Reviews

Leave a comment Posted on Reviews

Review – Monster Hunter: World

MHW TITLE

I know this might seem like a strange time to review Capcom’s behemoth of a title (over 2 years after release) but there is a good reason it’s taken so long.

I originally bought Monster Hunter: World at the beginning of 2018. This was a mistake. Not because I didn’t enjoy the game, far from it, it was due to the fact that I had a brand spanking new baby which invariably sucked up all my gaming time. So after about 12 hours of gameplay I put it up on eBay and focussed on less time consuming games that could be dipped in and out of in between feeding and the constant nappy changing.

Fast forward 2 years and I have managed to claw back a few extra minutes of gaming a day. This new found time coincided with Playstation’s “Spring Sale”. And lo and behold, look what’s sitting there at a respectable £12.99 – Monster Hunter: World.

I whizzed over to howlongtobeat.com to double check the “Completionist” time. Surely I had remembered incorrectly? But no. Monster Hunter: World clocks in at a mammoth 340+ hours of gameplay if you want to do everything. Insanity. But also, being a tight Northerner, fantastic value for money! A bargain.

MHW is a deep gaming experience. Especially if like me, it’s your first foray into the series. Because of this I decided to delete my old save from the 2 years prior and start a fresh. This was the right decision as aspects of the gameplay seemed to swim back to me through the fog of time whilst others had faded.

Even though this instalment is branded as being the most accessible of the series to new players, it is still a lot to take in at first. The plot focusses on you, a Hunter, as part of the “Fifth Fleet” which has been sent to the New World in order to gather information as to why the “Elder Dragons” are on the move. You land on the New World and head to the gaming hub of Astera where you learn the basics. And there’s a lot to learn.

MHW is a social game where you can team up with companions and go on hunts together. Me – being an antisocial git with limited gaps of time to play – chose to go it alone, which is fine. But the option is there if you wish to join up. It just means that you have to check a few boxes before accepting a quest in order to make sure nobody gatecrashes. I recommend playing solo, at least for the first few hours, so you can take your time in getting used to the game’s intricacies.

There isn’t too much of a tutorial in MHW. You are of course given the basics but you quickly realise that this is merely the nipple on the tip of the iceberg. Press the “Options” button (I’m a PS4 player of course) and you’ll be met with menus. And then more menus. Menus within menus. Menus within menus within….well, you get the idea. You are given a furry and fully customisable “Palico” when you begin (think Puss in Boots but in flying goggles) who acts as your trusty sidekick who will help you in battle and point out things of interest. Then you need to pick a weapon. But this isn’t a simple choice of a sword or bow, oh no, there’s 14 to choose from. And each has their own specific function and skill set. I did a bit of research and decided on the Dual Blades to start with as they are the most accessible for beginners apparently, this is what I’d used previously too so it made sense. The combat mechanics vary from weapon to weapon and I recommend practising in the training area (located in your room) before heading off in the World for real.

Astera is bustling hub with a smithy, canteen and gathering space but also offers various side missions in the form of Bounties and Investigations for you to choose from. These can be undertaken at your own leisure but it can be slightly overwhelming wondering what to tackle first. After a few hours of play things start to become more second nature however.

Once you’re ready to begin (and fathomed out how to accept Quests) then you are sent to the Ancient Forest which is the first area of the game. Capcom have done a lovely job in creating a lush forest world to start you off in. There are crystal clear rivers and streams framed by gorgeous forest foliage, shaded clearings and bone strewn beaches. Amongst all of this is a plethora of things to collect and document; track marks, bugs, flora and fauna, animal shit – the list is endless. Just collect everything and sort it out later is my advice. There’s also a whole menagerie of wildlife from dinosaurs to wild pigs. Some friendly, some not so.

The level design is multi-tiered and can seem labyrinthian at first and it’s easy to lose your sense of direction. Your “Scoutflies” act as a guide to your objective, but they can be temperamental at times. The aforementioned objective is normally the hunting of a monster of some kind. But don’t be tempted to come in here all swords-a-swinging like you’re in a Dark Souls game or you’ll be left frustrated. For example, you can’t “lock on” to your target (in the traditional sense) and begin hacking away, you have to manually aim your character to attack. This takes some getting used to but it means you can target specific parts of the monster’s body and weak spots. The approach to combat in general is actually fairly nuanced with multiple strategies being able to be employed in order to bring down your prey. You can set traps, lay poisoned bait or follow it back to its den – there isn’t a single linear approach, which adds another dimension to the hunt.

Monsters

Once you have brought down your required target and cut its knackers off, it’s back to Astera to turn all that lovely loot and stuff you’ve collected into shiny new armour and upgrades for your weapons. The armour and weapon customisation is deep and very rewarding. Upon creating my new set of Bone armour I felt a distinct satisfaction and looked forward to me next hunt. And here in lies the gameplay loop of MHW. And a most satisfying one it is too.

I’d say it takes at least 6-8 hours to get to grips with MHW but once you’re comfortable and you feel it’s various intricacies and systems “click” then you’re in for a treat. I’m barely scratching the surface but I’m looking forward to ploughing many more hours into this, Capcom’s bestselling game of all time.

Advertisement
Leave a comment Posted on Reviews

Review – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

 

Sekiro.jpeg

My regular two readers will have noticed that I haven’t posted a piece in just over a year. Apologies for this, but a 16 month old child has a nasty habit of hoovering up every spare moment of your free time. Yet here we are, back from the wilderness.

Due to the aforementioned bundle of carnage, my gaming time is measured in minutes these-days and so I have to be very selective with what I play. Long gone are the massive 100 hour gameplays of Persona 5 and Monster Hunter: World. I have even staved off playing Red Dead Redemption 2 (which is complete torture having waited years and years for its release) as I know that I can’t invest the time it deserves. But when From Software announced their newest title I knew it would fit the bill perfectly.

Now I must admit from the offset that I am one of many From Software fanboys and I consider Bloodborne not only to be one of the greatest exclusives to ever grace the Playstation 4, but one of the greatest video games I have ever played. Therefore I sat in excited silence as I watched the download finish installing (during little one’s nap time) and began on From Software’s latest offering. So here it is, almost a month after release, my Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice review.

Now, we’re almost 230 words in so let me cut to the chase: Sekiro is good, but it isn’t great. It pains me to say that but I have thought long and hard about this and I think From Software have tinkered with their successful formula a tad too much. Let me try and explain.

The story is straightforward enough, you play as a shinobi called Sekiro (Wolf) tasked with retrieving your young master from a very naughty man. Cue a From Software jaunt around old school Japan. There’s a plot point about you being given some of your master’s blood which enables you to use the new gameplay mechanic of Resurrection (more on that later) – hence Shadows Die Twice and all that. Oh, and also you get your arm lobbed off in the first act and get fitted with a prosthetic which of course can be upgraded with various bits and bobs throughout the game – some useful, some cack. The prosthetic arm also has a built in grappling hook enabling Sekiro to traverse the terrain more vertically (the gaming press have been very excited about this) and land “deathblows” on enemies from above.

On immediate control of Wolf you will also note that he can jump, yet the jump is a bit “off” if you ask me. It’s as if the whole movement is a bit too quick. In later sections of the game I was being treated to a nostalgic feeling of rage I haven’t felt since the early Tomb Raider games when plummeting to my death due to a combination of janky jumping and annoying camera angles. This frustration of falling to your death is only multiplied when using the grappling hook as the range at which it can be used effectively seems to differ every time you’re prompted to use it. I also don’t like the grappling hook being mapped to L2.

A lot of emphasis has been placed on stealth in this game yet the AI is very basic and can be frustrating. At times enemies will spot you even in cover and it can take an age for them to “reset”. When you are spotted and have to confront enemies, you are faced with what I think is the biggest mis-step From Software have made with this game – combat.

There was no better feeling in Bloodborne than visiting previous areas of Yharnam to do a bit of farming and slicing through enemies like they were butter. Such a delight. In Sekiro however, combat is much more defensive. Enemies, as well as yourself, have a posture meter in addition to a vitality meter. Wailing on an enemy is often a waste of time and the emphasis is on defending and deflecting an enemy attack by tapping L1. Doing this at the right time fills up the enemy posture meter and once full allows you to perform a “deathblow” to kill them in one hit. This applies to bosses as well, however they often take one or more of these “deathblows” to die.

What this means then is that combat is incredibly dull and frustrating. One on one and an enemy can be defeated fairly quickly, but if you have two or more enemies on you and it can mean death. Why they needed to implement this dire mechanic is beyond me. Sure, be allowed to block, but to have a posture gauge that needs to be filled up is perverse. Enemies and bosses also have these “impenetrable attacks” where a red kanji symbol plops on the screen and you must decide whether to jump, dash or evade the attack. If you’re not perfect with your timing then even the weakest of enemies can inflict massive damage. These “impenetrable attacks” are nothing more than quick time events in my eyes and are as obnoxious now as they were in their 2000’s heyday.

When you do die you have the option of resurrecting yourself (at the cost of losing half your XP, money and triggering an ongoing crappy side mission thing called Dragon Rot) and continuing the fight. But to be honest I rarely use it as it’s only marginally useful in certain situations. This was meant to be one of the standout mechanics of the game but I’m totally nonplussed by its addition.

I think that one of the issues I have is that I can’t help comparing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice with Nioh. The latter was a sleeper hit the other year and an absolute blast to play. The combat in that was so cathartic and Team Ninja got it spot on.

Now on to some of the positives. Sekiro is a great looking game. Some of my favourite moments involved standing atop a mountain or pagoda, whipping out my Nightjar Monocular, and surveying the backdrop. Lovely. The level design is also typically superb as you would expect from From Software. Hidden paths and ledges make exploring every nook and cranny a rewarding experience. Finding an NPC with a little side quest and accompanying story is always a highlight.

Boss battles are as notoriously challenging as you would expect. One of the earlier ones against an old bag called Lady Butterfly had me punching the air in delight (a feeling completely unique to From Software boss fights) upon dealing her the final “deathblow” after days of trying. The character design is sublime too, with every boss uniquely designed so they stick long in the mind. Yet these battles are bittersweet as the emphasis on dealing posture damage takes away from the enjoyment as a whole I find.

So after nearly a month of playing I still haven’t finished Sekiro and you know what the worst part is? I have no real desire to. I am just not enjoying it as much as I feel I should. Gamers picking up this as their first From Software title may think it’s the dog’s danglies. But it’s not. You know what it is? It’s a 7.9 out of 10. A 79% game.

As for me, I can wait no longer. To Rockstar’s latest foray into the Wild West I must venture….

 

1 Comment Posted on Reviews

Review – SNES Classic Edition

SNES Unboxed

I’ve been pondering recently on what I would consider my best console to date. A tough ask as it’s tricky to balance the nostalgic charm of older consoles with the power and efficiency of modern consoles. Then I started to think about which console I would consider the most important in my life. The answer was there instantly, it always had been – the SNES.

The SNES (or more formally: the “Super Nintendo Entertainment System”) was the first video game console I ever owned. Arriving on Christmas morning in the early nineties I could never imagine that what was in that tightly wrapped box would spark a life-long love of video games.

I don’t intend to sound like a reminiscent old fool, but times really were simpler then. Especially for video game fans. The early nineties saw a division carve its way through school playgrounds around the world – you were either Nintendo or SEGA. The “Console Wars” were in full swing and the battle lines were drawn. Phrases such as “blast processing” and “16 BIT” were thrown around with reckless abandon. Those days are for another post however, I bring them up to emphasise the power of Nintendo, and the SNES, at that time.

Fast forward a quarter of a century and I still own the original cartridges I had back when I had a lovely head of hair. The problem is that these days older games look dreadful on modern TV’s and the hardware of the consoles themselves is starting to deteriorate. I’ve tried to store my original SNES the best I can by wrapping it up in an old carrier bag. Maybe not the most dignified way to treat such a beloved family member.

So imagine my joy when Nintendo announced that they were following up the success of last year’s NES Classic Mini release with the SNES Classic Edition. I could barely contain my excitement. The truth is, I’ve been waiting for something like this for years. I remember being at MCM Comic Con back in 2013 and seeing the Retron 5, but after almost a 2 year delay I finally lost interest.

So, after getting very lucky and managing to secure a preorder, I picked up my SNES Classic on release day and I can finally report that it’s everything I expected it to be – a nostalgic trip down memory lane via HDMI!

The box is compact and small and I must admit that I didn’t want to open it (I’ve already decided to buy a “spare” when stock becomes available once again”) and had to fight the urge to lock it away like a highly valued piece of treasure. Once I did open the box I was greeted by the SNES itself, albeit a miniature version. The shrunk down console is light and sturdy. The “feel” of the plastic will be familiar to anyone who owned the original. This feeling is only compounded once you un-package one of the controllers. Unlike my original SNES controllers, these are crisp and brand spanking. The buttons click and press like a dream. They feel much lighter too.

SNES with Pad

That’s side by side! Controller bigger than console

The NES Classic last year was notorious for having extremely short controller wires. Nintendo have rectified this and I find the length perfect for me. However, I have already had to jump off the couch a couple of times to stop the dog from tripping over the wire and pulling the console of its perch.

The SNES has two ports in the back – HDMI and a DC in. That’s it. Nice and simple. No fannying around. Yet, even thought the console does come with a HDMI cable and USB lead, it doesn’t come with a plug to connect the USB to the mains. I had to scramble through my drawer of electrical bits in order to find an adaptor.

Once we were all hooked up I flicked the familiar power on switch and we were in business! The menus are responsive and simple and the layout is as intuitive as you’d want. In the display settings menu you can alter the way the screen looks; old TV, 4:3 and Pixel Perfect. You can also add a frame to the edge of the screen if you like or just stick with black. These additional options are a nice touch.

The games themselves are a who’s who of some of the greatest games ever released on the SNES and indeed some of the greatest games ever made, full stop. There are 21 in total with classics such as Super Mario Kart and Donkey Kong Country included. I won’t go through them all, but it’s safe to say that even a handful of these are worth the price alone. Firing up Super Ghouls and Ghosts was like playing it yesterday.

With a limited number of games on the console there was always going to be some argument over what was included and what was omitted. Personally, I would have liked Pilotwings and Legend of the Mystical Ninja to have made an appearance, but I understand that it would have been impossible to please everybody. Hopefully I can play these again once Nintendo get a move on and finally make the Virtual Console available for the Switch.

There was a big deal made over Star Fox 2 finally getting a release on the SNES Classic Edition over 2 decades after it was originally canned. Personally for me, I find it hard to  muster any excitement as I thought the original was overhyped crap back in the nineties. A controversial view maybe, but a valid view nonetheless.

All in all I am very impressed with what Nintendo have achieved here and I look forward to many more years of playing these classic games.

Long live the SNES.

 

 

 

1 Comment Posted on Reviews

Review – Star Wars Battlefront Beta

star_wars_battlefront.0

Oh dear, the Force isn’t too strong with this one.

The Star Wars Battlefront Beta has been out for two days now and unfortunately it’s failed to blow my Chewbacca patterned socks off.

Let’s start with the positives – this game looks fantastic. From the moment I jumped into the first of the beta’s two game modes – Drop Zone – I was taken aback by the gorgeous graphics, textures and landscape. There were burning X-Wings scattered around along with smoking Tie Fighters and I spent minutes staring above and beyond at the beautifully detailed backgrounds. Couple this with the wonderful music and you honestly feel like you’ve walked into one of the films themselves. It really is a faithful homage to the series.

Then it’s down to business. Drop Zone has you and your team (either Rebels or Imperials) taking control of pods that are dropped around the map whilst fending off your opposite number. Highest number of pods at the end of the round wins. Bing bang bosh, nice and simple.

When you first spot an enemy however, the problems with the gunplay soon become apparent. There is no function to aim down sights in this game. The developer explained that this was due to wanting to make the game as authentic as possible so shooting from the hip is what we have to put up with. It’s an old school mechanic that I don’t like as it feels disconnected, unrealistic and inaccurate. Some of the weapons have sights on so you can zoom in for the kill, however it leaves you feeling exposed and blinkered. The weapons themselves are the biggest problem I found. The blasters are shit. I’m sure there will be plenty of better weapons to unlock on the way but I wish they’d included them in the beta as it’s the biggest turn off for me. It takes a good 5 shots to kill an enemy and the fire rate is horrendous on these things. If you are firing at a sprinting enemy and are zoomed in, forget about it, you ain’t getting a kill. By the time he’s been hit 3 times he will be behind cover where his shield will regenerate within seconds. I found myself using the Cycler Rifle (an unlock-able perk, or “card” weapon) and just waiting for it to become usable again after each shot instead of the blasters. That’s how badly I wanted a normal, decent weapon. The hit detection is also poor and the weapons as a whole feel like they lack “weight”.

The other online mode is Walker Assault where you are freezing your knackers off on Hoth and are either destroying the Rebel scum as Imperials, or stopping the Imperial attack as the Rebels. On first play this mode is quite confusing as to what is going on, especially if you are playing as the Rebels. There’s a lot to do and it relies heavily on teamwork and cohesion, this was absent in the beta as everyone was running around like headless chickens and blasting anything in sight. If you’re lucky enough to be spawned on the the Imperial team then happy days, you can relax as the mode is so unbalanced that you WILL be winning the round.

Walker Assault gives you the opportunity to pilot vehicles though, which is one of the things I was most looking forward to. Yet soon after picking up the Tie Fighter icon on the map to take control, my excitement soon turned to despair. I can’t believe how clunky the vehicles feel to pilot. Forget trying to shoot anything, your main preoccupation is trying to keep the aircraft in the air without it lurching into the ground or nearby mountainside.

Playing as Luke Skywalker or Vader is a cool touch, but the novelty soon wears off after a few matches. Don’t forget that there is no campaign with the full version of the game – this is pretty much it. Of course there are other modes but I can’t help but feel like a well made campaign would have added so much and complimented the package as a whole.

The entire purpose of the developer making the beta available is to gather feedback and make adjustments here and there before next month’s release. Unfortunately, I think the problems with the game are at an extent that it would need quite a large overhaul in order to make it anywhere near the level fans expect it to be. To drop £50 on what is essentially an average shooter with no campaign seems like a bit of a rip-off if I’m honest. Especially when you consider that Treyarch are releasing the latest in their Black Ops juggernaut of a series days before.

Disappointing.

Leave a comment Posted on Reviews

Review – Super Meat Boy

supermeatboy

“Jump you bastard!”

This phrase has been the soundtrack to my living room for the last couple of days. Yet there is no anger or exasperation felt when shouting it at my TV for the trillionth time. Quite the opposite, it’s joyful and wonderful.

The game causing these outbursts is of course Team Meat’s Super Meat Boy, which has just been released in the Playstation Store. Everything that can be said about this game has already been said, I just thought I’d share a few of my views on this wonderful little game.

I, like many people, remember watching Indie Game: The Movie and becoming infatuated with these two blokes building this seemingly impossible, never-ending project. I wanted to play this mythical game there and then. Being a Playstation owner I missed out back then, my chance has finally come however.

From the retro intro and level select screen you know you’re in for a treat. This game is a labour of love, there’s no other way to say it. Meat Boy’s controls are fluid and precise and coming from a platforming background they felt instinctive. Glorious. A simple two button layout is all that’s needed. Using R1 to dash is a revelation.

The level design is utterly splendid. Every jump, buzz saw and pitfall are accurately placed in order to test your reflexes and cunning. You get into a certain momentum when playing so that when you watch back the end of level replay you feel like a complete beast.

Be prepared to die as you will be dying a lot in this game, but the near instant restart is brilliant in the way it feeds the addiction and doesn’t put you off your rhythm. You’ll be going back to earlier levels in order to ace it fully – to appease the OCD demon inside you – but that adds to the fun.

A catchy soundtrack tops off what is one of the most refreshing gaming experiences I have had in a long time. The game is a masterpiece and deserves its status as a legend of indie gaming.

And that is all I have to say about that.

Leave a comment Posted on Reviews

Review – Mega Man Legacy Collection

MegaMan

It’s the 25th August and that can mean only one thing to gamers around the world, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is exactly 7 days away from launch. Early reports about how exquisite the game is seems to be only ramping up the excitement to near fever pitch. Words such as “masterpiece” and quotes such as “one in a lifetime game” are already starting to be thrown about. We will have to wait and see. A week to be exact.

So what am I to do until then? Luckily, the answer arrived on the Playstation Store today with the release of Mega Man Legacy Collection.

Now I’m going to be honest with you, I have never played Mega Man. It passed me by and was slightly before my time. As a matter of fact I was only 365 days old (approximately) when the first game came out on the NES. The original Mega Man series ran from 1987 – 1993 on the NES, so you’ll excuse my failure to play them.

However, just because I’ve never played them doesn’t mean I don’t understand or appreciate what they have done for gaming, especially in the early years of home consoles.

This Mega Man Legacy collection comprises of the original 6 games released on the NES. They have all been sharpened up and I must say, they look extremely clean and crisp on a modern HD TV. The 8-bit soundtrack sounds great as do the old school sound effects.

The games themselves are old school platforming perfection. For continuity, and my crippling OCD, I am playing the games in order without skipping ahead. So you’ll forgive me for concentrating on the first game as that is what I have played the most.

Mega Man is our hero – clad in a blue suit and helmet and armed (literally) with a blaster. He has three control functions; jump, shoot and turbo shoot. That’s it. Easy, simple – bing bang bosh. The game begins with a nonlinear level select screen where you can pick any of 6 areas to visit; fire, water, ice etc. and each level has an end of level boss. Once you defeat this boss you take ownership of their specialist weapon. This weapon has limited ammo as opposed to your blaster which is infinite and you collect charge for these weapons by killing enemies. The same goes for topping up your shield/health. The levels flow wonderfully, with tight platforming sections interspersed with tricky enemies that swoop and dive from all angles.

If, like me, you have never played Mega Man before and pick it up for the first time, there is one thing that will hit you straight away. The difficulty. Christ on a bike, this game is hard. Like many games from the early days progressing through 2D platformers relied on a mixture of timing, reflexes and the memorisation of enemy patterns and level features. True hardcore gaming. The only way to get good and progress through games of this difficulty is to play them so much that you know them inside out. Indeed, a quick search on YouTube will provide you with videos of utter beasts beating levels in speed runs that can only be attributed to hundreds of hours during the late 80’s/early 90’s playing Mega Man.

My satisfaction after completing the “Cut Man” stage was one of old school joy. It’s this feeling that pumps the adrenaline through your veins and the addictiveness takes hold. After my first half hour my thumb was feeling sore. A nostalgic discomfort I haven’t felt since holding my SNES controller.

There has been a save function added whereupon you can save your game once during play. A welcome addition as apparently the original series had a cryptic password system – a common theme among games back then (one day, when I can bare it, I’ll talk about The Legend of the Mystical Ninja on the SNES and it’s password system –  a process I can imagine being similar to writing an algorithm for Google’s search functions).

A gallery of enemies has also been added for your perusal as well as a soundtrack playlist that allows you to replay your favourite tunes from your favourite levels. This must be a dream come true for hardcore fans.

All in all I am very happy that I purchased this collection and believe it will be the perfect refreshment before getting stuck into MGS V next week.

The whole collection cost me just £11.99 which for the amount of content you get is well worth it. Personally, I’m just glad I finally got to play this great series – albeit 28 years after it started.

But like they say, better late than never.