a time. They won’t go down with a simply slice, you need to be fast and reactive and know when is best to hit and when is best to dodge. You also don’t want to forget your ability to slow down time and get some well placed hits in that hard to kill enemy which is especially effective for a more casual or less talented player. This is good, considering you are warned at the beginning of the game that if you die too often, your story is done and you need to start over with your save file deleted. Play on easy mode if you are the more cautious sort.

The art in Hellblade is the third element Ninja Theory mentioned and is very striking to say the least. There are often bright colors against dark colors to make the, at times, frightening images stand out so you take notice and allow it to stick in your head. The puzzles that have you searching for a matching symbol in the scenery are a great excuse to take your surroundings in and appreciate the well detailed textures and eerie environments. Senua herself is a beautiful character design with her face paint, large emotional eyes and strong looking body., It’s also haunting if you begin to fail your combat and see the black rot take over her body slowly.

Overall this game is a wonderful story of love and devotion and strength told in the most disturbing and eerie way possible. With its striking art and imagery, intimate and intense combat and haunting story telling, this is a homerun for Ninja Theory and its team. It is easy to tell they had a goal and were determined to reach it and they succeeded. Hopefully, more indie developers show that AAA publishers are not always needed to put out AAA quality products.

 

0

Yakuza Kiwami | Review

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Broken Joysticks

Game Reviewed By: John Bridgman

“Kiwami means extreme!” the tutorial explains, and that’s a good way, to sum up Yakuza Kiwami, the remake of Sega’s first entry in its open-world Yakuza series. It keeps the series’ proud tradition of bombastic martial arts combat, gritty organized crime drama, and ridiculous diversions.

An immediate warning to prospective players is in order – Yakuza Kiwami has depictions of violence and aggressive harassment of women, both implied and on-screen, so keep that in mind before playing if you are affected by such things. As well, there are displays of intense gore and mutilation which can be upsetting.

Our protagonist is Kiryu Kazama, who is fresh out of prison after taking the fall for the murder of the Patriarch of the Dojima family. Paroled after ten years of model inmatehood, he returns to Kamurocho and finds himself pulled into a wildly changed Yakuza. Power struggles have broken out among the remaining Yakuza families, and caught up in the middle of it all is his childhood friend Nishkiyama who is now a family Patriarch himself, having gained a ruthless ambition in the wake of Kiryu taking the rap for his crimes.

With these pieces as a setting, Kiryu is let loose to discover the plots surrounding his loved ones, in the only way he knows how – violence. And Kiryu is extremely gifted at the liberal application of violence. He punches, kicks, stomps, throws, swings blades, and smashes thugs with bicycles and more throughout the city. Encounters crop up through the city as you run around, including the ever-looming specter of Kiryu’s rival, Goro Majima.

Majima Everywhere is one of the most fun parts of the game. He can pop up anywhere in the city with a sing-song “Kiryu-chaaan”, ready to challenge his stoic rival and test to see if Kiryu’s skills have grown to match his reputation as the Dragon of Dojima. These fights unlock Kiryu’s skills in his Dragon style, so in addition to normal leveling up, to truly master being Kiryu Kazama, you must engage with Majima.

The game hits some lulls when the narrative shrinks things down and removes the degree of openness the game has. Yakuza games shine when something ludicrous is happening on-screen, and searching for an item on the pavement isn’t particularly interesting, especially without the prospect of fighting anyone for a while. These segments aren’t difficult but if you have trouble finding what’s needed it really breaks the flow of the game.

When it’s open though you really get to experience the variety that Yakuza games have come to be known for. While traveling from plot to plot, you will find yourself distracted by fights, games, fights, sidequests, fights, bars, restaurants, and fights. Head to a bar and shoot some darts, have a drink, then make your way to karaoke – all of which will net you experience points and thus lead to improving Kiryu’s skills.

There is a very strange minigame I feel I have to discuss. In your travels, you will begin to find trading cards with pictures of ladies in swimsuits and bug hats. These you can then use to have weird rock-paper-scissors matches, complete with 3D modeled and animated wrestling holds between the scantily-clad women in an arena surrounded by bugs. It’s absolutely bizarre.

Combat though – oh the combat is where Yakuza Kiwami excels. Kiryu has an enormous variety of moves and combos to perform, which only gets more involved as you level up his skills. There are four styles to switch between, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and knowing when to use which and when to switch is key to major fights. The Rush style is about fast combos and dodging rapidly, the Brawler style is the balanced option, and the Beast style is tanky and has an emphasis on breaking nearby objects over your opponents. The fourth style is Kiryu’s Dragon Style, which features unique and powerful abilities, but can only be trained by fighting against Majima.

Yakuza Kiwami is a game that manages to balance its bombastic, ridiculous, and grim elements very well. It can seamlessly carry you from winning dolls out of a crane game for a businessman to give to his… “daughter”, to kicking a road cone and knocking out a group of thugs, to smashing an assassin’s face against a wall with your fist in a span of minutes. It is extremely violent, extremely silly, extremely bizarre, and extremely fun if you can get past the uncomfortable elements. “Kiwami means extreme!” indeed.

Yauza Kiwami’s publisher SEGA USA provided us with a review code for our consideration.

0

Walking Dead: The Tell Tale Series- A New Frontier episode 5: From the Gallows review

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Meghan Kass

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier has finally concluded and closed out Season three of the Telltale Walking Dead series. The fifth episode, From The Gallows, closes the story of Javier and his time with Clementine. While the Walking Dead episodes have been mostly good so far, how will the end hold up? With this season end with a whimper, or a bang? And what could this ending mean for future seasons?

 

This episode does answer some questions for us regarding Javier’s past. We learn how his father got sick and with what. We learn that Javier had promised his father, Salvador to stick with his brother and that the family would take care of eachother no matter what after the Salvador was gone, or not depending on your choices. I chose to respect Salvador’s wishes as the fight that happened between Javier and David seemed to quite upset him.

After the game is done in the past, we return back to a chaotic Richmond that is being overtaken by the dead. There is a lot of guilt between the group over what happened, and a lot of anger in Richmond, which Javier is mostly blamed for. Depending on past choices, some characters may show up again and others may not be able to escape from death. Javier’s trust will be tested as well as your morals. Will the group understand and stand by you? Or will anger and resentment rise? Who will stay and who will leave? That remains ultimately up to the player.

There are no significant changes to the gameplay in this episode. There are some exciting areas, such as rooftops of building and an instance where you need to climb across helicopter blades to get across a gap in a bridge and having to get across a group of walkers undetected. The main appeal of this episode is really the choices you have to make and concluding the story with the outcome you feel is best. I think this episode had some of the most impactful moments that showed you the results of earlier choices and had you make significant new choices. Because I was quite attached to these characters, who ended up with me by the end and some of the choices I had to make regarding certain characters made me feel a bit emotional, which meant Telltale was certainly doing a good job. I feel while the story almost went in a ridiculous, convoluted direction for a bit, that this episode took it back a bit and let us be with just a select few characters and give us some strong family moments. I was satisfied with the endings, especially the one I got my first play through that involved staying with Kate to save Richmond. I felt it was the best ending, that gave the most hopeful ending for future seasons in which Clem might be the controllable, lead character again, but your milage may vary depending on how you played the game and how attached you became to the group.

Overall, I feel this was a very strong end to a good season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn’t played it in full yet, especially since it is available on disc now as well as for download at a reasonable price. I feel this series has not overstayed its welcome yet and out of all of Telltale’s series, this is probably my favorite next to Sam and Max. I can’t wait to see what Telltale has in store for the Walking Dead next, especially for Clem and her journey to reunite with her only family.

 

0

Astervoid 2000 | Review

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Broken Joysticks

Guest Review By: Azzuen O’Connor

Astervoid 2000 is a totally awesome and difficult throwback to the old days of arcade cabinet multiplayer space shoot em ups. It wouldn’t be unfair if your mind went straight to Bizarre Creations (RIP) 2005 smash hit, Geometry Wars or the 1980s Asteroid games that inspired it after seeing Astervoid 2000 in action.

Right off the bat, I want to say this game has a really awesome soundtrack that sticks to the genre’s roots of being sort of remixed electronic soundtracks reminiscent of the golden days of video arcades during the 80s and 90s. The soundtrack still manages to provide a fresh coat of paint for a more grown up audience the game encourages you right from the get-go to gather some friends up and play this on your big screen tv while having fun. I do love what the developers did with their licensed music – they put the name of the artist and track at the beginning of a stage. I think that not only shows respect for the work the band or individual put into making that track, it also helps spread recognition for their artists and even can help out both the artists and the players connect through channels that aren’t Astervoid 2000.

The movement of your little fighter of your choice is definitely more designed for a game controller than a keyboard and mouse but it is pretty responsive all in all. I do however have a few complaints about the controls- while they are definitely responsive they can also feel too loose as if the slightest tap may send your little space ship hurtling into an asteroid, a mine, an enemy ship. While fun and entertaining and giving you the choice of your little-pixelated ship (which may I add reminds me A LOT of an old flash game I used to play. Gods help me if I remember the name of it) there’s not much real long term gameplay in this title.

One thing I do love and did make me smile and keeps having me come back for “one more round” is the added benefit of a global leaderboard fight to get the high score and see your name up there with others who have fought so hard to get where you are, who may have worn down the analogue sticks on their controllers or battled through carpel tunnel and no sleep to get where you are now (

As much as I love to peel back the layers upon layers of modern videogames, and take a look at its roots and the origins of how the genre started – I can’t really say much that everyone else has already stated. Astervoid 2000 sure does owe itself to some of the very first videogames ever developed and this long lasting influence shows. It is fast-paced, easy to pick up and to learn and still will keep you coming back for more. I do also love how the game offers about 8 difficult but worthwhile achievements to get. In closing, this game is a game that anyone of any age can pick up, play and enjoy. I’m not sure if this could help but if anyone out there can use a joystick to play it let me know if the controls feel a bit tighter as I feel a joystick may offer tighter more precise control than what a PC enabled controller may offer.

A copy of Astervoids2000 was provided by the developer for our consideration.

0

ARMS | REVIEW

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Les Major

Out of the games shown prior to the launch of Nintendo’s new Switch console, Arms stood out as one that really surprised me. The controls were a lot more stable than things like the old Wii Sports boxing that came with their first motion controller system. Not only that but the JoyCons give a different feel to fighting with the Wiimote and nunchuck. Instead, you have a joystick at the ready for menu options, and can press one of the top bumpers to accept your options. That and holding a JoyCon in each fist to punch feels natural. The bumpers at the top work for jump and dash, while the triggers can activate your hyper attack mode when your power level is full. Each JoyCon is held facing the other, so your thumbs sit on the triggers themselves. It’s actually very comfortable and quite satisfying.

That’s not the only way to control the game of course. You can use the JoyCons docked in the holder for a regular control feel and overall use them in the various combinations to play without motion controls. Interestingly you can actually hand a friend a JoyCon as well and play the game two player in that way.

Arms at it’s core is a fighting game through and through. It feels a lot like it is more with the multitude of characters with bright variety among them. It’s easy to think of Arms as something similar to Overwatch in the sense that you have a lot of character choices. Really though Arms is more comparable to regular fighting games without the special attacks that need button combos to pull off. Because of this, newcomers to the game could feel that the title is quite shallow. However, there is something special to Arms that has been lacking in video games over the course of many years and it’s that something that makes the game special.

Surprisingly Arms captures the feel and difficulty of SNES era titles. It’s tough to explain the feeling part, but there’s just something there that has the same sense as that first time us old school gamers picked up the Super Scope 6. The feeling of the fresh new plastic controllers in your hands. The almost robotic control of your character. All that sort of stuff. It feels like picking up Battle Clash on the SNES after all these years, and that’s awesome!

The coolest thing about Arms is, you will lose! At times it may be because you send out two punches instead of a grab if the motion controls registered a split second off of each other, but in general it’s going to just be because the game is legitimately hard! Before the recent update I couldn’t even get past level three difficulty without some very tactical fighting. Things haven’t really gotten easier per say. They’ve just become more balanced, which is what the patch was mainly about. More of your punches connect now especially. When you’re not using motion controls it feels like you need to guide each shot with the thumbstick. Not like your driving it, but more so that you’re aiming it before you launch each punch. When you get used to it this actually works well.

Fighting really gets furious and you need to consider what your opponent is doing. Blocking can be bested by throwing a grab. Because of the fighters titular Arms, you can launch a grab attach from a far distance. Meanwhile, punching a grab can knock that down. Don’t punch too much though or your arms will both be extended, leaving your body open. That gives quite a lot of tactic to the game. One thing that still frustrates me and other gamers I’ve seen posting online is the split second decision making when you trigger your characters super attack. You’re about the launch a flurry of punches and instantly your opponent is blocking. It happens more often than not, even on relatively easy difficulty settings. Sure, tactics come into play there. Your opponent can’t block if they have their arms extended, but still, odds are they won’t block every time with instant finesse either.

Arms doesn’t just refer to the characters wacky extendable limbs either. It also is what the attachments at the end of their arms are called. These goodies have quite a range to them from various elemental attacks, to ways to guard against your foe. Some are heavy attacks, others are quick light attacks. They even have tactical advantages to them as you can launch light attacks faster, but a heavy attack will actually plow through lighter ones the connect with your opponent. As you progress you’ll collect coins which allow you to unlock new Arms for each character. So you collect Arms to attach to your arms in Arms. Isn’t English fun?

That’s not all, even in Gran Prix mode, the main fighting section of the game, you’ll play volleyball, basketball, and target practice with your opponents. These modes are actually a lot of fun and can be played single player as well in the versus section of the main menu. Basketball sees you using each other as the ball as you’ll struggle with your opponent to grab each other to toss into the net. Volleyball has competitors punching a ball with an explosive orb in it to land on their opponents side. It seems like there may be a time limit to the ball too, so it’s kind of like hot potato in a way too. Target smash mode sees you trying to break more pop up targets than your opponent, like at a carnival.

The latest update even adds a mode where fighters compete in an arena containing an object that can turn them into the secret final boss. It’s either for a set time or until you get knocked down. On top of that there’s even one vs one hundred mode which pits you against a wave of one hit fighters that leads up to a battle with the secret boss as well!

As I said, the game can feel shallow at first and really there isn’t that much going on here. With Nintendo stepping away from story mode in Smash Bros it isn’t too much of a surprise to see the game has no cinematics. What was a bit of a downer was the lack of voice acting. The preview videos featured Biff, the games announcer, with this deep thrilling voice. That’s nowhere to be found in the games commentary and that feels like a misstep. Typically it’s not a Nintendo thing anyway. Even though you can gleam some understanding from Animal Crossing gibberish, it’s typically just noises. Same with Splatoon characters speaking their own language. Arms felt different though and while it is awesome, it felt like one more month for some additional voice work and a bit more story / world building could have really pushed this title further.

That’s not to say this isn’t a great title! The variety of characters who have different speeds and jumping ability makes this replayable. As does just the fun of enjoying the fights. It just feels like this could have been an even bigger franchise. I get it too, it’s something new on a console that players are still adopting so you don’t want to tie up too many resources. On the same token, it’s more than just a gimmick. Moving on from here is easy. More fighting is an option. The Arms characters becoming super heroes is another. Really it would be awesome if the single player campaign team from Splatoon could throw some ideas into the mix for the next game and do something new with this fledgling franchise with it’s next installment.

If you give it a go, you may fall in love with Arms right away. If you don’t, give it a chance. It took me probably about five days to really come around on my feelings for the game and decide that I do really like it. The balancing patch coming out the day after I bought it helped my decision a lot too. The first version of Arms was merciless against me. Yes I was still learning, but it was rough. With the game balanced now I’m proud to say it feels like an old school Nintendo product. For a new franchise, that’s a big deal to someone my age. Giving a player the feeling of nostalgia with something new and unrelated just by style alone is a great feat to pull off. Nintendo has done that here and despite the initial feeling of there not being much here, odds are you’ll come around when you accept that at it’s heart Arms is a fighting game. It does what it advertises very well and you feel accomplished when you win. In a world of casual games, it’s pretty cool to feel that way again.

0

“Gamers Are Revolting” – Hover: Revolt of Gamers | Review

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Broken Joysticks

So Hover: Revolt of Gamers is a game Kickstarted in 2014 (remember this) inspired by Jet Set Radio and Mirror’s Edge. While I have zero experience playing the evergreen classic of JSR, I have a lot of respect for the original Mirror’s Edge and a bit of it for its… requel.

Hover starts us off by waking us up in our customizable avatar from a Cloning Vat, and takes us through a short tutorial that gives us the basic controls in a small controlled environment before unleashing us out in the world of Trash Haven, where the “resistance” is led by… gamers. Yup. Because laws have made video games official contraband. Seriously.

You can find collectibles (like the “Gamegirl” handhelds) or destroy some “anti-leisure propaganda”. The game progresses both to new areas and through whatever story may actually be here through Missions, which are the typical checkpoint-relay variety, or one with the twist of throwing your delivery package “Gameball” at a wall magnet. Added into the mix is the ability to design your own missions for your friends or strangers to play through as well.

Its level design is very cluttered. There are jump-pads that aren’t lined up with anything so you overshoot, there are massive vertical climbs without actually giving you decent pathing to do so. The climbing over terrain itself is quite frustrating, at times I will line up a jump and it’s a coin flip on whether my character will try to climb over the ledge I land on, or instead position to wall jump off of it for no reason (one time I even wall jumped off of a slime waterfall?). These little mishaps will leave you tumbling down, and you either have to spend several minutes trying to climb back up to where you were, or burn through your suit’s “rewind” power (less Braid, and more Overwatch’s Tracer),

For a first/third person platformer that’s all about parkour and jumping, it feels very haphazardly thrown together in that regard and uses the Rewind to try and excuse its own poor level design with zero regards for consistency or fluidity of motion.

It seems to be more trying to be in your face about “We’re here and we’re gamers” over actually presenting a good product, and considering that it was crowdfunded in 2014 over folks “taking your games away”, it feels very much like at least one of its members was part of the culture that created that other “gamers revolt” in 2014. And really, we don’t need any more of that.

Hover: Revolt of Gamers developer provided Brokenjoysticks.net a code for the game for our consideration & Impressions

0

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series- A New Frontier episode 3: Above the Law | Review

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Meghan Kass

Telltale Games has come out with the newest episode in their Walking Dead series. While the two part opener was good, it needed to really develop our new protagonist in order to live up to the love that the games built up for Clementine or even Lee. Javier is certainly not unlikable, but can Telltale continue its line up of strong protagonists? Can they build up Javier without neglecting Clementine? How will the story of Javier’s group progress and what will be learned about this New Frontier? This mid season episode has a lot of answers and story to unbox. This episode has a lot of story points and character development to look at, and less gameplay aspects to talk about, so minor spoilers are to follow, but nothing that ruins the episode. I recommend if you have played the episodes up to this point, definitely continue despite the lacking gameplay

 

The episode opens up by diving into Javier’s past and how he began to lead the family after his brother David’s absence. We see thatKate is hesitant to take action against the walkers and the kids are hesitant to leave without their father, but you must make the hard choice of either staying and risking the walkers becoming too numerous and overwhelming or leave and hope that David finds the group later down the road. His conversations with Kate and the kids when deciding how to handle their uncertain future offer quieter, but essential moments that help enrich the characters and offers some insight into how they ended up in their present situation and why they might feel the way they do. Getting this insight and character development really shows how much Telltale cares about their protagonists for the Walking Dead and puts at ease concerns that may have risen about switching protagonists for this season. We see how hard it is for Javier to take the leadership role, how hard it is for Kate to protect her loved ones while seeing such gruesome sights and how hard it is for the children, especially Gabe, to leave their father behind.

 

We also get some insight into what has happened to Clementine and her time with The New Frontier. We see how she got her tattoo, how she became a loner again after finding some stability and what choices she had to make to save her only remaining ties to family. A major discovery happens concerning AJ and we see that Telltale has not given up on Clementine or her story regardless of the change of protagonists. Clem is still as interesting and even heartbreaking a story as ever. We learn more about the connection between Javier, Clem and the New Frontier and the title “Above the Law” becomes very clear as we go deeper into how The New Frontier works. As the trailer for the episode showed, David reunites with his family, creating some hard choices for the family. Do they accept David back? Do they side with the New Frontier now that they learn David is involved? You need to make your own decisions and judgments after some investigation and conversations. There are some interesting developments, but it soon becomes a bit convoluted and frustrating when dealing with some dubious characters. There were times I even went against how I normally would respond in order to take a more aggressive action as opposed to a diplomatic response because of my frustration. The plus side is that this lead to some interesting responses from those around me.

 
Overall, this episode was wonderful for the character development and bonding with our new protagonists, but somewhat lacking in the rest of the departments that would have knocked it out of the park. There is certainly no reason to give up on this season or The Walking Dead now, so play for yourselves and discover why some are “Above The Law”.

 

0

Yakuza 0 Review

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Broken Joysticks

Game Reviewed By: John Bridgman

Evaluating an installment of an established franchise offers particular challenges. Do you look at it in a vacuum, or as a part of the bigger picture? Should a title stand on its own, or work necessarily with the rest of the series? There is no simple answer to these questions. Yakuza 0, releasing Tuesday, January 24th, is the prequel to Sega’s long-running Yakuza series, and overall a great game in its own right.

Taking place in Japan during the real estate boom of the 80s, Yakuza 0 tells the story of the series’ main protagonist Kiryu Kazama and his recurring rival Goro Majima. Much younger and less wise to the world than we are accustomed to seeing, these two become involved in the machinations of the Tojo family of Yakuza. Their naiveté leads them deep into conflict with their objectives and personal moralities as they progress in the underworlds of their respective districts.

Kiryu’s chapters take place in the Kamurocho District, a tightly-packed neon paradise of excesses. Here, he attempts to discover who framed him for a murder of a man who Kiryu shook down for loan payment. As he progresses he gets involved with a shady real estate company and runs a collection of businesses in the District, assigning managers and collecting money from them while continuing his search.

Majima, meanwhile, is a nightclub manager in Sotenbori, and he is trying to get back into the Yakuza after being banished for a failure to follow orders. Managing involves tasks such as dealing with unruly patrons (without laying hand on them, in fact), and hiring new hostesses to entertain the clientele. These segments, in all honesty, can be a little uncomfortable and I found myself not really looking forward to them.

Which is unfortunate, as Majima’s chapters contain some of my favourite side activities in the game. The crafting system is odd and feels really forced, but it’s connected to an agent dispatch mechanic similar to Final Fantasy Tactics or Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and I couldn’t help but get really involved with trying to see what could happen to my agents as I sent them around the world to look for wood, iron, and umbrellas.

The side content is where the game mostly shines, with hundreds of side stories to go through, and oh so many minigames. There are multiple variants of pool alone, and these are satisfying and thorough enough to sink time into without playing the rest of the game. Darts, bowling, Space Harrier – there are dozens of games you can play for hours. These games also lead to side stories of their own (the dancing minigame in particular features several stories and dance battles to take part in) and before long you risk losing sight of the plot in favour of more side content.

That is not to say the main story is not engaging. Indeed, it goes down intriguing paths and is full of interesting characters, along with a heavier focus on the incredibly fun combat the series is known for. Most plot segments are ways to setup long stretches of beating people up, which is by no means a complaint. The combo-based combat system focuses on using multiple fighting styles and environmental weapons to take down waves of enemies in a delightfully over the top martial arts movie fashion. The first time you break a motorcycle over an adversary, you will really appreciate the depth of the combat.

Narratively, however, the game stumbles in a few ways. Pacing can be awkward, as some plot segments involve going from point to point on the map for cutscenes, or visiting several shops to purchase specific items for use in a fetch quest. Since there are at least encounters to be had as you explore, the annoyance is offset by the opportunity to punch people in the face for copious amounts of cash. Worse than that, is how often the game relies on huge exposition dumps. You will find yourself having drinks with an NPC, and there you will get a plethora of character background and motivation handed to you in classic “As you Know” style.

Cutscenes are a genuinely mixed bag, as they are presented in several different ways. Some of them are pre-rendered scenes, some in-engine, and others still are presented in a motion-comic style. These will be mixed together within the same cutscene segment, and it can be rather jarring, but effective when pulled off seamlessly. Most of the time, these are just jarring.

The game is a visual treat, with bright neon signage everywhere, and excellent attention to detail. Kamurocho has enough filth in its alleys and side streets to really drive home how much of a façade the neon glow really is, and the characters are highly expressive in their animations, even if most of their emotions range from anger to violence. The animations are great, which leads to some outright brutal moments in combat – Majima in particular has some really satisfying bat manoeuvres.

In addition to looking good, it sounds great. This is of course most evident in the dancing and karaoke minigames, which are made fun through the catchy pop tunes. The soundtrack features a variety of musical styles, befitting the 80s setting, including some phenomenal generic rock for the intro cinematic. The sound design also enhances the combat, with both satisfying crunches and cracks as you administer liberal applications of violence to your foes, and over the top sound effects as you power up and switch styles.

It is important to know that Yakuza 0 does deal with some difficult and uncomfortable content. The way hostesses are treated in the nightclubs could definitely be off-putting or upsetting, going from verbal abuse to inappropriate touching. In addition, there are discussions and depictions of torture, including the before and after of an eye removal. The actual removal is offscreen, as is the removal of a finger from a major NPC early on. Also worth noting, some of the side stories discuss and threaten the exploitation of sex workers and minors (sometimes both).

Yakuza 0 is an excellent game that treads uncomfortable water. It carries itself well overall, though the bombastic presentation can be at odds with some of the upsetting aspects. If you are able and willing to see these depictions and allusions in a game then there’s a lot of entertainment to be had. When the game focuses on over the top martial arts and lets its goofy side shine is when it’s at its best. Just be prepared for some serious tonal shifts.

John Bridgman is a Canadian games journalist who has freelanced for various publications, and a host of the Downloadable Concept podcast –  is our URL. He can be found on Twitter . SEGA of America provided BrokenJoysticks a digital copy of Yakuza 0 for review ahead of the game’s release.

0

Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 5: City of Light | Review

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Meghan Kass

So, here it is, the finale to Telltales adaptation of Batman. This first attempt by Telltale at telling Batman’s story has come to an end and the question now becomes “did it end with a bang or was it a dud?”. While this may not have been Telltale’s strongest project, there was a lot of enjoyable moments that Telltale brought and interesting ideas that gave a unique look at the characters we all know and love. The final episode, while it may have its flaws, does tie up many loose ends and leaves great anticipation for a second season.

This episode starts with you having to either fight Harvey Dent or Cobblepot’s drones depending on the choices you made in the previous episode. I find it interesting, that based on your choices from previous episodes, Harvey will remain unscathed physically and not have the literal two face we have all become accustomed to or he will indeed, be the two face we all think of when we think of the character. I enjoy the fact that they focus on Harvey’s mental health and treat him as more of a three dimensional, almost tragic character than a simple “bad guy” who simply went over the edge from being disfigured by a mob boss. Harvey is sick and has been for a while, resisting treatment and has been hurt by someone he thought was a friend and his mental health is affecting his ability to deal with his hurt. Telltale took an interesting turn with Dent that I am glad was constant through the episodes..

Lady Arkham was also a drastically different character than we thought she would turn out to be and turned out to be much tougher  than previously assumed. She also continues to be more fleshed out in City of Light as we learn a lot  more of how she grew into the revenge seeking, tough woman leading the Children of Arkham and her motives for attacking the Wayne empire. The writers certainly were creative with their decisions for this character”. Her and Harvey certainly have their reasons for their behavior and are handled wonderfully throughout the series, although Cobblepot and The Joker seem much more insignificant.

The problem with City of Light from a story perspective is the sheer amount of characters shoved  into the story. While Harvey and Lady Arkham get fleshed out and even sympathetic at times, Cobblepot and “John Doe”/The Joker seem in comparison. Yes, we learn about Cobblepot’s motivations, but not much else but some simple exposition. I felt no connection to him and he seemed to be more of a nuisance than a character. The Joker also seemed very rushed into the story as his purpose to was to possibly help Bruce in one section of episode 4 and then make another appearance in City of Light that just seemed unnecessary. I feel Telltale could have held off introducing his character until a theoretical season two so he didn’t seem so obligatory. I feel if Telltale only included the two villains, it could have led to a stronger ending. The result feels muddy and at times rushed, and yet, still entertaining.


For what flaws this final episode brings, how they concluded Lady Arkham and Harvey/s stories left me satisfied with the episode and wanting more from their rendition of Batman. They were overall creative with Bruce’s story and how he fought for his family’s name and honor and the story ended a lot of arcs in a satisfying way. If you have played the other episodes, there is no reason not to finish the story and if you have not played Batman at all yet, it is definitely worth a look.

0

The Last Guardian | Review

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Meghan Kass

At long last, The Last Guardian has arrived at us after a long, patient wait. This game – brought to us by genDESIGN and SCI Japan Studio has faced many challenges in getting to the public, but thanks to the consultation of members of Team Ico, even after leaving Sony, the game that was assumed to never be reaching store shelves has become a reality. As a fan of Team Ico’s work, I was highly excited for this game and even counted down the days until I could play it. I braced myself for the artistic beauty, heart-wrenching story and atmosphere to spare and a style that only Team Ico could create. Now that I have thoroughly played through the game, the question is, was it worth the ten-year wait?

The Last Guardian transports you into the narrative of a man looking back on his time with the unique beast, Trico and his relationship with him and the bond they shared during their time together. The unnamed young boy wakes to find himself covered in tattoos that were not carved into him before, in any unknown castle type building and on top of that, with a large, injured beast he calls Trico. He gains the beasts trust by helping heal his wounds and feeding him to help him gain strength. As Trico begins to trust the young boy, the two of them join together to escape their captivity and form the most unlikely of friendships. Trico will eventually learn to listen to your commands, help you out with tough enemies and you will even help him get out of a few tight spaces too. It is this bond and this adventure that will make you fall in love with this game, especially if you already loved Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. This bond is very reminiscent of the bond formed with Yorda in Ico or Argo in Shadow of the Colossus and that makes the story all the more emotional and enchanting. This adventure and love between the boy and Trico will keep you invested and entranced despite the game’s shortcomings.

Even when you love a piece of media, it is important to still acknowledge and accept imperfections and flaws. While this game is stunning and emotional and artistic, it definitely shows a ten year age. My problems personally were with the camera and commands for Trico. The camera often would swing wildly and zoom in on the young boy far too often when I was trying to navigate and in general, I found it too tightly focused on him and the camera would often twitch or jerk when I would climb Trico to get on his back. I found it hard to get the boy to go from clinging to something to jumping. He was desperate to hang on, as if scared to make the leap I was trying to make, While that was almost interesting, as I could imagine a young boy being afraid to be told “Hey, jump from Trico’s head to this high ledge that is clearly dangerous”, it was more frustrating because I was trying to make it to the next area. Trico would also cause me frustrating moments, as much like a real animal, it was almost a gamble to give him a command as sometimes he would listen, sometimes he would just sit there and give me a whine. I also found Trico slow to complete commands, making me give an audible sign on more than one occasion. As much as I loved Trico as a character, as an aid in gameplay, I felt he was unpolished and clunky to control.

Overall, if you can overlook some major flaws in this game, it was very much worth the wait. The story and atmosphere more than makeup for the mechanical problems and the characters are completely charming and the story emotional and engrossing. I was hypnotized despite my frustrations and would recommend this to any Team Ico fan or someone who loves emotional stories of friendship and overcoming the odds.

0

Batman: The Telltale Series- Episode 4: Guardian of Gotham | REVIEW

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Meghan Kass

Batman continues its adventure with episode 4, titled Guardian of Gotham. Telltale has made some impressive and creative choices with their interpretation of Batman and its iconic characters and while this episode may not have the twists and turns of previous episodes, it still continues to intrigue and engage despite some technical setbacks. With a new game mechanic, new character added to the mix and the story being brought closer to its conclusion, can this episode lead up to a promising end for this story? Can this episode deliver another chilling chapter for the Batman? Let’s take a closer look.

After a startling conclusion, we begin this episode with Bruce in the infamous Arkham Asylum and he is proving to be the worse for wear. As it turns out, the facility is not exactly Disneyland and its orderlies and employees are not the most caring, understanding people.After some abuse from the employees and then being beaten two colorful patients, who comes to Bruce’s rescue but the clown prince himself, the Joker. While he is not “The Joker” in this episode, and simply John Doe, he still has his iconic green hair, white skin and wide grin. You have to chose to trust The Joker or not as he attempts to help you get out of your predicament and you can choose to take his help or get out on your own terms. This could mean causing a scene and making yourself look worse than you already do or putting others in danger to help yourself. Luckily Alfred is there to get you out of the hell you got yourself into and you can be on your way into getting your life back together. Unfortunately, there are a few hiccups.

An interesting addition to the game this episode were the effects Lady Arkham’s drugs have on you. During moments where the drugs are acting up, you may be given the choice to make a reasonable reply to a character during a dialogue, but what actually comes out of your mouth is uncharacteristically violent or angry. You have no control over what you say during these moments and it adds an element of tension in the game. I found myself verbally shouting  “That’s not what I meant at all!” when trying to talk to someone while the drugs were controlling me. Hopefully these responses won’t cause any long term effects on Bruce’s relationship with any of the characters. During all of this, you still need to investigate and figure out how Lady Arkham is transporting her drugs, what she plans on doing with them and how to stop her. You also need to try and control Harvey who is not on the best of terms with you and make sure the police are informed and make the best decisions. There is a lot on Batman’s plate and your choices could help or hinder him in his goal to get his life back from Cobblepot and Lady Arkham.

brucewayne

The only problem I had with this episode in particular were some technical issues. It was frustrating to see things like lag issues during certain points and even more frustrating when I experienced sound issues during a fight scene where there were no sound effects as tables were being hit and people were being thrown. If Telltale could have polished out these few issues, this episode would have been far more immersive. I will add, an element of the gameplay they added that I particularly enjoyed was a new small puzzle game where you had to match a chemical to your DNA to figure out a potential antidote for the drug,

Overall, this is a strong episode and has the potential to lead into a brilliant conclusion. If Telltale works on some of their technical setbacks, this could easily be one of their best stories to date. Only time will tell if this will end strong or end with a whimper.

 

0

Get the latest articles and news from BrokenJoysticks and a selection of excellent articles from other sources.

Simply fill out the form below and you’ll be on your way to getting our upcoming newsletter.