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theirrationalzone · 4 years

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Yakkin ‘bout Games: Wolfenstein: The New Order

Yakking ‘bout Games is a series where I talk about games that I’m currently playing or have just finished. It can be new or old, console or PC, good or bad, it really doesn’t matter. If it’s a game worth talking about, you’ll see it covered here.

I think it’s fair to say that the FPS genre has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance over the last decade and a bit. The modern military shooters that dominated the late 2000s and early 2010s have become less common. We have seen the return of classic franchises like Doom and Half-Life, and we have also witnessed the influx of “boomer shooters” like Dusk and Amid Evil. A lot of cool stuff indeed.

With that being said, let’s take a trip back a few years. 2014 to be exact.

This was the first year of the (then) brand spanking new PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The two consoles were not off to the best of starts though. Their early exclusives like Killzone Shadow Fall, InFamous Second Son, Forza Motorsport 5 and Dead Rising 3 had failed to impress. The only games picking up the slack were multi-platform releases like Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. The only FPS games available at the time (other than Killzone on PS4) were Call of Duty Ghosts (dull as dishwater) and Battlefield 4 (I enjoyed it but it was completely broken on release.)

Not exactly the most exciting of times for an FPS fan on console.

Wolfenstein: The New Order finally came along that May. It had been announced the year prior but it didn’t have much fanfare behind it. The initial E3 showing didn’t really impress anyone and there wasn’t really a great excitement for the game’s release. Perhaps it was because the previous Wolfenstein game was largely ignored by people or maybe because people were skeptical due to the game being MachineGames’ (the developer) first effort. People needn’t have worried though. The game turned out to be a massive surprise. It ended up being one of the best of that year.

Why am I covering this now? It’s because I recently got the urge to play it again after all these years. Plus I wanted to see how it would function in a post modern Doom world. So with that in mind, let’s get psyched and see how the game holds up.

Never has a smile brought terror to my heart so fast. Well this and my last dental appointment...

The New Order is set in an alternate universe where the Nazis won World War II due to their advanced technology being too much for the Allied forces. After an operation to try and assassinate the spearhead behind this growing technological evolution goes horribly wrong, Captain William “B.J.” Blazkowicz ends up taking a piece of shrapnel to the back of the head which puts him into a vegetative state. He ends up spending fourteen years in a Polish mental asylum before finally being awoken again due to witnessing a horrible atrocity committed by the Nazis. B.J. is now in the alien world of 1960 where the Nazis rule over the world with an iron fist. It’s up to B.J. to link up with the remnants of the Resistance and take the fight back to the Nazis once and for all.

The story was and still is one of the most surprising elements of The New Order. It paints a brutal picture of a world controlled by an evil and ruthless force who will stop at nothing to assert their dominance. The cast as well are very memorable. You have the plucky and likable Resistance fighters who you get to spend quite a bit of time with. You then have some memorable encounters with the evil figureheads of the Nazi regime at certain parts of the story. Anyone who has seen the train sequence in this game knows exactly what I’m taking about. I have to give MachineGames credit as well for the characterisation of B.J. himself. They managed to turn a character who was known for being a badass Nazi killer to a very sympathetic and likable Nazi killer. B.J. in this game is weary and tired after years of fighting evil and tyranny at every corner. The man wants nothing more than for the war to be over so he can hang up his guns and finally settle down. How could you hate the man after hearing something like that?

B.J. is such an upstanding guy that he would infiltrate a Nazi controlled train just to get you some coffee. Liberation and a Cappuccino, you can’t beat it.

The real bread and butter of The New Order though is the gameplay. It has held up fantastically for the most part. Combat is a blast thanks to the very meaty arsenal at your disposal including assault rifles, shotguns, marksman rifle and a Laserkraftwerk which allows you to blast enemies to smithereens. You’ll have plenty of enemy types to cut through including rank and file soldiers, big mech suit soldiers with heavy weaponry and robots that have massive lasers. B.J. has a few abilities though to help turn the tide of battle. Leaning is one such ability and it’s implemented very well. How it works is that if you hold the L1 button, it locks B.J. in place and you can then use the left stick to lean at different angles. It’s super useful. Earning a well placed few shots at a Nazi from a very awkward angle never gets old. B.J. also has the ability to dual-wield certain weapons to deal even more hefty damage to his foes. Press up on the d-pad and prepare to bring the carnage. While this is a pretty fun feature, it does limit your movement speed and it can result in you burning through ammo quite quickly. It also is restricted to two types of the same weapon. You can also find upgrades for weapons which give them different ammo types and fire modes. The Laserkraftwerk, for example, can be used to cut through certain boxes and materials which is pretty nifty.

In terms of how health works, it’s a hybrid between classic pick-ups and regeneration. You can recover health by picking up health packs and food throughout the game. Armor can be found as well to allow you to take some extra damage. If you take health damage and managed to find cover, you’ll eventually get 10 health points back. You also have the ability to overcharge your health. How this works is that if you end up picking up a health item that takes you over your max health, you get higher health points for a brief period which is quite useful. You can increase your max health by finding hidden health upgrades throughout some of the levels.

AI is decent for the most part. They will attempt to find cover in the heat of a firefight and they do try to flank you. Some of the heavy soldiers will also attempt to rush your position. I certainly didn’t notice any unusual behaviour from them. Boss fights are a bit unremarkable for the most part. The game pretty much spells out how to take them out and they don’t really put up much of a fight. The main exception being the final boss but even then, it really isn’t that hard.

The secret painting boss fight was an interesting idea though. Definitely a canvas for them to work on in the future. (Apologies for the bad pun and joke.)

The game does have a basic stealth system and it works fine. When you enter most of the areas in the game, you will be informed that there are two commanders in the area. Take them out without being spotted and you can sneak through the area without having to worry about reinforcements if you get spotted by an enemy. You can take down enemies stealthily by using a silenced pistol, throwing knives or by sneaking up to them and performing a takedown. Stealth can feel a little overpowered during some of the early sections because the pistol is super accurate and it only takes one headshot to take some of these enemies down. The game does balance this a bit better later on as areas are populated with more elite enemies that harder to kill without being spotted.

Being a Wolfenstein game, you would expect exploration to be a big part of the gameplay and it does play a part for sure. There are hidden areas to be found with collectibles such as the Enigma codes which can unlock new difficulties and cheat codes. You can also find hidden max HP upgrades and other stuff as well. Maps can be found in each level which will indicate possible hidden secrets with a question mark. Levels are definitely more linear than some of the prior Wolfenstein games so don’t expect huge hidden areas or levels.

Key and item hunting still exists of course. You will find doors that require a key or a tool needed to progress which requires a bit of skulking around to find that key or item. You see this especially in the Resistance HQ sections which occur after most of the levels. In these sections, you will be tasked with finding a certain item for a character to progress to the next level. There are also side missions where you can do the same thing for other characters in the HQ and completing these unlocks extras such as artwork. I’m mixed on the Resistance HQ sections overall. On the one hand, they’re good from a lore perspective because you can overhear conversations from some of the characters and there are newspaper clippings and notes to find which do a good job of building up the world. On the other hand, they do feel a little bit like filler. Swings and roundabouts, I suppose...

I don’t really have many issues with the gameplay as a whole. My only real gripe is how the weapon wheel works. Weapon wheels are commonplace on console because a controller doesn’t have many buttons when compared to a keyboard. Makes perfect sense. The New Order’s one however can be such a temperamental thing to use. How it’s supposed to work is that you hit the R1 button to bring up the wheel and then you use the right stick to pick the weapon you want. Sounds simple enough. In reality what happens is that the game ends up giving you the wrong weapon time after time. I can’t even begin to count the amount of times that I tried to switch to the assault rifle and the game switched me to the dual-wield pistols instead. It can be a bloody nuisance. Part of this is down to how sensitive the stick is when using the wheel. It’s way too fast. Also why do the dual-wield options even need to be there? You can already hit up on the d-pad to dual-wield a particular weapon plus I didn’t really need to dual-wield all that much so it’s just clutter. They could have cleaned this up a lot better. I also had issues with swapping back to the previous weapon. It would sometimes default back to the Laserkraftwerk even though it wasn’t my previous weapon. Thankfully these issues didn’t get me killed but they certainly got on my nerves a little bit.

Textbook schadenfreude here from one of the villains. Shouldn’t be that shocked really...

From a graphics point of view, Wolfenstein: The New Order still holds up remarkably well. It runs on the same idTech engine that powered Rage before it and it certainly looks great. Character models are well detailed and they animate well. Cutscenes are well framed and the angles are perfectly done. Environments are beautifully crafted with amazing detail so whether you are in rainy soaked London or even the friggin’ Moon, you feel immersed in the world of the game.

I wasn’t kidding about the Moon. Look Ma, I’m in space! (In a video game...)

The game is quite aliased on the consoles. You definitely see sharp and jagged edges at times. Plus the textures look a bit low-res when viewed up close, but the game still looks great, and I imagine the PC version cleans up most of this stuff anyway so there’s that.

Tumblr’s image compression doesn’t do this environment justice. Oh well. C’est la vie, I suppose...

I can’t fault the game’s sound though. All voice performances are pitch-perfect with Brian Bloom (the voice of B.J.) being the standout. The music is incredible too with a great balance between atmospheric tracks and hard edged ones when the action really kicks off. It’s composed by a guy named Mick Gordon. Don’t think he’s done anything of note since though.

In terms of length, you’re looking at about roughly 8-10 hours for a first time playthrough. There is replay value with the collectibles and the Timeline system. To briefly explain, the Timeline system is related to a choice you make at the start of the game which changes some of the characters you encounter during the game. It doesn’t drastically change much. The events remain the same. You just get some unique dialog and a scene or two. Not much else.

So as you can see, I think that Wolfenstein: The New Order is still a bloody good time. The shooting still feels great with some really meaty weapons, the story and characters are super engaging, and the presentation and sound still kicks some ass. It has some minor issues here and there, but this game is well worth experiencing. You can pick it up pretty cheap nowadays on most of the platforms and it does go on sale quite often.

It’s nice to go back sometimes and revisit a classic, isn’t it?

Check back here soon for Part 2 of this where I take a look at The Old Blood. Until then, stay safe, folks!

#wolfenstein #ps4 #video games #yakkingboutgames

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smokeybrandreviews · 4 years

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The King of Iron Fist

I don’t talk about this much but i am a massive, massive, fan of fighting games. I’ve been playing these things for decades, since all the way back in ‘92 with the release of the original Mortal Kombat. Watching the growth, decline, and then resurgence of the fighting game community has been a goddamn treat for me. Admittedly, i suck at the Capcom titles. Absolutely terrible. I do okay with the Rival Schools franchise, but outside of that, straight up balls, man. Never my forte. I’m pretty good with the original MK trilogy, the sprite based one, but absolutely awful with Deadly Alliance through Deception. I hated the fighting styles in those games. They were so goddamn awful, it was sickening. I do okay with the MKIX, MKX, and MKXI titles, though. They feel like the old games which lends itself to my old timey skill set. That said, my strength lies with the two Namco headliners; Tekken and Soul Calibur.

I mastered every Tekken title through 7, though, admittedly, I'm not so godly in the newest release, only great. Personally. For me, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is the title I'm best with. I love that game, man. I can use literally everyone in the roster to perfection. All of their moves. All of their ten-hits. I maxed out my rank in the Ghost Battles with several of the characters and ranked in the top-10, worldwide, leader boards when it was first released. I was feeling a bit nostalgic and wanted to revisit my favorite fighting franchise, giving a little love to my favorite fighters, kind of like how i did with my Persona 5 mains. They are ranked, top to bottom, in order of my skill with them. I even threw in the rank i reached in their respective Tekken games, just for good measure. Since 6 is the last one i really spent any time with and there might be a few characters introduced in 7 or, like, the Tag titles that I'm pretty good with but don’t really have a correlation in rank, I'll have to approximate my skill with a Tekken 6 rank, just to keep things equal.

1. Emilie De Rochefort - Tekken 5 - Tekken God

Lili is my main from 5 onward. Her speed, power, and cross-ups are ridiculous. There is a fluidity to her style that makes for an amazing number of possibilities. All of those flips, somersaults, and hopping knee pokes make for a varying arsenal of devastating stuns. If you can time your attacks right, you can string one, long ass, chain of hits that will deplete an enemy with a Perfect within seconds. Her strength carried over into Tekken 6, easily winning me over in that title, too. I haven’t played much of 7 but what i did get into, Lili feels a little nerfed. She just feels a bit slower than she should. That’s not a problem or whatever, but it is kind of annoying that have to have so many gaps in my assault.

2. Hwoarang - Tekken 3 - Tekken God

Hwoarang was my main for years. He was the very first character that i mastered in any Tekken title. See, my older brother would come over with his PlayStation and commence to beat my ass in Tekken 3 for hours. One day, he told me to actually get good and lent me his Sony for a week. Welp, i did just that. I got good. Real f*cking good. Hwoarang uses Tae Kwon Do, which is dope because it’s easy to combo with, but this dude’s strength is in his juggle potential. His kicks lack the power of his master, Baek Doo San, but they come out faster and in more numbers. Within that week, i was able to string together a flurry of devastating kicks that not even my big brother could counter. Twenty-three years later, he still hasn’t beat me in a single game. If Lili isn’t available, Hwoarang is my guy. Even so, i am probably equally skilled with both, i just prefer the stylish flourish my darling Emilie has with her style.

3. Steve Fox - Tekken 4 - Tekken God

Steve was a quandary when he first released. Dude has no kicks and it was ridiculous to see in a game with such an expansive roster of fighters like Tekken, especially in the fourth iteration. His addition was ridiculous to me. And then i tried him. My, god, was his speed stupid. See, in a fighter like this, speed kills. If you can bust a quick combo, maybe juggle a cat, maybe fired off a quick combo before retreating out of counter range, you can destroy an opponent in seconds. That’s why i love Lili. That’s why i love Hwoarang. Steve Fox has that same potential but it’s different. You can’t launch characters too easily and being a puncher, his reach is limited, but you can juggle the f*ck out of them if they end up airborne. Steve has a lot of weapons to f*ck you up in a near infinite juggle if you’re not careful and i know all of them. Interestingly enough, he’s gotten better with age. I prefer his 5 version but 6 and 7 are pretty beefy, too.

4. Kazuya Mishima - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Kazuya is my power hitter. I’m a speed guy, admittedly. I love the juggle. I love the chains. I love the artistry in forging a string of consecutive, devastating, combo hits. The issue is, there are motherf*ckers like Paul Phoenix who can punch a planet into retrograde in this game. Now, against a computer, I'm fine with my main three Tekken Gods. I’ll dog walk a computer, no matter how high the difficulty. Once you’ve beaten Jinpachi on the highest setting in Tekken 5, you are ready for anything. However, against a real person who knows how to use a power character like the f*cking bears or goddamn Jack? Nah. If they’re good with that heavy-hitter, i have to bring in my own and Kazuya is that ringer. Dude’s probably the second strongest character in the the game after his pops, Heihachi Mishima. The difference? Kazuya’s cross ups are f*cking ridiculous. All of that twirling and overhead kicks make for some confusing hurt when you know how to execute.

5. Eliza - Tekken 7 - Tekken Lord

Eliza was an interesting character for me to pick up. I was curious about her so i bought that money pit Tekken Revolution or whatever. I hated that game so much but i played enough Eliza to feel borderline conceited in my ability. Imagine my elation when my darling drowsy vampire made her cannon appearance in Tekken 7. Again, i didn’t play much, but i did find that my Revolution skills translated well and i was even able to pick up a few new tricks. Eliza, admittedly, is super wonky to master, she’s similar to Alisa Bosconovitch that way, but her mix ups are superb. If you put in the time, Eliza is a very rewarding character to play.

6. Marshall Law - Tekken - Tekken Lord

The elder Law is my guy. I’m a sucker for a Bruce Lee facsimile and Marshall is one of the best out there. He has a good combination of speed and power but it’s his mix ups that endear him to my heart. That and i learned how to play with him because Forest Law, Lee’s son, was the character my brother beat my ass so handily with for months in Tekken 3. I learned Forest out of spite but, when his pops returned in 4, i made sure to master that version, as well. Over time, i grew to love playing with Marshall. He has a very unique, very acrobatic and showy style, like his real life inspiration.

7. Jun Kazama - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Jun ain’t no joke. That Kazama style martial art is something nasty. I could have probably put Asuka here, i am about as good with her as i am Jun considering how similar their styles are, but i have to give respect to the original tooth fairy. Jun Kazama is a f*cking problem, man, She’s deceptively powerful but quick with those hands. She will poke the f*ck out of you with such insidious precision, you won’t even realize you died even after the match is called. The way her blows flow make for some unwieldy mix ups and stupid juggle stuns. I hated fighting her in 2. I hated fighting her even more in the Tag titles. But i love fighting WITH her, especially if you can master that funky timing she has.

8. Lee Chaolan - Tekken 4 - Tekken Lord

Lee is bit of a detraction form my usual fighting fare. He’s kind of a gag character. A little effeminate and a little cruel, Lee’s kicks are the real deal. This cat sends those footsy out at blinding speed and you know how much i love my speed. The thing is, he lacks the power of, say, Hwoarang, Baek, or Bruce. I actually picked up Lee n 4, then Violet, on a whim because i thought it would be funny to beat someone with a character i had no idea how to play. After that first round, though, i was on it.Dude felt good in my hands. I knew Lee was something special and spent the rest of the night with his pokey kicks and flying drop kicks. It was f*cking incredible. I couldn’t believe i slept on such an amazing character for so long. I went back to Tekken 2 and spent weeks with him just to get a proper feel from start to finish. Now, he’s a staple of my rotation. Only when I'm feeling flamboyant, though.

9. Devil Kazuya - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

I picked up Devil Kazuya way back in Tekken 2 because i liked the design. Also, the face laser. That sh*t was stupid. As time went on, and the games advanced, i always went back to Tekken 2 in an effort to hone my skills with the original Devil. To my surprise, when Tekken 7 dropped, Devil Kazuya was playable once again and my skills translated perfectly. Dude has a few new tricks and i immediately ate those f*ckers up but it felt so good taking to the air once more. It sucks he only has two, official, appearances but this is one of those cats that i played a lot with in the Tag titles. Like, SO much. Devi was my second choice after Hwoarang in the original Tekken Tag and, like, my fourth in Tekken Tag 2. Obviously, I'm just as good with Angel, too. I mean, they’re the same f*cking character so i better be!

10. Anna Williams - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

Oh, the Williams sisters. Similar to the case of Jun and Asuka, I'm probably equally as good with both the Williams but Anna is my preferred character. I just like her design better. That and her deceptive ass sexuality. Anna is gorgeous but she will f*ck you the f*ck up. The Williams sisters are power characters and you can’t tell me otherwise. These chicks will ruin your life as a fast as Paul Phoenix if you’re facing off against someone who knows how to use them. I know how to use them very well. Again, Anna over Nina, but I'll mess you up regardless.

11. Zafina - Tekken 6 - Dragon Lord

Zafina was a surprise. Her style is all over the place. I read somewhere it was designed after a snake or something. That sh*t is fitting because she is a slippery motherf*cker, man. Zafina took me a while to master, kind of like Eliza, but once you understand her strengths, this chick can be a proper powerhouse. She’s quick, juggles well, but pokes like a f*cking champ. If your poke game is strong with her, there’s a good chance you can stun lock an opponent into a perfect or two.

12. Devil Jin - Tekken 5 - Dragon Lord

Admittedly, i wanted to put Jin from Tekken 3 on this list. His mixture of Kazama and Mishima style martial arts is mad potent. I love the way dude plays. It’s like fighting with Jun and Kazuya at the same time. However, with the release of Tekken 4, Jin unlearned literally everything about the Mishima style and decided to master normal karate. That sh*t was whack, man. I mean, it was fine, i learned the new Jin fine, but it wasn’t MY Jin. That said, my Jin was in the game, only he took the form of a devil. Devil Jin is f*cking ridiculous. I understood a lot of his abilities because of my mastery of Devil Kazuya but, with the addition of the Kazama style martial arts, Devil Jin was a f*cking beast in that game. He’s kind of a beast in every game he makes an appearance. between the two, i prefer Devil Kazuya, but I'll wreck a guy with Jin if necessary.

13. Bryan Fury - Tekken Tag Tournament - Dragon Lord

I love Bryan Fury. The design, the inspiration, the brutal fighting style, that ridiculously evil laugh; Dude is just amazing. I got pretty good with Bruce Irvin in Tekken 2 so when he wasn’t around in Tekken 3, i was a little bummed. It took awhile for me to pick of Fury, i actually first really got into the character in Tag but i did fool around with him in 3 a little bit. That was after i was surprised by how effortlessly powerful he was in Tag. Dude ain’t Bruce, but he’s still pretty dope.

Honorable Mentions: Unknown, Armor King, Ling Xiaoyu, Alisa Bosconovitch, Heihachi Mishima, Bruce Irvin, Kazumi Mishima, Miguel Caballero Rojo, Josie Rizal, Eddy Gordo

#Tekken #Mishima Zaibatsu #G Corporation

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smokeybrand · 4 years

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The King of Iron Fist

I don’t talk about this much but i am a massive. massive fan of fighting games. I’ve been playing these things for decades, since all the way back in ‘92 with the release of the original Mortal Kombat. Watching the growth, decline, and then resurgence of the fighting game community has been a goddamn treat for me. Admittedly, i suck at the Capcom titles. Absolutely terrible. I do okay with the Rival Schools franchise, but outside of that, straight up balls, man. Never my forte. I’m pretty good with the original MK trilogy, the sprite based one, but absolutely awful with Deadly Alliance through Deception. I hated the fighting styles in those games. They were so goddamn awful, it was sickening. I do okay with the MKIX, MKX, and MKXI titles, though. They feel like the old games which lends itself to my old timey skill set. That said, my strength lies with the two Namco headliners; Tekken and Soul Calibur.

I mastered every Tekken title through 7, though, admittedly, I'm not so godly in the newest release, just great. Personally. For me, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is the title I'm best with. I love that game, man. I can use literally everyone in the roster to perfection. All of their moves. All of their ten-hits. I maxed out my rank in the Ghost Battles with several of the characters and ranked in the top-10, worldwide, leader boards when it was first released. I was feeling a bit nostalgic and wanted to revisit my favorite fighting franchise, giving a little love to my favorite fighters, kind of like how i did with my Persona 5 mains. They are ranked, top to bottom, in order of my skill with them. I even threw in the rank i reached in their respective Tekken games, just for good measure. Since 6 is the last one i really spent any time with and there might be a few characters introduced in 7 or, like, the Tag titles that I'm pretty good with but don’t really have a correlation in rank, I'll have to approximate my skill with a Tekken 6 rank, just to keep things equal.

Emilie De Rochefort - Tekken 5 Dark - Tekken God

Lili is my main from 5 onward. Her speed, power, and cross-ups are ridiculous. There is a fluidity to her style that makes for an amazing number of possibilities. All of those flips, somersaults, and hopping knee pokes make for a varying arsenal of devastating stuns. If you can time your attacks right, you can string one, long ass, chain of hits that will deplete an enemy with a perfect within seconds. Her strength carried over into Tekken 6, easily winning me over in that title, too. I haven’t played much of 7 but what i did get into, Lili feels a little nerfed. She just feels a bit slower than she should. That’s not a problem or whatever, but it is kind of annoying that have to have so many gaps in my assault.

Hwoarang - Tekken 3 - Tekken God

Hwoarang was my main for years. He was the very first character that i mastered in any Tekken title. See, my older brother would come over with his PlayStation and commence to beat my ass in Tekken 3 for hours. One day, he told me to actually get good and lent me his Sony for a week. Welp, i did just that. I got good. Real f*cking good. Hwoarang uses Tae Kwon Do, which is dope because it’s easy to combo with, but this dude’s strength is in his juggle potential. His kicks lack the power of his master, Baek Doo San, but they come out faster and in more numbers. Within that week, i was able to string together a flurry of devastating kicks that not even my bog brother could counter. Twenty-three years later, he still hasn’t beat me in a single game. If Lili isn’t available, Hwoarang is my guy. Even so, i am probably equally skilled with both, i just prefer the stylish flourish my darling Emilie has with her style.

Steve Fox - Tekken 4 - Tekken God

Steve was a quandary when he first released. Dude has no kicks and it was ridiculous to see in a game with such an expansive roster of fighters like Tekken, especially in the fourth iteration. His addition was ridiculous to me. And then i tried him. My, god, was his speed stupid. See, in a fighter like this, speed kills. If you can bust a quick combo, maybe juggle a cat, you can destroy an opponent in seconds. That’s why i love Lili. That’s why i love Hwoarang. Steve Fox has that same potential but it’s different. You can’t launch characters too easily but you can juggle the f*ck out of them if they end up airborne. Steve has a lot of weapons to f*ck you up in a near infinite juggle if you’re not careful and i know all of them. Interestingly enough, he’s gotten better with age. I prefer his 5 version but 6 and 7 are pretty beefy, too.

Kazuya Mishima - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Kazuya is my power hitter. I’m a speed guy, admittedly. I love the juggle. I love the chains. I love the artistry in forging a string of consecutive, devastating, combo hits. The issue is, there are motherf*ckers like Paul Phoenix who can punch a planet into retrograde in this game. Now, against a computer, I'm fine with my main three Tekken Gods. I’ll dog walk a computer, no matter how high the difficulty. Once you’ve beaten Jinpachi on the highest setting in Tekken 5, you are ready for anything. However, against a real person who knows how to used a power character like the f*cking bears or goddamn Jack? Nah. If they’re good with that heavy-hitter, i have to bring in my own and Kazuya is that ringer. Dude’s probably the second strongest character in the the game after his pops, Heihachi Mishima. The difference? Kazuya’s cross ups are f*cking ridiculous. All of that twirling and over head kicks make for some confusing hurt when you know how to execute.

Eliza - Tekken 7 - Tekken Lord

Eliza was an interesting character for me to pick up. I was curious about her so i bought that money pit Tekken Revolution or whatever. I hated that game so much but i played enough Eliza to fell borderline conceited in my ability. Imagine my elation when my darling drowsy vampire made her cannon appearance in Tekken 7. Again, i didn’t play much, but i did find that my Revolution skills translated well and i was even able to pick up a few new tricks. Eliza, admittedly, is super wonky to master, she’s similar to Alisa Bosconovitch that way, but her mix ups are superb. If you put in the time, Eliza is a very rewarding character to play.

Marshall Law - Tekken - Tekken Lord

The elder Law is my guy. I’m a sucker for a Bruce Lee facsimile and Marshall is one of the best out there. He has a good mix of speed and power but it’s his mix ups that endear him to my heart. That and i learned how to play with him because Forest Law, Lee’s son, was the character my brother beat my ass so handily with for months in Tekken 3. I learned Forest out of spite but, when his pops returned in 4, i made sure it master that version, as well. Over time, i grew to love playing with Marshall. He has a very unique, very acrobatic and showy style, like his real life inspiration.

Jun Kazama - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Jun ain’t no joke. That Kazama style martial art is something nasty. I could have probably put Asuka here, i am about as good with her as i am Jun considering how similar their styles are, but i have to give respect to the original tooth fairy. Jun Kazama is a f*cking problem, man, She’s deceptively powerful but quick with those hands. The way her blows flow make for some unwieldy mix ups and stupid juggle stuns. I hated fighting her in 2. I hated fighting her even more in the Tag titles. But i love fighting WITH her, especially if you can master that funky timing she has.

Lee Chaolan - Tekken 4 - Tekken Lord

Lee is bit of a detraction form my usual fighting fare. He’s kind of a gag character. A little effeminate and a little cruel, Lee’s kicks are the real deal. This cat send those footsy out at blinding speed and you know how much i love my speed. The thing is, he lacks the power of, say, Hwoarang, Baek, or Bruce. I actually picked up Lee n 4, then Violet, on a whim because i thought it would be funny to beat someone with a character i had n idea how to play. After that first round, though, i was on it. I knew Lee was something special and spent the rest of the night with his pokey kicks and flying drop kicks. It was f*cking incredible. I couldn’t believe i slept on such an amazing character for so long. I went back to Tekken 2 and spent weeks with the character just to get a proper feel with I'm from start to finish. Now, he’s one that’s in my rotation. When I'm feeling flamboyant.

Devil Kazuya - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

I picked up Devil Kazuya way back in Tekken 2 because i liked the design. Also, the face laser. That sh*t was stupid. As time went on, and the games advanced, i always went back to Tekken 2 in an effort to hone my skills with the original Devil. To my surprise, when Tekken 7 dropped, Devil Kazuya was playable once again and my skills translated perfectly. Due has a few new tricks and i immediately ate those f*cker up but it felt so good taking to the air once more. It sucks he only has two, official, appearances but this is one of those cats that i played a lot with in the Tag titles. Like, SO much. Devi was my second choice after Hwoarang in the original Tekken Tag and, like, my fourth in Tekken Tag 2. Obviously, I'm just as good with Angel, too. I mean, they’re the same f*cking character so i better be!

Anna Williams - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

Zafina - Tekken 6 - Dragon Lord

Devil Jin - Tekken 5 - Dragon Lord

Admittedly, i wanted to put Jin from Tekken 3 on this list. His mixture of Kazama and Mishima style martial arts is mad potent. I love the way dude plays. It’s like fighting with Jun and Kazuya at the same time. However, with the release of Tekken 4, Jin unlearned literally everything about the Mishima style and decided to master normal karate. That sh*t was whack, man. I mean, it was fine, i learned the new Jin fine, but it was MY Jin. That said, my Jin was in the game, only he took the form of a devil. Devil Jin is f*cking ridiculous. I understood a lot of his abilities because of my mastery of Devil Kazuya but, with the addition of the Kazama style martial arts, Devil Jin was a f*cking beast in that game. He’s kind of a beast in every game he makes an appearance. between the two, i prefer Devil Kazuya, but I'll wreck a guy with Jin if necessary.

Bryan Fury - Tekken Tag Tournament - Dragon Lord

I love Bryan Fury. The design, the inspiration, the brutal fighting style, that ridiculously evil laugh; Dude is just amazing. I got pretty good with Bruce Irvin in Tekken 2 so when he wasn’t around in Tekken 3, i was a little bummed. It took awhile for me to pick of Fury, actually i first really got into the character in Tag. I fooled around with him in 3, sure, but that was after i was surprised by how effortlessly powerful he was in Tag. Dude ain’t Bruce, but he’s still pretty dope.

Honorable Mentions: Unknown, Armor King, Ling Xiaoyu, Alisa Bosconovitch, Heihachi Mishima, Bruce Irvin, Kazumi Mishima, Miguel Caballero Rojo, Josie Rizal, Eddy Gordo

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball GT Retrospective (1/7)

[Note: This was originally written on January 10, 2013. My leg was broken, and I decided to kill some time watching GT all the way through.]

My leg is still broken. On the bright side, this gives me time to catch up on crappy anime. My Tenchi in Tokyo DVD arrived in the mail a while back, and I had already resolved to use my convalescance to watch every episode of Dragon Ball GT. So now I can have what I like to call a Marathon of Crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LyNFxnv78w

I've written about the problems with DBGT before, but now that I've sat through the first fourteen episodes, I feel better informed about them. I think the experience of GT for any fan basically goes like this: STAGE ONE: You finish watching Dragon Ball Z, and you're hopeful that GT will just be 64 more episodes of awesome, even if everyone else who saw it thinks it sucks. STAGE TWO: You start watching it, and quickly recognize why everyone hates it. Nevertheless, you remain hopeful that you'll find some hidden quality that redeems the series in some way. STAGE THREE: You get to the part where Goku is thwarted by a metal grate in a sewer, even though he's spent the entire series performing superhuman feats of strength. You wearily accept that this show refuses to adhere to even the simplest level of continuity. STAGE FOUR: Cool! Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta! They can't possibly screw this u--ohhhhh shit they just did. STAGE FIVE: You refuse to recognize GT as anything remotely resembling canon. STAGE SIX: You buy the DVD box set anyway, because you're a completist and it was on sale. STAGE SEVEN: You watch the series again, now properly aware that it was never going to be a worthy continuation of DBZ, but it's probably got some decent camp value. And that's where I am today. When they rolled out GT for American audiences, Funimation didn't even bother releasing the first twenty or so episodes, because even they knew how lame they were as a followup to DBZ. Instead, they edited together a single episode which recapped them, then later released the uncut editions as "The Lost Episodes". So these are the worst of the worst. Later on, the series evolves into a watered down parody of what Dragon Ball Z had been, and I think that's what most American fans are complaining about when they talk about the show. But these early episodes are the real crap. The original premise was that a secret set of "Black Star" Dragon Balls is discovered and accidentally used to de-age Goku into a child. At first, the goal seems to be getting Goku back to normal, except the Black Star Dragon Balls have an added side effect of blowing up the world one year after they're used to make a wish. Worse, they scatter all over the universe with each use, so the only hope is a space mission to find them and return to Earth within one year.

Frankly, this is the stupidest thing ever. The Dragon Balls are artifacts created by Namekian craftsmen, and they were introduced to Earth when a Namekian skilled in the art came to this planet. Why would he construct Dragon Balls that blow up the Earth, where he is? Why would he fashion them so that they scatter into space, when he is essentially stuck on his adopted world with no practical means of searching for them? One could argue that this was a faulty job, an essay in the craft, abandoned when the Red Star Dragon Balls turned out to be much safer and more convenient to use. But no one ever says this. Also, no one ever explains why they can't use one of the other sets of Dragon Balls to retrieve the more volatile Black Star set. Anyway, the space expedition goes haywire when Goku's granddaughter Pan sneaks aboard and carelessly launches the ship before it's ready. This leaves only herself, Goku, and Trunks on board to carry out the mission. For the first leg of the series, these are the main cast of the show. I'm not sure how they picked that lineup, except that they were clearly trying to echo the dynamic of Goku, Krillin, and Bulma back in the old Dragon Ball series. The idea was to go back to the adventure concept of the original series, as opposed to the heavy action focus of Dragon Ball Z. This doesn't work, mainly because the characters are simply too powerful to function as adventure heroes doing Indiana Jones style stories. Back in the old days Goku and Krillin were superhuman fighters, but they were still inexperienced, and there was room in the world for stronger enemies to menace them. By DBGT, Goku has repeatedly proven himself to be the most powerful mortal being in his universe, and most of the other characters are right behind him on the Top Twenty. GT keeps doing episodes where the trio land on a planet, explore the situation a little, then stage a lopsided confrontation with the bad guy. There's no suspense to it because Goku can blow up the whole planet if he wants to, and the bad guy is usually some tin-dictator who doesn't realize what he's up against. To compensate, the writers keep employing what fans call "GT logic". For instance, this one episode had a bad guy called Lord Luud, who's a giant robot shaped like a kewpie doll or something. Goku and Trunks fight it, but the robot is pretty durable. Despite the difficulty, they never bother turning into Super Sayians, even though they can both totally do that at any time and it would even the odds. Luud then steps on the heroes, and then they finally transform, mostly for the big dramatic moment where they have their Superman comeback and toss Luud on his ass. Then they change back and start beating up on Luud as if he suddenly got easy. Luud's handler gets desperate, so he adds Pan's to Luud's power supply, giving him a boost. Pan's weaker than Goku or Trunks, but for some reason Pan+Luud is way, way stronger than Goku and Trunks put together. Well, whatever, but the situation is now looking pretty grim, and Goku and Trunks still keep fighting in their base forms. They never explain this either. It really doesn't make sense, because the Super Saiyan transformations were one of the most popular elements of the franchise. I think they wanted to hearken back to the days before the Super Saiyan concept was introduced, but they never bothered to rationalize it. So they compromised and made the transformations really really brief and infrequent for no reason. Pan never transforms, although it's not clear if she just doesn't know how, or she just refuses to for the same mysterious reason as everyone else. I could sort of buy that Goku's younger body is too weak to handle the transformation, or that Trunks is out of practice, but they still do it, just not very much. It'd be like a whole episode of He-Man where Prince Adam fights Skeletor and has a really hard time, but he only uses his sword when he needs to lift heavy boulders. The bad guys suck ass. The first real villain is Lord Don Key. Get it? Do you? Because it's a pun. He's a plutocratic fop, so he hires thugs that know how to use hand energy. Goku beats them all in like two minutes, but for some reason his team farts around for like four episodes gathering information. That's really what's wrong with the show. It wasn't a mortal sin to go for a sillier tone or back off the fighting, but the pacing ruins whatever they were going for. A lot of these GT plots resemble early episodes of Dragon Ball, except they get stretched out to two or three episodes of GT. Gags that might have been cute in two minutes get stretched out to six or seven. The next major bad guy is Master Dolltaki, who turns Pan into a doll while he tries to get Lord Luud operational. Dolltaki's gimmick is that he's a total perv with toy dolls, and he spends something like three episodes talking or thinking about what a cute doll Pan is and how he can't wait to dress her up in all sorts of adorable little doll clothes. Remember that scene from Spaceballs where Rick Moranis plays with action figures in his quarters? It was what? Two minutes of the movie? If Toei had made Spaceballs, they would have dragged that out to half an hour, and added a heapin' helpin' of pedophilia just in case it was too subtle. Admittedly, there wasn't a whole lot of places left to go as far as Dragon Ball villains. Majin Buu was an indestructible shape-shifter, and how do you top that? The first credible GT villain was Dr. Myuu, who was basically an outer space version of DBZ's Dr. Gero. Baby had some potential, but his main advantage was his power to possess Goku's friends. So he wasn't really a challening bad guy so much as he was a plot device to force the good guys to fight each other. After that, they just decided to bring back all the old villains by having them stage a mass escape from hell. Cute, but not very innovative. The series ends by having the Dragon Balls themselves become the final boss of the franchise. That was a smart idea, but it was pretty poorly executed. Ultimately, Goku beats the Evil Dragon using the same move he used to beat Majin Buu at the end of DBZ, so it really forces you to ask if this trip was really necessary. But by then, I think everyone in Japan had recognized the obvious: Dragon Ball could only be stretched so far. The franchise still has life in it, but the specials and videogames and other merchandise generally sidestep GT. I think everyone at Toei understands now that GT was a failed experiment at best. Of course, the recent Bardock special feels a lot like the same sort of watered down crap that GT was, but at least they were applying the formula to good ol' DBZ lore, instead of going in directions no one wanted to see.

#dragon ball gt #really sucks #2013gt

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tomoyanosekai · 3 years

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復活~Moldbreaker~ (Fukkatsu: Revival)

“Everything happens for a reason.”

As I look back through my bookshelf, there’s a lot of souvenirs that I’ve collected throughout my life. However, the one thing that I’ve been overlooking until it recently caught my eye was a small, stuffed animal octopus that I bought when I was in Japan. “Japan.” Two years ago on this exact day of this writing, I made the official announcement that I would be going to Aomori, Japan for two months. The more I think about it, It’s hard to believe that Japan happened two years ago. A lot of things happened in between then and now. Instead of looking back at two years ago, I would like to focus on the last two months. To give a quick summary: February was when nothing happened, and March was a month dedicated to learning more about myself through what I unabashedly enjoy despite feeling lonely. In short: the last two months were especially hard. However, if February and March were months where I felt defeated, I can say that April was a reminder of why I keep reaching out and how strong I really am, even if life gets filled with setbacks and becomes harder to live through day by day.

To start at the beginning of April and also pick up from the end of last month’s post, I wrote that I had entered a photography contest dedicated to Kamen Rider figure photography. Although last month was mostly spent alone, I spent a lot of my time everyday by taking pictures of every main character from the past 50 years of Kamen Rider to celebrate the franchise’s 50th anniversary. Coincidentally, there was also a photography contest being announced as part of the festivities. Even though I entered and put in my best and most ambitious shots, I didn’t win or even place within the contest. But despite that, it didn’t bother me that I didn’t win, and if anything, I was proud to show my talent and creativity to the world. Among the three days of coverage, my work was shown off two out of the three days and got very good remarks from the judges along with the larger figure photography community. Nonetheless, even though I was busy learning more about myself, there’s something that can’t be ignored despite that: I felt lonely and burnt out.

“Trying to reach out to friends has already been difficult since many of them haven’t been available for a multitude of reasons. At some point, I stopped reaching out to friends, and friends mostly stopped communicating with me or never really reached out at all to begin with.”

- “Where do I even begin here?” (February 28, 2021)

Simply put: I felt alone. Although I initially wrote this back in February, this was ultimately how I felt throughout all of February, most of March, and even now. There was no life for me to live outside of going to work or being at home; I had no choice but to stay where I was and live in monotony. When I did try to reach out to friends at times, everyone I tried to reach out to was usually busy and I had to figure out how to deal with these feelings that yearned for a community. On top of that, the thing I eventually began to notice was that no one was really reaching out since I figured they either forgot about me or they were expecting me to reach out to them; two horrible mindsets that didn’t help at all and only contributed to me feeling even more burnt out and pessimistic. However, even as I felt defeated and pessimistic, something deep inside kept pushing me to constantly reach out again and again despite feeling burnt out.

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”

- Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God

As I look at this stuffed animal octopus on my table as I write this post, it reminds me of why I chose to buy myself this octopus as a souvenir two years ago. This stuffed octopus came from a set of souvenirs that I bought for a group of my close friends coming off the aftermath of some hard times. As I returned from my trip overseas two months later, I had to return and see a very close knit friend group split before my eyes and had to figure out what it meant for me going forward after coming back from Japan and thinking that things would be restored by the time I returned. I bought a stuffed animal for each one of my friends in that group since each stuffed animal reminded me of them in some capacity while I was gone. Although I can’t remember the animals or the reasons why I bought the stuffed animals, I can still clearly remember why I chose to give myself the octopus. For me, the octopus with its many tentacles represented the many hands I would use to reach out to everyone and stay connected despite everyone being so scattered. Even now, I’m still using these hands of mine to reach out to other people despite feeling defeated and tired.

"Stand tall and be proud. No matter how weak or unworthy you feel, set your heart ablaze, grit your teeth and move forward. If you just curl up in a ball and hide, time will pass you by. It won't stop for you while you wallow in your grief."

- Kyojuro Rengoku, Kimetsu no Yaiba -Demon Slayer- The Movie: Mugen Train

Despite feeling so defeated and alone, I continued to reach out, and I think God allows everything to happen for a reason at the right time. As I reunited with many friends in person and through video chat this past month, the one thing they all said was that they were grateful that I was so persistent in reaching out and wanting to meet up. The most encouraging thing for me this past month was when a group of friends that I hadn’t seen in two years was finally reunited, and that was all thanks to God for giving me the persistence and patience to plan something so that we could all meet up again. Likewise, even though I was reunited with my close friends, God still found a way for me to use these connections from two years ago. Very recently, one of my friends from my home church connected me with their friend who is also be going out to Japan to do missions in June; specifically at Hirosaki Nozomi Christ Church in Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan just as I went two years ago. Unlike me who had no idea what I would be getting myself into, I was able to share about my experiences in Japan and help better prepare them for what they were heading into. As I reflect on these connections with people in my life, I see and realize even more now that God has given me a heart that continually loves other people.

Much in that same aspect or continually reaching out to my friends, I finally took the chance to do something that I had always wanted to do for a while: reach out to my extended family; specifically one of my younger cousins. Something I noticed within my family is that although we don’t really have problems or personal squabbles in my family, but in that same regard, we aren’t really “close” where we try to get to know each other on a deeper level. I think within my whole family, I believe there is more of an emphasis on accomplishments since we’re all known by our accomplishments, and not for “who we are.” To give a rundown, this list is obviously NOT how I define myself or define my cousins at all in any general setting, but I believe this is about a 90% accurate reading of how each of my cousins see each other in regards to a family gathering setting (and conveniently grouped by family.)

Cousin 1 : The smartest cousin who majored in Engineering and is continually aiming for the stars (and can almost literally do anything); the family genius.

Cousin 2: The sassy, sarcastic and super athletic cousin with a dry sense of humor who works for Google

Cousin 3 (My brother): The cousin who’s the butt of all jokes at family gatherings and is deeply involved in the Japanese American Community

Cousin 4 (Me): The geeky cousin who went to Bible College but worked part time at a Ramen restaurant and now works customer service (the one who’s always asked to pray during family gatherings.)

Cousin 5: The gifted cousin who’s attractive and athletic and went to college on a full ride academic scholarship

Cousin 6: The cousin who’s about to head to college but is still trying to find his place

Cousin 10: The youngest cousin/baby of the family with so much untapped potential

Cousin 7: The super smart/literary and quiet cousin who’s aiming to be a doctor

Cousins 8 and 9: The hilarious twins; one athletic and extroverted twin and the other twin who’s introverted and very book smart

Although I’m not super close to most of my cousins, the only ones I can feel closer with are cousins 7-9, especially since we attended the same church, I had the chance to share a bit about my life beyond my accomplishments, and also had the chance to cook with them in the past. For those reasons alone, I feel like that of an older brother to them. This time however, the cousin I wanted to reach out to and eventually hung out with was my sixth cousin; the cousin who’s still trying to find his place and also doesn’t get along well with his father. As I met up with him, I shared a bit about my life and showed him how I live it. Through this meeting alone, I think I was able to give him some sense of relief and I really enjoyed getting to know him on a deeper level. Taking a step back: I’m extremely normal and average in comparison to all of them. But despite being normal, I think I put more of an emphasis on love and relationships rather than pure ambition, drive and accomplishments. Even though I seem more normal than all of my cousins, I want my normal-ness to break the mold and become someone who can bring my whole family closer than something more surface level.

Just as I am reminded that this octopus on my desk has many arms and can reach out in six different ways, I still continue to reach out to anyone and everyone because God has given me this heart that loves other people. One of the strongest qualities that God has blessed me with is a heart of kindness. As I go forward into another month, I want to do as Jesus did where John writes about Jesus in John 15:12,

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

- John 15:12

I want to continue reaching out as far as I can and continually find new ways to break the mold.

“From here on out, it’s my stage!”

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sunshine-ita · 7 years

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71 hours later – A Mass Effect: Andromeda critique

Et voilà! Since March 21, 2017, I’ve passed 71 hours in the Andromeda galaxy. Hated the first hour, because the Character Creator (CC) couldn’t or wouldn’t give me what I wanted. But as soon as I started the game with the default Sara Ryder, I could truly appreciate (and frown at) Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Here is a critique of the game. Let’s see what you scored, Andromeda!

I tried to make this review as spoiler free as possible. Hopefully, you won’t be spoiled. Fingers crossed!

The Game Engine

1. The Design - 9/10

All things considered, ME: A is a beautiful video game. The hardcore Sci-Fi fan in me is in bliss. All the planets are stunning; the ones you can land on and the ones you can scan only. The galaxy map and the travelling between stars and systems is pure delight. The attention was put in the details. The ships, the technology, the clothes, the outposts… Everything screamed Mass Effect to me. The Tempest is very sweet to travel in. And yes, the Nomad too. It resisted better to my bad driving than the Mako!

The design of the characters and most NPCs is on point. The turians and salarians look even more alien than in the previous games of the franchise. The asari bother me a bit, though. They all look alike, except for facial marking and skin color… And for PeeBee and T’Perro, both in the Tempest crew. I expected more diversity among the asari. For the rest, no major concern.

The visual of ME: A is a feast for the eyes, and even more since the release of the patch 1.05 (the character’s eyes are much better and the general coloring of the game too). My computer is old, I played in medium quality (in low quality, my eyes were crying because of the lack of details), and I can’t imagine how amazing it is in high and ultra high settings.

2. The Animation - 8/10

There were a LOT of complaints when the game came out. The animation was, to certain people, a complete disgrace. Honestly… I don’t get it. Fine, the animation is not perfect. But that bad? Come on! Some eyes or mouth movements were a bit weird, same for a couple of body movements and overall animation mechanics; LIKE IN EVERY FREAKING VIDEO GAME I EVER PLAYED. I don’t get the « animation rant ». Sure, Bioware will have to patch a couple of things, but in general, it’s quite playable as it is.

3. The Dialogs - 7/10

I liked the four dialogs options for Ryder. It gave enough versatility to the conversations and I think it’s a nice way to customize your character.

My game had some bad times with dialog synchronization, though. Sometimes, the background conversations would suddenly shut up for no reason; or two dialogs would embark on one another, making a real cacophony in my headphones. And fuck, SAM, stop telling me every 2 minutes, that I have new email… WHEN I DON’T HAVE SOME. So annoying.

4. The Sound Effects, Ambient Sounds and Soundtrack - 10/10

I think it’s one of the elements I prefer in Andromeda. Ship sounds, guns firing, the galaxy map, the scanners… Simply amazing and exactly what I expected. The new soundtrack feels even more cinematic than the Trilogy ones. We hear the resemblance, but it’s just enough to make us smile and want to travel more in Andromeda.

Bioware, you did extremely well on that one.

5. Combat Mechanics - 8/10

Three words: fun, versatile… complicated.

You can basically build your own combat specialist in ME: A, and it’s great. The thing is: I had to lower the difficulty for my first playthrough, because I was overwhelmed by the new fighting system. Combos, 50+ buttons to press on the controller, and all the other combat gear and perks hidden somewhere in the menus. It’s fun, lots of fun, spectacular, but a bit difficult to get around at first. In fact, after 71 hours in Andromeda, I feel like I don’t get the fighting system at all. Need to play again to comprehend it more.

A New Beginning

1. The Story - 7/10

Andromeda is clearly the first game of a new trilogy. Or, at least, there will be a sequel. The end of the game screams at you «THERE WILL BE A FOLLOW UP, GUYS». I’m still deaf from an ear.

The story is good (would not say extraordinary, though), and it leaves you with so many questions. I won’t make a list of the questions I have, because I don’t want to spoil anyone.

The Andromeda storyline was obviously built to pick the curiosity of the players and create a hype for a sequel or other promotional material (novels, comics, DLC). I must admit I had a moment of «That’s it? » at the end. Still, a part of me likes the wide opening.

I’ll be watching out for DLCs, books (already reading Nexus: Uprising), comics and other side stuff; which is a bit frustrating, because it cost a lot of money. But hey… That’s how Bioware/EA works. Not going to change. Must roll with it.

2. The Characters - 8/10

I could write a thesis on this topic, so I’ll be brief, and I’ll stick to the Tempest crew.

I love the characters. The Ryders have enough uncertainty and mystery around them to be interesting and I like the fact that your character, Sis or BroRyder, is inexperienced. It makes a distinct separation with Shepard.

The Tempest crew is nice. It doesn’t feel like it’s the same crew as on the Normandy. Vetra and Drack are the best squad mates; my favorites by far. Cora doesn’t annoy me. I get her; her sense of duty, her insecurities, her asari training who helps her focus. Jaal is sweet and emotional. PeeBee is a Liara on speed and I like how awkward she can be. T’Perro… I just want to marry her. Gosh, I love that doctor. Suvi is so sweet, curious and intelligent. I just want to hang out with her and eat her weird experiments. Kallo is skilled, yet so stuck up. He’s adorkable. Gill and Liam… They’re cool, but I must say they’re the two characters in the crew that don’t bring any reaction from me. I’m… indifferent. What I’m certain of: I want to get to know them better, so I can appreciate these two guys as much as the rest of the crew. I changed my mind about Kaidan Alenko, thanks to the fandom. I certainly can change my mind for Liam and Gill.

3. The Romances - 5/10

Ok. Bioware. *sigh* We need to talk.

I’m SO disappointed. And being disappointed romantically SUCKS.

I expected SO MUCH from the romances. Honestly, I wasn’t tempted by ANY of the romance options and Sara ended up with Reyes… Because her one true love, Lexi T’Perro, is not a romantic option (I’m still crying; Sara too). The sex is a subtext. Come on! And the Kerri date… FUCK. Can’t say more, don’t want to spoil. But... SO DISAPOINTING.

I’ll go on YouTube and watch all the romances, see if one is to my liking. Still, you’re not getting a high note on that one, Bioware.

4. Main Quests & Side Quests - 8/10

Lots of quests, but none that really annoyed me. They’re nicely integrated into the storyline. At the end, though, I was a bit tired of side quests popping every 5 seconds. What I liked is that the quest system makes Ryder be a pathfinder. For real. Stuff to do for your crew, the arks, the Nexus, the outposts. It represented well the extend of Ryder’s job.

My game has a lot of bugs in the quest system, though. I currently have around 10 quests (mostly additional assignments) that I can’t finish. Maybe a patch to help?

5. Hints to the Trilogy - 10/10

One word. P.E.R.F.E.C.T.

Really.

Not too much, not completely absent. Well placed, nicely explained or integrated into the storyline. Surprises, smiles, feels, joy… Only perfection.

Thank you. The fan in me is satisfied to the core on this point.

So, what did you score, Mass Effect: Andromeda?

80%.

Well, this isn’t bad! Because no, 80% doesn’t mean Andromeda is complete shit. It means 80% of the game is great, 20% not so much.

And you know what? It’s normal. It’s normal for a video game, or anything in life, to be imperfect. If it was 100%, there would be no place for headcanons or fanfictions or fanart. Where is the fun in that?

I’m also confident that the next patch, the DLCs and the side stuff will help Andromeda get better and better. Plus, if I recall my own Mass Effect experience, the Trilogy is not perfect either. It’s the whole games, side stuff and fandom that makes it amazing.

Now that my first playthrough of Andromeda is done, I want more; need more. I need more Mass Effect in my veins. That’s why all I want to do now is get along with my post-ME3 fanfic; and start a second playthrough of ME: A.

Next Ryder, here I come! Oh, and… I should try the multiplayer. Right?

#mass effect andromeda #critique #mass effect #bioware #sara ryder #first playthrough

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bensopinionsonvariousthingsblr · 6 years

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Top 5 favorite games

Alright so here is the second, part I’ve been spending a lot of time working on this whole thing so I hope you enjoy!

Number 5:The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2004 Japan, 2005 NA What it can be played on: GBA/ Wii U Virtual Console

So I’m not gonna pretend like 4 of my top 5 picks aren’t Zelda games, that being said the Minish Cap is a game I played more recently, around last year, and at first after beating it I sort of just put it in my top 20, I loved it yeah, but I never really thought about it until now that, even though it was short, every thing about this game was solid and fun to me, the shrinking mechanic was challenging but very well done aesthetically, and the story was good, with the relationship between Link and Zelda, them being childhood friends and Link doing whatever it takes to have his friend back, and the villain Vaati was interesting in his relationship with the Minish (The inhabitants of the tiny world) and his final boss fight being very difficult for me, and the story wraps up nicely as usual, all in all it was a Zelda experience that I truly loved, and my favorite 2D Zelda game.

Favorite part(s): Definitely the Aesthetic and design of the tiny world, and all the charm around the entire game

Number 4:Sonic Adventure 2 Developer and Release year: Sega, 2001 What it can be played on: Dreamcast/Gamecube/PC/PS3/XB360

There it is, probably the most controversial pick on this entire list, unless maybe the next one is too i dont know, but I am a Sonic fan, which is something sort of rare these days, unless you like Mania which is pretty awesome but I’m more of a 3D guy, but this game is my favorite Sonic game because, even though the story is confusing I love it, it was dark and i legitimately felt like Dr.Robotnik was actually a major threat. There are 3 types of gameplay, the Classic Sonic/Shadow, The treasure hunting, and the robot/mech levels that make up the game, the best is the Classic gameplay of Sonic and Shadow, that usually isn’t up for debate, the other modes are pretty fun, but I love the game for the Sonic/Shadow levels, and the game to me really picks up on the Space Colony Ark in the Final Act. The *spoilers ahead* part where Shadow (who I forgot to mention is one of my favorite characters and not because I’m an edgy frick) turns to Sonic’s side and fights the Biolizard to buy them time, Shadow’s character arc was amazing in this game, and the final boss was really fun too, not to mention the soundtrack i mean, it’s a sonic game of course there’s a good soundtrack.

Favorite part(s): Shadow the Hedgehog, his levels, character arc, and general mystery surrounding the black and red anti-hero was amazing to me.

Number 3:The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2011 What it can be played on: Wii/Wii U virtual console

I have defended this game in so many tweets and irl debates it’s incredible, Skyward Sword released to a 10/10 from IGN (that doesn’t matter to me much but it is an accolade) a 93 Metacritic score, which I do care about since it is an overall score and even got some Game of the Year awards in a year where Skyrim, Portal 2, Minecraft, Mario Galaxy 2, and many more were up for contention, but that proves nothing I just wanted to prove that I have argued about it enough that I know what I’m talking about. The main problem everyone has with this game is the motion controls, they say they are not accurate or don’t work, which can sometimes be true but, Scott Falco (he makes the “”with a side of salt series which he has some very good opinions on) says it the best, he said that he didn’t like it sitting down just waggling the wii remote, you’ve gotta stand up and play, then you fell immersed like YOU are the one doing it and not the wii remote, that is what i agree with and stand by anyway. Now past those criticisms I don’t think there are many more, some people don’t like the story, but to me this game has the BEST story in maybe any game I’ve ever played, the Link and Zelda relationship is better than any other game in my opinion and only Breath of the Wild comes close to that relationship in my opinion, now, the rest of the story is intriguing too, the origin of the master sword (I’m not going to comment on Fi, some people got too annoyed with her to focus on her amazing character arc in my opinion) the existence of Skyloft and the very first Link, Zelda, and Ganon in the form of Demise, all of it was done well and was very interesting to me. I liked the gameplay too, I think the new sprinting and stamina system was revolutionary to the series and made movement a lot more improved from previous entries in the franchise. The final act with the boss battle with Ghirahim and eventually Demise were very cinematic and awesome, and with Zelda’s life on the line during the whole thing it made it just that much more intense.

Favorite part(s): THE STORY, I can not say enough how much I love the story but also I loved the boss battles, Demise,Ghirahim,The Ancient Automaton, and all of them were fun to me.

Number 2:The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2017 What it can be played on: Switch/Wii U

This game is a new staple in the Zelda series, the highest selling of all time, a new open world, a Game of the Year winner in almost all the awards shows, and even still people love to pick on this game a little bit, with all the weapon-breaking criticisms, and I know that can get annoying, but it does add a new layer of difficulty to an already difficult game, anyway Breath of the Wild was first known as Zelda for the Wii U, and it was revealed with a trailer at E3 2014 and was slated for release in 2015, of course it got pushed back and with Nintendo now finished with the switch they announced Breath of the Wild as a launch title, March 3rd, 2017 will always be one of my favorite days of all time, as I got my switch and had the first mainline Zelda game release as a fan of the series, and I did NOT stop playing it that night until about 1 AM (thats a rookie number now i mean c’mon I tweeted at 3 AM last night then went ahead and watched a movie) which was super late for me at the time though and I went to bed ecstatic about the game, I had gotten to a part where the story was starting to go forward and I couldn’t wait to finish it, about 6 or 7 days later I did and BOI let me tell ya I loved every second of that week, the gameplay is smooth and fun with combat being re-invented and then the Guardians were really fun because up until the end i didnt know about the shield thing so I would just bash them with all the brute force i had, the final boss fight was incredible (thats a common theme with my favorite Zelda games) and the Dark Beast Ganon fight was really atmospheric and entertaining as well and the ending with the re-uniting of Link and Zelda was so well done and just makes for a perfect ending.

Favorite Part(s): I loved the massive open world and all the secrets and new enemies and shrines to discover, it just made my time playing the game very enjoyable! Plus everything else like the story and the combat.

Number 1:The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Developer and Release year: Nintendo 2002 JP/2003/ 2013 HD What it can be played on: Gamecube/Wii U

The Wind Waker. My unwavering favorite game for who knows how long now, the first Zelda game I ever finished and my introduction to great single player games as a whole really. The Wind Waker released in December in Japan and followed up the next year World Wide, the art style of the cell-shaded characters had never been seen before in a Zelda game and people were skeptical about whether or not it would go down well. Well it released and the people of December in Japan and of March World wide were very pleased with the game and loved it for its gameplay, story, vast ocean and many islands to explore with many hours of gameplay to be put in discovering everything the game had to offer, as for me i wouldnt get to play it for a while longer considering i was VERY young at the time of its release, so I would get to play it when it re-released for the Wii U in 2013, about ten years after the release of the original, I didnt get it though until Christmas of 2015 (or 2014 Im not honestly sure) but it wasnt even my gift, as I’ve said before it was my brother’s and i just watched him play it for a bit and tried it myself after being intrigued, and I dont know if I stopped very much over the course of the time I played it, I was challenged by the puzzles, and from the very opening at Outset Island I loved the art style and loved the characters in the story, with the new unique take on Zelda as Tetra, having Link sailing instead of walking, heck even having Hyrule not even the setting (for most of the game anyway) was new to the series and as my first 3D Zelda game I was captivated by all of it, everything about my favorite franchise now was fresh and new and thats something I’ll never get to experience again which is probably why I remember and still play the Wind Waker which such a fondness today, because of how new everything was to me and how much I enjoyed all of it, not to mention the final boss fight (here we go again) was and is still my favorite, with the world being submerged around you and you and Zelda enclosed with no way out other than through Ganondorf, the games story as always (I hate how repetitive I am) ended very well and to this day it remains one of my favorite stories ever told, and I don’t know if anything will be able to top this game just because of the time in my life in which I got to experience it and with how solid the game as a whole is.

Favorite Part(s): The Wide-open sea and the islands are all so cool and creative, plus the Final boss fight still stands as my favorite to this day.

Thanks a TON for reading through all of this, I had started work on it some time last year and got super busy doing other things during all this time but it really means a ton to me that people would actually care enough to read what I write, or even just skim it,

Thanks -Ben :)

#the wind waker #legend of zelda #zelda #breath of the wild #minish cap #Sonic Adventure 2 #skyward sword

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danielstolz · 6 years

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Danny’s Best Games of 2018

Here we go again. 2018 was a very transformative year for me, taking new turns, exploring new areas, and finding the new me. It was a year full of beautiful human-constructed chaos, which left everyone of us wanting to escape the real world. And we all know that the best possible way of escape is: dru... Eh, I mean video games!

2018 was a weird year for gaming. It seemed like everyone was sleeping and secretly working on something big while releasing just filler-titles. AAA-games were either non-existent or more of the same action-openworld shtick we’ve seen a hundred times. I was rather disappointed by the big players this year.

But the Indie scene flourished. It’s like someone opened the floodgates and all the creative small gems suddenly started rushing in. I’ve played around 20 games this year and I still have 30 games left that I want to check out, mainly indies of course. So as always: If your favorite game isn’t on the list, probably I didn’t play it, or I played it and it just sucks. As easy as that. Here we go:

10. Bad North

The RTS. A long forgotten genre that seemed to be dead for the last few years. It used to be one of the biggest genres back in the days and then suddenly publishers decided that Its just a niche-thing. But it’s slowly being resurrected by MOBAs and bite-sized strategy games like Bad North. This little Gem is polished to perfection. Bad North is a randomly generated RTS in which you try to defend tiny but gorgeous islands from incoming boats of enemies. The beauty of this game comes in its simplicity. There’s only 3 types of units and the only thing you have to do is positions them accordingly. Sounds simple, but it gets nerve-wrecking really fast, especially when you only have 2 units left and 5 boats are approaching. Bad North gives you a few tools and you need to improvise strategies on the spot often having to compromise. Tightly designed and visually striking, Bad North is the finest indie-RTS I’ve played.

9. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Smash Bros used to be a fun party game where you could beat your friends up, but over the years it turned into something much bigger. Not only is Smash celebrating the history and legacy of Nintendo, it also celebrates the entire medium itself. It shows us the best of videogames, having a blast with your friends, or honing your skills online for the next big tournament. Everybody can enjoy this game and when creator Masahiro Sakurai said “Everyone is here!” not only did he mean the characters from franchises across the entire medium, he also meant people from all different kinds of backgrounds. This is a game where a professional veteran can have a great time with someone who never even held a controller in his hand. The best Smash to this date where “Ultimate” isn’t just a marketing term, but an understatement.

8. Artifact

Artifact is 2 of my favorite things combined: Dota and digital card games. When they first announced it I was skeptical. It seemed like Valve wanted to simply jump on the Hearthstone hypetrain to grab some additional cash. Then I heard that Richard Garfield was going to design it and I was sure that this is going to be something special: and it truly is. Not only is Artifact juiced out the max it’s also one of the best designed card games I’ve played in recent memory. Every decision you make is crucial, and the randomized board and item pool keeps you on your toes even when you seem to have the upper hand. I’ve never felt like I’ve had worse cards than my opponent, which Hearthstone made me feel constantly. Let’s talk about the controversy surrounding Artifact: its cost. You need to pay 20 bucks to play the game which will give a few starter decks and 120 random cards. Additional cards cost you extra. This sounds crazy, but I think this business model helps the game stay competitive, while just being the regular business models for every other non digital card game. People aren’t used anymore to pay for stuff. But hey: they just miss out on the best cardgame of the year.

7. Minit

In an age where games need to be 100+ hours long and have to have a billion dialogue options and a massive storyline with thousands of quests, it’s refreshing to see a game that just oozes simplicity, charm and only takes you a few hours to complete. Minit is that wonderfully delightful game. Every playsession takes you exactly 1min before a curse kills you. Minit takes this little concept and blows it up into a full game, filled with incredibly clever interactions that play with the medium and make up for a wonderful time. Like the old man who takes forever to tell his story... far longer than a minute. Minit not only makes you think, but it makes you think in ways not explored by previous titles. It’s refreshing, lovely and a beautiful contrast to the current trends in gaming.

6. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

This is just a Kickstarter bonus game for another Bloodstained coming out in 2019, and it was one of the best games I’ve played this year. Somehow whenever developers take an old NES game-concept and make a modern reimagining of it, it never disappoints. This time it’s Castlevania and it’s the best Castlevania ever made. I’m not kidding, this hidden gem is better than Castlevania 4 and Symphony of the Night. The levels are tightly designed, the difficulty is just right, the game has multiple paths for different playthroughs, the bosses are incredible, the visuals are stunningly beautiful, the sound is crisp, the music is catchy and all that while just being a sideproject for a bigger game. This is a classic Castlevania like it come out back in the 80s and nails everything right on the head. You can play this through in just one sitting and you won’t be disappointed. Sometimes the only thing you need is a blast from the past.

5. Dead Cells

This action-roguelike finally came out this year and it devoured me. Dead Cells is a loot based 2D-dungeon-crawler that picks you up the beginning and won’t let you go till the end. The gameplay is hypnotizing, running, rolling, fighting your way through hordes of enemies, collecting gear and trying to get closer and closer to the end. A journey filled with failure, triumph and the occasional rage-quit. And after a few hours you realize that you didn’t look at the time and wasted your whole afternoon. Dead Cells captures you with this unbelievable sense of flow, which you can’t escape. Everything feels natural and you really start losing yourself in the combat trying the be faster every run, trying to get an even more ridiculous combo. Dead Cells is a game of flow, a game of mastery, a beautiful exercise for your fingers. And after all those hours you realize that none of it was time wasted.

4. The Messenger

While Bloodstained:Curse of the Moon brought back classic Castlevania, The Messenger seems to reimagine classic Ninja Gaiden. Or does it? The Messenger hides itself under the skin of the recent trend of revivals and throws a curveball at the player. Or should I say a barrage of curveballs, The Messenger is a Metagame a cleverly selfaware exercise in how often you can break the rules, twist the plot, and change the whole game itself. I think this is the game that breaks the 4th wall more often than anything else I’ve ever seen You could even say that there is no 4th wall. The Messenger is all that and in addition it’s a wonderful Ninja Gaiden game. The gameplay is smooth and the Metagame aspects of it make you lose yourself in a game that doesn’t really want to be a game. Sometimes it just wants to be clever, or funny, or it just wants to screw you over and throw another new thing at you that breaks all the rules all over again. I don’t wanna give away too much because this is something you need to experience on your own. What a whacky, weird and gorgeous experience.

3. Yakuza 6

Over 6 games and this is the long awaited and dreaded finale. Yakuza 6 is an example of how to end a show with the most over the top way. I said show because essentially that’s what Yakuza is. The great thing about this show however is that you get to play it, and that you probably will get off track while doing so. I spent hours showing off my skills at the mahjongg parlor, after beating a street gang that tried to harass a girl and his boyfriend, afterwards I flirted with a bunch of hostesses, created a clan and then got dragged in a big Yakuza conspiracy while trying to defend my baby from being murdered. I didn’t make that up. That just happened. Yakuza 6 turns it down a notch, however, there are less playable characters, less minigames, less plot-twists, less of everything to be honest, all this in order to serve the main story which is the star of this show. One character means more focus and more finesse. While Yakuza 0 was all about the twists, Yakuza 6 offers a thrilling, heart gripping story that resolves the whole narrative in such an epic and iconic way that It’s hard to stop playing. Yakuza 6 is a masterclass in building up tension and never letting it go. You’ll get sidetracked but you don’t want to get sidetracked, you wanna know how the story continues and trust me you have to know.

2. Celeste

Celeste is a game about depression, a game about atmosphere, and a game of mastery and finally overcoming your own personal problems. Most games tell a story and then there’s gameplay. Celeste tells a story through its gameplay. It’s an example of how to use the medium as a compelling and unique way to tell a story. Not only does Celeste tell a story through its mechanics, but it also invokes an unforgetable atmosphere through the beautiful pixel aesthetic and the ear melting music by Lena Raine. All if this is accompanied by the best designed levels I’ve seen this year, pushing the boundaries of clever level design. Celeste is challenging, but that’s what it wants to be. Showing you how hard it is to deal with personal drama. It certainly helped me a lot and shows how videogames can be much more than entertainment. Celeste is a game I won’t forget.

1. Into the Breach

This game... is a designers wet dream. If you’d asked me if there’s a perfectly designed game, then my answer would be Into the Breach. We started off the list with bite sized strategy and we’ll end with that. Into the Breach is a randomly generated turn-based-puzzlegame, which shines with perfection. What makes it special is that this game has perfect information, meaning that the player knows everything. Every move in Into the Breach has to be perfect and if you make a mistake you cannot blame the game, because you knew everything. You just need to make the right decisions and that is incredibly difficult. Into the Breach may not look like much, but it’s the most tightly designed I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t boast with flashy visuals or a gripping story, Into the Breach knows exactly what it is, and it’s nothing more. A minimalistic yet perfect game that can entertain for hours on end. This is the new golden standard when it comes to gamedesign.

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filligan-universe · 7 years

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TOP 5 Games of 2016?

It’s October 2017, so I can’t think of a better time than now to reflect on the games I played last year and rank them based on specific merits. But wait! Did I even play any games last year? The answer… is no. But also yes, kinda.

Look, this is gonna be a little different than my standard list, all right, because shit got weird and sad last year, so let’s just get this over with.

No Man’s Sky and Overwatch

I hit what I’ve trademarked as a Gamer’s Slump, better characterized as The Great Game Slump of 2016. But here’s the thing: I had no reason to. Two games, that I own, that came out in 2016, have become relevant, life-altering pillars in my good friend’s world – No Man’s Sky and Overwatch. But NMS had one of the worst launches in history and I canceled my preorder. I didn’t buy it until this past summer when I grabbed it for $13.

And No Man’s Sky is… stressful. It has a decent difficulty curve, which is admirable, but it also makes all actions a slog. Everything needs improvements and all of those improvements require hours of time slotted into the game like quarters in a Galaga machine. This is fine if you have a bong to hold you over with the crazy visuals and the weird animals that all look different but also all look the same, but I don’t. I gave that game 4 hours. I came close to death several times and my ability to survive close calls excited me. Then, randomly on my trip between planets, space pirates blew me up. I died and it seemed there was nothing I could have done about it.

I played that game on Twitch and my friend watched the stream and then sent me several paragraphs of bullet points of what I was doing wrong. I think he even said I could’ve avoided death from the space pirates. But I couldn’t find out how at the time. And that’s kind of the biggest problem with NMS: it feels like walking into Grade 10 Spanish without knowing even knowing what Ay caramba means. It’s a good game for budding game developers to learn that, yes, while we generally hate games that hold our hands to the point where it’s playing for us, we also still need a semblance of guidance. No Man’s Sky drops you, alone, with little in the way of intuitive guidance, and that’s part of its charm, but it made the game feel cold and uncaring to me.

But also, I’m not done with it. I will return to it, but it’s difficult these days now that my Game Slump is officially over (seriously, I am having trouble squeezing all the games I love this year into a Top 5, and the year’s not over yet).

I should have gotten sucked into Overwatch. But I didn’t and I’ve tried, oh lord, oh lawd, how I did try. And I’m still willing to try because it’s not like I’ve disliked my time with it, it just hasn’t grabbed me by a big metal hook and yanked me into the fray. So, again, another game that I want to spend more time with before I can even decide if it belongs in a Top 5 list.

Remakes, Remasters, Returns

The new games in 2016 didn’t excite me much, so I delved into some remasters. I like remasters. They give me an excuse to play older games I missed that are now overpriced on the used game market or a chance to replay one of my favorites. The latter applies to two games (or should I say 4 games) that took up a sizeable chunk of my gaming time last year: Batman: Return to Arkham (which has the first two remastered Arkham games) and the BioShock Collection (of which I only replayed the first and third).

It’s no secret that the Arkham games are some of my favorites of all time. The first game is a masterpiece. I own every installment, even those not developed by Rocksteady, so this was a no-brainer. And it was fun! This, in part, is why 2016 was so slumpy, because I craved fun. I didn’t want to work, and work, and work, and work towards better stats or perks or shit like that. I didn’t want to rely on other players to have a good time. At the start of 2016, I was just walking out the door on the Halo franchise, which is to say I was done with its online multiplayer. Guardians was so far removed from what actually made Halo an addicting franchise, but also I think I’ve grown cantankerous and grizzled and I have way more fun with local multiplayer these days. I like to joke around with people I know, to challenge them upfront, to call them out on poor judgments, instead of what Guardians had devolved into: a joyless, grindy, perk-based pay-to-win pile of puke where nobody talked to anybody else because they’re in a party with their three pals. I was over it and I think Overwatch got caught in the wake of that.

But the Akrham games? Those are still polished perfect. I don’t need no other stinkin’ players to have a good time with those! The only downside was Arkham City kept fucking freezing!

And BioShock, well, it had been like ten years since I played the first one, so it was neat to dive back into that. And it holds up! Infinite even more so, though I think Infinite is best delivered as a first-time experience. Knowing the twists and turns, it’s not the rollercoaster it was the first time around, but it still plays fantastic.

Gears of War 4

Last time I tried to cobble a Top 5 of 2016 list together, I was so desperate that I actually considered Gears of War 4. Boy, how this franchise has fallen. I’d almost consider this new addition worse than Judgment, which was always a third-party placeholder game and played like one. Gears of War 4 is mechanically great, but holy shit is it boring. The campaign never became a good time. The only moment I remember is Marcus angry about his fuckin’ tomato plants. The rest blurs into gooey sounds and robots and insufferable characters. And it’s not like this franchise had great stories or characters to begin with, but its macho, Starship Troopers-like atmosphere made it feel like violent 80s schlock that straddled the line of ridiculous and somber. The new game? It plays tight. The Coalition knows how to make this game feel right. But everything they have you do is just mindless.

ABZU and Firewatch

Two games that stood out from last year – indie gems that were fun to play and emotionally involving. That said, I didn’t play these in 2016. I played them both in 2017, after the Game Slump lifted, and so they didn’t ping on my radar until well after 2016 was over.

Firewatch is grossly engaging. It’s the same praise you’ve read a hundred times over. Its biggest hiccup is that the main twist in the story is one based on backstory that has no bearing on your character’s involvement with the story. As well, I’m not sure how much the opening choices affect the plot, because they seem pretty unrelated, but it did function as a nice way to emotionally anchor the player into something serious.

ABZU is a fantastic water-based Journey that is a little too gamey with a camera that is sometimes wonky. I love Journey. It’s my favorite game of the Xbox 360/PS3 era. ABZU is sort of a cheaper version (except it’s more expensive, ha ha). The music isn’t quite as good, there’s no unique multiplayer stuff, the emotional punch of the story is muted in comparison to that heavenly ascension. But it’s still beautiful. There are several moments that are so gorgeous and spiritually affecting. I saved this clip from my first playthrough where I encountered the whales:

If I had to pick a #1 of last year, ABZU would probably be it. And even though I haven’t said much about it, I think that’s all I need to say. There’s a poingancy in its minimalism that can only truly be felt by playing it.

2016 was a weird year. I think I can thank Horizon: Zero Dawn for breaking my slump and bringing me back to games. I’ve been playing different things non-stop since February and I’m eager to boil down my favorites of the year into a Top 5 list. Here’s hoping 2016 was an anomaly that won’t repeat until I have responsibilities and priorities well beyond sitting on my ass.

#Top 5 games 2016 #abzu #firewatch #Batman Arkham Asylum #Bioshock #No Man's Sky #Overwatch

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