Savior Gaming

Oh NIS America I love you guys, and as always they have sent me a copy of this game as they did with void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium! PS4 Review many years ago, and it was a fun-filled game that despite its flaws kept me diving back in for more. Has the sequel changed anything however is the question however?

The game takes place after the first one, once again we are taking care of our cute human Toriko who is the last human on earth. While the games are directly connected you don’t need to play the first Void Terrarium to understand this Void Terrarium as the start of the game does a solid job of filling you in on the details without spoiling the last game. Just know you will end up caring for Toriko in a new tank in a new section of the same contaminated world, as the same robot with the same A.I. partner.

This time the game adds a bit of a twist to the story, as the A.I. figures out a way to send you into a sort of VR representation of what the world used to be in order to discover more about our dear Toriko whose health isn’t exactly great. Along with this new section of gameplay you will still be decorating her tank, growing plants in it as well as crawling through the wasteland attempting to find food and supplies to create new items from the blueprints you are supplied with or find.

The combat is simple and straightforward. You will move around a large map, and each move counts as a turn with you and the enemies going back and forth much like many other dungeon-crawler roguelikes. Each time you return home all of your items are transformed into materials for creating things, however, each time you create something most things have a permanent stat buff that applies to your character, Robbie the Robot. This makes getting further into the dungeon easier each time even if the random drops aren’t in your favor.

Each time you level up you will be given the option to choose abilities for these runs, some are extra item slots, stat buffs, or increased healing abilities. Which skills you pick can vastly change how you play, and often you will pick and choose which item to bring and which one to simply leave behind.

This was one of my main issues with the first game that is still an issue in this one, item management is far too difficult and because of it, you will end up making far more runs than I would have liked just to make something simple like a chair. It felt like they were trying to really stretch it out by making you run through the same sections over and over. You will be doing a lot since for the most part, you have to repeat each section each time you want to get to a different section. This is understandable since enemies get stronger as you go it was repetitive and very fast.

Graphically and the sound of the game weren’t very different from the first one. It is an upgrade, and both set the tone and serve the game well. There is nothing wrong or any sort of glitches with them, they also aren’t amazing or anything to brag about. All in all, if you enjoyed the first game this one is an upgrade and you will enjoy it, but you won’t suddenly like this game if you didn’t like the first. I enjoyed my time with it, and I feel safe recommending it to fans of the genre. A sold 7/10. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

So I was at home when I got an email this morning from the company Red Black Spade. I don’t know a ton about it, but Slava Gris was kind enough to toss me a review code for the upcoming title Choice of Life:Middle Ages 2 for the Nintendo Switch.

Before I get into that however, I did discover this isn’t the first game from Red Black Spade I have played, they are also responsible for Catmaze Xbox series S/X Review which was another title I covered.

That brings me to Choice of Life which is essentially a series of choices given to you on cards. Starting as a baby you are given simplistic things, some of them as amusing as simply trying to communicate by saying goo goo or gah gag. As your young prince grows the decisions also grow. Do you want to sleep through class? Throw a tantrum on your birthday? Or do you want to study hard and learn even when it isn’t the most fun time.

The repercussions for these decisions can be anything from getting scolded by an Aunt or Uncle, to losing an item like I don’t know,your crown getting stolen (not that this happened to me…) Or death. Ok these aren’t random examples, I enjoy screwing around and seeing what happens. This prince probably doesn’t like me very much.

The graphics these play out in are simplistic and have no voice acting which is fine because this isn’t some massive AAA experience,in fact when I mentioned I got an email from Slava Gris, he happens to be the one guy in the company and it might be a bit odd if he were doing all the voices. They serve their purpose well and I actually believe the game is better because of it.

I sank more than a few hours into this game today, much to the dismay of my family because I wanted to see what happened to this prince,and what sort of bad things I could make happen to him. The game thankfully makes this quite easy because unlike most games like this death doesn’t send you back to the start,it simply lets you make choices again. If you simply want to play a stress free story, this one is great. 8/10, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

When developer Soleil and publisher 110 Industries tossed me a copy of this one to review I wasn’t really sure how I would feel about this one, and I am grateful they took me out of my comfort zone with this one. Thanks by the way guys and gals. The makers of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive also created this one, so I knew I was getting into something special, even if I was about to hate my life for a while.

LT Stone

You play as LT Stone, leader of what is known as a Zombie Squad ( don’t worry you aren’t actual zombies) and the game takes place over about a week in Hong Kong. while the game is a combination hack-and-slash third-person shooter there are plenty of mini-games to pass the time between missions. I want to get this out of the way first because honestly they are pretty minor but range from interesting such as the crane game and the many different options to play in the shooting gallery to the more annoying or nonsensical such as eating as much Ramen as possible. Don’t worry though you can’t get stuck at them and they don’t change the story it is simply a do-your-best sort of deal and many can be outright ignored.

I just like this cat

Graphically the game is nice and gory. It won’t be long before heads and arms are flying off. There is even a chainsaw at some point and they actually censor bar parts of it. It is actually rather refreshing. This isn’t the only thing I loved, setting off a sprinkler system and watching the water just cascade down was a nice touch. The lights on the water were also fantastic I thought.

The sound was also pretty great, I wasn’t exactly fond of the music but the guns sounded nice and powerful, and swords slamming into each other or cutting through was excellent.

The part everyone is here for however is how-is the gameplay and I will not lie you can tell the Ninja Gaiden creators were involved. It is very fast-paced, whether you are dodging strikes, grenades, or bullets. Taking cover is quick and intuitive, and for me, it didn’t even matter. The game offers two difficulty settings, essentially normal and hard. So the first level I was doing ok until I hit around halfway and I died. Over and over again. Then something pops up, in true Nina Gaiden style, and asked if I wanted a hidden difficulty setting and made the game even easier. I of course said no and died over and over again. countering and dodging and I still could not get the hang of it.

Eventually, I just accepted the difficulty setting whos name I can’t spell and won’t even try, I will just call it Savior Sucks at Life Mode. Now Savior Sucks At Life Mode made the game a lot more enjoyable, gave me some more heals, made the game a bit easier and let me die a little less. I still died, the game isn’t at all easy but it is fun. I love the characters and the 80’s action feel to it.

The game isn’t for everyone, but for fans of action games, especially those that want to relive their love of Ninja Gaiden, this game is for you. A solid 8/10. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.