BATTLETECH - PC Review

Brief History of BattleTech

In the beginning there was a little company called FASA corporation which created a franchise that has carried on through decades. The BattleTech franchise they created was originally inspired by a Japanese animation called Macross (a great anime if you haven't seen it) and it released in 1984.

BattleTech is a turn-based strategy game where war torn military and political factions vy to rule. It is set in a science fiction universe and the only sentient life within it, is human.

As with any popular genre of game, BattleTech created a legacy through video games, CCGs, Television spin offs, game spinoffs like Mech Commander – one of my favourite games, a MechWarrior Online spinoff, and has over 100 books written in the universe. It also produced a widely played table top miniature game. Needless to say, this new BattleTech video game has a reputation to live up to and oh boy does it ever.

Graphics/UI

The graphics in this game are phenominal. Upon loading, it's default setting is ultra and certainly showcases the stellar graphics. Sadly, I had to drop it down a notch because my system is not as OP as I'd like it to be. That said, even at high settings, this game is nothing short of breath taking.

The cinematics are gorgeous and pulls players right in to the conflicts that cause the factions to fight. Even the art style at the beginning presents a gritty and raw aesthetic befitting of the war that has been raging for years.

For the most part, BattleTech is much like any other strategy game in that it is a top down third person perspective. However, it has a unique feature that demonstrates the finer graphic details. Every now and then, when a player moves their mechs, the player is given an upclose perspective. It's very satisfying to watch a mech punch another, causing it to fall over. This upclose perspective can be toggled or altered in the options menu, though I find it adds to the games' immersion.

The UI itself is easy to understand even if it seems weird at first. A player moves their mech and then must click a second time to face the mech in a particular direction. This a key element of BattleTech. If an enemy mech moves in behind yours, your mech is likely to take increased damage because there is less armour protection.

BattleTech's UI is very clean and the options menu gives a good amount of latitude for a perfect player experience. In my opinion, this game has an excellent UI that doesn't clutter the screen with needless information.

Sound/Music

The music in BattleTech perfectly complements the game. It is composed by Jon Everist, an award winning composer in both games and films. He has worked on such titles as Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Shadowrun: Hong Kong, Necropolis, and Planetstorm: Fallen Horizon.

The soundtrack contains 60 tracks totaling over three hours of amazing music. Mr. Everist captured the essence of human emotions in his compositions which serves this game well.

In an interview with Original Sound Version, Mr. Everist said the following in regards to the BattleTech music:

"My approach to music is always about treating characters with empathy and seriousness, and highlighting their arcs in a way that can reflect their faults and virtues in ourselves. Your crew in BattleTech is a motley crew of complex people, all with different hopes and dreams, all struggling. Nothing is easy, and they feel like futuristic frontiersman and women just trying to survive. It's that age old idea of the more things change the more they stay the exact same sort of thing. I knew I needed to do a true orchestral hybrid with soloists and vocalist to really capture this feeling correctly."

Check out the full interview.

Also, Mr. Everists' YouTube channel contains behind the scenes footage of the BattleTech music during its development. There are only four videos but, I particularly love this piece:

The Technology/Weapons

Of course, one of the fun things about BattleTech is the ability to outfit your mechs. Having a nice complement of short ranged and long ranged weapons will serve a player well, but as with any BattleTech game, you are restricted by weight.

Light mechs are often outfitted with jump jets, lasers, and SRMs in order to serve as scouts for the group. As such, these mech are not great combatants, but help to discover threats in the nearby area. That said, jump jets will allow certain mechs the option to execute 'death from above', which can cause some serious damage to enemy mechs.

Heavy mechs can hold a lot more firepower but don't move quickly. The good news is, long ranged missles (LRMs) will often be outfitted on these mechs. Taking out turrets and enemy mechs from afar can be super handy to gain an advantage in the map. And nothing is more satisfying to me than launching a shot from a PPC, which delivers a satisfying thud and hopefully causes a large dent in the enemy.


Of course, progression through the game allows players to salvage or purchase different weapons and technology to suit the mission type. And, if history has anything to say, the clan special technologies will be fun to experiment with, assuming those are available in BattleTech.

Gameplay

Let's talk about the gameplay.

BattleTech starts with an informative cinematic that takes you through the history of this tumultuous war. You are then dropped into the action and are immediately sucked into the story. This is the point where players learn the basics of mech piloting. And because of the mission you end up on, you will awake to converse with a stranger. At that point, you get to make decisions about how to proceed.

Players get to character creation quickly, and thankfully, it's not time consuming – just descriptive of background options. Each faction gives the player certain stat increases that will come in handy. And while in other games, backgrounds are mostly filler, in BattleTech, a player also receives specialized dialogue responses.

The initial story arc was enough to hook me, but what kept me in was the two different types of strategies used. The first is mission strategy and the second is financial strategy. I'll cover them both below.

Mission Strategy

During the individual missions, a player has all the time in the world to make decisions. Since BattleTech is a turn based tactical strategy game, players can save at almost any time during a mission. Not only does that allow players some freedoms that were not afforded in previous titles, but it makes strategizing easier when it's not done on the fly.

Don't get me wrong though, players will still have to consider movements without knowing what the opponent will do. Failure to do so will cost you. If you set up incorrectly, the enemy will exploit your weaknesses and ultimately require you to use more C-bills than intended.

Additionally, a player has to consider best hit percentages because of the overheating mechanic. If on every turn a player unloads everything, their heat is going to cause internal damage. To make things worse, if a part of your mech overheats with ammunition inside of it, that explosion will outright kill the pilot and the mech. Trust me. I made this mistake once!

When fighting the enemy mechs, targeting strategy is just as important as placement strategy. It's not enough to gang up on the mechs, a player has to be thoughtful in targeting weak areas. That means one can use the jump ability to get in behind mechs for a solid shot. Players can also execute called shots to disable certain deadly weapons or destroy ammunition. No matter what type of strategy you go with, the game requires players to think critically about their actions.

Financial Strategies

The challenge of the game doesn't simply come from the individual missions, but comes in the form of finances. Part of the big struggle in the game is getting out of debt so that you can seek out bigger contracts with bigger rewards.

At first this is daunting because the debt owed is large, players have salaries to pay, and must upkeep mechs. To compound the problems, the starting missions aren't worth much, which makes the beginning portion of the game the hardest. There is a constant balancing act between taking contracts that pay and being able to execute missions successfully.

You are the commander of a small mercenary group that expects to be paid each month. If you pay alot, the squads morale bonus increases. Conversely, if you pay less than the standard, morale will decrease. Both cases affect mission performance. It is another consideration a player needs to make during gameplay.


The good news is that players can negotiate their contracts by either increasing the money or increasing the salvage, depending on which is more important to the player. Basically, if you want more money for a mission, you lose salvage options. If you want more salvage gear for your mechs, you will lose money. You get to decide.

In short, BattleTech is full of complexity and gives players a ton of things to do, making gameplay very immersive and enjoyable.

Final Thoughts

BattleTech is everything I expected and more. It delivers a fantastic story, a high level of complexity, and a strong sense of urgency. It has epic weapons and allows a lot of flexibility when it comes to mech builds. Players can beef up their mechs armour and customize each mech as they see fit.

I've easily sunk over 20 hours playing this game and I have looked to free up more time to keep playing it!

I love BattleTech and have nothing negative to say about it. For the first time ever, a game is going to get a perfect 5 out of 7. I KID!

BattleTech gets a straight 10 out of 10 for me. Haters be damned.

Although, I have heard some players have had issues with crashing. I did not have this issue during my review playthrough and I truly hope that they resolve quickly. Should anyone have issues with the game, please post on the forums!

Do you love BattleTech? Have you played it yet? Have you followed BattleTech), Harebrained Schemes, and Paradox Interactive) yet? This company is KILLING IT, in my opinion. Anyways, let us know what you think in the comments!

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Harebrained Schemes
Publisher(s):
Paradox Interactive
Genre(s):
Action
Adventure
Strategy
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner! - Saturday April 28

Earlier in the week, I published an article that didn't go over well. It doesn't matter what the article was about or what specific reactions the internet had, but needless to say it was upsetting. A lot of the reasons people were angry had nothing to do with my opinion on the topic, but about the labeling of the game.

In video games, people often judge a game by its category. If a game is labeled 'horror' or 'psychological', I am likely going to ignore it. A game category that causes me pause is FPS. Both of these types of games would have to have something extremely compelling for me to play them.

Anyways, I've been a big follower of Totalbiscuit for years and as we all know, he often ridicules video game award shows because of their arbitrary voting nature. Sometimes this is because the categories aren't specific enough, or the games fit the category but achieve it in an odd way. You see, not all categories are created equal.

Let's look at MOBAs which are games that fit under the strategy label. Urban dictionary describes it as “a new gaming genre. Spawned from early forums from the custom map for Starcraft called 'Aeon of Strife' and evolved into the most recent Defense of the Ancients or 'DotA'.” Basically, a MOBA is a style of game that requires players to use powerful heroes to take out the opponents’ base. Players use a strategy to do this, but most won't describe DOTA or LoL as strategy, they call them MOBAs because that is 'most appropriate'.

The problem is this: if you google MOBAs, Overwatch will show up. Overwatch is actually an FPS but it also fits in the above definition of a MOBA. Players have to eliminate the objective, play strictly online, and use different paths to get to these objectives. The difference between the two categories is that an FPS is strictly a first person view (as the label describes) while MOBAs tend to be top down. Neither of the definitions describes the difference in game perspective. For reference, Urban Dictionary describes FPS as, “a computer game genre that puts the player in a first-person perspective and usually involves shooting down opponents.” That is the genre of game but it is lacking in description, as you can tell.

Again take a look at Google for 'Battle Royale'. This is a game genre which is only won once there is a last man standing. Players must hunt for supplies and kill opponents along the way. Unfortunately, this label is too broad. For example, a game that could fall under this category is Worms. No where does the definition say that the game has to exclusively be 3D. However, it's classified as the following tags: strategy, multiplayer, action, and turn-based. While these tags aim to give players a better understanding of the game style, it doesn't always do the job. This is what I am talking about.

Finally, I'd like to use an example from The Game Awards in regards to labeling. Different games are nominated in categories with little or no description as to what qualifies. The largest example of when a category didn't quite work comes from last year under Best Action/Adventure. Mario Odyssey was clumped in with games like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Assassin's Creed: Origins, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Horizon Zero Dawn. It's not that Mario isn't action or adventure; it's that this game is more of a platformer. The game is classified as both labels. The issue I have with Mario being in the running with the other has a lot to do with its graphics. The art styles in all five games are unique but four of them are much more realistic while Mario is more cartoon styled. As I said, the game can fit a genre and yet not be at the same level.

My main point is that labels are subjective, at least in their current state. While they serve gamers by assisting in purchase decisions, it is never going to be perfect. I'm not saying labels shouldn't exist when it comes to video games. Think of it this way, if someone says to me, “Hey, there is a new battle royale game on the market. You should check it out.” I'm likely to ignore anything they've said after 'battle royale'. If I didn't know any better about video games, I would never have cared about Fortnite or PUBG because they fall under that label. Instead, I actually have some passing interest in Fortnite where I'd love to forget about PUBG's existence. See how not all labels accurately explain a game? That's why I think they are a bit ridiculous.

Why is any of that important? Because in case you forgot, the issue people had with my article had to do with a label and not about what I actually thought. People focused so much on the flaws that they failed to see that the article was a good impression of a video game. Most people in the chat were not aware that I could read all of their comments. The moment someone said negative things about the article, the floodgates opened to hatred. One guy even said he was 'triggered' by the article. I hate to break it to you but that's not a trigger but a “hot button”. Other words can certainly trigger people and while I'm on that topic, to be triggered means, “to experience a strong emotional reaction of fear, shock, or worry, especially because you are made to remember something bad that has happened in the past.” I highly doubt that my article was that traumatically inducing...

Anyway, I had offered to write an article about the game. I wasn't asked to do it. I wasn't told to do the piece. I simply asked the company if they wanted some extra impressions publicized about their game. Regardless of how the article was written, I gave the game an overall good rating, but that didn't seem to matter to the community. Their reactions spoke much louder than the offhanded commentary about the people 'appreciating good review'. While I refuse to apologize for the article's contents, I now have a sour taste in my mouth. The community just drove away a fan.

So I'll leave people with these handy tips when dealing with people on the internet:

• Writers are human and you never know when we are reading/watching/listening.
• We are entitled to have opinions too. In this case it was good but because of the label, I was ridiculed indirectly.
• We writers respond much better to constructive feedback than flaming on Reddit, Discord, or Facebook.
• We writers WILL post a reaction, for better or worse.
• We WON'T forget initial impressions. Any future interaction will require much more work to be in our good books.

You reap what you sow and I'm not apologizing for my fallacies. I urge people online to think before acting especially when interacting with members of the press.

Rocket League

As a very quick addition to today's article, this year's LAN has been announced. June 8-10th Season 5 World Championships will take place in London, England. The prize pool is at $250,000 and the venue will be The Copper Box. Be sure to check out the website for more details. Also be sure to watch Twitter for updates!

Until next time peeps!

Article by Susan N.

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Level 1 Complete - The Grid Birthday Celebration - Beeps and Beers

Beeps and Beers has been something on a break, but I thought that a one year celebration at a local arcade and bar called The Grid would be a good reason to revisit this article series. It is always an entertaining place to visit, but with unique beers, new machines and raffles to cap things off, the one year anniversary was a hit today.

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Solo - PC Review

Steam describes Solo as “an introspective puzzler set on a gorgeous and surreal archipelago”. This game was suggested to me due to it’s visual similarities to Yonder: Cloud Catcher Chronicles. I was eager to play given the unique premise and art style, and I was immediately impressed by the options available for character creation - this is the first game (that I have played) that allows same sex relationships while also allowing you to change gender at any point in the game.

Plot

I think “plot” is a strong word. There isn’t really a clear story, because it is closer to a “choose your own” rather than an established narrative. But the game doesn’t really give you anything to work towards, or any semblance of progression - which why after 6 hours of playing, I have idea how close I am to the end. When you get past a puzzle, you get a new question from a totems, then a remark from your ghost partner, and then you move to a new island and solve another puzzle. You eventually hit a lighthouse, and then move on to a new section of islands.

Given that I only played as a female in a same-sex relationship, I can’t speak for other players or plotlines. The questions may or may not differ. The essential premise of the story, I think, is to learn more about how you love, but I was really discouraged by some of the remarks made by my ghost partner. There’s something about a guilt-trip that really takes you out of the game, ya know? They encourage you to be honest in the responses you give, but I wasn’t expecting to be judged for it.

Gameplay

The game is controller supported, but it assumes you are using an XBOX controller, which is standard. I didn’t have one on hand, so I used a PS4 controller. It worked out fine, as long as I was able to remember the corresponding buttons.

As I mentioned, there isn’t a lot of variety in the gameplay. You get to an island, you use a few types of boxes to find a way to reach the totems and then start all over again. You get a camera (mostly to take selfies, which I totally did), you can play the guitar (to change the weather or to remove color, for example), and you can feed the animals if you so desire.

The animals are really cute, so I fed them anytime I came across one. The parachute is handy, but aside from that, the accessories really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The guitar is finicky, and you can’t always tell if you have been successful in playing the tune. You aren’t reminded of the note pattern, so it would be worthwhile to write it down. Random NPCs will ask for a favor, and sometimes you need to help animals or plants, but it seemed that I was able to skip these sections without any penalty.

I had a bit of a tough time trying to accurately place the boxes, especially the sticky ones. On numerous occasions it would prevent certain boxes from being placed next to other ones, but after 3 more attempts, it would work. The camera angles aren’t great, so I frequently had to drop boxes and try again to be able to place them at the angle I wanted. You can’t really look “up” in the game, which is quite frustrating.

The game seems to have only an autosave and not a specific save point. Nowhere was it explicitly stated how to save. There was a fountain I could drink out of but I have no clue how or if it affected the game. After playing for an hour or so, I waited for the autosave to run, and then quit the game. When I restarted shortly after, my character was spawned in the middle of the ocean and the screen was entirely blue. The only way I was able to regain control was by pulling out my guitar and it reset the screen enough that I could to swim back to a shore miles from where I had just auto-saved. Luckily, this only happened that once and future restarts were unproblematic.

Overall

The game definitely has a some unique qualities, including the premise and the gender considerations. If you enjoy puzzle games and are entertained by repetition in a very pretty setting, then this might be right up your alley. Unfortunately, these few good elements really don’t outweigh or make up for the glitches and lack of compelling story. That being said, I won’t give up completely - I’d like to know how it ends. Hopefully some improvements will be made upon release.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Team Gotham
Publisher(s):
Team Gotham
Genre(s):
Adventure
Puzzle
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Lauren

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Aftercharge - PC Alpha Preview

For one day only, Chainsawesome Games, a Canadian company, hosted a closed Alpha test of their new Battle Royale game After Charge. It's a 3v3 game with two types of classes, for lack of a better term. One class is the Workonics which remain perma stealthed until seen by the Enforcers who have the benefit of tracking technology on their weapons.

General Concept

The premise of this game is simple. The Enforcers are tasked with protecting the extractors on the map, while the Workonics want to destroy the very objects being protected. The catch is, the Enforcers cannot be destroyed and use extractors as a recharging source for their weapons.

To win the game, either the extractors are destroyed by the Workonics or the Enforcers successfully kill their opposition.

Either way, because the maps are not large, individual matches are short. There is no need to hunt for ammo or weapons in this game, which levels the playing field for those who are not typically FPS players.

That said, the game is still in the alpha phase and requires trials to prepare it for launch.

Features of the Game

Currently, there are two maps in the cycle which will hopefully be added to. Additionally, the roles of players are switched between matches, so there is equal opportunity to play the two types of classes. When a match begins, a player chooses one of four skins, and only one of each skin can be used per match. No two characters are alike in any game although, they can be customized with some colour options. This is not extensive but it gives players a little bit of control with their character.

Another feature in the game is the ability to use voice. In the options screen, a player is automatically set to push to talk, but this was not a feature I had the opportunity to test. When watching one of the streamers late in the day, someone used the voice feature. It seemed to work well and was quite loud but I don't think most people realized the option was there.

At the start of Alpha Charge, a player begins with 2500 MMR, a system used to rank players by their abilities. It adjusts based on different factors within the matches themselves like wins and kills, although players often aren't made aware of what comprises its calculation. Don't worry, if you played in the Alpha stage and were concerned with the developers crushing you, veterans were given a higher starting MMR. Only the newbies had to work their way up before facing the professionals!

Overall Impressions

Real talk. I am not really big into Battle Royale games because I get bored of them, so take my opinion with whatever grains of salt you may, but I actually enjoyed Alpha Charge. It requires players to be a bit more strategic and stealthy as opposed to employing common run and gun strategies.

I also liked the idea that the Enforcers are invincible, meaning that winning the game is reliant on observation and tactics, as opposed to lucky shots or dirty kills. It's a game that is purely focused on the objective, to either kill the Workonics or destroy the extractors. Alpha Charge does not rely on players who have the biggest guns or the best aimed sniper shot. 

This game is fairly balanced because each character has only two abilities, meaning that Alpha Charge is not like CS:GO with many weapon options. This indicates to me that players can be judged fairly on their game play strategies, instead of weapons and gear. If players want options for that sort of thing, this is not the game for you. I find that games are often hinged upon a person's ability to be a crack shot which doesn't suit everyone's style. Skill over kills is what I say, and this game gives people a chance to be a decent player, no matter the starting skill.

Because I played the Alpha build, I was hit with some interesting and minor bugs like a straight black screen after a match finished. It was sad because I didn't get to see my epic and low score. A nice addition to the game would be an overall stat screen. Perhaps not something that's over technical, but something that shows total kills, total extractors destroyed, and other basic stats. It's not a necessary feature by any means and right now it has the Overwatch model with a stat screen at the end of each match.

I like the look of the game. It is cartoony a little like The Darwin Project, which is another Battle Royale game that I enjoy, but it clearly is designed to be a game that a player can load and go. It's not complicated by any means and will not be for everyone.

The two maps are different enough and yet small enough to facilitate short and sweet matches. I was able to get in a few good games before I had to leave, which added to my personal appeal of After Charge. I don't want long drawn out games and no one has to agree on that point. Players that want something more complex have many options when it comes to this genre, so have at 'em.

Final Thoughts

I do hope that more maps will be added to the rotation and I think this game has some great potential.

I look forward to playing more of this game as development progresses. At this point, I'll give the game a 7 out of 10. It's light weight, it's fun, it has an interesting premise, and I think Chainsawesome Games has a future with the game. If nothing else, the developers will learn from this experience and take that knowledge into future titles.

More information about After Charge can be found here: http://afterchargegame.com/ Don't forget to follow the game on Twitter for future Alpha test dates or chances to get a key (https://twitter.com/aftercharge). This isn't the only chance we'll have to play the game, so keep your eyes peeled!

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Chainsawesome Games
Publisher(s):
Chainsawesome Games
Genre(s):

First Person Shooter
Mode(s):
3v3 Versus
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Susan N.

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Megadimension Neptunia VIIR - PS4 Review

All hail Lady Vert! Honestly if you don’t then we may have an issue. Declaration for CPUs aside, the girls are back again and this time in more than 2D with the latest entry of the series being re-worked from the ground up as well as for the PSVR. Now while I wish I did have a PSVR, headset-less players are still in for a treat as nothing will be missed out on AND the systems make it worth playing through this three chaptered entry once again.

The original release of Hyperdimension Neptunia VII was an ambitious one. Split into what are essentially three very well self contained chapters each with their own continual plot lines, it was well worth the time put into it. With new elements and lots of quality of life additions to the series, it was not easily one of my favorites, but a very well received one making it accessible for both veteran fans of the series (cringes at the original) and new ones alike.

VIIR does this ALL AGAIN. Essentially giving a console release the Re:Birth treatment, VIIR revamps all the systems again making it feel more like Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2, but done well. Characters still have their hit points but gone are massive SP bars in which a battle can be done within seconds with super destructive abilities. Now? Now you have to accumulate enough SP in order to perform an ability and more than that, AP comes back into the equation meaning that just because a character has enough moves to fill up a weapon type, doesn’t mean that she can use them all.

Combat had been rather streamlined but with the revamp it puts things back into a very hands on approach no longer allowing you to simply spam through a move set to continue. Keeping part of the new design, weapons, and not characters, affect which type of abilities are available for use. Weapons will have either one or more Rush (lots of attack little damage), Power Attacks (heavy hitting but harder to land) and Break Attacks (designed to remove protection for maximum damage) available for use.

Finding what works for you or a character can take some time but newly added is once the combo is done in regards to the AP, you can do it again. Until the AP is out, a characters can perform any moves as long as she has the necessary points to do so. Once she's done, then you get to select where she stands in regards to her movement left, where she's facing and what kind of defense posture she'll take. It adds some time to the battle but the change up works.

Taking things a step even further is that characters no longer simply learn a new move upon leveling up. Instead money now plays a major factor in the equation as each new ability must be bought in order to be used. Used to have problems with too much money? Don’t worry about it! It’s no longer an issue.

But how does this all relate to a story that you may have already explored? That’s easy. With the new systems in place the adventure feels both familiar and new. Sure you’ve seen the cutscenes but the adventure up to those points makes things different enough that you’re not simply playing the same game over again. Adding an extra element to that, is the VR.

Now because I don’t have a headset, I fall into the category of players that must press and hold “X” in order to load up the events on screen. These events essentially put you, the player, in the nice comforts of your bedroom / living room bachelor pad. You can look anywhere you want in the room, zoom in, pan around, but you don’t move from wherever you are sitting.

Now there are two types of visits. The first and the ones that you are introduced so are the four goddesses that will visit you to hang out one by one. Each is pretty much as you would expect and they are aware that you are there and that you at least know who they are. As “you chat” you can nod your head to answer yes or not but unfortunately for Noire, when she said if I minded and I said “no” I should have said yes because she got mad at me. I was trying to say that I didn’t mind her doing something so thinking along those lines carefully is a bit important.

The second type of visits are the “other” Neptune that will come around between chapter segments to say hi whether or not you like it. What were great about these visits compared to the ones that you planned, is that it works very well with the overall story progression. She’ll be saying something, dimensional hop to do something else, and next thing you know she’s talking about it to one of the other characters. It works and it fits into the overall experience as it doesn’t feel tacked on as much as it feels part of everything.

If you haven’t yet had the chance to jump into the latest part of the main series, or have even played through HN VII, Hyperdimension Neptunia VIIR is worth it. With a revamped system, smoother gameplay and new VR elements, there are plenty of reasons to come back for another run of Neptune’s antics. Plus it has Lady Vert. There’s no downside!

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Compile Heart
Publisher(s):
Idea Factory International
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - PS4 Review

Grab your little red cape everyone, because Ni no Kuni 2 is here. This JRPG is chalk full of adventurous activities that will surely keep you busy enough to explore more of this wondrous world.

We were all treated with the sweetness that was Wrath of the White Witch, the first game in the series. A legendary game that will continue to branch out and create new titles along the way, titles such as Kuni 2.

Kuni 2 starts off in the same world as its predecessor, but since then a hundred years have passed since Ollie' boys adventure. Now a new protagonist, named Evan, has taken the role of 'New' hero. Young Evan has a lot on his shoulder from the start of the game, being that he is the sole heir to the throne of Ding Dong Dell, and there are those who wish to steal his crown. As poor Evan struggles to survive through a coup, a mysterious man named Roland appears before him and offers him his aid. Together the two journey to create not only a new kingdom but a world where everyone one can live happily ever after...... A phrase that gets thrown around like a sac of potatoes, constantly, in this game.

There are many new and interesting game mechanics that have been added or changed since Kuni 1. One of the new changes that I favor over the first game is the combat style. No longer do you need to use familiars to fight your battles. King Evan and his companion have adapted to the up close and free roam fighting style. No more turn-based or waiting for the battle gauge to fill for these heroes.

Each character can equip up to three closed range weapons and one long ranged that can be shuffled between during battle. These weapons also have a power storing ability, where they can build power by attacking the enemy directly. Once the weapon has reached 100% you can unleash a powerful attack or spell that can deal heavy damage to either a single or multiple targets. You can also use these attacks at any given time during battle, as long as you have enough ability points to pull off the move, but they will only preform at half the strength than when your weapon is at full power.

Also fighting along side you are these tiny little sprites called 'Higgledies'. These feisty little critters are helpful with their abilities to boost your stats, heal you or join together to blast your enemies away with their own elemental powers. Higgledies can be found all over the world either by creating them or finding little offering shrines that are hidden within dungeons. You can equip up to 4 Higgledies during fights and they can also be leveled up by giving them their favorite treats.

To finish off your combat potential the game has added a stats board that you can unlock and change to your liking. Having a hard time beating up a type of dragon monster? No problem, just set your stats to focus all your heavy hits to dragon like enemies and they'll go down with ease. Wanna gain more Experience than Money? That too can be possible. With the stat board the game can make certain challenges a little easier with the right adjustments.

The game has kept its open world concept, allowing you to explore till your hearts content, but much has changed in it shape since the first game. The only memorable place that still stands is Ding Dong Dell. All other previous location have vanished and has since been replaced with new cities and landmarks.

Once you're on the world map your character sprites are able to walk around and gather or fight at your expense. They can also come across certain checkpoint areas that are marked with a flag. This allows you to enter a tactical like battlefield with a overhead view where Evan will commands an army of citizen, that you will collect for your kingdom, to fight alongside him to defeat and defend his land.

Each fighter has their own specialties that range from Warriors, Berserker, Archers, Spearmen and Spellcaster. You may select 4 unit to accompany you on the battlefield. At the start of each battle you are given a 'Might' level. Each time you encounter an enemy your might will slowly decrease, it will also decrease if you try to take over an enemy base, use a special attack or summon more troops. If this 'Might' falls to zero Evan will lose the fight. The more fights you win the more Experience your citizen gain and the stronger they will become.

As a kingling it is Evan's job to build his new kingdom. Whenever you enter your kingdom the game turns into a building simulator of the sort, giving you the option to customize your town. You start off with a handful of people to help build your society by assigning them to certain jobs. Each individual has a level of intelligence, physical strength and there own special talent that can help further certain workplaces. Each shop will gain you currency for the kingdom which you can use to level up or research new developments.

To gain new citizens you must progress the main story or finish personal quests to gain their loyalty. Quests become available under different condition and will appear on your map as exclamation marks. Not only will you gain new townsmen, but you'll be rewarded with special items and accessories. I highly recommend spending a large chunk of time completing these tasks as it help you along with the game.

Now for the bread and butter of this game... The story. I find myself at a crossroad with this game's storyline. Unlike Kuni 1, the story is slightly lacking. Whereas in the first game I found myself so in depth and enriched with its fairy tale that I was expecting the second game to blow my mind... but it didn't. It was good, but not brilliant. I was baffled as to why the game felt so different from the first, and with a little bit of research I found out that Studio Ghibli, the Japanese Disney of the world, was not present in Kuni 2. Even though the games graphics look gorgeous on the PS4, i didn't get that sense of magic like I did before. No animated cutscenes are present either. I'm guessing with Ghibli gone from the picture, Bandai Namco and Level 5 had to use whatever budget they had and cut some iconic features from the game.

Fear not as they were able to keep Joe Hisaishi, the musical mastermind behind all of Ghiblis productions and the first Ni no Kuni game. Joe continues to breath life into his pieces and it definitely shows in Kuni 2. Every moment is catered perfectly.

All in all this game was good. It kept me engaged and wanting more. The combat was more polished in Kuni 2 and the building of a kingdom drives me to complete quest upon quest to gain new citizens. I give this game a 9 out of 10.

Now, excuse me while I convince people to join my empire---- HEY, YOU! JOIN MY KINGDOM!

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Level-5
Publisher(s):
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
Genre(s):
RPG
Action
Adventure
Simulation Elements
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
PC

Source:
Purchased

Article by Natasha

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Jaggy's Corner! - Sunday April 22

This week I stumbled back into an old game that I haven't played in a few years. It's a free to play MMO entitled Neverwinter and I used to play it before I found Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, and few other games.

In case you weren't familiar, Neverwinter is an MMO set in the Dungeons & Dragons world where I play a Drow Elf Trickster Rogue. Another interesting point of note is that I often find myself playing a rogue in D&D games (including the Tal'Dorei campaign I'm currently in.)

It was quite a shock to discover some of the changes after I quit playing due to my pathetically low graphics card abilities. The company had raised the level cap and included a few new features. For example, instead of racking up all kinds of runes that leveled artifact equipment, a player now converts items into refinement points to serve the same purpose. Changing this widely used ability has now freed up a ton of space! They've also changed the game to allow refinement of all gear pieces. It negates the need to run off to a vendor every time bags are full. Although, because I would always run out of bag space years ago, it was the singular factor in getting the Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue artifact. Not only am I able to buy potions when I need them, but I can sell all of those pesky green armours if I wanted to. Although, converting those into refinement points is more beneficial at this point in time. Therefore, I don't need to activate my little shopkeeper as much as I used to.

Earlier I mentioned that I had quit because my graphics card couldn't handle the game. At the time I was max level, which was 60, and I had been working my way through the new campaign setting Well of Dragons. When five dragons descended upon the area, it lagged my computer. Also because it was the newest content, there were massive raid groups of people flocking to each of the dragons at any given time. Today, the game has a higher level cap and changed all of the zones I've completed to level 70. In short, I have boons that I shouldn't technically have for my newly found level status. Needless to say, when I logged back into Neverwinter after four years of inactivity, I was still inside the Well of Dragons, a now lethal place for my undergeared character. I tried to make a clean escape and I think I died at least four times before I made it to the exit. It wasn't pretty. Actually, while I think about it, it'd be nice to have the game allow to run back to your body similar to World of Warcraft if only to save a person from such a situation...

Basically, this week I spent a great deal of time getting myself back up to max level so that I could go back to the zone I had left years earlier. I achieved this goal. I made it to level 70 the other day then proceeded back to the Well of Dragons. This was a mistake. I had my ass handed to me by a trash mob. Yes that's right. I had to determine where to get gear that would boost my survivability so I went back to the Fiery Pit. Currently I'm in the process of completing the Elemental Evil Campaign so that I can acquire some appreciable gear. Also, I've been grabbing a couple of blues, or epic quality, that gives me defense and health.

Neverwinter is certainly not the greatest game known to man, but if you like Dungeons and Dragons, this free to play MMO isn't bad. The leveling isn't insanely difficult in terms of other MMO's and the zone only events are amusing. I'm particularly fond of the mushroom event. Yep. I should include in my characters backstory that she is addicted to shrooms. Although, I have good reason for this! That event used to net a player a ton of those old refinement runes used to increase artifact gear or companion stats. I can't think of other zone events like that which net you the same runes. I have no idea if those things still drop from that event. I shall have to investigate. cackles

To sum up my thoughts, I like the changes to the game. I would love to see a way to get at least 20 slot bags without needing to convert gold to zen (real world money). Even in other MMO's players can get at least a respectable bag without needing to fork over cash. But such is the free to play model.

What do you think about MMOs? What are your top favorites and why do you like them? My top three list consists of Guild Wars 2 (In a move that shocks no one), Secret World Legends, and Neverwinter.

Until next time!

Article by Susan N.

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Dissidia Final Fantasy NT - PS4 Review

I think of this game as Final Fanta-service.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT certainly looks and sound the part, with some gorgeous visuals, fantastic music and some pretty solid progression hooks early on. However, the more time I spent with the game, the more I began to realize that Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is fun, but it is sadly less about substance and more about style.

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Crest - PC Review

Eat Create Sleep have created an interesting Real Time Simulator with their creation known as Crest. Put into the shoes of an unknown god, and being really nothing more than a disembodied voice, your job is to try to guide groups of peoples across their lives for either better or worse.

After having taken my role as god for a spin late last year, I wasn’t really sure what else could be added to an experience that was already extremely stable and very well built. The premise is simple. Time moves forward whether you like it or not and it’s up to you as to how well you wish to guide your people forward. I say up to you as honestly, with a test, if you just let people do what they want to do they’ll go on for a quite a while, but people being people, you’ll soon have no one left if they are left to their own devices.

So as a disembodied voice you’ll gain access to runes over time in which you’ll be able to make declarations to those that live below. Eating, producing, collective, feeding, trading among the young, the old and the animals in between. Suggestions, as they are not commands, come in the form of People living in the desert Eat Antelope. Young People Produce Children. Old People living in the desert migrate to the coast. There are a good variety of suggestions but not every suggestion will be well received by those living below.

Now like all spoken words there’s a memory that comes along with it. After a length of time people will forget what was said and possibly go back to what they used to do or if they ignored it in the first place, not care. As a new addition to the experience, and one that I found to be a really good one, is that it is now possible to use the influence of your spoken words in order to keep a suggestion up longer. In essence you could keep certain ones up infinitely as the points required to extend the length are shorter than the points required to initially speak it so even if you keep extending it you’ll be spending less points in the long run.

All this said, Crest may not be for everyone and may cater to more of a niche crowd than a wide spread one. I enjoyed my time with it as it’s a different experience to sit back and think about what I should be suggesting instead of poking or prodding those down below into action like a game of Civilizations, Heroes of Might and Magic or StarCraft.

Overall Crest is a fascinating and relaxing experience because of its much more hands off approach. Eat Create Sleep have created something that I know that I will personally remember for some time because of the unique direction that was taken.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Eat Create Sleep
Publisher(s):
Eat Create Sleep
Genre(s):
Simulation
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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