Another blog update, featuring a lot of smaller reviews!
I've been playing a few games recently, which I thought I'd mention here. I'm currently also working on finishing Alien: Isolation and Dragon Age: Inquisition, two fantastic releases which I'll review at a later date. I've also finished Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Ori and the Blind Forest, so come back for more reviews!
Here are some current reviews, though:
Released: 2013
Spartan Assault is a twin stick shooter set in the Halo universe. I believe it previously was a Windows 8 and Windows Phone release. It gets straight into the action, offering short missions to complete. There's a set goal of each mission and you can replay them to achieve higher scores. Adding skulls, which gives you harder challenges, like less ammo etc., will increase your score even further.
The visuals are clean and simple, and run at a smooth 60fps@1080p. Each level has a distinct Halo colouring and design vibe. Controls feel precise and responsive like a twin-shooter shooter should. I especially enjoyed that the weapon characteristics from the main Halo games were kept, even for a completely different genre like this.
I've reviewed Dead or Alive 5 twice before, the vanilla original here and the ultimate edition here. This latest instalment, titled Last Round, is the series debut on the current consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This update is also available on the last gen versions of DoA5 Ultimate, as a patch, without the new characters, stages and costumes. It's also scheduled for a PC release.
A buggy debut, especially for the Xbox versions, showing that Tecmo haven't spent much time on this upgrade. A lot of users have experienced their saves, which can be transferred from the Ultimate version, being lost. These errors have luckily been patched as of late, but the developers' Twitter account turned into a nightmarish bug-fixing list at one point.
Last Round is a fantastic fighter, if you haven't touched any of the entries of the DoA5 titles, but I would've expected more prominent graphical updates for these new console versions. There's simply only a resolution bump, some added depth of field and some more dense effects on particles. The higher resolution only reveals that textures on the environments look too low on detail and washed out for higher resolutions. Some work here should have been done.
The character models still look great though, saving the game visually. However, it's clearly just the, last-gen, PS3 and 360 games running in 1080p@60fps instead of 720p@60fps. Kind of disappointing.
The character roster in DoA5LR is larger than before, sporting more costumes, new haircuts and a couple of new stages to fight on. It's a varied package for those wanting a new fighting game, especially on the new generation of consoles, as they're lacking a strong title in the genre.
The end result leaves Last round at an average score, mostly since I've played all the previous versions of DoA5. That said, the minimal new generation visuals are underwhelming. You can go up a dice throw, if you haven't played any of the DoA5 title before.
I received this game through my Xbox Live Gold Membership in February, so I powered up the old Xbox 360 and gave it a spin! You control two brothers through a colourful fantasy world, each brother is controlled with each analogue stick on the controller. It sounds a little confusing, but it plays fairly easily.
Together, the brothers must help each other out on a journey to save their ill father and find his medicine. They traverse through new areas they explore together, it feels a lot like a long journey and massive homage to Astrid Lindgren's famous book The Brothers Lionheart. Think of it as a sort of coop game for yourself.
Brothers is an enjoyable, but short, adventure with some good puzzles and original gameplay along the way. The presentation and storytelling is nicely done, and it's environments, set in a atmospheric fantasy world, really pulls you in.
The tragic story and it's rather depressing ending, leaves you kind of mortified though. You don't actually feel good when you finish it, not because of the actual gameplay, but the story. Leaving the player with such a feeling isn't exactly something what most will remember with a positive memory, then again the book it's based on wasn't exactly without gloom either.
I would've enjoyed it more as a proper a coop title, but I guess it leaves a stronger impression of loneliness playing it on your own. After all, the whole concept is set around controlling two characters with one controller.
I've been playing a few games recently, which I thought I'd mention here. I'm currently also working on finishing Alien: Isolation and Dragon Age: Inquisition, two fantastic releases which I'll review at a later date. I've also finished Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Ori and the Blind Forest, so come back for more reviews!
Here are some current reviews, though:
Review
Played on: Xbox OneReleased: 2013
Spartan Assault is a twin stick shooter set in the Halo universe. I believe it previously was a Windows 8 and Windows Phone release. It gets straight into the action, offering short missions to complete. There's a set goal of each mission and you can replay them to achieve higher scores. Adding skulls, which gives you harder challenges, like less ammo etc., will increase your score even further.
The visuals are clean and simple, and run at a smooth 60fps@1080p. Each level has a distinct Halo colouring and design vibe. Controls feel precise and responsive like a twin-shooter shooter should. I especially enjoyed that the weapon characteristics from the main Halo games were kept, even for a completely different genre like this.
The assault rifle feels fast and sprays, just like in the main Halo games, and the pistol is slow but powerful. There's a nice selection of weaponry, with rocket launches too, useful for massive damage against enemy vehicles.
Strangely enough, there isn't a local coop mode, or proper online one for that matter. For me it's a huge omission, as it's one of those genres you take for granted has coop. Especially since the top down view is very suited for two players.
It's a genre that begs to be played with a friend sitting next to you laughing and shouting! You can play it online with a friend, albeit only in a restricted coop mode with arena maps and enemy waves, but it's not the same as the main missions.
Overall, it's a fairly average experience, with some fun moments and a clear Halo design, but nothing out of the ordinary. You can buy at a fairly low price, so if you are in need of some fast and challenging twin stick shooting missions, then go ahead and pick this up!
Released: 2015
Originally released: 2002
While still a fantastic game, read my review of my GameCube playthrough here, I feel Capcom have gotten away too easily by calling this a HD Remaster. The backgrounds have not been re-rendered in HD, they're simply up-scaled from the GameCube release, or a similar, low resolution source.
Probably one of my absolute favourite titles of all time, and although I'm a true fan of the original 1996 release, I warmly recommend players unfamiliar with the first entry to at least try this remake!
A bonus for those players that have difficulties with the original tank controls, this HD Remaster has a modern 3D control option. Which is far easier for newcomers!
Released: 2015
Overall, it's a fairly average experience, with some fun moments and a clear Halo design, but nothing out of the ordinary. You can buy at a fairly low price, so if you are in need of some fast and challenging twin stick shooting missions, then go ahead and pick this up!
Resident Evil Remake - HD Remaster
Review
Played on: PlayStation 4 & Xbox OneReleased: 2015
Originally released: 2002
While still a fantastic game, read my review of my GameCube playthrough here, I feel Capcom have gotten away too easily by calling this a HD Remaster. The backgrounds have not been re-rendered in HD, they're simply up-scaled from the GameCube release, or a similar, low resolution source.
At least the character models and enemies have been beefed up in their 3D models. Including a small selection of the rooms, especially the outdoors ones with vegetation, have been upgraded with proper 3D foliage.
This could've been an excellent upgrade had they re-rendered everything, but we are left with upscaling and HD characters added. Not that it looks bad, it's actually a fair job on the pre-rendered backgrounds, considering the source material.
This could've been an excellent upgrade had they re-rendered everything, but we are left with upscaling and HD characters added. Not that it looks bad, it's actually a fair job on the pre-rendered backgrounds, considering the source material.
Regardless of version, I highly recommend people that haven't played the first Resident Evil to play this amazing survival horror title! It's an example of an excellent remake of the timeless classic on the original PlayStation, spanning all the way back to 1996.
Just as the original, REmake is still the most unique entry in the series. With a fairly uncommon layout and progress in general for games, especially compared to modern titles. There's a perfect balance between shooting zombies and solving puzzles, all set at fairly slow pace.
I really appreciate that you stay in the same mansion throughout the story, forcing the player to get familiar with the layout, excitingly opening new areas as you progress. There's something satisfactory about unlocking new doors to further explore the building within.
Probably one of my absolute favourite titles of all time, and although I'm a true fan of the original 1996 release, I warmly recommend players unfamiliar with the first entry to at least try this remake!
A bonus for those players that have difficulties with the original tank controls, this HD Remaster has a modern 3D control option. Which is far easier for newcomers!
As for the widescreen option, drop it, it's a pan and scan of the 4:3 backgrounds and cuts the top and bottom off them!
Review
Played on: PlayStation 4Released: 2015
I've reviewed Dead or Alive 5 twice before, the vanilla original here and the ultimate edition here. This latest instalment, titled Last Round, is the series debut on the current consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This update is also available on the last gen versions of DoA5 Ultimate, as a patch, without the new characters, stages and costumes. It's also scheduled for a PC release.
A buggy debut, especially for the Xbox versions, showing that Tecmo haven't spent much time on this upgrade. A lot of users have experienced their saves, which can be transferred from the Ultimate version, being lost. These errors have luckily been patched as of late, but the developers' Twitter account turned into a nightmarish bug-fixing list at one point.
The character models still look great though, saving the game visually. However, it's clearly just the, last-gen, PS3 and 360 games running in 1080p@60fps instead of 720p@60fps. Kind of disappointing.
The end result leaves Last round at an average score, mostly since I've played all the previous versions of DoA5. That said, the minimal new generation visuals are underwhelming. You can go up a dice throw, if you haven't played any of the DoA5 title before.
Tecmo really need to step up for the next version though, hopefully with a full and proper sequel in the form of DoA6.
Review
Played on: Xbox 360
Released: 2015
Released: 2015
Together, the brothers must help each other out on a journey to save their ill father and find his medicine. They traverse through new areas they explore together, it feels a lot like a long journey and massive homage to Astrid Lindgren's famous book The Brothers Lionheart. Think of it as a sort of coop game for yourself.
The tragic story and it's rather depressing ending, leaves you kind of mortified though. You don't actually feel good when you finish it, not because of the actual gameplay, but the story. Leaving the player with such a feeling isn't exactly something what most will remember with a positive memory, then again the book it's based on wasn't exactly without gloom either.
I would've enjoyed it more as a proper a coop title, but I guess it leaves a stronger impression of loneliness playing it on your own. After all, the whole concept is set around controlling two characters with one controller.
