Fire Emblem Warriors | Review

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Meghan Kass

In 2014,  Hyrule Warriors was released by Koei Tecmo, Ninja Theory and Omega Force. These developers had a novel idea, to combine Dynasty Warriors and The Legend of Zelda. It was a beautiful game that got better than average critical reception and was a unique use of both the combat style of Dynasty Warriors and the characters and world of Legend of Zelda. It is now 2017 and it has brought with it a new entry into this fusion of Nintendo franchises and Dynasty warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors. While Ninja Theory and Omega Force stayed on the development team for this game, Koei Tecmo was not involved and instead Intelligent Systems contributed their talents. Does the change make the difference? Has 3 years been enough to learn and improve on the already well done Hyrule Warriors to make Fire Emblem Warriors the best possible product?

 

In short, Fire Emblem Warriors is fine. It is on par with Hyrule Warriors, if not graphically more impressive. As far as the gameplay is concerned, the major change between Hyrule and Fire Emblem is the tactical element. In keeping with classic Fire Emblem, you can issue your warriors tactical commands along with the game having the hack and slash Dynasty Warrior combat. This tactical element definitely improves this game as you can more easily manage characters to go to certain areas of a map or perform certain tasks to complete your goals. Of course, you can also switch between certain characters when needed as per usual Dynasty Warriors gameplay. Unfortunately, unless you are playing on the hardest difficulty, the game is not hard and does not a lot of strategy to get through. If you are looking for a challenge, start on the hardest difficulty and just jump right in. I personally breezed through missions on normal mode and would occasionally go back and replay some missions on the hardest difficulty just to challenge myself. There is also an easy mode as well if you have trouble with hack and slash type games. The game does increase in difficulty a bit as you go on, but after getting used to the gameplay and mission types, it shouldn’t be a problem. Local or, “Couch” co-op is also available for this game just like Hyrule Warriors. I found the co-op to be fun, though the split screen can be a little squashed and at times the game would lag if there were too many enemies on the screen at one time which was quite annoying considering the appeal of Dynasty Warriors lies in the destruction of many enemies at once. Surprisingly, the controls for multiplayer on the Switch were better than anticipated. I did not think splitting the joycons was going to work and I would have to buy a whole new controller, but to my surprise they were fine split up and it didn’t really hinder the gameplay.

If it feels I am focusing mostly on the gameplay, that is because that is the meat and potatoes of this game. There is a story, but it is fairly lackluster compared to the gameplay. You start as either Rowan or Lianna and you must join with various Fire Emblem characters must stop evil from being revived and destroying the world by finding “Gleamstones” and recruiting warriors to help in the fight.

Overall, this is a fun and well made game that is a welcome addition for Fire Emblem and Dynasty Warriors fans. If you enjoyed Hyrule Warriors, this should definitely be on your radar. Unless you are not into Fire Emblem at all, you should definitely check this game out and enjoy all the fun of Fire Emblem’s world with some Dynasty Warrior flavor.

 

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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.

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NBA Playgrounds | Review

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Meghan Kass

When I was young, I played quite a bit of sports games. I especially favored the NES and SNES sports games. I have fond memories of Tecmo Bowl, Excitebike, Punch Out, Super Tennis and of course NBA Jam. Ever since then, I have fallen out of favor with sports games and mostly thought it would be a genre I wouldn’t be inclined to return to. What a surprise to me that when I played NBA Playgrounds for the Nintendo Switch, many of the same feelings of fun I had playing those old sports games came back to me and gave me nostalgic feelings for NBA Jam. The question remains, however, how does the game hold up without the rose colored glasses of my youth?

NBA Playgrounds is the product of publisher  Mad Dog Games, developer Saber Interactive and the NBA who officially licensed the game. The player competes in 2 v 2 games by first opening packs of digital cards to obtain players to recruit for games. These card packs are the only way to gain players and come in either gray packs or gold colored packs. Gold packs contain more popular and valuable players to use, After you open your card packs, it is then time to pick 2 to be your team and 2 to be the opposing players. Each player has stats that reflect the skills the athlete excels or lacks in such as dunking, blocking, stealing, 2 pointers, 3 pointers…etc. When the players are chosen, you start your game which can be an exhibition game, online or tournament game. Play a quick one-off game against AI in exhibition matches, play against real players in online mode or try your hand at winning a tournament. As you play more, you level up as do your athletes which helps your skills in games by making moves easier to pull off.

My main issue with NBA Playgrounds is actually with its card collecting. I find the game gives you poor odds in getting various players with stats that can even out your team. While I may not be the biggest sports fan, I can imagine this will be incrementally more frustrating for those players who are fans and want to have a chance to play as their favorite  I do, however, commend the developers for deciding against the temptation to insert microtransactions into the game. The card packs were an easy way to entice players to spend more money, but the only way to get the cards is to play the game. All too often we see developers following the siren call of microtransactions, so to see a game decide against it was a pleasant surprise. It may be a long journey to earn those cards you want, but it’s worth it to see a developer set a good example. Not only does it save the game from the growing criticism of microtransactions and its exploitation, but it also makes the game additionally nostalgic of the days when buying a whole game meant you get the full experience and had to earn rewards and unlockables.

Even though it may take you awhile to get your dream team in card packs, getting there is the fun. The game is simply fun to play. It is very much in the same vein as NBA jam. The arcade style makes it convenient for those who are busy and don’t have much time for gaming to be able to play a quick game and then return to their obligations or for someone else to just keep playing as long as they desire to level up and complete their card collection. Both NBA Playgrounds and NBA Jam have 2 v 2 games as opposed to 3 v 3 setups and just like NBA Jam, playgrounds allows you to not only steal the ball from your opponent, but you can even push or knock them down. The style for playgrounds is slightly more super deformed and cartoonish, but they way the players move and are animated is also very much in the same spirit as NBA Jam, especially all the unique ways of dunking.

Overall, this game is very recommended for not only fans of sports games, but those with a nostalgia for NBA Jam. At the price of $20 USD, it is well worth the trip back to the 90’s. You may get a bit frustrated at the idea of having to grind for particular athletes you want on your roster, but the gameplay makes it more than worth it. It may not be NBA Jam, but its the next best thing we currently have to satisfy your craving.

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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.

 

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Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle | Review

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Meghan Kass

When Ubisoft and Nintendo decided they wanted to join forces to create a mashup of two great franchises, both had some great characters to chose from. The most obvious choice of franchise from Ubisoft would have to be the Rayman franchise and Nintendo could never go wrong using Mario to contribute to a game. One might think Ubisoft would use Rayman himself to team up with Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom crew and also his colorful friends such as Globox, Betilla the Fairy and maybe even an Annetta Fish, but then Ubisoft surprised everyone by using one of the most polarized groups of characters ever created, the Rabbids. Some find them charming, some find them insufferably annoying, but it was certain they would get attention, scrutinous or otherwise. As the gaming community raised an eyebrow at this bizarre concept, many questioned if Ubisoft had made a terrible mistake; only the final product of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle would tell us if it was.

One surprise was the backstory of this mashup. In a complicated scene, we find that a young inventor who is a big fan of Mario has created a device that can combine two items into a single entity. This device is called the “SupaMerge helmet”. As fate would have it, the Rabbids enter the scene, causing mayhem like they usually do, and end up combining themselves with some beloved Mario characters and then creating a vortex that takes them to the Mushroom Kingdom. This disrupts the Kingdom immensely and now the Mario crew and the nice Rabbids must put it all right by defeating enemies, both Rabbid and Mushroom Kingdom.

The game is a turn based tactical game, much like X-Com. You move your characters in a grid formation based on how you want to attack the enemies, hide from the enemies or defend your fellow party members and proceed with your turn and fulfil whatever winning criteria is given to you. This could mean defeating all enemies, defeating a particular number of enemies or reaching the other end of the map. You have special abilities for your characters are level up and special secondary weapons that are available to you. I was personally a huge fan of Luigi’s sentries and vacuums as well as Rabbid Peach’s Sentries which follow an enemy and do a large attack by blowing up a certain area, causing damage. It is especially useful if you need to keep your distance from certain enemies that get extra moves like the smashers. If you are afraid that this game might be watered down from other turn-based strategy games or not challenging enough, you will be pleasantly surprised by Mario + Rabbids. There is a fair amount of challenge in this game without being overwhelming or terribly frustrated and if you are not familiar with this style of game or are in a tough situation, you can trigger an easy mode to get you through to the next level. Alternatively, if you find the game too easy, you can play on a higher difficulty. This game caters to all types of gamer preferences. I personally stayed on normal mode and found it enjoyable. There are also some interesting puzzles along the way to solve in between each level. They aren’t particularly hard but do keep the momentum going.

 

Where the game loses me is the concept itself. The idea of combining Rabbids and Mario is very jarring and it never really immersed me. I feel you could have replaced both of these and still had the same game. If this was a purely Mario turned based tactic game, it might have seemed to make more sense, or if it was even just a Rabbid/Rayman game it would have been better, but the combination just doesn’t work together. I found the individual characters fun and amusing and Ubisoft redeemed the Rabbids for me with the Peach Rabbid in particular, but the whole finished project just never hit home for me. Over all, this fun and worth playing and a great addition to the turn-based tactical genre, even if all elements don’t completely work. If you are looking for a well made turn-based game, you should pick this up for the Switch.

 

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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.

 

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Miitopia | Review

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Meghan Kass

Since the beginning of story telling, tales have been told about brave warriors combating and defeating the forces of evil. From Greek myths to comic book heroes, the concept of heroes banding together has been done in many different ways, inspiring the audience’s imagination and creating fantasies of themselves as one of those brave heroes. As video games grew and matured as a medium, people could now go from simply hearing, seeing or reading stories of brave heroes to playing the brave hero and feeling closer and closer to that feeling of saving the world from evil. Now, it is up to you to create and cast the warriors and even the great evil with your Miis with Nintendo’s newest game, Miitopia.

Miitopia is all about the fun of putting your friends or favorite characters from fiction into the roles of the damsels, kings and warriors and seeing them all interact. Are you mad at someone at work or school? Let them take the role of the Dark Lord and let out your aggression through your Mii. Want to see if your one true pairing from your favorite TV show will make it? This game allows you to play it out and see if a relationship build. This game’s main appeal is its whimsical, humorous atmosphere and customization. I spent hours amused doing quests for some of my favorite actors, characters and friends and seeing how my friend’s Miis interacted. It is charming, cute and endearing and a great use of the Mii system. I also enjoyed seeing how  creative the Miis on the Mii network were. Some were sculpted beautifully and really represented their character well. It also makes interesting use of amiibos by allowing for different items to customize your Mii character with. If you have your Tomodachi save files, you can also transfer character data to this game.

The actual gameplay of Miitopia is simple enough. You obtain a quest, watch your character walk through different locations and if you encounter an enemy sent by the Dark Lord you must defeat them in a turn based style combat. Your goal is to rescue innocent people’s faces from the Dark Lord and return the world to how it was before the Dark Lord caused mischief. It is simple to learn and very light hearted. Your relationship with your fellow party members affects the battle in different ways as well. If you are fighting with a party member, they might inconvenience you out of spite and the better your relationship with your party, the more bonuses you get and the more help they offer. You build these relationships in battle, on the road through random events or at the inns you find where you can also eat and buy new gear.

This is also the issue with Miitopia. It is very repetitive and can get a little tiresome after the first few hours. The ability to learn other classes and abilities keeps the game from being so boring I wanted to stop, but there still is not much to the actual gameplay. Unless you like customization and the novelty of seeing an avatar of your friends or favorite characters in funny situations, this game probably will not have enough to keep you interested for long. The abilities aren’t any more unique from other RPGs and the story is not very nuanced or original either.

Overall, this is a whimsical game with a lot of fun to offer as far as customization and silly situations, but beyond that, there is not much more to it. Have some laughs, see if you can make your favorite characters fall in love and defeat the evil Dark Lord, if this sounds appealing then you will want to pick this game up, but maybe wait for a sale.

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Ever Oasis | Review

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Meghan Kass

New from developer Grezzo and published by Nintendo, Ever Oasis joins the 3DS library to answer the age old question “what happens if you combine Monster Hunter with Animal Crossing?”. While this may not be a question players may not have thought to ask, Ever Oasis offers a fun, unique experience that people will be happy got answered.

The art style of Ever Oasis is very cute and colorful. The locations are beautiful and vast. The desert is a beautiful gold, shining color that changes colors throughout the day. The caves have beautiful dark blue and purple tones with bright colors splashed throughout depending on the items and materials you can collect. There is bright waters and flora in your Oasis and overall the palette is beautiful and the actual structures have beautiful shapes and designs that will definitely catch your eye and keep you exploring. The characters are in a super deformed, child like style and come in a variety of colors and fashions. From the seedlings to the merchant s to the Noots, you will not get bored of these characters whose personalities are just as unique as their designs. Overall, this is a very pretty game to look at.

 

Ever Oasis’ gameplay revolves around the idea of you maintaining your oasis and fighting enemies to keep the peace for your residents and keep everyone happy. Some of the people that come into your Oasis want to sell goods, some want to buy goods, and some want to help you in your journey of exploration and peace. Esna, your water spirit guide, will assist you and give you advice along the way, and there are friendly merchants who also will help give you helpful tips and even gear or potions. You decide who you need for a quest you want to go on and travel to various caves and locations to reach your goals. You will need different classes in your party to solve various puzzles that will roadblock you from completing your quest. These classes have skills that include being able to become a cannon ball, break boulders, fly above canyons and fit through small holes to get into a room that is locked. Part of the strategy is finding out who you will need. Completing quests not only helps you continue the story of your seedling and Esna and obtain more villagers, but exploring in general helps you obtain more materials and more materials means expanding your Oasis and creating a more lovely place for your residents Materials also are required to stock your merchant’s stores which mean more shoppers which make your merchant residents happy.

The Monster Hunter aspect comes in when you have to fight the Chaos and other various enemies. You will enter a battle and the fighting is in real time and use various buttons and combinations of buttons to execute attacks and target your enemy. You will need certain types of weapons that the enemy is weak against and collect materials they drop, much like Monster Hunter. You will sometimes need special materials for certain quests or items. The battle mechanics are not entirely new or revolutionary, but it is fun enough and pretty smooth in execution. If you have played Monster Hunter or a similar type of game you will pick this up pretty quickly and even if you haven’t, the mechanics are not hard to learn. It is the puzzle solving aspect of the gameplay that kept me more entertained than the battles in the end, but the battles were still well done.

Ever Oasis is a very charming, fun game with creative aesthetics, characters and filled with a lot of content to discover and explore. If you like Animal Crossing and like the gameplay of Monster Hunter you will find a fun combination in Ever Oasis. Get lost in the visuals, expand your Oasis and bring peace to a chaotic world on the 3DS.

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The Final Station | REVIEW

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Meghan Kass

The Final Station is the base game coming to you from development team Do Our Best games and publishers Tinybuild Games . This game is quickly gaining fans and it is easy to see why; with a story that is full of intrigue, interesting game play that challenges you and plenty of content it’s hard to not see why so many are enjoying this game and why it is starting to get add ons and DLC to add to the experience. Do Our Best has definitely delivered something special and the team is definitely passionate about this project. After watching the trailer, the game definitely grabbed my attention and I am happy it did not disappoint.

The Only Station throws you right in the middle of the scene. You are conducting a train in the middle of what appears to be some sort of illness or epidemic going around. In the beginning it is simply your job to keep passengers  safe and healthy and of course to find the key code for the next train to continue. This could entail something as easy as asking a coworker for the code, to having to travel and perform a favor for it or find it hidden somewhere. As the game progresses, the mystery begins to reveal itself. There are monsters and an  illness and you caught in the middle just trying to get passengers to safety. You may have to fight your way through hordes of enemies, but you are on your mission to get that train to its next stop and find the next code that keeps the train running. You can choose to continue saving these passengers or you can let them die and loot their bodies for money and supplies. As for the deeper nuances of the story, you can explore and read fan theories and speculate, but some parts are left a purposeful mystery to add to the fun.

The aesthetic of this game is entirely pixelated retro style. Everything is very blocky without much detail in the design, but that can work to the game’s advantage. I found the silhouetted enemies to be quite alarming at times along with the survival aspect of the game. You need to budget your ammo and tactically plan your way around the world and not waste your resources. I found it took some getting used to when it came to aiming your gun to shoot down your enemies, as when you are moving your arm to aim your gun, it can be slightly sensitive and make it more difficult to aim and hit your mark and it can make you waste bullets. If you can get past the less than perfect combat and hordes of enemies, what you have is truly something special. Discovering this world, finding secrets and unraveling the mysteries of this game are what really make this game worth playing. It is clear the team behind this spent a lot of time weaving this story for their audience with care, making sure to carefully place all the hints, easter eggs and answers deliberately.

Overall, The Final Station base game is truly something special. It is an indie gem that deserves the following and attention it has gotten and then some. I look forward to playing the DLC and continuing the story and learning more about this dystopian world and what it has to offer. You can play it now on Steam or XBox One. If you enjoy eerie atmosphere, mystery and pixel art, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Each level is short enough for those who don’t have long periods of time to play games or you can binge the game, it’s up to you. All aboard and enjoy the ride of the Final Station.

 

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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.

 

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Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 | Review

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Meghan Kass

I am not the biggest expert in first person shooter games, even tactical shooters, especially ones that are in a realistic setting. I do not play Call of Duty regularly, EA’s Battlefield or other games of the like, so when I was shown Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 (brought to us by CI Games) for review,  I knew this would be slightly out of my normal comfort zone. I am, however, not afraid to explore outside of my usual genre tastes and was ready to snipe some enemy targets trying to steal a stockpile of abandoned bio-weapons from the Russian-Ukrainian border and get involved in some very suspicious activity. With what looked like a game full of intrigue, drama and even some romance, would I find love in this genre of game? Maybe not, but what I had was an interesting experience nonetheless.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 puts you in the shoes of a man named Jonathan North who is in the United States Marines with his brother Robert. The two of them are sent on a mission to the Russian-Ukrainian border to stop targets from obtaining bio-weapons. Things take a strange turn after the brothers are ambushed by a unique special forces unit and Jon must work for them after Robert was captured. With the assistance of a man named Frank Simms and a Georgian woman named Lydia you must complete sniping missions and do the bidding of these unidentified special forces and save your brother.

The most glaring flaw in this game for me was not in the story or gameplay, which are both passable, but the graphics. I found the character models at times, hard to look at; they are nestled right in the uncanny valley and can seem very marionette-like at times. At its best, the targets you need to snipe from a distance look passable. The scenery and settings are also tolerable, but I found there were some issues with scenery looking cut off if I was ducking in some foliage or if I walked with my gun near some rocks or trees or bushes. In the game’s favor, the overhead shots from the drone did look beautiful and it was a shame there is such a difference in quality from the scenery and character models. Load times were also a cumbersome trial as some were up to 5 minutes long and the blood spatter effects on the camera sometimes looked cheap and distracting during gameplay.

 

 

This game’s strongest point is in its gameplay. I found the actual sniping to be an interesting mechanic, but that may possibly be because this is still a fairly fresh type of game for me. I found it interesting that you had to adjust your gun to get the best shot, use the drone to find targets and wait out for the perfect opportunity to strike down your enemy. I liked that it was not just simply run and gunning, but you needed to be smart about what weapon to use, where to snipe from and when to shoot. The only problem I had with the actual gameplay was finding it difficult to determine what you could climb, what you couldn’t climb and where you could interact with the environment. The story is also passable; while not inspired or full of unexpected plot turns, it deviates enough from the usual WW2 or typical Middle Eastern stereotypes that the genre has relied on for years, instead choosing a location that is not be too boring or offensive.

Overall, this is a game that is not terribly good or terribly bad – it’s what you’d call mediocre or average. If you enjoy this genre, you have more than likely played better versions of this game with other AAA franchises. Really, I could only recommend this if you are truly itching for something new in between more anticipated titles like COD WW2 and whatever the next Battlefield happens to be. The gameplay is good enough to keep you entertained, but the graphics, technical issues and less tstellarller story won’t leave any lasting impressions.

 

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Puyo Puyo Tetris | REVIEW

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Meghan Kass

One staple in video games that seems to carry over generation after generation is Tetris. Most people know about this game and most have played it at some point in their life. You would be hard pressed to find someone who has never come across this game at some point in their life. Another series of puzzle tile games that many have come across in some form is Puyo Puyo. If you have played Doctor Mario, you have played something like Puyo Puyo even if you haven’t realized it. What Sega has brought to us is two great flavors together at last.  I was particularly excited for this game since I got word of it and playing it was pretty much what I was hoping for.

 

The first interesting thing about Puyo Puyo Tetris is the story mode and the style of the art used for this game. The game is very bright, colorful and cheerful. The story is definitely not a Greek tragedy to say the least. It’s the lighthearted adventures of some Earthlings getting very mixed up with some space people, oh, and of course I can’t forget the romance between one of the characters and “The Dark Prince” which leads to the threat of the world. Eventually the Tetris space people and Puyo Puyo Earthlings must band together to save everyone, but of course they occasionally fight each other as well. The story is definitely superfluous, but immensely enjoyable and cute. What the story mode really does is offer some fantastic challenges. As you progress in the story mode, the challenges get more and more intense and honestly, even a Tetris veteran like myself had some difficulty with the challenges, especially the fast paced time challenges that offered little room for error, such as when you have to gain a certain amount of points in 30 seconds. Although frustrating at times, once you conquer a level, the feeling of satisfaction you get is hard to beat. I felt great excitement finding a new strategy or thinking out how to obtain more Puyo chain combos or multiple Tetris lines and beating whatever challenge came my way. It also helped, to see my opponent baffled in defeat and allowing me to progress the story which unlocked new fun characters and more fun challenges. This is a game that does not allow for boredom if you are a puzzle fan. If you want to skip the story, you can also play Arcade or other solo modes, but then you can’t do as much customization or collect new characters.

 

Story mode is not all there is to this game, there is also an interesting multiplayer mode. The multiplayer mode has traditional battle mode which allows you to sit with your friend on the couch seeing who is the best in Tetris or Puyo. Are you better at Puyo and your friend is better at Tetris? Well, you can play one game while your friend plays the other and you can see who is better when you both play the games you are best at. I did this, and I can say, it was much more fun being evenly matched than her being constantly defeated by me at Puyo or me being constantly defeated by her at Tetris. It allowed for us both to play on even footing. There is also a fun switch mode that allows you to switch off between Puyo and Tetris every 30 seconds until one opponent loses at one of the games. There is fusion mode that combines both Puyo and Tetris in one new chaotic game where Puyo and Tetris meet and you need to arrange tiles using Puyo chains and Tetris lines to clear your board and use Tetriminos to crush Puyos that may be putting you at risk. Big Bang mode has you throwing attacks at your opponent and vice verse to see who will be the last man standing, party mode to see who can have the most points at the end of two minutes while obtaining buffs and throwing debuffs and roadblocks to your opponent and of course there is endless mode, the ultimate endurance test, but if you can’t get your friends over, there is also online play as well for endless Puyo Puyo Tetris fun.

 

The only downside to this game for me were some slight control issues. Sometimes the controls would be too sensitive and cause a rotation to be off or placed incorrectly. I found myself using the D pad on the PS4 version of the game only because the joystick was not accurate to what I was intending to do with a piece. I eventually adapted to the controls after playing a while and played to my best abilities, but it is something to keep in mind.

 

With a fun, humorous, silly story, plenty of challenges and lots of replay value for any puzzle fan, this is a must have game and recommended for the casual and hardcore player alike. Try it on any available console today!

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Walking Dead: A New Frontier- Episode 4 “Thicker Than Water” | Review

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Meghan Kass

There is one issue I find with the episodic format for games, and that is also the same problem I have with television episodes as well; sometimes you get episodes that are just bridges to bigger idea or moment instead of entertaining moments in and of themselves and leave you feeling a little less than fulfilled, yet still wanting more because of the implications of what’s to come. As the penultimate episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier comes and goes, I can’t help but feel a little hungry for more, and not in the best of ways.

 

Walking Dead: A New Frontier episode four opens with a family moment from before the Walkers became a problem. We join Javier and David hitting baseballs at the batting cages with the choice of either showing off and upsetting David or being humble. Either way, David proposes you look after his family when he joins the military. This moment highlights the major difference between New Frontier and past Walking Dead seasons. We are reminded that our protagonists are not a found family as in previous seasons, but a family that is already established and even has biological attachments. While we had characters in the past that were already a family (such as Kenny, Katjaa and Kenny Jr.) they were never focused on. Looking back on the past of this family in moments like this helps build a connection not just to the individual characters, but to the family as a whole. One may hate David, but there is a complexity to the story that makes you feel for the family and wants them to be rejoined regardless of past sins. That of course, does not change your ability to choose others over blood relations such as David. You get to truly decide if blood is “thicker than water” or not. Me personally, I got quite frustrated with David and often made choices that were not in his best interest regardless of how torn I felt doing it.

 

 

These conflicted, strong feelings are what Telltale thrives in, and you get quite a few of these moments in episode four, but unfortunately they happen mainly at the end of the episode. Most of the episode is escaping your current stuck situation and getting out of Richmond with ideally the whole family, both blood and found. You make various choices based on who you want to be loyal to and what you feel the best plan of escape is. Aside from actually implementing the plan and making your attempt, the episode doesn’t offer much until the end when some big plot points and choices happen and a beautifully bittersweet flashback involving Clem, that only further emphasized what a nurturing and caring girl she has grown to be. At times, I had a hard time staying invested in most of the episode because it just felt like a long series of steps to take to get to the real story and when the story finally picked up, it was the end.
Overall, while the episode offered some strong, small moments and a fantastic bang of an end, the majority of the episode seems to be a means to an end. If this was part of a single long video game or a movie, it would be a small, low key, quiet part and wouldn’t feel nearly as unsatisfying. As an episode of a once per month story, I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. I can only hope the grand finale will be worth the wait and if the ending is any indication, I look forward to seeing what The Walking Dead has in story for its audience.

 

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Vikings: Wolves of Midgard | Review

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Meghan Kass

Hack and slash games have been a favorite genre of game of mine for a long time. From Devil May Cry to God of War, they are full of adrenaline-fueled excitement and of course, plenty of action and enemies to slay. The newest to the genre is Vikings: Wolves of Midgard and while this may seem like a Diablo clone ready to be forgotten by time, there is a charm and fun to this game that should be given more than just a quick glance.

 

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard has you chose the role of Viking or Shield Maiden and throws you into the world of Norse mythology. From the shores of Midgard you defend your village against Ragnarok itself. The winters are getting colder, and now the Jotan are out and seeking revenge against the gods of Asgard themselves. As part of a band of surviving Vikings, it is up to you to defend your home and survive, even if it means leaving a road of blood behind you. You travel to different locations for various reasons, usually to save someone from your clan or defeat enemies that are threatening your village. There are opportunities to show mercy and gain the help and loyalty of your defeated enemies or completely annihilate them and leave no survivors.

 

The gameplay is very reminiscent of various ARPG / hack and slash games. You have your basic slow/fast attack and one skill to start out with. Depending on which Norse god you want to focus on, you can choose new skills to use against your enemies or buff yourself. I focused mostly on my favorite Norse God, Thor, and used my skill points to gain new storm and strength-based abilities.

The action is rapid and fast paced, all from the birds’ eye view of a top-down perspective. You make your way through an area, wiping out dozens of enemies and finding the treasure before defeating a boss. I found these boss battles to be the most interesting parts of gameplay. They provided some challenge and I often found myself needing to strategize and find out what abilities to use in particular situations and how the bosses telegraph their attacks – which indicated when they were going to come after me with an attack. While many might not find the enemies to be particularly difficult, I found some battles to be interesting and enough of a challenge to keep me wanting more. After defeating areas, you are treated to more story in the form of a narrator telling you the game’s tale. You’ll then go back to your  village to upgrade your armor, weapons or take on special “Trials of the God”s. 

As much as I had fun with this game, I could not help but notice some glaring flaws. Enemies would freeze or not vanish after death, I had gotten stuck in corners of the world geometry multiple times and faced some lag issues as well. I also found it strange that in the main village hub area, there is no alter to level up at and often wished in between areas, I could level up and chose my skills without having to go to my next mission and search for it to progress.

Overall, if you are looking for a fun hack and slash action RPG, this will satisfy your craving. Diablo fans will enjoy the gameplay and the Norse setting and story is fun, if not a bit cheesy in the dialogue at times. Try it out, but maybe wait for a sale to pick it up.Unless you are a huge fan of this genre of game, it may be too repetitive and too buggy to warrant buying it at full price.

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Wonderboy: The Dragon’s Trap | Review

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Meghan Kass

Back in the ancient year of 1989, there was a game called Wonderboy III: The Dragon’s Trap. This game was the third in the Wonderboy series, brought to us by Sega. These platformer/action adventure games about Wonder Boy trying to undo the curse that changes him into various monsters was well received and given a lot of love by critics and gamers alike.It was praised for its beautiful, colorful sprites and backgrounds, its challenging gameplay and overall fun. Fast forward to 2016 and an indie developer Lizardcube and publisher DotEmu announced a remake of Wonderboy III, appropriately calling it Wonderboy: Dragon’s Trap. Now, as of April 18th, 2017 the remake is released. Was this remake worth the effort? Did it do the original justice? And is it worth the price?

 

The first major difference to be noted are the graphics. Lizardcube gave the game a complete overhaul and new style. Still bright and colorful, but more of a gradient and definitely less blocky than the original. The models look far more like the animals and humans they supposed to be and the detailing has been greatly increased. This is only logical considering the advances games have made graphically, but the style stands on its own merits. It has a cute, super deformed style for the humans and a smooth, round, chubby look for the rest of the enemies and characters. This was definitely an upgrade from the original. You can even see a comparison by switching from the “retro” style to the remade style. I switched back and forth multiple times and was astounded at the change. It made me appreciate Lizardcube’s efforts even more. The animations were more realistic looking too. Sword swings looked smoother, the fire faded the further it traveled and had more of a gradient in color and the facial expressions on enemies as they were hit was extremely satisfying.

 

Not comparing it to the original, the game for me still stood on its own. It is a challenging action platformer. You make your way through each level, fighting various colorful enemies until you reach a boss; unfortunately, this boss will inevitably change you into a beast of some sort. Wil you be a lizard? A mouse? A lion? Who knows what each new form you will take. What I enjoyed most was the new skills each form gave you. It made each level fresh and not as repetitive as a retro platformer can tend to get. I also loved that you could go to previous levels and use your new skills to get to new areas you couldn’t previously. My only complaint came from some of the controls not doing exactly what I wanted when I gave the command. Sometimes jumps wouldn’t stick correctly or an attack hit like I expected it to. It didn’t happen for most of the game and overall the experience seemed fair, although quite challenging as a retro gaming experience should.

 


After all is said and done, this is a wonderful remake and action platforming experience. If you enjoy old school gaming experiences, this is definitely worth the price. The beautiful art, whimsical soundtrack and fun gameplay make for a full, enjoyable experience that will take you back in time with a fresh coat of paint, or you could even have the full retro experience if you wish. It is worth the price for fans of platformers looking for just a little more than a straight port of a nostalgic favorite. Customers can buy this game for the PS4, Xboxone and in June it will be available for the PC. Go wild and have fun!

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