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Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Player created character is the centerpoint of the campaign’s story
+Graphics have been noticeably upgraded to the SW4 graphics standard
+Campaign provides a rough 15-20 hours of fun before it begins to grow dull
+Swapping between officers is fun, enjoyable, and refreshing after hours of comba

Cons:
–3DS version suffers minor frame rate hiccups and pop-in’s on older 3DS handhelds
–To the unfamiliar, missions may take a few attempts to complete to adjust to the missions

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Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 is the first of the Warriors spin-off series I’ve been able to try. Thanks to our contacts over at Koei Tecmo’s PR team, we’ve been able to get access to a copy for review. With the PlayStation Vita version in hand, we decided to also pick up the Nintendo 3DS version, which lead us to quickly diving into combat with fully customized character’s and finding ourselves teaming up with Oda Nobunaga, famed Warlord of Japan and the games central focus. But if you aren’t a fan of the series? There’s no doubt the series will be hard to follow for those unfamiliar with the franchise since Samurai Warriors 4 came out not to long ago.

Since many of us have become familiar with Omega Force and their Warriors franchise, it’s hard not to tell you that these games come out constantly, and it’s at times – arduous to follow. As a spin-off title, Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 has launched on both the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS in order to join beside Oda Nobunaga and his family; the one that can be said to have caused the unification of Japan in the 16th century. Getting to that beginning of unification, however, will put the the warring clans against one another, and ultimately throw your customized character into the middle of this large scale set of trials, tribulations, but also friendships that take place as your warrior builds relationships, friendships, and displays their true loyalty to the Oda clan.

When playing through the 15-20 hours of content in the game on the first run-through, players will take on a set of scenarios that explain how the future of Japan was sculpted, but also what brought the clans to begin unification. Much like other Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires, players will take on several set of occurrences within the games story mode. This includes events as well as battles, the events are much like the Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires when training your villages and the ruling state, but in this version you build relationships with other members of the Oda clan between battles, which helps provide quite a bit of dialogue and backstory for players. As known outside of the dialogue events, combat is just what it says; you go to war and take over battlefields in order to weaken your enemies moral and ultimately take on multiple objectives including going to certain places on the map, take out certain captains, or even take over an area on that map. For fans that have played previous Warriors title, you know that your character that you created did not matter, your character was a mere shadow in the eyes of the original Samurai Warriors cast members, but in this version, characters are fleshed out quite well, which makes it almost seem absurd it hasn’t happened before now. In this one, however, that is not the case of being overshadowed, the character is very well fleshed out, which gives a distinct sense of nurturing to the character, and even offers up players to choose their character’s dialogue that takes place between them and other members of the clan. While yammering away in conversation can be fun, the game shines a bright light upon the game itself when even dealing with some of the more minor characters such as Oda Nobunaga’s wife Lady Nōhime or even other minor captains within the Oda ranks. However, this detail doesn’t take away from a glaringly large problem within the Nintendo 3DS version of the game for those who do not have a New Nintendo 3DS; frame rate issues.

Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS/PlayStation Vita (Reviewed)
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Developer: Omega Force
Cost: 29.99 USD
Release Date: Now Available

When finding myself traversing through the large scale fields on the PlayStation Vita, I found myself easily transition between captains thanks to the Vita’s touch bad, but also even finding myself with consistent frame rates that are inherently missing from the Nintendo 3DS version when it wasn’t running on a New Nintendo 3DS, which was quite absurd since the handhelds are both rather powerful, but this seemed like a poor design issue or possibly just the game itself having found a few issues outside of what the Vita is capable of pulling off. Regardless, the game seemed to run quite a bit better on a New Nintendo 3DS and even kept framerates in or around what the PlayStation Vita was capable of. Though frame rate to some can be a big ordeal, there was another issue that seemed to cross over in both versions; blurred character faces that seemed to leave no true detail to what minor or even some major characters looked like compared to that of what we would see with Dynasty Warriors 8 XL for Vita or even Dynasty Warriors Next on Vita; Samurai Warriors 4 even had better face animations and appearances when moving across the battlefield or when just merely looking around while on the battlefield between objectives.

Setting all that aside from the overall appeal, Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 builds itself upon forging relationships with every officer in Oda’s army, but also focuses upon the 20ish total battles that take place during the course of the game. This includes buying armor, leveling up weapons, boosting relationships via discussions, going through tea in the town menu, but also looks at helping players collect your in-game money in order to raise these friendship bars, but this also allows for players to build a form of completion to the story. While you are burning a hole in your character’s money pouch, players can also spend the same coin they would be spending on tea at the market where they can buy new armor for their appearances, but also work on leveling up their weapons. This also means that players will want to spend sometime with working on the games challenge mode in order to gain rare weapons, items, and more experience in order to level up, which makes this Warriors title rather large as well as time consuming for those who love taking on tedious tasks to get a larger experience overall.

Much like any Warriors title, Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 makes itself unique with the type of content it has made available for fans to enjoy, but also attempts to show this off while fans work their hardest in order to enjoy the games campaign as well as the missions that are hidden within the game through the earlier mentioned friendship system. Even looking past the Nintendo 3DS versions troubled frame rate, the game is equally as enjoyable as it is on the PlayStation Vita. Overall the game is an enjoyable experience that Omega Force should be proud of themselves for taking on so that fans could see a new twist to the Warriors universe through this new title. This is one that any fan of the franchise series should be prepared to enjoy whether or not they can look past a few of the games small hindrances that have weaseled their way into the game for Nintendo 3DS gamers.

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 Final Score: 6 out of 10

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Ethics Note: This version of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game that was provided to us by the publisher for review. Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 is now available digitally on both Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita for 29.99 USD. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

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Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Cheeky, but amusing humor that carries on even to character names
+Solid change of turn based game mechanics
+DLC does not in anyway deter the game, but instead adds to it free of charge
+Even with a rebuilt story, the games remain true to the core, and fun as ever

Cons:
–Some bosses can be truly troubling to combat against
–Missions can feel like a heavy grind
–Suffers from an inability to let you change up your party at the start

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Lets just say that this series has been a flagship series for the PlayStation Vita at this point, which for Idea Factory and Compile Hearts? This is a rather good thing, which gives the main series, and even the spin-offs a chance to thrive, and even gain new friends. For fans of the series, this third reimagining of the franchise – namely Hyperdimension Neptunia: Victory (PS3) – fans once more get to take on the task of following Neptune, Noire, Blanc, Vert, their friends, and even their sisters story that is filled with video game references and the group’s mind blowing shenanigans. This time? Neptune has fallen victim of being transported to another dimension, and has now been tasked with helping her new friends in this dimension in order to get a chance to return home to her own. Thanks to having fallen victim to a brewing war between CPUs and the Seven Sages, Neptune once more finds herself trying to right the wrongs, bring up shares, and return home. The irony of this game is the humour itself where the CPU’s are fully aware that they are video game characters, that they are amidst a console war (namely 7th generation of consoles), but also the fact that the characters are not scared to break the fourth wall in order to bring out a few good laughs for fans. But like the spinoff titles, V Generation does not take itself too serious, but it does manage to keep the series fresh, and enjoyable to fans who are new and old as they continue on with this flagship franchise for the PlayStation Vita.

Much like the predecessors to the series, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 3: V Generation seeks to do several things as the others did when they were brought over to the Vita. This time around we are seeing some minor upgrades outside of added video clips, dialogue, and even a few alterations to how the game itself plays. This time around players will want to take their time in order to stay two to three steps ahead of the enemy, this means plotting out attacks, making sure they have set up their armour, weapons, and even small pieces of secondary equipment that will help assist them in fights in the long run. Much like before we do get to see a few significant changes that include a dungeon remake system, Stella’s (am I the only one that thought of Stella Glow when reading that name?) Dungeon where you can get better armour, weapons, and upgrades, but also a new take on the former combat system. This means that itemization and min-maxing as some will call it, is extremely important and will drive fans into figuring out what items and stats are best depending on what enemies are being encountered within that zone. Just like all the combat schemes from earlier entries, fans will able to once more take the characters into their CPU form and wreck having while building up enough ‘points’ or rather SP to unleash a devastating EXE attack or even an insanely powerful combo finisher that’ll send enemies into oblivion if you are dishing out enough damage. This means the same can be done to your characters, however, and will unfortunately punish newcomers who aren’t paying attention to what is going on.

When stepping away from the thirty hour game that fans will know, newcomers may find themselves a bit confused when approaching this one as their first title. For those who are new, let’s step back before continue on and explain the game for newcomers. Hyperdimension Neptunia as a series is one that can easily be compared to the likes of titles such as a “Tales of” title and even a traditional RPG such as Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360), which will push fans into moving characters around, attacking enemies by dipping into the games menu, and even surfing the menus quite a bit in order to prepare for combat and learning about what items do what as well as what items perform what functions in combat or out of combat even. The one major issue of this game, it is deceptively hard, challenging, and will require newcomers to spend money carefully, but also returning to repeatable quests in order to gain new items as well as in-game money.

Unlike in previous titles, V Generation has taken away the healing when leaving a dungeon, which to some is a low blow, but to others it is a refreshing challenge that increases the games overall difficulty and will push both newcomers and veterans alike into maximizing their items and utilizing characters as they need to be later in the game. However, one thing has made a return from Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 2: Sisters Generation, and that is the Stella’s Dungeon, which has become a fan favorite feature in the core series itself. In this mode, fans send Stella and her companion Felis into a dungeon in a rogue-like dungeon RPG style mode, where fans will be gathering items, equipment, blueprints, as well as items, upgradables, experience for Stella and Felis themselves. This means that players will find themselves grinding out and proceeding carefully, if they don’t, this means trouble. Especially when having to deal with trying to continue on and determining whether having to dig deeper in the dungeon or not. The important part? Stella’s Dungeon is needed in order to 100% the game, which means post-game content will be locked without getting the games “True Ending”. To some, this seems to be unfair, and will only bring in the hardcore of the hardcore to complete the game in order to go on.

Like before, the game focuses with three endings depending on completion rates, this means a Good, Bad, and True ending where fans will aim to complete the game with the highest completion rate possible. Like previous titles, the game does not feature a bunch of things to do post-game, which means it’ll be shelved and possibly revisited at a later date unless you’ve grabbed the DLC that allows for characters to go up to level 300, and continue on with the games challenge mode, which unfortunately, we’ve not tinkered with yet, but we possibly will at a later date depending on if it’s something notable or not. Outside of these few drawbacks, the game does suffer from the inability to be kind, but overall? It’s a fun and enjoyable title that will lure fans in who have a PlayStation Vita or PlayStation TV in order to have a good time depending on their patience level and their ability to keep focused to their screens long enough to complete the game. With that being said? Hyperdimension Neptunia as a franchise is one that is unique, fun, and hilarious all together, but to some, it’s just a horrible franchise all together, but to us? It is one we can’t wait to see what Idea Factory does with in the future thanks to the PlayStation Vita crowd keeping it alive.

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Our review is based upon a pre-released version that was sent to us by the developer and was reviewed with all current available content downloaded. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth3: V Generation is now available on PlayStation Vita, PlayStation TV through retail and the PlayStation Store for 39.99 USD. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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 Final Score: 7 out of 10

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter @GamingAnomaly, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Precise use of mobile device touch screens allowing for precise and properly placed responses
+Extremely smooth servers that have no lag, delay, or even hiccups
+Character designs that easily rival League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, Heroes of Order & Chaos and DOTA 2
+Graphics that could easily be mistaken for PC quality
+Single-lane design is fun and easy to use for 3v3 design

Cons:
–Several characters such as Koshka, Ringo and Saw are game breaking at this time
–Creating skins needs explained a wee-bit better for newcomers
–Unlocking ranked mode is a bit steep and almost a hassle
–Unlocking skin tiers requires each tier before the higher one to be unlocked

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Last year I was introduced to my first MOBA ever by one of the former writers of B.A.T.G.R., he introduced me to titles such as League of Legends (I knew of it, just never played it) and DOTA 2. While both games were ones I knew of, I just never dipped my toes into the Massive Online Battle Arena genre, and it’s one that I grew out of quickly until I met Heroes of Order & Chaos, Heroes of the Storm, and the newest entry in the genre for me; VainGlory. Let’s give a bit of a backstory first.

For ten years, I spent a good chunk of my life playing World of Warcraft; Unfortunately Blizzard had me at just around 9 ½ years of playing before I had quit. I hung up my raiding hat, threw in my subscription towel, and walked away never to go back. Before I did that action I was quite into PVP in my free time; I took to Warsong Gulch like a mad man as a disc priest and even a sub rogue just to sap people however I pleased, but overtime I got bored, it was the same thing over, and over, and over again. The Horde lost, Alliance won, and I once more found my head hung in pure frustration and found the last broken straw I needed in order to walk away for the time being.

A few months later, enter the need for something new, something that would keep my attention, and feast my hunger for an online escapade that I could go to, leave, and never look back at when I decided I’m done; or just pick up and go however I want. Enter the MOBA scene, games that take a RTS and fuse it with the idea that you don’t lead the minions, but you are coined with the task of playing the hero that will ultimately decide their pre-programmed fate to be killed off for experience and currency for that matches session only to start over with the next match. The thing here is that the games are fun, short, and do require a bit of skill to complete since most characters are unique to their own capabilities in combat. While some are support, others are good tanks, DPS, or even a hybrid of the two or even three. This is where skill comes into play, players will have to take time, find out what items are best for that character, what skills to max out, and how that character works for them. So lets focus on the MOBA that I’ve been hooked to since its release last year on the App Store; VainGlory.

When looking at VainGlory there is no surprise on why I am hooked in my free time when not working on reviews. Matches are quick, characters are creative, and it takes everything I enjoyed about Heroes of the Storm, DOTA 2 as well as League of Legends and mashed them into a singular game. With the game having recently released on Android, It was time to make the jump, and once more find out why I’ve truly hung up my mouse and keyboard for the time being and walked onto the Play Store and once more found myself enjoying this title.

The Goals in VainGlory are like any other MOBA; destroy enemy minion’s, level up, buy equipment, learn your combinations on what order to use your abilities, when, and why, but also take on the battlefields minor tasks such as unleashing a Kraken, taking over a gold mine, enemy mines, and well – knocking the ever living Hell out of each other and breaking the enemy’s base. Unlike Heroes of the Storm, DOTA, or League, VainGlory finds itself with one small thing that could be considered a downfall to those who can’t do a singular map over, and over, and over again; it’s that it only has one map at this time. To be honest? It’s a satisfying map, one that works perfectly between each of the characters, but also the games pacing allowing for maps to last anywhere between 10 minutes to almost an hour depending on how well the two teams play out against one another. Though there is something quite notable about this game that can’t be recognized with the earlier mentioned titles; it’s cheap for those wanting to invest their real hard-earned money into this title. For 10 bucks? You can get several character skins or even character’s for that matter and go purchase the few things you want in order to help the team of three developers keep their game alive.

Much like previous MOBA’s, VainGlory delivers a single laned map known as the Halcyon Fold, in this map players will be taking the role of characters that are selected as part of the “Free Rotation”, which currently during this review is Saw, Ringo, Petal, Koshka, and Ardan. In this rotation I was able to experience a unique blend of characters that each played uniquely, but also worked well together no matter what character I chose or my teammates chose. They all complimented each other in unique, and rather fun ways that many could say is hard to do since balancing can be quite the issue when working on games like this one.

When stepping aside from the slight learning curve the game has for beginners, the game itself is a visual feast for fans of iPads and Android Devices alike. The visual fidelity is not something to laugh at thanks to its leading edge against most games out there. When looking at the game on the screen of my HTC One M9, there’s something to be said about VainGlory, and that is that the graphics are superb. Let alone do they look and feel like a PC game, they stay steady even in high combat situations, and even when the phone has multiple apps open in the background, which has shown that this team of developers has worked their rears off to ensure an experience like any other. Let alone does the game look good, the sound is good, and that musical score is definitely something that should be written to home about.

Overall, this MOBA isn’t much different from others, but the way it plays, functions, and the fact it can be played on the go gives it an edge against those that can’t manage to pull it off, and that is where VainGlory has easily become my go-to game for when I’m on the go next to Blizzard’s Hearthstone and Order & Chaos Online. If you haven’t downloaded this game? You should, it’s definitely one of the best Android and iOS games available for mobile devices. With skins being able to be crafted through unlocking card boxes or paying for them, this game, unlike others, gives features that other games should be taking notes on so that they will get players coming in from all reaches of the gaming world. All we can say? Super Evil Megacorp has made a game that easily topples the competitors and shows what dedication is all about.

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Our review of the game is based upon both the iOS and Android versions of the game, which are both available for free through the App Store and Google Play. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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 Final Score: 9 out of 10

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him on Twitter @GamingAnomaly,Google+ o

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Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Intuitive combat that will require players to plan out their actions
+Spells are not unlimited and do require a cool down
+Creatable characters are somewhat awkward when joining the party

Cons:
–Combat is extremely linear and at times boring
–Earning in-game credits is almost as boring as picking weeds from a garden
–Clicking forward every time on the map unless using the go-to part of a map gets annoying
–Mission objectives at times are hard to figure out and or locate

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Welcome to the Xth Squad a unique group of students within New Tokyo that have been brought aboard Operation Abyss in order to hunt down, take out, and eliminate a new form of enemy known as “Variants”. Here students that have been recruited and can access a special set abilities only known as Code’s have been brought onto the team, trained, and shown how they will work together in order to take out the enemies and find out why so many Variants will escape into Tokyo and require both the police, but also the Xth squad in order to find out why the Variants are flooding in.

As the game starts out, players are greeted by a gruesome sight, a Variant is about to kill your character, and let alone is this sight bad, players are also given a warm welcome by a member of Xth Squad who manages to appear just in time to save your character’s life. With it you are rescued by a mysterious and hooded figure that has just managed to save the character’s life. Here players are recruited by the CPA or rather, the Code Physics Agency that players have been all, but forced into without much choice or option, which means, guess what? This is what sets up your game and places you into a game where your most enjoyable part is seeing changing scenery outside of the games static portraits, bland dungeon designs, but also an art style that is both colourful, interesting, and anime-like that keeps the game fresh. The issue here? That’s all that does keep it unique and mildly entertaining since there’s barely any dialogue between missions that offers a break from the Xth Squads mission based ranting. However, one of the things that makes you wish there was a break from it? The darkest parts of the game, which aren’t necessarily the parts of finding dead bodies, a robotic like girl with her shadow friend who just happens to slowly be making her human-like or possibly a variant, but instead? The creepy ass blood links that will allow players to link their characters to those of Florence Nightingale, Leonardo Davinci, Hanzo Hattori, Jeanne d’Arc, and many more. Each of these will play an important role when it comes down if they will be in the back row of your team or not since melee will be the only one attacking in the front row while range and casters will take to the back row in order to keep enemies at bay from a distance.

To select these “Bloods” players have to either change the Blood of a currently existing character, which in my experience, reset my level, but also required me to level up my character once more due to the loss in level and stats, but allowed for a more unique twist on my Xth Squad so that they could more easily dispatch the Variants as they attacked while exploring each of Tokyo’s zones, but also the Abyss they emerge from. While players go through each mission they will have several things occur, this includes gaining XP to level up, GP that is the games currency, but also a chance to unlock Code Locks, which will allow for players to pick up unique items and have a chance to get rare loot with each drop. Do note that stats are based upon your character’s class, but also your personality traits amongst other things, which means points distribution while leveling up will play based upon how well your character works out in combat and does mean that your character may not rise nor shine when you need them the most when fighting Wanted Variants (bosses and mission goals), but also means they may just set you up for a Game Over to wherever you last saved when exploring the grid-like map layouts.

Unfortunately, even having explored a good chunk of this game players will find themselves (out of my 32 hours in) it took about four to eight hours to really feel that the game would get good, enjoyable, and allow for players to TRULY see how the game begins to become one giant that will bring together the darkest parts of the game, but also a unique story, locations, and twists that will allow the game to become fun to play, but also allow for fans to enjoy a game that will go into a huge living world that will make players wish that they can keep it safe from Variants, but after 10 hours? That is where some fans may just walk away and wander back onto Demon Gaze in order to allow fans to truly enjoy the game the way they should. But lets remember here, this game is an old school like Dungeon Crawler such as titles like Wizardry where fans will spend time tabbing on the D-Pad of their Vita or Vita TV in order to move through the world, but also brings forth the fact; narrative isn’t what this game is about, which means the story is bland, dull, and only half enjoyable. However, for some fans that like easy to follow stories and ones that don’t have just a ton of narrative? This will be right up your alley since the story itself is more about the overall effect of Variants in the world and the underlying evils that cause them. The whole plot? Take out Variants, secure the Abyss, and find out why Variants are attacking the world the way they are.

When setting down the PlayStation Vita in order to reflect on Demon Gaze for this review, it’s hard not to glance back at the previously released Demon Gaze, which as its predecessor, was unforgiving, difficulty, and loved to punish players the way it did. Unlike Demon Gaze, Operation Abyss is a title that will allow players to rest when needed at the Medical Facility in order to regenerate MP, Health, and even level up as needed, but don’t forget; every encounter in this game? Will raise the difficulty if you don’t sometimes just flee from combat in order to lower down the difficulty of encounters in each of the games zones. In other thoughts, Operation Abyss New Tokyo is a game that follows the tradition of old dungeon crawlers where players aren’t necessarily going in for a story much like games such as Wizardry, Orcs and Elves, and Demon Gaze to name a few. Instead players are going in for a challenge, one that will push them to hunt down secrets, better equipment, and an ultimate end to the maze like dungeons that they will explore. This is one we suggest for those of you who wish to take on challenges that may or may not break your interest in a game and this is certainly one NIS America, inc, can say pulls in a challenge and wants players to stick around for a while. For JRPG fans, this is definitely one that will need to be in your collection. For those that want to test the waters with a new dungeon crawler? This is one that you should at least give a try when you can.

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Our review of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here. Operation Abyss New Tokyo Legacy is now available for the PlayStation Vita and can be obtained in both retail and digital formats (PlayStation Store) for 39.99 USD.

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 Final Score: 7 out of 10

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him on Twitter @GamingAnomaly,Google+ or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

Pros:
+Beautifully designed worlds that reflect heavily upon the RPG titles
+In-depth combat system as well as itemization for characters
+Extremely high replay value
+Two new characters based off Japanese media’s: Dengekiko and Famitsu

Cons:
–Missions get repetitive
–Boring unlockable modes
–Story is almost impossible to follow

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Where do I begin when it comes to a game series that has grabbed me and taken me for a bit of a spin into a new world of hilarity and anime-esque stories as a trope to the gaming industry as a whole? Perhaps by admitting for the first time, this game truly grabbed my inner anime fanboy by the hand and took him for a spin with this newest entry that was, guess what? Not developed by Compile Heart. Welcome to Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, a title that was developed by renowned Japanese developer Tamsoft who we know for their titles Battle Arena Toshinden, Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad, and even Senran Kagura. Do any of these ring a bell? Well they should since these titles are all rather large to very niche crowds and they are favored by them as expected, but where does this mean that Hyperdimension Neptunia has gone? Down that same path.

As a fan of Hyperdimension Neptunia since the series originally launched on the PlayStation 3, I can’t lie that those games have grabbed my attention and dragged me along, and this installment is honestly the best one to date in the sense of gameplay mechanics. Why not? You get to kick the living Hell out of any near by enemies, but also the fact that missions are short, quick, and overall pleasing to go through the first time around, but why is that a great thing? When exploring the stories with characters Blanc, Vert, Neptune, Noire, and their younger sisters. Even as a franchise that I have come to love and adore, there is a few things that have always bugged me; duration, grinding, farming, and even having to explore rather large zones that can take more time than intended. With this route? The games would be quick, fast, and even offer a rather in-depth story that fans can enjoy with half the duration. But lets get to why this game is such a nice twist compared to the Re;birth series and even the originals.

So lets begin. Welcome to Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, the first hardcore action game that has become a part of the long running series, and even offering the introduction to the newest characters Famitsu and her rival journalist Degekiko. Their goals? To land exclusive articles and news about the CPUs of Gamindustri and their sisters who just happen to be their candidates. So how do they join in on this adventure? By going into the heat of battle with these ladies and getting the story they want in a combat like style that could easily be noted as a direct play on Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus where players took on short, but sweet quests that allows for fans to put down the game and walk away once done. So why does this adventure structor work so well for this game? It allows for quick exploration of a games wacky story, but also the enjoyable duration that the game offers. Don’t want to play a sixty hour game? Great, that’s what Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action unleashed manages to accomplishes as it progresses. Players uncover the story through small cutscenes as they visit each of the CPUs Basilica’s in order to talk with them in regards to their portions of the story, which to some, will come off as mindless bantering, but underneath it all is a heartfelt story between friends and rivals.

Much like in previous titles, when not enjoying these cutscenes and setting up characters with new weapons, rings, and even costumes, players will find themselves undergoing a repetitive bout of taking on quests over, and over, and over again. Why? To unlock equipment, but also to level up characters as well as their Lily ranks so that players may uncover what is going on within the Gamindustri that has caused a rise of new monsters that are taking the world by storm. So what makes this adventure just all the more fun for these ladies? As they knowingly undertake the quests that the denizens of Gamindustri have given them, the ladies tend to undertake missions that are red, which does not give their mission goal requirements. What does this mean? The mission is merely a trial and error kind where players will be challenged to undertake special challenges in order to clear out what they need to continue on. Where does this put our silly ladies? In a bit of a predicament while they look to continue on in unraveling what is going on in Gameindustri.

Outside of missions like these, players will find that the combat, much like the characters, is very well done and carefully crafted, which will allow players to play each of the eight ladies and not find one fighting style close to the same. Want a good idea behind this? Much like games such as Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus and Dynasty Warriors, Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, puts players into taking on the roles of each of the ladies, meaning when playing a character such as Vert, players will notice that her attacks put her at medium range while players can dart around enemies by mashing on triangle for her heavy attacks. When it comes to her specials? Vert is diverse, she moves between medium and long range combat depending on what ability is used. This means that much like her roles in previous titles, Vert plays much the same, and reflects on this quite heavily. Want to change to a ranged attack? This is where players will find themselves undertake the role of Rom or her twin sister Ram. These two are heavy ranged attacks who rely heavily on their wands in order to unleash powerful elemental abilities that will send enemies tumbling across the battlefield, but much like any of the CPUs or the candidates, these characters truly shine when unleashing this games version of the “Musou” made when players use the HDD form, which is each character’s ‘counterpart’ form. In this form the characters will be able to use even more powerful attacks, abilities, and unleash a powerful EXE attack or even smash enemies through by using the games Lilly Attack which requires a special link between two characters to absolutely devastate enemies on the battlefield.

This is something that will become a core mechanic within the game itself and will cause players to adapt to it once they blow through the games main campaign in order to complete the bonus missions that are unlocked once certain goals are met. This will allow players to play against several of the girls in a PVP like situation where they will be taking one another out in a tournament in order to prove once-and-for-all who the most powerful of the CPUs and their candidates is. For me? It was Vert, but don’t take this mode with a light heart as each of the difficulties make a significant jump in what is hard and what is not, which will confuse many players  if it doesn’t take them by surprise first. The bright side? It makes the game challenging, fun, and overly enjoyable, but that’s not all this mode is good for. Want to break away from the campaign, fulfill the completion of Lilly Ranks and even hitting Lv. 99 on each character? Well this is where the game actually takes an enjoyable turn as players take on waves of enemies for the fifty levels of the tower till they take on the final boss in a brutal beat down within the Neptral Tower. This fifty floors of enjoyment while taking on a mix of bosses and even their minions in order to meet the levels needed while attempting to level.

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 /-/ Closing Thoughts /-/

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 With a departure from the traditional mechanics that Hyperdimension Neptunia has become known for as a franchise, players get to once more experience a new take on the universe much like Hyperdevotion Noire offered with its Strategy and RPG mechanic combinations. This time? We experience a direction that the series itself could heavily benefit from if it were to depart from the traditional RPG mechanics. Why? When looking at games on the Vita, many players want to depart from the long duration based games into scenarios that are quick, easy, and highly accessible and if this is a path this series takes? It is a very welcomed path and one that will bring in many new fans who don’t want to sit down, grind, and hammer out the high amounts of XP needed in order to complete the title. If this is the future of Hyperdimension Neptunia it is a bright one and one that could easily be expanded on to rival titles such Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and even Senran Kagura (hard to say since the title is developed by Tamsoft).

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Our review of the game is based upon a pre-release version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here. Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed is now available for the PlayStation Vita and can be obtained in both retail and digital formats (PlayStation Store) for 39.99 USD.

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 Final Score: 7 out of 10

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him on Twitter @GamingAnomaly,Google+ or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Minimal system requirements for people with gaming laptops
+A rather well blended use of music as well as atmospheric sound effects
+Easy to use controls with either mouse and keyboard or a controller (Xbox is default controller)
+Minimalist graphics that provide a decent use of graphics for an indie game
+Online co-op is fun, unique, and may cause players to prefer co-op over solo
+VR Support is astounding in the options menus

Cons:
-Rough performance with hardly any video options to optimize gameplay for a user’s rig
-Looks extremely bad outside of 1080p
-Few minor bugs when loading up from a checkpoint that may require players to restart a level
-Enemies don’t always like to take damage as needed without charging up items with elements
-Four hours of gameplay and still a bit boring due to a lack of encounters or scenarios

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When I first was sent this review code for a successful Kickstarter game I was confused to what this game was. Why? I’d never heard of it. Had I at a time? I may have been as excited for it as I could have been, but after spending the 20 minutes to download the 2.5gb game, I found myself cringing after almost four hours of gameplay, but before I do, lets talk about what Son of Nor is. The game was made as a far from a AAA title that you would know, how? It was successfully launched by 2,2244 backers who pledged a grand sum of 151, 175 USD. A large bit of that, but the question that’s going to come out of it? A game that combines both action and puzzles to create a game that may get a few people interested in it. For some like myself? It’s a cringe worthy experience that begun to bore me within a few hours when playing on the Single Player company.

When first experiencing Son of Nor, players learn about the history of the Son of Nor, a mage that has been brought to the lands of Noshrac’s desert in order to attempt to keep humanity alive after The Great War, which nearly wiped them out. Their enemy? The Sarahul, a vicious lizard-like race that is hellbent on enslaving and well, killing humans while driving them to the brink of extinction, but thanks to you, there’s a fighting chance. Flash forward to our current time, 400 years after The Great War, and you learn that your village has been Sarahul-free and clear. Unfortunately, not as clear as the villagers had thought since the Sarahul have tracked down the humans and are now hellbent on wiping out the last bit of the human conclaves in order to finish their original mission. Now that the village has been located, it is up to the character you create to save the day, and push the Sarahul back. How do you fight back? Telekinesis and powering it up by obtaining elements that will increase your damage, buff your capabilities, and well, let you wipe out the enemy forces. Your elements to learn? Wind, Fire, and Spirit, and in that exact order at that. Even with the elements, players will find themselves constantly going back to Telekinesis (Mind) in order to push the enemy forces back and settle the score.

While using the telekinesis, players will find themselves terraforming sand. If this sounds familiar, it should, Lucas Arts tried this with that nightmare of a game we know as “Fracture”, and oddly, this game did it better, but the issue is? That’s the main feature that fans will be picking up on as they pick up rocks, sticks, enemy bodies, enemy weapons, or even enemy shields as they prepare to exterminate the enemies with their equipped elements. This, however, is where the game begins to lose its interest in the time I spent with it and as I said above, a solid 4 hours before I found myself wanting to plow my head through a wall. So what went wrong?

When playing Son of Nor, it’s not hard to see that the team tried to be innovative and allow for a new experience, and this is something they managed to do, but in a poorly executed way. Why do I say this? Combat is simple. Pick up items, charge items with elements, lob them at enemies until they die or use your elements to obliterate them. The issue? Well, gravity is where it normally pays off unless using nearby pits, campfires, or well, big and mean interactive terrain pieces, which there aren’t many of. This is where combat is rough, boring, and dull since the game is not focused on combat, but instead, leads players to explore the areas around them in order to find hidden secrets. This is one part where the game does not shine the best at all, but instead puts a dull carving in the sand just to show you where most of the attention was put outside of voice acting and attempts at giving that feel of the PlayStation 2 golden age.

What Son of Nor does accomplish and does well is the puzzles. This is where the game actually shines the brightest as players will find themselves trekking through temples for each of the elements in order to obtain each of them, but also providing players puzzles to complete as they adventure on through the games open world, but one thing remains constant, and does need fixed in the overall duration of the games life; repetition is an ultimate weakness to this game. There were moments where players will find themselves scratching their heads together in co-op or by themselves as they adventure on through single player. Fortunately in this game, powers do play a role in completing puzzles through the various ruins as well as hunting down each of the games secrets. In some puzzles the players who decide to endeavor into this game, will find themselves trekking through waterfalls and sand walls by using boulders to block the flow blocking their way, and thus finding secret carrots or even pieces of the games lore through collectibles. 

Though a underlying problem with the game isn’t even necessarily the game itself, but instead of the settings when it comesto graphics. Unfortunately, Son of Nor does not offer for players to choose how much they want in certain elements such as particle acceleration, shadows, lighting effects, frame rate lock, v-sync toggle, or anything of the sort. Instead the game is locked between choosing from low, medium, high, and maximum. The difference? Overall texturing of the game when it comes to particles, model texture, lighting, terrain depth, and even the shadows. The downside? It takes away from the overall appeal to gamers who would love to have a chance to toggle certain portions of the game itself while undertaking their exploring a very confusing set of side quests, main story, and even overall appeal. While Son of Nor is in a very early state, there are many things this game could do to make itself a genre defining title that can prove that it has what it takes to match up to its Kickstarter goals. Till then? Son of Nor will remind you of why some games may find themselves enjoying it, the game does suffer from those minor setback, but those willing to trudge through them will find a game that is creative it does lack in the reasonable mindset of duration and even having a fully rounded story line.

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 /-/ Conclusion /-/

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Even with the four and a half hours, almost five into it, the game is was overall punishingly difficult for me to truly enjoy since I had no true grasp of why these people wanted my character around, what their relation to him/her was, and why they felt the need for the characters help in order to complete the tasks at hand besides the fact our character is the Son of Nor (or the Daughter since female characters are playable). Hopefully this is something that is fixed in later content or a game update at a future date. Till then? This game has a long ways to go in order to be where it needs to be and that is a distance I’m willing to wait for as long as the game truly can lure me in with new content, graphics options, and even more underlying back story.

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This version of the game is based upon a a Release Version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here. Son of Nor is now available on Steam for Windows PC. Due to the game consistently getting updates, this review will be considered as in-progress as we may revisit it at a later date.

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 Final Score: 6 out of 10

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him on Twitter @GamingAnomaly,Google+ or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+An intricately weaved storyline that leaves plenty of fans to build up their theories regarding the L’Cie that are also mentioned in the Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy.
+Multiple Characters to select during combat leaves plenty of combat scenarios to occur.
+One of the most beautifully crafted soundtracks in the most recent of Final Fantasy titles.
+Side missions (Trials) as well as side quests (tasks) leave for plenty of things to do outside of the games main campaign.
+New Game+ offers more to be had as well as an ending to be unlocked
+The use of Eidolon’s comes at a decent cost that will leave players trying to level them between missions in order to enjoy them to their full potential

Cons:
–Rem and Machina’s romance quickly overshadows the overall story and at times overpowers the rest of it.
–Confusion about L’Cie and Fal’Cie could potentially sore some peoples takes on the story and its tie in with Final Fantasy XIII’s three titles that discuss the Crystals, Fal’Cie and L’Cie
–Leveling can be very time consuming and painful to those looking to enjoy a quick story due to the level requirements.
–The PSP version’s (Japan only) multiplayer was left out of this version
–Portions of the game have been graphically updated, but the blurred and some blocky faces take away from some of the games enjoyment.

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Final Fantasy, it’s a name that many fans of RPG’s can relate to. It is a series that has become one of the few to stand and shine through the ages and manage the fan base it has, but also has managed to grow it in size. In many years, Final Fantasy has remained a series that has always had intricate, deep, and rather well scripted stories that touched the hearts of many, but one remained almost untouchable for Western audiences for a rather long time. Finally landing as an HD Remaster, Final Fantasy Type-0  has remained as a hidden gem that has long evaded us, but here it is in most of its former glory and giving us one of the most serious stories to have ever launched in Final Fantasy’s long-running history. 

Enter Final Fantasy Type-0 HD a game that delivers one of the best combat systems to date, one of the most serious stories that takes place during a war between the Dominion of Rubrum, Concordia, and the Militesi Empire, which have all set their sites upon each other in this all out war that has begun by the Militesi leaders in order to expand their reach, in return? Class Zero has been sent in, all fourteen students specializing in Magic, their own set of Abilities, and even the capability of wielding Eidolon’s (Summons). As the war has progressed we have been introduced to fourteen of the most serious characters that have set a place in the hearts of fans that have enjoyed Final Fantasy, but also for those who are familiar with the lore behind Final Fantasy XIII’s story arch (soon to be expanded somehow by Final Fantasy XV as part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy Saga). Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is a game that heavily emphasizes itself upon war, the triumphs that Class Zero goes through, heavy casualty counts, but also the consequences of war that the world around our fourteen heroes will experience. As players trek through each of these war torn zones that they eventually conquer, Type -0 will constantly keep players in check by reminding them that the game is about a group of very gifted teenagers who have lead on countless campaigns, taken out countless enemy troops, but also fighting despite their own loses when they occur. As the game opens, players are introduced to this harsh reality as players witness a city under attack, students as well as residents are gunned down by Militesi forces, which leaves one to see just how the mechanisms of this world’s wars occur. Within minutes players also do get to witness the first deaths within the game, a soldier, a chocobo, and a handful of enemy troops as Class Zero descends upon the battlefield in order to settle the score.

Starting in 2011, players who owned PSP’s in Japan or have imported were able to turn the cogs of war as they battle continued on for them, but as of recent, this HD remake allowed Western fans to wage a war of their own. As Final Fantasy Type-0 HD spilled onto PlayStation 4’s and Xbox Ones, fans were able to push on through their own battles throughout the world before them, but also helping bring the war to a close in one of the most emotionally captivating titles made to date. In this title, Class Zero’s students will allow fans to interact with the characters as their stories are introduced in small cutscenes, but also small conversations that will occur outside of the games combat system as fans explore the world around them in “days” between each of the games sortie missions, but also the main battle campaigns that will lead them trekking across the world of Orience. As fans explore the world about them, the game will easily let players see that this game isn’t just a tale about war, but a heartfelt as well as engaging story about Rem and Machina who soon become the forefront of the games storytelling as Machina learns the truth as to what happened to his brother. Though some of this is quickly clouded by the squabbling between characters such as Eight who constantly throws out mindless sentences that usually end with the word “Yo,” and reflect the fact this character seems to have an opinion about everything, but that isn’t as harsh as the narratives that are quickly flooded with terms such as “L’Cie”, “Phantoma”, and even the newest of terms for creature summoning such as “Eidolon”. Unfortunately, even as a fan of the Crystallis Saga (for short), it’s hard to understand what these words mean since they are very briefly discussed by the mysterious “Mother” and the “L’Cie”, but are never fully explained for those who haven’t truly delved into the games lore. As the story begins to unwind, players get to meet dozen’s of characters, some that will be seen once that die or just simply play no solid role, some that will be seen multiple times, or some that just all together vanish once their appearance is done with, which leaves their supporting role unfinished and questionable.

Outside of trying to sift through the confusing bits, the game has a rather well rounded story plot that fills in with the battle between the ‘kingdoms” of Concordia, Dominion, and Militess. As the story unfolds, the overall picture is grim, there is war, there is death, and Militess is seeking to take over through its military prowess and the use of mechanized weapons, but also the threat of their very own L’Cie only known as “White Tiger”. As the war grows to its deepest moments, which lead us to a heavy focus on Machina’s love for Rem and her ever growing weakness, the reactions based upon the rest of Class zero becomes palpable, and even feeds upon the narrative the game has, which shows that even in war stories, a hint of love can outshine the darkness of war, but also feed upon it as the accomplishments of the war effort as they are witnessed.

 When playing through Final Fantasy Type-0 HD there was a noticeable draw into the games combat system, which to this date, is the most unique out of them all since players will learn how to utilize all fourteen characters of Class Zero. In doing this, players will get a unique feel to each of them as none fight, act, or even use any of the same abilities as the other thanks to their fighting styles, but they can all wield the same magic as well as the same support abilities, which gives them some resemblance to the most. Sadly, some may find characters such as Trey, King, Ace, Queen, Rem, and or Machina when needed as they seem to be the most powerful of the team’s members, which also proves them as some of the best combat capable members. Each of them providing both powerful offense, defense, and even supportive capabilities depending upon how players set them up, but the most memorable thing about them is the fact each character can be used in both combat and out of combat based upon how the player chooses to utilize each of the characters. Characters such as Trey, Ace and King offer a prowess in long range combat while also utilizing hard hitting specials when not using their defensive capabilities in order to keep enemies at bay while managing to dish out devastating attacks. Meanwhile, players can utilize characters such as Queen, Rem, and Machina in order to keep enemies at bay in close range combat while dishing out rather devastating attacks that knock enemies back one by one and quickly destroy their health bars in a rather harsh manner by using extremely powerful close range attacks that vary to single target and multiple target hits that help wipe out wide areas of enemies.

When not spending time in close quarters combat, the game does offer another form of combat that’s even a bit more confusing to some, and can even be just as annoying as it looks, which is the games “Real Time Strategy” like component. In this component fans will be able to utilize the chocobo’s they’ve bred, but also the chocobo’s in which they’ve captured in order to utilize them besides world travel with no combat. In this scenario, which is referred to as sorties, players will take their favourite characters into combat and begin to invade outlying regions in order to further extend Rubrum’s reach. As players do this they will find themselves going to each of the town to support the outside troops while bringing down the defenses of the outlying location before invading it. Once inside (invading), players are able to go into the town in search of the enemies leaders within that town, take them out, and claim that town for Rubrum, they are able to visit it once the sortie is completed. Once completing the sortie, however, players are left with a timeframe before the next mission begins. This mission usually signals a next step in the chapter progression or a step to where players will find themselves ending that chapter with a rather long siege into enemy territories while witnessing rather long cutscenes.

 Looking away from the games combat, which is its deepest mechanic outside of leveling the Vermilion Bird attack, Eidolon’s, or even each character; Final Fantasy Type-0 HD offers a very intricate filling of problems that I have brought up multiple times when in discussions with fellow reviewers. Unlike a title such as The Last of Us and Tomb Raider, instead Type-0 HD suffers from one very real problem that many others have. While the game has been upgraded graphically, audio wise, and even ratio wise to be improved on larger screens, there is a big problem; it still looks and feels like a PSP game. Due to this I found myself grunting when watching some of the cutscenes that felt as if they were simply upscaled from the PSP’s 720×480 (480p or lower), which proved one thing that was wrong with this whole ordeal outside of some of the characters still looking like they originally did on the PSP itself, but also left a very real problem that the game itself was suffering some larger issues when it came down to the blurred faces when cutscenes weren’t being played. Even with this uglier appeal, Final Fantasy Type-0 HD provides one of the most emotionally driven games possible as it focuses upon the hardships, the strives, and efforts the characters made when going through the games story, which will most certainly leave an impact on most when they come to the games conclusion, but there will be a question left unanswered – how does this game tie into the Final Fantasy XIII series and the upcoming Final Fantasy XV? The truth is, no one truly knows, but there is an answer out there and it is left for players to discover.

Overall, Final Fantasy Type-0 HD has become one of the most well told stories that will leave players hungering for more once they complete it, and it is sure to set place where players will wanting a sequel. For those wanting one? It seems hints at Final Fantasy Type-1 has been made for those looking to get into it. This is definitely a Final Fantasy that should be added into a Final Fantasy collectors shelves and put away once they have completed this beautifully tragic story of war, love, and friendship.

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Final Score: 7 out of 10

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Ethics Note: Our review was based upon a purchased made by the reviewer post-release. The title is now available on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Extremely strong soundtrack that is charming and fits the game quite well
+Each chapter plays out like an episode from an anime with intro and end themes
+Characters are unique and befitting for an anime like scenario
+The PV editor allows for players to make their own custom music videos in-game
+Combat is based on a turn-based scenario that plays out like traditional turn based RPGs

Cons:
–Combat can get extremely repetitious
–Long and drawn out tutorials could leave some players frustrated
–Sidequests tend to be hard to find and frustrating to complete
–Unnecessary costume destruction

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Welcome in the newest girls on the street, ones that have entered the scene unlike any other, and look to provide a rather entertaining experience for most. For some? This game will be a frustrating experience that will leave players frustrated, annoyed, and wanting to put it down faster than they start. Before assuming this game is bad, hard, or even poorly executed, but instead it is challenging and does have long scenarios where it feels more like an interactive novel versus an RPG title. Unlike other games, it does feel like the game is a diverse and unique title since it spawns to forms of titles, but for fans who aren’t used to games of this type, the tropes, the references, and even the Japanese pop-culture that is intertwined into the game may kick their interest off to the curb. However, for those willing to give it a shot? It’s an experience that can be charming, fun, and even bring forth an all female cast that is hilarious, unique, and presents a mindset very much different from one another. It also features a unique disc system for abilities, item crafting system, and even a unique rewards system for those looking to have a fresh new experience with the PlayStation 4’s first JRPG to released exclusively for it.

Many of you may know renowned developer Compile Heart. They are a developer well known for titles such as Agarest War, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Fairy Fencer F, Mugen Souls, and even their title Monster Monpiece, which has become well known on the PlayStation Vita. Much like these titles, the developer has decided to sit down and pop something a bit more than before. This time around? They’ve mixed tech and music into bringing J-Pop idols into being heroes, rather heroines of the day. In the world that we are introduced into Takt and Otoha are dealing with something unique as they begin their adventure: a world where it has been destroyed and a beast type called Blare are to blame, which leaves us with some beautiful scenery to explore. With the world laid to waste and our stage set (literally) for our female heroes, we are given a strong sense of duty as they become dancing, singing, instrument/weapon wielding Verse Maidens – all of them who seen to maintain a world safe for their fans so that they can enjoy their lives. This is where the game picks up and the fun begins. As the game begins with a heavy set of graphic novel like-introduction to the world, the cast, and the events that lead up to where the game is taking place, players will get to meet multiple teenage girls who want to save the world while going on their usual antics. This includes and isn’t limited to a rather heavy set of adventuring, sight seeing, and even focuses on interactions that the girls, but also their manager Takt shall experience throughout the game.

 

Much like any traditional RPG, Omega Quintet follows the stereotypical anime setup with a rather long first few hours that are used as interactions. This includes introductions to the cast, combat scenario, setting(s), skill sets, combos, and even the editing of in-game music videos. Once the first few hours of 10-15 minute chat scenes and video clips are over, fans get to take on an experience unlike any other, and get to take a joyride where players get to experience the unique world Compile Heart has set before them. When playing the title, players are also introduced to chatting with the Verse Maidens, but also crafting their gear, customising their apparel, and even how to take on side missions for those who live within the city. For some players, however, this is where the game grows weak and will lose their interest within a matter of minutes as players come to deal with the drawn-out period of interacting with the Verse Maidens within their new home, the general office for them to work out of, but also live in. Some of these conversations are quite awkward for people with some edge towards the situations between the characters.

When looking away from the awkward moments, the game is filled with insanely painful tutorials, long dialogue moments, and even the awkward moments of navigating the menus, the game is a rather enjoyable experience that will lead up to some amazing and traditional turn-based battles that include insanely powerful bosses that will lead players to using several modes within the game. One of them is the Harmony mode, which sends players into being able to use unique combo skills between two of the Verse maidens, but also setting up a devastating set of skill links that will allow for quick bursts of damage against bosses, but at the cost that these abilities can only be used once during each of those battles. This also allows for players to choose their lineup so that they can trigger who Takt is comboed with, but also a characters placement in the battlefield. Since each character has a unique set of weapons that can be moved in and out, each of these characters also get a unique set of skills that allows for them to provide a unique fighting style for them. Much like the combat scenario with Harmony, but unlike Harmony, Live Concert Mode allows for the Verse Maidens to get special buffs, but sometimes at the cost of debuffs that can either debilitate them in the area of resistances or simply by slowing down their attack speeds, increasing damage taken, or increasing enemy chances of status abnormalities.

Unfortunately, even with these combat strategies, the hardest bosses are easy, which provides players with some form of mediocrity when moving through the game. The game itself is still overall quite enjoyable thanks to the mixture of a well done score, vocal tracks, script, episodic like placement of missions, but also the games capability to provide interesting dialogue between the locals in the areas that players will visit. Thankfully the game allows for hours of gameplay time that can be filled in by playing around with the in-game PV mode, which takes advantage of the games video capture mode. With all this being said, Omega Quintet is a title that has plenty to offer for fans seeking a game that plays out like an anime and even fulfills that need for one all the while taking on amazing bosses, well crafted enemies in a hand-drawn like world. This is a game that will definitely leaving fans craving for more within this potential franchise.

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Final Score: 7 out of 10

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Ethics Note: This version of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here. Omega Quintet will be released on April 28th, 2015, exclusively for the PlayStation 4 and will be priced at 59.99 USD both physically and digitally.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Written by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Charming characters and cast that make the experience timeless
+Resource management will lead players to caution and knowledge of their item counts
+Farms grow slowly over time and can be edited to the players needs as well as wants
+Tutorials are very descriptive and helpful and should carefully read to understand the game
+Well done graphics as well as score to help bring the game to life

Cons:
–Character exhaustion sets in quite rapidly
–Vendors to ship out items come and go when needed most

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It’s no secret that I’m not a veteran to games like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, but I do find some enjoyment in them thanks to their overall appeal. These are franchises I didn’t find myself touching and still don’t find myself touching all that much, but there is something special about Story of Seasons that had me set where I couldn’t put the game down whether I was working on growing my farm, attending events, or simply having my character relax beside a river with his fishing lure in the water. But what makes this game so unique and even as addictive as it is?

Man of you may remember that Harvest Moon games were published by Natsume, but that is no longer the case, which is why we are excited to see how the games would do under the hands of XSEED Games. Developed by renown Japanese developer Marvelous, and the new home seems perfectly fit thanks to how the game feels, plays, and even has a newer and catchier name than before when the company was having games published by Natsume. In this continuation of a series that was once known as Harvest Moon that first premiered on the Super Nintendo, Harvest Moon has once more moved on and found itself at home on the Nintendo 3DS, a home that it deserves, and seems like a perfect fit.

Much like many farming games that require item conservation, Story of Seasons follows through a period where players will take on the role of learning how to become a farmer, raising their own form, and even taking on the task of growing a farm, taking care of cows, and even build an amazing house, find a suitor to share your farm with, and take on the trials of spring, summer, fall, and ultimately winter. It’s here that Story of Seasons truly shines and delivers an experience that will lead fans to carefully crafting their farms in order to give a unique experience to those around them. This is where the game becomes unique and even changes up the routine of everyday chores that players will undertake in order to make sure they are able to keep up with their farm itself to ensure that they harvest their grown vegetables, and even fruits. Let alone taking care of the farms cow. So what exactly are the resources I had to learn to manage the most when not undertaking requests, shipping them out, and ensuring that the town itself could grow as a large trading hub? Money, stamina, and well health, because the lower the health, the more stamina each of these tasks required, and in order to make money? I had to complete those tasks in order to be capable of maintaining my characters farm, but also in order to help keeping the farm alive in order for it to expand, which helped my characters standing with the town itself. Running out of Health due to tasks? It causes a “blackout” where the character will awaken in the medical clinic within the village and will require to once more require to take a decent adventure through the towns clinic. When not visiting the doctors from being exhausted or shopping, players will need to remember: chores get slightly tedious and repetitive.

When looking past the repetition and getting all your characters tasks for the day done, there’s always time to go into town, go to a nearby stream to fish in, go to an event, or simply take time to build items from those harvested in the world around you. In many games, unlike this one, it’s not uncommon to see a gamer like myself or even some of you take time in order to fill up your storage containers so that building with purchased or found blueprints comes a tidbit easier than before. However, outside of this, it’s time to wander around town, talk to the townsfolk, purchase needed items, rent needed farming plots, and even work on your story, but also your romancing, but if you are like me? You go and do chores, have fun, and customize your far constantly in order to expand your territory and make a place that’s nicer for those around your farm. Though the fun of the game quickly begins to fade as the game itself continues on in a rather repetitious manner. However, there is nothing wrong with this as some people will find the replay value rather high due to the content that is available, but also the uniqueness behind this carefully crafted world as well as the relationships players will build with those characters around them.

Much like any game that requires a certain amount of dedication, Story of Seasons does not press players like titles such as Animal Crossing, instead the game does not pass time while players are gone, and requires them to take on some form of knowledge and remembrance of where they are at, what the controls are, and even a bit of memory so that they can focus on using the games calendar to keep tabs on events, shipment dates, and even how close they are to ending a season, which is quite a fun thing to do when said and done. That being said, Story of Seasons is an overall charming game that brings life to the 3DS in many new ways, but continues on a well carved path that the series is known for, but with a new name, new publisher, and a chance to spread among a new audience the game has a huge chance at success as well as continued chance to grow.

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Final Score: 8 out of 10

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Ethics Note: This version of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here. Story of Seasons is now available on both the Nintendo eShop and local retailers for 39.99 USD

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Join the Blast Away the Game Review Community on Facebook or Google+
Review by Dustin Murphy

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Pros:
+Insanely fun and addicting same-screen brawling antics
+Creative use of indie characters from other franchises such as VVVVVV and Guacamelee
+Level designs are insanely well designed and picture book-esque
+Character designs are unique and creative

Cons:
–Hard to sometimes follow a character
–PC version made it semi hard to follow unless using a large monitor to play on

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It’s hard not to say that I haven’t enjoyed my fair-share of same-screen brawlers before. I grew up with the likes of Super Smash Bros. and eventually joined in on the indie scene with Guacamelee, VVVVVV, and even TowerFall: Ascension just to name a few, but that does not change the fact that I’ve had my fair share of entertainment when it comes to games that have yet to release, have released, or are in early access, but one thing’s for certain: this game is ludicrous.

This time around we enter the scene with Paperbound, a game that ones you to play characters that have been imagined for a paper book-esque title and allows those characters to come to life on screen in this smash-up brawler. So what’s the point of this game? Get a few friends or family members together, plop on the couch, and go to town on each other to see who really has the best combat skills on a 4-person player screen – if they aren’t there, bots do just fine, and provide just as much if not more than enough of a challenge to make a few gamers yank their hair out and scream in agony.

 Unlike other games where each character has a different set of skills, Paperbound does away with that and delivers a unique twist on appearances alone, which means every character comes into combat with the exact same skills as the others. This means a pair of scissors that can be thrown in a select direction to nail an enemy or even an inkwell to ‘blow’ your enemies off the pages with. This means that skill is something that will be needing to show when players are bouncing around in multiple directions in order to go against gravity while taking each other out in one on one. That alone leaves this game hard to master since players will be traversing each map as they manipulate the maps gravity in order to find themselves jumping between terrains, orbiting each piece of terrain in order to go into combat mid-air with epic sword fights. Think that’s all? The jokes on you: combat can be halted while in mid-air if players are quick enough to tap the proper buttons so that they can hover in mid air while sword fighting. This mechanic is simply what makes the game itself fun, challenging, and even gives players a new set of versatile skills as they traverse through each combat zone.

So where does the weakness in this game show? Unfortunately it is in the lack of modes, but also online multiplayer that may suit some people a bit more depending on how close their gaming friends or family are, which can become a bit troublesome, but that’s not to say the game itself isn’t fun, challenging, and presenting players with a bit of hardship to undergo as they pick up a new set of skills that may shine forth. For those wanting a set of games there is a few versus modes such as Versus, Survival, and King. Each of these modes require players to meet a certain amount of frags on each of these maps, which can be selected by going to a book, flipping through it till they find the arena they want, and go to town against each other, which in turn is a plethora of levels to choose from so that players aren’t map starved.

When not fragging each other constantly on the maps in versus modes, Paperbound offers a few team-based objective modes that will teams of two versus two against each other in order to get a certain amount of objectives completed such as Capture the Quill, Versus, Survival, and King. In these modes it is King that truly shows what mode is a blast since it can easily be said which will challenge players to survive an onslaught of enemies that are seeking to burn them out and push them down the drain once done so that they may obtain the highest score. This mode is where we found ourselves having the most fun when the four of us were sitting in front of the 15.1 inch ASUS RoG grinning from ear to ear like a bunch of man-children while mangling each other only to find we found the PS4 version a bit more entertaining due to the accessibility of a large T.V. in front of us.

With even that being said, the games can last roughly 4-5 minutes depending on how skilled and how quick your friends are to burn out and leave you a bit flustered since all maps within the game can be cleared within 30 minutes to an afternoon depending on the approach players use to keep themselves entertained. Since the game is a 2D picture book type brawler, it’s not hard to see why this game is chaotic, fun, and even challenging, which left my friends, family members, and myself laughing for hours at a time while bringing absolutely chaos to the PlayStation 4 and the PC.

It’s because of those small reasons that games such as Paperbound will be there in the years to come, and will simply allow for players to reminisce about how creative games such as this small indie title that defines what it is to sit on the couch, have fun, and not be locked into the battles games like Super Smash Bros’ provides. That simply put – this game is charming, chaotic, fun, and offers a wide array of characters to select from, but also maps that could quickly be gone through in no time flat, but will leave players coming back for more as time goes on. We just hope to see some more content in the future that will add new maps, game modes, and even possible online multiplayer so we can share the mayhem with our friends and family from afar.

Paperbound is now out on both PlayStation 4 and Steam for 9.99 USD in North America and promises hours of fun.

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Final Score: 8 out of 10

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Ethics Note: This version of the game is based upon a pre-release retail version of the game. Our copy was provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.