Category Archives: 8 Star Games

NFL Rivals Review

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It was finally time to check out another sports mobile title. NFL Rivals looked pretty fun and I gotta say that my hunch was spot on this time. The gameplay is really smooth and it’s a lot like playing Madden itself. The game has an impressive amount of modes to play through as well so it is definitely not lacking in content. It can take a while to get to the challenging parts though as the whole intro is about giving you more and more stuff every minute. It feels like you will have to play for many hours before you get out of the new player phase and really get to have a blast out there.

You first have to set up your team with the free cards that you get. Then you go through a bit of a tutorial as you play through a lot of game moments and eventually you start with the online battles and season mode. You will get tons of rewards as you play and you use those to supercharge your team all the way through. Keep that going and you’ll have a superstar team in no time. You fully play offense in this game as defense is totally simulated. I’m definitely cool with that, I think defense is a lot harder to code and generally speaking it’s not as fun anyway. Why play defense when you can play offense right?

It’s all touchpad controlled of course so the main plays you can call will be passing ones. When you hike the ball, you watch where the players are going and then hold down on the screen. This will slow down time for a few moments while you make a decision. Hold the screen for too long and time will resume though so keep that in mind. You also can run the ball but often times it just doesn’t seem to be as worth it. It will work sometimes and not other times. You just have less control over what is going on when running vs passing. When you pass, 9/10 times if it doesn’t go right it’s because you made a mistake.

You can also punt although I didn’t do that at all during the game. There is also the field goals and those are fun while also being reasonably difficult. The meter can really speed up on you and then you’re absolutely left in a rough spot. In most cases you should go for it unless you’re really close to the goal and are confident in your field goal skills. I’d recommend practicing on them during blowout wins where it doesn’t matter if you make the shot or not. That’s how I would practice at least.

Each game is pretty fun as you receive your rewards and the matches are also pretty fast since you’re only playing offense. You can easily fit in a bunch during a small play session and that’s the right approach for any mobile game. Ideally these are games you will be playing when you have little chunks of available time so you definitely don’t have the freedom for long battles. After all at that point you would probably just be playing the console version of Madden right?

This game gives you near infinite replay value and a lot of fun along the way. I don’t see what more they could really add to a Football game to make it even better so this one definitely stands near the top. Additionally there is even a way to make a little money on it but I stress the “Little” in this so don’t download the game in hopes of making money. It’s more like you might make a few dollars after playing through the game a whole lot. So it’s a fun bonus but not something that you should have as an actual incentive.

The graphics are pretty good here. I’m not particularly surprised though, mobile games often look really good. The amount of polish that goes into them is always really impressive. They definitely make an investment on games like this and the big ones really pay off. This would definitely be an example of a winning title. They even have guilds and such to support your teammates. I could see myself sticking with this game long term if I had found out about it much sooner. At this point my main mobile spot is really taken up by Pokemon Go but otherwise this one would be a contender. It’s just that Pokemon Go is simply too good. Maybe Madden will one day find a way to catch up to Pokemon but I’m not sure if that would even be possible.

Overall, NFL Rivals is a game that I would highly recommend. The gameplay is well thought out and while the sheer amount of content can be a little overwhelming at times, I would say that game’s menus are handled in a very logical manner. It helps to mitigate how vast the game feels and let you take it one mode at a time. Yes, definitely no issues there. If you don’t play this game then you will really be missing out. Don’t let that happen to you and download the game asap!

Overall 8/10

Metroid Dread Review

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It’s time to finally check out Metroid Dread. That game was definitely out for quite a while and got good reviews so I knew it was about time that I took the plunge. I can tell you this, the game definitely lives up to the hype. In fact I would say it is the best Metroid game in the franchise. The climax is super cinematic and the combat is also a lot of fun. You really get to use a larger variety of abilities than in other Metroid titles and it doesn’t hold back on graphics or soundtrack. Prepare yourself for a difficult but very satisfying game.

The game starts with a brief recap to Metroid Fusion and then Samus has to head to a planet that is having some trouble. Unfortunately this was a trap. She is quickly defeated by a powerful being known as Raven Beak and she wakes up at the bottom of the planet with most of her abilities being sealed away. She is suffering from something called physical amnesia. She needs to find a way off the planet and then blow it up because if Raven Claw and his X viruses get off the planet then the whole universe will be in trouble. Will she be able to escape?

Right away the game lives up to its title as the main theme is really dark and foreboding. I’ve been listening to it a lot on Youtube after completing the game and it really holds up. It’s a super memorable track and it’s going to be hard for any Samus theme to beat this one. The various boss/level themes are also really solid so I was quite impressed with the soundtrack. Then we have the graphics which are looking real sharp as well. The colors are on point and the cinematics keep up the good work. There are no weak points in the visuals.

The game’s length is a bit on the short side as I beat it in under 7 hours but there are definitely more areas to explore through. All though not as much as in other games as most of the maps quickly get locked as you proceed through the game. So for the most part you can’t do any backtracking until you’re really near the end of the game. It’s hard to time this as well because then you quickly enter the land of no return for the climax so you could very well find yourself at a point where you don’t get to explore much at all.

The game is designed in a way where you can certainly still win even without all the extra energy tanks, it’ll just be more difficult. You have less room for error here so you better work on memorizing the enemy attack patterns. It took me some time for a few of the bosses but just keep going at it and you’ll be okay. This is a very appropriate measure of difficulty where nobody can accuse the game of being too easy but at the same time it’s not insanely difficult. You have the tools at your disposal to win the matches when it counts.

The key gameplay mechanic here is the parry system. You have to use that in order to block the stronger moves that the enemies use and then counter with some free shots from your end. If you nail every counter then you will definitely win but the window of time can be short so it does come down to your overall reaction times. There are also unblockable attacks so you have to be able to quickly notice when they’re coming and dodge instead. If you are too slow then you will be in trouble.

A lot of the boss battles are in fairly open environments which is fun because your movement is not limited. It also means that when you lose, you know that you could have done something different. There are 7 hunters after you as well so you have to constantly be running around them and evading until you get your super laser to finish them off. These chases are really intense and some of the best parts of the title. Probably the best aside from the final boss himself.

Raven Claw will also go down as one of the all time greatest Metroid villains. That guy was really solid. As always Samus is a great heroine as well. Someone who can make snap decisions without hesitating like when she blasts one of the villains near the end. She never gives up. As a whole the gameplay is definitely a lot of fun and in terms of gameplay design, the Metroidvania aspects weren’t bad.

The map could have been better though. It’s a little too cluttered and you can’t really filter it. For example I think you should not see collectibles that you’ve already obtained on the map. It just takes up space and looks misleading. At least make it a different color right? If the map were easier to read then that would make things easier instead of having to check it over and over again. It could be a lot worse though as the game at least usually makes it pretty clear where you should be going. So I give it a lot of props there.

Aside from trying to beat the game even quicker to get special endings, there is also a hard mode and a boss rush mode that you unlock. I’m sure those are fun modes to check out and hopefully you would get some kind of a special reward for completing them. Hard mode must be absolutely unforgiving too so I wonder how the bosses would go there. Maybe the reaction times for the parry are even more narrow which would really put you in a tough spot. As it is I could only parry the hunters once in a while because they are so unpredictable. Having reaction times that good is definitely a rarity.

Overall, Metroid Dread is definitely a great game. One of those titles that reminds you Nintendo can still churn out an intense title when they feel like it. It may be a little more rare than you would like but that’s just how it goes sometimes. I eagerly look forward to seeing if Prime 4 will be able to maintain this intensity. I still have yet to play Prime 2 and Prime 3 so you can bet that I will work on correcting that sooner than later. In the meantime, this is a good title to tide you over.

Overall 8/10

DC Heroes United Review

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Having fun yet? That’s what you’re always supposed to think about when playing a mobile game. A console game can get away with being boring for a few hours but a mobile game needs to click immediately or you’re just gonna uninstall it. There are too many alternatives to find yourself settling for anything. At least if you ask me that would not be worth it. Fortunately this one is really good and easily one of the best mobile games that I’ve played.

DC Heroes United uses the same gameplay style as Vampire Survivor. You have to try and survive for 10 minutes while the field is completely overrun by monsters. Mini bosses show up every 3 minutes while one big boss shows up at the halfway point and at 10 minutes. You have to defeat them in order to clear the stage. Each stage has 3 difficulty levels and 3 missions per level. In order to unlock the next stage you need to beat all 3 missions on the first difficulty level and then just survive 10 minutes on the second level. It’s definitely nothing too crazy in terms of requirements. I would recommend completing as many missions as possible though because the rewards are worth it.

The game feels like a bit of a mystery though because it feels like nobody is playing it. I’ve tried checking online to see any activity and people mainly just talk about the episodes. One guy started writing a guide but then his phone stopped being supported and he vanished. The company itself doesn’t really try to help either in terms of getting the word out. I’m sure they’re busy but showing the game off would help with improving the playerbase. The whole thing just feels like a black box the whole time. There isn’t even any kind of leaderboard system to know how many people are keeping up with you. It just becomes a large scale mystery or if the other players are robots or not. There are technically a lot of people voting on the episode choices since I spend a few hundred picks and still get beaten badly but how legit are those votes? With 0 transparency it’s hard to say.

The ability to watch all of the episodes on the app is pretty cool. I’ve seen all the episodes so far but I’ll go into that on a TV show review once it’s done. For the game, I naturally like the gameplay since I love this style. That said, it does have a bit of a balancing issue. I’ve completed all of the previous levels and almost all of the missions but I die almost instantly on the latest level. This doesn’t make sense because I’m level 90 out of a possible 100. That just seems like a crazy amount of power creep to me. I’ve been wondering how the game will deal with that and it’s finally reached this point. It will be interesting to see what the devs do because they have put themselves into a bit of a hole here.

I think maybe they need more customization and methods of attack to spice things up. Give us more to use our resources on and more stages or modes to play in. The game is seriously lacking in content right now. The fact that I’m already in “Endgame” definitely says a whole lot. I know the show is the main priority which is why the mobile game doesn’t have any kind of a story mode but in theory the money would be made through the game so you need to make it worth your while. The game has some absolutely insane prices for the item packs and gems in the game. I would never even consider it but even the whales will need some reason to buy it.

At the time of writing this review I have already cleared well over half of the game’s entire accomplishments. So not only am I done with all of the stages except the last one, unlocked all the characters, own legendary armor for all types, but even the career accomplishments are nearly done. The game needs to add some things in quick or I might literally 100% the game at some point the way I did with Miraculous Ladybug. It’s fun to complete a game but for mobile titles the point is to usually not have an ending. You’re not supposed to give the player a reason to ever put the game down.

The soundtrack is pretty nonexistent. Definitely not a strength for the title. The graphics are pretty decent. The game isn’t trying to do anything fancy though so the character models are small but I’ll take what I can get. This is really a game about having fun surviving and so you don’t need a whole lot of processing power for that. This title still doesn’t match Vampire Survivor on pretty much anything but I am glad that the genre is getting more games because it really has a whole lot of potential.

Overall, This game is still relatively new. You can bet that they will be adding more characters and stages but I’m hoping they add them sooner than later. A mobile game needs to avoid having large droughts and the fact that this game has already done the same event 3 times is concerning. I don’t think they thought things through here. The two biggest things the game could do would be to start adding content fast and to add some kind of leaderboard system. We need an interactive part to the game to get everyone’s competitive spirits going. Once we all can see who is ahead of us, it’ll be a whole lot more exciting.

Overall 8/10

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Review

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After all these years I finally got to play through the legendary Lightning Returns game. I remember this one being pretty controversial when it came out and after playing it through I can see why that is the case. In a lot of ways it does invalidate parts of the first two games as well as putting the characters through a ton of grief for a very long time. Even with a reasonably happy ending….although a very mixed one, it’s not going to erase those memories. It is an epic story though and one that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

We start off in the future where the world is coming to an end. In 7 days it shall be no more. So the god of the multiverse awakens Lightning to be reborn as his herald. She is to save as many worthy souls as possible by achieving their heart’s desires. Then those survivors will make up the citizens of the new world and Lightning will rule alongside him as a goddess. She only agrees to help in exchange for bringing her sister back to life. This god agrees but is he really being straight forward with her? That remains to be seen.

The whole 7 days thing may make you a bit nervous and I’m afraid that your fears would be well founded. This game uses a day system similar to Pikmin. The minutes go by in real time as one second is roughly equivalent to one minute. As a result the days go by quickly. You have to complete 5 main quests within the 7 day period. This is a true open world game so you can do the quests in any order except for the 5th quest which requires you to complete half of quest 4 first. You can use your time abilities to freeze time temporarily but at the cost of your EP. This is a big deal because the EP is how you use your most powerful abilities within the game and you can’t actively gain any items to recover it. (You can get a 1-2 ethers in the game but that’s it. You can only recover it by defeating enemies or going forward to the next day. Of course with the enemies you typically recover EP very slowly and often times you will lose more time than it is worth.

If you are not able to beat the quests within the 7 days then you go back to the beginning of the game and get to start over. You do keep your stats and equipment (minus key items) though which is handy. Still, you lose all story and mission progress. I was not able to beat the game on my first try so I did have to go back and beat the game again. This time the final boss was not too bad, the Ultima weapon is an absolute must though. I was able to beat him with just 2 EP since I was rushing but with the full 9 set it would have been really easy without a doubt. Of course if you tell anybody that they have to play the game twice they’re going to give you a look.

It’s the one thing keeping this game from being an easy 9. I just can’t support the day system because it forces you to rush a lot. This is a pretty big game with a lot of content and it’s annoying having to skip so many quests and things to do. It doesn’t feel like good game design even if that is the purpose of the overall plot. Completing a lot of side quests can increase the 7 days to 13 but even then it’s ultimately not going to be enough to do everything unless you plan it perfectly with a guide or something. That’s really your only bet.

So that was unfortunate. The story is really interesting like I said before though. I feel bad for the characters as some had to live for centuries in the worst timeline imaginable but at least the ending itself finally brings back some hope. It’s a very depressing game in a lot of ways as we see how futile the first two games were. That is still a little hard to come to terms with but I give this game a lot of credit for really going there. It did not pull any punches at all as the heroes really had to contend with what happened. We also got a ton of homages and references to the first two games which was nice. It helped to tie this all together as a full trilogy.

Meanwhile the graphics are really good as you would expect. All of the characters look solid and I definitely enjoyed the special effects. The full cinematics are all really good and of course the soundtrack is on point too. I wouldn’t say it beats the original 13 but you’re bound to find some tunes that you enjoy here. There is a wide variety of tunes after all so the numbers are really in your favor.

The main game took me around 40 hours counting both playthroughs so there’s a lot of content here. Technically speaking it would be one of the quickest Final Fantasy titles if you were to speed run through this but I feel like most people are going to need 2 playthroughs to actually save the world. Having those extra stats from two runs is just so important since the final boss has 4 different phases and hits like a tank. You also have a hard cap of 12 recovery items so it’s not like you can just store a bunch of potions either. The game is made so that you have to make a whole lot of difficult choices.

Finally I’ll also give the game some credit for having multiple paths for several quests. For example on your first playthrough you tend to have to follow the rules. There are some stealth missions and you have to be careful not to get caught or you’re quickly murdered by the cult followers. On the second playthrough I just went ahead and attacked them all and it worked out since my stats were so high. I was breezing through everybody and you really feel like a goddess in that second playthrough.

Overall, Lightning Returns is controversial and rightfully so. The game played around with some mechanics that weren’t quite winners like the day system. The fact that Lightning is by herself for the whole game is also quite rare for an RPG. Usually you would definitely be expecting to have had a full crew of fighters with you. instead you have tons of costumes you can access which all have different powers. It’s fun and unique but I do ultimately prefer having a full squad. Ultimately this is a great game even with the limitations though and I would recommend checking it out.

Overall 8/10

Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 Review

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It’s time for the next adventure in the Gunvolt series and this game definitely changes things up quite a bit. A new cast of characters, new plot direction, change in gameplay, etc. You name it and this game has got it. I appreciate their trying to reinvent the series and while I prefer the first two games, it is pretty close. This one absolutely still holds its own and I’m ready for a 4th game.

The title starts off many decades into the future with a new main character called Kirin. She works for a group that works with the main villain group from the first game. Turns out that while corporate is mainly evil, they are humanity’s only protector in the future. She ends up freeing Gunvolt from his seal and now he must help her take down all of the awakened dragons. The powers have been going on a rampage at this point and have to be stopped. Do they really have the abilities to handle this?

The story involves seeing a lot of familiar faces and also gives Gunvolt a chance to see the results of his actions. It’s not all good and the characters remind him of this a whole lot but he did his best. The guy can’t see the future so for the record I blame him for exactly 0% of this. He stopped the villains and saved the day. Characters particularly blame him for risking the whole world to save his friend but that was the correct decision then and it still is now. That’s the way I see it. I do think that having the evil company from the first game return was a good idea though. From the start it was one of those cases where the guy at the top was evil but it’s not like every employee was. So seeing them bounce back was pretty cool.

Gunvolt is a living legend in this game and one thing I really appreciate is that he’s treated with this respect the whole time. There is never any doubt as to his true abilities. He was the strongest Adept of all time and he is also the strongest dragon. The game even adds a mechanic for this. For the most part you play as Kirin and throw tarot cards to lead yourself to victory. It’s an interesting gimmick as the cards soften up your opponent and then you use your sword as a finishing move. It’s creative and yet at the same time you do miss Gunvolt’s classic Mega Man styled gameplay.

Well that’s where he comes in. Whenever you have your meter at 100 or higher, you can switch places with him and light the stages up using the old gameplay style. Even better, the old style is locked into the super saiyan mode so you have unlimited flight and energy attacks. You can only keep attacking until the meter goes to 0 and then you repeat the process. The meter goes up very quickly though so you will be able to transform again pretty quickly and it’s unlikely that any boss will survive one round anyway.

I didn’t die in any of the levels in this game while I definitely did in the first two so that’s something to consider. The game is definitely easier than the first two but you can always choose to challenge yourself by not playing as Gunvolt. I would argue you should instead enjoy it though and spend your time focusing on getting all of the collectibles. This game has a considerable amount of them and some you will have to get more than once in order to complete your image collection. You will need to get this for the true ending so the more of them you get on your first playthrough the better.

You can also unlock some that you can equip afterwards to make the game even easier. I didn’t really touch the loadout much at all but there is a lot of customization there. So we’ve got the replay value covered. Then you have the graphics which look even more polished than the first two games. They show off by having a snow level to start the game off with and the snow effects occur in the background the whole time as you are playing. That was definitely neat and really visually appealing. I also liked the idea of having a Christmas level since those are very rare. The soundtrack is also really good as always. We have solid lyrical songs and boss music going on here.

I’d like to bring the classic gameplay back for the next game but you definitely can’t call these developers lazy. This is probably the most straight forward game of the trio but when you factor in having to set up and balance a whole new gameplay style, it makes sense that they couldn’t go as crazy on the stages themselves. All of the bosses still have really cool designs and this was the first game to get a full English dub which was awesome. It really gets you even more immersed into the game.

Overall, Gunvolt 3 is definitely a great game and I would recommend checking it out. You’ll definitely feel bad for the main character since things seem to get worse and worse for him in each installment. He has to go through a whole lot of mindgames from the villain side on this one but he never gives up and that’s the important thing. It feels like there is still a whole lot they can do with the series so I hope they keep going with it. We need more futuristic sci-fi type games like this one. It’s always such a terrific atmosphere to be playing in.

Overall 8/10

Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack Review

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It’s time to finally take a look at the Gunvolt series. I remember always seeing this one around but I never got to try it back in the day. Well now was my chance and I can definitely say that the games hold up. They are great adventures with a solid story and really good gameplay. You’ll feel bad for Gunvolt himself as the poor guy always gets a rough ending but you will be on the edge of your seat each time.

In the first game, Gunvolt decides to quit the resistance group he was a part of because they wanted to murder a little girl. Yes the girl has dangerous abilities that could doom the planet but she’s just a kid. So he goes rogue with her and becomes a mercenary for hire. This quickly becomes a job where he will have to save the world though. Will his abilities be enough to defeat all of the other metahumans running around? In this world just about everybody has some kind of ability after all, but Gunvolt’s is one of the strongest.

It’s a good setup here and I like the futuristic environment. I would say it does feel like there wasn’t much point in Gunvolt leaving the group since they end up hiring him for every level anyway but I was glad he stuck to his principles. The gameplay is a classic 2D Mega Man style but moving at a faster pace. You’re pretty much always dashing around the map and blasting away at the enemies. The main difference here compared to a classic Mega Man title is your energy barrier. While it is up, no attack can harm you. You can also shoot while having the barrier up but your attacks will be much weaker. If you take the barrier down to strengthen your attacks then you take a risk.

It’s a pretty cool system and also a way to naturally modify difficulty. If you aren’t too sure of yourself then you can keep the barrier up at all times and just beat the level with a terrible time score. If you feel like you know the enemy then you can dash through and win with record times to really show off what you can do. I died a few times here and there myself. I wouldn’t say that this is a very hard game but the climax really doesn’t hold back. I don’t expect very many people will beat the final boss on their first shot.

The game also has clever ways around the barrier aspect without cheating like having an attack just break it. Yes, there are a small handful of attacks that can pierce the barrier but the final boss also has a wind attack to try and make you fall. If you fall, you die rather than respawning. So then you go all the way back to before the boss battle. Likewise the final phase of the boss is about speed so you have to defeat it before the walls close in on you. That means you have to remove the barrier and take your chances.

Just very clever gameplay all around here and each stage had its own gimmick. It made for a lot of great variety and made the game stick out. Sometimes you are messing with gravity, slipping with ice, going through walls, etc. So you’ve got to adjust and the variety also just shows a nice level of development time here. Many games have much lazier levels than that. As for the bosses, they are all different and unique so you have to tackle them in different ways. I was really impressed with it.

Then the graphics are solid as you would expect. It’s a very flashy game and the sprites look good. The art illustrations that we get are all on point and I also enjoyed the soundtrack. The lyrical songs were really good and the gimmick of your partner saving you with a song is pretty good. I also liked the general boss battles. The game even has a good amount of replay value as you have to go back and get all of the gems in order to unlock the true ending. There aren’t a ton of stages with gems so that won’t take super long but every bit helps. It’s also not a crazy requirement so you don’t feel like the game is really stalling you too hard.

After that we have the second game where they add even more content. After the tragic events of the first game, Gunvolt is doing his best to move on. He’s made some new friends and has gone back to taking on requests and helping out. Unfortunately a new group of villains show up and they steal most of the life force from his best friend. Gunvolt must now take them all down. Meanwhile there is a second story mode for the rival whose sister is abducted by these villains. He always knew that the Adepts (Metahumans) were evil and this proves it. He will destroy them all, including Gunvolt.

I gotta say this guy is really hype. His name’s Cogen in the Dub but in the subbed dialogue they always call him Akira or at least it sounds like that. Either way I liked him a lot in both games because he is a normal human going up against these crazy fighters. That takes a lot of guts and skills. It’s hard not to root for an underdog like that right? His style of gameplay is also way different. You have to use a little bot as additional lasers as you zip around. You can auto parry up to 3 attacks but then you have to recharge.

It’s the same meter as your super attacks though so you have to choose between attacking and dodging at all times. As a result I would say his gameplay is noticeably harder than Gunvolt’s. Meanwhile Gunvolt’s gameplay is mainly unchanged but the game finds more clever ways around his barrier. The final secret boss is also fun because you have to go up against a foe who has your barrier while yours is completely powered down by the super attacks. Now that was a really tough boss and it took me a whole lot of tries.

I think it’s safe to say that they amped the difficulty up on this one. Doubling the story content was also awesome. It may be a bit of a stretch having to beat the game 4 times in order to see all endings though. I think they could have added the final story as an extra level rather than having to replay the long boss rush level each time. The graphics look as good as always with it being very shiny and clear the whole time. I would say it probably looks a bit better than the first although they are very close. There may be more illustrations this time around.

The soundtrack is also great as always and this time we have more songs. The battle by the end is really hype and the game also does a good job of being very cinematic. For example at one point you are forced to lose so that you can get up with a super form in a very Shonen Jump type of moment. The game is an all around great package as you would expect.

Overall, Azure Striker Gunvolt is an excellent series and I highly recommend picking these two games up. You’ve got a good value when you have both games here and you don’t want to miss out on this sage. It would be something that you would absolutely regret the whole time. I’ll be reviewing the third game shortly so you can definitely expect to see that soon. Hopefully the franchise keeps on going because I could play games like this all day.

Overall 8/10

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor Review

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It’s time for the big sequel at long last. Jedi Survivor definitely took a while to come out but at the same time it took me a while to get it as well. It definitely does a great job of following up on the first title. The gameplay is still top notch with a really well developed combat system and way to get stronger. My one qualm would be that it feels like the Force abilities were all nerfed rather hard. There is virtually no reason to use it at all here as you can really just keep on surviving with lightsaber abilities and beat the enemies a lot quicker. Still, it’s possible there were some force strategies that I didn’t get to try which would have been a lot more useful.

The story starts a few years acter the first game with the heroes all splitting up to go their own ways. Cal is pretty upset because he feels like they all should have kept on fighting the Empire alongside him. Instead one created a bar, one went off to focus on data gathering, another to travel the universe, etc. Cal won’t give up though and continues to attack base after base but doesn’t seem to be making much of an impact. Perhaps it is all hopeless. A new recruit named Bode shows up though and has the old fire that Cal once did. Together perhaps they can meet up with the old members and start fighting again. Additionally, an ex Jedi is on the loose and has to be stopped before he causes some real damage.

There’s a lot going on with the story and you can definitely sympathize with Cal not seeing much in the way of results. That is how the main series tends to be as well. I still remember film 7 basically erasing films 4-6 in the intro with the Empire suddenly being back. The heroes need better logistical support or something because when it comes to the combat they really aren’t doing much at all. Even when they destroy thousands of storm troopers, new ones are just created. The Sith are very few in number but just seem to stick around. It really is hopeless to an extent.

The never ending fight against endless hordes makes for good gameplay though. It’s a bit of a shame that we don’t unlock the dark side until the final chapter of the game in this title. It feels great to be mowing through hundreds and hundreds of troopers the whole time. For the most part your level of power is lower so you won’t be doing that until the end. There is also one level where you play as another character and can one shot everybody which is pretty fun. I get why balance wise they can’t do that all the time but it really is a tremendously good way to have a change of pace.

The graphics are really good like I mentioned before. The lightsaber and general special effects all stand out on a pretty high level. The soundtrack is also good although I wouldn’t say there are any memorable tracks. They at least fit the moment while you are playing the game. The base game is close to 20 hours which is really solid and getting all of the collectibles and such will certainly extend the playthrough by a great deal.

The collectibles are generally not hidden too much which is good for at least getting a solid amount during the normal campaign. There are plenty of areas you don’t need to travel in during the story that will probably have a bunch of extra things to get. There are also a lot of side quests to go through and I didn’t actually end up doing any of them while playing through the game. So you can really see that the replay value is high here. There is a whole lot to add to your experience.

Also the parry system is still a lot of fun. You really have to have fast reaction times though because there are so many attacks which cannot be parried. Those tend to really be a hassle to deal with. Especially when they intermix inside of a combo and throw off your timing. I would just end up brute forcing my way through a bunch of the enemies as I got to the later parts of the game. It was easier than waiting for the parry. If you go for this strategy, just make sure to roll a lot. That’s the safest way to dodge an attack if you aren’t going to actively parry.

The game is reasonably difficult so you can definitely be assured that you will have to really concentrate on this one. Sometimes running past an enemy will not be worth it since they will then swarm you from all sides. Also the save points have a fun gimmick where if you choose to rest then all of the enemies you defeated will respawn. So you definitely want to be strategic about how and when you rest. Do it at the wrong time and you are effectively redoing all of the progress that you just made. Something to keep in mind. Also it’s why you should search through as many chests as possible. You should find at least 4 full life power ups during the game and they are permanent. So when you revive each time it’s like you have 5 health bars instead of 2. The game would have been a whole lot harder without those.

Overall, Jedi Survivor is a great game around the board. From the combat to the graphics, soundtrack, etc there is no area where the game is lacking. The length is good and there is a lot of replay value. You will definitely be glad that they decided to continue the series all the way through. There is definitely room for another game I’d say although I’m not sure how close they are to catching up to another big story point. This era with the Jedi is already jam packed but it’s also the most fun era so I get why you want to keep the stories here. It would be nice to see Cal fight Vader next time although Cal may need some serious upgrades first.

Overall 8/10

Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition Review

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This is one of those games where the title is absolutely legendary. I’ve heard of this game for so long but didn’t know anything about it. Well, I finally got to play through the game and it’s definitely a great title. It actually even managed to make taking pictures fun. The game ends up feeling a bit short but it really does set up the sequel well so I’m definitely eager to see where the story goes. A lot of potential here.

The game follows a reporter named Jade who lives on a planet that is constantly terrorized by aliens. She ends up joining the resistance and they aim to let the public know just how evil these aliens are. Most people are seriously brainwashed at this point so it won’t be easy but that’s their goal. In order to turn public sentiment to their side they will definitely need a lot of photos and evidence though. Is Jade up to the task?

The core gameplay is that of a 3D platformer. You can jump and roll but also smash away at opponents with your staff. Then a big part of the gameplay involves your camera for taking pictures of evidence against the villains or also for snapping photos of animals. Every 10 animals gets you a new pearl so you want to snap away at every one that you pass. You need a lot of pearls in the game in order to beat the game after all so you don’t want to miss any. The game is generous with giving you a lot of these as you play through but even then I still did need to beat all of the looter chases and the 2 races in order to get enough to beat the game.

The more pearls you find naturally, the less grinding you will have to do in the end. That’s always something worth considering here. It’s also fun because the side missions tend to switch up the gameplay a bit by having you use the various vehicles. By the end of the game you will have both a boat and an aerial vehicle so you will want to get used to using them both. Nothing beats the classic running around and swinging at enemies of course but every gameplay style has its moments here.

You also have various teammates who will show up to help for puzzles. Often times you will need to send one away to step on a platform or something like that while you take care of business. The main thing to remember is that they have very small health bars so you want to protect them as much as possible. If they take the wrong kind of hit then they’ll go down and you warp back to the last save point.

Fortunately that’s where the quality of life comes in. The save points are very close to each other and the game has constant auto saves. Losing a life never makes you lose a significant amount of progress which is nice. It’s especially handy because the espionage sections are actually really difficult. You need proper planning there and sometimes I even had to rely on a bit of good ole fashioned RNG like when I fell off a level and got back up but the enemy forgot about me so I landed the KO.

The combat is generally easier but the final boss was challenging. He took me down to a last hit scenario so I only barely defeated him. That could have easily gone sideways but it’s good for a final boss to be tough like that. He really tested my reaction times and everything. Having to fight while the controls were inverted was also a nice touch.

I did fall into two glitches during the game but at least they weren’t major. In one of them an enemy got stuck in a wall while holding the pearl so I had to restart and another time a gate closed while I was halfway through it. Again the auto saves come in clutch here because then I only lost like 2 seconds max. Really nothing to worry about at all in the grand scheme of things.

The graphics are definitely solid. The character designs are on point and there is a lot of variety here. The special effects when blowing up enemies are good and the cinematics go smoothly. The soundtrack is also good although it’s definitely more on the low key side. I can’t say that I would really be looking up any of the tunes on Youtube but they worked well enough within the game.

In terms of replay value, you can definitely aim for the Platinum trophy. I haven’t looked this up yet so I don’t know how hard it would be to obtain that but it will definitely add some time to your playthrough. The main campaign is around 7-10 hours so you’re in the double digits either way which is always the important part. Hopefully the sequel can maybe be a tad longer and keeps in the smooth picture aspect. There aren’t many games that are able to seamlessly add in the photo features without it being super forced or annoying so the game gets big kudos there.

Overall, Beyond Good & Evil is a game that mixed in a lot of classic combat with espionage while even fitting in a bit of a cosmic plot by the end. No way you can play through the whole game without admiring that. The sequel is certainly high up on my radar now and I would definitely recommend picking this title up. The story has aged very well and the overall game design was really on point. Some of the puzzles can get a little tricky and some mazes like the slaughterhouse can really be intense but there is always a fair answer to them. The game has a great amount of quality of life features here which is the cherry on top. You don’t want to miss out on this one.

Overall 8/10

Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream Review

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It’s time to enter the world of Sword Art Online for the ultimate crossover hype! Lets just say this is one of those games that you can’t put down. It’s a really great experience that keeps you at the edge of your seats. The story may be shorter than the average game in the franchise but the crossover appeal more than makes up for that. It’s just such a good story and this is what I would have liked to have seen for Jump Force, the latest Super Smash, Marvel vs Capcom, etc. This game understands what people want to see in crossovers like this, which is a lot of unique character interactions.

The story begins with Kirito and his friends taking down some monsters and having fun in ALO. One thing that doesn’t make sense though is how Quinella is hanging out with the crew and Kirito doesn’t question this. Well, it turns out this is because the various worlds have all been warped and the characters have had their memories sealed. This didn’t work on Quinella since she is generally too powerful for any hax and she wakes Kirito up. The two of them must now wake everyone up and figure out exactly what is going on here. It’s also not just the heroes who have been awaken but the villains as well. Hopefully they are willing to play ball.

Now this is the one part of the story that will probably have you giving it the side glance just a bit. The odds of someone like Death Gun working with the heroes seems slim to none. Additionally some villains just deserve to get beat up the whole time like Oberon. Some villains make sense for the redemption arc like Heathcliff but that’s not the case for the majority. I suppose at best you could say this just works because the villains know they would be absolutely crushed if they try anything. It’s not the most convincing argument but it’s the best that I’ve got.

The graphics were really solid with this one. The character designs even felt a bit more light novel inspired which works well. It’s a very colorful game and they really nailed the feeling of seeing all of the different game environments mesh into one. Meanwhile the soundtrack is pretty fun as well. I will admit I was hoping for a lyrical song at the end though since the series is so well known for that. It was pretty surprising now to have that included in some fashion. The grand finale still felt really epic with all of the characters getting their hype dialogue but this could have really helped to push it over the edge.

Even with a fairly nice sized story mode, the game’s content is focused on the online. So that’s where most of the modes are and you will probably want to get the PS+ so you can really experience it. A large number of the trophies are connected to that as well so I’m not even going to get close to obtaining the platinum without it. Playing with friends and tackling the super bosses does sound like a good deal of fun though. It’s definitely an added bonus. There isn’t really any offline content outside of the story mode so you should keep that in mind in terms of replay value.

After you beat the game, you can aim to get a bunch of S ranks I suppose. The trophy related to that is for getting half of them so that doesn’t sound too bad to me. I got a few S ranks here and there and they would probably be even easier when replaying the levels since your characters are a lot stronger. Down the road that is the trophy I would aim for since it actually feels really achieveable. I won’t call it super easy or anything like that and it will take some time though.

While the gameplay can be a little slippery, I appreciate that each character plays in a way that is accurate to their game. The GGO characters have machine guns, zoom in, and all of the usual controls associated with a shooting game. the ALO players can fly and zip through the air which is really cool, etc. Then each character has their unique skills, a number of special attacks and more. The game absolutely put the effort in and I definitely appreciate that. This did feel like a fun anniversary treat for the fans and I hope we do get more Sword Art Online games. There are endless possibilities for a fun online environment like this so I don’t see why you would ever really need to stop. The days of adventuring with Kirito must go on!

Overall, This was an absolutely hype game all the way through. It’s probably my favorite of the Sword Art Onlines. Having this original story was a lot of fun and while the combat itself may not be the most advanced, I can see how they went with the more arcade style for online. This way anyone can just jump in and it’s easier to coordinate everybody. The large scale of this is fun and the story mode does work as a good intro to the online. Next time there is a free PS+ weekend I’ll definitely check it out even if just to get a few more trophies in there.

Overall 8/10

Vampire Survivors Review

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Now here is a game that takes me back. I’ve never played it before but I used to see it on streams all the time and it looked like a lot of fun. I like the idea of a survival game like this where you are surrounded by never ending legions of enemies. You really have a lot of decisions to make each time with the power ups and win or lose, it feels like it was all on you. It’s also a unique title that you can completely play with just one hand which is also cool. You could be texting while playing, watching a tv show, reading a book, etc. You’ll probably die quickly if you’re too distracted but it’s just such a novel idea.

So like I said, the idea is to survive here. You start out with a whip or an energy blast scepter. (You can buy other characters with your gold) When the game starts, there are only some enemies at first. You blast them and level up which lets you upgrade your default weapon, select a new one, or upgrade one of your other weapons. As the levels up continue, you have to make hard decisions. Do you boost all your attacks by 10%, unlock a 4th weapon or strengthen the original? I would say a good thing to do is try and craft a strategy. Pick the build you want to create based on what you start with. Like I love having a scepter/garlic build because it lets me shoot tons of energy blasts while I also have the garlic to protect me up close. This is the strategy that finally let me survive the full 30 minutes and effectively beat the game. That being said, there is no guarantee that I get the garlic option.

It’s why you can’t be too stubborn about the build you want. If the garlic never comes up, you will have to pick something else up and if garlic shows up too late in the game then it might not even be worth picking. A level 1 garlic won’t be doing much once you’re already level 20 after all. So definitely keep that in mind. It’s also fun to be experimenting with all kinds of different decks anyway. That’s how you really have a lot of fun. The game will take you a very long time to complete anyway. I finally made it to the 30 minute mark where I fought the super demon who destroys you in one hit. I heard there is actually a way to get past him which sounds crazy but I would consider that to be the end of the game.

Of course if you own the game and want to continue then this is amazing because it adds a ton of replay value. You will have to really trin properly there. Fortunately this is a Rogue title which means that you will gradually get stronger in every playthrough. While you fight off the legions, you want to grab as many coins as possible since that is how you unlock more characters and permanent upgrades. So if you just play long enough, you’ll eventually be starting off with 10% increases in damage, speed, and exp. Things like that make a massive amount of difference the more that you play. Personally I really like the EXP one. That’s how I made it to level 50 on the run where I finally survived the 30 minutes. Without that I would have definitely died earlier.

One big thing to remember during gameplay is to always defeat the sparkling enemies or any enemy that looks very different from the others. Why? Because those guys will drop treasure chests which always have at least 100 coins in them. They also drop an extra level up upgrade bonus so you really want that. These enemies are absolutely more durable and can be a royal pain to destroy but they are still worth it 100%. You can’t just think about the current run after all, you have to factor in your future runs and this is where those chests come in handy. So just keep on earning those coins, trust me there are so many power ups that it’ll take ages to get every power up anyway.

The graphics look pretty good. I’m impressed that the game can handle so many enemies on screen at a time even without a bigger budget. There is no lag or anything like that, the game run really smoothly. It’s super nice to see and of course all of the action is clear at all times. So the graphics are good and I also really like the main theme of the game. It’s catchy and definitely fills you with energy right out of the gate. It works perfectly with the gameplay to further enhance the game.

Overall, Vampire Survivors absolutely elevates this genre of game. I haven’t played any other title quite like this one and apparently it got so big that other games like this are named after it as Survivors now. I’d be curious to play more games like this one but I’ve heard that so far there has never been another game even close to this one. That’s a shame but I suppose it would definitely be really hard to stop. The game has a ton of replay value and is incredibly filled with content for the price. This is a game that I could absolutely recommend purchasing even at its normal price. You are bound to have a whole lot of fun with this game and it will be hard to tear yourself away from it. It’s why I say that games with a power up system where you feel yourself getting stronger are absolutely awesome.

Overall 8/10