NieR Replicant: “An underrated gem given a slicker, better coat of paint”

NieR is a game I hold dear to my heart, a game that holds many wild twists and revelations that are hidden to you in your initial playthrough of the game. It was both a shock and a surprise to me that it was being “remade” to the then modern consoles. NieR is the property of Square Enix and the brain child of one mad lad called Yoko Taro. There is no reason not to say it; this is the definitive version to play and to get accustomed to especially if you’re coming from NieR Automata as your first NieR game, moreso even. Here’s my thoughts on a remake of a title I’m deeply fond of. NieR tells the story of Nier and Yonah; siblings who are surviving in this seemingly very fantastical world. You are given the control of Nier and must help with your sister’s illness; the black scrawl, a disease that is spreading in the lands as more and more Shades grow violent and attack passing travelers and defensless people. 

To give away more than that is to spoil the very essence of the game itself and its intrigue. The story takes wild turns and crazy twists whilst still being a story that is heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. With added bells and whistles in the form of added cut content and a new ending, this exemplifies its themes of love lost and found, nihilism, existential dread and a crisis of humanity but yet neatly wrapped around the idea of hope, no matter how big or small. The story and characters are the biggest reasons to play NieR Replicant, especially before or after you play Automata. One of the biggest overhauls with this remake is in the gameplay and visual design of the game. No longer is the lighting super bright to the point of blinding, no longer is Nier’s model weird looking and no longer is the combat a bit of a slog to play. Making the overall feel and speed of the combat more like Automata was a blessing needed, as well as making the magic mechanic faster and stressful. The beautiful loneliness of the world in NieR is brought out to its fullest potential with a new polish to the textures and a better resolution, really showcasing just how gorgeous yet simple the art style of NieR really is. 

The audio/music is top notch still, the music is truly something special that exemplifies emotions and feelings during some of the more dramatic moments of the story; whether it's the action and desperation of a situation or the emotional moments of despair and sadness that strike the protagonists, the music is just straight up phenomenal. The voice work goes without saying, all the actors really do a stellar of conveying the dialogue, from Laura Bailley and Liam ‘O’Brien to even just the extras, there’s some really great work that goes on here. 

NieR, whether it's Replicant or Automata, are phenomenal and fanatic works of fiction that are meaningful and deep without feeling like a pretentious lesson in “Babby’s first Artful Writing” for its obvious that Yoko Taro knows not to treat the audience like an idiot and let them feel and find out the little intricacies of his own works. It’s insane to think that this series spawned as a spin off from Drakengard’s secret last ending, in which you fight a boss in a rhythm game section to unlock, it truly speaks just how utterly mad Yoko Yaro can be and that’s why I love his work. If you played Automata but not Replicant or are starting from the beginning? This game is truly worth your attention by all means, the game is easily one of the best stories not just in the game medium but across the board. Biased Score: A+ Unbiased Score: A+ to A

Genre: Action JRPG Release Date: 23rd April 2021 Director: Yoko Taro Developer: Toylogic Publisher Square Enix

Retrospective Thought: Top Ten Games of The Year 2020

Another year, another batch of games have been released to highs and lows, to praise and woes. 2020 May have sucked big time due to COVID and restless political protesting/outrage, the selection of games have been pretty good if a bit middling overall, especially with the beginning of a new Console Generation. Here’s my top ten games of the year, titles I adored and had a blast with. 10) Cyberpunk 2077(PS4/XBOXONE/PC)

A bit of a controversial choice considering the dialogue surrounding it and CD Projekt RED. Needless to say that while it’s downright buggy and unplayable on the base PS4/XBONE versions, Cyberpunk 2077 is still a stellar Immersive Sim with RPG elements thrown in. A great story and a great cast of characters set within a sometimes gorgeous map make up for many of the “shortcomings/Broken promises'' in my honest and trivial opinion. Gameplay is solid/fun whilst needing some fine tuning in areas here and there and the music is top notch to boot. I’d honestly have to recommend getting this later on, after the major big patch coming in Feb as hopefully the bugs and glitches will be cleared(hopefully) by then. Still a great, memorable ride underneath the bugs, glitches and weird design choices, just be cautious if you plan to get it now.

9) Resident Evil 3 Remake(PS4/XBOXONE/PC)

While not quite as fantastic as the Resident Evil 2 Remake and mirroring similarities to the comparison between both original titles, Resident Evil 3 is still a really great Survival Horror Action title in its own right. Obviously it’s focus is definitely more on the action side of things, but while RE5/6 failed to even have a glimmer of horror, here RE3R still has a level of sheer terror in the form of Nemesis both in the beginning and in key moments. Nemesis himself, whilst in the background more than he was in the original, adds a layer of paranoia and dread as you think about where he’ll pop up again ready to take you out. Worth a check if you like the original RE3 game in my opinion.

8) Maneater(PS4/XBOXONE/PC)

A “Megashark Sim” game that could easily be mistaken for a long lost 2005 PS2 game remake or remaster for the PS4/XBONE Generation. Maneater is just pure, unadulterated dumb fun. Growing from tiger shark pup to Megalodon Tier Mega Shark, whilst a little repetitive every so often, is chaotically great, one that really makes you feel like the Apex Predator of the ocean, especially when you take down shark hunters with ease. The story is portrayed as this Reality Show, narrated by Chris Parnum, it takes itself serious enough with some earnest sincerity. If you’re looking for a good mayhem filled fun, pick this title up.

7) Doom Eterna(PS4/XBOXONE/PC/NS

Sequel to the sublime 2016 Reboot, Doom Eternal is one of the best Boomer FPS games to come out in 2020, if not THE best FPS game. An FPS that requires your attention to what weapon you are using and what enemies are currently hunting you down during a hectic gunfight, it often plays both like a Character Action and Puzzle title in equal measure. Continuing and expanding upon the story from the 2016 title, the lore and plot itself go into some both equally dumb and badass levels of nuttery you can only find in Doom. If you love old school shooters and Doom 2016, check it out if you want to rip and tear demons into a pulpy, bloody mess. 

6) Final Fantasy 7: ReMake(PS4)

I haven’t played the original so my experience may be very different to those that have. I enjoyed this title more than I thought I would; from the combat down to the even the music(a strong point of many Final Fantasy games good or bad.)and the story itself is a rather great romp. The Characters, the art style, it all hits the checkmarks I look for in a Final Fantasy game and then some. While it’s not my favourite Final Fantasy, it's definitely in my top tier, even down to the combat which is both really stylish and flashy whilst maintaining a level of tact from the games in the series of yonder. Definitely worth a check out if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy games. 5) One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4(PS4/XBOXONE/PC/NS)

Aah, Musou titles that take an IP and franchise, gives it that Dynasty Warriors coat of paint and goes “that’ll do!” are a treat when done well. PW4 is one such title that does it super well, even to the point of introducing the Manga’s/Anime’s staple Giant Characters as authentic as they can do. What is left is a rather fun, meaty and character varied Musou title that isn’t just “DW but X” like certain others are(cough cough, Fire Emblem Musou). The fact that both Kaido and Big Mom are both playable with their forms makes me so glad that this particular Musou franchise is going strong. Huge recommendation if you’re a OP fan.

4) Nioh 2(PS4)

I adored the first Nioh title a lot; it’s locales, characters, weapon selection, enemy variety, etc. Nioh 2 is essentially “Nioh 1 but an actual budget behind it” and I’m here for it. Both a prequel and a sequel to the previous title, you play as a Shiftling, a half yokai/half human as you set out to track down the Yokai that slew your mother. Mission structure, enemy variety and level design has been improved by a huge margin, surprisingly whilst combat is granted with more options and a wider selection of weapon styles to test out with many QoL improvements that help to keep your attention firm and focus on the build you want to go for. 3) 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim(PS4)

Oh boy, where to start with this one helluva trip of a title. Half Visual Novel and half RTS, Aegis Rim is a big Sci-Fi mecha romp definitely worth the praise and more. When I mean a Sci-Fi Romp I absolutely mean it too, not to spoil the plot or story of the game but I’ll just say it never lets up and goes 100% hard into the themes and concepts it presents to you. The RTS side of it is also super fun as a simple yet deep system with plenty of ways to upgrade your sentinels and plenty of ways to fight Kaiju. I honestly would like to go into further but that’s spoiler territory, trust me and get it for yourself.

2) Ghost of Tsushima(PS4)

Another “Samurai” game only less fantastical and more grounded, taking part in an Era of Japanese history many media don’t often go. Not much left to say due to a previous review of this title but here is the surmised version; a fantastic and gorgeous title that takes elements of various other titles and improves on them whilst a surprisingly well done story of honour, vengeance and protection wraps it up in a neat, tidy package that also includes a surprisingly fun Multiplayer component. 1) Yakuza: Like a Dragon(PS4/XBOXONE/XBXS/PC)

Aah, the Yakuza franchise, a franchise spanning more than ten games which includes remakes, spin offs and prequels. A new protagonist, a new setting and even a new combat system with a story beginning a new journey that will hopefully be of quality as Kiryu’s. There’s a lot to say that a series that changes and shakes its foundation in a way that would’ve been too risky for others to even attempt, is attempted by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios and met with success and love.Yakuza 7 presents both it’s protagonist and story in a parallel of Kiryu and the first game but offering a different path and take. Kiryu is a legend, a sorta “god” if you will in the Yakuza underworld, whilst Ichiban is a nobody, a rung in a low level family and whilst Kiryu is a one man army who will fight with conviction and resolve, Ichiban has a party, friends who will pick him up and push him forward if he ever falters. A review is in the works in which I will go into more detail of just why Yakuza: Like a Dragon is my Number One GOTY of 2020.

And there’s my list of the greats of last years(arguably lol) , a shitty year that surprisingly wasn’t a total train wreck of releases, hopefully 2021 fairs much better with many great releases planned fixes for certain titles.

Ghost of Tsushima Review: "Japan Creed by Akira Kurosawa"

SuckerPunch are a developer from the Sony Studios branch that I have supported since getting my hands on their first Superhero inspired game, InFAMOUS, and I can quite honestly say I’m a mildly fond fan of their work. I never got to play the Sly series except for the Vita Exclusive title that was… okay? Something like that. InFAMOUS 1 is pretty good, 2 is stellar and by far my favourite and Second Son is pretty good. I waited and wondered if they’d continue with either of their previous franchises only to be surprised to find that their reveal was of a new game..set in Japan...during the Mongol Invasion and on the island of Tsushima. I’m super fond of Samurai, Japanese History and Culture and so I was immediately intrigued. Set during the Mongol Invasion of Tushima in 1274, you play as Jin Sakai, a Samurai of noble standing that seeks to protect his home from the “Mongol Menace.” After losing the first initial battle with the Mongolians, Jin sets out on a journey of rediscovery on what it means to be a protector of your home and your duty as a Samurai. The plot of Tsushima is beat for beat very Akira Kurosawa inspired and even chock full of very similar themes of Honour, Betrayal and Vengeance. Each character, whilst having a level of despair and grit to them, has their own rather interesting personal stories to boot; one dealing with vengeance at it’s brutally rawest form, another dealing with the idea of lost honour and betrayal of trust, etc. Overall, seeing the growth of Jin and his followers is a special and emotional journey that has been knocked out of the ball park very confidently. Ghost of Tsushima, is a visual and audio treat of design. Rather than just looking good for that “Its gorgeous” vibe, the artistic and visual designs add a layer to help with exploring the three man areas of the island of Tsushima. The sound and music design also adds another layer, whether it’s the calming sounds of the flute whirling within the winds or the harsh percussion underlining the clash of steel and wounded grunts of dying mongol warriors. Now to the meat and potatoes of any game worth it’s price. It’s not condescending to call this title “Assassin’s Creed but in Japan and actually good” for it excels easily past Assassin’s Creed with a meaningful combat system, exploration and stuff to do within its world. It’s a Stealth/Action open world title, and while there is fluff to some extent, it adds much more meaningful exploration and discoveries alongside a hefty and gritty combat system that both demands you to pay attention and rewards you with some grizzly animations.Tsushima uses the “Wind” as a rather neat waypoint mechanic rather than have a minimap filled to the brim with icons. At first it’s a bit strange to utilise but once you get used to it, you’ll find yourself hardly flicking the touchpad to activate the wind guidance function.

Combat is visceral and brutal with a variety of different stances that are best used against certain enemy types, including a collection of “ghost tools” that give you that little bit of advantage in combat confrontations. Alongside a solid stealth system, the Standoff mechanic is both super fun and really cool, allowing you to thin the ranks before you engage the enemy head on.The only real nitpick to give Tsushima is the use of enemy camps and collectables dotted around the map that many open world titles like to throw in but with how well the exploration and combat is developed, it’s not a major issue.

It's no secret that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima. Suckerpunch really went above and beyond with making sure this adventure was as great and fun as they could make it and it truly shows in the finished product. While it's only window dressing historically, using an Era that is rarely touched upon in Games is both a risky and really cool way of making it the setting of a story about defeat, revenge, Family and a loss of identity. Tsushima is a great game and definitely worth your time.

Biased Score: A

Unbiased Score: A- to B+

Nioh 2 Review: “Samurai Souls May Cry Gaiden the Game”

Since Dark Souls’ release way back in 2011, the action RPG title has taken gaming by storm and thunder; for better or for worse. Cementing FromSoft as the Dev to watch if you fancy some hard as nails, tense as hell action whilst exploring and slowly self-uncovering both the world and story that you’re engrossing yourself into from the beginning. Needless to say many others saw this boom in popularity and were quick to jump on the Dark Souls-like gravy train and thus the “Souls-Like” was born; a style/subgenre of game that follows some if not most of the namesake’s design philosophies. Despite Nioh being in development hell since the original PS2 Era it finally got released back in 2018, being a sort of weird Souls-like/Ninja Gaiden/Dungeon Crawler. Obviously it’s popularity sold it well and greenlit a second game, which is the focus of this review. So is it good? Bad? Mediocre? Here’s my take/opinion. Nioh 2 is the titular mechanical sequel to Nioh, both Action-RPG/Dungeon Crawlers with a focus on Musou/Ninja Gaiden combat as you pick up loot and Amrita(the Souls Currency), level up your character to either just have fun or for a particular build you wanna experiment with. Published by the guys that brought you Dynasty Warriors(and all titles that follow the “musou” formula), Nioh 2 feels pretty much Nioh 1 but with an actual budget. And boy does it really feel like a proper budget here.It was released way back in march of 2020. The Story this time around serves as a prequel to the first’s events and plot; you play as Hide,a half-yōkai referred to as a "Shiftling" whose journey through the Sengoku Era begins when they befriend Kinoshita Tōkichirō, a merchant seeking to make his mark in history by selling Amrita, and Mumyo, a demon hunter of the Sohaya group. The Story does a very solid job at building these characters up and making you actually feel for them during the adventure, as if they are adventuring friends on this journey with you. Plot points and moments really add drama,some comedic, dramatic and even tragic in varying forms along the way. The main antagonist is also a much needed improvement over Edward Kelley, starting off as this mysterious figure that plays the landscape from behind shadows all up to the epic climactic showdown. There’s some really cool moments for both historical/mythological fans and fans of the previous game that warrant a pick up and play in my honest opinion. Any further and I’ll be heading into spoiler territory. The music and sound in this game is also solid. Some of the boss themes are solid enough largely, there’s a few memorable tracks and some not so memorable, they all work in adding that needed tension during any kind of fight, so there is that. The ambiance is where it shines though, adding that subtle layer of unsettling tension and ease, thinking that any minute some mook might just try to stab you, or worse; a Yokai rampaging.towards you. There’s no denying it that the audio is both equals satisfying, unsettling and even just meh, but mostly the former two though. And now the meat and potatoes of the game: the gameplay. Nioh 2 takes what was essentially established from the previous series like; Low/Mid/High Stance switching, Gear as damage and protection numbers with some special effects rather than the Dark Souls/Bloodborne styled gear, Guardian Spirit selecting for added effects, only with a few additions. Firstly, you can create a fully customizable character(and edit them any time you like too) rather than playing as a premade character. The detail and flexibility of the Creation Tool is also surprisingly deep to boot. Two more interesting additions that really shake things up are Soul Cores and Yokai Shifting. Soul Cores are essentially powerful active(sometimes passive) abilities that you can equip onto your Guardian Spirit to raise stats and effects, they also allow you use Yokai Abilties, whether it’s a Arrow shot from a skeleton or a literal command grab from a Yokai, this really dds another level of depth to the combat.What really grabs your attention is Yokai shifting, in layman's terms it’s a Devi; Trigger that replaces Living Weapons,giving a period of invincibility and higher attack, the surprising tidbit is that you can change your Yokai Shift form too, adding that little personal touch for you make something really to your taste. Whether you’re new or a fan of the previous game you’ll be missing out NOT giving this game a run honestly. Superb solid combat, a rather surprisingly good and sometimes touching story set in the backdrop of the Sengoku period of Japan as you battle powerful spiritual entities called Yokai? That’s enough to get anyone at least intrigued on what it is. Team Ninja have really stepped up their game with this title, easily going over the high bar that was set up by Nioh. You won’t regret getting this title, pick it up now! Biased Score: A Unbiased Score: Between an A and a B+

Retrospective Thought: Top Ten Games of The Year 2019

Another year down and just on the horizon beckons another year into the light, and this year was a real wild ride for games. From triumphant returns ala Devil May Cry V to huge disasters ala Anthem. What is a defacto truth though; there’s plenty of great games that came out this year, and can only make us wonder what is brewing for the new start of a new decade. As we close out the 2010s and enter the 2020s, I think we should look back on the great games that came out in 2019. Obviously this is MY list of games that I LOVED playing this year, I haven’t played every game to ever come out this year so there’s bound to be a favourite or two of yours not on this list. I respect you either disagreeing or agreeing with me. So here goes, the Ten Games of the Year. Honourable Mentions: The Surge 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, Blasphemous, Oninaki, My Friend Pedro, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3:The Black Order, Dusk Diver, Daemon X Machina, Death Stranding, MediEvil Remake, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

10) Plague Tale: Innocence(PS4/XBO/PC) This title is very much a sleeper hit in my opinion, a game published by Focus Home Interactive, who have been killing it in the “AA Experience” space of games with the likes of Styx, Greedfall, etc and Plague Tale, is a game worth checking out. You play as Amicia De Rune, who must protect her younger brother, Hugo, from Inquisition guards, villagers and a deadly swarm of plague carrying rats during 14th century France. The story slowly builds drama, tension and atmosphere with a fantastic setting that is surprisingly overlooked for more contemporary settings and locales, the idea of making Rats(for most of the game mind you) as this unstoppable almost “supernatural” force is both genius and frightening. Above all else the characters are well written, many parts believable and many parts relatable, you’ll be feeling their trials and tribulations as you go through the games 17 lengthy chapters. The gameplay is surprisingly both solid and janky at times; taking on a stealth system that mostly works well, you gradually gain a number of tools to deal with both human and vermin obstacles all the while with a small number of bosses that feel more like a mix of combat and puzzle solving. The game is worth picking up if you’re craving a smaller, less busywork heavy kinda game.

9) Astral Chain(Nintendo Switch) Platinum Games is one of my favourite Action Game developers currently in the industry; they make great combat systems with deep mechanics all the while adding more depth than you initially thought could possibly be able. While it’s not on the same level as NieR: Automata, Astral Chain continues the trend of Platinum Games nailing their signature style of gameplay; over the top whacky combat with anime as hell storytelling. This time you play a cop of a special police division that focuses on investigating the Astral Realm with your own Jojo-like Stand called a Legion. You’ll go on missions to battle these weird creatures, investigate the areas, even helping people and picking up litter(yeah, really) all the while slowly opening up your repertoire of Legions at your disposal. This is standard “Goofball anime nonsense mixed with badass tier combat and gameplay” that you either love or hate from Plat. While it’s not the deepest combat system out of their library, it is a rather interesting and fun premise with the combat focus being on the switching between Legions and their placement on the battlefield, the game offers its own level of depth, even if its a pond compared to the likes of Bayonetta 2 and NieR: Automata. If you want an anime as fuck, fun romp, Astral Chain is for you.

8) Code Vein(PS4/XBO/PC) The Soulsborne-like clone fad is a weird beast to look back on; while some heavy hitters have come out of it(NioH, Surge to some extent, hell Hollow Knight,Jedi Fallen Order) there’s been some real stinkers( Lords of The Fallen, again, Surge to some extent), it seems to have caught the industry hard as you could easily find at least one clone you’ll like and one you despise. Code Vein is a very weird Souls-like game in that it’s focus isn’t really a particular gameplay mechanic they introduce into it, or even how it offers “loot” but more on its focus on a narrative and characters. You play as a nameless revenant that wakes up with amnesia and a pretty white haired but barely clothed girl. It’s your duty to collect blood beads to keep your hunger sated. As you explore and push on the story opens up, introducing new characters and locales with a enough variety to keep you interested. Gameplay wise? Combat is solid, it’s admittedly very soulsy, so love it or hate it, that’s how it does things, plus you have the option of having a CP controlled companion with you on your journey to help alleviate some of the difficulty. Where the game shines in gameplay is it’s endless combinations and build opportunities, allowing you to really cater to a unique playstyle best suited for you or a more typically fantasy build if you so choose. Bosses, however are a huge mixed bag of good, bad and just outright frustrating. If you really want an Anime Souls-like, you would do yourself a huge disservice to miss out on this one.  

7) Outer Worlds(PS4/XBO/PC) Obsidian Entertainment does a really good job on making some great RPG titles. From KOTOR2 to Fallout: New Vegas and even their own IPs like Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2, Outer Worlds is no exception among this collection. While the game is set in an alternative future, you are awakened by a mad scientist named Phineas Welles from cryosleep only to find that most of the passengers are still in hibernation aboard a colony ship. The game features several factions and a branching story that reacts to the player's choices. The writing is pretty damn great, witty and intriguing, something severely lacking in later day Fallout titles. Outer Worlds is pretty much a Fallout Game without the fallout licence only it builds from New Vegas’ strengths rather than let it get muddled down with Bethesda’s weaknesses. It even comes with it’s own take on the VATS system. The gameplay is solid, it’s just New Vegas but better, whilst in the grand scheme of things? It’s not the thing that will win you over in the long run. If you’re a Fallout Fan sick of the current trend Bethesda is in or whether you’re looking for a great Space Adventure, Outer Worlds is not the best choice, it’s Spacer’s Choice!

6) Greedfall(PS4/XBO/PC) Oh Spiders, Spiders, Spiders. This dev company has steadily grown strong from game to game. From it’s rocky beginnings with Of Orcs and Men and Bound by Flame to the almost good Technomancer, Spiders have, in my honest opinion, have found their major hit and boy has it been a hit for Focus Home Interactive. You begin as De Sardet, a human who’s sent with his cousin to govern newly discovered island, neutral in the varying factions and war that is happening all the while you seek to find out more about the this mysterious illness that plagues the De Sardet family, so that you can cure Greedfall, honestly, is such a weird game to come out in 2019 but one I do not regret having played at all. It’s reminiscent of old Bioware titles like Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age: Origins; the gameplay is solid and fun allowing you a nice enough variety to go deep as you want whilst having a rather engaging story and narrative that is populated with companions that all have very different opinions and often clash with one another’s. It feels like a game that should’ve been released back in 2010 from Bioware, in a good way obviously. While it’s not graphically impressive, the art style is really nice and the world is both intriguing and bleak. Worthy a look into if you’re seeking that old bioware-esque flair that’s seriously missing from Latter Day Bioware.

5) Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice(PS4/XBO/PC) One of my all time favourite games is a From Software developed title by the name of Bloodborne, which is also my all time favourite PS-Exclusive. My hype for Sekiro was almost reaching the moon since the teaser was shown back in 2018, a chance to travel to Japan with that Souls-like style if you will. Only it’s the least Souls games in the Souls style of games that is developed by the originators of the brand. The focus here, is less on builds, blocking and dodging and more about your posture, parrying and loadouts and the gameplay absolutely, masterfully services that to a T.The Bosses are some of the best in the series, almost better than Bloodborne’s roster, but with the addition of mini bosses that roster is pretty huge(for better or for worse). You take the role of Sekiro, a ninja who’s service is needed by Kuro, a bearer of the Dragon’s Heritage; power/curse that grants anyone they deem worthy with immortality, however, when they die and resurrect it runs the risk of infecting people with Dragon Rot. The more narrative focus is a nice change of pace in my opinion and with the added blend of japanese history with mythology giving it a rather rich and surprisingly lived in world. Sekiro is definitely worth getting if you fancy yourself more dueling style gameplay.

4) Judgment(PS4) Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios have become another of my favourite game devs in recent years. Their work on the Yakuza Franchise is a blessing for a revamping of a classic Adventure/Savage Beat’em’up Hybrid, though they’ve since become the most popular and one of very few to exist. Judgment is a sorta separate entity/spin-off to the mainline franchise but still somehow connected(Unlike the great Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise title.) to the Yakuza story in a much smaller degree. You play as Yagami, a private detective who was once a renowned lawyer until he was disgraced by one his star client who went on to murder another victim despite being found innocent. That’s as much as I can say about the story since the game is essentially a Crime Drama/Mystery with a little bit of Yakuza DNA. The cast of characters are all great, the villains make you want to absolutely bring them down a peg and the good guys really makes you root for them to win and push through the struggles. As is with Yakuza, the meat and potatoes of the series, the gameplay, is on point. Continuing the savage Brawler system but extending it into a more personalised style for Yagami, with his own heat moves and skills to boot, it’s fantastic and absolutely a treat to pull off combats, especially switching between all three of the styles. The Boss battles are a sweet as all hell, especially Cane Guy, who’s probably the most anime as fuck character you face of against. Buy it if you love Yakuza and crave for more, or if you’re new to the style of games.  

3) Resident Evil 2: Remake(PS4/XBO/PC) Survival Horror is a genre that seems to struggle, with the occasional surprise hit that everyone gets behind. With that in mind, Resident Evil 2 Remake is a fantastic survival horror game that brings back the franchise to its roots and redoing them with a great, brand new shine and paint. Resident Evil 2 Remake puts you in the shoes of Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy during the Racoon City Incident, while Claire searches for her brother and Leon goes to his first day on the job at RCPD, despite being told not, they must survive and avoid the monstrosities that roam the city, zombies, Lickers and the big bad Tyrant himself Mr X. A very nice remix of an old formula that gives it some new life, RE2R has impeccable atmosphere, tension and horror, half being brought to you via exploring and solving puzzles and the other half from Mr X himself who stalks you down with a purpose; to take out any survivors in Racoon City. Gameplay is super solid, and surprisingly does not make the game a pushover, solid shooting mechanics with some great puzzle mechanics and ofcourse exploration whilst not being an open world make this a title worth having in your collection. Whether you’re a survival horror fan, RE fan, Old Skool style RE fan, you’ll do yourself a massive disservice not picking this gem up.

2) Devil May Cry V(PS4/XBO/PC) Honestly, you can just call 2019 the Year of Capcom’s return to form, by nailing it with RE2, MHW in 2018 and obviously Iceborne later in year, it was only time that DMCV would come out between those mammoths titles. After the disastrous ReBoot, everyone including me too were sure that DMC was put back in the ice for good. That’s of course before DMCV’s triumphant teaser at E3. Devil May Cry V continues the story of Sparda’s progeny, Dante as he helps out returning upstart Nero and intriguing newcomer V as they take on the new Demon King; Urizen. This game is absolutely fantastic and I can’t fanboy over it enough. The story, while simple and easy to follow, has great character development and pacing, bring characters into their arcs in ups and downs that steadily build up to a final confrontation that just might be my new favourite boss battle of all time. The gameplay! The gameplay, is, to put it bluntly; absolutely sublime. From Dante’s weapon variety and DT craziness to Nero’s new gadgets in the form of his robotic arms to the weird Summoner-style gameplay of V, the game is its most diverse gameplay wise and not once feeling janky and sluggish at all. The Boss Battles are all fun and really bring something to the gameplay to both push and test you to your limit. Devil May Cry may just be one of my all time fave franchises and to see it return so triumphantly? Actually brings a tear to my eye. A must, must, MUST buy if I’ve ever played one.

1) Control(PS4/XBO/PC EGS Exclusive) Aaaah, Remedy, bringing such classics like Max Payne and Alan Wake into this world, Microsoft did you dirty with Quantum Break. So where did it leave them to go? To spiral into the weird worlds of Stephen King, Cosmic horror and the SCP Foundation for inspiration, to which Control is born, a phenomenal Third Person Shooter Metroidvania-esque game with a solid narrative and a beautiful visual and art design. You are Jesse Faden, a person of interest that has been searching for the Federal Bureau of Control since an incident with them when she was young had taken her brother. I really don’t want to say more than that, it’s better for you to experience the story for yourself. Narratively speaking? It has some great SCP-esque world building and lore with a solid to really good story that’s pacing 80% of the time really well. Gameplay and visuals with music are essentially where this game shines for me. Solid as hell shooting mechanics with some really badass powers helps to bring this game alive, but you don’t have all those powers from the get go, they are steadily paced throughout to make sure you’re not vastly overpowered or underpowered, it’s rather nice actually. Visuals and music are sublime, both together make for some truly memorable moments and areas. As stated, this is a Metroidvania and so has a lot of isms associated with that style; locked off area you’ll obviously return to with new powers to explore further, a semi-open world map, etc. I can’t sing this game’s praises enough, I think this might’ve just beaten out Alan Wake for my favourite Remedy game. Absolutely get this game NOW. So there’s my top ten list to round out 2019, a truly great year of great games. I’m honestly really excited to see what comes out in 2020, as it looks to be quite literally STACKED with potentially great(and shite) games. Hope you all had a spiffn’ new years, and here’s to 2020, let’s see what’s in store for us now!

Control: “TAKE. CONTROL!”

I’d had both the pleasure and thrill to play through Control and boy was it a doozy of a game, let me tell you. Remedy, the fantastic creators of the phenomenal supernatural survival “thriller” that is Alan Wake, have decided to take a “best of” approach for their latest and newest IP. Control takes the gameplay solid brilliance of Max Payne, the visual spotlessness of Quantum Break and the intrigue, narrative, world building of Alan Wake to such a solid degree. As you may guess, this is basically just a gushing piece on Control and why it’s perhaps one of the best games I’ve played this year. Remedy are back, baby! So let’s hope their IP allows them the freedom they need to go even further. Control is an Action/Adventure “Metroidvania” like game developed by Remedy for PS4,Xbox One and PC via exclusivity on the Epic Games Store. You are in control of Jesse Faden who’s in search of her missing brother, an incident which occured when they were children in their home town of Hope. Her search has led straight to the FBC, Federal Bureau of Control and their base of operations known as “The Oldest House” alongside a silent companion with some rather useful abilities. Despite actually finding the FBC, it’s under siege by an entity called The Hiss, that seems to infect people with a high frequency almost “hissing” like noise. The story is your typical paranormal investigative romp with a few nice twists and turns to keep you on your feet. In terms of narration, however, Control shines in building a world of the paranormal and strange. With a sorta SCP-like style writing to the documents you find, and objects that have various abilities(A rubber duck that teleports everywhere, a clock that duplicates itself, you know the drill) The world of Control is super intriguing, weird and sometimes quite terrifying. The sound design and music in Control is stellar, solid and varyingly nice with a smathering touch of weirdness. To weird abstract noises from certain constructs you encounter, to the bang of your gun and the almost incoherent ramblings of the The Board, the auditory creativeness is something else to listen to. The Music itself is also varied, from Polish like tango ballads to weird industrialised synthwave tracks, with a nice little rock out tun from “The Old Gods of Asgard” that plays during a rather fantastically made setpiece that acts as the first part of the final run up to the end of the game. It’s a nice nod to their previous paranormal series Alan Wake. The voice acting is great to solid, Jesse’s monologues are an interesting take if a little annoying at times, and the the “Just another incident at the office” that most of the FBI operatives have(Langston is the biggest culprit) is both startling and hilarious to behold. The visuals and art direction are another shining example of why Control is a fantastic game. Whoever designed the levels, bosses and secret areas is an absolute madman and a genius one to boot. While it starts off rather bold and very striking with a harsh office-like design, it soon begins to twist and change around the further you dig deep in Control. From the industrialised as hell dark prison that houses all the peculiar objects, to the bright, minimalistic approach of the Astral realm to the beautiful and starry skies of the Quarry, the Art Team deserves an award for their work. Enemies and Bosses both range from the standard mooks to the rather strange as hell. You start with rather standard mooks wielding guns to rather out there enemies like the Astral Constructs, invincible and imposing, and the Healing Spheres that dart across the map giving a regen boost to the hiss. The bosses however? Are an absolute treat sometimes visually, sometimes mechanically and even sometimes both. While I can’t really say any one boss in particular, I will say, fighting The Anchor is a great boss fight. Without giving anything away, the visual design goes really crazy during a certain set-piece, adding some thrills to your combat breaks. And finally, the meat and potatoes; the gameplay and what it has to offer. It’s a third person shooter that adds a unique variety,if a little small, of powers at your disposal that you unlock as your progress through the game ala Metroidvania style. Your main, and really “only” weapon is the Service Weapon, aka the Director’s Gun. I say “only” in that it has different forms you can switch between on the fly, with five you get to experiment with; ranging from your standard handgun fair to a typical shottie and even a rocket launcher and a machine gun. Mods both for your service weapon and yourself allow you to tailor make your playstyle as you see fit. The fun though, lies in your power repertoire. Push being your typical telekinetic grab and fling, with even an ability to mind control weakened enemies to a levitate allows you all sorts of means of fighting and dodging your way around The Oldest House. With each new ability you gain, the game slowly drip feeds it’s roster enemy to you, giving a sense of freshness and not leaving you too overpowered until the endgame. There’s a particular sequence, a set piece mentioned earlier that exemplifies the best traits of the game into one badass and memorable moment just before the final act’s conclusion the controls are also super tight and solid without them being too rigid or too loose, it’s that little sweet spot in the middle that many games fail to hit. Control is a masterpiece of the current modern era of game, to put it bluntly, however, it does have its fair share of flaws. The performance issues on PS4 and Xbox alone are...not great but are definitely currently being fixed. The story is perhaps it’s weakest part(though still good and solid in my opinion) and the ending just sort of “ends” but not really. DLC is currently in development and has me eagerly awaiting to go back to Control and play it through once again. Control is definitely worth picking and worth playing in my honest opinion. A fantastic game brought to you by the creators of Alan Wake, what’s not to love? Biased Score: A Unbiased Score: Between an A and a B+

The Badger Duke’s Impressions: Mortal Kombat 11

So last week I got the lovely chance of checking out the Private Beta of Mortal Kombat 11! I’m a huge, complete and utter fanboy of everything that is Mortal Kombat. I’ve played the games since owning the MK: Trilogy game on PS1 and since then I’ve been pretty much enamored with it, well, except for Armageddon, which had a cool roster, just eveything else was utterly tripe tier. So this style of “review” will be a bit shorter than my full blown reviews honestly because it’s just a demo, so there’s only so much you can gleam from it. So let’s dig in!  Gameplay “Feel” Impressions I was a little taken back by the slower speed of fighting and no run, that soon didn’t become an issue as the “speed” of fights were rather variable and more methodical than previous iterations. Combos felt hefty and impactful and were easily enough to pull off, especially in conjunction with some of the specials. Fighters felt more like skillful competitors rather than the mix match of “big brutes” and “Martial Masters” like in Injustice 2. I obviously focused my time with Kabal, an old favourite of mine who’s returning. His array of special moves were really varied and super fun to utilise honestly. Again, the speed of combat was variable, as you could easily rush in or watch methodically for an opening, or just zone the shmucks out! So far, the gameplay is very promising, as I speak as a MK fanboy. Fatalities have obviously stayed in, Brutalities stay in too albeit they are easier to execute, it’s now down to Krushing Blows being the sortof “do this x Amounts to initiate it” and such.  Design/Aesthetic/Graphical Impressions The look, whether it’s the environments in the stages or the varying costumes of each fighter, looks stunning and beautiful. The animations were top notch, each move flowed well into another, each fighter has little “touches” to give them that little flair. graphically? as far as Fighting games go? it looks really fucking good. I know some have issues with the less “palette stripper” like look of the females and how the men are still bare chested, but I actually don’t mind the female redesigns mostly(Sonya is bad), I mean Skarlett actually looks really now! The effects on the special moves look really nice. This game is definitely something I’m going to pick up when its out.  Overall impressions - Very Promising! as I said, I’m a huge sucker for anything that is MK11, and sadly this was only a stress testing private beta so a lot of the stuff was focused on online matchmaking and stuff like that, otherwise my impressions would be longer. So far, for me? it’s a big must-have and despite some minor peeves its still set to be one of my fave fighters this year.

Devil May Cry V: “Hit’s the JACKPOT!”

I’ve got a hell of a lot to talk about regarding Devil May Cry and it’s franchise, both positive and negative(maybe?). But for now, I’ve got to play Devil May Cry 5 since it’s release back on March the 8th and am I ready to spill the beans that is my thoughts on this return to the classic style of Devil May Cry. Firstly, a warning; this review is going to be super, super biased since I’m a huge DMC fanboy, it was essentially the first Character Action game I ever owned and ever played and have loved it since. But anyway, let’s get down and dirty! Devil May Cry V is latest installment in the capcom made, Hack ‘n’ Slash franchise aptly named Devil May Cry. After a long eleven years between V and 4, due to a brief stint into reboot territory, the “Classic” style of DMC returns with a flash, bang and a ton of stylish pazazz to wash away the reboots grittier, edgy “Trylord” approach. The story follows Dante, Nero and newcomer, V as they try to take down a new threat that has risen a giant tree called the “Qliphoth” in Redgrave City. Returning faces such as Morrison(anime), Trish and Lady(Kyrie returns but in voice only)  and another newcomer, the bombastic mechanic Nico Goldstein. Nero is out for payback since Urizen, the main antagonist, had taken his arm for more power. The story follows themes of family, humanity, both dark and light within clashing and forcing a separation that creates danger to those around it. The Story is, only narrowly so, the best yet.   

Needless to say, the main element here? Is the gameplay. The aesthetic and graphics are probably the biggest things you’ll notice that have changed since 4. Going with a more photo-realistic approach ala the RE Engine, whilst still attaining that little “DMC-like” Style, it’s a very gorgeous game to look that’s for sure. The art style is pretty damn sexy in all the right ways, and works within the framework of “Smokin Sexy Stylish” like approach that whilst tones down some of the more psuedo-animeness? still keeps it all in line of how a Devil May Cry game should look. It’s more of a natural progression of how each iteration has grown and changed in many ways, both to reflect a growing maturity and a change in technology over time. To put it simply; The game is very gorgeous to look at, the character designs are great and refreshing whilst having a certain air of familiarity to it. Enemies look really good to, all kinds of creepy,badass, dead and grotesque, this goes to the bosses too. Older enemies return, and look better than ever, as if they’ve been fully realised in the RE Engine. While the level aesthetic is basically just “Cityscapes and alleyways to Underworldly demonic corridors” you could be mistaken to think that it could grow old fast but i’m currently on my third playthrough and it all still feels fresh in my opinion.  The sound design? brutalising, pulse-pounding and raucous as hell. The VAs all do a splendid job of bringing these characters to life, Reuben and Johnny Yong Bosch are undeniably both Dante and Nero, possibly doing their best performances. The newer cast also do a great job, Nico’s actor really brings out her spunk and attitude with an infectious manner making her endearing and a lovable addition as well as V’s brooding, soft tone clashes with Griffon’s shitlord-esque delivery. The clinking and clanking of swords striking the Angelos armor to the fleshy tones of a demons being slice and the lightning cackles from Griffon’s lightning are all delightfully brutal. The music though, is probably some of the best in the franchise yet, from Cavaliere Angelo’s boss theme to V’s “Crimson Cloud” theme song, the music is affected by your style rank, and how pulsing and loud it gets. Score a D? it’s just low bakground murmurings but if you can score an S or above? it’s racing, pulsing and pumps  you up ready to slay those demons to bits.  Gameplay, oh what joy it is. The main course to your DMCV meal; is by far the best in the franchise(maybe only narrowly so). You have 3 playable characters at your disposal; Dante, Nero and V. Everyone who’s at least play 3 and 4 will already be used to Nero and Dante; The former focuses on one weapon though now he has access to the disposable “Devil Breakers” prosthetic arms that give you some neat abilities from slowing time, armor breaking to even replicating the Devil Bringer of 4. Dante is Dante; He has a versatile arsenal of devil arms and guns at your disposable and 4 styles you can switch between on the fly, same with the weapons too. It’s V though, who’s the most interesting as he doesn’t really fight directly, preferring the use of his Demon friends; Griffon, Shadow and Nightmare. Griffon is your “gun”, Shadow is your “Sword” and Nightmare acts as a devil trigger in which he just lumbers around the battlefield firing off lasers and doing his best Zangief impression to which V himself delivers the final blow with his cane. Each character is complex, deep and hard to master, but all kinds of fun to mess around with. You will be fighting to raise your Stylish Rank up to the lauded SSS tier, the challenge being both battlefield wary and keeping up your rank so it does not fall below and end up as D again. Enemies require varying tactics to beat, same goes with bosses, more so for them. The game is really simple enough(Auto-assist exists if you don’t want to focus too hard on learning combos) for anyone to pick up and play, though very taxing if you plan to master it. The Boss battles? my god they are a treat and super fun and really fuckin challenging to boot(especially the last one, but that’s spoiler territory).  I’ve waited a loooong time for Devil May Cry’s return, after the woeful reboot attempt I had no hope of it returning. Here I am, writing up a review of possibly one of the best return to forms in video Games, hell definitely in Japanese Video Games. I’ve lived and loved this franchise since my first PS2, I continue to love it and will love it for a long time to come. I couldn’t be more happier with this fantastic hack ‘n’ slash title(Well, until Vergil is playable!), it brings me joy to see one of my favouriie franchise rise from the ashes like a phoenix, hell this is probably my GoTY contender so far. I’m so happy to say this; Devil May Cry is BACK and it’s hit the JACKPOT! Biased Score: A+ Unbiased Score: A

Retrospective Thought: “Ten Games I’m Highly Excited For in 2019″

Starting off this year with a list! A list of games I’m super excited for that are coming out(or not, you never know lol). 2019 has already seen two really strong releases in Resident Evil 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3, expect a review of the former sometime next week. So let’s get into this list! 10) The Sinking City(March 21st) I’m a massive fanboy of anything Lovecraftian and Cosmic Horror tinged. From all of the stuff shown so far both in videos and screenshots, Sinking City looks really promising to be a rather crazy adventure into madness. If there’s something I’m hoping for this title to do, it would be more survival horror in the vein of Resident Evil than actiony like Bioshock 2 or a slog like Amnesia. So far though? This has my attention the more I see of it.  9) Left Alive(March 5th) I love some big robo/mechy action in my shooters, and this new title seems to hopefully cure that itch, for now at least(Further down the list will make more sense). Set in the rather cool Front Mission-verse, which have been mostly Strategy titles until Front Mission:Evolved(A rough gem that’s worth checking out imo). Left Alive seems to take some notes out of Titanfall’s books, by having having both out of and in mech action. So long as there’s a nice balance of on foot combat and mech combat i’ll be darned and hype for this title. 8) Toejam & Earl: Back in The Groove(March 1st) I’m not going to lie, I’m a stickler for some Nostalgia-pandering, especially if it’s this little gem from the 90′s. While it’s more in the vein of say, the first game? The funktacular return of this blast from the past is a welcome change in my opinion. It’s basically a randomly generated treasure hunting game in which you play aliens looking to gather all their Spaceship’s parts, with an added awesome OST to boot. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual non-combat focused game(as in, it’s at least not another fucking Walking sim). 7) Code Vein(TBA in 2019) Souls-like that’s more Bloodborne than Dark Souls? check! Vampire themes and concept? Check! Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic setting? Check! basically “Anime Bloodborne but vampires and psuedo-sci-fi stuff) and I’m all aboard for this shit! While it may not be super high on my list, I’m still looking to check this little action anime RPG Romp when it drops! 6) Metro Exodus(Feb 15th) Not gonna mention the fiasco over the PC storefront bullshit(It’s all dumb, shouldn’t be happening imo just have the game on both fronts. I’m still really hype, while I’m currently re-going through Last Light to better get an understanding of the franchise before the third one is out next week. I’m hoping this will give me a good Post-Apoc survival experience over the botched fuck up that is Fallout 76.Post-Nuked Russia has always interested me honestly.  5) Judgement: Project Judge Eyes(TBA 2019) Yakuza is easily one of the best franchises of the Modern Era of Gaming, from fuckin Sega of all Publishers to, the same Publisher that really royally fucked over the Sonic franchise. Well Judgement is another title set in the same universe as Yakuza, only you’re playing from the PD’s point of view. It’s out now in Japan, and some of the zany whackiness has been turned up to fuckin hundred, so that alone gets my body ready for this(Hopefully) great new title. 4) Ghost of Tsushima(Unknown)  Look, this game hasn’t been given a release date yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m not hyped for it. Essentially, I’ve been killing for a non-supernatural.fantasy tinged japanese set game. Samurais and mongols fighting, as you play as said Samurai? I NEED THIS GAME NOW! To be honest, the game could easily turn out to be “Ryse:Japan Edition” But I’m really hopeful for it! 3) Mortal Kombat 11(April 23rd) Mortal Kombat has always been my fighting jam, except for the god awful fully 3D Tekken-alikes that happened over 10 years ago. While I have my reservations on some of the stuff(Jesus Sonya and Cassie look....not great lol), I’m still more so hyped for it. The new loot system ala Injustice 2 making a somewhat MK-esque debut in MK11 really makes me happy. Now if they can announce Noob, Rain, Kabal, Erron Black and Motaro as returning playable fighters I’ll be super happy! 2) Sekiro:Shadows Die Twice(March 22nd)  From Software did some awesome shit; Bloodborne being my favourite, plus the Dark Souls Trilogy and even Armored Core. So no doubt I’m very much excited for Sekiro. While it’s Japan with some fantasy/supernatural elements, I’m willing to get with it for the gameplay, which by the stuff out about it? Looks really fluid, solid and really good. The traversing options are just the cherry on this fantastic sundae and I’ll guarantee this will be a hit! 1) Devil May Cry V(March 8th)  I’ve been waiting for this since I finished DMC4 for the first time back in 08. I tried to like DmC, but I just couldn’t, what a huge let down that was, and for a long ass time I thought the DMC series was on ice. That’s until last year when it got announced, and Hooooo boy, I couldn’t be happier or more excited for it. the initial leakage of info since? has done nothing but get me more excited for this sequel than probably anything so far. Ofcourse they could fuck it, and it’s not in the realm of impossibility, it’s just so good to have a true DMC title releasing sooner than later! Maybe it will be my GoTY? So far, Resident Evil 2 is. And so, that’s 10 games I’m super duper looking forward to playing and hopefully reviewing too! This year looks to be a stellar lineup of new and old and returning franchises. Trying to keep positive vibes despite some really fuckin dumb shit happening already. Next up is a review of Resident Evil 2 and honestly? Well, you’ll find out!

Retrospective Thought: Top Ten Games of The Year 2018

Oi! 2018 was pretty good year games, innit? Maybe not as consistent as 2017 for quality, but I reckon it’s still a damn great year! Anyway, now that all the other Game of The Year stuff has happened, I think I’m going to do my own list, which I’ve done for a couple of years now. Well, let’s get to it, which games blew my socks and which 3 particularly royally blew my socks off!

10) Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker’s Memory(PS4/PSVita) Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth is basically Discount Persona with a Pokemon battle system(only with a cooler way of switching moves via a skill bank of sorts). The story, however, is not a follow up from the previous title but a companion story of sorts. You play as a Hacker whose account has been stolen. You embark on a journey to regain your account and to stop the person responsible for the whole thing. The story pretty much opens up as you progress, taking some of the previous game’s plot with a dash of “Alternative point of view” to boot. Hacker’s Memory has it’s downtime moments, sometimes it can feel like a real grind, but leading a team of your suited up fave digimon has never felt better, definitely worth picking up if you like Persona and Digimon!

9) Dragonball Fighter z(PS4/XBO/PC/NS I enjoyed both Xenoverse games, they aren’t perfect and the RNG is real ass with a side of cancer thrown in. People clamored for a new Dragonball Z flavoured, bonafide fighting game. ArcSys delivered on that front, and boy did they really deliver the goods! The gameplay is frantic, epic and balls to wall bonkers. It’s easy to pick up if you just want to fight around with your favourite characters, whilst also in-depth for those seasoned fighting game maniacs. The gameplay is top tier and an absolute pleasure to play. Pick it up if you’re a Dragonball Z, Fighting Game or both fan!

8) Darksiders III(PS4/XBO/PC) I love the Darksiders franchise. I enjoyed the first game, adored the second one, and now I really like the third iteration. Is it perfect? No, is it the best one? Not by a loooong shot, but the game is a blast to play. Following on from the previous game’s style, it’s a companion piece that follows Fury’s side of things during War’s trial at the Charred Council. Fury is one of the Four Horsemen, badasses that do badass shit when and how they see fit. While the first one is a more Character Action experience with Zelda-isms, the second being a reverse of that with a Open World and Dungeon styley, the third, is a smaller game that focuses more on a “Metroidvania” like world with combat feeling a tad like Soulsborne stuff. The bosses are all a treat to fight(well, except one), the world is aesthetically gorgeous despite not exactly being on GoW or Red Dead’s level. Pick it up, give it a whirl and enjoy!

7) Yakuza 6: Song of Life/Yakuza Kiwami 2(PS4) I can write a whole retrospective on this series, I absolutely adore this franchise with all my heart. Yakuza follows the life of Kazuma Kiryu; a form Yakuza big dog trying to live an ordinary life with his adopted daughter Haruka. Now, the story is a rollercoaster of badass moments, heartwrenching scenes with a dash of twists and comedic parts in all equal splendor. The combat, is easily a star alongside the story, solid, fun and very in-depth yet easy to learn. Kiwami 2 is a remake of the second game whilst the sixth game is the final part ot Kazuma’s story. I’d wholeheartedly recommend these titles to those who either have just got into the whole franchise or are veterans to the Yakuza Franchise. Kiwami 2 is also a remake of possibly the worst part of the series. Pick it up if you love great crime dramas with twists and turns around every exposition dumping corner!

6) Hollow Knight(PS4/XBO/NS/PC) Now, I know it came out in 2017, but I only played this game this year, so it still counts for my list. Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania with a Dark Souls-esque style of worldbuilding and story. The gameplay is a pleasure, and the each zone, each area is both unique to one another yet seamlessly interconnected and not too “wild” in the vein of being out of place. The bosses are both horrifying and cute, same goes for the enemies and NPCs you encounter in the game. The music, the art design and the gameplay are all fantastic, quite possibly my favourite indie title since Pyre. You play as a wanderer that happens upon Hollownest, a small, almost empty little town of critters, below lies a dungeon thwart with danger and a terrible past. Any further, and we are heading into spoiler territory. I hugely implore you to pick this little treat up, you will not regret it at all.

5) Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise(PS4) From the developers of Yakuza, comes an adaptation of a fantastic little Manga called Fist of The North Star, basically Mad Max but with anime martial arts. You play as Kenshiro, the Successor of Hokuto Shinken, a martial arts style of deading folks. While not a completely panel by panel adaptation and more of a single one shot story using the world and characters of Fist of The North Star, the Yakuza style gameplay really lends itself for adaptations like this. The story could easily be just fanfiction, they really made it something more than fanfiction level fanservice. It’s a really good single story set in it’s own little world. The gameplay holds itself perfectly for this adaptation, with a few added crazy kill techniques that you can level to deal out more damage. Buy it if you are either looking to get into this series, or are a long time fan.

4) Super Smash Bros:Ultimate(NS) The flagship “Not a Fighter” fighting game that started as a Nintendo Legacy series brawler to becoming a huge flagship of a video game legacy brawler. I’ve always adored Super Smash, even the previous one(though it’s not particularly jam-packed with content). Ultimate brings back EVERYONE and even includes some newcomers(Who really should’ve been here since at least Brawl), more content than you can imagine, a reimagined classic mode, a new single player and a fun little collecting system called Spirits, this game is a fanservice love letter, and a big one too. It is worth the price, pure and simple, buy it now!

3) Monster Hunter World(PS4/XBO/PC) I only ever played the first one to completion, tried to get into the 3DS titles and thought “I don’t like it” despite loving the shit out of the monster designs. On a whim, decided to World at launch, and boy was that a fantastic decision. I fucking love this game, from the story(simple but fun) right down to how the monsters are programmed to be as naturally animalistic as they’ve ever been, all the while adding in some old and some new beasties to hunt!. I’ve had fun with friends, on my own, raged at certain monsters(LOOKING AT YOU, BEHEMOTH) and spent hours farming for the material to craft weapons and armors I really want. I’ve spent over a hundred years into this game, and will gladly spend the same in the upcoming expansion! Get this game NOW, you will love it, I assure you!

2) Marvel’s Spiderman(PS4) Spiderman is one of my favourite heroes, he’s grounded, he’s tragic, and he feels like a real person. It would stand that a game based on him, would’ve been a huge success(Spidey 2 was great!, Ultimate and Web of Shadows were really good! The others? Eeeeeeehhhhh not so much). Developed by Insomniac, this return to form for the webslinger is a helluva return! The combat is fluid, fun and fantastic, the story is great whilst the City That Never Sleeps is a nice if pricey expansion. But the webslinging, the bread and butter of any Spidey game, is quite possibly the best, better even than Spidey 2 in my honest opinion. The story is superb, and when *that* scene happens? It will hit you like a ton of bricks. The bosses? Probably the best of this year honestly. This is a must buy for any spidey fan, marvel fan, hell, superhero fan of all kinds!

1) God of War(PS4) Usually, a soft re-imagining can be as well received as a Gary Glitter Comeback Tour, but this one? Boy oh boy, this game is a masterpiece. You play as Kratos, older and wiser since his temper tantrum trilogy in Greece, he’s a father again and now must take the BOI on a journey. I really don’t want to spoil it any further for people who haven’t played it yet. The combat is a great revamp overall(I miss doing juggling combos but eh, the rest of the game is steller), hard hitting and brutal like you’ve known before whilst adding a more personalised flair to it. The soundtrack and audio design is steller, as well as the voice acting. Boy oh boy, the story is fantastic too, following a journey of growth(not just for Atreus) and facing one’s demons, it truly is the highlight of the game. More boss variety could’ve been added, maybe a little more enemy variety too, but these are just minor critiques by the most minor of things. Get this game now, you will enjoy it!

So that’s my list, yes i didn’t include Red Dead 2, haven’t completed it, but I’d gladly do a review once I’m done. Another good year of games has ended, roll on the new year, with another batch of stellar games(I’M LOOKING AT YOU, RESIDENT EVIL 2 REMAKE, DMCV AND HOPEFULLY GHOST OF TSUSHIMA!). Hope you have a happy new years, and had a great Christmas!

Marvel’s Spider-Man: “Does Whatever a Fantastic Game Can!”

SO, first review in a loooong time! Had some time to sit down and decide which new title I want to write about, maybe a scathing negative review on a certain Bethesda made product? Nah, Everyone’s favourite new cowboy sim? Well….maybe later (wink wink nudge nudge!). I’ve decided to review Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4 in honour of the late and absolute legend; Stan “The Man” Lee. I’ll be the first admit that this review is going to be biased as all hell considering Spider-Man is one of my favourite heroes of all time, and includes at least four of my top twenty villains of all time too. So strap on your wrist blasters, get your spidey sense tingling, and let’s web-sling into this! So Marvel’s Spider-Man is a PS4 exclusive Title developed by Insomniac Games, developers of Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank and The Resistance Franchise as well as Sunset Overdrive exclusively for Xbox One. Spider-Man follows Peter Parker eight years into this Spidey Career he stumbled in, helping the police take down New York’s own underworld aficionado; Kingpin in an epic siege of Fisk Tower culminating into damn great opening boss fight. After that big tussle, Peter returns to his regular job, regular life and not so regular crimefighting, until he’s suddenly embroiled with some new hitters in town; The White Demons. The story is paced well, giving you time to explore and to move from one mission to another with no immersion breaking stops in my opinion. So let’s go piece by piece on why this game is brilliant. Art Design, graphics and aesthetics are, to put it lightly, gorgeous and stunning. I can say without a shadow of a doubt the game looks BETTER Than it’s E3 demo counterpart pre-release, usually most games suffer from a downgrade. The designs of some of Spidey’s foes are refreshing, awesome and a hark back to nostalgia without it being Rose Tinted goggles tier. The animation for the most part is really top notch from the expressions on people’s faces, to how certain villains move, smash and climb their way in view, it’s all really stellar work here. The way the mood shifts so naturally from dawn, dusk, noon and midnight is rather beautiful, as silly as it sounds; during the night I was more inclined to stop crimes than to go collectible hunting. Obviously Insomniac knew what they wanted to add, and knew what the fans wanted, with little easter eggs in the form of both real world and marvel world landmarks strewn across the map. The map itself, as asinine as it is to mention, looks really well put together too. The most important element though; The spidey suits, hoboy, did insomniac nail them. You have some  more popular choices(Homecoming, Noir, Infinity War, etc) as well some more obscure ones(Spirit Spider and the Electric Resistance suit) thrown in for a rather varied and diverse selection at your disposal. If there’s one nitpick, and it really is a nitpick, the Enemy Designs aren’t as varied as one might want but that is a rather minor issue considering these are the types of thugs Spidey faces on the daily, he doesn’t demons, monsters, aliens, etc constantly. Sound Design and Audio are next. I just want to point out that the cast did an excellent job in their roles. I couldn’t choose a favourite amongst them, from Martin Li, Peter Parker, Aunt May to Norman Osborne, Scorpion, Mary Jane Watson, Tombstone! They are all did a remarkable job in bringing these characters further into life. Both sound design and soundtrack are sublime here too; from the whooshing sounds of Spidey web-slinging through air and nosediving down below, to the musical cues of said first launch of web-slinging, it’s all masterfully down well, heck even the orchestral swells and sombre breakdowns peppered through this adventure gives game a lot of emotional and soulful weight to it. You can clearly hear the detail, right down to the thuds and cracks of beating up thugs, that makes this game wonderful to listen to in all honesty. Now to the meat and potatoes; Gameplay. Web-Slinging, dare I say? Is probably THE best kind in the entire history of Spidey Games, I’ll go a step further, it’s better than Spider-Man 2. The feel and flow are perfection squared, you get a sense of web-slinging through a faithful recreation of a Marvel-Verse New York, hell there’s even AIR TRICKS you can do to net some extra EXP as you throw yourself through the air. Even down to the web zipping and wall running, traversing New york as Spider-Man has never felt this great. Combat is fluid, solid and tight as fuck. While it shares some vague similarities to Batman, the differences are night and day. For one there’s no real set approach you have to take(save a few missions here and there) that you have to switch from one to the other. How I see it is that Batman is more methodical, you plan several steps ahead and then move in whilst Spidey is more on the go and go with the flow, improvising as he goes along. Spidey definitely has the better air combat game though, launching and throwing guys mid-air never felt as good. The Gadgets are surprisingly varied and very fun to use in mid combat, impact webbing for easy one hit takedown to the suspension matrix to rack up more air-time combos right down to the web bomb, you really feel like a badass smartass as you quip and web enemies. Along with gadgets, each suit has it’s own ultimate power, a sorta big bold ultimate attack that grants some beefy new stuff. Granted, some powers are better than others(Web Blossom, Spider-Bro, Negative Shockwave), you can switch between them, as they are not locked in suit specific. I will put it bluntly; possibly the tightest, most solid gameplay experience in a superhero game, let alone a Spidey game. And the boss battles, even some of the more generic ones are fantastically design if a little sparse. Again, minor nitpick; the Miles Morales and MJ sections were rather ho-hum compared to the world class spidey experience, except that one MJ section, that was a great use of her in my opinion. Finally; The Story, how does it match up to previous games? It’s great, truly something that grips you in and definitely one of the best in the Spidey Franchise, possibly the best. While pacing at first is a bit slow somewhat cumbersome here and there, the introduction of the White Demons begins to put the foot to the mettle, with some awesome set-pieces, emotional moments and drama you won’t soon forget. Since it has been months now, I can say that this is heading into spoiler territory, so scroll to the end of the this paragraph if you don’t want to be spoiled. 

While a lot of the focus is on Martin Li, the underlining Octavius/Osborne Rivalry is by far, as far as Hero Games go anyway, is some of the most tense, gripping and teeth grinding I’ve experienced to date. The transformation of Otto to Doc Ock was phenomenal and an absolute pleasure to play through. The final battle between Ock and Spidey was quite possibly one of my favourite boss battles of all time, no seriously, it was THAT good. This was an Ock Origins story as much as a Mister Negative Debut Story, and you know what? It could’ve sucked, it could’ve been serviceable, but it wasn’t, it was above and beyond the quality you’d expect. I personally feel that the next Rocksteady Superhero game could learn A LOT from Insomniac in terms of story here. I absolutely can’t wait to see what’s in store for Spidey 2. 

End of spoilers! The story was overall one of my all time favourite superhero game stories. To wrap things up here; I absolutely adore this game from every nook and cranny that I can think of, from the web-slinging, to the epic boss battles and down to the musical cues and emotional story that add just a touch of heart and soul into a game that could’ve easily been a shameless cash cow. Insomniac chose the right superhero to establish a game out of, not only does it show their ability to make something special, but it shows how they pretty much turn around a nearly dead franchise. You can feel and see the love poured into this title, and it damn well makes it a pleasure to play. If you haven’t played it yet, GO OUT AND GET IT YOU FOOLS. It’s worth it, both as a newcomer to Spidey and as a long time fan, you will not be disappointed into pumping hours and time into this wonderful gem.

Biased Score: A+ Unbiased Score Betwen A to A-

Detroit: Become Human: “Cage’s best game but ultimately almost a great game”

So I played through and completed the latest Quantic Dream Title and David Cage’s latest project known as Detroit: Become Human. A Sci-Fi romp across a futuristic Detroit that follows three Androids and their adventures in said city. Did I enjoy it? did I hate it? Well, for the most part, I actually enjoyed it, I’ll go into the details why I mostly liked it and why certain parts really didn’t connect with me. Here’s a review of Detroit that I’ve been waiting to do! So Detroit: Become Human is the latest game from the complete madman that is David Cage, a Sci-Fi tale of (totally not)Android Slavery that follows three character’s perspectives, all from different Androids. You have Connor(Which the game opens up with in a fantastic intro), a detective Android sent on a mission to investigate Deviants(Androids that don’t follow their original programming.), Kara who is a household android of an owner who’s not quite the nice father he may seem(Sarcasm!). And there’s Markus. a Servant Android to a famous painter who treats Markus more like a son than he does to his actual son(Even though his son is a junkie wasteman).Each character’s story slowly diverges into a singular path in each you will play as all three of them during one chapter, though this is nearing the climax of the game.  Gameplay is typical QD fair; more of an interactive, cinematic experience than a traditional game. A lot of well implemented QTEs and some pretty neat dialogue choices that effect others around you.Ofcourse failure of a QTE doesn’t reset the game with a “Fail” screen, but rather continues, you can get characters killed, though in Connor’s case he comes back good as new.The one aspect added by QD, though they seemingly copied from Remember Me, is the Reconstruction/Preconstruction mechanic, used to either piece together clues and evidence for a case or to find something, or in Markus’ case find the most optimal path to take, it’s fun and a nice addition to the interactive experience.There’s not much you can really talk in this section about, but I will say that it’s QD’s most fluid and responsive title yet. Aesthetics are beautiful, you can definitely tell the art, graphics and general atmosphere was well crafted by people who care. To the glistening cleanliness of a futuristic Central Detroit to the rainy, murky and rundown look of both Zlatko’s home and the abandoned amusement park.That’s all I can say about it honestly, it’s really well designed and artistically well crafted, but there’s nothing really that stands out, it’s very generic in a creative sense, especially compared to the likes of God of War, Bloodborne and other titles too. So the final section; The Story. Okay, David Cage is NOT a consistent creator in quality, often than not his titles are a fucking mess(See Nomad Soul, Indigo Prophecy) or they have a really questionable moment or finale(See Heavy Rain for BOTH points) OR are just terrible all round and have no sense of consistency(Beyond Two Souls anyone?).Detroit: Become Human is genuinely Cage’s best written story, both in terms of Narration and plot(for half of it) and in terms of Dialogue(really, his let down in the others), Characters actually almost feel like people, their dialogue is not stunted and weirdly written for the most part, heck Connor and Hank both are the limelight here, their banter is damn stellar most of the time.Points in the story are at least not brain numbing and filled with plotholes, that is until the climax. Oooooh booooy, Climax is a huge mess, the ending is at least decent, but god damn those last moments are all kinds of whacky, insulting and downright laughable.Then there’s Markus, boy oh boy, mr “I AM JESUS I AM JESUS I AM JESUS” the Walking Allegory of Jesus Android is just, not good to say the least. He could’ve been cut from the game and it would’ve been better in my opinion. So my title of this review is pretty much accurate on my opinion; Cage’s best yet but almost a good game. It has it’s glaring issues, it’s plothole filled almost climax laughable story, but then it has Connor and Hank, most of kara’s story and some really neat ideas. The last question I can ask myself is; “is it better than Until Dawn?” and hell noooo, its definitely not better. Until Dawn is still one of the best Cinematic focused games around! Score: B- to a C+

Quick Update 2: Where have I been Boogaloo?

So a quick update since it’s been a while between now and my last game review. It’s simple really; Last year I joined band formerly known as Heavy Load as the drummer, and recently we’ve been getting shows and recording some stuff, so I haven’t really been all that online at all, mostly used my free time from band stuff and work to catch up on games and movies. but here’s the band page if you fancy a listen!

https://parsoncity.bandcamp.com/ I plan to be more active around the end of June and the start of July! I will have a Retrospective Thought article hopefully before then!

God of War: “The Dad and The BOY”

God of War, God of War 4? whichever you decide to choose to call it, I payed it, finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish, which was a few days ago. It’s fantastic to see a worn out franchise(and protagonist) gain some maturity and depth much later in in it’s life(and the protagonist’s). Now you might have seen the rave reviews, videos, etc, that claim it to be the “Game of the generation!” and while, I definitely think it’s GoTY material, I’m unsure if I’d actually call it that myself.So basically this is why I enjoyed this title.  God of War 4. or stylized as “God of War” is a sorta continuation/reboot of the popular hack ‘n’ slash, ultra violent God of War series developed by Santa Monica Studios. Originally, David Jaffe worked on the original and it’s first sequel, Where as the current title was directed by Carl Barlog. The game follows an older Kratos, who has left Greece to live a life in the Norse Realm of Midgard, here he has a wife and a son. The story follows both Kratos and Atreus(the song of Kratos who is affectionately referred to as “BOY”) as they head to the highest peak in all the realms to spread Kratos’ wife’s ashes, as her last wish. You face off against Aesir, Nordic monsters and undead, and even a dragon along your journey. As it begins, it grows from a simple coming of age tale, to much grander in the schemes whilst ending on that smaller, simpler note akin to the beginning.  First of, let’s talk about characterization, story and writing. Kratos gains a lot more depth than he ever had in previous iterations. Far from the ever rage filled murderer, he’s now cold and distant, averting from his past in a sort of shame filled expression, until he must beckon the call and embrace his past again. He has to teach Atreus how to survive as a warrior, and most importantly, as a man, all the while he’s learning himself on how to be a better parent now that they both lost the matron of the family.Little things from the simple “almost loving pat on the back” to when Kratos allows Atreus to carry his mother’s ashes to the peak, all signify how Kratos grows, and it’s superbly written. We cannot forget Atreus, from his naive “I just want dad to recognise how much I’ve grown” to his sudden realisation(and arrogance spike) that he’s pretty much a god to him coming to terms with the revelation, it’s paced well enough and tugs at your emotional heart strings here and there. Baldr, makes for a captivating antagonist, while you don’t see him all that much? he still is a compelling and surprisingly sympathetic villain. From the brotherly spat and affection of Brok and Sindri to the wry wisecracks and banter of Mimir, and ofcourse Freya, the supporting cast is just as delightful and well written.  The meat and potatoes, the gameplay. You’ll notice how you don’t wield the blades of chaos(not yet anyway) at the start of the game, but the “Leviathan Axe” is now your new arm. Combat is mapped in a Dark Souls like structure with an “over of the shoulder” camera angle added, this heightens just how much more primal, visceral and brutal the game has become. Long gone are Ultra violent, ultra gore riddled kills of yonder, replace with surprisingly less bloody but more grounded executions that still look stylish without it being too much. It’s a MATURE violent game that’s for sure, in both aesthetic and overall feel. There’s also some light customisation and RPG like systems almost similar to Destiny(only done RIGHT!).Bosses are pretty damn fun, although there’s an over reliance of Trolls, I would’ve toned them down a notch but the most fun are Baldr, the Dragon and the Valkyries(although they can be surprisingly cheap at times). All in all there’s a sense of “Metroidvania”aesthetic to the whole game, basically as you backtrack with new found abilities to unlock secrets and more loot and it never feels like you have to get all the secrets in every nook and cranny, you do as much exploring as YOU want to do. So level design is up next. It’s a breath of fresh to find a game that is both single player, linear and one with an actual fucking story! Levels are just big enough for exploration and moving along the story. It never feels overwhelming or too big, as many “open world” Games seem to feel like in my opinion. There are multiple realms to explore and traverse, even two “Post-Game” realms to get some nifty combat and exploration trials down(One of them being also a Psuedo-Dungeon Crawling like Realm) it’s all made very intricately, with care and attention to allow you to either pedantically explore for everything or to just go along with the plot. Each realm is distinct and  eyecatching; to the beautiful and floral aesthetic of Alfhiem to the fiery demonic volcanic browns of Muspelhiem to the eerily deathly green glow and wintry winds of Helhiem.  Next up is visual and sound aesthetics. This is a gorgeous looking game, pure and simple. It’s surprises you how the PS4 can even run it sometimes. While there’s a more gritty, realistic look to it compared to the more cartoonish look of the older titles, it’s still diverse in colours, with Midgard’s mix of whites, brown and golds to the harsh, dreary toned down pallet of Niflhiem, this game will stun you, regardless if you care or not care about graphics or art. Enemy designs are really cool, from the weird witch like Revenants to the large, lumbering trolls, there’s just enough variety to not make it repetitive The sound design is also equally as grand, maybe less so, but that’s not a hindrance at all. From the cackling of the ice as it freezes your foes, to the roars of the ogres and the snarls of the wolves, it all sounds meaty and really big. The music itself is sublime, having this sweeping orchestral score with Nordic like vocals overlayed to give it that extra sense of “Norse Mythgology” Norse-ness. Lastly the voice acting, Christopher Judge was a fantastic choice for a more grizzled, older Kratos, and hopefully something that sticks in future games. Atreus, Mimir, Baldr, etc all have stellar performances under their belt in this title.  Overall, God of War, Dad of War, GoW4, etc is a sublime game and a fantastic exclusive to boot. Carl Barlog put passion and care into making this title, ,the SMS development put their passion, heart and soul into this title, and it really shows through. A near flawless game, made to give a franchise a long needed sense of maturity and depth without losing the fun, visceral and brutality of what made the previous games so popular in the first place. This title alone proves that “Single Player, linear game experiences” aren’t dead at all, it just that publishers like EA, have just forgotten what makes them great. If there’s one nitpick I had to give for the sake of “objectivity£” it would be there’s no New Game Plus mode, but I’m sure that will be remedied in a future update. This game has had almost similar impact on me than Bloodborne had, that is how much I’m recommending it.  Biased Score: A+ Unbiased Score: A

A Short and Quick Update

So Hi! I’ve been away for a looooong time, my bad, I’ve done this before. Thing is, life hits you hard sometimes and so you gotta prioritize.I AM working on something things; a review, a Retrospective Thought. I don’t have a release window on either them, but “soon” will have to suffice so now PEACE!

Retrospective Thought: Top Ten Games of 2017

Another year goes by, and another list of games that I thought were stellar, great and splendid to play. 2016 was a pretty alright year for games, but this year, with a myriad of stellar as fuck releases? personally blew the previous year out of the water with some stellar as hell titles, new IPs or new entries in existing franchises. As good as games this year might be, 2017 was NOT without its controversy, specifically the rise of Loot Boxes(thank you EA, Activision-Blizzard). Nonetheless, without further waiting, here’s my top ten games of 2017. 

10) Yakuza 0(PS4) -

I’m a huge fan of the Yakuza series, seeing it as the last bastion of good Sega Games made by Sega themselves, despite their continuation of fuckin up Sonic. Yakuza 0 is basically a prequel, set before the events of the original game and putting you in the shoes of a young Kazuma and a young Majima Goro. The action is ridiculously fun and over the top as previous entries, including a new Fighting Style that allows you to switch between styles for varying strategies against waves of foes. The story is still as crazy, funny, emotionally gripping and tense as one can get from a Crime Drama centered around the Yakuza. The characters are all larger than life, greatly developed and just a pleasure to see, whether its new guys just for this entry or returning characters at a younger period of their lives. Pick this game up if you haven’t played the Yakuza games, it’s a great starting point. Pick it up if you’re a fan of the series too.

9) Nioh (PS4/WIN) -

Tecmo Koei’s “Dark Souls” only it’s set in Feudal Japan, post Nobunaga. Originally, this title was expected to be out in 2004, but was kicked into development Hell until it’s re-announcement in 2015/16. Following the adventures of William Blake as he searches for Guardian Spirit who has been taken by the evil Edward Kelley. William meets many allies, some who may sacrifice themselves to help him help Japan’s Amrita problem. the gameplay is great and greatly fun, solid and responsive as it needs to be. It blends both the flashy badassery of Dynasty Warriors and the tense, pulse pounding grit of Dark Souls. While playing second fiddle to the gameplay and loot system, the story is delightfully cheesy and over the top, it’s hilarious in most parts and well worth getting engaged in. Buy it for your DW/DS/both DS and DW fix.

8) Resident Evil 7(PS4/WIN/XO) -

Resident Evil needed a dire rehaul, reinvention and a total reimagining from the ground up. RE6 was a dumpster filled with half ideas and lazy gameplay. Resi Evil 7 was teased, showing a rather stylistic change, possibly to jump on the hype left by Silent Hills, but nonetheless it ended up working for the better. The scares were there, more cerebral than ever whilst taking that traditional Resi Evil feel and introverting it into quite possibly the best RE game since 4. Get it if you’ve been wanting that AAA Survival horror atmosphere, definitely worth the price.

7) Pyre(WIN/PS4) -

from the developers of Bastion and Transistor, two incredibly stellar indie titles, Supergiant Games brings out Pyre this year. You are the Reader, you’re travelling with a group of exiles taking part in these “rites” to seek your freedom and return to the commonwealth. mixing parts of an adventure, an RPG and a fucking sports game of all things, these systems and mechanics are all solidly blended together in superb fashion. The story is also one to follow as well, dealing with redemption, rebellion and even death, this is a tale in which character’s mature over time, developing into whichever way you choose throughout the game. A fabulous indie game developed by a stellar indie developer, pick this up as soon as possible.

6) South Park: The Fractured But Whole (PS4/XO/WIN) -

Admittedly, I was not expecting much from this sequel, considering how great Stick of Truth was. But Whole is a fantastic follow up and quite possibly the best licensed game that I can really think of. You follow the story of the kids, Eric and co, as they decide to play Superheroes, hoping to find a lost kitty. In classic South Park style, everyone is not safe, everything WILL be mocked and made fun of, even the “Difficulty” slider is not spared from the same bout of vicious shit flinging. If you’re familiar with South Park, or at least the previous game and it’s brand of humour, then you’ll have a great time with this one, though if you don’t particularly enjoy South Park? You may want to avoid this title. Recommended for those who love offensive humour and South Park. 5) Assassin’s Creed: Origins(PS4/WIN/XO) -

Well it seems taking a year off, retooling and rebuilding the franchise has helped GREATLY with AC:O. Ubisoft are not the greatest of developers/publishers, but I commend them for actually crafting an AC experience that is on par, if not BETTER than AC2. You follow the story of Bayek, a Medjai who’s seeking out individuals of an Order after they had killed his son. While gameplay still has those “creed-isms” Such as stealth and assassinating, the combat, ranged and melee have both been redefined from the ground up for mostly better.While it has a rocky beginning, the story for the most part is damn great, with some really impactful moments here and there, the dynamic between Bayek and his wife ground themselves in a relatable way, giving the series another “good” protagonist in a sea of “bad” ones. If you’re a fan of the series, be wary of the changes to combat, but for the most part you will love it. Buy it to see how an open world is done right. 4) Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon(3DS) - 

Sun and Moon are great pokemon titles and even good games in their own right, but their “updated” iterations make a good game fantastic. Sure, it’s really a remake, but the added stuff is enough to give a second journey through Alola. More pokes to capture, wider selection of wild pokes in the earlier game, new forms and even new pokes add a much meatier experience on the gameplay side of it whilst the story is vastly improved on with added scenes and characters, giving the UBs more importance helps to make their inclusion not so last minute. While it may be harder to recommend to a passing fan, it’s definitely worth picking up if you’re a pokefan through and through. 3) Injustice 2(PS4/WIN/XO) - 

I loved the original Injustice, even its mishaps, heck Mortal Kombat X was one of my GoTYs for 2015, and I still adore that game/series now. Injustice 2 takes a hard long look at it’s predecessor, looks at its shortcomings and decides to get rid of them, for better or for worse. IJ2 is a vast improvement by definition, more varied selection of fighters to choose from, a better written story plus a Villain that will make you go “Holy shit that’s dope” trust me on that. The game picks up from the last title; Batman is now running things after Dictator Chairman Supes is now put in a cell of kryptonite, whilst Supergirl wants to go rescue her cousin, Earth is in peril by the invading Brainiac, a Krypton Super-Computer who wants to collect all knowledge. The gameplay takes some elements from MKX and even improves upon them, especially the added loot system, giving you that chance to customise how your favourite DC Fighter(or Hellboy/MK/TMNT Fighters, yes even Hellboy and the Ninja Turtles are in this, take that MVC:I!). Varied roster, solid gameplay and a story that doesn’t have any right being as good as it is, a must buy for Fighting Game and DC Comics enthusiasts. 2) Persona 5(PS4) - 

The Persona franchise is one of those JRPG franchises that you either love or hate, I love it if you haven’t read my review on Persona 5. The fifth(Main line, that is) in the super popular gem that is Persona is a fantastic, well written piece of JRPG goodness with music that will blow your socks off, and a story that’s goofy, hilarious yet serious, dramatic and engrossing all packed together neatly. The gameplay while standard Turn Based affair is so solid and fun and with a surprising amount of choice, since you can potentially recruit enemy personas to your team. Each character grows and develops throughout the story, with tragedy and hope mixed in to give you a sorta mix of Persona 3 dark and Persona 4 lightheartedness, and that’s a good thing. Quite possibly my favourite JRPG of this by a huge, wide and long road between the other stuff. Recommend whether you’re new or a veteran to this series, god damn play this game now! Honourable Mentions: In no particular order, here’s a few honourable titles that I loved but haven’t included in my main top ten. Tekken 7, Yakuza Kiwami, Battlechasers: Nightwar, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, Evil Within 2, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Gravity Rush 2, Horizon Zero Dawn. 1) NieR: Automata - 

This game...this game is why I love games, stories and music, all in one. A fantastic experience from start to finish, a rollercoaster of emotions whilst using gameplay in conjunction with narration and to break the fourth wall on multiple occasions. You play as 2B and 9S, androids that are fighting the Machine menace to save the earth for humanity, by destroying them to pieces and dodging and moving through bullet hell like segments and even Shmup segments too. Seems standard affair right? Well the story really _really_ slowly reveals itself, giving even development to the bosses and enemies you face, no major character here is one note, at all. Platinum Games managed to get one thing they could never quite master right; an engaging, dramatic and heartfelt story/narration. Execution is far from perfect, but this game is so near perfect it deserves to be played by everyone. The music? There’s a few refrains and already established tracks from the previous game, but why fix something if it ain’t broken right? The music is heartfelt and really emotionally heavy. Yoko Taro is truly the Madman of Video Games. But his mad genius is executed for the most part, really great. Pick this game up if you desire something memorable, meaningful and fantastic. So there’s my list, obviously this is my opinion, you may think differently, or think the same way, it’s fine, everyone’s got an opinion, but this is MY list, so don’t hate because a game I like that you don’t like is here, it’s kinda pathetic. Hopefully 2018 brings even more diamonds.

Retrospective Thought: “Top Ten Video Game Bosses”

BI figured I’d give my thoughts and opinions about some video game bosses I’ve fought and beaten, maybe even multiple times. No doubt a great villain can often times become a just as great or better boss for you to face; utilising everything you’ve learnt up to that point and then applying whatever other tricks you’ve gained along the way to the boss...or you completely exploit a glitch, use some really OP, nearly broken something or other.  my own guidelines upon how I’m constructing the list: No more than two bosses per franchise, sometimes a franchise just has a bunch, so I’m going with two at most here. Emotional factor, badass factor and impact factor are all the judging components for this list. This is MY list and MY list ONLY, some will agree, others will venomously not, this is just my opinion and not more espousing this list as fact.  So lets begin the list!  10) Vergil - Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening  Devil May Cry is one of my personal favourite franchises in the Hack ‘n’ Slash Action genre. DMC3 is the creme de la creme, the magnum Opus of the DMC Franchise, boy does it have some really awesome bosses. I went with Vergil because he is just like Dante, only less of a joker and more serious and willing to live up to his father’s legacy, for better or worse. He is quite literally the twin bro of Dante and polar opposite too. While Dante is goofing and joking, Vergil is serious and focused. The battles you have against Vergil show that not only are they different, they skill level are not even on the same level, often rocking you around like a game of pinball while you struggle to gain the upper hand in his counters and zoning techniques. The music, the stages, and the combat itself is all superbly done well, you never quite feel like you can rest on laurels against the darkside of the Sparda Twins. it goes without saying that this fight is as emotional as it is badass, especially the last fight against him, to which when you beat him? you found out his fate. Oh yeah, it’s also a prequel to the first game. Great battle, great character.  9) Nemesis - Resident Evil 3 I’m a huge fan of Survival Horror games, whether it be the psychological fuckery of Silent Hill or the despondent, bleak teeth gritting pulse pounding Alien: Isolation. Silent Hill is not quite known for it’s bosses, that I can say, and Alien does not really have one. Hence why Nemesis is on the list. Possibly most intelligent of the Tyrant Class B.O.Ws from Umbrella, Nemesis is one vile, deadly, and ugly as fuck Tyrant. He Pretty much bursts on the scene, kills Jill’s acquaintance via tendril through the mouth and then proceeds to chase you. You are often give the choice of either actually facing the fucker head on, or to escape. Facing him nets you some pretty good rewards, but escaping allows you to conserve your items and ammo. From its first introduction and throughout the game there’s this sense of paranoia, sense of foreboding that he’s following you, even stalking you. This is a masterclass for Survival Horror bosses, and Nemesis stands to be the example that sadly, no one else follows.  8) Brainiac - Injustice 2 Fighting Game bosses are, for the most part, really hard to pull off. You don’t want them to be pushovers, but at the same you can’t have them be stupidly cheap and OP(See Azazel from Tekken 6, Shao Kahn from the MK Series). Brainiac, while no push over, is definitely a balance struck; Not too difficult and quite possibly conquerable. His characterisation, personality and dialogue are all well put together as well, making for a fantastic fighting game boss. A believable threat for the heroes, that even forces them to desperately look for desperate measures to take him out.  7) Grigori The Dragon - Dragon’s Dogma  I’m not going to lie, Skyrim’s Dragons are very lackluster and disappointing in regards to fighting one. Grigori though? quite possibly one of my favourite monster boss battles from a game to date, especially from an RPG to boot. Starting out as a harrowing, tense as hell chase, with Grigori rampaging like all good Dragons do, then proceeding to an air battle, in which you are scaling the body of this giant flying dinosaur to a grounded battle. This boss can easily described as epic, in my books. emotional factor and impact come in the form of Grigori taking your heart, and then much later takes your “beloved” to bargain with you. This battle is fantastic and highly underrated. 6) Liquid/Revolver Ocelot - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriot Metal Gear Solid is one helluva fuckin trip of a series. Often times goofy, often times really fucking serious, but mostly all tims “fantastic”, so no doubt the final chapter in Solid Snake’s life has a big boss battle right at end to send it off? Eeeeeh, kinda? you pretty much confront Ocelot, and engage him in CQC, up close and personal fisticuffs. This is personal shit, this fight hangs a lot of stuff at stake in the balance, and oh boy is it nail biting. Plus as well the health and stamina bars go from 1 all up to 4 as you punch, kick, throw and choke Liquid Ocelot who then slowly becomes Revolver again.   5) Senator Armstrong - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OH BOY, is Metal Gear Rising just the stupidest, most badass shit to come from PlatinumGames? Well yes it is. This boss battles is just off the walls, equally, stupidly badass, silly and profound to some really strange way. The battle starts off with Raiden facing off against a huge Metal Gear for starters, which in most games would’ve been the final boss and thats it. Not Senator Armstrong though, he’s got “NANOMACHINES, SON” that allow him become the most anime as fuck villain in a MGS Series.  4) Slave Knight Gael - Dark Souls 3:The Ringed City DLC. OH YEAH?! I COULD’VE CHOSEN ARTORIAS, GWYN, ORNSTEIN AND SMOUGH, FUME KNIGHT RAIME, SOUL OF CINDER ETC ETC. But I didn’t chose thoses badasses, I chose a pathetic slave knight consumed by the Dark Soul all for the long-haired girl to paint a new world for those who’ve suffered too long. Admittedly, the battle serves as a “Best of Compilation” but by god it’s done nearly perfectly. Gael will most certainly fuck you up without hesitation and proceed to do the same again, again and again. Lore wise, the battle is fantastic and quite saddening too. An ally who helped you, driven mad as you must slay him. His design is also one of my favourites of the more humanoid bosses of the DS Trilogy.  3) Giygas - Mother 2: Earthbound Well then, this final boss came out of nowhere with it’s creepiness, it’s rather dark as hell atmosphere that somehow makes it even worse since most of the game has been rather weird and goofy up and till this point. Straight up fighting will not work against it, you gotta pray to beat him, and boy does it get weirder. Any further and I’m heading into spoiler central, but I’d recommend everyone, especially Undertale Fanboys.  2) Colonel Nohman as The Pilot of Anubis/Aumaan Anubis - Zone of the Enders/ZoE:The Second Runner. Both games use Anubis, ZoE1 he’s an undefeatable boss to which you just manage to distract him to live once more. in the Second Runner? it starts off the same but eventually, you begin to fight on with him, especially gaining the Zero Shift ability. Nohman is the perfect example of a recurring boss/villain that does not suck. He’s easily fantastic, and oh god he’s just so over the top it’s really fu, you clearly hear how well the VA gets into it. The battle is pretty hectic and superbly solid. One of my all time fave mech based game.  1) Gehrman - Bloodborne Where do I begin? The fantastic boss theme, the superbly designed boss arena or is it one of the coolest human enemies in which it feels like you’re fighting a close friend who has no real objection to fighting you reglardless. The hunt calls for him and he beckons without a question. The battle itself is near perfection personified and quite possibly one of the best boss battles. The music plays, giving you a sense of dread, and surprisingly, sense of melancholy. the Bloodborne has countless epic and fantastic bosses in their own. It’s a battle through and through, one of my faves as well as legit being one of the best bosses in most games.  This is my list! how you enjoy reading it, if you disagree or one of your faves is not only list,  just remember its MY list of my OPINION, some bosses not on are super great or I just never played them