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Mighty No. 9 Review

July 3, 2016 dan

With its constant delays and the horrible business practices surrounding it, people thought the elusive Mighty No. 9 would never actually come out. Especially if you’re like me and have been following it since the Kickstarter was announced, three years ago. And hey, there’s good reason to lose hope. It seemed like this game just could never get away from delays. Hell, even the survey for the backers got delayed. But then, on June 21st, 2016, it happened. The magical day, it finally released.

Except the 360 version. Even after this game releases it still can’t get away from being delayed.

The general consensus of the reviews for Mighty No. 9 has been that it’s mediocre at best. Is this the case, or are these reviews overstating it? Is it as poor an excuse of a Mega Man successor as everyone is saying, or is there at least something there? Let’s take a look at it without keeping in mind the context around it, and just as what it was intended to be: A platformer intended to succeed Mega Man. Hopefully it doesn’t make me cry like an anime fan on prom night.

Gameplay

Out of all the things Mega Man is known for, the franchise’s biggest claim to fame is its genius level design and control. Seeing as how Mega Man is a golden standard of platforming for many, myself included, Mighty No. 9 has a huge legacy to live up to. But here’s the thing, drawing comparison to Mega Man OR Mega Man X is just not a good idea, because Mighty No. 9 is more or less its own thing. Of course it still tries to pull off a Mega Man kind of feeling, but the style in which you move around, how you fight enemies, and even the level design itself are like its own part. Try not to think of it as trying to bring back an older Mega Man style, but to try and create a different one. Drawing direct comparisons to Mega Man games won’t work, because its style is just too different. That said, you can still create a feeling of Mega Man while creating a new style of play, and that’s what I’m going to be looking at for Mighty No. 9.

Now, onto the big question: Does this newer style work? Well… Kinda. Mechanically speaking, Mighty No 9 feels great. Beck controls like a dream, firing his buster and landing hits is insanely satisfying, and the dash mechanic feels so good to use. He feels a little light, which is perfect for making you want to dash through levels and collect points, and some of his alternate weapons are pretty cool in concept. It feels like a style of Mega Man, for sure. And in a good way.

This is one of the big things, though. It’s great mechanically. From a level design aspect, it’s nowhere near a Mega Man standard of quality. Remember how I mentioned that you can retain a Mega Man style while not being comparable to any form of Mega Man? Well, this is where it fails. The level design in Mighty No. 9 is very basic, and the variety in levels isn’t as, well, various as it should be. For the eight stages at the start of the game, 4 of them felt unique, and the other 4 just felt like the same okay level over and over. They all did somewhat different things, but they were all executed in the same way, and no new concepts were really introduced; just new obstacles. Like, twice. That’s something that Mega Man in general, regardless of which one you’re looking at, just doesn’t do. Mega Man is about showing the player a new concept in each different stage, and then asking them to execute it. It’s about providing obstacles that take at least some form of tact or execution to get over, while still giving the player the resources to figure out a way to get through it without feeling cheated, and making these obstacles varied and new in each area to keep you on your toes. Mighty No. 9 does none of this. Everything you do just feels like you’re moving in a straight line, rushing to get to the boss and move on. No new concepts, no new ideas, no keeping you on your toes.

Image courtesy of VIDEOGAMER

And it’s not like making the player get through as fast as possible is something Mega Man doesn’t do; look at Mega Man Zero. It encourages speedrunning and going for higher scores, but it does so while also introducing new challenges consistently, and makes the stages so that to get the best score, you have to actually try. Unlike the cakewalk of level design that is Mighty No. 9.

That said, Mighty No. 9 does have some fun stages in it. They’re not all bad. I quite enjoyed the stages for Mighty Numbers 5, 6, and 7 (or as I like to call him, “totally not Proto Man”), along with that stealth-ish stage where you play as Call, and the final two stages of getting into the robot factory, and then the final boss. And on a few more stages, there are some fun segments. Objectively speaking, the level design isn’t bad, it’s just… Way too simple; too basic. For the number of fun stages you get, along with the good controls, I’d say that there’s just enough of good things to make it worth the $20 price tag it’s asking for. Not much more than that, though.

Looks and Sound

Now onto graphics and–

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Okay yeah it’s not the best. That said, the trailer looks much worse than how the game does. Unlike many, I don’t really think Mighty No. 9 looks bad. It doesn’t look good, don’t get me wrong. But it’s… Fine. Granted with an almost $4 million budget, you’d expect much more, but it gets the job done. Characters look okay, environments are okay. Quality of the models is… Okay.

Aside from the pizza explosions. Those are actually real and they look exactly like that.

As for music… What music? You mean those incredibly soft tracks underneath everything going on that can barely be heard? I mean I guess it’s not bad music, but it doesn’t do much. There are a few songs I thought were pretty catchy, but it’s nothing I’m going to listen to outside of the game. A meh soundtrack that you can hardly hear to begin with.

Content

And now onto something surprising: Mighty No. 9 has a surprising amount of content. You’ve got the main story, which consists of 12 stages, and will run you about 5 hours. Then, you have challenge mode, which can be done in either solo or co-op. which contains numerous missions that can actually be quite challenging at times, and can actually get pretty fun, and the Ray DLC, which was free for backers and people who purchased the retail version, and is buyable for those who didn’t. This actually makes the game take up quite a bit of time, and definitely offers enough content for its price tag.

Conclusion: Should you buy Mighty No. 9?

For those of you who don’t care about the situation surrounding Mighty No. 9, it’s a decent game that’s worth its asking price. It’s not a spectacular game, and it needed a lot more work to live up to what it was made out to be, but I wouldn’t say it’s as mediocre as everyone else has been saying. There is definitely something there, and it’s trying to do something. It just needed better direction. It’s more good than bad, and it’s definitely worth the $20, but I wouldn’t pay much more than that.

Diversity in Gaming: LGBT Spotlight

July 1, 2016 Deanna

Everyone wants to see themselves in video games, and that’s not a problem. In recent years gaming has become increasingly diverse, to the point of some games offering both male and female players an equal experience in playing through the story. What’s rare to see, though, is a character in a story-driven game who falls on the LGBT+ spectrum explicitly. Riding on the coattails of Pride Month and still reeling from the Twitter trends of the past couple of days, here’s a spotlight on some of them.

Gone Home

Obvious spoilers ahead, but if you haven’t played Gone Home yet, you’re doing yourself a disservice. It’s a short little game about two sisters. The oldest, Kaitlin, has come home after being overseas for some time (I assume for a semester abroad, though I could be remembering that wrong), and finds a note from her younger sister, Sam upon coming home. Throughout the game you play as Kate, and by finding things throughout the house you find out what happened to your sister.

Going in, I thought that something pretty awful had happened. The game takes you through some pretty dingy basements and hidden passages in the old house, so I initially thought it was a horror game. As I progressed, though, it became clear that Sam had run away for some reason or another. It seemed like she had a good life, albeit a tensioned relationship with her parents.

Again, spoilers ahead, if you’re still reading. While you’re exploring some of the areas in the house, you find a feminist zine that Sam and a friend were planning on publishing. If you didn’t catch it before, the game is set in the mid-’90s, and there’s your proof. As you find out more, you realize that Sam had, in fact, fallen in love with her friend and your parents didn’t approve, so they ran away together.

In the end, Sam’s happy. You’re happy for her, you accept her. It kinda tugs at my heartstring a bit.

I remember when all the cool kids were still making ‘zines in the early 2000s. (via Wikimedia Commons)

Life is Strange

Obvious spoilers here as well, folks. I have my issues with Life is Strange, I’ll tell you that from the start. I think the writing’s pretty awful (though who am I to judge?), the devs are really out of touch with what the young’uns are doing nowadays, and a crucial moment between Max and Chloe is entirely skippable. That crucial moment being the decision to kiss Chloe.

While I applaud the game (kinda) for taking on tough subject matter, the writing really gets in the way. And that’s a damn shame. I probably would have played and actually cared about spoilers had I gotten past that. It grapples with a lot: the toxic environment of exclusive clubs in a college setting, suicide, and the whole lesbian thing, to name a few. I just wish it did it better.

That being said, I’m glad it exists. Take that as you will.

Just gals. Being pals. (via Eurogamer)

Dragon Age: Inquisition

This is the only game on the list I haven’t played more than a couple hours of, mostly because I’ve been lost in the Hinterlands since it came out. So I can’t speak much for gameplay or story, but I do know that it has a cast of diverse characters. My favorite being the Iron Bull, purely due to the fact that he’s the first bi or pansexual character I’ve seen in a video game. Again, that’s in my kinda limited experience. Either way, it hits home. Among others, there’s Sera, my favorite gal with pals, and Dorian. This may sound weird but I like that they’re there and that they have a rich history.

The only thing I have to criticize here is the modding community, which I probably shouldn’t, but hey. Personally I haven’t looked at the mods, but I do know they exist. Again, limited knowledge. Maybe I didn’t wanna give it the attention, but look at where that ended up.

If you guessed what I’m talking about, it’s two mods that are available for Dragon Age: Inquisition which change Dorian and Sera’s programming so that they, effectively, are bi. Both characters have a past that directly involves being uncomfortable with what they identify as. I know plenty of people who fall into that label and choose to appear heterosexual because it’s safer, mentally and physically. I kinda think that discounting the history of these characters just because you wanted to romance them says a lot about what we think of outliers to “the norm” in general. I know it’s a longshot on some days, but not after this fucked up month we’ve had.

Unfortunately Sera’s the one character I’ve heard about the least. A damn shame. (via Nerdy But Flirty)

Overall though, I appreciate devs at least attempting to make their casts of characters more diverse. Like I said, everyone should be able to see themselves in a video game. And I’m glad we’re working closer towards that, even if we take a couple steps backwards sometimes.

Games Gone By: Sly Cooper

June 30, 2016 Ricky

Sly Cooper is without a doubt one of the best games series I have ever played. It constantly tried to do things new and expand the universe in many colorful ways. And while a new game may seem like a good idea with its movie supposedly scheduled for 2016, it’s still without definitive plans to continue, so why not take a look.

So simple yet so profound. Image Source: Amazon.com

The first game, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was released for the Playstation 2 in 2002. The game had a very simple design and a simple concept, but what they ended up doing with it made it work in a way no one imagined.

The premise is a raccoon that’s a thief (because they look like they wear masks, get it?) named Sly who wants to recover the book his ancestors created detailing all of their secrets. This book being the titular Theivius Raccoonous. The book was taken by a gang known as “The Fiendish Five”. Along the way to help him are Bentley the turtle, the tech guy, and Murray the hippo, the driver. You were also on the run in each stage from Sly’s police pursuer/love interest, Inspector Carmalita Fox (whose accent changes in each game). The game’s sense of humor and dramatic storytelling keep it from being too serious but also too grim, finding the perfect sweet spot for a thrilling story of revenge and growth. Especially with an amazing final villain like Clockwerk, an immortal mechanized owl surviving solely on jealousy and hatred.

When your final villain is built up with silhouettes like THIS, you’re doing something right. Image Source: Villains’ Wikia.com

The gameplay was very simplistic. Sly could use his cane to hook onto objects as well as smash enemies and boxes holding loot. There was also a large focus on stealth as well, having Sly avoiding spotlights whenever possible as well as avoiding enemies that could only see you if you walked into their flashlight. However, what a lot of people found to be irritating was the one-hit kills from all enemies. Sly could pick up a lucky-charm that could let him take one or two shots, but that was the limit, frustrating quite a few fans. Another source of frustration were the turret and driving mini-games that were often brutal and unforgiving.

However, the game managed to fix a lot of its problems with its sequel, which is often heralded as one of the best Playstation 2 games of all time.

One of the best sequels to come out that improved on nearly every aspect. Image Source: Amazon.com

Sly 2 was released on the Playstation 2 in 2004. The game centered around trying to collect pieces of Clockwerk that were stolen by a new gang known as “The Klaww Gang”. Each stage centered around getting a piece or two back, and seeing how each gang member was using them, often in inventive ways (this was seen in using the tail-feathers to print money or the lungs to help fuel a train indefinitely).

Although now, Sly wasn’t the only one out in the field. Now you could play as Bentley and Murray, who both grow as characters the more you play them. Bentley is not as strong as Sly but much more technical and gadget based. Murray on the other hand isn’t as quick or maneuverable but more than makes up for it in brute strength. The game also has a health bar, no longer being limited to one hit kills.

The bosses may overstay their welcome however, as many of them aren’t limited to just one stage. It works for darker characters like The Contessa, but for the forgettable Rajan it just feels like padding.

One character I wanted to get more from was Arpeggio, the leader of the Klaww Gang who was reduced to a joke. Image Source: Sly Cooper Wikia.com

While the story went much more in-depth in terms of character and villains, it still has too many holes in the armor to be truly amazing. Thankfully, the next game in the series manages to keep things concise with even MORE characters.

A game with a few rudimentary backdrops, but an even stronger story. Image Source: Amazon.com

Sly 3 came out for the Playstation 2 a year after Sly2, in 2005. The story picks up a little after the last one ended. Bentley is now in a wheelchair, Murray has gone off to seek redemption as he feels responsible for Bentley’s condition, and Sly is trying to bring his friends back together and claim his birthright: a vault of loot hidden by his ancestors on a remote island.

The game is even more character-driven than the last. Instead of trying to take down each member of a gang, each level is about trying to persuade different expert thieves to join Sly and the gang take the vault back from Dr. M, the “tech guy” character from Sly’s father’s previous gang and the series’s most interesting villain yet, sans Clockwerk.

Though the inclusion of Don Octavio is fantastic as well. A lion-mobster whose obsessed with people hearing him sing? You couldn’t get more ludicrous and yet so amazing. Image Source: Sly Cooper Wikia.com

The game also includes a lot of new characters that are added to the gang such as an Australian koala guru, a mouse technician, and even a few old enemies have come onto the gang’s side. Those being Dimitri from Sly 2 and the Panda King from Sly 1, who brings much more sympathy as all he wants is to redeem himself for what he has done and save his daughter. These additions help to foster new interactions and help the group feel more dynamic with its mix of colorful characters.

The gameplay this time around is very similar to Sly 2, however, now Carmelita is also playable, as well as many more mini-games involving the already seen hacking and helicopter/turret stages, but also new ones such as bi-planes and pirate ship battles. This game helped to trim the fat of the last game and make the experience even better. The same was attempted by its sequel many years later, although that unfortunately didn’t live up to expectations.

Too little too late unfortunately. Image Source: Amazon.com

Sly Cooper Thieves in Time came out for the Playstation 3 in 2013. The game was green-lit after Sanzaru Games took the previous three games and remastered them for the Playstation 3. With Sucker Punch more focused on making the Infamous series, Sanzaru Games was given the reins on the long-awaited sequel.

The story has Sly and the others going throughout time to save his ancestors, as parts of the Thievius Racconous have been disappearing. Determined to find out what’s going on, Bentley makes a time machine out of the van and they set off to different time periods such as feudal japan, the medieval times, the old west, and even the ice-age.

It can’t be denied that the use of color and lighting in this game makes it look BEAUTIFUL. Image Source: Analogaddict.com

The game had gameplay slightly updated and easier to pick-up, but not enough to be totally foreign to fans of the old series. Also, playing as each of Sly’s ancestors feels welcome and very fun to play, especially Ser Galleth Cooper, the best ancestor in my opinion. However the story seems to fail on building any excitement for the conclusion, especially with a lackluster main villain whose less interesting than his lieutenants. Another strike against it is that it has established characters change personalities out of nowhere (cough Penelope cough cough)

The game also didn’t sell as well as once hoped. With that being a factor, the cliffhanger ending seems like it won’t be fulfilled anytime soon. However, with the movie coming out presumably sometime this year, the attention it could get may warrant a return of the master thief in the near future.

Here’s hoping we’ll see him back soon. Image Source: news.cheatcc.com

Standard Play: The Hearthstone Cards I Miss the Most

June 29, 2016 Adam

When Whispers of the Old Gods came out a couple of months ago, Blizzard also implemented a new way to keep the game “fresh.” They did this by adding seasonal rotations, meaning that older expansions are no longer part of the main competitive format anymore. They added Wild mode as well, which is where you can still use any card from any expansion. However, I dare you to play this mode without getting Dr. Boom, Mad Scientist and Piloted Shredder PTSD triggers. Recently I’ve been trying out this Wild format and I came to the realization that I miss some of the cards that rotated out so damn dearly. If you had asked me before the patch went live, I probably would’ve told you that the cards I’d miss the most were Loatheb and Sludge Belcher, but I was substantially wrong. Here’s the ones that I miss the most.

LIGHTBOMB / DARK CULTIST

Somewhere in between League of Explorers and the announcement of the new formats, I became very fond of the Priest class. Priest was a class that I never really played until Entomb and Elise Starseeker came out. However, control/monkey Priest is one of my favorite decks to ever grace this children’s card game. You can still play this deck but it’s nowhere as good without these two cards. Priest is in a position right now where it’s really suffering in the meta game. It doesn’t have any powerful defining archetypes anymore and it’s almost completely because cards like these got removed from its arsenal. Priests no longer have a great way of dealing with boards anymore without the Auchenai + Circle combo. They also lost a massively powerful 3-drop in Dark Cultist. For a portion after Naxarramas, Cultist was a shoe-in for almost any type of priest deck and now priest has a massive hole in the 3 mana spot. By taking this card away it made an already reactive class even more reactive and it gives Priest less options to keep up on the board.

12301 184px-Dark_Cultist(7735)

MUSTER FOR BATTLE

In the same way that Priest is in a bad way, Paladin is also in a bad way. At the beginning of expansion once the meta settled for the first time Paladin had one very strong deck and that deck was N’Zoth Control Paladin. A deck with massive amounts of healing and board clears, it was basically every control players dream deck. However as the meta shifted, aggro got better and better making control decks like these almost impossible to play. Muster for Battle was a fantastic card and was an auto-include in every Paladin deck regardless of play style. With this gone, as well as shielded minibot, Paladin doesn’t have a good minion-centric deck anymore.

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MAL’GANIS / DARKBOMB

The reason why I miss these two cards so much is because a whole branch of Warlock decks died when these cards left the competitive format. Demon based and even slower Warlock decks are no longer playable and these are the cards I miss the most from those kinds of decks. There was nothing more satisfying than dropping a Mal’Ganis on turn 5 thanks to a Voidcaller. With Darkbomb also missing Warlocks lost a really good way to stabilize the board. However, with the new zoo deck, they hardly need any control tools.

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Vitality Totem

I miss this card solely because it makes the outcomes of Tuskarr Totemic strictly better. If you had asked me before the patch, this wasn’t even something I’d consider, but here I am. Vitality Totem’s weren’t necessarily all that useful and it was one of the drawbacks to playing this card. Now, Tuskarr Totemic is almost guaranteed to give you something extremely useful. The Flametounge Totems, Totem Golems and Mana Tide Totems are almost standard now and are very common.

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Steamwheedle Sniper

So I don’t really miss this card, rather miss the potential that it could’ve had. Steamwheedle Sniper never got its chance to see competitive play, or any play really. I kept my Steamwheedle’s around for a while hoping that the card would see play. This card would potentially add a little bit of a control playstyle to the Hunter and as time goes on, we’ll probably see more cards that would synergize it. Unfortunately, when Standard came into play poor Steamwheedle never got its moment to shine.

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Antique Healbot

There have been so many situations since standard came out where Antique Healbot would’ve completely changed the pace of the game. This little guy was a shoe-in for almost every single Control/Mid-range/Rogue decks and I see why now more than ever. Rogue is suffering immensely without it and the Mid-Range style of deck has died out with the lack of this card and a few others. It was a quick, fairly cheap and efficient way of healing. All while giving you a small bit of tempo so you could potentially keep up on the board. That’s something we just don’t really have in the current meta-game.

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Why Linearity Trumps Open Worlds

June 27, 2016 Greg

The Lifecast’s Greg Fernandes discusses why he prefers linear games over their more open counterparts.

The Modern Horror Genre: Bootleg Mobile and Flash Games

June 26, 2016 Kennedy

If you would’ve asked someone 5 years ago about the scariest game they knew of, they’d probably tell you something like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, or something else that fits in the traditional horror genre. But today? There’s nothing that terrifies me more than the sheer knowledge that games like Elsa Bone Repair, Ana Bathroom Cleanup, and Minion Pregnancy exist right here right now. To me, there’s no more perplexing idea than the idea that someone–more than likely a small group of people, actually–had to sit down and make these games and think that they looked more than fine for the gaming market–that they’d actually fool people into thinking they’re legit. Moreover, seeing some of the more tame ones–usually Naruto or Pokemon related–on Facebook and Tumblr have become a pretty common sight. Is there no quality control anymore? Have we as a human species in our eternal quest for good games forgotten one of gaming’s most core teachings: If it says it’s a Pokemon game but there’s a picture of Agumon then it’s not really a Pokemon game? Hilarious as these games are though, why do these games keep getting made? And who’s making them? They’re not actually making money…right? As the admin of a certain Facebook and Twitter page devoted to posting hilariously bad bootlegs, I think about these questions all the time. And so, just for you wonderful readers, I’ve taken some time out of my busy schedule of watching high quality cinema, reading the finest literature, and auditioning for the Sense of Right Alliance to do some research on the phenomenon that is bootleg mobile and flash games.

A sight many of us are all too used to

Why do these games keep getting made?

Despite the popular theory that these games are made as a medical tool to keep people awake and alert (after all, after just seeing the thumbnail for this article, you’re probably already feeling like you’ll never sleep again with all the nightmares you’ll be having about it, right?), these games are made for the same reason any bootleg gets made: To attempt to trick people into thinking that your product is legit and buying it. With more and more kids being on the mobile game market it becomes a prime spot to try to sell bootleg games. Kids are gullible–they’re much more likely to believe that Anna Give Birth A Baby is an actual game that Disney actually published. After all, it looks like it’s Anna and it says it’s Anna, right? So it must be Anna and therefore the real deal.

You really think someone would do that? Just go on the App Store and tell lies?

Who’s making them?

In my experience, usually China. Although most of the bootlegs I run into on my social media pages tend to be from Brazil, the games tend to be made in China more often than not. China has the largest online gaming market and some of the laxest copyright laws–so bootlegging mobile and flash games is a no-brainer.

Sometimes that’s taken very literally

They’re not actually making money…right?

Not only are kids gullible, but they have their parent’s money. After all, I’m sure that most parents would rather buy a cheap mobile game–probably even a handful of them–rather than a triple A console title for their kid: It’s more economical, plain and simple. And that’s just the mobile games–bootleg flash games are almost always completely free. As we can see clearly by the fact that these games still being made at such a fast rate, the devs find them profitable enough to keep making these games as quick as they are. Are they making substantial amounts of money though? It’s impossible to track the exact numbers, but here’s what I can say: Many of these games are removed quickly–even quicker if sellers notice something’s off. Even though these games are certainly making a few dollars, it’s hard to imagine that most of them are making more than just that: A few dollars. If they start making too much money they’re quicker to draw the unwanted gaze of lawyers and copyright holders. Although, some might be selling for the complete opposite reason that the devs were hoping for–I mean, who wouldn’t want Simulator Doctor Freddy Joke on their phone just to laugh at it–but hey, whatever pays the bills, right?

I wonder if they have to play them, too?

RIGHT?

Do these games actually work? What are they like?

In my experience, they either don’t work or they basically have no game play. Granted I haven’t played every bootleg game out there, but out of what I’ve played, it’s usually one of the two aforementioned categories–especially just not having any game play. They usually end up being drag-and-drop games, very basic memory games, or endless runners sometimes with very basic platforming–things that a toddler could do. But to be fair, I imagine toddlers must surely (read: hopefully) make up a large part of these game’s audience. I’m assuming these games are made so basically to speed up productivity? …Or because most of these developers don’t seem to have the skills to make games better than this. That could be it, too.

What do you honestly expect from devs who make games like this?

How do these games make it on the mobile market in the first place?

In the same way that modern and abstract art barged their way into art history and demanded to be put on the same pedestals as Da Vinci and Raphael despite a very obvious decline in technical quality, such is the advent of bootleg mobile and flash games. Quality control on the mobile market just isn’t what it used to be. Put simply (very simply) although there are protective algorithms in place, many times Apple and Microsoft won’t do an extensive legal check on their games. Rather, they wait for the copyright holders to approach them about a legal problem if one arises. With so many of these bootleg games being made so fast, it’s easy to imagine how they can constantly slip through the searches of what I can only imagine are poor, disappointed interns whose job it is to look for these apps all day.

I wonder if they have to play them, too?

So why are most of these bootleg games Frozen or Minion-related?

Same reason most of the bootleg toys from the late 90’s and early 2000’s were Sailor Moon and Pokemon-related: Those are two really good and incredibly popular IPs right now. It’s clickbait.

And why are a lot of them ear doctor, dentist, foot doctor, and/or brain surgery games?

I honestly have no idea–my best and most scientifically probable guess is that in some kind of alternate dimension we as gamers somehow sinned against ear doctors, dentists, foot docors, and/or brain surgeons really badly and now we’re paying the price.

Are these games really that terrifying?

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DentistTrain

Absolutely and without question, yes. It is my firmest held belief that by simply existing in the same world at the same time as these bootleg games we’re allowing ourselves as the human species to descend deeper and deeper into the fiery abyss of copyright hell. These games are why the apocalypse will rain down on us by the wrath (read: lawyers) of the four horsemen: Dreamworks, Nintendo, Spongebob, and the merciless reaper of bootleg souls, Disney.

Why the Concept of Kingdom Hearts Works

June 24, 2016 Ricky

Kingdom Hearts is one of those series that has caused such a strong divide in people online. People either herald it as a masterpiece, or as a an over-hyped fanbase pandering mess. I’m of the opinion that the series is very good… but suffers from a LOT of problems. But that being said, what I want to talk about today is why I think the series works as a great concept.

One of these things may not be like the others, but that’s not necessarily bad. Image Source: Moviepilot.com

One big complaint people have is they can’t take a game that mixes Final Fantasy and Disney seriously. However, I’d like to think that they’re a chemical combination that strangely works. When you think of typical cross-over ,the formula would the Final Fantasy characters would be in complete shock seeing characters as whimsical and cartoonish as Disney. And while it would be presented as comical, a lot of people would find it groan-inducing. But that’s not the case here.

Characters like Cloud Strife or Sid see it as perfectly natural. Final Fantasy is not without its silly elements, such a moogles, chocobos, or the hairstyles, so it isn’t too hard to believe that seeing such wacky characters would be too much of a shift for them.

While it may be jarring at first, its very interesting to see polar opposites like Cloud and Hades working together. Image Source: Moviepilot.com

The disney characters bring some levity to the often serious dilemmas, but they don’t do so in a way that lessens the struggle or the severity of the situation. Hell, Mickey Mouse is presented as a wise and powerful warrior. And while he may have his moments of playfulness, he still inspires hope and courage in Sora. And to me, thats why I think the series works.

The worlds are being brought together, from Final Fantasy to Disney, but in the end of the day, they pursue through the darkness and try to find hope together. They even make sacrifices for one another.

Sorry as it is to say, some combinations still don’t work. The Pirates of the Caribbean stage most especially. Image Source: USGamer.net

The games also manage to bring together two existing universes into a new one that is able to have its own lore. Granted the lore can get EXTREMELY convoluted, but it still tries to create personality and establish a history. The struggle against heartless and darkness itself is one that never seems to end, but that’s ok, and thats what it teaches to children. That the evil in the world may never truly go away, but we do what we can despite it.

No one can deny that the “Dive to the Heart” stages help set up a wonderfully gorgeous yet surreal atmosphere. Image Source: Kingdom Hearts Wikia.com

Drawful 2: Quantity & Quality

June 24, 2016 Deanna

I’m a fan of multiplayer games. Drawful 2 is one of them. I like being able to sit in a room or in a voice chat and play a game together. Growing up, my cousins and I were always playing board games that could accommodate the lot of us, and surprisingly enough Monopoly was a favorite.

Playing Drawful with my friends felt a lot like playing Monopoly with my cousins. We’re all crammed into a room with no AC and rapidly heating up the space. Laughter and impromptu charades are mere seconds away at any given time.

When I bought Drawful 2 last night I immediately went to the group chat for willing volunteers. It’s time to socialize, kiddos. Half an hour later, four of us were laughing about our crappy drawings just a hair past midnight.

Good times and late-night drawing sessions aside, Drawful 2 is a big improvement from the first one. After a few games, the prompts got stale and the whole thing was a chore to play until we expanded our horizons to include everyone who happened to pass by our college’s video game lounge, which didn’t appeal to many.

Play Style

The first Drawful allowed for up to eight players, and promised a good time to anyone with a smartphone or a tablet to draw on. The premise is that you get a prompt, a blank space to illustrate it in, and an audience to convince. Needless to say, playing this with artist friends (such as our own Kennedy) is great.

If you’re like the rest of us and don’t have a career lined up based on your ability to draw or produce something visually coherent, it ends up being a challenge to come up with a caption that makes sense with the rest of the audience, sans the artist whose piece is displayed. After that, your job is to guess the correct caption. You get points for everyone you fool into picking yours, and the artist gets double for representing the prompt well.

via Polygon

Initial Thoughts & Impressions

At first I expected to have a couple rounds go by and then have the whole thing get boring, but fortunately that was not so. The prompts kept coming, and kept forcing me to get more creative with my fake prompts. I like that it was challenging to draw some of the prompts given, and it made the whole draw-and-display process fun.

What I really like is the fact that Drawful 2 boasts more prompts than the first. It gives the game some replay value and gives players a variety of things to draw. Seriously, this is a huge improvement.

via True Achievements

Improvements & Playability Upgrades

If you’ve ever thought about streaming a Jackbox game like Quiplash or Drawful 2, you’re in luck. Jackbox has graciously added in a couple features that’ll make the game go a long way.

For starters, the interface for drawing and submitting captions lets you draw in two colors. Think of all the added depth! Aside from that, if you thought that the prompts were getting a little stale, then you have the option to make your own. Make one for your friends, for your family, and even your grandparents if you please. This adds a social aspect to the game that’s much-needed, in my opinion. You can share prompt episodes with others if you so choose.

For streamers specifically, Drawful 2 comes with a host of censorship options for prompts and drawings alike. If your players are more inclined to submit lewd images, you can filter them out for your audience. And that player stays filtered out for the rest of the game. To ensure that Twitch.tv players aren’t hiding behind an alias, there’s a feature to log in through Twitch as well.

via Arnie Niekamp on Twitter

Final Thoughts

Overal, Drawful 2 is solid. Like, really solid. It’s a vast improvement over the original and a good addition to anyone’s multiplayer arsenal. It’s got replay value, custom prompts, and it just feels nice. Would highly recommend. And if you’re feeling friendly, we’ll be hosting sessions where you can play along with The Lifecast crew as well. Consider this an open invitation.

Cover image via VideoGamesAwesome.com

Eon Altar: Cooperation Innovation

June 22, 2016 Greg

Eon Altar is a cooperative turn based RPG where the players use their phones as controllers. You might be thinking. “Eh? What the point of that?” And what a great question that is you beautiful bastard. The addition of the smart phone into your standard co-op RPG is that every player has their own screen in which to do handle all their business. All the inventory management, all the leveling up can be handled without interrupting your fellow players. Now you’re probably thinkin’, “Oy, we’ve had games that’ve done that ‘afore!” And you would be right, you paragon of justice.

What makes Eon Altar especially interesting is how it uses this second screen for narrative purposes.

Dialogue:

During cut scenes all the characters are fully voice acted outside of the player characters. Instead the game expects you to voice your own characters. It’s not technically required but your fellow players will be missing out on lots of the world building if you just kinda skip over the dialogue. But it’s best when you have friends who don’t mind getting into character. It ends up feeling like a light tabletop RPG experience.

Personal Objectives:

The thing that initially drew me to this game on the PAX floor was the concept that your character’s can have a personal objective separate from the party’s main goal. So at some point there could be conflict within the party as one’s personal objective clashes with the party’s. I haven’t put enough time into the game to see how the mechanic works when fully fleshed out but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t insanely interested in finding out.

Narrative Choices:

Last but not least is the concept of player choice. While certainly not a new idea by any means, seeing it in a cooperative game is very interesting. You might make a decision that heads towards your personal objective, or you do something evil for more a greater reward. I can only imagine the fights that might erupt because of that.

On the topic of fighting. This game forces the players to sort out all the loot drops. And there are even opportunities where a player might notice some treasure another one does not.
I’m not sure how these mechanics will hold up for multiple playthoughs but the first seems like it’ll be a crazy ride. Expect a full review somewhere down the road. My first impressions of about 2 hours say this has the potential be a contender for GOTY 2016.

Both photos from Flying Helmet Games’ social media.

If this seems like somethin’ you’d be interested, in Eon Altar: Episode 1 is available on Steam fresh outta early access for $5.59 USD until June 29. $6.99 USD normally, or you can pick up the Season pass for $14.99 USD.

Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator: The Best of the Best

June 21, 2016 dan

If you’ve been reading my articles, you may have noticed I have quite a love of fighting games. In addition to my love of fighting games, I also love heavy metal, and, on top of that, am complete and utter weeaboo trash. So obviously, Guilty Gear is a series that really resonates with me. The newest entry in the series, Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-, just came out two weeks ago, and I’ve been playing it ever since I got my hands on it. The previous entry in the series, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, was known as the most anticipated fighting game of the year after its announcement, and had received critical acclaim upon release. How does the follow up to Daisuke Ishiwatari’s passion project do? Well, let me be straight with you here: Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- is the single greatest experience I’ve had with a fighting game.

Gameplay

When people talk about fighting games with a lot of mechanics, Guilty Gear is one of the first that gets mentioned. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- (from here on out referred to as just “Revelator”) is able to hold on to a lot of complex mechanics without making learning and adapting to them difficult, thanks to its incredible tutorial mode. Normally I wouldn’t talk about the tutorial mode in a review, but Revelator is able to do the one thing other fighting games can’t: teach the game well. The tutorial mode puts you in a fun minigame-like environment where they present concepts to you and then ask you to execute them OUTSIDE of a battle situation, which allows inexperienced players to learn much easier, and opens up the game to a broader audience.

The tutorial is fun! (Image courtesy of Kotaku)

Okay, now that I’ve gushed about how good the tutorial is, let’s get into the actual combat. Unlike Street Fighter, which is a 6-button fighter, Revelator is a 5-button fighter. In Street Fighter, you have 3 punches and 3 kicks, with each ranging from light to heavy. In Revelator, you have Punch, Kick, Slash, Heavy Slash, and Dust. Aside from punch and kick, I don’t really know what the names mean, but that’s what they’re called. Combos in this game focus more on chaining everything you can get together in a flurry of flashy hits and specials, as opposed to the more slow combos in something like Street Fighter. It’s very easy to make combos in Revelator, but to make good combos is going to take time and effort. Unlike in most recent fighting games where they are trying to lower the execution barrier, Revelator still retains the complexity the Guilty Gear franchise is known for. Don’t let that scare you off, though, because Revelator has this special little thing called Stylish Mode. A mode that originated in the other flagship Arc System Works fighting game, BlazBlue. Basically, Stylish Mode is a mode where you don’t need to have any skill in execution at all to do all these cool-looking combos, so you can just relax and have fun without going into a scene where everyone outclasses you. It’s a very good decision to include this because it allows the more casual audience to have fun and be invested in the game without having to spend hours learning someone that they might just wanna jump right into and mess around with.

Now, remember when I said that there are a lot of mechanics in this game? Well for the sake of keeping this review at a reasonable size I’m only going to explain the more important ones. That said, every mechanic in this game is important in some way or another, and you should totally learn the rest of them if you’re interested.

First off, there’s the Burst technique, which is a blast of energy that pushes your opponent off of you while they’re mid combo, mid block string, or anything really. It uses up burst meter, and you have to use it wisely, because of you burst and it doesn’t hit your opponent, you won’t get it back for a while, meaning your opponent doesn’t have to worry about being thrown away. There’s the Blitz Shield, which is a universal parry that everyone has, and making a good read and blitzing the opponent can lead to huge damage. You can also charge it for this really strong focus attack style move, which does good damage on its own and produces a crumple effect on the opponent, allowing for huge combo potential. Finally, there’s the most important mechanic of Revelator: The Roman Cancel. Red, yellow, and purple Roman cancels (here on referred to as RRC, YRC, and PRC), each do basically the same thing, but their uses vary on the situation. The RRC is used mainly as a combo extender. It interrupts your current animation and resets you, so you can follow up with literally anything and combo for even longer. The YRC is used when you need to maneuver a bit better, or start moving sooner. You use it to either adjust yourself to avoid an attack, or use it to reset your animation after throwing a projectile. Finally, the PRC is used in case you mess up and have to reset your animation to save your ass. Each mechanic is vital to competitive success in the game, and they reward players who master them very well, and punish players who don’t.

The Blitz technique. (Image courtesy of hitconfirm)

The focus on combat in Revelator is the perfect blend of fundamentals and execution, revolving around a strong neutral game, but also needing big combos to deal significant damage. But the neutral isn’t something like Marvel where you’re hit once and you’re down. The tools given to you allow for many different styles of play in the neutral. Moving around is very fast and free-flowing as well.

My only complaint with the gameplay is the online. It’s not bad by any means; When playing within a few hundred miles, it works perfectly fine, with little to no lag. The only big problems the online has is handling playing people more than a few hundred miles away from you, and that the searching for matches is really tedious. In an at-capacity server, which is normally filled with people looking for player matches, your search results will only show you 2 or 3 people you can play with, even though there are clearly much more than that searching. That said, the online is still solid enough to play well consistently, and so long as you know what to do to get good matches, you’ll pretty much always get them. Like I said, it’s not bad, it just needs some work. The game is also only two weeks old, so these issues will likely be polished out down the road.

Looks and Sound

Arc System Works has always delivered some of the best-looking fighting games on average, and Revelator is no exception. It is by far the best-looking fighting game of the current generation, and one of, if not the best-looking fighting game period. The characters are very well-designed, and their models are beautifully made. The stages have so much color and life to them, and the environments are insanely cool locations that I would love to actually be in. The game runs at a smooth 60fps, and the characters’ movesets look really cool and really flashy, which make for an entertaining time for both the player and the watcher. Just like in -SIGN-, the opening animations for the fights enter this 3D-ish world, and eventually pan to the point of it becoming a 2D fighter. When supers happen, it enters this kind of 2.5D animation style again for the moves, and also at the end of the matches, when someone gets a KO. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Hidehiko Sakamura’s art style fits the animation of the game perfectly, and I really hope we get to see this kind of style with even more Guilty Gear entries to come, because it’s one of the best I’ve seen in Arc’s games. Not only is it just a genuinely great style, but it’s able to communicate the game’s “rock n’ roll” aesthetic perfectly.

LOOK AT HOW GORGEOUS THIS IS (image courtesy of Arc System Works)

Now, not only is it the best-looking fighting game you can get right now, but it’s also the best sounding. As I’ve said before, I am heavy metal weeaboo trash. I love metal (and I’m a weeb but that’s beside the point). The soundtrack of this game is full of nothing but heavy metal and rock, composed by the ridiculously talented Daisuke Ishiwatari. Songs range from the lighter part of hard rock to the heavier side of traditional metal, with a little bit of thrash metal thrown in for good measure. You’ve got songs like Suck a Sage, which are more hard rock, and The Lily of Steel, which are more metal. Every song is catchy and well-written. There isn’t a bad song in the game. In addition, not only does it have Xrd tracks, but you can unlock songs from pretty much every Guilty Gear from the past.

Story

The story concept of the Guilty Gear Xrd games is quite simple. Back in the far away time of 1999, people created a source of limitless energy that they called magic. Yes, they scientifically created magic. I don’t think I’ve ever written something as stupid as that, like, ever. Anyway, this magic was immediately used for war (go figure) and was used to create these biological weapons known as Gears (the title Guilty Gear actually has a meaning, believe it or not). There was a war. Almost 200 years later, a being known as Ramlethal Valentine declares war on the entire world and its inhabitants. These had been another incident like this with someone else who went by “Valentine”, so everyone was like “dude this is real we need to fight” and then everyone went to war.

And then plot happens.

It’s not NetherRealm Studios levels of good, but it’s still a pretty good story, with a lot of nice fights and entertaining characters. Except Elphelt. That waifu trash should go back to BlazBlue where she belongs. It’s only about 3 – 4 hours long, so if you’ve got a free afternoon, you can beat it.

Content

The sheer amount of stuff to do in Revelator is insane. It’s got a pretty good story mode, the obligatory versus, arcade, and training modes, and fantastic tutorial, which you can go back to and play minigames. On top of that, you’ve got the always fun Medal of Millionaire mode, which is pretty much Guilty Gear’s equivalent to coin mode in Smash, except actually good. After that, we have combo mode, where you’re put into a training room and asked to do specific combos, most of which are worthless in actual fights and are there just for fun. Then there’s mission mode, which is pretty much just the advanced tutorial, but with a LOT of tutorials on general situations and mechanics, but if you go to the next page in there, you something no other fighting game does: Matchup tutorials. That’s right, there are specific tutorials that allow you to gain matchup knowledge against other characters/techniques. This is incredible, and all fighting games should do this.

But wait, we still have to talk about the best mode of all: Fishing. Basically, you walk up to a lake and fish for unlockable things, like songs that can play in battle (including ones from older Guilty Gear games), character colors, avatar customization items, concept art, and more. And yeah, you could also just save up your in-game currency and buy them in the gallery, but that’s no fun.

The lobby system, where you walk around as that cute little thing. (Image courtesy of Fighters Generation)

The lobby system, where you walk around as that cute little thing. You can also fish here! (Image courtesy of Fighters Generation)

Even outside of modes, Revelator still has other things to do. When playing online, you have an avatar that is the most precious thing in the world, and it walks around the lobby and you get into matches by sitting at arcade machines and waiting for other avatars to walk up and sit at the same one. It’s so cute. And the best part is that you can customize your avatar. You can give it little square heads of the characters in the game, and change their body color to your liking, though you have to unlock those. And then there’s your plate, which is more or less your trainer card for the online. You can unlock custom frames, change your profile picture, and give yourself a title, normally composed of really goofy words. Mine is Magic Manly Mustache.

Conclusion: Should you buy Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator?

Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator is the single greatest experience I’ve ever had with a fighting game. It has an incredibly unique and balanced roster, fantastic blend of fundamentals and execution, and well-designed mechanics, along side a fantastic score and the best graphics I’ve ever seen in a fighting game. It’s got plenty of options other than versus and arcade mode to keep you from getting bored, and not to mention a pretty good and fun story. Fishing is great, and despite some issues with the online, I’m still willing to give this game the best score I can, because the online still works well so long as you know what to do.

Reacting to Resident Evil 7 and its Demo

June 20, 2016 Ricky

I must admit I was quite surprised at Sony’s press conference at E3 this year. The announcement of a new God of War, a remaster of Crash Bandicoot, and we finally got a release date for The Last Guardian. But what I was most shocked to see was the announcement of the seventh Resident Evil game.

Its been quite awhile since we’ve had an actual scary Resident Evil admittedly. Image Source: amazon.com

My first assumption on seeing the trailer was that it was going to be completely in VR. So along with the game itself, you would need to pay an extra 400 dollars to play it. Thankfully, after some interviews with the developers, that turned out not to be the case. While it is compatible with VR, its not needed. However, it does take place entirely in first person perspective, which I feel both optimistic and worried about at the same time.

The demo has already set the stage for a very creepy and disturbing atmosphere. Image Source: The AV Club

First off: the good. From the trailer and the demo, the game looks gorgeous. The lighting seems to set a wonderfully creepy vibe that I’ve missed in the recent Resident Evil games. The small location is ripped straight out of a nightmare with rotting carcasses, decaying walls, moving mannequins, and notes that seem to be moving on their own.

The small setting itself is also a positive for me. Resident Evil 6 was a world-sprawling narrative going from America, to Europe, and then to China. That’s good for an adventure game, but it doesn’t let you soak in the world around you as much. You’re too busy jumping from one set-piece to another to savor it. The feeling of restriction and confinement only heightens the dark and horrific atmosphere that you feel enthralled in within the demo for 7.

More characters for RE6, but most rely too much on established traits in previous games instead of pushing any personality. Also there’s a near total abscence of horror. Image Source: Gazette Review

But now we come to the bad. I love the atmosphere that can already be seen and the world that’s presented, but it doesn’t seem like Resident Evil to me. Or at least, not yet. There has been no mention so far of the T-Virus, Umbrella, the BSA, The Raccoon City Incident, or even the word infected. From the demo its hard to tell, but there seems to be no zombies in sight.

The backwards cabin with a killer in it can be very scary. But that’s not Resident Evil. To me, Resident Evil is being caught in a world that is constantly trying to kill you. You need to make sure you have supplies and are always ready. Being alone with an army of walking, biting, and voracious zombies is what is at the core of what makes these games so great. Maybe the killer is infected with a new kind of virus, maybe not, but so far there’s very little evidence to support that.

Its great to see that Capcom is listening to the fans and going back to horror for Resident Evil. But only time will tell if this is a new beginning, or a failed experiment.

Is he infected or just a crazed killer? Only time will tell. Image Source: Trans-Scribe at Blogspot.com

2016 in Gaming: What I’m Still Excited For

June 20, 2016 Kennedy

Now that we’re halfway done with the year and E3 has passed, now is a great time to look around us and start thinking about what the best games of the year have been so far, what we’re still excited for, and what the biggest disappointments have been so far. It’s been a very hectic year for gaming: A new generation of Pokemon is on the way, the Wii U’s impending end when we find out more about the NX, new versions of the PS4 and X-Box One on the way, Kojima returning to the game industry, the return of Star Fox and Resident Evil, a 5^th Street Fighter game, the upcoming 25^th Anniversary Party of Sonic the Hedgehog, 4K gaming, and of course the beginning of The Lifecast to name a few of the most notable events.

We’ve already had some great games come out this year: So what’s left to be excited for? E3 gave us some great titles to be excited for but most of them won’t be out until next year. There’s still plenty of games coming out this year to be excited about, however. If you’ve been wanting some good titles coming out this year to keep your eye on, let me recommend you these 10 games coming out this year that I’m excited for (in no particular order.)

Zero Time Dilemma

This one comes out on the 28^th of this month, so fortunately, the wait won’t be much longer! It’s going to be the third and final installment of my favorite handheld series Zero Escape, home of 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward. The Zero Escape franchise is all about puzzles, the emphasis of choices, and quantum physics. In each game, you play as someone who’s been trapped in a confined space with 8 other people who’ve all been kidnapped by a mysterious man called Zero. You try to escape while solving the mysteries of why you’re there, who Zero is, why he kidnapped you, and so on. Each game emphasizes beating the game multiple times to get through multiple endings and fully understanding the consequences of your choices. The trailers make Zero Time Dilemma out to be much more dramatic than any of the other games, not to mention more visually stunning! A caveat, however, is that these games shouldn’t be played out of order: If this game looks interesting to you, yes, you need to play 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward first. The developer’s have already stated that answering questions that have been unanswered since 999 will be addressed, so you run the risk of both not fully understanding what’s going on and its significance, and spoiling 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions:

This one comes out on the 24^th of this month for Wii U. Like Zero Time Dilemma, the wait won’t be much longer. I like Fire Emblem. I like Persona. So I should probably like a game that’s basically Persona with Fire Emblem characters, right? Although I never got the chance to actually play it, I did watch other people play the demo at PAX East this year. It doesn’t look great, but it does look like something that I would try playing if I only had a Wii U.

Yiik

This game was the biggest hidden gem of PAX East: It’s an Earthbound-inspired post-modern RPG set in a hipster’s paradise in the 90’s and in case you haven’t heard: I absolutely love Earthbound. Gameplay is turn based and like Earthbound, uses real-world objects and even instruments–many of which need specific button-pressing to use, and it’s quite fun. The graphics are very stylized and charming, the developers seem to really understand the kind of world they want the game to be set in, and the story seems intriguing: You and your friends are looking for a girl who got sucked up by something otherworldly and disappeared. To quote the game’s website, “This is a story about what happens when you look for someone who can’t be found “ The game’s site also states that the game will have a 25 hour story, 6 unique dungeons, and an expansive soundtrack featuring songs by Toby Fox, Andrew Allanson, Hiroki Kikuta, and Calum Bowen amongst others. This game is supposed to be out sometime this summer, though there’s no confirmed date nor month. Once it’s out, it’ll be on Steam, PS4, PSVita, and Wii U.

No Man’s Sky

A gorgeous, Isaac Asimov-inspired adventure game set to come out August 9^th for Steam and PS4, No Man’s Sky has done an incredible job generating hype. The game’s site calls it a “truly open universe” and emphasizes that this is a game about exploring a beautiful, well-built universe with more than 18 quintillion planets to explore. Needless to say, if this game lives up to these claims, this could be the biggest exploration game (second to Minecraft, if you want to get technical) to date.

Pokemon Sun & Moon

Duh

We Happy Few

I probably shouldn’t want this game after PAX East: I waited 90 minutes in their line to play the demo, finally got to the front, where I was only able to play for less than 5 minutes: They bragged about it being a rogue-like game, and that for the purposes of the demo, after you die it should give you the option to continue. I died, but was never taken to the continue screen and was kicked off because they had to keep the line moving. Needless to say, I was pretty bitter. I still am, although I did comment about it on their facebook page where one of the devs did apologize. That said, it’s really hard for me to talk about the gameplay because, well, I didn’t play it for hardly 5 minutes. What I can tell you is this, though: What got me the most interested in this game is the fact that the devs are saying it’s very Bioshock-inspired and Bioshock is my favorite game of all time. Mix that with some beautiful graphics, a very intriguing plot about drug addictions, and a very well-built world and you have a recipe for getting my attention. There are two things keeping me very hesitant, however: First of all, Compulsion Game’s track record.

(via CompulsionGames.com)

The only other game they’ve made is a platformer called Contrast and in theory, it sounded like a great, game, too! Bioshock inspired, beautiful graphics, intriguing story, and platforming where you use your shadow! That sounds awesome, right? I thought so and bought it on a Steam sale, but a very short duration, a story that never really got much more fleshed out than its description, and an overwhelming abundance of bugs and glitches ruined this game. Had it only been longer, had its story fully-realized, and had been well-patched, Contrast could’ve been a fantastic game. Needless to say, there’s nothing indicating We Happy Few won’t be the same way—but there’s also nothing indicating that it will be. Regardless, the bottom line is, I’m worried We Happy Few could fall into the same situation as Contrast.

Secondly, We Happy Few doesn’t seem to know what kind of a game it wants to be. The developers told me it was a Bioshock-inspired rogue-like survival game with first-person shooter, mystery, survival, and puzzle elements—that seems like an awful lot to be going on at once if you ask me. It’s possible it could pull it off, but the sheer amount of genres it seems to be trying to pull off makes me worried that they’ll try to do too much in too little time.

Despite all this, the trailer looks interesting and I haven’t heard bad things about the demo and from the 5 minutes I played of it, it seemed okay. I do love Bioshock, and so do these developers—so perhaps I’ll find solace in the Bioshock-inspired elements of the game. I guess I’ll find out when I’m finally able to play it—it’s supposed to come out for Steam and X-Box One sometime this year, and early access starts July 26^th.

Mighty No. 9

(via MightyNo9.com)

Perhaps I shouldn’t say I’m as excited about this game as much as I am just curious. I’m sure by now most, if not all, of us are at least familiar with the story of Might No. 9, but just in case, let me briefly summarize: This game is meant to be a spiritual successor to the Megaman games and is being developed by Keiji Inafune—the man who made Megaman—with no involvement from Capcom whatsoever. It had overwhelming success on Kickstarter and everyone was super excited about this game. Originally, it was supposed to come out April 2015, but needless to say, that didn’t happen. Delay after delay, secretive development process, slipshod graphics, and arguably the most cringy trailer in gaming history killed most of the hype that this game had generated.

Its latest release date is June 21^st –tomorrow. Needless to say, it’s a little too late to delay it now, so I think this release date is finally the one. I guess we’ll finally find out if it will live up to its initial hype or if everyone was right to stop caring about this game.

Final Fantasy XV

Like Mighty No. 9, perhaps “excited” isn’t as good a word to describe how I feel about it as much as “curious.” This game’s legendary 10-year development has fans wondering if it will have been worth the wait, and frankly, I’m not entirely sure. First of all, there’s the matter of the story. Originally this game was supposed to be Final Fantasy Versus XIII—a spinoff game for Final Fantasy XIII. Two sequels that somehow managed to be worse than Final Fantasy XIII later, however, I guess Square Enix started to realize how unnecessary another Final Fanasy XIII game would be. It makes me very curious about how they handled this change and if we’ll still see elements of XIII in the game. The combat demo we saw didn’t look particularly exciting, nor did it remind me much of a Final Fantasy game, to be honest. I really wish they’d return to the turn-based system from Final Fantasy X, but I realize that’s a very specific thing to nitpick at. It does look like a very expansive game though, and of course, I’m really curious to see how they’ll incorporate VR. This definitely won’t be a game that I preorder nor get on day 1, but it’s definitely a game I’ll be keeping a close eye on. It comes out September 30^th on PS4 and X-Box One.

Star Ocean 5

I’ll be honest: I’ve never played a Star Ocean game. I’ve been interested in the Star Ocean series for a while now however, and after watching the demo at PAX East, I’m even more interested in it. Beautiful graphics, fun combat, and of course knowing that Square Enix is behind it, all make his game look very promising. This one will be out later this month on the 28^th for PS4.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice

There’s not a large difference between how much I love Ace Attorney versus my love of Zero Escape. Ace Attorney is a hilarious, fun, and incredibly clever series following defense attorney, Pheonix Wright, who always knows that his clients are innocent and will do anything to unveil the truth! I’ve been a huge fan of the Ace Attorney series since the release of Apollo Justice, so I’m more than welcoming for a new game in the franchise. There are 2 things that make this game really stand out from other titles that have fans the most excited. First of all, the setting:

We’re no longer in America/Japan (depending on what language you get the game in)—we’re in a remote, very traditional Japanese island with no formal court system. Instead, they rely on spirits revealing the truth. How is this going to play into the plot? What new gameplay mechanics will this give us? And of course, most importantly…

(via usgamer.net)

Pheonix’s beloved sidekick Maya Fey is finally back after a long absence that was never explained nor addressed until now. Not only are fans happy to see she’s back, but we’re also excited to find out what she’s been doing and why it hasn’t been talked about until now.

Spirit of Justice will be a digital-only release for the 3DS in September.