Review: Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu + Poke Ball Plus

As some of you may recall, I've been a Pokemon fan since the very beginning. I very badly sung the anime theme song at my school assembly, I hobbled over the lucky kids who had a GameBoy playing Pokemon Red or Blue, and even got a short try at one, but it was many years later that I got it. I saved up for a year to get Pokemon Gold, then all the others, and then, for no reason, my mother bought me Pokemon Yellow. I finally had a Pikachu of my own, and seeing his happy face on the screen made me more happier than I can describe in one paragraph. 
I achieved that exact same feeling when I started Let's Go Pikachu. 

You play as Chase or Elaine (or as your own chosen name); a fresh faced Pokemon trainer wannabe new to Pallet Town. You and your childhood rival Trace (or whatever name you chose for him) are going to the Pallet Town Lab to receive your own Pokemon, but Professor Oak is nowhere to be found. Finding him in the grass, a wild Pikachu or Eevee comes out of nowhere, and your story starts there.
To anyone who has played the original or remakes of Gen 1 Pokemon, you can immediately notice the story similarities, but there are small differences here and there, which I'll let you discover on your own. If you do pick up LG Pikachu, the game will feel more like Pokemon Yellow than anything. The game is treated as a soft reboot, but there are plenty of callbacks to the original gen.

Gameplay wise is of course, your natural Pokemon RPG with the new added element of catching pokemon outright. Players finding wild pokemon will automatically begin to capture pokemon instead of battling them traditionally. You can use berries to make them calmer or more loving to you, then use whatever pokeball of your choice to try and capture them. Using the Switch, you can track them with motion controls and throw the ball by pressing A. But worry not! Catching Pokemon levels up your pokemon regardless of battling or no. This is where the game is much more forgiving than previous titles; players can level up all their pokemon without the need of any extras by catching pokemon and battling trainers. This makes playing the game a lot more easier by keeping your dream team with you throughout the game. There are also a smaller mini-game where you can play with Pikachu. Put into a first person mode, you you can interact with your Pikachu or Eevee by feeding them berries, patting them, poking their tail, ears or cheeks, or simply by playing small pattern games like patty cake. It adds a real level of detail and love into what you can do, but I do wish you could do it with other pokemon.
The graphics of the game look absolutely stunning; player characters to the pokemon in the world look incredible and suit the art style tremendously. The music is utterly phenomenal and redone with an entire orchestra (which explains the Braxton Burkes situation a few years back) which sounds gorgeous alongside the scenary. 

Finally I want to mention the Poke Ball Plus. While it's not a necessity for the game (and it can be a small hinderance admittedly), I cannot express enough how it fulfilled a childhood dream of mine. Using the small analog stick, you can control your character to roam the world, and when capturing a pokemon, you throw the ball. The ball, in turn, vibrates to indicate the Pokemon being caught, it makes noises depending on who is caught or if your main is inside it or not, and it lights up depending on the pokemon's colour, or if the catch was successful or not. The Poke Ball only can operate with A and B, which makes other options (changing your pokemon move order, checking party, etc) much harder. There is also the issue of A being the joystick button: I have wiped out new moves I wanted more than once due to a slight decline on the stick pressing A. In retrospect, the top B button should have been swapped, but hopefully this is fixed in a controller patch, or can be remapped.

The game has cause a lot of controversy with the older crowd due to being so different from previous titles, but personally speaking, I've adored this game and enjoyed my time thus far into it. The compatibility with Pokemon Go is the icing on top to transfer your pokemon over into the game. There are a few frame rate issues when using a Lure (attract pokemon to your area), as the animations of all the wild pokemon on screen can really slow down the frame rate, but I haven't seen any other bugs like this otherwise.

Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee is a chance to introduce newcomers into the world of Pokemon and for older fans to relive their childhoods in a new and more calming way. This game is what we envisioned as children on the playground. 

Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu: 9/10

Review: Fallout 76

I was unaware of the Fallout series until the current decade of writing this. It's something I'm a little ashamed of, considering when a friend turned me onto Fallout 3, I fell in love with the series immediately. The aesthetic, the gameplay, the story, the lore, everything about the game clicked. And yes, I got to experience the original "you automatically die at the end" ending, thanks to being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no DLC. New Vegas, while flawed, was fantastic, and when Fallout 4 was announced, I was in awe.
I love that game. I still love that game.

I do not love Fallout 76. And I don't expect to ever like Fallout 76.

Fallout 76 is the earliest set Fallout, taking place only 30 years after the bombs fell. You are a resident of Vault 76; the first vault to open to take on a wild world full of fresh radiated beasts ready to take you out. What makes this game unique in the Fallout series is that it is a full fledged MMORPG; an online Fallout. Fans, admittedly, where skeptical of such a thing, especially with Bethesda at the wheel (insert "It just works" joke/reference here). And it hurts me to admit how above and beyond this game not only misses the mark, but doesn't even land in the field.

Gameplay wise, the game is still Fallout. Controls will feel familiar to anyone who has played Fallout 4 or any recent shooter. Firing weapons and using melee has a lot of weight behind them and feels organic to the situation, especially using rifles. Of course, many aspects were taken straight from Fallout 4, but we'll get into more depth about that later on. In short, the gameplay holds its own. 

Graphics wise looks interesting enough and downright brilliant at times, but I do feel at times that the saturation has been turned to max to compensate in specific loading areas. Sound effects and musical score are as great as always, minus the repeated Fallout music from Fallout 3. It becomes really hard to concentrate on anything else when you're listening to Butcher Pete for the millionth time, so you tend to turn off the radio. Why am I mentioning this? Because this sums up the next few paragraphs; repetition, frustration, disbelief and disappointment. 

The main story, while does show some promise later on, is incredibly lackluster and very hard to get into. I was more interested with dead corpses I found in the world than I did with any main missions. The only one I found the most interesting was the Overseer retracking her life. She was the only character I could relate to, even above my own character. And that is where I find a massive issue with this game; without character insentive, you take a silent protagonist and put them in an insane scenario...to no inner or outer reaction. What makes other silent protagonists great (Chell, Master Chief, Corvo Attano, Link, etc) is a combination of their actions and the reactions of the world around you. Antagonists to allies alike reacting to how you become the villain or hero in your actions, people admiring or forsaking you for the things you've done, your own character suffering from something in the world. Silence can speak so many words, but only through body language, emphasis or other characters. 
Here, there is nothing. World quests can often reappear right after finishing them, finishing side or main quests has no affect on how the world looks to you. And all the while, your character reacts to nothing. The voice acting in the holotapes are quite good, but its hard to get attached to just a voice, and a lot more of them just end up being melodramatic.

And that doesn't even begin to mention the bugs. Oh man the bugs. Models flying off through the map, lighting showing through dirt, being stuck on terminals, the now infamous Power Armor body glitch, not even beginning to mention the more serious issues like hackers taking over servers, servers crashing from all three nukes firing.
But personally speaking, what hurts the most? Simply how empty this world is. Sure, we were told not many people would be in each server (12 per game), but there were none in previous Fallout games, but interesting stories and outcomes. Helping Travis out changes how you hear the Radio in Fallout 4, killing Benny Terminator style completely wipes out a story branch for you in New Vegas, setting off Megaton's nuke destroys several quest lines in Fallout 3, but here, I can walk for twenty minutes, get into a fight with over-spawning Super Mutants while the buildings next to you and the ground are barely rendered, then falling through the ground and dying, respawning all the way back at Vault 76 cause your CAMP isn't responding. 

I preordered the Power Armor edition, and unboxing that awesome helmet was the most fun I had with this game, minus one moment. There was a holotape I found of a girl stuck in a room slowly dying who commits suicide. It was dark, it was powerful storytelling, and it was compelling. The mission I was on, was not. And when I realised this, I slowly shifted back to Fallout 4. And then, two days ago, I just stopped going back to 76. I honestly don't expect myself to play this game again. 

The game does do some things right; crafting is great, gameplay is just as good, but you'll find it's only the repeated elements that make this game fun. The disease, food and water management can be a huge deterrent since gathering supplies can take up a lot of time, and buying items will take you forever. But I digress, anything else this game does wrong if up to you to discover. 
If you have a group of friends who are just as die-hard for Fallout as you are, you'll find some entertainment in this game. But this West Virginia isn't almost heaven, it's purgatory.

Fallout 76: 3/10

Review: Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption has lived in infamy since its launch over eight years ago, and rightfully so, building its world, characters and beautiful gameplay to a point that even now, it's still revered. A spiritual successor to Red Dead Revolver, it holds a tremendous place in the hearts and minds of many gamers, further considered the best cowboy simulator to date.
That was, until a few weeks ago, when its sequel was released. 

Players find themselves taken back to 1899, when the original Dutch Gang was just beginning to climb to infamous levels. The protagonist, Arthur Morgan, is one of the original members of the Gang and its first recruit by its founders, Dutch and Hosea. On the run from the law from a botched job in Blackwater, Arthur and the gang are in dire straights, their hopes of finding a place to call home dwindling and it is up to him and each outlaw to raise enough money robbing, stealing and killing every man they come across in order to achieve that final place Arthur can call home. But naturally, saying it and doing it are two very different things. 
Before I get into the highlights, I want to praise this game for something I tend not to highlight; bugs. Generally speaking, I leave them for the end so that people get to see the good, bad, then good again to compare, but I want to mention the incredible lack of bugs. Of course, other people have found some serious glitches, but I've seen or heard nothing about any KTDs or serious crashes. I myself can only compare to what I've experienced. Frame rates do tend to bend a little when smoke is present on the screen. So for example, if I start a large scale fire and the smoke takes up my screen, the game does noticeably slow down. Also, reloading failed checkpoints over and over, especially in duels, does result in the enemy AI glitching out into T pose every time after the first until you succeed. I assume these are just the game loading something too fast before we can see them, but it doesn't overly detract from the experience. 


Secondly, I want to special mention the game's realism; to put it bluntly, RDR2 is beyond levels of hyper realism to the point of horse genitalia in an open world sandbox. The fact that someone, somewhere had to spend months of their life modeling and animating that shows just how detail they poured into this game; animations, weather patterns, affects on the world and character models, sound effects from varying animals, objects and things, I can go on. Weapons need to be pulled from your horse before being able to be used, weapons lost in a brawl need to be retrieved in order to be used again, either from your camp or the ground. It's utterly mind-boggling to see this level of detail in any open world game, especially one this large.
That doesn't even begin to mention the events that happen in the game; you shoot a guy who recognises you, his friends may just track you down, or hire a hostile gang to exact revenge. Find a lady lost in the woods? Watch out, she's a distraction from a feral group trying to kill everyone who trespasses on them. A man bitten by a snake? Give him some medicine, rob him and leave him for dead, shoot him and walk away, maybe a bit of all of them, the choice is yours and yours to make.
To shorten down an extremely long explanation at this point, almost everything you can expect out of a game tailored to cowboy and old west fans is in this game, whether you choose to be the hero or villain. 

Gameplay is phenomenally simplistic with some things, and takes practice with others. Any person who has played a Rockstar shooter will be able to pick this game up, but horse controls, mini games, and other activities do require a bit of skill. Personally speaking, using the handcar is by far the most infuriating. But again, this doesn't detract from what is there; shooting has weight depending on what weapons you use, horse speeds and levels of affection are clearly seen depending on which you use; my original horse was slow but terrified of predators, my next horse was faster, but would always get spooked if you pushed it to its breaking point. Traversing the world requires you to take your beloved horse out almost 90% of the time, but if you have the cash for the train, or a trolley, or a carriage, or even just hitchhike and hope you get lucky, you can do that too. Of course, if you're just tired, you can switch to Cinematic mode and just hold down A while your horse follows the path you chose. There is so much to see and to do and to experience. That beautiful lake down there has plenty of fish to catch, by fishing pole or by spooking fish to shore. Extra cash can be earned by playing poker, completing Stranger quests, robbing good and bad people, holding up a bank or store, and the world around you is affected by that. Greet everyone in town and keep morale up, and soon everyone will call you by name and like you. Shoot up a town and be a plague, and you'll notice people fleeing a room as soon as you enter. 
Musical score is wonderful. It beautifully captures both the original Redemption as well as creates a name for itself with Arthur and his struggles between loyalty, his morale and what he wants. The sound effects are also just as captivating and enticing, truly bringing you into this world. I highly expect someone to patch in a VR mode sometime into the future, so that people can experience this game to its full capability.
Voice acting is just as perfect, as a new cast alongside the old make this world truly captivating. The original voice actors for Dutch, Abigail, Bill, Javier and more return, and of course, the internet collectively squealed with delight as Rob Wiethoff returned as John Marston. But let's not forget the new protagonist Arthur Morgan, voice and face supplied by the wonderfully talented Roger Clark. His first step into a video game role, I cannot praise him high enough not only for his acting, but his character building and wonderful attention to detail in his character. It's refreshing to see an actor new to this sort of genre go all out for the role.

At the time of writing this review, the multiplayer has not been released, and while Rockstar multiplayer launches have left me cautious (I still remember the GTA V launch...), it will not be applied here. Keep in mind of Rockstar's past and what they're doing to GTA now, but be hopeful in the future.

I was able to complete the game at almost 60 hours, and that was doing all the side missions, plenty of the Strangers, a lot of mini quests and wasting a loooooot of time making sure Arthur was bathed, washed, clean shaven, nicely dressed and raking in all the money at Poker and Blackjack (eight years later and I still suck at the knife minigame), but it's left me wanting more. Sure, some players may not be interested in hyper realism, or will be annoyed at being killed desperately trying to get a weapon from a scared horse while in the middle of a fight, but I am utterly delighted by the game. Not only has Rockstar improved on their former Red Dead formula, but they have completely enhanced it, going above and beyond not only in detail, but gameplay and things to do. The biggest fault RDR1 had was the massive open world with nothing to do in it other than killing animals or picking flowers. Red Dead Redemption 2 improves on all aspects and then some. I laughed as I got drunk with Lenny, I was devastated how badly Arthur was hurt in gunfights, and I enjoyed every second I've spent in this game so far. Even after completing it, I still want more, and the game provides. Knowing what I know, I still want to restart it over, and that, is the mark of a perfect game.

TDLR: Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterpiece and must own title. 

Red Dead Redemption: 10/10