There’s always something unique about games from the team at From Software as well as Sony Studio Japan. Both have created tremendously creative titles and ones that constantly pushed players to the edge of their seats. Even with some of the latest games, it’s hard to say that any of them have really done what titles like Bloodborne and Gravity Rush have done. Bloodborne of course being the one that both teams worked together to create in order to bring hardcore Souls franchise fans over to the PlayStation 4 due to the titles exclusivity.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m a glutton for punishment, more punishment, and even more punishment when it comes to difficulty. I spent days, if not weeks conquering Demon’s Souls only to forget to save my trophy progress, back-up my save data, and unfortunately lose it all. That doesn’t mean I haven’t put the game to the back of my mind, but it didn’t have the beckoning Bloodborne did after having been stuck at the notorious boss Gerhman. Having fallen many times to his blunderbuss or even his scythe in its heavy weapon mode, I resumed coming back a good 100+ times only to die in some other manner. Finally I found myself in frustration only to uninstall the game, open up some hard drive space on my PlayStation 4, and move onto other games I had backlogged from being busy as a journalist as well as an office aid.
After spending almost a year away from Bloodborne and a 1TB HDD upgrade on the review PlayStation 4, I felt it was time to come back to the game since the DLC had launched. Last night was the adventure that I never thought I would have. Why? I didn’t play the game much in coop. I honestly didn’t find the need for it since at the time my internet router (luckily it wasn’t my ISP or the modem) seemed about as dependable as a car with little to no gas going down a highway. You see where this going, I can imagine. After a few small tweaks, new router, new HDD, and even an upgraded internet speed through the ISP, it was time to once more resume Bloodborne, but this time? In coop. As you can imagine, I did run into a few headaches where I found myself being kicked from the games server till falling upon a few suggestions to shut down my PS4 completely, and then restart it after a few minutes. After doing that I was once more on my way to attempting the Chalice Dungeon’s, farming up Blood Echoes, and even once more attempting to slay Gerhman once and for all. Sadly? I didn’t know the little trick about the umbilical cords playing a role into the games ending like I should’ve. Only having had my character use 2/3 needed for the perfect ending? I found myself with the “OK” ending and at the help of my buddy Garret Sullivan (thanks again, man!). After having killed him, it was time to head onto New Game+, but at a speedy pace with his help since I managed to pick up the DLC. 20 bucks for a bunch of new cool stuff and bosses that will make me break my teeth from clenching my jaw? Sounds like fun.
But returning to Bloodborne after a year was something different than what I thought it would be. Rather than being a small adventure of relearning everything, it was like riding a bicycle. Little by little, it all comes back, and players will find themselves once more accustomed to what they had been doing. Sure their sense of direction may be a little off, but not in the manner it might be a game breaker. We’ve all been there. Ever tried to go back to playing a game like Rainbow Six after a few hours of Call of Duty? Yea, doesn’t work out well for some. Trust me, I’d know. Heck even returning to Fallout 4 was a difficult after a few long sessions of Call of Duty or Battlefield. Though I know that is not the topic of today, but let that sink in a bit first.
When returning to Bloodborne there were a few difficulties I was faced with. One, I had to relearn the control scheme to some extent. Luckily I’ve played enough of the Souls games this wasn’t too hard to do, but figuring out a few special commands, that was a different challenge all together. Secondly, figuring out the areas I was using to farm in order to gear out. Thirdly, was the difficulty of re-learning my timing for Gerhman. Fourthly, trying not to walk away from the game again, and successfully not doing so. Fifthly, was talking myself into buying the DLC since my pal Garret has vowed to once more take my filthy casual self through the new content. But what made coming back to Bloodborne unique wasn’t like what you’d expect with games like Call of Duty where everything gets tweaked, rebalanced, and based on how players play. Instead Bloodborne finds itself with a few minor tweaks, upgrades, and eventually all new content, which it recently has. The uniqueness behind it is the fact the game is easy to come back to. While relearning your timing, footing, and pacing may be a bit disorienting at first, Bloodborne is one of those that comes back to you rather quickly once you remember where you were and through a bit of trial and error. If you can get past that? Bloodborne is a game that deserves the appraises it has gotten. It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for the title.
IF you are interested in our review for the DLC “The Old Hunters” stay tuned to our website for it coming soon.
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.
Pros:
+Insanely fun boss bottles
+New characters and zones add a good bit of comical hilarity to the game
+New battle mechanics for bosses recreate what a boss fight is for the series
Cons:
-Battles can be overwhelming for new comers
If you are someone who has played any RPG, you know that things do change in the franchises first and foremost. You also know that the games will recreate themselves in subtle ways to make the games worth the while, but also to provide a unique twist to things players have become used to. The Hyperdimension Neptunia titles are not excluded from this trend. When the games first launched in 2010 exclusively on PlayStation 3, we were given a JRPG series that was noticeably not going to take itself seriously – it’s a direct pun at the gaming industry, more-so the “Great Console Wars” that many of us grew up to if you are old enough to truly remember them. If not, I’m sure you’ve become semi-familiar with the current day one, which is most commonly attributed to Sony and Microsoft firing shots at each other. Behind this concept the idea gave birth to a franchise that many have become fans of. More so to the fact these games are hilarious and intend to be while playing on simple mechanics. Over the course of the past few years, all this has been revamped, and meanwhile given birth to remakes of the original three titles that made the franchise known.
We saw reboots on the PlayStation Vita known as the “Re;birth” series, which did a good job at rebuilding the franchise from the ground up. In turn we saw tweaks to combat mechanics, storytelling mechanics, and even character personalities that made the characters seem more alive and aware of their silliness. However, this latest title begins to break that trend rather carefully as it peels away from the focus upon a singular story plot to three separate story plots. Why is this? The answer is simple. They are shifting from the classic console war to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Wii U console war. More-so letting Nintendo sit this one out this time around. Much like in previous games, however, our goal is simple; players are once more helping these hysterical heroines save peoples to an entirely new dimension that Neptunia and Nepgear have been sucked into. This means their shares are gone, their CPU form is gone, and it’s time for them to become used to the CPU Shift Period, which changes some of how the CPUs will view their world. Fortunately this doesn’t rid us of our favorite antics or characters we’ve come to love, but it does introduce the new console war era into the franchise while breaking away from the console wars of the 90’s and 2000’s that the titles were renown for.
While changes are present in the story, the game itself has seen a few tweaks behind the scenes when it comes to combat scenarios while the rest remains widely intact. The biggest change is that characters are given a movement bar for combat. Here each character is given a set amount of distance they can move. Once out, those characters can’t move forward, but only side to side or backwards. They are still able to attack if enemies are available to do so with or even use items or abilities. This all does play a major role in the fact combat has been heavily altered since players can also edit character combo’s, bonuses, and placement rows. This does help in the long run once combat starts as certain characters won’t be as vulnerable when leading the charge. Interestingly enough, the biggest thing that has changed is the new system where players can put their characters into a team-based attack mode that deals rather devastating blows to enemies if they are surrounded. This does, however, require each of the CPU’s to be in regular form or HDD form for it to work. Irritating as it sounds, it pays off during difficult battles. This can be rather irritating when needing HDD forms for certain fights and needing to switch to basic forms. This attack is better utilized when planned ahead of time.
While combat remaking has been in discussion, one of the biggest enhancements, and the biggest improvement is the boss encounters. While we are familiar with the bosses being big, we aren’t used to them being big enough we are actually forced into moving across multiple platform placements for our characters to attack on. Instead, now we are given that, but alas, much hasn’t changed outside of the core mechanics for this. Let alone do they still hit hard, this tweak is rather nice, but is not utilized outside of core bosses, which in a way is saddening as it adds a nice change to bosses. While the aforementioned changes are nice, we still get to see some rather common enemies we’ve grown familiar with. Saddening, huh? Well, time will tell if that changes in any form.
While combat has seen a few changes, so has the overworld map as players will no longer find themselves simply clicking on the zone they want to go to, and warping in. Now they are challenged with going from node, to node, to node, and dealing with any random battles if they pop up. while this is fun, it is quite annoying int he long run, and will grow irritating when players just want to complete a mission or ditch a dungeon due to difficulty. If this becomes a core component? It’ll wear quickly on most players who liked the old system more. For now it’s up to players to voice what changes they did or did not like. At least the graphics have seen a rather polished look as the series have finally gotten what they want. A really, really, shiny anime style game, one that offers character sprites that look crisper, and sharper than in previous entries. While voice acting is unquestionably on par as usual, fans of the Japanese dub will be required to go download the add-on. As for Vita players? Those without a PS4 are being left in the dark if they are wanting to sample the new and some recycled music from previous titles that remain rather intriguing and all-to-familiar.
Megadimension Neptunia VII – PlayStation 4 (Reviewed) Developer: Compile Heart, Idea Factory Publisher:Idea Factory Cost:59.99 USD Release Date: Now Available
With all this being said, it is hard to review the title since it focuses primarily on three things. Discussions in a graphic novel type setup, exploration, and exploring quite a bit to unlock new zones, abilities, and enemies that will be disposed of. If that’s your thing? This game is right up your alley and is a perfect addition to the console that is hurting for JRPG style games.
Our review is based upon the final version that the publisher provided us with. For information about our ethics policy please clickhere.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
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.
Photo Courtesy of David Murphy Copyright Blast Away the Game Review
You may have seen the fact we cover Bethesda Zenimax’s event QuakeCon quite a bit. The why is undoubtedly because of how fun the event actually is. Let alone do you get to play some awesome games, join a massive LAN party, but you also get to spend some time with the developers from the company. Bethesda today, has announced that the online pre-registration details for QuakeCon 2016, allowing for fans to once more gather in Dallas, TX on Thursday August 4th through Sunday, August 7th. They will be offering a number of premium BYOC packages for purchase through the shows online pre-registration.
For those familiar with the registration process, the BYOC packages have been streamlined this year, and will open up with a series of three stages of pre-registration for general attendees. The full description for these packages offered by Bethesda can be found below, as well as the dates for those wanting to register for this years events.
Photo Courtesy to David Murphy of Blast Away the Game Review Copyrighted 2015
This year is something a bit new to the process. This year pre-registered attendees will be able to build their own swag packages full of exclusive QuakeCon merchandise during the online registration process. Cool, huh? We think so. They will be limited in number for purchase on the showroom floor. Want to vote for the official QuakeCon 2016 T-Shirt design? By the way, you can do that this year at the official QuakeCon website!
Photo Courtesy to David Murphy of Blast Away the Game Review Copyrighted 2015
Exhibitors will be able to begin registration on February 22nd while Press will be able to register on March 14th.
Monday, March 14th at 7pm CT/8pm ET Round 1 | BYOC Select-a-Seat with UAC Command Center Seating
Includes Fast Passes for the Duration of the Event
$400 (Limit of 32 packages available)
· Select and reserve a VIP seat at the Network Operations Center (NOC) in the BYOC
· Express lane fast-pass registration for the BYOC
· Express lane fast-pass to every panel, presentation, and public event at QuakeCon
· Limited reserved access seating for all panels, presentations, and events
· Direct access to plug your PC into the NOC’s core
· Official QuakeCon 2016 UAC Lanyard
Thursday, March 17th at 7pm CT/8pm ET Round 2 | BYOC Select-a-Seat with QuakeCon done Quick
Includes Fast Passes for the Duration of the Event
$140 (Limit of 300 packages available)
· Select and Reserve a guaranteed seat of your choice in the BYOC area
· Express lane fast-pass registration for the BYOC
· Express lane fast-pass to every panel, presentation, and public event at QuakeCon
· Limited reserved access seating for all panels, presentations, and events
· Official QuakeCon 2016 QdQ Lanyard
Wednesday, March 23rd at 7pm CT/8pm ET Round 3 | BYOC Select-a-Seat
Includes Guaranteed Reserved Seating
$40 (Limit of 2,100 packages available)
· Select and Reserve a guaranteed seat of your choice in the BYOC area
· Official QuakeCon 2016 Lanyard
Thursday, March 24th at 7pm CT/8pm ET
Round 4 | General Attendee Pre-Registration
More Information from Bethesda:
While general attendance remains free, attendees wishing to participate in the QuakeCon 2016 BYOC must pre-purchase one of the ‘BYOC Select-a-Seat’ packages through our online registration site to guarantee a spot in the BYOC. As ‘BYOC Select-a-Seat’ packages are limited and all seats will be accounted for prior to the show, we won’t have seats available on-site or on a first-come-first serve basis. Once the packages sell out, we’ll be giving people the opportunity to win a limited number of BYOC seats via social media giveaways, contests, and via our event partners leading up to the show. Be sure to keep an eye on our QuakeCon Twitter account and QuakeCon Facebook page for all the details on how to win!
About QuakeCon
QuakeCon, the ultimate video game festival, will take place on-site at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TX on Thursday, August 4th – Sunday, August 7th. Doors to QuakeCon will open on Thursday, August 4th at 10:00am CT and will remain open through 12:00pm CT August 7th. For more information visit: www.quakecon.org.
We’ll see you there folks!
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.
Before I begin on my rant this week, I want you all to know that every Saturday or Monday we will be doing a new topic called “The Weekly Rant” and this one just happens to focus on one of the most anticipated games of 2016: DOOM.
DOOM, when you hear the name you already know the franchise is one of the founding fathers of the FPS genre. The game back in the 90’s was known for its grim music and Hell like settings that ranged from UAC bases clear to the very landscapes of Hell. This trend has been on going for more than 20 years and is one that hasn’t come to a halt. For fans the past ten years have been agonizing as leak after leak of DOOM 4 had gotten released, the game we know went into development Hell, and for all the fans knew – it was done for. John Carmack departed from the company and went on his own way to work on Oculust RIFT, which he had become renowned for by making VR possible with DOOM 3. Lets not forget the fact the man along with Adrien Carmack, Ivan Punchatz and his son Greg, and John Romero became iconic founders of Horror FPS as a singular genre. They made creatures and gameplay that would give anyone nightmares. The franchise itself inspired musicians, artists, gamers, and even modders in the early age of PC gaming.
What DOOM wasn’t known for was a campaign. The series had never been known for one as the surroundings told you a story more than anything else. All you needed to know then? You’re a marine. One of the last ones on the UAC base you were put on, and now you are fighting your way through tight corridors with big ass weapons, and a blood soaked suit of armor. What you also knew was the fact there were demons galore for you to simply walk up, punch to a visceral pile of bone and organs or simply hunt down the BFG 9000 or as my generation called it… The Big F**kin’ Gun. Why? Anything in its scope was just going to be a giant pile of ashes. Was there a quarrel with this? Nope. But when DOOM 3 wandered around? This did become a problem. Why? The series went from a push forward premise where you didn’t want to stop running from side to side and never stop moving forward. Why? Your guns were huge, your enemies were bigger, but they were no match for you with a little bit of patience.
Fast forward a good generation of consoles ahead? That changed tremendously as fans were getting their hands on DOOM, which embraced the Halo-like atmosphere of dark corridors, flick aiming, and backtracking from enemies in order to stay alive. Let alone was it inspired by its classic creatures and origins, it embraced a newer approach to a generation that had story elements, voice acting, and a want to push graphics to a whole new forefront. Interestingly enough? It did, but if you ask any fan out there the response will be the same: DOOM 3 is not a DOOM game in comparison to the past titles. Instead it was a step towards games like Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, with a touch of Halo. Reason I use Halo as an example? It was a bullet Hell title. DOOM 3? Followed the route as a Bullet Hell title and went in to incorporate many elements that can be compared to Halo. Now that’s not to say that DOOM 3 was inspired by Halo, we know it wasn’t, but there are many comparisons we can make to the Halo franchise in the overall approach of gameplay execution. But that’s not what we are discussing today.
As stated previously, DOOM has never been known for its campaigns, and honestly? It shouldn’t be. After taking in many hours of DOOM footage, gameplay mechanics, and even the closed Alpha, my lips have been tightly sealed on what I saw in the Alpha. After all, NDA’s, sorry folks. We love our partnership with Bethesda too much to break our NDA’s, so our lips are sealed. If you haven’t seen gameplay mechanics? Go ahead and head to the official Bethesda Zenimax YouTube and soak in all the videos you can. Just note you have to be 18+ to view the content. With that being said? I’ve been questioning for some time if DOOM would have a narrative as a story and even beating in my own skull for even thinking that. Why? I realized that it doesn’t need a story. Who the Hell cares if it has a story. Do we really want to be bogged down by finding datapads and documents again? I sure don’t want to be. I’d rather be ripping off the heads of Demon’s, Zombies, and making crap explode like a Michael Bay film. Just with more blood and targeted towards an adult audience. Not the crowd that wants more booms and lens flare. This time around? I’ll be the first in the entire room to stand up and scream if I get a narrative. Why? I’m all about Classic DOOM gameplay. The more blood, the better. The more demon’s for me to stomp the heads off, rip the eyes out of, and crap down their throats? The better. Why? That’s the DOOM I know and love. After all I’ve seen at events like E3 and QuakeCon? I really hope there isn’t a story. If there is one? I’d be fine if it was radio chatter versus DOOM 3’s backtracking and hiding to find the narrative. The crap got old and fast.
But the question I know many will ask me? What will we do if we don’t have a story or narrative to drive the gameplay so that our marine is trekking through this Hellish life of his trying to survive? Guess what kids? Daddy’s got a secret – your imagination works wonders here. I know as a kid I grew up writing stories in my head about what DOOMs narrative would be, why the marine was fighting what he was, and why Hell broke out the way it did. The simple explanation behind it all was? UAC did a craptacular job containing a extra-dimensional rift and let Hell into our universe and in turn the universe has literally gone to Hell. Now? Our character is tasked with eliminating the source of it. Some demon that is unleashing its armies or we are simply trying to find the device that caused the entire scenario. Regardless it didn’t matter to me all that much in the end. I had nightmares, I loved the game, and to this day I still play it with a grin on my face to the fact that the original team didn’t need a story to make a game that has had over 20 years worth of replay value for me. I still go back to this day, go to Steam, and turn DOOM on. Why? It’s just that game that is always there no matter how old it gets, it still challenges, and it’s a visceral blood bath. Something that we know from the new DOOM trailer that we will see happen in May thanks to the new brutal system that will allow players to kill a demon in all sorts of cruel and unusual ways. All of them legal in all 51 states as well.
While we know DOOM’s story hasn’t been the focus of the game after a Q&A with Marty Stratton stated that the story itself was second focus with combat coming first. This means DOOM seems to truly be going back to the roots of the series. The game will be heavily supported post launch as well, which shows that the team is dedicated to the fans. Hell even with the snap map editor we know the game will see plenty of downloaded maps, pieces of content, and even fan created
If you haven’t seen the release date, DOOM is set to release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 13th, 2016. Stay tuned for our review coming this May.
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.
You might already know that earlier I ripped into the one console developer I’m a fanboy of. Not the obnoxious kind that will defend them into a six foot grave, but the one that will prove you wrong when you need it. One secret is, I have a love affair with two companies, and the second one is Nintendo. How might this be? I grew up to Nintendo. My first console played was my dads launch-day NES that he brought home on his way from work. Yes, I remember it, and I was one years old when he did it. I still remember sitting on his lap as he played games like Bubble Bobble, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., and Galaga. To me? This was my childhood and over the years? I’ve never abandoned Nintendo as they remain a part of me that has become sentimental. If they make a bad console? I’ll buy it. If they make a great one? I’ll buy it. I’m a loyalist. Much like I am to Sony and Microsoft, but not a fanboy to Microsoft.
Over the years, I’ve made the debate a few times over that Nintendo needs to leave the home console market. Their three last consoles have bombed, that being the Gamecube, Wii, and now their failure of the Wii U that has become much like Sony’s Vita. Not a lot of support and what little it got has been fantastic. Again, some of it isn’t even first party. Titles like Xenoblade Chronicles X, Resident Evil Revelations, Shovel Knight, and even my beloved Bayonetta 2 aren’t first party. While I do enjoy titles like Yoshi’s Woolly World, Super Mario Maker, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, and Super Smash Bros. But when it comes down to third party support? Nintendo has been weak on that aspect for years, it’s no secret, and because of it? It’s honestly hurt them in the long run since they have very few IP’s that are new. While new ideas for old IP’s are great, you can only flog that same dying cow for so long before you’ve beat it to death. Unfortunately? This is where Nintendo has seemingly gone with consoles. I’m not saying they haven’t been ahead of the curve. They are truly ahead of the curve, but there’s only so much you can do before approaching the technological brick wall and slam into it.
This is where Nintendo has seem to go with the Nintendo Wii U. While we’ve seen plenty of ideas of what the Nintendo code-named “NX” could be, we already know that it’s going to focus heavily to an online service, that the console itself will be, if rumors are true, more powerful than the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. If the rumors are true this means that they will be putting some pressure on both Sony and Microsoft to push their hardware to the limit. Meanwhile while that is a nice thing, we all know that when there’s a new piece of home console out of Nintendo, that means a handheld isn’t far along. Even with the launch of the New Nintendo 3DS XL last year, it’s still a bit dumbfounding as to why they would release a new handheld already with the NX. Perhaps they are taking a PlayStation Vita route where they want a handheld to coincide with their console. However, whatever they do, it’ll be no surprise if they are forced to keep both first and third party support focus for both pieces of hardware in order to keep fas interested.
Nintendo Should Focus Solely on Handhelds – It’s Their Best Demographic of Players
If the totals according to Nintendo is true, the Nintendo 3DS has sold roughly 57.94 million units since its launch and well… The Wii U hasn’t done even a quarter of that sitting at only 12.6 million units sold since its launch. The numbers are devastating from a marketing perspective. If it puts anything into perspective since it’s launch the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both have broken 30-40 million units each since their launch two years ago back in November. While the Wii U had come out before them, this means the console has become a literal failure, the Nintendo 3DS however, isn’t doing much better in comparison to the handheld it succeeded, the Nintendo DS/DSi, which combined sold 154.01 million units.
While it is hard to say that Nintendo has had great marketing in the past, it comes to show that some gamers feel that the 3D effect is just a cheap gimmick. Speaking for myself? I don’t use it. I find it mildly irritating to my vision as well as my Nintendo 3DS’s battery life since it does deplete my battery at a bit quicker rate than when it’s on. If Nintendo wants to do anything successful to succeed the 3DS and the Wii U? Go back to the basics. Go for high quality graphics in a handheld. There’s plenty of focus there as fans are big for handhelds since many gamers do find themselves on the go. Even if they are in public places it’s not hard for friends to get together and even gaming together through the Nintendo 3DS. If sales say anything though, it’s that Nintendo’s handhelds have always outsold their consoles and still continue to-do-so today. While that would be a sign to some, it seems the executives at Nintendo want to try and bring console gamers over to their side. It’ll be a tough road to recover from due to the Wii U’s current status in total sales.
The NX Rumors of a Console and Handheld Combined Could Spell Trouble
While it’s hard for people to not point out my love for my PlayStation Vita and my PlayStation 4, the same can be said about my Wii U when I get in the perky mood to play it. That means I have to be willing to sit in my V-Rocker and paying attention to the TV in front of me for hours on end at eye level since I sit on the floor to primarily play my Nintendo. Force of habit after having sat on the floor playing NES/SNES for so long as a kid. While those reflections are nice, it’s hard to say that the combination of the two could spell trouble for Nintendo. With Satoru Iwata no longer around to share his vision with his fans in his beautifully charismatic way – it’s hard to see what Nintendo’s future is like since we haven’t seen the new Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has had a rather successful career at Nintendo, we haven’t seen many of the amazing things that Iwata managed to pull off. Things such as Iwata asks, Nintendo Direct, and the likes, Nintendo’s new president Mr. Kimishima, has been silent since he took the seat at Nintendo on September 14th, 2015.
While there have been write-up’s from such as Nintendo’s Investor Relations, we know that Kimishima is planning to keep the same course that Iwata has. The only hope here is that he has a strong idea of how to market the possibility of a home console and handheld console duality. With them depending on one another we could see Nintendo and DeNA pushing hardware and software sales next year assuming Nintendo doesn’t pull a Wii U and launch it the same year they announce it. Then again this is Nintendo we are talking about. We’ve known them to be sporadic in the past.
Third Party Support Matters for the NX – This is Why New Nintendo 3DS Focus Will Help
When looking at the Nintendo 3DS library of games we see the same thing that the PlayStation Vita has been going through, but in an opposite direction. Instead of fantastic third party support, we’re seeing minuscule amounts of big name titles hitting the Nintendo 3DS. While we do have games such as Yokai Watch, Etrian Odyssey, Shin Megami Tensei, Fire Emblem and such leading the way, the third party support is bleak. We’ve seen few games coming out of anyone, including XSEED Games, Koei Tecmo, Atlus, NIS America, Bandai Namco or anyone really trying to make an impact. To be honest? It feels as if the handheld is dying, almost hemorrhaging for some solid third party support.
While it’s hard to say that the Nintendo 3DS family deserved a more powerful successor to the family, we got one known as the New Nintendo 3DS XL. It sports faster hardware, processors, and even went to Micro-SD support for larger memory and faster memory access. Let alone did the screens get updated, we also get the circle pad built in through the handhelds c-stick function, which has helped tremendously with functionality. What is hurting this handhelds justification of being made is the fact it has received only one exclusive since it’s launch last year; Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. While I can say I love the game, it has been a hard to justify purchase since the handheld hasn’t seen much in the means of pure exclusives like it should have been getting already. This means Nintendo could be readying its last hurrah for the hardware so they can ready up for their next hardware line. While I’d love to see the NX succeed, Nintendo does need to remember that the New Nintendo 3DS family does have a lot of support, and will for years to come as has all their hardware.
Family Games Can’t be the Focus Anymore
If you look at the Nintendo 3DS, you won’t be surprised to see a lot of the games are focused on family or kids. With a few sparse games for adults such as Fire Emblem Awakening, Shin Megami Tensei IV or the Devil Summoner series, the handheld family has very few games in line for adults who do own the handheld and do want adult games. This is where Nintendo will need to be shifting its focus if they plan on going towards the portable gaming hardware that the NX is rumored to have. Especially since the console is supposed to be able to go on the go with its handheld counterpart so that fans can, well, take it with them if they decide to leave. IGN even had a video supporting a supposed patent that actually demonstrated a hardware that looked a lot like what we have now with the Nintendo Wii U game pad that serves as a second screen functionality or even a second screen all together.
While Nintendo has relied heavily on its first party support and kid friendliness, it’s time for Nintendo to lace up their boots and provide a bit of diversity. Especially if they are going to attempt to compete with both Microsoft and Sony in the gaming market. While Nintendo took over the handheld market with a single hand, it’ll be hard for them to maintain their current run without pulling a few tricks up their sleeves to compete with Sony and Nintendo’s first party franchises such as Halo, Quantum Break, and even Kojima’s upcoming new titles. Nintendo, diversify a bit more. It won’t hurt, we promise.
Nintendo Rocks the Handheld World Already – Closing Thoughts
While it seems Nintendo may not notice that their handheld focus would be their best choice, it seems they are wanting to focus on both home console and handheld. While it may all be good on pen and paper, we all know in recent years that Nintendo hasn’t done the best in moving units since the Wii U struggled to break even 10 million units while their amiibo’s have been the largest selling product of theirs since the Nintendo DS/DSi and Wii. While Nintendo’s chances of coming back as a mainstream console developer is possible, their future outlook might just depend on how well their handheld sales do if the console ends up being like the PlayStation 4 and Vita ordeal. Till then? I will still enjoy both my Wii U and NN3DS while they’re current.
Stay tuned for our upcoming news as we get it about the Nintendo NX.
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.
If you know anything about me, which some of you do – you know that I’m a gigantic fan of Sony’s PlayStation Vita to the point I keep it on my person at all times. I’ve even gone to the extent of taking advantage of the new family Nighthawk X4 router and upgraded our internet speeds to 200Mbps so that we can have an extended bit of family fun, and even enjoy our internet gaming a bit more. This even includes my capability to play my PlayStation Vita when on the road. Granted on the road doesn’t happen much, but it is a nice change to be quite honest. But the reality of it is, Sony has effectively given up hope on their Vita. Ask them six years from now what happened? They’ll probably play it off as if the thing never existed, much like my beloved PSP-10000, which I still play and love to this day. I’ve even gone as far as repurchasing many of my beloved titles on my Vita since they are readily available. Thank you Sony Japan for the 64GB memory cards, those are handy.
The First Party Support Games are Great, but Third Party Still Wins
But lets not play it off. We know first party for the handheld has been lackluster. Really it’s shameful since the few first party games there are, were amazing, and even provided a powerhouse sense of console gaming to that little handheld. The reality is? There were very few of these games such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Killzone: Mercenary, Freedom Wars, Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines, Tearaway, Gravity Rush, and even Little Big Planet to name a select few that’ll stand out to most. All of these games have been exceptional enough that they even got ported to the PlayStation 4 (i.e. Tearaway and Gravity Rush). For us PlayStation Vita owners? We can honestly admit that it feels that Sony has abandoned us since we haven’t seen any true huge updates for the PlayStation Vita, we haven’t seen any new first party games, and we’ve seen very little in the means of them even bringing up new PlayStation Vita titles in the long run. Instead we have third party companies such as Atlus USA, NIS America, Aksys Games, Bandai Namco, XSEED Games, and a few other localization teams that have brought over some of the most astonishing games to date. Many of these games even keeping the die hard PlayStation Vita fans rather happy since the games aren’t just a cash-cow, but instead a launch of games they know the fans will honestly want.
It’s a harsh reality when the third party teams have done a far better job than one of the gaming giants of the modern day. If only Sony realized they still have time, but that time is quickly running out as the console wars heat up.
Sony Needs to Realize the PlayStation Vita is Owned by Gamers
The question is for some: Why is this important to them? For many, the question is a legitimate question, one that some would scratch their heads when my response comes out as follows; The PlayStation Vita is not just an accessory to the PlayStation 4, but instead it is a business competitor to the Nintendo 3DS. While it’s hard to state that the PlayStation Vita will ever possibly trump the Nintendo 3DS is not a possibility, but what is possible is that its games aren’t focused solely on kids. While the Nintendo 3DS does offer an amazing variety of games such as titles from Virtual Console to modern titles as well as its backwards compatibility with physical Nintendo DS games, it’s an understatement to say the game supports the likes of adults and fans who want to play imported titles. We’ve not seen titles such as Corpse Party, Danganronpa, Freedom Wars, or even Soul Sacrifice launch on the handheld, we’ve seen a few adult oriented titles launch on it, but nothing compared to what the Vita has obtained in the last few years.
While we know gamers play both Handhelds, it’s hard not to say that Sony is trying to bury the handheld as quickly as possible due to the fact North America hasn’t seen the new Vita colors, larger memory cards or even half the library Japan has. Hell their Vita library is making ours look like we own a GameCube if that says anything (sorry Nintendo the GameCube had a few select games that were amazing). When gaming on the PlayStation Vita? I’ve run into gamers who treat the handheld as if it were their PlayStation 4. Trust me, I do too, and this effectively shows there is a dedicated crowd out there that is ignored, especially after Andrew House labeled the handheld a “legacy device”, but how can you kill something that… Really isn’t dead, but just isn’t selling all that great in North America? Well we can partially blame Sony for not trying, but we can also blame them for.. Well not trying at all. So it is Sony’s fault that the device is dying if not dead first-party wise. It’s a shame though because the handheld? Is great. It’s magnificent outside of how expensive one is without a memory card, then a good 64GB memory card costing about the same as the handheld itself. Ouch, that’s a punch in the jaw if I didn’t know better. If Sony has any chance at saving this thing, if they cared, their best bet is to treat it as they do the PlayStation 4 and start building a business format around it. There’s still time Sony, but it’s running out. Third Party is what’s even keeping it afloat. Heck that’s where I’ve met a lot of my PSN friends even.
Third Party is Who Deserves the Credit
If you were to walk into a game distributor such as GameStop (sorry Best Buy, I love you, but your Vita selection is worse than Wal-Mart dropping the Amazon price-matching), you’ll notice some GameStops will have a decent selection of Vita games, they even have them in a neat and fashionable order (if your GameStop cares like mine does). But what you will notice is the fact there’s not any first party games. Shocker really, Hell, even Metal Gear Solid HD isn’t a first-party ordeal. Thanks Konami, you rocked at the time, but I still don’t forgive you. Instead you’ll notice games by companies such as ATLUS, Aksys, NIS America, Compile Hearts/Idea Factory, XSEED Games, and even Bandai Namco. Why? They’re the ones that seem to give a damn that us fans are demanding games still despite Sony shoving us into a corner and putting us Vita owners in a time-out.
If it weren’t for games like Freedom Wars, Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines, Soul Sacrifice/Soul Sacrifice Delta, Murumasa: Rebirth, Persona 4 Golden, Ragnarok Odyssey Ace, Senran Kagura: Shinova Versus/Estival Versus, and a select other few titles? I wouldn’t even own the handheld. Hell Tearaway was great, creative, and fun, but it wasn’t ground breaking. If any game was? Gravity Rush, but with that on PlayStation 4? I could almost sell my Vita copy and not even shed a tear. Except the fact I have a physical copy does matter. Where third party has succeeded, Sony has truly failed as they seem to have given up even developing games, announcing games and even trying to put a few games on the market. Shame on you Sony, if you’d only put the effort into it that the game publishers have done. If you treated it like you do the PlayStation 4? The handheld would be phenomenal and even groundbreaking due to its PlayStation 4 compatibility. Hell even making companion games for titles such as Bloodborne, Uncharted 4, and even Horizon: Zero Dawn would be amazing. Why? It’s what us fans want. Hell ever since I played Knack a PlayStation Vita spin-off would have been amazing to have, but instead? I’m left to my own devices (rather games) to enjoy and will still wonder what would happen if we’d seen more first party developer love.
You Were the Chosen One Sony – The Vita is a Masterpiece
If you were to visit my room, you wouldn’t be shocked to see I’m a fan of both Sony and Nintendo even though I have my Sega stuff and my Xbox’s (all three gens, imagine that), but what you will notice is my love for Sony. You wouldn’t doubt for one second that I haven’t missed out on a generation of gaming on their handhelds or consoles. Instead you’d see an office with art book’s, display boxes, and even my consoles hooked up in a neat fashion. Granted I’ve put a few of them in storage under lock-and-key, you’d be unable to doubt the fact I absolutely adore Sony’s library of games from the 90’s to current, but that changed when it came to the PSP and the PlayStation vita. It was almost like they didn’t care, they didn’t want to care, they worried more about their handheld crowd. Sound familiar with Nintendo and the Wii U? Yea, it does. Why? It’s the same situation. One has great first party support, the other doesn’t, which is where Sony and Nintendo have swapped places, but at least Nintendo is seemingly still putting effort into the Wii U until we probably get to finally see their new console(s) and or handheld at E3 2016. Well CES would’ve been great to show them off at.
I know if I were to ask a head board member of Sony point blank about why the Vita hasn’t gotten love? My answer would probably be something around the lines of “we don’t have the owner demographic we do in Japan and other parts of Asia”, which is true. But the response I’d fire back would eventually come down to the awful price gouging they have done for the memory cards, chargers, and the fact that the handheld itself with a good memory card will push owners around 300-350 bucks all together. For that much? I’d just spend the few extra bucks and buy a PlayStation 4 and be on my merry way. Which may be what Sony has done intentionally so that they can move consoles, but why not launch a bundle with a 32GB memory card, take the loss and make the bundle 450? It’d bring new fans in and even cause more money to flow through the PlayStation store unless those fans turn around and sale the console. It’d also help push first party support as they would see the fans actually using their handhelds in order to enjoy their gaming experience more effectively. Sony, what happened? Were you tempted by the Dark Side of winning the console war so far?
Third Party Devs and Publishers, Sony Needs You – Closing Thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably decided my entire op-ed has been me bashing one of my favourite companies. Truth is? You’d actually be right that I’ve been dragging my feet through the mud while whining about Sony. Why? All us Vita owners are thinking it, some of us are just not beginning to say it, and I’m one of the ones kicking in the doors. If there is anything that has gone right with the handheld, it’s the fact that third party developers and publishers have effectively revitalized the PlayStation Vita for me in the fact I own almost every game to have released on it and have put well over seventy games on my shelf. So while there are games out there, new owners who aren’t into JRPGs and graphic novels will have to dig through the PlayStation Vita’s library through online stores such as Amazon or through the PlayStation Store to find games that suit their style of games. While that sounds bad? Some of the games have a great story, great mechanics, and even beautiful graphics.
With all this said? Sony it’s your turn to step up to bat, and I really hope to see you make a grand slam.
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.
Tom Clancy’s The Division is possibly one of the most anticipated games of 2016. This was easily demonstrated by how quickly beta codes ran out during the betas duration. For those that got to experience Tom Clancy’s The Division, we were given an opportunity to take a glimpse at a game that was rather interesting and well crafted. Tom Clancy’s The Division Beta takes place shortly after a weaponized version of smallpox has managed to go pandemic and wipe out a giant sum of New York’s residents, but it had also managed to go worldwide and do the same amount of damages in confirmed locations such as London where their recovery attempt is under way from what we are able to assume.
For us? Efforts to restore New York have gone underway. The JTF as well as The Division and local rescue teams have begun helping those that need it. Doing so included building quarantine zones, setting up checkpoints, and even going as far as locking down zones such as the “Dark Zone” where only the best of the best or the worst of the worst even go to look due to contamination. This is where players got to spend a lot of their time in game if they weren’t already out and about doing alerts.
What the Game Has Stayed True to Since 2013
The Division has been a game we’ve all watched with wonderment over what it would become. Some of us probably assumed the development teams at Ubisoft Massive, Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Annecy have been busy at work making. What we’ve seen of the game until now was a rather visceral future that could potentially happen if someone was crazy enough to weaponize a virus to this scale. The gameplay footages we’d seen were true tactical sessions where players would find themselves bouncing from cover to cover to find vantage points. With weapons being highly customizable we also knew this would be playing another large piece within the game’s world. What we didn’t know was just how in depth our character editing would go since the gameplay footage had never really shown this bit. In the sessions we’d seen from gaming events we also knew the game was going to be rather beautiful, something Ubisoft has become known for in the most recent future, and something they seem to be at peace doing. This is another portion of the game that has also managed to stay alive over the years as fans around the world sat on edge for the Beta itself.
So the question is what has changed if anything? To be honest? Nothing. Ubisoft’s teams have managed to keep exactly to what they said the game would be. A tactical game that would offer players a chance to team up to take on enemies on the streets and help the citizens of New York. Let alone would the game offer varying degrees of difficulty, it would also offer high amounts of customization so that players can utilize their characters to how they see fit. Something that was well done in the beta thanks to weapon tuning, weapon modifications, and even armor pieces. They also had mentioned that the games Dark Zone would be one of the most dangerous locations in the games as teams of four can work together to take over, or simply go rogue and take out other agents, and steal their loot. This also stayed rather true in the beta this weekend. They’ve carried through with their words quite closely, but the one thing that was a bit troublesome is that character customization (as seen in our video below with gameplay and commentary), is that it was limited to a randomizer not showing us the full depth of customization availability or even how it works. While this may be due to the game being in development at the moment, we know that crunch time is here, and the teams are hard at work giving the game a few finishing touches.
The Things We’ve Learned from the Beta – The Good
Like any beta, especially Destiny’s, we’ve been given a taste of what the game will be about. While the beta was a 24.8GB install, we know that much of that install was the release title, and much of that content was locked due to how the game was set up for this test. The good part of it was we got to finally see what Ubisoft has been showing off for the past several years, which was fine tuned to the extent of being immaculate. While a few flaws did stand in place, they were nothing that won’t be fixed within the final version, which is expected.
First of all weapon customization was a key factor within this beta. Being able to add scopes, grips, laser sights, larger magazines, all of it gave us the idea of what the final version would have in store. For my time in the beta? I spent a vast majority of it with an L86SW running around with a acog scope, a larger clip, and even a compensator to help my weapon stabilize a bit. This is much different from my choice of using a SCAR-L with a marksman scope, front grip, large magazine, and even a silencer to hide myself a bit better from enemy forces. Hell it even helped in the Dark Zone when going rogue with a group of friends. (The video below contains us going Rogue Agent as well as objective based gameplay where we decide to take out thugs around Manhattan)
Though weapon customization was a bit fascinating it was also interesting to see that Ubisoft paid a lot of attention to detail with the virus and contaminated zones. The game had zones that would warn players if their masks were not safe for that area by telling them if their contamination levels were safe or not. If not? It’s safe to assume that getting healed up at a decontamination zone or even using a anti-viral would be the safest bet. However we were unable to test this since there weren’t safety zones that the beta would require higher level breathing masks. We also got to take a glimpse at itemization, which includes gloves, knee pads, armoured vests, supplies such as water, food, snacks, grenades, and much more. Each of these all played their own pivotal role in how players would approach combat situations. If you had bottled water? Best time to drink it was before combat and using healing items as it made them much more effective. Want a tactical advantage against your enemies? Easy, throw out an incendiary grenade and force your enemies to abandon their cover and re-situate themselves.
While the beta offered plenty of NPC encounters, the beta had really given us a glimpse of what to expect from assisting the JTF, but an idea of what we can find in the Dark Zone whether it’s off NPCs or players or simply both. The approach to collecting Dark Zone items comes at a heavy cost for some players as rogue agents are always hiding in the shadows with a squad or simply with highly powerful weapons.
The Things We’ve Learned from the Beta – The Bad
Even though we knew the game was going to have a beta, the problem with the beta wasn’t that it wasn’t a solid tactical shooter or even squad shooter, it was the fact the beta came with a handful of weapons, a handful of JTF situational objectives, and even a small amount of story mission. This meant players got to do two missions. Report to their soon to be home base, save the doctor for the medical wing, and hunt down supplies in order to open up the recovery ward. Outside of that? The beta proved that the game has a lot that it can account for, but dared to show off more than just a sip of the kool aid.
But one thing did become apparent to this game. Anyone in the squad could mark map objectives, change mission objective locations they want to at anytime, and even run off and leave their friends behind in order to complete the missions. In the beta? This type deal actually caused me to have to redo the one side mission we got, which was to locate a missing woman, and bring her back alive if she is alive. I had to go back to part three out of four on this side mission and complete the last two steps in order to get the mission completion. Even then? It still felt odd that I was having to complete a portion of the mission we’d already completed even though I was two steps behind him.
The Things We’ve Learned from the Beta – The Ugly
One of the weakest points of the game was the fact it feels like a slight graphical downgrade from the versions we’d seen at E3, Paris Game Show, and even Gamescom. The gameplay was gorgeous, don’t take it the wrong way, but it wasn’t as cinematic as the trailers or gameplay we’d seen before, which makes us wonder if what we saw before was a devkit running the game at settings consoles can’t handle. Or if we’re going to get another Watch_Dogs situation where the game was gorgeous, still is, but just not cinematically gorgeous. Then again this can all come tumbling down to cost, performance, and limitations based on what can be delivered at launch. If I had anything to say about this? Someone needs to get Kojima Studios on the phone and see how they can go about an engine like his own, but for now? The graphics will do. We just hope to see a bit more polish on them when the game launches since we only saw the beta, not a finished product.
The truth is? If one were to go into the Dark Zone, we’d expect to find looters, enemy factions such as the Riker’s or even The Cleaners. Truth is? It was rather empty unless players wandered around for a good ten or fifteen minutes assuming another squad didn’t wipe out the enemies, take the loot, and wander off. If you were wanting equipment? Best chance players had was getting lucky with drops or simply having a strong enough squad to wipe out enemy forces. Half the time? It meant all out war near extraction zones for equipment. During those moments? Players who wanted to crouch while sneaking to cover? Good luck doing so, this wasn’t happening so far in The Division, which is a feature odd not to have in a title like this one since we were able to sneak in titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Watch_Dogs, and even Rainbow Six. Hopefully this can somehow be added in at a later date.
If anyone is one to open up the minimap and listen to comms chatter or even just basic comms chatter? Many will become accustomed to hearing “He killed Alex!”, which is quite troublesome as it is a name we hear quite frequently throughout the time spent on the beta if players end up walking around the streets. Biggest issue with that? We don’t have a clue who “Alex” is and why we should care about him. All we know? He was killed. Don’t be like Alex until we figure out who Alex is.
Post Release DLC Plans – These Actually are Interesting
We already know Tom Clancy’s The Division is supposed to be a single entry game. Something that we’ve seen The Crew do when it released last year and managed to stay on track by adding expansions to itself. We’ve also seen this happen with Rainbow Six Siege as it is getting DLC over time and will allow for players to enjoy a single title with a rather hefty amount of future content. For Tom Clancy’s The Division owners? It’s suggested to spend a bit extra and just get the season pass. So let’s take a look at the post-launch plans.
“The free updates to be released for all players will add new game modes such as challenging group-oriented operations to test players’ abilities in co-op mode and win unique rewards.
The 3 paid expansions are included in the Season Pass and will be released over the course of the year. Each expansion builds on The Division, continuing your agent’s journey and progress with new content, gear and gameplay as you fight to take back New York:
Expansion I: Underground
This first major expansion opens up a new area to players as they explore the uncharted underworld of New York City with up to 4 friends for intense co-op action
Expansion II: Survival
In this expansion, players will have to survive as long as possible in a very hostile environment that will challenge even the most talented agents.
Expansion III: Last Stand
Stay tuned for more information.
At launch, Season Pass owners will also unlock the exclusive Sawed-off Shotgun, a unique sidearm customized for short-range destruction. Season Pass owners also receive a set of exclusive outfits and weapon skins, as well as access to special monthly benefits including exclusive content drops and special events.”
While it seems that Ubisoft will support players who have the season pass and those that don’t rather fairly? It’ll be interesting to see just how many people pick up the season pass in order to get the unique items, unique events, and the bonuses as they are released throughout the games life-span.
Closing Thoughts
Even though I’ve found a few things to grunt about with Tom Clancy’s The Division, it’s hard to say that these things are something worth raising a racket over. I’m sure if Ubisoft was dealing with a roar of complaints? They would find themselves in a situation much like Destiny is in now where many players have already begun to abandon the game, much like I did back October. Let’s just hope that Ubisoft has taken notes on what to do and what not to do in the long run.
Tom Clancy’s The Division is set to release on March 8th, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One starting at 59.99 USD.
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.
Pros:
+Matches can be short, quick, and fun for players wanting a quick time burner
+Astounding graphical uses and sound quality
+Challenges do make the game a bit more tougher per round played
+Weapon variations allow for increased difficulty
Cons:
+Vibrant and flashy colors and textures could make the game tough to play for those with epilepsy and seizures or those who are colorblind
+Control scheme may be hard to understand at first unless players go into the menus
+Absolutely no story for those wanting story and depth
When first contacted about AIPD I had no idea what this game was or what the initials stood for. Let alone had I never heard of the developer Blazing Badger, I decided to check the press email, contact the PR guy in return (thanks again for this opportunity!) and decided to submit a request for a review code on PlayStation 4. While Xbox One and PC also got this game, I decided to take it out on PS4 since we have more PS4 controllers in our office than Xbox One/PC controllers. Also we weren’t sure how the game would run on our Windows 10 PCs since we made the jump recently.
When looking at AIPD as the type of game it is, it’s hard not to think about games like Geometry Wars since both games are in the same league. Both are twin stick shooters, both require a high amount of attention span, but both also use vibrant color schemes in order to keep your attention. What AIPD does lack is something that would have made it intriguing, interesting, and even more drawing for those wanting to play it. A story and multiple maps to play on versus the one singular backdrop. While this worked for games like Flow, AIPD attempts to offer a rather fun twin-stick shooter, which is honestly fun for a little while, but quickly grows to a dull bore. If you want a game to burn time between errands or before work? Then this game is right up your alley as it does offer that since average matches last anywhere from one minute to approximately twenty to thirty depending on challenges (these up the difficulty) that are picked as well as difficulty chosen.
To start AIPD is an interesting concept, it’s premise is the fact the game has no story, but what it offers in return is a classic arcade like experience. This experience is brought on by the fact this game, much like classic games such as Galaga, Centipede and some of the older more classic games, did not use very many maps in play if any. This is the case in AIPD where players will be accustomed to a singular map that does not change, evolve, or developed into a different scenery outside of the enemies coming in swarms, the enemy drops that may occur and the EMP fields that players will have to watch out for. The game is fairly straight forward in the sense that it offers several game modes that change how players will encounter enemies. This includes one where enemy heavy ships will have extra shielding or even abilities to make it a bit more difficult for the player to survive. This does tend to happen while players are attempting to survive being attacked by incoming enemy ships.
Even though the other modes are basically additions onto the Standard game mode, this review will primarily be focusing on the games core mechanics and the Standard Mode as well a mode that allows for players to make their own custom game creation. The base game is simple, as mentioned you play as an AIPD ship, from there your goal is to eliminate all threats on screen as they come at you in large groups. These swarms can easily be taken out as players learn to dodge, maneuver, and shoot at the same time. Taking out enemy forces allows for players to gain pick-ups, one offensive, and one defensive may be equipped, however you can only pick one up after using one that you already have equipped. These can include shotgun like weapons, swarming missiles, overshields, ice like barriers or even time slows. While all these seem like they might be useful at all times, that is not always the case due to the enemies that may be attacking. If too many approach? Some of the support pick-ups may not seem as effective as the offensive ones.
The one thing that did seem to make the game a bit more challenging was the fact that players can choose modifiers for bonus points after each level. These can variate between a EMP field that will form a ring, making it so that players may only use the center of the map momentarily to enemies having more powerful weapons. To offset this imbalance at times? Players can team up with four people in local-cooperative play. Unfortunately due to having only one spare controller, it was an enjoyable time just teeming around alone in order to see if scores could be beaten on the leaderboards.
AIPD: Artifical Intelligence Police Department –Xbox One, PC, PS4 (Reviewed) Developer: Blazing Badger Publisher: mamor games Cost: 9.99 USD Release Date: Now Available
Even though other modes offered things such as all environmental hazards enabled to allowing enemies to have all abilities enabled, the creative mode was where the game stood out the most in my opinion. Here players are able to choose what modifiers enemies have enabled clear down to what weapons the enemies may have. Perhaps you don’t want to let enemies have anything, but instead want a rather deadly map? That’s okay too. Got friends over and want to enjoy a rather fun time of creating a map with a few modifiers each? Go at it. There’s three slots players can use to store their created modes from. It’s just a matter of how creative players can be in order to create a rather lethal and fun time.
Due to how little there is, it is hard to state that AIPD is a game that will keep you busy for days on end. Luckily this game is like titles such as Geometry Wars where players will come back to burn a little bit of time. We just hope to see more levels and variations launched for this game now that it’s available. Till then? The game is enjoyable if played in short spurts or with friends. Some? May find this game just as fun as others.
Our review is based upon the final version that the publisher provided us with. For information about our ethics policy please clickhere.
Final Score: 6 out of 10
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.
Haven’t had a chance to play the Beta? We’ve got you covered with a gameplay video with commentary! A non-commentary video is coming soon.
For those of you playing the Beta. What’s your thoughts so far? Let us know in the comments here, our Facebook, Google+ or even our Twitter feed!
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.
Pros: +Amazing back story building for players to understand the start of the game +Smallpox played a dangerous role in the games universe +Shows how political and social collapses occur for the new title +New York City’s Ground Zero sets up a dangerous premise +A short, but sweet film from YouTubers and Ubisoft
Cons: –More character back story would have been appreciated –Dark Zone being shown off would have created more interest
Reviewers Note: While it’s easy to see that I’m used to reviewing games, there was a few things that bugged me about the film as listed in the cons and discussed earlier in. The review currently is a “soft review”, meaning it may be added to at a later date once I get to sit down and analyze the film more than twice in one day.
When opening up a game series, Ubisoft has been the masters of creating spin-off short films that give us more detail on what’s happening, and why. They first displayed this capability with Assassin’s Creed 2’s short film “Lineage”, which had shown off how Ezio’s family was tied into the “Creed”. Again they had also displayed their finesse for doing this with Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’s short film called Ghost Recon Alpha. This time around Ubisoft has teamed up with YouTube talent Corridor Digital, RocketJump and devinsupertramp.
Teaming up with YouTuber’s, Ubisoft has been able to reach out to an established fanbase. One that allows the company and the YouTuber’s to put out content to an already established fanbase, which helps bring forth promotional and supplementary content to that fanbase. In doing so we’ve been given a glimpse at what this can do for those wanting to see what such talents can do in order to bring such a world to life.
The Division: Agent Origins tells us the story of the games four operatives that we currently know of such as John (Matt Day), Mia (Amanda Day, The Center, The Seeker) , Everett(Sasha Andreev, See Jane Run and Best Man Down), and Daryl (Danny Mason, The Club House, Jive Tales). Within the opening seconds John gives us the layout of how the Smallpox Virus spread through contaminated money on Black Friday. Doing this allowed whoever set off the attack to do so without being easily noticed. By the time anyone that could do anything to stop the virus, the death toll had reached epidemic numbers, within weeks it became a full blown pandemic and there seemed to be nothing that could stop it besides setting up quarantine zones for those that had ye to be infected by the virus. Shortly after the explanation, we learn that the United States Government had put in place a secret directive where sleeper agents would come out of hiding in order to calm the chaos and keep peace. While it sounds easier said than done, the show proves just how difficult that actually is as our leading characters quickly come under attack.
What’s most interesting is not the fact that the show picks up rather quickly with minimal origins behind each character. We learn that John is a family man. One that takes pride in both his wife and daughter, but hides the fact he’s secretly a government agent waiting to be activated. We learn that Daryl is a scavenger, a medic of sorts as he is hunting down medical supplies. Mia fits the role as the teams tactician and sharp shooter while Everett serves as the teams muscle and heavy hitter. But as quick as it sounds to establish all this, we first have to look at the fact each lived their normal lives. Daryl’s being the one we know little about as we know Mia was in hiding with her boyfriend and their conspiracy theorist friend. Everett we learn was a fireman in his mean time, helping with public duty in order to keep people safe, which didn’t seem to last long once the world around him collapsed.
As the story unfolds we get a look at two of the enemy factions. The Rikers from Rikers Island appear rather quickly within the short, but not quite as quick as the ever-so-brutal “Cleaners” who do just what they believe is right. Build everything from the ground up just as it had with time. Their method includes burning everything down in order to do so be it infected corpses, buildings with infected in it or the people that just happen to be around and might be infected. After all, the way the bad guys see it? Survival of the fittest.
Where this short shines brightest isn’t just in the fact that it doesn’t look like a low-end budget short, the short does a great job at casting actors to fit the roles of the characters that they are portraying, but also matching voices to those said characters. Let alone is their acting spot-on, the tone, the score, but even the overall appearance to the short gave the short the authenticity it needed to bring forth the game. While narrative was lacking in the sense of building a back-story for fans to understand, it does give some idea behind what The Division was meant for as a Joint Task Force in case such an event happened. While it has been troublesome to pinpoint just how much it’ll affect or bleed into the game is yet to be seen as the game is still roughly a month and a half out before we’ll get to walk the streets of a very different and dark New York City. With the direction the short film did go, it fit the role and did its job giving us an idea of how the squad got together and why they headed back out into the streets of New York. We just have to wait and see how well the gaps between game and short film do starting March 8th, 2016.
Our review is based upon the version released via Amazon Prime Video. For information about our ethics policy please clickhere.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
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.
