Tag Archives: Game

Tank Fever

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Now that spring break is finally here, I have time to play some games, work on my own personal projects, and run form 10+ tanks in a maze-like area, clinging to the very fabric of survival.

Yes, I’ve started to play Left 4 Dead 2 once again now that I have my new computer, and it runs like a dream (which means it doesn’t choke when a swarm comes. Yes!!). And with that came my need to re-download a lot of custom maps, one of which I had yet to beat: Tank Fever. Tank Fever is a campaign that lasts for 10 minutes, and it is literally you running from tanks as they spawn and chase you.

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first: this map has way too many common infected. There are actual swarms of common infected that will slow you down and allow a tank to catch up to and subsequently knock you off the map, which kind of ruins the experience sometimes. I like challenging myself, but it’s almost impossible on Normal difficulty because of the swarms, whereas I think it would be challenging on Intense if it were just tanks. There are many times when 4 tanks pincer you, so the added swarms of common infected up the difficulty too much. It really should just be tanks.

Besides that, this map is absolutely fantastic. There’s two kinds of fear when you play games: the fear that makes you not want to continue playing (a la Amnesia: the Dark Descent), or the kind of, “OhshitI’mgoingtodienononoNO!”. Tank Fever elicits the second kind of fear almost constantly. Even when you don’t see any tanks, one can spawn at any time and begin its quest to destroy you. It’s definitely more survival than it is campaign, but for good reason: campaign allows you to save your teammates after they’ve died by the one closet fitted in the map. I didn’t find out about it until I beat it with my friends, because you usually don’t last very long.

At the very end, I had 10+ tanks and a swarm of common infected chasing me to the helicopter. It was terrifying. LOL.

If you’re looking for a map for you and a group of friends (because you REALLY need to play this map with 4 people), this is a map you should definitely give a go, especially if you’re short on time and want to get obliterated by tanks a couple times.

Just Sayin’.

Link to map: http://www.l4dmaps.com/details.php?file=9381

REVIEW: Fairy Bloom Freesia

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In the very limited free time that I’ve had when I’m taking breaks while working on homework for school, I’ve been stuck trying to find a game to kill said time. I noticed when updating Steam one day that I had a small little game called Fairy Bloom Freesia. I decided to try it, and wound up finding the perfect little game to play if I feel like playing something while taking a break.

Gameplay:

Fairy Bloom Freesia is an “anime” beat ’em up. It’s very similar to FTP (Free to Play) MMO‘s Elsword and Grand Chase. Fans of those games (like myself) will probably be fans of this game.

For those that aren’t, don’t let the anime tag deter you; this game has a really deep combo system that’s very customizable. Besides the basic moves that you can always learn, you also have special skills and passive skills you can equip (up to 4 special and 2 passive skills).

The various “modes” are fairly simple. There’s the classic beat all enemies, a protect mission that has you protecting what’s known as a vortex, and a boss battle. YOu also have access to a training mode in-between levels.

This is the game. Short, simple, and sweet.

There’s only one problem with the game, and that’s blocking. You take no damage from blocking, and to compensate for that you get a block meter that rises as you block more attacks. However, there’s a passive skill called “Hard Turtle” that allows your block to withstand more attacks before it breaks. When maxed out, it becomes almost impossible for it to break. This makes boss battles incredibly easy and not very fun as you can take on a block -> attack once or twice -> block pattern that continues until you’ve broken their guard, can get one combo in, and then rinse and repeat the process until you’ve defeated them taking minimal to no damage.

Plot:

The plot feels like it’s there simply to give you a reason to keep progressing through levels, and that plot is that you are Freesia, a fairy spirit protecting the forest. The characters are hardly worth talking about, either. Focus on the gameplay; the plot is good enough to move things forward.

Atmosphere (Music/Graphics):

This is what was most similar to Elsword and Grand Chase to me. In the formerly mentioned, the characters are cel-shaded, and Fairy Bloom Freesia has some of that cel-shaded style, but just in a higher definition. The forest has a spring, summer, fall, and winter “area”, giving you different backgrounds and music for each one, and I have to say, the music is pretty catchy. The backgrounds for each season are nice, the particle effects are nice, everything atmosphere-related is nice. I wouldn’t say any of it is great, though.

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Fairy Bloom Freesia is a game where you can take 5 minutes to play a level, stop, and still feel satisfied. Really, don’t let the “anime” part keep you away from this game, especially if you like beat ’em ups. You’ll enjoy the combo system, especially when you’re smacking enemies into each other and finding infinite loops.

Gameplay: 8/10

Plot: 5/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Final Score: 7/10

Just Sayin’

REVIEW: Code of Princess

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A couple weeks ago, I bought Code of Princess, a new game for the 3DS by one of my coveted campaniles, Atlus. I didn’t have a lot of time when I bought it to really play and formulate an opinion on it, but now I’ve had some time and have finally beaten it. So, let’s jump into this fun little beat-’em-up RPG!

Plot:

The plot is pretty subpar. You’re Sloange, the princess of DeLuxia, and are wielding the DeLuxcalibur, a legendary sword with unfathomable power. In this world, monsters and humans have coexisted, but suddenly the monsters have become violent, and it’s up to you to find out why. Along the way, you discover that some demon is trying to take over the world and defy the Gods. That’s pretty much it. But, while it is subpar, the characters advancing the plot more than make up for it.

Characters:

The characters are, simply put, fantastic. They all have unique personalities, but the best part is they play with their own stereotypes and game. The banter between Allegro and Ali about how Allegro’s level 99 and is ‘almost’ a Sage is hilarious. The game knows its story is there just to advance the plot and give some sort of substance to the game (besides the combat), and toys around with it, which is awesome.

Atmosphere (Music/Graphics):

The backgrounds and effects are nice, and the music is good, but nothing really stands out to me. It was all very subpar, which is disappointing because I was hoping for some awesome music. I haven’t listened to the included bonus CD, so my opinion might change once I hear that, but the in-game music never impressed me.

Gameplay:

The meat of this game comes from it’s AMAZING combat. Every character has their own specific combos, strings, and special skills, and learning what chains, what doesn’t, and combining combos and strings makes this combat a very deep experience. In Campaign, you can only choose 4 characters (Solange, Ali, Zozo, and Allegro), but in Free Play you can choose from more than 30 characters, which is awesome!

Another important part of combat is locking on and bursting. Locking on lets you see that specific enemy’s HP bar, and you do double damage. It’s a nice perk, but once you burst, you do double damage to all enemies, meaning that you have a built-in boss destroyer by doing quadruple the damage you would normally do. That’s huge, and the best part is, it’s doesn’t make the game any easier because of how quickly your MP drains while using it. And, you can be doing a combo, burst midway, and still continue it, giving strategic timing to when you should and shouldn’t burst.

There’s an equipment system, but these do nothing but increase some of your stats (which, by the way, you can increase in any order after leaving up), except for your weapon. If your character can, equipping a weapon can change some aspects of your burst (like doing damage to enemies and knocking them down, having unblock able attacks while bursting, etc…) Sometimes, a certain burst is much more useful than just stunning everyone. My favorite is the one that knocks enemies down. It’s saved me in the harder missions.

Oh, and let’s not forget that this has local co-op for up to 4 players, meaning you can string together some truly ridiculous combos on enemies, making the game that much more fun.

All in all, Code of Princess is a fun little game that offers you a surprisingly deep combat experience and an awesome multiplayer. I highly recommend!

Score:

Plot: 5/10

Characters: 9/10

Atmosphere: 5/10

Gameplay: 10/10

Final Score: 7/10

Old Woman is over-powered.

Just sayin’

REVIEW: The Last Story

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A week ago, I finally got my hands on The Last Story. For those who don’t know, The Last Story was one of the games that was made out to be a Japan exclusive, but a couple weeks ago it was released to the states, much to the happiness of many a gamer. But does The Last Story live up to the hype it had before it was released to the US? I think so. Let’s jump in!

Plot:

The plot is your standard JRPG. I’m not going to go too in-depth, but to nutshell it, you’re Zael, a mercenary who finds a mysterious power and uses it to accomplish missions and strive to fulfill Zael’s dream of becoming a knight. Along the way, Zael encounters typical themes like corruption, power, following your heart, being the ‘chosen one’, worldwide disaster, etc… And while it may be typical story fare, it’s pulled off well. There are a few twists (although can be seen if you’re looking for them), but the plot paces itself nicely and it’s always interesting. The best part is the plot is almost entirely character-driven, with very few plot-driven elements. I found myself really enjoying it. The only part that was iffy is the somewhat rushed romance between Zael and Calista. There was so much potential for it.

Characters:

The characters are all great. They all have personality and definitely clash with each other because of it, and that’s great, because the dialogue is fantastic between the characters. And, they all grow by the end of the game and go through complete arcs, which is (sadly) pretty rare these days. The NPC characters in the hub world also have some personality, which is pretty surprising, but they’re all very cookie cutter in the way they act. Still, it’s better than them being ridiculously bland and being the same over and over.

Atmosphere (Music/Graphics):

The Last Story is your typical atmosphere for a JRPG. A little bit of a steampunk, a lot of medieval, and plenty of ancient technology and magic. Still, like the other elements of The Last Story, these are represented really well. Lazulis City (the hub for the game) is awesome, and it really feels like a city. Stuff is always happening, and the entire city moves with the plot, so you’ll always see people talking about something different. The caves, Lazulis Castle, and the many other levels all are nicely detailed. I never once found myself bored with how the game looked.

The music is great. I have a thing for violins, so hearing the violin in the title screen music was already awesome, but the music in-game is also great, and it always feels like it’s supporting the mood rather than being completely intrusive. I got the soundtrack for preordering the game, and already have most of it on my iPod.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is interesting and incredible at the same time. It’s interesting because combat is, literally, running up to an opponent and attacking. You don’t press a button to attack. Now, I find that weird, and I still find it weird, but thankfully the designers thought, “Hey, most people use the A button!” and they give you the option to attack with the A button. That’s the only bad part about combat. Otherwise, combat is fantastic.

While some encounters are random and you fight, most of them are a sort of preview where you get to see the formations of enemies and you see the characters discussing a strategy. Sometimes they’ll tell Zael to decide what to do, but other times they give out orders and if you don’t follow them, the AI do get obliterated because they’re expecting you to do what they told Zael to do. And to lead into AI – they’re smart. They’re the best AI I’ve ever played with. They heal if they’re low on health, they take cover during stealth missions, and they try to cover you when you’re being attacked. Of course, you can command your allies if you want them to do a specific spell or unleash a special movie, but it’s really awesome to have competent AI that you don’t need to babysit. Even the enemies are smart; they take out mages first every time, and to combat this, you have a special power that makes every single enemy focus on you exclusively. However, having every single enemy focus you means that you die faster and it can be overwhelming, so you can’t just rush in every time with it, making it an interesting balance between using and not using the power you have. It’s a very tactical game for a real-time RPG, and pulling off tactics that you’re ordered to do and see it work perfectly is awesome!

Non-combat wise, the side quests and missions are actually pretty good, even though some of them are pretty lame (one of them is literally buying ingredients from a market), but a lot of them are awesome and are actually mini dungeons, which is really cool and helps you to prepare for the later levels. You can also revisit dungeons to get bonus stuff and face much harder enemies.

The actual flow of the game is nice. I never once had to legitimately grind in order to proceed. Tactics win the day over that, and that’s really nice. There are a few places where you can grind, but the focus is on progressing the story, so those are very few and far between.

Overall, The Last Story delivers, and I’m very happy it came to the states. If you enjoy JRPGs (or real-time RPGs), get this game. It’s worth every single penny!

Score:

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Atmosphere: 9/10

Gameplay: 10/10

Final Score: 9/10

Just sayin’

What makes a “good” game?

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Last night, I played a game called Metagame, which is literally a game about debating about games. It’s a little like Apples-to-Apples, where you place a card down and pick a game that most suits it. Then, you have 2 minutes to argue your stance. The worst gets knocked out and becomes a judge (alongside other existing judges). But this isn’t a post about Metagame, it’s a post about something that stemmed from me playing it with friends. It’s a topic I’ve constantly thought and rethought about: what makes a “good” game?

I think a good game is a game that is playable. That may sound a little weird to you, but let me explain.

This is a hard topic to wrestle with, and it’s not because of our opinions of games. I believe it’s a difficult topic to discuss because of how we individually perceive what a “good” game is. It’s an interesting topic to cover because we all have different views on various subjects, but on things that are subjective (such as this), it’s hard to reach a solid conclusion because of just how subjective those conclusions are.

Let me dive a little deeper into that with an example: If I like role-playing games and dislike platforming games, I may, on reaction, state that a platformer such as Super Mario Bros. or MegaMan is bad. Obviously, it’s hard to deny the success of both franchises and those two games, specifically, but why would I say they’re bad? Because I don’t like those kinds of games. To me, platforming games aren’t enjoyable, and since I don’t enjoy it, it’s bad.

Now, that’s an impaired thought process because it’s inherently subjective. Someone else may love platformers and say those two games are incredible, and they think those games are good. But that is, essentially, the same line of thinking.

So if I can’t say a game is bad simply because I don’t like it, I can’t say a game is good because I like it. Fair enough. Let’s dive deeper.

I could say that the modern-day music, graphics, and gameplay mechanics are simply more advanced, and therefore better. I could also reverse that thought process and claim that the “old-school” games are superior because of how simple, yet compelling they are to play. They defined what games are today.

This is a bias towards a certain era of games, which boils down to, “I enjoy this era of games more than another era.” And ultimately ends up subjective, which does nothing to help us answer the question at hand.

So I say that I enjoy the gameplay of a game more than another, or the music of a game more than another, or the writing is better than another game’s writing. While writing can be objectively defined under certain constructs, music and gameplay cannot. Why? Because they’re both very subjective topics. How is rock better than alternative? How is death metal worse than hip-hop? Why is country better than dance? You can try to fit them under a construct that may give way to an objective conclusion, but ultimately, it falls when it comes to games. Gameplay itself is another way of liking or disliking a certain genre and subgenres.

So how does this all come together? Let’s pit two games – say, MegaMan and MegaMan Battle Network. MegaMan is a platformer with 8-bit style graphics, chip-tunes as music and sound effects, and a very linear story with not a huge amount of background and no dialogue, no twists, no modern-day story-telling elements. Battle Network has a linear story (although has side quests, dialogue, and twists), RPG-style gameplay, 8-bit and more modernized techno music, and Game Boy Advance graphics. So which is good and which is bad? Most will probably claim MegaMan is the good game, but why? Because they like nostalgia? Because they like the music, sounds, graphics, or story better? Do they prefer platformers to role-playing games? How does that prove anything except what you like and dislike?

But wait, there’s more: what if graphics or music is what’s important to you in a game? What if MegaMan Battle Network is better than MegaMan game simply because it has more modern graphics, despite MegaMan having “better” gameplay? (just assume it does for this example, there’s no need to debate that right now.) How do you determine what’s good and what’s bad with someone who may think music isn’t important, while you do think it’s important? What if a certain style of game (like a fighting game, for example) is deemed to need only certain elements (writing is really the only thing I can think of, but you get what I’m saying) to make it a good game?

This is why determining what makes a “good” game difficult.

So let’s circle back to my original statement: “Good” games are games that are playable. What does that mean? It means it’s a game that can be played. “Can be” is important. It doesn’t matter whether or not you enjoy it, if it has the potential to be playable, it’s a good game. It’s a game with music that someone can enjoy, a story (if needed) that is passable and allows the game to logically continue, and no bugs or glitches that break the game and render it unplayable or exceedingly frustrating. It has the potential to breed subcultures (like a fighting game creating a competitive community for it, or how Portal finds its way into other games via cameos).

So, under that definition, both MegaMan and MegaMan Battle Network are good games.

Now, you might be thinking, “Kappy, you must not think a lot of games are bad, then,” and you would be correct. There are very few games that I, personally, think are bad. One of those few is Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic ’06). Sonic ’06, to me, is bad. Why? Because when I played it, the controls were unresponsive to the point where I got a game over on the demo. I played the actual game and would randomly glitch through the floor and die, sometimes multiple times. The first boss fight in Sonic’s story against SIlver found Sonic being stuck against a table, invincible and unable to move or take damage, which guaranteed a restart. The story itself plays through and then resets itself so it never happened (which, by my standards, is awful). The loading times were obnoxious. I could go on, but I won’t, because this isn’t a rant about Sonic ’06. This is simply an example of a game I find bad, and I find it bad because, to me, it is unplayable. 

Just sayin’

P.S. Before I end, I just want to point out that my way of judging whether a game is good or not does not judge how good a game is (which I think some mix together accidentally). It just judges whether a game is good or bad. With that said…

What do you think makes a “good” game?

REVIEW: Bastion

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After Steam’s Summer Sale (my poor wallet!), I came to the conclusion that I have way too many games to play, and so, after beating Pokémon Conquest, I jumped right into a new game that I should’ve played a looong time ago: Bastion. Bastion solidifies my belief that indie games, while shorter than most big console games, can be so much more satisfying when you take care to empower the strengths of your game.

Plot:

The plot is actually fairly straightforward. The Calamity, an event that turned the world upside down and inside out, has just happened, and you, The Kid, go to the Bastion, which is where everyone agreed to go in case something terrible happened. When you get there, you find that only you and a lone stranger have survived, and you’re tasked with building the Bastion. As you go looking for the cores that will power the Bastion, you find Zulf and Zia, two Ura who survived the Calamity, and learn some history of the world. The Ura and humans (or Caelondians, as they’re called), were once in a war, and after the Caelondians won, the two races worked for peace. However, the Mancers (a higher council in the city of Caelondia), didn’t like that there was even a chance of war, so they started working on The Calamity. I won’t spoil all of it for those who haven’t completed the game, but there’s a few surprises thrown in there. A very solid plot, and something that definitely moves the game along at a nice pace.

Characters:

The four main characters are all very interesting. You really only hear The Stranger (real name Rucks) talk, as he narrates, but you hear about everyone through “dreams” your character has. While you don’t interact with  them aside from hearing Rucks talk about them briefly while you’re at the Bastion, the dream sequences provide from backstory for each and ives you a picture of what they were like. In that sense, you do see the characters change and grow as the game progresses, especially once you hit the halfway point. I don’t want to spoil anything since it makes the dream sequences that much more satisfying, but they all have personalities despite not really interacting with them during the game itself.

Atmosphere (Music/Graphics):

Bastion’s music is fantastic. It’s atmosphere is fantastic. Everything involving these two things are fantastic. The enemies, the world, the history – it all blends together so well. All the little things about the game where Rucks tells you the history of every level before the Calamity struck is fascinating, and really immerses you into the world of Bastion, and the music just makes it better. It goes along with every stage almost perfectly, and it’s one of those I highly recommend you purchase and give a listen to even if you haven’t played the game.

Gameplay:

There’s something to be said about, “choose your own difficulty” games. Most of them offer you really deep gameplay, and this is no exception. In Bastion, there comes a point where you find a shrine and can invoke various idols to change the difficulty. These idols range from enemies moving faster to them them becoming invisible for a short time, and the beauty of the system is you can mix and match any idols you want for a unique difficulty every time. And the more difficult the game becomes, the more experience and money you earn. It’s a satisfying system, especially since none of them (except maybe the one that causes enemies to reflect attacks) are ridiculously hard. Having all 10 idols on is definitely a challenge, however.

Now, let’s talk about weapons. You get to choose from a myriad of weapons, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and the best part is they’re all balanced – you can use almost any combination and come out victorious, which I think is fantastic. You find the weapons as you go, showing you their strengths and weakness throughout the level. And to make sure you really see how good each weapon is, there are proving grounds for each weapons that grant you special skills for that particular weapon if you reach first prize.

And of course, the weapons can be upgraded. You can upgrade each weapon 5 times, and they’re all pretty ridiculous once they get maxed out. The BEST part about upgrading is there are two upgrades per level, and you have to choose one or the other (an example: more critical hit chance or more flat power), which makes you think about what kind of upgrades you want for the current level you’re going into.

There’s an in-game challenge system that gives you money for completing them, and that’s nice. Some of the challenges are difficult, and some you achieve as you progress. The small ones add up, though, and since the upgrades can get a little costly, it’s good money to have. Plus, it helps you master each and every weapon!

And the final part about the gameplay that I LOVE are the spirits. They’re drinks that, when consumed, grant you abilities (such as more health, life steal, etc…). Some of them grant you huge bonuses while also giving you a bad side effect, and the versatility of them allows you to mix and match spirits (you can only have so many equipped at one time) with your weapons, giving you a really unique way of fighting.

All of these things comes together to create a truly deep combat experience. I enjoyed every second of it!

If you’re looking for a game that offers you deep gameplay alongside great atmosphere, get Bastion. Get it right now since it’s only $15, which is a steal considering how great this game is. You won’t be disappointed!

Score:

Plot: 7/10

Characters: 8/10

Atmosphere: 10/10

Gameplay: 10/10

Final Score: 9/10

Oh, and the DLC for the game (a new mode and a new dream sequence) is completely free.

Just sayin’