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God Eater 3 Stats and Records
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God Eater 3 Review
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: Operation Blackout Review
The GI Joes have returned and you could say that his game is definitely a lot more intense than the previous one. I wouldn’t call it super high budget or anything but I appreciated that it was trying to be a full adventure. The third person shooter action works really well as you’d guess because that genre is one of the best. It’s a game that is reasonably short but not super short and since you can get the game for a good price, it doesn’t feel bad. I would definitely be recommending this one.
The main story sees the GI Joes going up against Cobra once more. Cobra had been quiet for a while but it turns out that they were just biding their time and they launch an all out offensive against the heroes. This results in most of the Joes being captured so the last remaining ones have to find a way to launch a counter attack. Meanwhile everything is not well within the Cobra household as 4 different members are all betraying the commander and working on their own plans. He will have to try and deal with them before it’s too late.
I’m not the biggest expert on GI Joe so based on the vibes in this game, it definitely looks like the Commander could use some more loyal allies. If he has to be constantly watching his back all while fighting with the Joes, then that’s not going to be a good combination for him. To be sure, he doesn’t end up looking good in this game and that’s impressive since part of the whole premise is that his side won for once. That’s why you can’t get overconfident.
The game was definitely made with a multiplayer mode in mind. Easch level has two playable characters, the second will be controlled by the AI when playing single player mode. You typically have to defeat all enemies in an area, proceed to a checkpoint, or stay inside of a circle to conquer it like in Overwatch. There are 17 missions in the game and each one tends to range from around 8-10 minutes. The default difficulty also gives you a mild challenge in some areas.
I died quite a few times but it never feels bad because the game has a really excellent checkpoint system. You will see respawn points constantly so you never lose more than a few minutes of progress. Some characters have better weapons than others so you really want to be careful who you pick on the character selection screen. That said, just try enough times and you’ll be fine. It’s one of those games where you just have to brute force it. Also sometimes when the mission is about getting to a checkpoint, the best thing to do is just run through the enemies without fighting.
Sometimes their aim isn’t that great and you will make it without any real issues. Other times you will end up dying and then you have to play it the traditional way. The different kinds of weapons vary between standard guns, explosives, and lasers. Generally lasers are the best. Yes, they deal the least amount of damage but the ammo and nonstop firing makes it worth it. They are on a completely different level. The enemies are always moving around so quickly that it’s just easier to follow them with an endless stream as opposed to trying to time the bullets perfectly.
Meanwhile the graphics are pretty good. The cutscenes don’t have a lot of movement to them but I’m just glad for the fact that we have cutscenes in general. That’s something you wouldn’t have expected too much of for a cheaper game. It would have been dialogue based or something. The voice acting is fun and the graphics within the gameplay as also on point. You definitely won’t see any complaints from me in that area. Unfortunately there isn’t much of a soundtrack so I guess you can’t win them all. I would have liked some fun rock themes or something there.
There are also a few vehicle levels. These tend to be pretty easy and seem to just be around as a change of pace. You have to try and dodge land mines and defeat opponents while racing to the goal. It’s essentially a straight road as you get to the end of the game. You just have to keep on driving and driving until you get there. There are a lot of health containers in these levels that are hard to miss which is why the levels feel so much easier.
One last gameplay tip for the standard levels, your close quarters attack is really good against most bosses. Don’t try it on Storm Shadow since his sword will slice your health bar apart but on the other bosses it is the best way to whittle down their health. I was able to complete the final boss way quicker than most of the others in the game because of that. I just went in swinging and they went down extremely quickly. This is because your close quarters attack cuts through the shield and straight to their health bar but of course the same is true of theirs so watch out for the counter attack.
Overall, Operation Blackout is a pretty fun game. It’s nothing fancy, you’re not going to find a lot of fancy gameplay mechanics or anything like that. At the same time, the fundamentals are sound enough to where this is the kind of game you could really recommend. It takes you back to a simpler time of gaming where you only needed a few buttons to play through a game. You can pick this one up and play it at any point without worrying about what the advanced combos were or how you’re supposed to be playing it. Not bad eh? Hopefully more GI Joe games come out in the future.
Overall 7/10
God Eater 2: Rage Burst Review
It’s time to jump into the big sequel to the first God Eater. Rage Burst definitely improves on some things here quick helped to streamline things. It does fall into some of the issues of the first game though and I would say the story itself doesn’t hold up as well. We do get more cutscenes technically and the pacing is quicker but it doesn’t have the same super end of the world stakes that the first game managed. So it’s a close fight with the two but in the end I would say this one gets the slight edge.
The plot continues where the first one left off. For a while, Aragami had slowed down but now new variations are appearing that are even stronger. Typical God Eaters are fairly ineffective now so you need Blood Eaters in order to tip the scales. The main character joins this blood unit and shows a whole lot of potential. Will the heroes be able to destroy all of the new aragami and save the world or will they only prolong the inevitable? The original game showed that aragami will continue to exist so long as the planet does so perhaps this is a never ending fight.
I would say the game does have you almost sympathize with the villain’s plan from the first game because of this never ending cycle. A lot of sacrifices were made in the first game so to see that the villains are stronger than ever is a bit disheartening. The new villain’s plan is a bit more insane though as she flat out wants to destroy the planet and end humanity. Sure, that’s one way to beat the Aragami but is it a real victory if everyone is dead? At least escaping into space would save some people. Still, you do understand the thought process when the stakes are this high. For all the people outside of the main human bases, they live on the brink of life and death every day.
This game also introduces a red mist that transmits an incurable disease if it touches you. It also contaminates the rain so there are more ways to die than ever before. This game focuses on the story through more of a chapter system as each character gets their own story arc before we reach the climax. Additionally, all side characters get an additional bonus story through character episodes. The amount of content is impressive as the 162 story missions took me around 30 hours and that’s considering that this time I did not do almost any bonus missions and 0 character missions.
The reason for this is because the game is considerably easier than the first game. In the first one they were a lot stingier with the materials and you had to have an incredibly strong weapon to stay in the game. In this one there are so many different power ups and ways to get strong that you can have your weapon be a little weaker to compensate. I still tried to make sure I had strong weapons in all 4 categories so I would be ready for anything but it did give me some extra wiggle room that was super important. I only used Buster Blades and Charge Spears. I didn’t bother with any other types of weapons so this way I could max them out sooner. Additionally I always stuck to the same blood art until it was maxed out.
Trust me, these decisions will save you a ton of time as you go through the game. It makes an absolute world of difference. Not to say I never died or anything though, there were a few times I was defeated. Survival missions are an example of this as you will fight in 3-5 boss battles back to back and they don’t tell you what the final boss’ weakness is. Once you’re in the fight you cannot change weapons and so I guessed wrong twice so I had to go all the way back.
In this game if you use the wrong element then you are cooked. For example with the right type effectiveness you might deal around 1000 damage per hit and then the wrong one is around 80-100. Keeping in mind that it can take around 8 minutes of nonstop attacks to put the enemy down in the first example, the latter takes so long that you get timed out. If you notice that you aren’t doing much damage, your best bet is to immediately quit and save time. Trust me, it’s the best way to salvage a bad situation.
There are so many ways to customize your character, supports, and equipment that you can spend a long time just on that. The one area where the game still suffers is in crafting as they throw over 500 materials at you and they are not alphabetized or anything. It makes searching way more tedious than it should be. I’m surprised that this wasn’t fixed yet since I’d imagine that most players would complain about it.
The other area where the game suffers a bit is in being lazy. Nearly all of the game’s minions and environments are from the first game. Around 90% of the assets are all reused which just feels like something that should not have happened. The game’s sheer length may be impressive but since it keeps on recycling everything, that takes a bit of the punch out of it. God Eater would easily be able to make it to the next stage if the gameplay could feel more innovative. I like 3D combat and even I thought it was a bit exaggerated to keep on fighting the same minions over and over again. After 160+ of them you really get the drill.
The soundtrack is pretty solid, it may even beat the first game. It’s not the biggest soundtrack by any means but it gets the job done and the opening is always fun to hear. The graphics are okay but I would say below the average PS4 experience. I did really like the hand drawn cutscenes when they would show up though. That was always an added treat.
Overall, God Eater 2 is a pretty solid game. If you liked the first game then you will like this one as well because they are so similar. In a lot of ways they are basically the same game just with a new story. So it feels familiar in a fun way and the lowered difficulty does help make the levels a lot more bite sized when going through them. There is dozens of hours of replay value as well so you’re getting a bargain here. I would definitely recommend checking it out.
Overall 7/10
Gravity Rush 2 Review
It’s been many years since I played the original Gravity Rush so it was definitely fun to continue the story here. The sequel definitely brings in a whole lot of the mechanics from the first game along with a bunch of spy missions and a much bigger hub world. There is a lot to do within the game and the story is also at a solid length overall. You’ll be satisfied with how the game goes.
The story starts with Kat in a whole new dimension. She ended up going through a portal at some point but has lost track of where Raven is. Ah well, she will keep on saving the day as normal in the meantime but she definitely needs a way out. Additionally her old world now has a new protector and for some reason a lot of people no longer remember Kat even though it’s not like it has been 10+ years…or has it? Kat will need to find out a lot of info and find it out quickly or she will be in a rough spot.
Right away the gravity controls will feel nostalgic here. Basically you can alter gravity at will and then soar through the skies. The more you play, the more you will get really good at constantly shifting gravity and then going in for the attack. If you ever lose track of which direction you’re going, you can use L1 to stabilize yourself. Trust me I had to do that many times so don’t worry about it. The battles definitely get chaotic after all.
The trickiest level to navigate in is near the climax of the game when you are flying inside a very long mountain. Because all sides of the mountain look the same, it can really mess with your instincts. As always just plunge forward as best you can and eventually you will get near the end. The game has you learn new gravity styles which also come into play here like a power mode which lets you break through walls. The power mode is pretty good and I definitely used it a lot near the end. You also have a mode that is more speed based but honestly there isn’t a whole lot of reason to use it. The main mode is still stronger and almost as fast.
You do get a final smash form that you can use temporarily near the end but I couldn’t figure out how to use it at will. No worries, it’ll happen automatically for the really important climax fights anyway. So there is a lot to get used to in terms of the gameplay but the game walks you through it really well. I don’t expect that you will feel overwhelmed or anything. If anything, they may have underestimated how much EXP you could earn. I had Kat fully maxed out rather early in the game at which point the EXP meter just disappears. I was pretty surprised to see that.
Aside from the story missions, there are tons of side missions scattered throughout the hub world. Completing those will help you get more points if you aren’t maxed out yet as well as online trophies. If you want to get the Platinum for this game you will definitely have to put in a lot of work after all. It’s definitely worth it though and adds to that replay value.
While the story goes a bit slowly at first, it immediately gets more lively once Raven shows up. She’s always good to remind you of how serious the stakes are and then we also get a lot of twists about Kat. We finally see her origin here and it goes further back than you might expect. The gameplay itself even changes for a little while there as you have to inspect things and walk around as if this was a Telltale game. It was definitely not what I had been expecting that’s for sure but it really worked and made things ominous.
There is even a long sequence of levels where you switch over to puzzle gameplay with cubes. They even got rather difficult towards the end. Admittedly if the puzzles went on for too long then I would have had a problem with them but for just being the climax, I was able to deal with it. The stealth levels were not as much fun though. There are several through the game and the AI is very picky with it. If they so much as turn around while you’re in the area then you are cooked. There were a few of these I basically had to brute force through and I’m still not sure if I technically did it the right way.
Stealth missions can be fun depending on the implementation, but for the most part they’re usually not my favorite. I find that they only really work if you are allowed to be spotted if you can quickly defeat the opponent like in Gotham Knights. Otherwise if you lose instantly then I don’t usually think they are worth the hassle. Especially since you usually have to start from the beginning of the mission and each stealth takedown takes time.
The soundtrack in the game is pretty good. I enjoyed the victory themes as well as the general battle music. They tend to be fast paced while still having a bit of a calm vibe that matches the rest of the game. The graphics are also really good. I liked the designs and the various enemy designs. The technicals definitely hold their own with the gameplay.
Overall, Gravity Rush 2 is a pretty fun game. While the story does take a little bit to get going, we eventually head towards the big climax that you would expect. The gameplay is both fun and unique with the character cast being easy to root for. I think there is a whole lot more they could do with the series so hopefully we get a third game at some point in the future. Until then, you should definitely play this one if you have not already done so.
Overall 7/10
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues Review
Cobra Kai is one of those titles that definitely got big out of nowhere. I remember thinking that a sequel to Karate Kid would be reasonable but to think it would get two different video games? I wouldn’t have guessed that. Now that the games are pretty cheap, it was time to get them and see just what I’ve been missing all this time. Well, suffice it to say, the game is pretty fun. It’s not great or anything but I enjoyed the story and between the two campaigns there is a decent amount of content here. Any beat em up fan will get a kick out of this.
I went with the Cobra Kai story of course. The title starts with two kids being thrown into detention for having another fight. One of them is a big fan of the Cobra Kai dojo wile the other is a Miyagi stan. They both have differing accounts of what exactly happened that caused so much drama. From the Cobra Kai side, it seems like Daniel LaRusso is causing a ton of trouble and really making a mess of things. It seems like he can’t move on from the past and so he has to be stopped before karate is fully corrupted. Where is he hiding though?
The gameplay here is a classic 2D beat em up. You have to fight through waves and waves of opponents as you proceed forward. You have your basic moves, super moves, and you can switch between your 4 characters at will. You lose a level if all 4 are defeated but generally I don’t see that being a problem. The game isn’t one of the more difficult ones. Maybe if you opt not to use any upgrades then it could be tricky. The upgrades are really handy since they reduce cooldown timer on your special attacks and also increase the attack power itself.
You earn the currency to use the power ups as you defeat enemies and clear specific challenges like finishing off 15 opponents with your signature move. Basically you’ll get a ton of these challenges by playing normally but definitely check them out at the dojo since there are some you will need to actively try for. The upgrades are all increases of about 1% but they really add up. You don’t want to miss out unless you are intentionally trying to make the game more difficult.
How the game works is there are normal levels and boss levels. The normal levels are circles on the map which lead to the boss levels. These stages have no cutscenes and you’re just blowing enemies away. Each boss level has two big fighters who stand in your way in addition to all the minions. Clearing a boss level gives you a clue point. Once you have 8 clue points, you can go to the final boss lair and fight Daniel LaRusso. There seem to be about 12-14 boss levels so you really have some options on where you want to go. Also if you feel you aren’t strong enough to defeat him yet, then you could play those levels for more EXP.
Be warned, whichever Dojo you start with, you will not be able to switch back, to them again during New Game+. In that mode you must play as the second dojo and complete the game again. That will then unlock the true ending so you can see here how the game has a certain amount of depth to it. Definitely not something to be underestimated. The levels are reasonably long too. The normal levels are only around 10 minutes or so but the boss ones can approach 25. You don’t want to lose there. Now, I never did so it’s possible there is a checkpoint or something but I wouldn’t risk it. Just keep fighting as hard as you can.
I’d say the most important thing here is to use a lot of special attacks. You gain invincibility during almost all of them and they cool down very quickly even without upgrades. So keep on spamming those and spam your dodge in order to stay one step ahead. As you play through the game you will quickly get a feel for how to deal with each enemy. When in a group, be careful about hitting an opponent while they’re down. You have no super armor during this maneuver which means that you will be super vulnerable.
Perfect blocking/parrying an attack does restore some of your health though so this is really something to be aware of. Most of the enemies can seem a bit unpredictable at first but they keep the same movements throughout the game. So eventually you should have a good understanding of how to defeat them, or at least I would figure you would. There are a lot of health items that are dropped in each level though so this may not even be necessary. Your fallen allies even revive after a little time.
There are also a few collectibles in each level so that will help during the replay value. Getting the Platinum doesn’t look insane but it definitely will take time so you really can’t go too easy on it. Expect to be here for a little while. Fortunately the gameplay is fun so that works well enough. Considering that you can get the game for about $5 nowadays, I would say that’s even a bargain. It’s definitely got more content than your average tie-in.
As for the music, it gets surprisingly good as you play through the game. It’s trying very hard to emulate the old music and you can feel that but after a while it just starts to come into its own. Perhaps it is from listening to the same themes so many times but you begin to enjoy them. That’s a pretty good feat. The graphics are definitely sub par though. Stuff you could have seen on the PS2. I appreciate that there is voice acting though. So all in all, the technicals are good enough.
Overall, Cobra Kai is one of those video games that takes you down memory lane. They don’t make a ton of games like this anymore. It feels very authentic and is a lot of fun. You will be done with it quickly but not too quickly considering the price. It may even make you want to watch the TV show and see if it can hold its own with the game. I’ll be going through the second game fairly quick so you can expect a review on that one soon enough. It uses a completely different gameplay style so that will either be a good thing or backfire big time.
Overall 7/10
Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack Review
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
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
Final Fantasy XV Review
Final Fantasy XV got so much hype when it was coming out. It seemed like Square’s push to bring in a bunch of people who had never played the series before along with a bunch of veterans. It seemed super ambitious and the marketing was everywhere. Final Fantasy is one of those games that has always been equipped with a ton of content and really live up to the AAA brand. Well, I was eager to see what this one was like even though the promos for this never looked as interesting as the others. Less fantastical and more realistic. Well, it does have a slower start than some of the Final Fantasies and I dare say that it’s easily the shortest out of the modern titles (VI and up) but it does really turn up in the second half. It’s an elite title even if it loses to a lot of its rivals.
The story follows a prince named Noctis. He is going to be married soon and so for now he is travelling with his body guards/friends for one last ride. Unfortunately, while his country was working on a ceasefire/peace treaty with the opposing nation, they were betrayed. The army never came for peace and so instead they quickly assassinate the King and take over. Noctis is now a wanted man and nobody is safe with the evil empire in charge. Noctis needs to make sure that his fiancé is okay and then head on over to the kingdom to save it. Noctis will need to gather the 15 weapons of power among the various tombs in order to win the day but is he worthy of the title of king?
A lot of the game is about Noctis learning what it means to be royalty. He complains a whole lot at first and never seems to see the cup as half full. To his defense, it feels like the friends are rather harsh on him the whole time too. They are constantly yelling and so this ends up having a ripple effect where everybody is yelling at each other. They are all good friends though, they just bicker a lot. Noctis does mature a lot as the game goes on though, he’s really forced to as the stakes get higher and more people start to be lost.
Like I said before though, the beginning is a bit slow. For a while it’s really like the characters are hanging out. You get to check out the various sites across the country and handle side missions. It’s clear that the game wants you to have fun exploring as you are given a car and get to drive around in real time. This is a mixed bag though. The quick travel system is way too convoluted as you can only warp to different places when you’re in a car and even then it can only be some locations. If you want to drive somewhere, the game will default to the long drive instead of quick travel if the location isn’t exact.
Then they are going for full realism with the drive but because of that some drives can actually take 10-15 minutes in real time. This is a game where you almost want to take out a book midway. Additionally the characters often want to stop to take photos and such. It’s a good idea for extra EXP though. When it’s night time you have to get off the road or you will be hit with encounters every few second and their levels are really high initially. Eventually once you get the ring of power you can one shot all of them but you don’t get that until the very end of the game.
It makes sense though because that ring makes any enemy encounter absolutely trivial except for the few who can resist it. It’s great for grinding at the end of the game though. There are many ways to get EXP outside of battling so feel free to go dishing and help people cross the street. It all adds up and you get the feeling that you will be super OP in the game once you have collected everything. The recommended level to beat the game is in the 40s after all.
The game is reasonably difficult and does scale well. Better make sure you are keeping up with your training or you will be in trouble. The game has a lot of different environments but generally the toughest parts are the underground dungeons. Because of how narrow the passageways are, it’s very difficult to dodge so you better be really good at parrying. When you go into those dungeons you really need to keep your guard up at all times.
As for the gameplay, it’s a real time action title. It reminds me a bit of .Hack, there aren’t breaks but your attacks deal no stun damage. So you and the enemy will be hitting each other at the same time and you have to keep track of your health very carefully. The wrong hit will land you into a real world of hurt. The way death works is a bit complicated but basically you can die tons of times as long as you hit yourself with a potion fast enough. Eventually it runs out though. As a good way to avoid a hit, use an ally skill. You get 2 seconds of invincibility each time which you can exploit real easily.
The graphics are really good as you can expect. The visuals are top notch and the energy blasts are always fun. The fire summon skill is really crazy as it looks like the whole place got hit by a meteor. The cinematics are also on point so the game never slows down. The soundtrack is also pretty good. It’s not quite as solid as something like FFXIII but it holds its own without a doubt. The technicals don’t fail here.
While I may have some issues like with the general travel and the hub world sometimes being more tedious than it should be, I definitely respect the effort put into this one. There are a bunch of games within this game like the Justice Blasters and of course a whole fishing gameplay mode. When checking the trophies online, I see this is the hardest one for people to get aside from the Platinum and I can see why. I only did fishing once so to get that to max level will probably take a very long time.
It’s all fun though so that won’t stop me. So some menus and quality of life features aside, the only real negative I would say is the long loading times. People clown on Sonic 2006 all the time but I would say those loading times were considerably shorter than this one. You get massive loading times every time you fast travel or change regions. Sometimes a cutscene will have two loading screens back to back. Mix that in with all of the driving and it feels like there is a whole lot of idle time. Remove the loading times and without a doubt the game would be more streamlined. Who knows, maybe that’s the case in the deluxe versions that came out later on. I know this game got tons of DLCs so that could be fun some day although realistically I rarely play DLCs. Just not enough time.
Overall, Final Fantasy XV takes some getting used to but as with all titles in the series it does really drive up the intensity as you play through the game. You won’t wan to stop as you just enjoy what is going on all the way through. It could stand to be longer but I won’t use that as a serious knock against the game because of all the extra content. The priority seems to be on the side content this time with well over 100 side missions and an absolutely massive hub world that would even do Breath of the Wild proud. I would recommend checking out this game. It’s definitely a blast.
Overall 9/10
Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn Review
Shaq Fu is one of those games that ordinarily might not have crossed into my radar but I happened to see it in store for a great price so I decided to take the plunge. How could I not right? The concept is just pretty interesting and the execution ended up being on point. I’m not going to say that it’s an all star or anything but what I can say is that the graphics and controls are on point. The story will also keep you engaged with how fun it is.
The game starts off with introducing us to Shaq who was found inside a purse and nearly drowned. Who would put a baby through such hardship? Well, he got to grow up learning martial arts and now that will come in handy because there are monsters around. It looks like a lot of celebrities can’t be trusted and things get extra personal when Shaq’s master is seemingly murdered in cold blood. He will not stand for this! No sirrrr!
The gameplay is classic 2D beat em up style. Basically you use your punch, kick, and slam moves to take down enemies. There are tons and tons of enemies so get ready for a lot of punching. Generally you can beat most enemies with the punch buttons but there is a little strategy here. Use your kicks for enemies that are holding a shield because they will block normal hits. When you have enough meter you can also do a ground slam to send the enemies away. It’s a strong attack and does the job but use it sparingly since it takes a while to get the energy back.
Meanwhile you’ve also got a few super forms that appear in different levels like cactus Shaq and robot Shaq. Both of these forms are basically unstoppable since you can spam their heavy attacks with no real drawbacks. So in this form don’t overthink things and just keep attacking everybody. Usually to compensate for how overpowered you are, the game will stack the other side with even more minions than needed. So get ready to deal with a whole lot of that. The super forms are fun but it probably would have been a good idea to have still given some kind of a challenge for them.
After all, the main levels are rather difficult to get through at times. I won’t say it’s a hard game as this is easier than most other similar beat em ups in the genre. You still do have to focus though, if you try to just close your eyes and beat this on instinct then you are going to get absolutely demolished. That’s because of how many enemies there are and how they’re all different. You can react quickly enough to shut them all down but if you get overconfident and let them walk all over you then you’re in real trouble.
The graphics are pretty solid here. It’s going for a very drawn out/cartoony look that works well with the themes of the game. Likewise the cutscenes work really well for that reason as well. Not only is the dialogue great but the fact that it’s all voice acted is incredible. As with all comedies, not every joke will land and the game did go for at least one full crude humor boss which was really unnecessary. Still, aside from that the game had been doing pretty good on the humor.
The soundtrack is solid but the main theme song can be a little much. It’s extremely loud and you hear it for the main menu and every loading screen. So you’ll be hearing it a whole lot, particularly since the loading screens themselves are really slow. I like the concept of the song but the lyrics could definitely be a whole lot better.
In terms of replay value, well you could go for the Platinum. I actually haven’t checked how hard that would be but I get the feeling it will be easy. So with the main game being under 4 hours, maybe this can add another 2-3 hours of replay value. You can usually get the game for a pretty low price so all in all I would say it’s a pretty fair deal. You’re partially playing this game for the pure novelty value after all. A good story goes a long way and since the gameplay is also sound then you have a good bargain. If the gameplay was bad then this would be a harder sell but I do think they actually put some effort into this one. It’s not just some random cash-in or anything like that.
Overall, Shaq Fu gets a lot of points for how up front it is. This game knows that the premise is rather silly and so instead of being subtle about this, it just doubles down on absolutely everything. Trust me, you haven’t seen many games that are as shameless as Shaq Fu is. It’s really the full package and while it isn’t a particularly long game, the most important part is that you will have fun playing it. That’s the key here and if they ever make a sequel, I’d be tempted to buy it day 1!
Overall 7/10
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