Almost exactly 7 years since Street Fighter IV came out for PS3, Xbox and Windows, Street Fighter V has released. With support for only two platforms at launch, PS4 and Windows, this is a more limited release. SteamOS support is coming “this spring” apparently. Sorry Xbox gamers, I don’t see anything planned yet for you. Unlike the version heck of the last release with Super, Ultra and Arcade Editions, this is going to be a unified online platform with players on any system able to match anyone. Considering the time between releases, and with that feature alone, this is an exciting event for fighting games. Street Fighter is the longest running fighter out there as far as I can figure, and created many of the ubiquitous tropes of the genre’s gameplay, including accidentally inventing combos in Street Fighter 2. In other words, if you’re into fighters at all, this game is big news. I played the game on Steam, where everything is already active and running. This release is well put together, as expected from Capcom.Read More
Any game is invariably going to be compared to its predecessors, or in lack thereof at least to other games in same genre. The same way that a sports title will never be judged purely on it’s own without comparison to previous iterations of the series, it’s hard not to compare Final Fantasy Explorers to other Final Fantasy titles. Or Monster Hunter.
I got a late start into the world of Monster Hunter, diving into Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the Nintendo 3DS a full three years after its release. Coming into Final Fantasy Explorers I had no idea how similar the two games were, and also how dissimilar they are.
Final Fantasy Explorers feels very much like a simplified version of what Monster Hunter is. Explorers is mostly a game where you go out into the world, defeating monsters, collecting items, and ultimately crafting better items and armor. And while Monster Hunter is extremely in depth, detailed and intricate, Explorers is much lighter and shallower of a gameplay experience.
That’s not to say that this game isn’t fun. Far from it. In fact Final Fantasy Explorers is refreshing with how much lighter it is.
The Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise has kept my interest for the past seven years thanks to creative writing, absolutely adorable characters, clever tongue-in-cheek lines and an intriguing battle system. With the latest adventure, Megadimension Neptunia V.II (that’s Vee two not “version 2”) the folks at Compile Heart have done an excellent job retaining what has made the series so great, while adding twists to the established formula with some new breakout characters as the icing on the Nep Nep cake.
Main characters (known as CPUs) in Megadimension Neptunia V.II represent consoles from the seventh generation (think Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii), just as they have for the entire series. This time around, the inhabitants of GameIndustri are preparing for the a time of change where the established nations of LeanBox, Planeptune, Lowee and Lastation transfer their belief to new CPUs. Returning characters like Noir and the ever peppy Neptune now must contend with the prospect of their shares (representing their land’s belief in them) shifting to the next generation of CPUs.
Narratively, the game’s story starts out quite interesting, especially when compared to games like Hyperdimension: Rebirth 1, whose story can quite awhile to kick into gear. What really helps Megadimension Neptunia V.II to stand out amongst the three main games in the series (their superior remakes) and multiple spin-offs is the use of three discrete “episodes” that all occur at different points in the series canon. The first, Zero Dimension Neptunia Z, transports Neptune and Nepgear into a doomed dimension from console generations past. If you thought that Compile Heart’s take on the 7th generation ere awesome just wait until you see their take on SEGA’s scrappy grey box from the late 90s! The second episode, Hyperdimension Game Neptune G returns us to the events in the “current” canon, focusing on the lives of the CPUs as a mysterious power causes ripples to appear in the bonds between all of them. It’s an interesting take to have all of the CPUs: Neptune, Noire, Blanc and Vert explore their private lives. The whole thing almost feels like anime episodes that give us small vignettes into the motivations of the main cast. I’ll leave the third episode as a complete surprise because it ties everything together. I feel quite refreshed that Compile Heart would take some risks in how it weaves the narrative and the multi-episodic approach is certainly welcome after the linear narrative of previous titles.
Gameplay in Megadimension: Neptunia VII shifts between two different styles – Visual novel style cut scenes with highly detailed 2D art and 3D dungeon exploration segments.
True to the presentation of other Hyperdimension titles, the 2D artwork fade as characters shift from pose to pose, if you’re looking for fluid 2D animation, the visual novel sections of Megadimension probably won’t do it for you. Thankfully compile heart’s characters are expressive as ever during the story scenes. Truly one of the great things about this series is how the writing makes self-referential material combined with jokes from the generations of games past without feeling like Neptunia is breaking the fourth wall too frequently. The English dub is also pretty great featuring the talent of Melissa Fahn reprising her on-going role of Neptune, Christine Marie Cabnos as NepGear, and Kate Higgins as Iffy, among other long time series voice talent. Interaction between light-hearted characters like Neptune and stern characters like Iffy really make this game for me. The voice talent and the writers have spent a lot of time with these characters and as they’ve matured and grown it becomes easier to appreciate the different dynamics that compose the bonds between our ensemble cast.
Dungeon exploration sections allow players to put together teams of three characters to clear out pre-built dungeons filled with some returning enemies and several original baddies created specifically for the episodes of Megadimension Neptunia VII. The party of three is able to explore the dungeons with the “leader” being the only character on screen until you come in contact with an enemy. At that point the game shifts from a large dungeon map to a smaller battle arena. Typically during my play through I’d want to bring 2 damage dealers and at least one character that has support abilities to ensure that my party stood a chance, although this is probably sound advice for any dungeon exploration RPG. Once you’ve got your basic item usage, magical abilities and statistical management abilities down the combo system used in combat becomes a worthwhile investment. Each character has three different ability types – the multi-strike Rush abilities, the hard hitting Power abilities and Standard attacks. Managing to use the correct combinations at the right time can mean the difference between a successful dungeon run and having to start your progress all over again.
Megadimension Neptunia VII deserves praise for its willingness to take risks with the established series formula when it comes to narrative. The gimmick of interweaving episodes allows us to see the same events from not only several different perspectives but different periods in Gameindustri’s history. Mechanically Megadimension does not really introduce anything that could be considered groundbreaking for the series – instead, it brings enhances from Victory and the Rebirth remakes to the PlayStation 4. Experiencing the visual novel style story bits were probably the most enjoyable part of the whole experience. It can be frustrating to grind out dungeons for some of the best loot, and losing your progress after a 40-minute dungeon run can be discouraging, but for series veterans like myself this shouldn’t deter the Nep Nep faithful. If you’ve wanted more of the absolutely awesome Compile Heart light-hearted comedy with one of the best new characters introduced to the series in some time then Megadimension Neptunia VII is the game for you!
It is 2016 and the political machine is being fired up and sent into overdrive. A firestorm of ads, interviews, fundraising, and debates are being thrown together one after another. Candidates from across the nation are kissing babies and shaking hands and doing everything in their power not to confuse the two! So with these things going on, the people at the Stardock Corporation has thrown together The Political Machine 2016, where the citizens of this great nation can enjoy all this fun and wacky times in video game form. While Stardock Corporation is not known for any big titles, this is the third game in the series. This game will show and hopefully teach you about the world of politics….I hope.
Going into this game, I felt like i knew enough about hot button issues and what to expect about how politics work, but what I did not know is how this game actually worked and if I could handle it. I started off the game on easy mode with 200% profits and the shortest amount of time. I basically wanted to see what being an overlord was like and having fame across the nation.
The game gives you an even amount of people to choose from, which is surprising, considering how the date this article was written, that it is still 2 Democrats & a small country’s worth of Republicans. The game brings in “what if” people like Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren to name a few.
On my first play through, I tried to think of who would make the best overlord. He would have to be a face in the media that everyone would know, has no problem saying what thinks and thinks what he says, rich, and someone who has the knowledge and personality of a bobble head….and then, he descended, like a gold encrusted hero to the people!
Trumpinator9000. (Seems like a name he would chose for himself if he was a beginning gamer.)Read More
I must say that I really appreciate developers who are still supporting DSiWare. Sure the Nintendo DSi is considered an old system now, what with the 3DS/3DS XL and New3DS on the market, plus the eventual release of the mysterious NX, but there are millions of people who own a DSi. Nearly 40 million DSi/DSiXL units were sold worldwide though the systems lifespan, so there is clearly a base of users there.
Crazy Train is the latest DSiWare title to hit the DSi Shop. And of course any DSiWare title can also be picked up in the 3DS eShop as well.
Crazy Train is an easy to learn and hard to master puzzle game that’s a highly addictive. In the game you’ll take the role of, well you, as you pitch in to help hopeless train director Lionel Steeltrack. He’s always loved trains but has lost his nerve and needs your help sending passenger and cargo trains to their correct stations! You’ll need to make sure that they not only make it to the proper station, but also don’t collide with one another. That would be bad.
On October 28th, 2015, Sony quietly filed a trademark application for the term “Let’s Play” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Approval of the application would give Sony the power to remove any “Let’s Play” branded content that they disapproved of, including reviews of games of their competitors and criticisms of their own console games, and, potentially, follow the route of Nintendo and take ad revenue from content creators.
Sony’s “Let’s Play” trademark application.
Luckily, one law firm stepped up and took action to stop Sony’s trademark application.
“The McArthur Law Firm has filed a Letter of Protest with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) on behalf of all members of the gaming community against Sony’s attempt to trademark the term “Let’s Play”. We became concerned about Sony’s shameless attempt to monopolize a generic term used by gamers throughout the world when it was reported earlier this week that the USPTO had issued an Office Action assessing Sony’s application. The USPTO’s Office Action failed to even raise genericism as a possible issue with the trademark.”
The McArthur Law Firm specializes in supporting “companies in the digital industry and especially… software companies, app developers, video game companies, medium sized companies trying to protect their brand”. They appear to be the perfect fit for taking on Sony’s trademark application. And it seems that they were.
Two weeks after the McArthur Law Firm filed their Letter of Protest, the United States Patent and Trademark Office agreed that “Let’s Play” is a generic term and refused Sony’s trademark application.
Part of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s argument for rejecting Sony’s “Let’s Play” trademark application.
The McArthur Law Firm noted that the two sources used in the refusal by the United States Patent and Trademark office were the first two of 50 that they provided in their Letter of Protest, suggesting that the refusal was based on the Letter of Protest. They have also confirmed that rejection is “far more lethal” to Sony’s application than the previous response by the USPTO that several sites erroneously claimed was a rejection previously. The McArthur Law Firm has stated that, with the newest refusal, “the term “Let’s Play” is now forever in the public domain.”
So it’s been a long time coming for the sequel to Homeworld & Homeworld 2, a solid 12 years and one bankruptcy in fact. When first published in 1999, Homeworld was a revolution in real time strategy, a fairly hot genre at the time being just over a year since the release of the original StarCraft., This game, although being created by much of the original team behind Homeworld, wasn’t originally going to be an official sequel, but rather a game titled ‘Hardware: Shipbreakers’. The game has been in development for five years though, and in the intervening time its developers, Blackbird Interactive (http://blackbirdinteractive.com), acquired the rights to the original IP, re-released Homeworld 1&2 (although sadly not the related, add-on Cataclysm) and retitled the game ‘Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. Blackbird Interactive is a team based in Vancouver Canada and as a company are relative newcomers, but with some very experienced folks at the helm.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak follows the story of the retrieval of the many ancient artifacts leading into the story of Homeworld 1. As Rachel S’jet, presumably closely related to Karan S’jet from the first game, you are a scientist on a militaristic research retrieval mission of the find of the century. A power source rivalling your sun has been found in the barren desert of a Kushan tribe. Although not really explored in background story of the first game, not everyone is happy with the idea of a return to space travel and advanced technology, and the tribe in that southern desert opposes your coalition’s pursuit of the Jaraci object at every turn.Read More
It’s an odd feeling writing a review about Hacknet, coming home from my software job while logged into a Linux desktop with a terminal window blinking and notes in my text editor. A browser lies obscured in the background with an email account waiting for attention. I’ve come home from work where there is another setup of the same text editor full of Python and notes, multiple chat and email clients running, log ins to hosting services showing list up list of servers I can access with a click from my terminal manager. Although it’s glitzy Hacknet OS is not quite like any real Unix system I’ve sat down to, it’s also not so far removed as to confuse me.Read More
For a number of reasons this review has been challenging and for those same reasons this review will actually have to be a two-part review. The first part of the review is based on the software itself while the second part based on the story.
It’s an odd way to do the review, but hear me out.
Petit Novel series – Harvest December is a collection of 13 stories set in the small, snowy town of Tagami. Follow Masaki Konno, a teenager prone to falling into sticky situations through his last year of high school. Each month is a new story that connects and leads up to the final installment, “Perfect December”. Sometimes heartwarming, sometimes violent, sometimes comical, often mystical – for Tagami is known to be a land where a god resides…
Originally released in Japan as a serial, with one story released over the course of a year, this is the whole series in one shot. The “game” retails for $11.99 in North America and each story was ¥200 a piece. When you think about it we got a better deal on this side of the Pacific.
Planning on blowing up DRM? You’ll need a Demolitions Permit, or a Just Cause.
The premise: The franchise’s protagonist, Rico Rodriguez, returns to his home, the fictional nation of Medici, which is now ruled by an oppressive militaristic regime under Generalissimo Sebastiano Di Ravello.
The results: Gloriously cheesy one-liners from a sexy man, and more explosions than the Fourth of July. What, that’s what “liberty” and “freedom” are all about, dontcha know?Read More
Hard West by PlayWay, was released November 18th, it was successfully Kickstarted back in September by over 4,000 people. Hard West is a new release in a small field of turn-based squad tactics games. This game comes from PlayWay, a newer developer perhaps best known for its Car Mechanic Simulator games. It’s not exactly a triple-A developing and publishing house, so it’s nice to see the inclusion of support for OSX, SteamOS (Ubuntu), and Windows.
If nothing else, the release is timed extremely well. This game has come out right before the holiday season, two years after the last X-Com releases and Shadowrun Returns. If you’re not a fan of the isometric Nintendo hand held tactics games, this is pretty much your newest choice.
An early mission showing how important positioning can be.
I can’t even start this Life is Strange review without worrying about how it’ll sound. That’s how this game has me: in a fluster of emotion, insecurity, and anger. This game perfectly embodies the high school experience – perhaps a little too well. While I am on in my years I remember my years in high school with a kind of clarity that set me on the path I took for college and, by proxy, the rest of my life. I don’t look back on those years fondly. When I purchased the game via the PlayStation Store I thought I was going to get a kind of Lean on Me experience that told a story that happened to kids that were in school and not highlight the school part of their lives so vividly; not only was I wrong but it felt as if part of the purpose of this game was to expose the player to a side of high school social life that the developers felt wasn’t talked about enough. However, this isn’t said to say that Life is Strange isn’t a good game or a good story: no, it’s just the opposite. What I’ll be talking about here is how you can use a good game as a vehicle to tell a compelling story that purposely goes out of its way to rub you the wrong way.
Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide for the PC from developer Fatshark is the newest entry in to the ever growing lore chest that is Games Workshop games. This one takes us for the first time in modern gaming in to the Warhammer Fantasy realm. Its a realm of Dwarves, Wizards, Elves, Humans and Greenskins, rather than Eldar, Orks, Humans, and Chaos. That doesn’t mean there isint any crazy stuff going on, indeed this is a world in as the title suggests “the end times”. Rat like Skaven have overrun the city you play in and its up to you and team of three other heroes to drive them up and prevent the end times.
It has to be said, this game is very much Warhammer Left 4 Dead. The mechanics aren’t the same, this is a First person weapon combat games (swords and sorcery) left 4 dead is a shooter. The game itself suffer from no issue I was able to find in my playtime, and perhaps most importantly it has a ton of depth that i Left 4 dead lacks. The game has a semblance of a crafting system, a fairly deep engaging loot system that involves rolling dice. The loot system feels exciting even if it is mostly just random chance. There are items to collect for each class and three trinket unlock slots for as you level up. The forge system requires raw materials that can be collected and broken down from various weapons and other things in game. All right back to those Skaven, remember them? Rat like humanoid creatures that want to mess up your day? You the player must select from one of the 5 unique classes (waywatcher, witchhunter, dwarf, wizard, soldier) and take to one of the games 13 levels to beat back the (literal) vermintide. There is no central plot in the game, rather the developers have opted to use a hub and spoke configuration, where there is a central inn where crafting is done, missions are selected and parties are created, the party then deploys to the selected mission. Although to start off there are only a handful of missions to play, as you level up more unlock, and each has 5 difficulty levels to play if you really start to feel bored. Each level feels unique, with beautiful set pieces pulled right from Warhammer Fantasy battles. The massive Gothic town you battle in and around has a living breathing feel to it, with metal, wood, and stone that befit the motif of a fantasy battles city. I really cant say enough about how well atmosphere is done in this game, its always sort of dim, the lighting makes if feel perfectly at home in the fantasy world, and the Gothic touches really take it over the top.
This is a review of Undertale that is 100% spoiler free. Reasons why are given in the review but I want you all to understand that this is a very difficult game to review because of this very reason. Almost any detail, even from the game’s own store page, can harm your first experience should you learn it. Knowing this, if you wish to not even risk reading this carefully written review then just know that my verdict is as follows; buy Undertale and play it as soon as possible.Read More
After seventeen and a half years, StarCraft has certainly been with some of us for a long time. A good chunk of us may have enjoyed passing around a single copy and “Spawning” others on a LAN to play multiplayer with in our early gaming years. Heck, even from a gameplay standpoint its expansion “Brood War” is a shining pinnacle of the genre as a whole, loved and embraced by many.
Unlike certain other Blizzard Entertainment launches, StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void’s launch went off without a hitch, at least in North America, after being phased in region by region around the globe, and it felt good to dive right into the action. For the multiplayer, the new units are going to shake up the meta for a while, but for a lower tier player like me I still have no idea how to work that new Adept into my Protoss army just yet, though the return of Lurkers and the new Terran units are certainly a lot of fun.Read More
