Tag: gaming

Xbox Phil Spencer Wants Gamepass On Everything

As reported by Digitaltrends and during recent interviews with Geekwire Phil Spencer has said they want to put Gamepass on anything people play games on. To paraphrase the entire interview (which can be found in the links above) they know they won’t sell billions of consoles because not everyone wants to own one nor is it a part of everyone’s lifestyle. With Gamepass being sold on everything from Xbox, to PC to mobile they want to make games as a service a big part of their business model.

Now Phil stopped very short of uttering the words PlayStation but he certainly seems to imply they are open to the idea of Nintendo and Sony getting in on the action as a way to get Gamepass out there. Now I know it sounds insane, but is it really? It would be another place for gamers to use Gamepass and it is money in everyone’s pocket. I don’t see it happening, but Microsoft seems to be open to the idea. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Trine 4 Announced

For those familiar with the Trine series, our good friends over at Modus Games recently announced the 4th installment of the series. Find the trailer below as well as some of the released info.

  • Gorgeous 2.5D landscapes
  • Local and online multiplayer
  • Captivating storytelling
  • Dynamic puzzle-solving
  • Abundant skill trees
  • Completely revamped combat system
  • Enchanting soundtrack

As you can see it is looking to be a pretty beautiful game and recently Modus has done quite well with there work, and this one probably won’t be any different. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Caligula Effect: Overdose

The Caligula Effect Overdose was originally released back in 2016 in Japan, then simply called The Caligula Effect. They have added quite a few things to the game, but before we get to that once again a huge shout out to NIS America for hooking us up with yet another game. Nothing but love for you guys. In the past, they have let us check out Disgaea 1 Complete (PS4) and The Lost Child (PS4) so it is always a pleasure to hear from them.

Now for the added stuff, first you can now choose to play a boy or girl and playing as the female protagonist does change many of the character interactions. There are also 2 new members of the Go-Home Club which is the group you are in as well as an entirely new story path in the game that lets you get to know the musicians. They have added quite a bit to this version of the game and admittedly it adds a lot of replay value.

The gameplay itself reminds me quite a bit of the Persona series. It is very Japanese in nature, in fact, all the voices are in Japanese with English subtitles. At first, this was a bit distracting to me but I did get used to it pretty quickly. It didn’t take away from the story at all so, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. The story itself is rather interesting as you are trapt in Mobius and you in the other members of the Go-Home Club attempt to track down the musicians that brainwash all of its inhabitants so you can find their leader and force them to take you home.

The battle system is pretty original. On the surface, it may look like a standard JRPG with a turn-based system, but if you look under the hood there is a ton more going on. As you pick moves you will get a small preview of the following action. This represents how the turn will go if things go pretty much perfectly. Things won’t necessarily play out this way but it gives you a good idea. Some actions will also pop enemies into the air while other actions cause more damage to airborne enemies or that have fallen on the ground. So it is pretty handy that you can delay a character’s actions until after someone else with just a push of a button. So person one can pop an enemy into the air, delay the action of the next and shoot them while they are in the air causing massive damage. It functions very well and may be the best part of the game except for one small detail we will get into later.

The graphics and sound are great with the music being even more outstanding when the musicians are on a map. They all have their own distinct style that matches their characters. Speaking of characters, while I don’t like most of the characters, they are well done. Also, the reason I don’t like them has to do with the very reason Mobius exist in the first place and is very much by design. One of the musicians, Stork, is legitimately a pervert and sends his time attempting to get a free peep show from women. This is, in contrast, one of the ladies in your party absolutely HATES men with a blinding passion. All of this will be explained throughout the game, and it all has a very good reason, but many of the characters are simply not good people. It is, however, fascinating to see and learn.

The game does have some issues I will admit. For example, as great as the battle system is, unless you are playing on the hardest difficulty setting you won’t be overly engaged. In fact, I won the first few boss battles by simply holding the X button to quickly input commands while playing on normal. There is a pretty significant difficulty spike from there tho. Also, there are certain doors locked by special words that the game never truly explains very well how to get, tho if you make a lot of friends and help them on their side quest you should get them just fine anyway.

Now for the reason, you all came. Should you spend your hard earned money on The Caligula Effect Overdose? This one is a hard one for me to answer. The game has a fun story and battle system but there are long periods of simply going through the motions. JRPG fans will enjoy the game, however, I think most people may be a bit hit or miss with it. The game is a solid 7 out of 10, and a great example of what an updated version of a game should be. I personally would be happy to spend money on it, and fans of other NIS American fans will enjoy it I believe. Others looking to break into the genre tho are probably better off looking at a different game, however. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Why A 2019 Final Fantasy 7 Remake Would Be Too Little Too Late For Me

First, let me make this clear, I don’t hate Final Fantasy 7. I actually beat the original U.S. release about 3 days before it came out when a friend of my brothers broke street date and gave it to me the day they got the game in and instantly restarted it. I bought it again for PC and beat that in an age when you still bought games on disk, then bout it again on PS4 and platinumed it. This is not a post about how I hate the game. This is also not a post about how I am a purist that is mad about all the stuff they are supposedly changing. The game is a remake, not a remaster. Stuff is going to change.

All that said, the game was originally announced in 2015 which even the director Tetsuya Nomura admits to being too early at this point. That is 4 years ago with almost no real information given. The actual only truly notable update from the company itself in recent memory was that it moved from an outsourced company to in-house. Even the 2019 part is pure speculation based off reports that Square Enix is expecting a large source of revenue for the end of the year hinting at a huge release.

So why is it too late? Honestly, it is because I can’t care. I can get past the fact that they will undoubtedly change many of my favorite aspects of one of my favorite games or the fact that the game will apparently be episodic the same way Final Fantasy 13 was and I will end up buying multiple games to play a single game I played years ago in what will probably be an attempt at a massive cash grab. I am however open to the idea that they will be simply combining all the FF7 games into one and that is why it will be so long, but even that will be kind of weird depending on how it is done honestly.

Combining that with what has already been a pretty substantial wait and I truthfully just can’t care or be excited anymore. This is after the roughly six-year wait after Kingdom Hearts 3 was first announced and waiting so long for Final Fantasy 13 Versus it became Final Fantasy 15, none of which were worth the wait if we are being 100% honest. Not to say they weren’t great games in their own right, but after that kind of wait they could have been better and should have been. So no, for me even if Final Fantasy 7 Remake comes this year, it will be far too little and far too late. I’ll buy it eventually I am sure, but they can wait. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Stellaris Console Edition (PS4)

The console version of Stellaris was always going to be a bit odd to me. A true grand strategy game on the console is a dream come true for many, but the mouse is a natural fit for them, the question of controls were always going to be there. Certain things were a given tho with Paradox Interactive.

First, the game was going to be pretty, and of that, there is no doubt. So it is no surprise the game is exactly that. The game looks amazing whether you are zoomed out looking at the map or zoomed in watching ships blast each other into space dust. The sound is equally amazing. I won’t spoil it for you but I highly recommend eventually turning the tutorials off completely, because the voice of the robot was hilarious to me.

The game itself is quite simple in concept. You create a species that just started traveling the stars and expand what will hopefully become a massive space empire. As you explore you will find new species to interact with. Some will be other space-faring races and others will be less developed. Each decision will help grow your empire or lead it to a path of destruction. From allowing slavery to free travel and open borders with other species. You can create your very own federation with your allies to crush stronger enemies or try to avoid conflict altogether, the choice is up to you.

It truly does come down to how the controls function with Paradox has honestly nailed. The D-pad lets you bounce between most menus pretty easily with the usual X and O being to confirm or cancel as usual. Obviously, I would never say it is equal to having a mouse to use but damn it is pretty close. Having played it on both PC and PS4 I can honestly say my biggest issue is that it is based off a much older version of the game. However, if you are a console player that has been wanting to play a grand strategy game but lack the PC to do it, here is your chance. Stellaris is one of the most easily approachable and it functions very well. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Overkills The Walking Dead Cancelled

Due out, well last month on consoles, the last we heard of this long-awaited game it is was delayed by now Bankrupt developers Starbreeze Studios was due to lackluster performance in every capacity on PC. Now Skybound Entertainment, the company that licenses to make The Walking Dead Games, has pulled the license from Starbreeze and has canceled the game in its entirety. For those interested in a bit more info, Polygon has you covered. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sega Forever Phantasy Star 4

To the surprise of basically nobody on earth PhantasyStar 2 of Sega Forever has become the Phantasy Star Collection, Containing 2,3 and 4 of the series tho 1 as always is missing. As longtime followers know I am a huge fan of Phantasy Star 4, so while being able to play it on a cell phone is kind of cool it isn’t a huge deal to me as I have it on my PS4. The real question is how does it work?

Well the sound is damn near identical to its original release, possibly a bit better and graphically it looks good and honestly, the controls are mostly fine. A  little bit of trouble with moving around and hitting the wrong direction but that easily can be my fat fingers as opposed to anything else. The real issue is unless you have no other choice there is no reason to play it here, you can get it on all 3 major home consoles. There they have better graphics, sound more options, better controls, and a bigger screen. If you have no options this is a perfectly fine place to play it, but honestly, it’s not the preferred option. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Caligula Effect: Overdose

The Caligula Effect” Overdose is an upcoming title from NIS America due to release on March 12th, 2019. You will be trapt in Mobius a world dedicated to letting people forget their pain and suffering and with the help of the rest of the Go-Home Club attempt to escape. The JRPG boasts beautiful graphics, a male and female protagonist to choose from over 500 students to become friends with and numerous scenarios and endings to discover in this turn-based game. Check out the trailer below and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

What Nobody Really Talks About In Video Game Reviews

With Anthem coming out and Xbox VP Mike Ybaraa essentially attacking reviewers I feel obligated to talk about certain things that many people just don’t discuss or talk about so much.

My first big example is many times we are sent games well before a game comes out, I got Disgaea about 2 weeks before it came out, and there is another game I am currently working on that is under embargo for a while (meaning I can’t really discuss it at all) until almost the end of the first week of March, the 5th if you want to be exact. That means the company is having me review it before any patches are released. They send these review copies out knowing full well that is the version getting reviewed, so the argument of waiting for patches really has no merit.

The other thing most people never really discuss is reviewers, most notably smaller ones like myself or places with one or 2 people doing all the reviews are constantly in a state of working under a deadline. Sometimes we have to beat a 60 or 70-hour game in a week or two while working our regular jobs. Truthfully I don’t know a single reviewer that would change this unless it was to make this our full-time job, this isn’t a complaint. Sometimes tho, things do get missed sadly and we won’t always have time to beat those larger games 2 or 3 times. (Tho I will say this, a game like Resident Evil 2 isn’t finished until you see the story with all the characters the way it was meant to be)

Other things we don’t really discuss is the times we honestly just don’t want to play a game. Not necessarily because a game is bad, tho that happens, but just because we simply want to play something else. More than a few times I have friends have said hey Savior come and slay monsters with us or we have a war to fight and I REALLY wanted to, but I needed to get that review game done.  There are plenty of perks tho.

One great example is getting to work with great companies like Kalypso Media or NIS America and Modius games. Getting to try games like Empire In Ruins, Revisited. literally as one of the first people ever that wasn’t involved in making the game was awesome. Or when Kalypso Media sent me Railway Empire PS4 Pro Vs Xbox One X (And yes both consoles) was great, it was a game I was going to buy anyway and I got to try and compare it for both systems. This isn’t something I ever would have gotten to have done otherwise.

Despite the fact that many times perfection is expected from reviewers, and yes I have gotten a few messages cursing me out from people that disagreed with reviews it really is something I wouldn’t trade for just about anything. Many of the people I have gotten to meet I only met because of gaming and reviews and some of the experiences have been great. So please, cut reviewers a little slack, we are only human. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Valve Retires Non-Gaming Steam Content

Variety reports that Valve will be getting rid of its video section and a bunch of stuff will be pulled since apparently, most people don’t seem to care. This doesn’t really surprise me since honestly it is gaming launcher and people use it to play games and with a growing number of launchers out there, most notably the Epic Games launcher they really will want to streamline things for customers. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.