Tag Archives: Digital

Ball X Pit Review

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I’m a really big fan of roguelike games at this point. As long as there is some way to get stronger while you are playing then I am definitely game. So by all accounts this one would be up my alley. To an extent that is the case and I had a good time but it does feel like the game made a few key missteps. One of them is adding in a gardening/town building mechanic. Lets keep that stuff in Animal Crossing! As far as this game is concerned, I just wanted to dive into the action.

This is essentially an endless runner in terms of gameplay except there is an ending so that’s not quite right. Basically you start off with your baseball that you shoot at enemies automatically. It will bounce off of the enemy based on the angle and then go back to you. You will want to catch the Baseball and then send it right back at the enemies. This will save you a few seconds per throw. As you progress into the level you will get level ups and new powers. They all reset once you lose or complete the level but you keep some permanent stat boosts through the XP that you got at the very end. Each level is around 10-15 minutes in length.

I got to play this game thanks to the Nintendo Game Trial which is a super cool feature. It’s not something they do super often but it’s always great to see and makes a real difference if you are unsure about a game. Or in my case, if it’s something where you can play the game enough to do a review without having to buy it. This game makes sense for a trial since it is virtually endless but without a story there wasn’t a reason for me to keep going. I made sure to eventually beat level 1 after about 15-16 tries and then I was satisfied.

Once you beat a level, you cannot move to the next one until you beat it with a second character which means a lot of rinse and repeat there. Based on the icons for the next levels this would grow each time. So soon you would have to beat the level with 4 characters for example. It’s an interesting mechanic that forces you to try everyone out. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a mechanic be mandatory though.

Let me not make it sound like I’ve played a ton of these though. I’ve played Vampire Survivor and a Justice League mobile game which had the same concept. Both of those were vastly superior to this game though. The movesets were more fun and the games had a lot more variety. It feels like the budget was a bit lower on this one and so the repetition becomes more obvious. It still takes a lot of strategy and memorization though so this game isn’t for the faint of heart.

Yes, you have permanent power ups so eventually you will win without a doubt. That’s the appeal of the genre but how quickly you progress is really up to you and your talents within the game. You’ll gradually see which power ups are worth obtaining and which ones aren’t. There are a lot of different weapon and ability combinations as well and I imagine those you will have to learn through classic trial and error.

So why don’t I like the building aspect? Well for starters it is throwing another grind on top of the main game’s which is already considerable. You have to find logs and stones in order to make houses which allow you to unlock new characters. You then have to play a pinball minigame to break the houses and can only play it once per run. It all just feels like a distraction from the main game. For this genre the most enjoyable part is just getting into the action. The building parts feel a whole lot clunkier.

If you’re going to do it, there shouldn’t be a pinball game. Just let me make the houses and watch them grow over time. That would be so much more satisfying and would just make for a better form of side content in the long run. The main gameplay is pretty fun as it is and the title could stand up with that alone. I would remove the need to beat every stage with every character though. I feel like the game should just put some good rewards to make you want to do that without forcing you into it. Then down the road I would do it and the game wouldn’t feel as repetitive.

The graphics are fairly decent. Nothing as good as the cover art/promotional images for the game which are incredible. Still good though, you won’t lose yourself in all of the explosions or anything like that. The developers clearly have a flair for the dramatic which works well for this kind of title. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though, nothing like Hades. I feel like more Indie games should invest in having a great soundtrack or some customizable music options. It would really help to support the gameplay quite well.

Of course you can’t knock this one for a lack of replay value. The stages being at 10-15 minutes long in length is great for replaying. You will be going through them a lot after all so having the levels be 20+ minutes or anything like that would have been a mistake. This feels like the right amount of time and it’s also clear that the game has hundreds of hours of content in it. If you want to beat everything then it is going to take you an extremely long time to get there. This game gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, I feel like this game is entering a heated market right now with the genre being so popular. It is unfortunately not going to be up to the task of conquering its rivals but I do think this is a fun game. It is a title that I would play a lot more if it was free. If it had a real story, I dare say that I would have purchased it on the spot. Alas that wasn’t meant to be. I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are looking for a fun game to play on the side though. It is the perfect palette cleanser.

Overall 6/10

RWBY Grimm Eclipse Review

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As a big RWBY fan I knew that it was about time that I finally got to play the official game. Granted, it’s fairly low budget and a first test of sorts rather than being the next big game, but I still shelled out the quick $15. It’s a fun game and definitely one that is a lot more fun if you play with multiplayer so you can actually grab most of the trophies. You need to go online for the rest as well, but more on that later.

The basic plot of the game is that an evil scientist is using Grimm for some very nefarious experiments. Even the shady Ozpin states that this guy is too dangerous and we should avoid him. Unfortunately, team RWBY ends up getting trapped on the island with the guy and they must now stop his plans and survive for as long as they can. Does the team have what it takes to stop this guy?

The plot is fairly basic and you’re only told what is happening via voice over from various characters during the chapters. It’s cool that we got some voice over even if there aren’t any actual cutscenes. You’ll really be focusing on the gameplay here above all else. It’s a classic beat em up where you have to defeat all of the enemies in order to move on. You have 3 main forms of attacking. There are the standard attacks, the power attacks, and the ranged attack. Your projectiles are fairly weak, but can be used to stun enemies which is handy for getting a specific trophy or just for buying yourself some time. The standard attacks are nice and fast which you will find yourself using for most of the time. The power attacks deal a lot of damage and are your best bet. You can mix and match both of them for some really good combos which will really make getting through the levels a breeze.

While the graphics aren’t amazing, they’re fairly good. The visuals on the game’s cover and main menu are off model, but inside the actual gameplay the characters are on point and the Grimm look menacing. The levels are bright and look really solid. I’d also have to give the soundtrack a thumbs up for the impressive collection of osts from the show. It is an odd decision to have all of the tunes be instrumental, but I guess they thought the vocals would be distracting? I don’t agree with the decision, but the tunes are still good whether they have lyrics or not.

One point against the game is how short it is. You can beat the whole game in around 2 hours. There are only 10 levels and you get infinite lives to help you out. You also keep whatever exp you earned so eventually you are sure to be able to complete the game. There are trophies which help to serve as replay value, but you can forget about getting most of them if you don’t have PS+. It broke my streak of nonstop A ranks in the recent games as I’ve got a D rank on PSN for this game now. Still, maxing everyone out and going for the trophies that you can will make this game last quite a while. It’ll help justify the 15 dollar price, but it’ll only work if you have PS+.

The difficulty level here is definitely intense since it doesn’t seem like the game scales down when you’re playing on your own. As a result some of the final levels are rather brutal with the minions because they can drain your aura away with ease and deal massive damage. I had to rely on one of Yang’s excellent combos to get the job done against these guys. They definitely were not easy, I can tell you that. The final boss is also crazy strong as you essentially just have to keep running as you dodge all of the attacks from the many minions and strike back when you get a chance. There’s technically no RNG to worry about here, but with attacks coming from all sides you have to be pretty fortunate not to get hit by anything. Otherwise you will be taken down very quickly.

There is one mechanic that helps against this though. Instead of a traditional health bar system you have a aura level like in the show. As long as you have aura you can’t really get hurt and the only way to die is to let the enemies get your aura all the way down and then taking a hit. If you notice your aura going down then you should run away very quickly so as not to risk getting hit again. Be careful not to underestimate the Grimm attacks since their claws reach a little longer than you’d think. Being cautious is the best strategy here.

Overall, RWBY Grimm Eclipse is a good game, but one that isn’t quite polished yet. It’s definitely not quite as good as it could be, but I did have fun running through the levels with my button mashing skills. I’ve always been a big fan of beat em ups and at the end of the day you have to forget about everything except the gameplay. The gameplay is good so that’s enough to float the game by. Just take my negatives as warnings so you know what you’re getting into when you get the game. If you’re not a particularly huge fan of the series then this game may offer even less for you as another beat em up would give you the superior experience. It’s just a lot of fun being able to actually play as the title characters from the show. You could also buy the JNPR DLC pack, but considering all of this I think I will be passing on that for the time being. Now I just need to wait for Cross Tag Battle to see the characters again.

Overall 7/10