Monday, 12 June 2017

TL;DR Info - Bethesda Showcase 2017

G'day there guys and gals!

Welcome to TL;DR Info, a quick need-to-know basis about all things E3.
The following is for the Bethesda Showcase 2017

Stay tuned for more from other developers in the coming days!

  • Bethesdaland?

Bethesda VR
  • "Experiencing you won't find anywhere else

-Doom VFR
  • Doom creatures
  • Robotic protag
  • mow down all different types of enemies from the original game

-Fallout VR
  • Fallout but all interactive
  • Hold items in your hands
  • Creation tool are all in front of you in real time
  • reload weapons in real time
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ESO Morrowind
  • Clockworth City comimg soon
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Creation Club
  • New content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim
  • New crafting and housing
  • Buy and download with credits
  • Made by inside and outside devs
  • All content will be compatible with add ons, saves etc
  • Coming out this Summer (Winter)
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Elder Scrolls Legends
  • Skyrim pack(?)
  • 29th of June release
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Skyrim on Nintendo Switch
  • Use of amibos?! Impressive!
  • Can official play as Link in Skyrim! No use of mods anymore
  • Motion controls control weaponry - swords, shields bows etc
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Dishonored 2 DLC - Death fo the Outsiders
  • New weaponry
  • Story DLC about Billy
  • DAUD RETURNS
  • 15th of September release
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Quake Champions
  • Graphics like Doom
  • Special abilities in characters
  • Serious Overwatch vibes
  • BJ (Wolfenstein) in Quake? Nice!
  • August 26th in QuakeCon
  • Beta available now on quake.com
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The Evil Within 2
  • Horror game
  • Sebastian protag - hunting for his dead, lost daughter
  • almost oil painting art style - Dishonored-eske
  • Giant faces in clay?
  • Beautiful animations - clearly cutscenes though
  • Zombies? - zombies
  • Weapon and melee fighting
  • hallucinations
  • Mechanical creatures?
  • giant monsters return
  • improvement to the camera angels
  • 13th of October 2017

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Wolfenstein The New Colossus
  • Real life cutsenes?
  • Mid 20th century setting - With robot dogs
  • Humanised cats?
  • Nazis still in control
  • BJ LIVED?!
  • Looks age appropriate now
  • Anya has come back too! - AND SHES PREGGERS
  • Old lady makes a return! Weirdly young though
  • New graphic updates
  • KKK allied with Nazis
  • Ship battle
  • New weapons and characters
  • Revolution aim in america
  • Robotic limbs make an appearance - technical advancement
  • Control robotic creatures?!
  • Lower HUD - Dual weaponry use!
  • Fight against animals - Crocodiles!
  • HUMANOID ROBOT ENEMIES
  • Kill nazis
  • 27th October
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TL;DR Info - Microsoft Briefing 2017

G'day there guys and gals!

Welcome to TL;DR Info, a quick need-to-know basis about all things E3.
The following is for the Microsoft Briefing 2017

Stay tuned for more from other developers in the coming days!




Xbox One X (Project Scorpio)

  • "Most powerful console yet"
  • November 7th release date - worldwide launch
  • Focus on "you the gamer"
  • Power, compatibility, craftmanshio
  • Six Teraflops. 1.162 Ghz
  • 326GBs memory bandwidth
  • 12 GDDR Memory
  • True 4K - 8 million pixels
  • Dolby Atmos Sound
  • 4k UDH Blu Ray
  • All Xbox One games will work with Xbox One X
  • 4K games will still be improved on 1080p tvs
  • "Fastest processor ever to power a console"
  • Liquid-Cooled vapor chamber - IN A CONSOLE
  • Smallest Xbox One ever
  • $499 - roughly $649 Australian
--------------------------------------


Forza Motorsport 7





  • Partnership with Porsche
  • Massively improved graphics and attention to detail
  • Runs at native 4K and 60 FPS
  • Recreated the rafite(?) mountain pass
  • Car parts rattle and vibrate as you drive
  • Race through living environments (changing environments)
  • High detail on weather
  • Coming to Windows 10 and Xbox - October 3rd 2017
  • "Most technically advanced racing game
---------------------------------------------


Metro Exodus




  • True 4K
  • Post apocalyptic world - Dead yetis(?)
  • Massive improvement to graphics
  • Windows 10 and XBox One
  • New weapons
  • Same limited HUD
  • City has begun to regrow
  • Topside breathable
  • Plantlife returns
  • Storms make a comeback
  • CROSSBOWS - Explosive crossbow bolts!
  • Wolves and animals have returned (BEARS - MUTANT BEAR)
  • Can use zip-lines
  • Anna returns!
  • Trains on surface work
--------------------------------------------------------------


Assassin's Creed Origins 




  • Egypt - in 4K
  • Ships
  • Pyramid sliding
  • Horseback arrow shooting
  • Fight crocodiles
  • Fighting looks improved
  • Return of the bow and arrow
  • GIANT SNAKE
  • Play as a Medjai - Bayek (?) - Siwa is his home
  • Creation of the Assassin's Brotherhood
  • "More detail and alive"
  • Pyramids are still being built
  • Animals make a return - possibly to hunt
  • You have an eagle friend! - Seluum
  • Use horses in the city
  • Very AC Unity - enemies have strength levels
  • Climbing parkor has returned, and much faster - reminiscent of AC3
  • Jump and use bow - In slow mo!
  • Hide in tall grass
  • RPG-eske ala AC Unity - change weapons you find off enemies
  • No more run and kill(?) - Bayek will stop you killing enemies if its "too risky"
  • Ability Points
  • Use of shield and dodging to defeat enemies
  • Targets can run if not confident
  • Elephants
  • October 27th this year
------------------------------------------------


Player Unknown Battlegrounds 




  • "Development is community driven"
  • Exclusive to Xbox One 
  • Massive online shooter
  • Enhanced with Xbox One X - 4K
  • Use of vehicles
  • Day and night cycle - weather change - utter chaos of explosions
  • Melee weapons and stealth
  • Late 2017 release date
-----------------------------------------------

Deep Rock Galactic

  • Exclusive
  • Space!
  • Very blocky animation
  • 4K enhanced
  • Features interactivity on Mixer
  • Mining and exploration on other planets
  • Alien creatures attack
----------------------------------------------------


State of Decay 2




  • Post apocalyptic
  • Simple but interesting graphics - very walking Dead-eske
  • speedy and slow zombies
  • Group together with other living allies
  • Use of weapons and explosives
  • Build your own home - grow food, defense, etc
  • Hunger, cold, being bitten etc cause in game choices 
  • Green explosive zombies - also fatties
  • Play Anywhere Title - Xbox or Windows 10
  • Dodge and melee attacks
-----------------------------------------------------------


The Darwin Project




  • Exclusive
  • Reminds me of We Happy Few art style - or 3D Monkey island
  • humans attacking each other - each with abilities
  • Third Person combat - stealth, shield abilities (Different classes?)
  • Game Show vibes - attack one another to survive.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dragonball Fighter Z 

  • Anime style - Immediately spot the DBZ
  • Same old style but looks cleaner and must sharper - classic 2D graphics
  • New DBZ fighter
  • animations looks fantastic
  • Heaps of street fighter vibes
----------------------------------------------------------

Black Desert

  • Exclusive - 4K Xbox One X
  • Beautiful landscape sin all sorts of weather
  • Mythical vibe - humans and creatures side by side
  • Multiple classes to fight as against heaps of enemies
  • Creatures, humans, all different types of fights
  • JRPG inspired 
  • Early 2018 release
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The Last Night 




  • Exclusive - 4K
  • Sidescroller 2.5 16 bit gameplay style
  • Shooter/fighter
  • Futuristic
---------------------------------------------------------------

The Artful Escape

  • Exclusive
  • Side scroller
  • Colourful art style
  • Musically themed
  • Protag uses music to move about the world
  • Art style kinda like Guitar Hero
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CodeVein

  • JRPG style
  • Post apocalyptic
  • Battle demons and monsters
  • Hack and slash
  • Protags have special abilites
  • 2018 release
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Sea of Thieves

  • Much better graphics than last time
  • Sea looks fantastic
  • Art style looks much more blocky - but still incredible and light hearted
  • Explore shipwrecks - find treasures you need
  • Every players discoveries are different
  • Can take on sharks
  • Explore cliffs, forests etc
  • Each island has different themes
  • Encounter people who want to take you on
  • Take on skeletons - eat a banana
  • Players solve riddles together
  • Each player has a role - stay on the ship for get-aways, map bearers, etc
  • Solve clues - get booty - fight the skeleton owners
  • Allies can cause diversions - true teamwork is key
  • Dynamic weather changes - rain and thunder
  • Trade booty in at outposts - before someone steals your treasure
  • Repair holes in the ship
  • Climb into cannons to be transported quickly
  • SWORD FIGHTS - PISTOL FIGHTS
  • TAKE OVER ENEMY SHIPS
  • Coming to Xbox and Windows 10 - early 2018
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Tacoma 

  • Spaaaaaaaace
  • Virtual people?
  • August 2
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Super Lucky's Tale

  • Kids game! Play as a fox - in 4K!
  • Exclusive
  • Colourful, very bright
  • Ghosts, Plants, skeleton antagonists
  • Platformer
  • Solve puzzles and collect coins
  • Dig tunnels to avoid enemies
  • Animals help you out
  • Almost reminds me of Diddy Kong Racing!
  • November 7th release
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Cuphead

  • Exclusive
  • Sidescroller - 1920's themed animation
  • September 29th!
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Crackdown 3

  • Exclusive
  • TERRY CREWS
  • "Welcome to the Agency"
  • Xbox One and Windows 10 exlusive - 4K
  • Massive animation and graphical upgrade
  • Futuristic theme has been taken to the next step
  • Superhuman suits with shooty weapons of mass destruction
  • Four players(?)
-------------------------------------------------------
Ashen

  • "The dark is older than the light"
  • INSIDE eske art style
  • Battle monsters and creatures - melee style - swords, shields, spears, etc
  • Xbox One and Windows 10
  • Horror themed exploration
  • Co-Op players(?)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Life Is Strange




  • Story driven
  • shows more of Chloe
  • Different timeline?
  • RACHAEL?
  • Crows seem to be a theme
  • Prequel story?
  • 3 episodes - I missed the release date sorry! - pre-order now
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Middle Earth: Shadow Of War

  • Orc battles return
  • Richer colour
  • More diverse areas to explore
  • WEATHER! Finally
  • Orc VS Orc - battle for control over clans
  • Nemesis system expanded
  • You can use the ring of power!
  • Assault fortresses for gain to the army
  • Same Batman fighting controls(?)
  • Enemies all have power numbers
  • Freeze enemies?!
  • Dominate enemies "You serve the bright lord now"
  • Lighter theme?! Jokes and such
  • ORCS NAMED BRUCE
  • Stronger enemies have better benefits
  • Oh hey Troy Baker!
  • Orcs are waaaaaaaay more chatty
  • Enemies can ambush you
  • Seven new orc tribes added
  • New weapons used by orcs!
  • Plan out your attack against fortresses - bosses are strong
  • Giant, mass of AI
  • Suicide bomber orcs?!
  • October 10th release
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Ori and the Will of the Wisps

  • Live piano at showing? Nice touch!
  • Beautiful scenery, incredibly colourful
  • Side scroller(?)
  • Animals - control a little lemur?
  • Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive
  • Darkly themed - ghost creatures?
  • Animals frozen into place
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Backwards Compatible

  • 385 Titles
  • ORIGINAL XBOX TITLES WILL BE BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE
  • Crimson Skies to make a return
  • PLEASE BRING BACK JSRF/KOTOR
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anthem




  • "huge open world"
  • Frostbite engine
  • Massively colourful - looks beautiful
  • ROBOT MECHS (ATAT style!)
  • Beautiful graphics....facial animations are GREAT
  • Female protag - Freelancers - explore the unknown
  • Robot people!
  • Different robot suits enhance the player - almost reminds me of Halo with a Mass Effect vibe
  • Exo suits - Javelins - heavily customisable
  • Jump jets with the Exo Suits - fly through the air!
  • Wildlife and thick forests
  • Explore the world with your friends
  • The world is hostile - plentiful of threats
  • Suits can also be used to dive into water and caverns
  • (Unless its scripted), protags talk about earning XP
  • Equip your Exo with gear to defeat enemies quickly - and large bosses
  • "Scars" - alien enemy type - can ambush players
  • Find new weapons from enemies
  • Discover new stories "off the beaten path"
  • Storms are a big threat to players - lightning strikes, horrified animals, etc
  • Xbox One
  • Coming 2018

----------------------------------------------------------------
Various Indie titles

  • Orisis
  • Path of Exile
  • Battlerite
  • Suviving Mars
  • Fable Fortune 
  • Observer
  • Robocraft Infinity
  • Dunk Lords
  • Minion Masters
  • Brawlout
  • Ooblets
  • Dark and Light
  • Strange Brigade
  • Riverbond
  • Hello Neighbor
  • Shift
  • Conan Exiles

--------------------------------------
Announcements
--------------------------------------




  • 42 Games - 22 exclusives
  • Games will play best on Xbox One X - still be fantastic on all Xboxs
  • Community Marketplace for Minecraft - play together on whatever device
    Free 4K (Super Duper Graphics) update - available this Fall 
  • Everything here today is available for Pre-Order today
  • 4K updates to Xbox branded games - Gears, Halo, etc
    Games will also be enhanced

Sunday, 11 June 2017

TL;DR Info - EA Conference 2017

G'day there guys and gals!

Welcome to TL;DR Info, a quick need-to-know basis about all things E3.
The following is for the EA Conference 2017

Stay tuned for more from other developers in the coming days!

  • Shoutout to the drumline starting things off!

Madden 18: Longshot

  • Campaign returns
  • Goal to be drafted by NFL Team
  • Conflict with others trying for the same thing
  • Father/Son relationship driving forward
  • "Innovative Madden to date"
---------------------------------


Star Wars Battlefront 2
  • Addressed all the feedback
  • John Boyega shoutout
  • New, authentic, original story
  • Essential story
  • "Bridge the gap between Return and Awakens"
  • More than x3 content of the first game
  • Couch Co-Op returns with Skirmish
  • MP: More heroes, vehicles, planets, space battles
  • Deeper progression and customisation
  • "Gamechangers" help to make MP better
  • "Devs have been listening"
  • "Still time to change something"
  • All three eras will be in the game
  • Class system - different customisable weapons
  • Battle Points to help gain Hero ability
  • Characters own abilities are customisable
  • WAY better graphics - they look stunning!
  • Return of Droids from prequels
  • Droids V Clones?!
  • Land Based Vehicles?!
  • Frontal shields with droids
  • Jumpjets with clones
  • Wookies make an appearance
  • BOBA, YODA, Maul
  • REY AND REN LIGHTSABRE BATTLE
  • Space Battles with the Millennium Falcon
  • MORE JOHN BOYEGA
  • "Finn and Phasma will definitely be in B2"
  • Free Content DLC for first pack - no additional charge
  • Planet from Episode VIII in B2
  • Post-Launch DLC will be FREE for all owners of the game
  • Pre-Order access to Beta
-Multiplayer
  • Play on Naboo
  • "players will fear the skies"
  • Maps begin as open but close in
  • Tanks make an appearance
  • Very, VERY reminiscent of the original Battlefront 2
  • AT:RT vehicle usage to balance out slow and strong tanks
  • Seige Mode: lock down your position, but have more firepower
  • Phases in MP - 3
    After battling outside, they fight inside, trying to breach security ports
  • (Kinda reminds me of Overwatch tbh)
  • Darth Maul - incredibly quick and incredibly quick - cannot deflect fire though as balance
  • Rey makes an appearance - mind tricks confuse enemies
------------------------------------

Battlefield 1
  • Community Footage
  • "Expanding on experiences"
  • Night Maps - July
  • Massive network of tunnels
  • "In The Name of the Tsar" DLC - September
  • 8 New Maps, Russian Army, Weapons/Vehicles, Women's Battlaion of death
  • All new assignments/Multi-battle operations
  • "Largest Front of WW1"
  • New Competitive Mode - focused on team play - GamesCom August announcement
--------------------------------------

FIFA 18
  • Real Player Motion Control - Signature Movement
  • Developed in detail
  • Graphical improvement
  • Ronaldo helping development
  • Alex Hunter is Protag once more by the looks of it
  • The Journey Returns
-------------------------------------

Need For Speed Payback
  • Mass customisation 
  • Giant graphical upgrade
  • Return to old school Explosive-Races type story
  • Slo-mo in car wrecks/action scenes - unsure if scripted
  • Play as multiple protags
  • Helicopters make a return
  • "Plays as well as it looks"
---------------------------------------

A Way Out
  • EA Original
  • Set in a prison
  • More realistic than "Brothers - Former title made by devs
  • Co-Op adventure about prison escape
  • Puzzle solving in co-op
  • Make your way to the outside and survive
  • "Deliver the game we truly believe in
  • Split screen co-op - but playable online too
  • "Play everything - I mean a lot of stuff!"
  • Vincent/Leo are your Protags
  • Cutscenes and playable areas are seen in real time
  • Get what you need with either character
  • "Everything you do is unique to that scene
  • Releasing early 2018
------------------------------------------------------
ANTHEM
  • New IP from Bioware
  • Looks futuristic dystonia
  • Giant alien creatures
  • Robot suits(?)
  • More at Xbox Briefing tomorrow
---------------------------------------------------------
NBA Live 18
  • Earn respect
  • Take down legends
  • On court experiences increase your skills
  • New Mode: The One
  • Legacy chosen by how you play
  • Your player is made by your choices
  • Free Demo in August
------------------------------------------------------
Announcements
-------------------------------------------------------
  • Players at EAPlay are more able to tell EA what works/what doesn't
  • Eight new reveals

FIFA Championship - Competitive Play
  • Represent your real-world team
  • More info in Q3 Summer (Winter)
EA Originals
  • Several games in production
Seed
  • Search for Extraordinary Experiences Division
  • Need innovative new platform
  • Project Scorpio perfect for it
  • Footage combined with Scorpio console and Frostbite - explains the good graphics!
  • More in Xbox Briefing tomorrow

Tuesday, 30 May 2017

Review: Telltale's Walking Dead Season 3

Many people who play games today were inspired by one game or another, and Let's Play videos have inspired a new generation of gamers to try out different series they'd never try before, myself included. Many of whom would answer with "Telltale's The Walking Dead."
Easily millions of fans were captivated by the relationship of a man and a young girl trying to survive the apocalypse together, and their relationship, the game, and its style has made Telltale to a well known brand in the gaming industry and kept The Walking Dead and the journey of Clementine further onward. Enter in Season 3; players take control of a young "retired" baseball player by the name Javier and his struggle to survive with what remains of his family. 

Naturally, with new additions into a series, players weren't happy that their star favourite was taking second seat, but many were still curious enough to see what had happened to the young woman struggling to live in a dangerous world. I cannot deny Season 3 does have its fair share of disappointments, but it has rare moments of greatness.

Without giving too much of the plot away, we watch Javier through flashbacks from before and at the beginning of the zombie outbreak and play primarily as him years later with sister in law Kate and his brother's children Marianna and Gabe. Eventually Clementine does make an appearance, slowly revealing her past as to what had happened between the year of Season 2 and 3 through flashbacks. It's here that players control Clementine (to a degree - they are primarily choice options) as she tells her tale.

Much of the criticism over the years has been Telltale's trademarked "This series is tailored to how you play" and not having much to build up on. Unfortunately, this is where the hits and misses begin. Key choices you've made in the game from episodes past (or even seasons ago) are completely changed due to circumstance or random plot. The guy you saved? He's bitten and dies. The person you chose? Dead almost immediately after the next chapter starts. The guy you killed before? Weirdly somehow back. In standard Telltale fashion, Season 3 has its fair share of glitches (such as a main choice in an earlier episode reviving a dead person and they becoming key to the plot), and changing the dialogue. But therein lies the issue and why I left it be: it changed the dialogue, but not the choice. People didn't change, no distrust was made, it still played out normally. 


Gameplay was standard as before, point and click with few action oriented parts (as in using the joystick) and primarily Quick Time Events that can be unresponsive. The story, as always, is what holds the series up; plotlines converge and a great dynamic is built by the end of the series. The conflicts between brother and brother were incredibly well done and almost lifelike; if you're a guy and have a brother, you cannot deny the relationship between Javier and David isn't realistic, especially if you're a younger brother as I am. Choices were well done, giving people clear options between kindness, snark and downright furious at times, and the entire cast was incredibly well acted out, especially by Javier's Jeff Schine and Clementine's Melissa Hutchington.
Considering Season 2 to 3, the graphics and tone of the series have definitely shifted, while still retaining the same art style, which I approve of. Characters look much more rounded, with incredible detail made on their eyes, and help fit into the world a little better than previous seasons. 

Ignoring the story and animation glitches for now, another small gripe with the series is the episode's length; in previous seasons, each episode would be around the two hour mark or more, but each episode in this season barely reaches that mark, the finale episode 5 the worst of the bunch; with cutscenes and credits all said and done only managing to pull an hour and twenty minutes. So in short, a five episode season for 6-7 hours of content? Granted, there are plenty of games out there that have higher asking prices for less, but this in itself is a shame, especially (as I hate to say this) the replayability is incredibly lacking here.
The jokes and such help this incredibly dark addition to the series (and the final 5-10 minutes of Episode 5 have been my personal favourite overall), but looking at the overall picture of the series, there isn't much that helps this season stand out from the rest.


Season 3 of Telltale's The Walking Dead isn't bad by a long shot, but this season hasn't been overly strong in the long run, and the crunch of time in development is clearly obvious. Perhaps Telltale is biting off more than they can chew, perhaps they simply ran out of time, I cannot say for sure. But what I can say is that Season 3 could have been stronger in parts.
If you're a fan of the series, or after a good dramatic addition of the Walking Dead series, Season 3 is the way to look, but if you're new, I'd recommend the first seasons before this one. What holds this season up is its well written characters, the conflicts that work and the continuation of Clementine's story. And while I love and relate to Javier so much, a return to the roots of the game is very much needed.


A solid addition to the series, but like many gems, not without its flaws.

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 3 - 7/10

Sunday, 28 May 2017

E3 Conference 2017 Preparations - Updated (12/06)

G'day there all!

As per usual, the time has come to cover as much as E3 as possible, so the following is the dates, and times (AEST) for the conferences of each company.
Can't be up at 3am to watch the stream? 

Then I'm happy to announce the return of TLDR Info!

So many people responded to it last time and so I decided I had to do it again. So if you need quick bullet points of what to expect out of games/tech that you're interested in, definitely give it a look!

So thanks very much, please stay tuned for further updates, and have a great E3!

(All times are AEST)
EA: 5am, Sunday June 11th
Twitch, Youtube

Microsoft: 7am, Monday June 12th
Twitch, Youtube, Mixer (4K)

Bethesda: 2pm, Monday June 12th
Twitch

Ubisoft: 6am, Tuesday June 13th
Twitch

Playstation: 11am, Tuesday June 13th 
Twitch, Youtube

Nintendo: 2am, Wednesday June 14th
Twitch

Monday, 1 May 2017

Review - Little Nightmares (Updated)


One of the complaints about the gaming industry I hear almost on a daily basis is "they're all so violent", and while there are plenty of options for the opposite, many are indeed more violent than what you would find on your television. The only difference between the two being one is clearly fake and the other isn't. Indie titles such as LIMBO, Inside and even Unravel have had their moments where violence is shown against even the most innocent of beings; a young boy and a spider, a yarn figure and animals, etc etc. 

Little Nightmares immediately reminded me of these titles and more. Players take control of Six, a young girl tucked away within the innards of some sort of facility. Awaking from a nightmare, she begins her journey through the bowls of this mysterious place on an undefined quest that still isn't entirely clear after the credits have come and gone. It's this alone that can set this game out from the others, and what follows these paragraphs is my understanding as my journey as Six.

Gameplay in a nutshell is standard and simple to use and any fan of puzzle games could pick it up and play it with no problem. Early on in the first two chapters, the game will offer help when you spend a minute or more stuck in an area but beyond the control hints, you and Six are on your own. However as you progress, the concatenation tends to be straight forward and many puzzles beyond Chapter 2 (aka the majority of the game) follow the same principle: run/sneak away from enemies and keep low/high. Finding keys is the most strenuous parts of the game, but their locations are much too obvious to be hidden for long. Overall, what will truly set you back is the 2.5D world and the fixed camera: players overlook Six like a forward looking maze and guide her around obstacles, enemies and more. The issue I'm pressing is the objects themselves make guiding Six a pain at times, particularly during enemy chase scenes. Be prepared to fall off the map a lot.
Sounds effects and musical score are hauntingly well done and extremely realistic. The lack of voice acting (minus the human enemies' grunts and moans) brings your attention to subtle music here and there, the background noises in the distance and Six's movements in the world. The graphics also complete the game's theme with faded browns, blues and shades with Six's bright yellow raincoat being the only bright light in the world as you journey to whatever lays outside the doors.


This brings me to the story itself and what I can piece together. It's this here that sets Little Nightmares on another level compared to LIMBO or Inside. Games such as those show incredible horrible, dark themes around a person trying to keep their childish innocence while doing their best to survive. Six does whatever she has to to survive, and the game will continue to get darker and darker as the game goes on.
-Beware of story spoilers below-
As you progress, Six will face another pressing issue; hunger. Starving, a grey boy will hand her his dinner. But this was just by chance, what would Six do if she was starving? With a live rat caught in a trap, Six rips at its neck and begins to eat, it only finally dying after she's full once again. But what if there was another option of food? As a small grey creature offers her a scavenged sausage, Six sets on the creature, once again tearing at its body and consuming it with greed.
But what does she do with her greatest enemy, The Geisha Lady?
As she lays defeated, Six sets on her, killing and eating the woman who runs the facility (an artificial island-ship floating in the middle of the sea) to set herself free. But not before she begins her revenge to kill every human who tries to eat her.

-Beware of story spoilers above-
The final mission was by far the most terrifying, setting chills down my spine. The Geisha Lady is by far the most terrifying in my opinion, but also the easiest. Chapter 2 (The Lair) was the hardest and the one I struggled the most with. You'd think the final chapter would be the longest/hardest but absolutely not, as I managed to finish it within 15-20 minutes.

To be honest, for a $50 game, I expected a little more out of the series. The pull to replay the game is there for those who want to hunt the collectables, or perhaps make more sense of the story, but other than that there isn't much more to go on. I finished the game in four and a half hours, but I've seen playthroughs done in less than two. A second playthrough to get all the collectables would only take that long. So six hours to complete the entire game, 100%, for $50?

-Update-
Upon replaying the game for over 20 hours, several issues with the game have been found. Hidden walls on edges and stairs (especially in Chapter 1 and 2), timing properties as in under/over responsive AI,  AI glitches through walls and doors, breaking vertexes in Six and other characters and so on.

Due to these and remaining factors, with addition my lack of noting/finding these the first time, I have concluded that for the first time in my reviewing history, I must rewrite this review to show these issues and deduct a point from the final score.
I will endeavour to make sure this doesn't happen again in the future.

To be absolutely fair; the story itself is phenomenal and developers should take notes. A protagonist that isn't entirely a good person is too rare these days. The camera angles can be worked around if you take your time (unless you're going for the Hard to the Core achievement) or use the right joycon to look around but there's simply too little to play. 
I'd recommend this to casual players, fans of puzzle games and those looking for a fresh perspective in the gaming industry. Otherwise, perhaps wait for a price drop or find a cheaper option. Personally speaking I would recommend both LIMBO and Inside before playing this title, as you can buy both and have a longer gameplay experience for half the cost. 
One thing is for absolutely sure, by the end of the game, I'm not entirely comfortable with the small figurine of Six on my desk as I write this review, knowing what she's capable of and willing to do. Such a small, young girl to do such dark deeds. Little Nightmares is not for the faint of heart.


Little Nightmares - 6/10

Thursday, 6 April 2017

Review - Mass Effect: Andromeda

In the early days of the Xbox 360, each console was released with trailers of multiple games and features. Some showed off the old wireless capability of the 360's controllers, others cinematics from games such as Halo Wars and Bioshock. One of these was the Mass Effect X06 2006 trailer, and I was hooked. Just like Bioshock, I'd watch that demo trailer over and over, fascinated with the option of choice and the space to explore. Ever since I have been a (no pun intended) massive fan of the series and have often exclaimed my commitment to it. Mass Effect 3 was one of the first reviews here on this site, among the criticism and controversy over its ending.
Five years later comes Mass Effect Andromeda, a brand new edition to the series and a fresh start to its license. Delay after delay worried fans and many argued to not become excited for it, just to be safe, but I had faith in Bioware. The team had never let me down before and I know from experience that delays in a game are good, that they're ironing out the kinks and making sure the game comes out on time. By now the game has been out for a week and a half and while many are still meme-ing the animation issues, Mass Effect Andromeda is a flawed game, but one that shows a lot of promise.


To the uninitiated, Mass Effect Andromeda takes place in between the timespan of Mass Effect 2 and 3, with the Initiative and its Arcs departing in the year 2185 (the year of Shepard's revival and the assault on the Collector Base). You play as Ryder, a twin of Pathfinder Alec Ryder aboard the Arc Hyperion. Awakening in the year 2819, you discover the Andromeda galaxy isn't all its living up to be, with many obstacles and fresh faces to meet. With your ship the Tempest, you and your team must face these new challenges and help to make the galaxy habitable for the thousands of lives drifting in space. 
One of the biggest questions gamers have had is "does the story live up to the original?", and I must admit, it does in its own way. It's hard to push past the main series and its plot; massive creatures coming to destroy everything and the galaxy. In truth, part of this does incorporate itself into Andromeda, but not with the affect or the longevity that the original series possessed at the time. The story itself is solid and well rounded and one of the biggest praises I can give the game is its size. Currently at my first finished playthrough, I am sitting at around 90+ hours of gameplay time. In that same amount of time I had completed the original Mass Effect game to the point where I had armor, weapons and my Credits maxed out and with the best components. One side mission leads to three which eventually will lead to ten and more. Two thirds through the game did I finally reach that point of "there's too much to do", a thing gamers experience in games such as Skyrim or The Witcher. Plenty of the side missions themselves are gathering missions (observing new minerals in the universe, collecting objects, etc), but there are also a handful on each planet that give something unique to the culture there: hunting antiques of a dead race, solving a plot of poisoned water sources, to simpler things such as finding lost parents and saving a pregnant woman. These missions, along with the main campaign will chew up a lot of your gameplay.
That in itself brings me to its controls, which are unique to the series but very fluid as well. Players are no longer limited to their class and can mix and max what abilities they wish their Ryder to have. This gives a huge amount of experimentation in the gameplay and solving what works best for you to take on the enemies of the galaxy. Gone is the Paragon/Renegate options to a more open system that makes Ryder a little more human than Shepard. During the previous titles I avoided any option going against my playthrough, but Ryder has four main options for main conversations: Emotional, Logical, Professional and Casual. None of these have the true evil tendencies of Renegade, but Casual will have you calling enemies swears from time to time. All this with the jump-pack, the customisation of weaponry and armor both new and old and all tied up in exploring giant sandbox maps of planets gives plenty of ways to play the game.

Moving onto the finer points of the game, voice acting admittedly can be hit and miss. While the main cast does an incredibly well job (especially the Ryder twins), some of the side characters can be a bit off at times. Turians can oddly sound similar at times, but I put this down to the sound mixing of the characters themselves. The new aliens, the Angara and Kett, are both diverse and incredibly voice acted, especially Nyasha Hatendi the voice of Jaal. His performance throughout the game made him one of my absolute favourite characters to take along on each mission. 
Sound effects and musical score are fine tuned and well accounted for. There are beats here and there that will be familiar to old fans, but otherwise they have been completely redone for the purpose of the new technology in the galaxy.
Graphics, on the whole, are beautiful. Many of the planets look incredibly exotic and worthy of a screencap here and there. Characters look good as well (I especially love the detail in many of the eyes and skin textures), but of course I can't talk about that without mentioning the creepy animations at the time. Speaking from a professional standpoint, I would harbor to guess that to improve polygon textures in the mapping (or improve their spacial needs), vertexes would have been reduced, and vertexes can make or break animations in the game.

If this game was judged purely on its campaign, for what few issues I found, including the animations and a few death bugs here and there, this game would be a solid 8/10 and a must buy for lovers of space. But where the issues truly begin is the multiplayer. 

The multiplayer follows the same principles of the previous games', only with lesser rounds and more tasks to do. While surviving round based enemies of Kett, Raiders of Remnant, players must do three tasks during their time on one of five maps: kill specific enemies, hack into an area or multiple objects, and control three points of data. The maps themselves are small and dense but do have a lot of options in which gives enemies and players to hide or climb. The inclusion of Strike Teams does give your campaign an advantage of weaponry, credits and resources, giving you the option to undertake them yourself or set an APEX team to try and tackle these missions.
Before I continue, I may want to remark that the multiplayer itself is fun for what its worth, and that Bioware was confident in the multiplayer that they canceled their open beta for the game. 
This was a grave mistake.
Over nine Kick To Dashboards in random matches, countless bugs that booted me offline, back to the multiplayer menu or further, items disappearing randomly, credits lost after care packages fail to load (This would be hell if someone used the game's microtransations to buy them), characters unlocked but being unplayable until a match is completed and so on. These moments were hair-pulling infuriating and what makes it worse is how fun the multiplayer can be: having a fun game be unplayable in your first two weeks of launch is surprisingly horrific for a gamer, despite the odd 3'000+ ranked people there are in the game. If you're coming to Andromeda for the multiplayer, stay away until the patches launch in the coming weeks, or stick to the Campaign. 

 Even now I don't want to mention the other nitpicky issues such as dropped frames in both modes, the odd non-death after dying moments, glitching out of the map using Biotic abilities (especially Lance and Charge), but as a reviewer I have to be fair and give these things to you so that you, the reader, can make an informed decision on your own.
Despite the waiting and the issues, still, I trust Bioware. Patches coming out within the week should fix the animation issues and the romance problems many had in the community. They've done this before, and they're doing it now. Mass Effect Andromeda was clearly pushed out the door before it was ready, I'm personally willing to guess that perhaps the cancelled multiplayer beta was due to a lack of time with the team itself, as the signs are all there. 

If you are a die-hard Mass Effect fan, you will find no problem destroying the many enemies to face with a Warp and a Throw while looking for aliens to kiss. If you enjoy space, you'll love the exploration of the planets and the many mysteries to solve. Even fans of shooters will get a kick out of this game. But if you're new to the series and want to experience it all, I'd suggest starting with the main series while the patches will roll out within the next few weeks. Mass Effect Andromeda is a flawed game, and while its issues do drag it down somewhat, there's still plenty of galaxy left to explore.
With pun intended, this game has a ton of mass, but can struggle the effect.

Mass Effect Andromeda - 7/10