Tag Archives: Playstation

.Hack//G.U. Last Recode Review

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It’s time to jump into the world of .Hack GU. This series always looked like a blast but I wasn’t able to jump into it for a long while because getting Part 4 of the original series was really tricky. Well, now I’m here and the series lives up to the hype. It does a good job of bringing in the best parts of the old games while dropping the annoying parts (Cores grinding) so the whole thing feels very streamlined. It also has a whole lot of content within the games outside of the story which is already at least 35-40 hours between the 4 games.

The games follow a guy named Haseo who plays an online MMORPG called: The World. This game allows you to have a good time with your friends as you clear various events and get treasure. One day, his teammate is murdered within the game by a mysterious player named Tri-Edge and she falls into a coma in the real world. Haseo spends a lot of time getting all the way to the max level in the game and tracks down Tri-Edge. Unfortunately he is defeated and somehow reset back to level 1. Haseo will need to regain his strength and also find some way to beat this guy. Normal power is not enough, Haseo will need abilities that transcend that of the game itself.

Right away you’ve got some high stakes here. Tri-Edge is somehow able to murder players from within the game and that makes everything scary. He also looks like Kite, the main character of the first 4 games. So something odd is going on and as the games continue you get a lot of plot twists and new events going into this. The story flows rather seamlessly and the collection even brings a mini 4th game that works as an epilogue to the events. It’s technically a really short game compared to the first 3 but is still a lot of fun to play through. The games are all similar but still different so lets break this down a bit.

The first one has your basic 3D action gameplay. You are able to fight enemies at different locations and gradually get stronger. You have a bike that you can use to travel across areas with great speed and ultimately make a lot of headway. Your main weapon can be swapped a lot as you grow stronger and you can seamlessly link combos. The hub world feels pretty large and you will meet a lot of characters. You gain levels rather quickly as well so even if you are underleveled you can fix that without too much trouble. The sheer amount of content can even be a little intimidating with all of the quests outside of the main story missions but that is a good problem to have.

Then we have part 2 which adds some things like the vs battle mode, upgradable bikes, and the ability to equip different weapons at once. The combat is slowed down a little bit as you can’t link cancel your moves anymore. Still really smooth though and the rest of the game is just as intense. The first one’s story had the benefit of the mystery beginnings but this one also throws in the plot of temporarily getting trapped in the game itself. That would have to be a scary thing. Also I should mention that every game has an obligatory tournament which us fun to see. This game may have had the best climax and cliffhanger ending.

In part 3, things are fine tuned even more. There aren’t too many actual additions compared to the first two games though. At this point you are juggling multiple hub worlds in addition to the rest of the content though. It really feels like you are approaching the end of the adventure and there are a whole lot of bosses. It’s also fun to be fighting enemies while being over level 100 though. There aren’t too many RPGs where that is the case after all.

Finally part 4 is a much more scaled down version. You unlock a new form which seals all of your other equipments and most of the bonus content is turned off. It makes sense as this is purely to finish off the story. We get a lot of nice looking cutscenes and a fun epilogue. The boss battle at the end is also reasonably tough. I ended up making it to level 150 and hit the level cap at the end which was cool. In general the giant kaiju fights were definitely pretty fun. I wouldn’t say they were as good as the normal gameplay but they were a fun change of pace too.

So you’ve got a ton of content here. Aside from the story being about 40 hours long, clearing all the content and getting the Platinum trophy would probably add another 15 hours or so to it. It doesn’t look like an unreasonable platinum either but it’s not exactly a top priority for me while I work on games where I have a lower trophy score. If you’re worried about playing this game because of all the grinding from the original then you shouldn’t worry about it. This game has virtually 0 grinding which is a nice change of pace. You may have to get some levels but like I said that part’s pretty fast. I ended up doing a few dedicated level grinding batches and then I would one tap every enemy for the next 5-7 areas.

The graphics are also really good as you’d expect. Everything looked super sharp and the gameplay is on point. The colors are sharp at all times. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also great. It definitely has more of a rock motif to it compared to the old games but the openings to each title feel like classic .Hack. Likewise I enjoyed the endings for each of them. These games really kept The World as a mysterious kind of game which I appreciated. I may not have played “The World” if it were real but I can see the appeal.

Overall, .Hack Gu is definitely an elite title. I also think collections in general tend to be a buff when all the games are good. Individually these games would have all been 8s with the last one being a 7 but when they are all packaged together it becomes a 9 because of the sheer length. This is not the kind of game that you can complete in a weekend and that’s a good thing. I’m definitely eager to see how the next game goes in the saga. The timing of their announcing a new .Hack game now was certainly perfect!

Overall 9/10

Soul Calibur IV Review

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It’s been a while since I played a Soul Calibur game and it was time to take this one out from the backlog. It’s always interesting to play an older fighting game after playing the sequels. Maybe even more so in a fighting game compared to other genres, you can see what mechanics stuck around and which ones were removed. In this case the gameplay feels so similar that I wouldn’t say it was that different. The main change is how the story mode plays out compared to other titles. In the newer installments, the games had a focused story mode while this one is more of the classic arcade mode. Interestingly there is an arcade mode which seems almost identical to the story mode which feels a bit redundant.

So I went through the story mode with a bunch of characters until I unlocked all of the characters and stages that could be unlocked through this mode. There is an extra character and stage through arcade mode but I didn’t go to that level of detail. So I had fun playing as guys like Darth Vader, Nightmare, Siegfried, Astaroth, and more. They each have their own signature control schemes, and the game does a good job of making everyone feel unique.

Story mode has 5 levels within it, typically 2 of those will have you defeat 4 enemies and then the other 3 levels are your classic 1 vs 1 fights. Each character has a unique encounter in the 3rd and 5th rounds with a few exceptions where you just get the generic dialogue. The character roster is actually rather impressive with around 30 characters in there, but I do feel like it shouldn’t have been impossible to have unique dialogue for all of them. It’s the small things like that which can really make a difference.

Still, you’re here for the gameplay and it’s really excellent. For a lot of titles, I may be skeptical of a ring out mechanic but in this one it just works really well. It feels satisfying to throw someone off the ring and make an ultra comeback that way. Each character also has a whole lot of different attack moves to the point where it’s actually a bit hard to keep track of them all. Half the time I would use a move and then be unable to use it again. It seems to be based not just on direction but also on momentum which would take some getting used to for me.

Blocking is a button rather than holding back so you want to be real careful about that as well. The levels where you fight 4 opponents back to back can actually be tough as well since they all have a full health bar. Make sure you don’t take them too lightly or you’re really going to be in trouble. Ultimately there is near limitless replay value here because of the vs mode. I also like how the unlockables are rapidly unlocked just by playing through all of the story modes. I’ve always found that is the best way to have the unlockables set up. There are no PS3 trophies for this game which is unfortunate, but you can still have fun on a local level.

The graphics are definitely really good. The art style has aged well and the characters look sharp. The colors are striking and I really don’t have any issues here. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. There are quite a lot of different stage tunes here and of course Darth Vader brings in his own remix from Star Wars.

Outside of the story and arcade modes, you also have a tower climbing mode. I did not try this mode out as of yet but it seems to be a fairly long one. You have to continue defeating opponents as you ascend the tower. This will get tougher and tougher as you go through and of course some unlockables are tied to this mode as well. I appreciate that the game has a lot of full fledged single player options since you don’t always see that nowadays. Sure, fighting games are going to spend the majority of effort on multiplayer but no reason why you can’t put a little budget into single player.

Technically speaking the existence of the sequels means there is less reason to buy this one specifically but it’s worth entering the time bubble here. It’s cool to just see the series evolve and this one still stands out on its own. My nostalgia goggles are strong for Soul Calibur II and V so they won’t be surpassed but this is a very good game and I wouldn’t hesitate to play it at any time. I also appreciate that this game still has the announcer who sets up the confrontation before every fight. He really does a good job of making each fight feel really thematic and epic.

Overall, I would definitely recommend picking this game up. It’s one of those fighting games that is easy to pick up and play while being hard to master. You will want to really hit the lab here in order to be one of the best. If you do put in that time, then I don’t think you will be losing many fights because it is hard to overcome that skill gap. I hope we get a new Soul Calibur game soon, it feels like the series has not been expanding as quickly as it should be. If you don’t have the game yet, then you can get it for a great price right now.

Overall 7/10

Batman: Arkham Origins Review

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The Batman Arkham games have definitely been a blast and so now it’s time to get back in there with another one! Arkham Origins is a great addition to the series and easily has some of the longest cinematic battles within the series. The fights with Deathstroke and Joker were good examples of QTEs mixed in with live combat. It’s all aged incredibly well so this is a game that is very strong on all sides.

The general plot involves Black Mask putting a bounty on Batman’s head. It’s a rather large sum and so now Gotham’s most dangerous villains are all after him. Batman is fairly early in his career and yet he will have to deal with a wide assortment of crazy villains. Finding Black Mask will not be easy, particularly since GCPD is also after him at full speeds. Commissioner Gordan is not exactly impressed with Batman’s approach after all.

Right away the gameplay will feel familiar to Arkham fans. The action is heavily centered around parrying. You want to be dishing out damage but also keeping an eye out for nearby attacks. If you time your parry right, you will block the hit and land a counter. You can also finish off an opponent but it will leave you vulnerable to attack. The benefit is that they will stay down and otherwise they will get up several times during the fight. So there is a lot of strategy here right out of the gate.

You also have an array of gadgets to help you out like smoke bombs and such but honestly they are sometimes more work than they’re worth. I preferred to just jump in each time and start the combos. I did die quite a few times though so perhaps this wasn’t always the right move. The game has a kind of old school level of difficulty. It’s tough enough where you will be dying quite a few times but the checkpoints are fairly close by so you never feel like you have lost a ton of progress. I would say it is really balanced. When you die, it’s always to a very avoidable mistake on your part.

What will really test your creativity are the stealth sections of the game. You often have to find ways to isolate a bunch of the villains and take them down one at a time. At the same time, the game does allow you to go and fight them if you want but the bullets deal massive damage. So this way you have some freedom to challenge the villains in whatever your preferred option is. I like that it’s not the kind of game where you instantly die as soon as the villains see you.

The graphics are really great and have definitely aged well. The art style nails a realistic look without making the mistake of trying to simulate a live action movie. As a result it is still stylistic enough to get the job done. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side though. I would have liked some kind of fast paced battle theme for some of the battles but that wasn’t really going to be the case in this one.

If I have any slight issue with the game, it’s that the loading times can be a bit long. When you boot up the game, there is no way to skip all of the company announcements. Then when you die, you have to watch a fairly extensive cinematic of the villain making fun of you. It’s not ultra long or anything but when you die a lot, it certainly begins to feel that way. It’s a nice touch that the villain mocking you will change based on the level but I’d prefer a quicker restart.

There is a lot of replay value here in getting the PS3 trophies to aim for a Platinum. It seems like a rather difficult set of trophies to get, or at least a very time intensive endeavor. One day I may go for it but this doesn’t seem like the highest one on my list for that reason. You are definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck here though. You can also unlock different costumes for after you beat the game, although low key I would have liked to have had those sooner.

There is also a progression system where you can use your level ups to unlock moves and such. The EXP system is maybe a little too generous though because you will have all of your moves maxed out before the end of the game. There are gadget upgrades you can do next but not without doing some kind of side mission so I never actually got around to that part.

Each of the boss fights have their own unique mechanics so you will be glad to hear that there are no recycled fights. Each one also incorporates some level of QTE into it. It’s not exactly surprising, the games have always been really good at that. Like I said before, this is a very high quality title that clearly had a lot of effort put into it. The main campaign may be fairly short but that is true for most of the games in this series. The replay value helps to counter balance that with how much more content is available.

Overall, Arkham Origins is a great title that really avoided making any big mistakes. You could tell that some of the platforming could be a bit clunky next to Arkham City but just on a relative level. If you look at the game on its own then it is as smooth as it needs to be. If you don’t own this game yet then you definitely ought to change that. This would also make for a pretty good movie one day. Now there is only one Arkham game left in my marathon adventures so we’ll see how that one ends up playing out.

Overall 8/10

God Eater 3 Review

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It has been a little while since I played the second God Eater but now it is time to finally wrap things up with the third one. I would say this one may be the most cinematic in terms of consistent cutscenes although it is a good deal shorter than the first two games. There is a bit of a post game here but of course the first two had longer post games as well so that’s something to consider. You can get this one for a really good price nowadays which is also nice for the value. If you enjoyed the first two God Eater titles then I bet you will enjoy this one as well.

The game starts off by showing us that humanity is still on the loosing end against the Aragami. They have seized control of most of the planet by this point and the few who can fight back are now treated as slaves by humanity. Why create a caste system when things are so helpless right now? Well, that’s just how toxic humanity is as a whole. They continue to make it easy to root for the aragami when it counts. We follow two God Eaters who manage to escape their captivity during a mission and are taken in by a much more humane group. They aim to help out and gradually get the funds to lead a peaceful life.

It won’t be easy though, the government owns most of what remains of humanity and god eaters are explicitly treated as second class citizens. It’s not as if the heroes can just walk outside either. Most of the world is covered in a fog that is completely poisonous. To get around that, most people live in various bases but of course those are owned by the government as well. Meeting up with a friendly crew was definitely a stroke of good luck. They even meet a humanoid aragami who looks like a little girl. She befriends the characters but everyone wants to murder her so that’s going to be another tricky thing to deal with.

The story itself is pretty fun even if I have some doubts on the logic of it. If you only have around 1000 God Eaters left for humanity and they are the only ones able to fight off the monsters, why would you treat them like slaves? Seems to me like they could easily revolt and finish the extinction of humanity. It’s also hard to see how we got to this point after the events of the first two games. It sems like there was a decently large time skip as the only big returning character from the first two games is the original humanoid aragami. He even goes by a new name now and nobody recognizes him so a lot of time must have gone on for that to have happened.

The story also does go in circles a bit with how many times the villains try to convince the heroes to hand over the little girl. So I can see some faults with the story but overall I was engaged. Just as important is the gameplay of course and fortunately I can say that it was very good. It’s taking a much simpler approach than the first two games. This one almost feels more like an arcade game in that sense. Gone are all of the different god burst abilities and they have de-emphasized the elemental boosts here. In the last games it was very important to switch up your weapon both for element as well as weapon type based on the enemy. Sometimes you would want a sword and sometimes a hammer.

It was based on if you needed striking power, piercing power, and I forget the name of the third one. Well, in this game you can forget about all of that. Just pick one weapon and focus on it until you’ve gone really far. I picked a buster blade from the start and that carried me all the way through to the end. I never switched weapons and just kept upgrading this one the whole way through. That was the best way to go and I have no complaints.

I imagine it would make more of a difference in post game so it’s not like the mechanics have been removed. They’ve simply been de-emphasized which is a big difference. Beyond that, the rest is as you remember it. The game is a 3D slasher where you have to defeat all of the key monsters in each level in order to move forward. The main story has around 70 or so levels in it. You’re given 30-60 minutes to complete each level but most of them should only take around 5 minutes or so. The final levels take a bit longer but even then it’s not by much. So you will end up beating the game in no time compared to the others.

The gun seems a lot weaker in this one so personally I’d say to stick to the sword. The gun is maybe okay at bet for aerial enemies where you will be missing a whole lot. Then it’s worth breaking out the gun. Otherwise, stick to the sword and trust me you won’t regret that. My personal tip is to try and keep your burst mode on at all times even if it just means level 1. That 10% boost really ends up adding up before you know it.

The graphics are pretty good as you’d expect. The PS4 is able to render the cutscenes well and there are a number of full on cinematics outside of the main gameplay cutscenes. The soundtrack is also pretty good with a solid variety of tunes to enjoy. Less lyrical songs than the second game but the ones that we do get definitely hit pretty hard. In general I would also say that the battle osts are good. The menus and various layouts are also handled really well. The game has polished them throughout the years and this one didn’t take a backseat or anything like that.

Overall, God Eater 3 is pretty fun. If you enjoy 3D combat then you have to enjoy this one because the action is basically nonstop. For that reason the gameplay is infinitely important because if you are the type of person to get bored of the same gameplay for too long then this won’t be for you. There are very few bits of variety within the game as you will literally be defeating the same enemies over and over and over in the levels. I just really love the hack and slash gameplay so for me that was a real blast. It all comes down to if you enjoy the style or not. I’d definitely be hyped for a 4th game if they ever did it, hopefully we would actually get a real ending this time though instead of humanity’s endless fight against the Aragami.

Overall 7/10

GI Joe: Wrath of Cobra Review

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It’s been a while since I played a GI Joe game so it was time to change that. Wrath of Cobra is one of those games that never got a physical release so it was time to finally grab it on the PSN. It’s definitely a short game so I would feel bad for anyone who might have gotten it on opening day. The gameplay is fun enough and all but you really feel like they could have put way more effort into this. At least make it a few hours longer right? I don’t think that would have been so unreasonable.

The game starts with Cobra Commander deciding to take over the world but there is also a clone of him and both think that they are the real deal. So they attack the Joes and along the way will have to watch their backs or they will be absolutely dominated. One wrong step and that is game over. So Duke and friends prepare to fight them. There isn’t much more of a story than that but I do appreciate that the game will actually throw in the occasional cutscene. It helped to liven things up and we even get to see a glimpse of the outside world as Cobra Commander tries to get some kids to support his cause. It helps to flesh the world out a tiny bit.

Of course, the whole game is still only around 2 hours so it really goes by in a flash. There are 12 levels and each level tends to be around 7-9 minutes. You have your basic attacks as well as a super move. You have to use these attacks to try and claim total victory. You have 4 lives to play the game with although if you lose them all, you get infinite continues. So that’s pretty handy. There are trophies for beating levels without getting hit or dying which sounds insane to me. I just don’t know how anyone would really be pulling that off.

I suppose with enough practice but this is not a game that I think most people would end up sticking with. I definitely wouldn’t be playing the game more than once. The reason does come down to how basic it is. I prefer 3D beat em ups but the 2D ones can be good too. There just isn’t much to it because the moveset is too low. You only have two main attacks to combo with. Then the enemies don’t have a whole lot of variety to them either. I suppose you could have fun switching characters since you have several options here but even then that is not going to buy you a ton of time.

It was always fun to exploit the occasional glitch though. A few times there would be a boss or an enemy who would not realize that you were standing slightly beneath him so he would keep striking out at empty air. Was a good way to cheese some of these guys who had really large health bars. For my playthrough I decided to play as Snake Eyes because he has incredibly high attack power. I think I made the right choice there. His super attack is that he summons a dog to come in and deal a lot of damage. A bit random but a fun super since even the bosses would take a lot of damage from that.

As far as the graphics go, they look good enough. I liked how colorful everyone is in order to match the old show. The cutscenes we get definitely aren’t very high quality but at least we had cutscenes which was cool. The soundtrack is okay but also not something that I would call really memorable. You’ll have forgotten the tunes real quickly once the game ends.

My main advice when playing is to jump a lot. It’s a great way to clear the distance over to your opponents and of course you get to dodge attacks along the way. Then once you have the enemies in one spot, you can really combo them all to death. Keep on swinging even once they are in the air and usually you can finish each opponent before they had a chance to hit the ground. Pretty sneaky eh? It’s a pretty good way to whittle down the odds.

The game would be really difficult without the infinite continues but since you have them, this one is a true cake walk. While the length is extremely short, the trophies do add a lot of replay value since I think it would be incredibly difficult to get them all. Getting the Platinum for a game like this would really feel like a pipe dream. Not totally impossible or anything like that but not really worth the amount of time it would take. To me at least, maybe you could see it as a badge of honor.

Overall, Wrath of Cobra feels very much like the kind of game you would find on the app store. It’s not particularly high quality and is a very short experience. The gameplay is simple and while it’s not bad, you get the feeling that there wasn’t a ton of time spent on it. This game was just churned out quickly to take advantage of the retro beat em up feeling that everyone has been enjoying. This one loses to most of the other games I’ve played in this genre. If you really like GI Joe though, perhaps the nostalgia alone will make it worth it for you.

Overall 6/10

Marvel Rivals Review

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Marvel Rivals is a game that really got huge. For a while there is seemed like everybody was playing it. I would say it is even still huge right now. They keep on adding new characters and of course the gameplay itself is fun enough. That said, I don’t quite get the appeal the way that most people do. To me the gameplay is fine but not something I would end up being stuck to for a long while.

There isn’t a real story mode here of course so you’re really just thrown right into the mix. I was glad to have a tutorial though and did take advantage of that. Basically you’re in a team battle and either have to protect something or attack it. You win based on which team achieved their objective. Whenever you die you are able to switch characters on the fly. It’s pretty nice that you aren’t locked in so you can constantly be switching. The only real restriction is that you can’t have two people using the same character and that makes sense since it could definitely get real confusing real fast. So this way you sidestep that problem completely. As a result I got to play as numerous characters even over the course of a few matches.

The characters are divided into different classes and all have different ways of playing. My favorite character was easily Human Torch. It felt nice being able to fly around and deal out devastating blows to my opponents. I contributed quite heavily in the first match where I scored over 30 KOs. We won that round and it was the perfect way to start. I doubt Torch is one of the most broken characters or anything like that but his moveset is absolutely solid. Whenever you have a projectile fighter like this, you can bet that I’ll enjoy them.

My second favorite character was Groot. He may not be able to fly but his long reach works great as a main attack. I would say the only real downside is that his special moves are a bit boring. He can summon walls to bock incoming attacks which is pretty nice but it doesn’t actually deal damage the way I would like to see it. At the end of the day you need KOs to win here and you get KOs by dealing damage. Still, I got in my share of KOs with the standard attacks.

I definitely didn’t end up mixing well with the brawlers. For example I died fairly quick when playing as Captain America, Wolverine, and Thor. It was just hard to get in close to the other team before I would be taken down by everyone waving around their lasers all the time. I’m sure there are methods to making those characters work but it was definitely a real tough trick for me. A game like this definitely has a lot of RNG as well of course but I won’t deny the high level of skill too. Good aim will go a long way here. The same goes for memorizing where all the health items are at. I’m guessing they are randomly generated but still limited to a few locations rather than just being anywhere.

The graphics are definitely really good. Some of the character designs will certainly take some getting used to though. They really went quite different with a few of them like Wolverine. That said, it’s a consistent art style and I wouldn’t say the designs are bad. I would definitely get used to them after enough time playing the game. The soundtrack is less noticeable with all of the shooting and everything. It seemed good to me but again I’m not sure with how much confidence I can really say that. Either way I guess it’s not ultra important.

I mentioned a few times that the gameplay isn’t super addicting to me and I’ll quickly explain. There is no single player combat mode here and no individual life system. So this means in the team combats everyone has unlimited lives until the match ends. For me a game like this is always way more fun when you have your own life. I know this doesn’t reflect in sales numbers which is why many games have gone away from that model but I still miss it. I’ve never liked the idea that I could be playing amazing and dealing tons of damage and I can still lose because the rest of my team let me down. It just doesn’t feel like this is the way the game ought to be played.

I would at least like the option of a single player mode here. Start out with 25 fighters or something and no extra lives. If you lose then you lose but that’s it. I would find it all to be way more engaging and challenging. Additionally it would force you to get good. Then if the mode doesn’t do well they can always shut it down later. Still, that’s just what would make me enjoy the game better. At that point I’m basically advocating for a completely different title so it’s not a very reasonable request. Just an explanation on why none of the Overwatch titles have ever stuck with me. I do hope this game continues to be successful though because it’s at least pretty fun to watch.

Overall, Marvel Rivals is pretty good. It’s not really a game that would hold my attention for very long but there is definitely a clear audience. I also imagine it’s the kind of game that gets to be way more fun when you know other people wo play it as well. Once you build up that community spirit then it’s really off to the races. You just want to get in there and have fun. As the character roster continues to grow, the game will only get more and more fun. I’m rather curious just how many characters there will be by the end. It seems like a game that could easily get over 50 characters by the end. The toughest part will probably be picking enough unique moves where nobody feels like a clone character.

Overall 7/10

Penny’s Big Breakaway Review

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It’s time for a wholesome 3D platformer. Penny is a new IP so it’s always impressive to see one of those grow and become the next big thing. It seems like everyone liked this one quite a bit and I can confirm that it’s a good title. It’s the kind of game that is easy to jump into and there is plenty to do after the main campaign is over. There’s no reason to leave this title on the shelf, just play through it and you will see what all the hype is about.

The general plot involves Penny heading to the Gala but unfortunately she ends up messing with the big political figure by mistake. I think he’s the mayor but now he wants her taken down. She must run fast, taking down every boss in her way as well as the proper authorities until she can get back into the gala and clear her name. Does Penny have what it takes to pull this off or is she about to be in for a very rude awakening?

Fortunately Penny is very skilled with a Yo-Yo. The general gameplay is all built around this as you use it to leap over obstacles, directly smash enemies, etc. It’s a fun way to make the gameplay a little different than just being your average 3D title. The game also moves at a pretty fast pace so you are really encouraged to learn the movement options well so that you can keep going at full speeds. The game isn’t all that hard but the real difficulty comes in trying to beat the levels as fast as possible to get the max ranks. I didn’t get a single max rank during my playthrough so it seems like this is definitely something you would need a good amount of practice for.

Additionally each level has several people asking you for help and I can only imagine that they will probably reward you with trophies for completing all of these. The main campaign is probably around 6-7 hours so throw in the bonus content and you’ve got a decent amount of things to do in order to really keep you busy here. You’ll really get to have tested your platforming skills by the end of it. There are also a lot of fun quality of life features here like a game over allowing you to continue but you lose all of your points. So if you actually want a high rank then you better prepare to play the level again while not dying so often.

Once you know the route to go for the goal you shouldn’t have a problem but sometimes it does take a bit of trial and error. Later on you also get invisible platforms so by that point in the game you really want to have mastered how far you can jump. Knowing the different distances by heart will really go a long way here. Without that then you may be in trouble but that’s why you have the option to keep on trying until you have succeeded.

Meanwhile the bright artstyle and graphics works really well here. Each world is distinct and you can tell that a whole lot of effort was put into the game. It’s all very polished and likewise the soundtrack is also super good. There are a lot of really catchy themes here and the soundtrack has a lot of variety to it. No two worlds sound the same at all. The technical elements here are all definitely on point.

The only part that can be confusing at times are the boss battles. It’s not always readily apparent what you have to do. Yes you have the trial and error but sometimes the game could stand to be a little clearer. The main example of this is the big boss where you have to use a magnet to attack him. Dodging his attacks was really hard to understand because of the odd hitboxes and the magnet’s range seemed a bit off.

All small things at the end of the day though. The gameplay itself is definitely a total win either way and I would definitely say that the sequels should stick to this kind of game design. Keep things fast to differentiate from other platformers and that momentum can easily be used to keep this title near the top of its genre. They can also start expanding the main cast a bit. It’s something that is good to begin doing sooner than later so the characters all have time to become fan favorites and everything. There are already some named characters here but none that strike you as the playable type. They seem like supporting characters, not main characters. At least that’s the way I would explain it.

Overall, Penny’s Big Breakthrough is a fun game. It’s fast paced and clever with the various mechanics. It looks and sounds good as well so you’ve really got the complete package here. There’s definitely a lot to take in and there is good room for a sequel. I’d definitely be interested in playing a follow up so lets keep our fingers crossed for that. In the meantime pick this game up and it’s the kind of title that you can really recommend to anyone. A simple but effective title that has no real issues.

Overall 7/10

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

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review

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Prince of Persia is one of those titles that seems to vanish for long periods of time but when it returns, it returns with a vengeance! The Gamecube titles may have gone a little too into edgy territory but I remember the soundtracks being used for DBZ AMVs because of how intense they were. Then you had the PS3 title which was absolutely top tier. Even the movie was quite excellent and so the franchise really operates at a high level. Well after playing this game I can safely say that it is the best game in the series. It is absolutely elite at every level and should be used as a teaching moment for all other Metroid-vania titles. This is absolutely how you make a game like this.

The story starts by introducing us to the immortals who are a powerful group of fighters who protect the royal family such as the prince. They are all very skilled and good at what they do but one day the prince is captured by the main hero’s mentor. The immortals all follow her into a weird realm where time seems to work differently. They now exist in the past, present, and future with branching timelines. They meet people who have been in here for decades despite only jumping into the realm a few hours before us. Then you even have kid versions of the characters. Something weird is going on but saving the prince comes first!

The story really uses time manipulation in a fresh way and it’s definitely a great approach. It reminds me a bit of the Blame! series where time seems to be a very flexible concept. The main character must even tackle various other versions of himself, some who have been corrupted by power and others who have given up. You also have various gods and other immortal creatures who seem amused by this and others who have just grown used to the whole thing. It’s a pretty big world with a lot of concepts to accept but they all work pretty well.

The gameplay is a 2D brawler type. You have your blade to land solid combos with and then you have your evasion techniques and counter moves. There are over 15 different tutorials for how to play the game but most of it is very intuitive. I only did the tutorials near the end for some more currency to buy unlockables with. You’ll quickly understand the system and then it really comes down to your reaction times for the parry mechanics. If you aren’t good at timing blows then this will really help you get to that high comfort level.

Now when it comes to the Metroid-Vania part, you have a large map that fills in as you explore it. You can also buy maps which show the all of the treasure within a certain location. These don’t fill the dots on collectibles or side mission content though so you will have to find those on your own. Still the treasure is where you get most of your big power ups and currency to buy others. There are many different collectibles here which could have been overwhelming in a different game but in this one it is all handled exceptionally well.

You can equip amulets with different properties, choose which super attacks you want at the ready, and you can even leave little spy pictures when you notice a collectible that you can’t reach just yet. You can store quite a few of those and it’s a good idea because otherwise you will probably forget them. You can use quick travel between any portals you have unlocked but then right before the final boss you also get the ability to warp to any save point. This is a game changer because there are constant save points almost everywhere.

The reason I really liked this is because it rewards you for playing the game. Now in the post game if you want to get everything, you have an easy means to do this as opposed to running everywhere. There is no reason not to make that part a bit easier on the players by this point so I was completely on board with it. The more you explore, the stronger you get which makes exploring even easier. A proper vania title should always make you feel stronger as you play and that definitely happened here.

Meanwhile I really enjoyed the general atmosphere of the game. We had DBZ type interactions as the various immortals fought and all showed off their abilities. It’s not something I would expect to see here as it’s a very specific type of approach. The story was super compelling and cinematic the whole time as a result. I really liked the energy effects as well. This game had really good graphics which also helped a great deal. It feels like a big PS5 game the whole time.

Of course the soundtrack is not far behind either with a number of really good tracks. I’ll need to seek those out at some point to hear them again. The bosses all have different mechanics and due to the wide upgrade selection, your gameplay will likely be very different compared to the next person’s playthrough. There is a ton of freedom here and the gameplay style allows for that. There is a ton of replay value here in exploring the map because you’ll just have a great time doing so. It’s not the longest title but at over 10 hours, it’s long enough to justify the purchase. The value here is pretty good without a doubt.

Overall, Prince of Persia is a top tier game and I recommend playing it as soon as possible. The gameplay and exploration elements are extremely rewarding and there are just so many things to uncover here. I’d definitely like to Platinum this game someday because it just feels that fulfilling to explore and see what else the devs have hidden. The game has a fair amount of difficulty as well so you will have a good challenge here and need to really understand the gameplay mechanics. Hopefully the next game uses a lot of the mechanics from this title, then the series will definitely be in a good position to keep on dominating.

Overall 9/10

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