PS4 Archives • The Lifecast Network

Release Roundup 8/1 – 8/12

August 1, 2017 Adam

The next week and a half of video games is on the slower side, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to check out. Here’s the stuff coming out that I think will be worth checking out. Take a look!

Patapon Remastered

Patapon is a beloved series of rhythm games that released on the on the PSP starting in 2008. So, if you happened to miss out on the PSP era now is your chance to make up for it. In Patapon you control a tribe of small, black creatures that are mostly eyes, called Patapon. You charge the small Patapon into battle while they rhythmically and menacingly chant past any other tribes that get in their way. This remaster only has the first game in the series and you can get the game digitally starting today for $14.99 on Ps4

Tacoma

Tacoma is Fullbright’s highly anticipated second game, the first being Gone Home. Tacoma is a narrative based sci-fi adventure set in a space station in the year 2088. If it’s anything like their previous work, Tacoma will probably focus on the more personal and human side of being in space rather than the sci-fi aspect of it. The review embargo lifted today and the game will be out on Steam and Xbox One starting on August 2nd for $19.99.

LawBreakers

LawBreakers is the first game made by Cliff Bleszinski’s new studio Boss Key Productions. It’s a first person arena shooter made in the style of games like Unreal Tournament while mixing it with modern shooter abilities and mobility options. This game has seen a lot of iteration through many closed and open beta sessions and seeing the final product is something I’m excited for. You can get it starting August 8th for $29.99

Spider-Man PS4 Plot and Gameplay Shown at D23

July 15, 2017 Deanna

Aside from the gameplay video shown at E3 this year, we’ve only known about its 2018 release window so far. Insomniac boasts that unlike Sunset Overdrive, an earlier game from the company, the game’s open world will be larger.

Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers – Thoughts So Far

August 30, 2016 dan

Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers came out a while ago, and I’ve been playing it nonstop since. I still haven’t beaten it, though, because on top of being really long, it’s hard as hell. I’m only a fraction of the way into the game and I’m already having trouble beating stages, something I haven’t really seen in a Super Robot Wars game in a long time. So, since my inevitable review of this game is still a ways away, I would like to at least give my thoughts on the game so far. Super Robot Wars is a series very dear to my heart, so prepare for a lot of hyping up, especially since this is the first time we’ve seen an English release of a Super Robot Wars game since the Game Boy Advance.

The Soul Saber finishing an attack (image courtesy of Gematsu)

Mechanically speaking, it’s more of what you’d expect from Super Robot Wars, but more optimized, which is a good thing. It’s still a standard turn-based strategy game, but with some if its own unique twists. Your team is composed of pilots and mechs, and each have their own individual stats. The pilots’ stats serve as modifiers for their mechs’ stats. Pilots have special abilities that offer different temporary boosts, like being able to have your next attack be a guaranteed hit, or taking 1/4 damage from enemies for a turn. There’s also terrain efficiencies, equippable weapons alongside the mechs’ base weapons, and the double up mechanic. You’re given a lot of ways to strategize for this game. The maps are very well-designed, and you actually have to use the terrain to your advantage to get hits in and damage done. They effect your accuracy and evasion rates, which are ridiculously important. Not only that, but the game has yet to feel unfair. Hard, yes, but not unfair. I feel like every time I lose, I lost because of a poor decision, and not because the game was screwing me over.

The game runs beautifully , and is absolutely gorgeous to look at. I never get tired of watching attacks; they’re so flashy and over-the-top, and literally everything ends in an explosion. The combat scenes have this great 2D-on-3D look to them, and the quality of the sprites and environments themselves look fantastic. The animation is fluid, and they transition from the smaller sprites to a full sized image of the mech seamlessly.

The Compatible Kaiser about to attack (image courtesy of Gematsu)

I’m especially enjoying the soundtrack to the game. JAM Project do their usual thing of being Japan’s best musical export with the opening theme. On top of that, the rest of the soundtrack brings back the songs from the previous games and makes them even better. When I first heard the new version of Ash to Ash (Lamia’s theme) and Brass Sincerity (Latooni’s theme) I had the biggest grin on my face. The music here is masterfully made, and I can’t wait to hear even more of it as I progress through the game.

As for the story, well, I don’t believe I’m far in enough to truly give it a go. I’m only just now getting to the point where stuff is like, actually happening. So I can’t really say. As for the characters, though, there’s not a single unlikeable one so far. This is something I really like about the SRW games. Their characters are always so well-made and so likeable. Be it Akimi’s love of all things super robots, Excellen and her stupid jokes, or even just the genuine coolness of someone like Sanger Zonvolt; All of the characters are insanely likeable.

Overall, I’m thoroughly enjoying Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers, and am certain that by the time I’m done with it, I’ll love it even more. Everything about this game in incredibly charming, and I can’t wait to experience more of it.

Furi – Intense Combat, A+ Soundtrack (Early Impressions)

July 7, 2016 Deanna

OH MAN. Here we go, guys. Furi is a game where many of my favorite things intersect. First, you have a neon-dipped, fast-paced game based around satisfying controls and combat. Next up, a somewhat vague story driven by characters who sincerely kick ass, in more ways than one. And finally, to round out this list of things, a shorter list: a killer synth-based soundtrack with collector’s edition vinyl, and immensely difficult gameplay.

I should preface the rest of this review by saying that I’m not used to difficult games by any margin. I’m pretty sure Bloodborne and Hotline Miami rank among the hardest games I’ve played. I don’t know if that says anything about me as a person, but I like to take it easy in my games. You know, go along for the ride.

Furi is having none of that. Even during its tutorial level, Furi pushes gameplay that’s challenging to most people. The fights are long and frustrating at times, and my only qualm here is that a checkpoint after a boss has lost a certain amount of health, maybe two-thirds, would be nice. Furi offers an easier difficulty for those who don’t want to put up with the normal one, but you sacrifice the ability to earn achievements and unlock harder difficulties. You also lose the ability to unlock their speed run mode.

There’s something that keeps me coming back to Furi even as the difficulty ramps up. There’s no feeling quite like decimating a boss in their final stage without getting hit, and it’s something that comes with practice. Even in my limited play time so far, I can see myself improving. And we’ll get to that in a bit.

To set the scene, where I’m at, anyway, you’re an unnamed silent protagonist breaking out of prison with the help of some other unnamed dude wearing a purple bunny hood. To gain your freedom, “The jailer is the key. Kill him, and you’ll be free.” After every battle, you learn more about your guide, and about why you were locked up in the first place.

This boss features Carpenter Brut’s “You’re Mine”, composed for the game. (via PlayStation Blog)

Gameplay and Handling

If you’re going to make a boss-rush bullet hell game, you need to nail the responsiveness of your controls. And congratulations, The Game Bakers, you’ve done it. Moving around is satisfying, as it should be with twin-stick games. You have a parry which will heal you when successful, a slash attack, and a dash at your disposal to get yourself out of tight situations and inflict damage. Parrying an attack at the last second activates a “perfect parry”, which knocks the boss down.

There’s some advanced tech in the movements as well, where you can charge a slash while dashing to avoid enemy attacks.While I find a lot of these are situational, it’s pretty nice to know. Along with healing after a successful parry, there are green projectiles that turn into health orbs when shot. They’re few and far-between, and it can sometimes be riskier getting to them than staying put.

There are a couple mechanics which make the long fights more manageable. One which I find breaks up the monotony of endless dodging is that after knocking out a boss’s shields, combat shifts to a close-quarters fight. Additionally, when you take a full bar of life off a boss, your current one is entirely healed. Conversely, the boss gets this advantage as well, and if you fail in close-quarters, the boss heals up their shields, too. This is another area where I’m critical of the choice. It seems unfair sometimes, as parrying while in close-quarters or during the shield phase doesn’t heal all too much, but it’s not a deal breaker.

Between the bosses, there’s a fair amount of exposition. These are like walking simulators with some story and background. I’m not a huge fan of walking through them so slowly. The great thing here is that there’s an auto-walk option, so you can sit back and enjoy the cutscene leading up to the next boss.

There isn’t much but talking and walking. (via The Game Bakers)

Difficulty and Frustration Factor

While I’ve already covered how difficult the game is, I haven’t quite covered how infuriating some battles are. There’s a lot to watch out for, and a lot to focus on. Sometimes due to the colorful nature of the game, projectiles and ground attacks blur together. And while it makes for interesting visuals and some pretty hard stuff to dodge, unfortunately it makes it so I can’t sit for hours and work my way through. I can do 45 minutes at most without getting sloppy– dodging directly into damage, parrying poorly, and giving up too much of my precious life bar. And unfortunately there’s nothing I can do to combat this but get better at rushing the boss and taking breaks.

I don’t want to, though. I want to be able to sink hours into the game without tearing my hair out, and to prove to myself that not only can I get good, but I can actually withstand the difficulty a game puts in front of me without falling off in how effective I am at fighting. I feel like the real fight here is to not set the difficulty to an easier one. And trust me, that temptation is alive and kicking even as I write this.

Up close and personal with the first jailer. (via The Game Bakers)

Soundtrack

Despite all the shortcomings I have with difficult games, the one thing that keeps me going is the soundtrack. Initially I heard about the game browsing on YouTube. I can’t remember what led me there, but I saw a new track with Carpenter Brut’s name on it. I wasn’t a hard sell, Carpenter Brut is among one of my favorite synthwave artists. He sits among several others that are well-known for their music: Danger, Lorn, Scattle, and Kn1ght, to name a few. It’s available for purchase on Bandcamp (here!) as either a digital album or a collector’s edition vinyl, which is limited to a run of 800. Excuse me while I stare out my window and wait for it to arrive, please.

It’s worth the exorbitant shipping price, you gotta believe me. (Image via Bandcamp)

In Conclusion

If you enjoy difficult games, or even just a challenge, do yourself a favor and add this one to your collection. I can’t urge you enough, without being entirely repetitive, about how much you should play this game. Even if you have to do it on easy mode, do it. There’s no game I’d recommend more from this year so far.

Keeping us waiting with antici…

June 18, 2016 Deanna

…pation. For games from this year’s E3.

That’s right, folks, it’s that time of year. The time where we all gather ’round our computer screens and talk about what we saw at E3 that we actually liked. Of course there’s a handful of things that I couldn’t have guessed would be shown. Others I knew would be teased, and I’m even more excited for them now than I was last week. So: shall we?

This shouldn’t come as any surprise if you’ve read my author description on this site at all. (via ScreenRant)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Much like anyone who watched Nintendo’s Treehouse over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, I, too, really want to see the newest in The Legend of Zelda’s franchise. Breath of the Wild looks like it’s going to be huge, and I mean that literally. Nintendo teased us to only 2% of the game’s world, and I really hope that’s true. Since I got into the series I’ve wanted a game I could fully immerse myself in, and this seems like it’s a step in the right direction.

On top of that, it’s rumored that the story isn’t linear, per se, but that you’ll be able to go fight the final boss even at the beginning of the game. I think this is especially interesting for speedrunners, as it’ll make that sub-20 minute Ocarina of Time run look pretty damn mediocre. Of course, running a two-day treehouse at E3 wasn’t ideal, though it was nice to be able to tune in for a few minutes at a time for news. Good job, Nintendo!

Next up! Horizon Zero Dawn doing what it does best thus far: generating hype. (via GameSpot)

Horizon Zero Dawn

To say I’m excited for Horizon Zero Dawn may be a bit of an understatement. I like fantasy, archery games, and I like cyber, mechanical games. I also happen to enjoy games with a female protagonist. Call me politically correct, if you must, but playing as a dude 90% of the time in games is boring. Not that I won’t, but hey. Change is good. (Unless that change is 4k.)

It seems like it’s hard for developers to make a survival-action game and have it be colorful, but with Horizon, that’s not the case. The colors are striking and rich, and it’s going to stand out, especially when I play it in my drab-colored living room. The story seems expansive, the gameplay seems novel, and overall the game promises something that at least looks good.

Speaking of striking visuals, it’s time for my final most anticipated game of E3 2016. (via Playstation Lifestyle)

ABZU

Similarly to the other two games in this list, ABZU is richly colored, story-driven, and, well, anticipated. Like its predecessor Journey, it promises an immersive musical score with Austin Wintory returning for its composition. It should be noted, though, that ABZU is not a sequel or a successor to Journey. It’s different.

While some people may not like Journey or even think it’s a game, I probably won’t be able to get enough. If the game’s going to be pretty short, that’s fine. I liked Journey and Flower all the same. What I’m looking forward to the most about this game, though, is the fact that it’s coming to Steam. I can finally play a thatgamecompany game in the comfort of my own home. A PC’s all I got.

And now, for everything else. (via GameSpot)

Honorable Mentions of E3

That’s not all that got teased at E3, and that’s not all that I’m hype for. Now that I’ve heard more about games like Days Gone and Resident Evil VII, the future looks promising for gaming. I want to know more about Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, though, as I’m curious to know why Norman Reedus oil beach fetus was the first thing that he decided to make after leaving Konami. Then again, maybe some mysteries are better left unsolved.

That being said, I don’t think my wallet’s going to be able to keep up with the upcoming gaming binge. Regardless, almost everything shown off is something I want to get to at some point or another. Except for Resident Evil in VR, that just looks like it’ll make me afraid of the dark again.

Hitman Episode 3: Marrakesh Review

June 17, 2016 Adam

In the three episodes of Hitman we’ve gotten so far, they’ve all been set in very diverse locations. I don’t mean only setting wise, each of the three episodes gives us very different play styles that fit according to each location. In Paris, it was all about infiltrating a runway show. It had quiet outskirts and a very dense center, this allowed the player to do all of their dirty work on the outskirts and plan their way in. Sapienza was very sparse and had a lot of hidden entrances, this time the player could explore the vast setting of Italy and really plan how they got the job done. In Marrakesh, the area is as dense as it could be and it makes you react quickly and improvise frequently. Marrakesh provides the most unique experience while giving you plenty of options to dispense of your targets, making it the strongest episode of Hitman so far.

When you start your mission in Marrakesh, you immediately realize that this isn’t the traditional in-and-out hit. Both of your targets are in two heavily guarded areas on opposite sides of the map. You quickly realize that you won’t be able to get away with that much when the whole area is filled to the brim with witnesses.

maxresdefault

As you start exploring and plan your infiltration a lot of “opportunities” will arise. Opportunities are Hitman’s way of telling you that there might be a way in if you follow through with what’s going on around you. Opportunities are multistep processes that will eventually lead you to your target. This time around the opportunities let you do some incredibly fun things. One of them you get to pretend to be a masseuse and snap your targets neck while massaging him. While in another one you can pretend to be a cameraman a drop a giant moose on your target. However, my favorite of the opportunities involves shoving a toilet onto your targets head. I won’t ruin all of the fun for you but trust me, it’s pretty damn awesome.

Source: Namelessdreadx37x

In the other episodes of Hitman you don’t necessarily need to complete the opportunities because of the open nature of them but Marrakesh provides a much more tight and controlled experience, which I ended up liking a lot more than Paris, for example.

The opportunities also make replaying Marrakesh more fun than ever. In previous episodes the opportunities were often left to the side and it wasn’t that fun to see them through. This time around I ended up playing the mission multiple times just so I could see how each of them played out. Each of them have some bizarre and fun twist in them like the ones I mentioned earlier.

Exploring the areas of Marrakesh also end up being more interesting because of the nature of the mission. When going into places you’re never guaranteed to get away with anything. There’s always someone around to ruin your plan making your windows to get stuff done a lot smaller and a hell of a lot more satisfying when it all falls into place. This also makes it so you can’t necessarily brute force your way through the mission like you could in the other two episodes.

Fallout 4 Far Harbor Review: Far From Home

May 30, 2016 Adam

*This is a review of the PS4 version of Far Harbor and I cannot speak for the performance issues on PC*

Far Harbor is Bethesda’s first meaty expansion for the underwhelming Fallout 4, they had some additions like Automatron and Wasteland Workshop, but this is the expansion that everyone was looking forward to.

Taking place on Bethesda’s representation of the Coast of Maine, Far Harbor starts you right where you left off the last time you played Fallout. Unfortunately for myself, the last time I actually played Fallout before this was back in December so it ended up being a little jarring trying to remember where the hell everything is. Much to my surprise, I forgot I managed to piss off every faction and was immediately being shot at upon loading the save.

After I handled all of that, I started the expansion. You arrive at Valentine’s office and quickly learn that a girl named Kasumi Nakano is missing and you have been hired to go find out where she is. You go look for evidence around the house, and this is when I was immediately reminded that I was still playing Fallout 4.

Far Harbor is great so far! pic.twitter.com/GJSscfKCvQ

— Adam 'Poland Spring' Osmani (@AdamDasani) May 19, 2016

After finding out she went to a place called Far Harbor, you follow suit and go find out what’s really going on. Upon arrival, you’re greeted by one of the new factions called the Harbormen. The introductions are quick as you’re thrown into a fight with creatures that come from the Fog. The dreaded, dreaded fog. And with an otherwise very interesting introduction, this is also the first time you realize how much of a problem the fog is going to be. It’s not because the enemies are tough or anything, but because the frame rate drops substantially whenever you’re fighting anything in the fog. Unfortunately for the players, the entire island is covered in this fog and this makes traversal through the island almost unbearable. Which is a shame, because I really like the aesthetic of the island. It presents itself as very eerie and mysterious. Throw in some abandoned ships and sea creatures and I’ll be bound to enjoy the look.

In between meeting these factions, you get an important quest that the Children of Atom have useful information and you need to go get it. Once you get to the computer that has what you need, it sends you to this virtual world and you find out that there’s puzzles separating you from potentially having fun again. On PS4, this area runs like crap and the puzzles aren’t fun whatsoever. It’s basically just horrible filler that made me angrier at the game just for including it. It almost felt like the game was wasting my time. Just take a look for yourself.

Source: HarryNinteyFour

The other two factions you meet along the way are The Children of Atom, who are nuclear energy addicted crazy people with no real relevance to the storyline and Arcadia, who are a group of Synths. Most of the important quests are linked to Arcadia as DiMA, the lead synth is the character you’re dealing with a lot of the time. None of the newly introduced characters are necessarily interesting either, most of them are one track minded and don’t add anything to the story other than “I’m a synth and synths are great” or “I’m not a synth and I hate synths” until much, much later in the expansion.

However, every character in this expansion seems to have two things in common. One being, their hatred of the fog and the other being how much the Children of Atom suck. The game doesn’t do much to sway your opinion from this and it ultimately ends up with the player not necessarily caring about what happens to them. *HEAVY SPOILERS, SKIP A FEW SENTENCES AHEAD IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOLIED* Which is why I ended up blowing them up to smithereens the second I had the chance to. Right when I was almost finished with the game they give me this decision, so I finished all of my side quests with them and quite literally, blew them to the wind. Now, the really unfortunate thing about this is that there’s no repercussions for this decision whatsoever other than one line of dialogue. When I went back to Far Harbor, it went a little like this. The leader said my decision to do this was unbearable and wasn’t justified. That conversation ended and I started another one with the same character. She then began to praise me for all of the fantastic work I had done for them so far. It was a very polarizing minute and a half.

Since this is probably the last time I’ll be playing Fallout, there was nothing keeping me from doing whatever horrible actions I wanted to do. I feel like now, more than ever the game needed consequences for your actions but I literally eradicated an entire faction for no good reason other than wondering what could happen. *SPOILERS OVER* The finality of this expansion was something I think worked against it substantially. Even if they plan on making more expansions, which they do, they make this whole expansion feel like one last trip back to the wasteland.

Source: Kotaku Australia

The expansion ends on a high note and actually wraps the character arcs up a lot better than I was anticipating. However, they don’t necessarily give you any reason to go back to the island. It ends with you leaving in the boat that you came in with and I think it ends like this for a few reasons. One, so they can load in a whole new island because the game already runs like crap without the added island to it. And the other being because it thematically fits. I ended up finishing all of the side quests before I saw the ending and it felt like that was the way to play this properly. By the end of it I had a good sense of accomplishment in my pocket and the way it ends gave me a sense of relief. Unless you care about settlement building or want to find secrets, there’s no reason to go back after you finish the main & side quests which took me roughly 12ish hours give or take.

Paragon: Another MOBA Comin’ to Town

May 30, 2016 Tiffany

For the past few years, Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBA) have become increasingly popular. With League of Legends and DOTA 2 being at the top spot in terms of popularity, SMITE and Heroes of the Storm are starting to make their mark. Paragon is currently in Beta and I managed to gain some in-game experience from the first Free Beta Weekend. I personally hate fighting against AI, but that was my majority experience due to my “ability to wait”. Each individual playing the Beta had already received an invite via email, so the chances of experiencing a full lobby of players are kinda slim. (Insert sad face here)

The game will be a PC and PS4 exclusive.

Epic Games

This company is behind the scene’s of the well-known Gears of War series, which is one of the most graphically amazing games of our time! I’m more than confident that Epic Games will make this game beyond worthwhile. I also want to make it crystal clear that Epic Games truly impressed me. Why? They are pouring in effort and addressing problems to make the MOBA community a better place.

Introducing "Code of the Paragon", our official Code of Conduct. https://t.co/Us1em1ROqw

— Paragon (@Paragon) April 21, 2016

We know that players who AFK and leave matches is something you care about. Here is what we plan to do about it https://t.co/jmvxpp9iAy

— Paragon (@Paragon) April 15, 2016

Graphics

Oh, my lord.. The graphics… The all-mighty gods of the gaming world have answered our prayers! *As you read this article, you begin to faintly hear “Hallelujah” in the background* Every visual aspect of Paragon is ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. I consider myself very picky when it comes to graphics, but oh man.. I cannot point out a single flaw about the game’s appearance– the up-close look at heroes, detailed minions/mobs, the eye-opening scenery of the battleground, the clean design of the game lobby. Just see for yourself!

What you see when you spawn in a match (Screenshot by me)

Screenshot taken in spectator mode, which is why the teams are displayed

How could you deny such pleasure from seeing these screenshots?! (Or maybe it’s just me)

Heroes

So far, there are 16 playable heroes and I’m certain more will be added throughout their release. After playing multiple MOBAs, it would be cliché and obvious to call the heroes “unique” because each MOBA has its own set of different heroes. They wouldn’t be different characters if they were all similar. However, there seems to be is no lore for the heroes! It was worth mentioning because everyone knows the character’s lore is “important” in a MOBA, right? lol

One of the heroes, Muriel, available to play in Paragon

To view more information about the heroes, click here. or here! Decide your path 😀

Gameplay

What I enjoy about this MOBA is the incorporation of the elevated surfaces. The map isn’t one flat area with walls, comparable to a maze. Paragon has a third-person POV, so you are actually IN the action. It is similar to SMITE‘s camera view, but I find the gameplay more intense. The heroes’ skills may be a factor, to be honest. The skill effects, overall, make it look like you’re in a movie but without the cinematic angles. On top of that, the music adds that epic, desire-to-win vibe. Getting into the actual gameplay, it felt slow-paced although it took the average amount of time to finish a game. After waiting a long time to successfully experience a Player vs Player match, the match ended in 42 minutes.

Not only that, but the health/mana potions refill (3 charges) every time the player is back at base. I find it neat because you don’t need to constantly invest your money on pots! Also, unlike League of Legends, creep score (last hitting minions for more money) is not important. All you need to do is walk over orange orbs obtained by fallen nearby minions! Since today is Memorial day, I’d like to take a moment to remember the minions who served for our team. (I’ve always felt bad for minions. They blindly fight to death for people who don’t care about them!)

Players can also collect various cards to form decks and further use in game, which is awesome sauce!

There are many cards to collect and use

These are some of the ones I’ve collected so far. As of today, there are a total of 259 cards sectioned off into categories: Order, Intellect, Corruption, Fury, Growth, Universal. Builds are already being formed and tested as we (technically I) speak!

Call of Duty: Why “Boots on the Ground” Should Stay in the Ground

May 30, 2016 Greg

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s reveal trailer is now officially one of the most disliked video on YouTube, second only to Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” There are four major reasons for this.

One: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered is being “sold” as a pre-order bonus for Infinite Warfare. Now that’s a total scumbag move, probably the worst example of pre-order bs and all but, that’s not what we’re here to talk about!

Two: people are upset about the direction the series is headed wanting a more traditional “boots on the ground” shooter experience from Call of Duty.

Three: people just despise Call of Duty. There’s been this long running thing where Call of Duty is the face of all that’s wrong with gaming. Even though there are PLENTY of games with a worse record than Call of Duty and before this new Modern Warfare Remastered pre-order business their record was relatively clean.

Aaand four: The trailer was just kinda bad.

Today however! We’re here to discuss that second category and why I think the future is the best place for Call of Duty to head from both a design and thematic standpoint.

1. Design:

Call of Duty is a “twitch-based first-person-shooter” this means it’s all about testing how fast a player can understand the situation in front of them and whether or not they can execute what’s needed to succeed. Now in earlier Call of Duty’s since the games were set in a modern setting you would only really fight on flat stages where you primarily just shifted your sights from left to right to fire, only adjusted upwards to aim for the head or to hit someone at a slightly higher elevation.

Notice most combatants will just approach you on the same Z-Axis.

In recent iterations of the franchise they’ve recently started upgrading the amount of mobility the players have. With jet-packs and sliding maneuvers added players are now required to adjust their sights more dynamically in order to properly engage enemies. This adds some much needed depth to the series and depth is always good especially when it’s simple to understand. The added mobility adds much needed “outplay” potential for both players in a fire fight and such depth just isn’t possible in a “boots on the ground” experience without becoming Counter Strike.

Notice the combatant flying through the air and another about to pounce standing on the tank.

2. Thematics

Call of Duty is dumb. I mean this in the best of ways. Call of Duty is a simple game about seeing who can shoot each other in the face before the other. Call of Duty is a dumb action movie with player interaction so the stories and settings should reflect this. A futuristic story lends itself to all the absurdity Call of Duty deserves. In Call of Duty’s most recent iteration Black Ops 3 the developers are seemingly starting to understand that. This game sports a roster of characters all pulled straight out of action films. Men, women and robots with dumb special abilities and dumb taunts. It’s fantastic.

Look at um’ LOOK AT ‘UM!

A “boots on the ground” experience, while still fantasy, holds more weight to it as it is based on real experiences that real brave men and women have. In other words you gotta show it some respect. Let Call of Duty be dumb please.

If you are still looking for that “boots on the ground” experience luckily for you within the same week as the Infinite Warfare trailer a Battlefield 1 came out sporting a World War I inspired setting. If that’s not a message from the gods then I don’t know what is.

Street Fighter V: Is It Finished Yet?

May 23, 2016 dan

Ever since its release, Street Fighter V has been under fire for being an incomplete game, and who can blame anyone for thinking like this? Upon release, people who put that game into their system were greeted with barely anything to do offline. With no arcade mode, no challenge mode, a yet-to-be-added in-game shop for unlockables, and a horrible online experience for the first week of release, anyone who bought Street Fighter V in its February release had essentially purchased a $60 training mode with bad online.

What a lot of people seem to forget, though, was that a lot of the game’s major parts were to be added in March. So, now that the huge March update has happened, is the newest addition to Capcom’s fighting game giant actually worth a buy? Let’s find out.

Gameplay

Fighting games are notorious for alienating the more casual scene due to their high execution requirements, requiring a small frame of time to mix moves together into combos. Capcom noticed this trouble with the casual scene, and has increased the window for combos in this game, making the creation of effective combos much easier to do. Most bread n’ butter (BnB; basic, effective combos) combos in Street Fighter IV only had a window of 2 to 3 frames where you could input the next move before you drop the combo. In Street Fighter V, that number seems to be closer to 4 to 5 frames. On top of this, the casual audience can also rest easy knowing that even if they don’t have combos, they can still get by on the regular moves, because the damage on all attacks in Street Fighter V is huge. A few random attacks can do some serious damage if they land. The best part about these two simple changes is that even though it is more welcoming to the casual player, it also brings the competitive scene for the game closer to its roots. By making execution overall easier, in combination with the high damage from normal and special moves, it shifts the focus of the game away from having a player that has both high execution and a good neutral game, to a player that really only needs a good neutral game.

For those unacquainted with fighting games, the neutral game is the point in a match where neither player is at a clear advantage or disadvantage on screen, and both are trying to get in on each other. This point in the game relies heavily on mindgames and prediction, as opposed to execution. Lots of limb-flailing going on here to keep opponents out or to try to get in on them. Punishing mistakes, applying pressure, everything to do with fighting games outside of execution happens in the neutral game. It’s the core of fighting game fundamentals. This change to almost exclusive focus on the neutral game is a smart choice. By having the gameplay focus more on fighting game fundamentals, it helps to develop the player into someone who is better overall at the game than creating a person with a flowchart of “that one combo they found” or keeping to one singular strategy. It encourages the player to learn, because they know that all they have to know to get by is their opponent, rather than any complicated combo list, while at the same time rewarding the player for knowing those combos.

Mobility in Street Fighter V feels incredible. Everyone has the perfect amount of weight to them and maneuvering around the screen feels incredibly natural. Street Fighter V is by far the best-feeling game in the franchise, even better than fan favorite Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. That said, mobility in a fighting game isn’t really something that can be graded, as how a fighting game feels to the player is almost entirely subjective. So while I feel that Street Fighter V feels the best, this is the part that will vary the most from person to person.

Zangief Spinning Pile Driver Street Fighter V

Image courtesy of GiantBomb user DryvBy

Now moving on to the actual mechanics themselves, Street Fighter V seems to have taken the series back to basics in terms of, well, everything. No more Focus Attacks, no more supers, no more Ultra Meter. In its place, we have Critical Art (CA) Meter, and the V-Gauge. The CA Meter is used for only two things: EX attacks, and a Critical Arts. EX attacks are powered up versions of each characters’ special moves that take one bar of your meter to perform, and Critical Arts are what’s replacing both Supers and Ultras in this game. Critical Arts are powerful moves you can do once you fill up your meter. Performing them takes all the meter you have, but if landed, they can be game-changing. You can charge your CA Meter by doing pretty much anything. Attacking, blocking, getting hurt – anything.

The V-Gauge is also only used for two things: V-Reversals, and V-Triggers. V-Reversals are exactly what they say: reversals. If your opponent is applying pressure, you can spend half of your V-Gauge to push them away from you. V-Triggers are special skills you can perform when your V-Gauge fills up. These skills vary from being something simple like an increase in overall damage for a short period of time, to a special attack that can put you at a serious advantage. Because of the higher utility the V-Gauge offers, it is harder to build up than the CA Meter. You can either build up your V-Gauge by getting hurt or using your V-Skill, a special move that varies from character to character.

That’s it for actual mechanics, though. The minimal mechanics help highlight the neutral game, giving the players just enough tools to deal damage and get in, without it being so full of mechanics you get lost in the sheer amount of options you have. With less overall options, it’s easier to learn your opponents and develop strategies for their specific style of play. It sacrifices complexity for the sake of a more involved mental game, and it works wonderfully.

One last thing I’m going to mention is that the roster is incredibly balanced. Every character has high points and low points that make them each good in their own way, where even the lowest tier characters can still make top 8 in tournaments.

Street Fighter V is by far my favorite Street Fighter game in terms of how it plays and feels.

Looks/Sound

Aesthetically speaking, Street Fighter V looks fairly lacking when compared to other fighting games, such as Mortal Kombat X or Guilty Gear Xrd. Not to say it looks bad, just that it could be better. The quality of the character models is very good, and the environments are bright and full of color. The biggest issue here, though, is that the environments don’t feel like they’re a part of the game like in previous entries. This has to do with the fact that, while the playable characters are animated at a full 60 fps, the backgrounds are only animated at 30 fps. Meaning the images in the back are going to look really off-putting while playing. The stages themselves look good, but when playing through them, I can’t help but feel detached because of this weird, unnecessary difference in frame rate.

Now, onto my biggest complaint about the visuals in this game: the color of the stages. You have all of these beautiful looking stages, with all of these colors that could be used really well to make them even prettier, and this just doesn’t happen because of one huge reason:

HARDLY ANY OF THE STAGES ARE WHITE BALANCED WELL

Image Courtesy of EventHubs’ Jonathan ‘Catalyst’ Grey

Seriously, it may seem like a small thing to some, but god damn is it horribly obvious in this game. The colors in the majority of the stages all have this really ugly blue tint to them from lack of white balancing, as shown above. And when it’s not an ugly blue tint, it’s an ugly orange tint. All of those great colors could have been brought out so much better if they just white balanced the stages.

Now onto the sound, and I’ve gotta’ say, Capcom nailed it with the OST here. You’ve got a bit of everything, from the hype-building Rashid’s theme, Ryu’s orchestral theme, Ken’s awesome hard rock, and F.A.N.G.’s… Dubstep elevator music? Yeah I guess that’s how you’d describe it. But it’s great, I swear! Point is, this OST is awesome, and huge props to Capcom for making one of the best fighting game OSTs of all time.

Story

lol

Content

Ah, here it is. This is where all the backlash is coming from. Does Street Fighter V have enough content to warrant its price? It certainly didn’t at its release. But now that the promised March update has happened, adding in a lot of the content that was lacking in the initial release, is it finally worth a buy?

Well, let’s add it all together, shall we? The amount of content in this game is as follows: Survival Mode, Training Mode, unlockables through the in-game shop, Challenge Mode, ranked and casual online matches, quick stories for each character, access to the Capcom Fighters Network, and yes, the online is now actually stable and working pretty alright now. If you want to count it, we’re also getting a cinematic story mode some time next month.

Survival mode is the closest thing this game has to an arcade mode, and it’s not as good as one. You go through a lot of stages, each increasing in number with difficulty, and try to beat the boss at the end. To stay in the best shape you can, you can exchange points you earn for winning fights for buffs in HP, attack, defense, etc. It would be so much cooler if it weren’t for the horrible AI. It’s pathetic for the first half of survival, and then is absolutely brutal in the second half, so getting through the whole thing, even after a little bit of practice, is still horribly tedious. That said, I still enjoy the occasional survival mode, and don’t really see why people hate it aside from unlocking colors. As a mode on its own, I feel like it’s perfectly fine. The AI may be jank, but going through it once you learn the game is kinda fun. You just have to get over that difficulty spike if you’re playing on anything higher than easy.

The stories take 5 minutes per character, are pathetically easy, horribly written, and have ugly art, though sometimes comically bad. And some stories are kind of entertaining. And by some, I mean just Zangief’s.

Doesn’t stop the art from being ass, though.

Challenge mode is the standard fighting game challenge mode, where you’re presented with 10 combos for each character that you have to pull off. You get nothing out of this aside from something to do and some help on your execution, which isn’t a bad thing. Especially since this is the first challenge mode I’ve seen where the combos in it are actually practical. A couple of the combos I came up with for Nash actually were in challenge mode. It was soul-crushing.

The Capcom Fighting Network is irrelevant if you don’t play competitively, but if you do, it’s a place for you to keep track of the top players and watch replays of pretty much any match that happened online. It’s a great way to learn more about the game.

There is plenty of content, but half of it won’t be revisited after the first play through.

Conclusion: Should You Buy Street Fighter V?

Okay, here it is, the big moment. After everything that’s happened with Street Fighter V, is it finally worth a buy after the update? Well, a used copy of Street Fighter V at Gamestop goes for about $45, and that’s the perfect price. I want to use that to prove something: Even after this huge update, with the extra characters, modes, unlockables, and everything, Street Fighter V still does not have enough content to warrant a $60 price tag. Even now that it’s price has been lowered to $50 for a new copy, that’s not going to be worth it until June, maybe. If the story mode isn’t 5 minutes like what we have now. I bought my copy for $60 on release, and I love it. It’s one of my favorite fighting games, and I feel like my money was well spent for the time I’ve put into it. But I can’t honestly recommend getting this game to anyone for anything higher than $45. I wouldn’t buy a game that was online-only for any more than $30, and with the content Street Fighter V has, it just pushes it up to $45 as a good price. It plays wonderfully, looks good, and sounds great. From the perspective of gameplay, Street Fighter V is absolutely fantastic, and if you want to play it, you should buy it for whatever price you want. But if you’re looking for content, this game just won’t deliver for full price. Get it used.