Search found 175 matches for ps4
- on May 24th 2019, 11:39 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Sephirothic Stories (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 17
- Views: 3035
Review: Sephirothic Stories (PS4 PSN)
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Another KEMCO Masterpiece?
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Developed by Exe-Create and published by KEMCO, Sephirothic Stories is an adventure RPG with some interesting mechanics and a great story! Best of all it's the first fully 3D game that KEMCO has released on home consoles. Is it the best KEMCO game we've reviewed? No, but it's still a top-notch game in many aspects and here's why:
The game's story is pretty good even if it's cliche and plays things safe for the most part. The gameplay feels quite interesting despite being very rudimentary. You won't be wowed, but you should enjoy it nonetheless. The game is fairly short, clocking in at under 20 hours in length. The controls are easy to learn which is always a plus.
The audio-visual presentation is where the game struggles alot. The 3D visuals are quite clunky and while I wouldn't call them ugly, Exe-Create needs to put more focus in detail for their next 3D game. The soundtrack is hit and miss, but mostly miss and while the songs are rather unimpressive they aren't bad either which is good at least.
Bottom-Line: With a good story, unique and fun gameplay, and flawless controls, Sephirothic Stories is a worthwhile purchase for any JRPG fan, but a somewhat lackluster audio-visual presentation holds the game back. The jump to 3D is the most noteworthy addition to this KEMCO RPG and is a fun change of pace. In any case we give Sephirothic Stories for the PS4 a solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #KEMCO #ExeCreate #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #JRPG
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- on May 5th 2019, 8:47 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: My Time At Portia (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 25
- Views: 3659
Review: My Time At Portia (PS4 PSN)
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Extravagant Abode?
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My Time at Portia, released on April 16, has been well received by the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One communities alike. It has several points that make it an excellent game. Do you think you’ll enjoy it? We think so and here’s why.
Developed by Pathea and published by Team17, My Time at Portia is a relaxing yet highly addictive game. This crafting sim has several activities to keep you busy throughout your gameplay, from crafting to farming and many more in between.
Starting out with Pa’s inheritance of the workshop, you’re thrust into the world of Portia at a fairly good clip. The tutorials are very simple, and the controls are extremely easy to figure out. After chatting with Presley, you learn you must register your workshop in order to accept commissions, which is the lifeblood of this game as far as its currency, gols, along with earning relationships with your fellow townspeople. There is the main storyline, and it’s entertaining but feels slow at times. It’s not enough to sway one from the game, however.
As the game goes by, the missions become increasingly difficult along with relationships harder to earn. They aren’t insurmountable, but they do take a bit of strategy and finesse at times. New areas of the map open up as you complete your tasks, which lead to more opportunities for your character to flourish.
Now to the very integral part of the game: your workshop. This is what the game revolves around. You need it in basically each mission you attempt along with upgrading it. Your missions are based upon certain levels of machinery, and the quests will not progress until you reach that milestone. It’s not impossible, just time-consuming.
The devs have been extremely helpful and polite to the community, listening to their complaints and promising full game content in the near future. Their communication is unique as far as a dev goes, but this is another aspect which makes the game great.
Now to the cons. There have been bugs reported by players, ranging from ridiculous to game-breaking. They are few and far between, but when they rear their ugly heads, you typically have to leave the area and start again. The hopeful part is the devs are aware of this and are working diligently on a patch.
Some of the timed missions don’t specify they have a strict time constraint unless you open your mission book and review the quest. There were several times when I had the dreaded failed quest announcement flash across my screen, so it was only logical to restart the day. With the knowledge of the timer, the quests can quickly be completed in the allotted time.
Relationships take a long time to attain, but it isn’t hopeless. There are many different levels of gifting for each player, points determined by the type of gift you give the NPC. Between fostering these relationships and carrying on with your missions or free play, the player won’t run out of things to do.
The graphics are in a soft 3D style, which adds to the peaceful feeling that the game has. Sometimes the rendering is comical, but all-in-all they are deemed pleasant. The audio is another story. When you start playing, it’s interesting and enjoyable. However, when you have a few hours in, the soundtrack becomes very monotonous. A more ranged soundtrack would have been welcome in My Time at Portia.
Overall, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. The fact that the devs are hard at work devising a patch makes this game more attractive. Taking the entire impression of MyTime at Portia, we give this game good level of recommendation!
Afternote: Team17 released the update for My Time at Portia this past week (May 23) and like many gamers that play, I am very pleased with the updates and bug fixes that were plaguing random players. While there are more updates promised, this one nipped the infinite loading bug and seemed to have solved the disappearing item bug as well. The graphics are more pleasing since the patch with additions to the load screen and subtle differences in gameplay. New quests and small improvements to existing content were added, making the game feel more rounded. You can view full information on the update here.
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
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#Review #Team17 #PatheaGames #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #Simulation #RPG #Adventure #Indie #Nindie
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- on April 14th 2019, 11:55 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 24
- Views: 4657
Review: SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (PS4 Retail)
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Classic Arcade Goodness Making A Splash On PS4 and Switch!
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Developed by Digital Eclipse and published by NIS America, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is a compilation of excellent retro arcade games from SNK's rich catalogue of software and there's a large variety of genres to be had so there's something for everyone in this collection of games. Is it worth its price though? We think so and here's why:
This collection of games is pretty impressive with fantastic emulation and amazing bonus content. You can choose the region of most games and some games you can even choose between a home console version and the original arcade version which is a nice touch. The games span several different genres so there is something for gamers of different tastes, however scrolling shmup's do dominate the lineup somewhat.
The games run as they should with little to no issues. The games also have a sharp image mode and even a full-screen mode and stretch mode if you want the original aspect ratio or don't like borders or arcade cabinet images on your TV screen while playing respectively. The gameplay options are somewhat limited, but are serviceable.
A cool feature of this compilation is that you can activate "watch mode" at the start to watch how the courses should be played and can jump in at any time which can help if you get stuck on a particular part of one of the games or to help you boost your scores by knowing how to do certain things in a particular way.
Back to the bonus content there's a plethora of cool info regarding the included games in Museum Mode and tons of other juicy tidbits of awesomeness that you likely wouldn't expect to be included which is great for any arcade aficionado's!
The controls are pretty responsive and work as they are intended to which is nice as well. The audio-visual presentation is what it is and is more or less perfectly rendered from the source material. Sure there's a very rare visual or audio blip every now and then, but you'll likely not even notice these while playing and some of the games hold up quite well visually given their age. The soundtracks of many of the games range from good to great, but a few of the older titles do have rather limited chiptunes and can be somewhat grating, but overall it's a non-issue.
Bottom-Line: With a great selection of arcade game classics with tons of bonus content in the museum, excellent controls, and near-perfect emulation including the audio-visual side of things, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for the PS4 is a good title that is well worth purchasing if you're a fan of arcade gameplay and grew up with older games. On the downside these games are bite-sized compared to modern games and are mostly good for short-bursts of challenging fun. Overall we give the game a good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
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#Review #NISAmerica #DigitalEclipse #Arcade #Compilation #Platformer #Action #Shmup #RPG #PS4 #PSN #Retail #Switch #eShop
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- on March 31st 2019, 12:55 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Bonds of The Skies (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 19
- Views: 3143
Review: Bonds of The Skies (PS4 PSN)
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Solid Bonds!
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Developed by Hit-Point and published by KEMCO, Bonds of the Skies is a fantastic budget JRPG that will keep fans of the genre entertained for many hours! Is this KEMCO's best game yet? Nope, but it's still a blast to play and here's why:
Bonds of The Skies has solid gameplay that is unique in various aspects, of course random encounters are in which we rather enjoy every now and then, battles are relatively straightforward, but there are some nuances such as being able to move characters around in your formation mid-battle without using a turn to increase damage given or save yourself if you're low on health by retreating to the back of your formation.
Elements play a HUGE role in the game and quite frankly make the enemies far too challenging for even intermediately skilled players in many instances, especially later in the game. Luckily we previously reviewed the 3DS version so we knew how to tackle the game this time around! Still if you like a serious challenge you should enjoy Bonds of The Skies.
The story is pretty unique as expected from KEMCO so be prepared for a fun romp through the world of Eil, but don't expect any major plot-twists to catch you off guard this time around. Bonds of The Skies is rather short clocking in at around 30 hours in length so don't expect a 100 hour epic adventure.
The controls are easy to learn as expected from a throwback 16-bit JRPG titles which is nice. We also liked the character and enemy designs in Bonds of The Skies. The soundtrack is quite enjoyable as well and really sets the mood for the game!
The Playstation Difference:
The gameplay is more-or-less the same as the 3DS version, however most of the bugs are gone in this port. The game is also crossbuy with the Vita version which also happens to be PSTV compatible which is always great in our opinions!
Bottom-Line: With solid gameplay, excellent controls, and a great audio-visual presentation, Bonds of The Skies for the 3DS is a great game that most fans of the RPG genre should thoroughly enjoy, however the difficulty and short length of the game might be off-putting for some. Regardless we give Bonds of The Skies for the 3DS a good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10
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#Review #HitPoint #KEMCO #JRPG #PS4 #Vita #PSTV #PSN #Switch #3DS #eShop
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- on March 30th 2019, 10:57 am
- Search in: PlaystationWave Exclusive Features
- Topic: Developer's Interview: We Talk With Thylacine Studios About Their Recently Released Siralim 3 Now Available On PS4 & Vita!
- Replies: 26
- Views: 2789
Developer's Interview: We Talk With Thylacine Studios About Their Recently Released Siralim 3 Now Available On PS4 & Vita!
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Gotta Catch 'Em All!
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We hope you guys and gals have been enjoying your weekend so far and we've got a special treat for you all as we recently interviewed Thylacine Studios about the then upcoming Siralim 3 and are now publishing the feature, which is our first developer's interview in more than two years. We plan to publish more developer's interviews in the upcoming months as well. Without further ado here's our interview:
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[WWW]: Hello! Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!
[Thylacine Studios]: Thanks for the interview!
[WWW]: What games were your biggest inspirations for creating the Siralim series?
[Thylacine Studios]: Siralim was primarily inspired by an old Gameboy Color game called Dragon Warrior Monsters. DWM is all about capturing and breeding monsters and using them to fight in randomly generated dungeons, which is the core of Siralim's gameplay as well. Additionally, ARPGs like Diablo, Path of Exile, and Grim Dawn inspired Siralim's depth of gameplay and itemization.
[WWW]: What's new in your third installment in the Siralim series?
[Thylacine Studios]: More than I can realistically list here, but I'll try to name just some of the new features:
- New story featuring a set of 15 new boss fights.
- Over 100 new creatures to collect, for a total of nearly 800 creatures. All creatures now have rare "Singular" versions as well, which have unique color palettes.
- New type of end-game content called Itherian Realms. These are randomly generated dungeons that have randomized properties which affect the enemies you'll find there. If you defeat the boss of an Itherian Realm, you can upgrade a new type of item called "Talismans" which grant you passive effects. This is the richest end-game content the series has ever had, and it's where players spend most of their time in the game.
- Nether Crucibles, which is sort of a "boss rush mode" in which you can unlock exclusive abilities for your creatures.
- Asynchronous player-versus player battles.
- There's a new Knowledge System in which you will gain an increasing amount of knowledge about each creature over time. As you gain more knowledge, you'll unlock creature-specific perks such as being able to view an enemy's health bar in battle or increase that creature's chance to drop rare items when you kill it.
- Detailed lore has been written for all ~800 creatures in the game, totaling over 60,000 words. That's roughly the size of an average novel.
- Breeding has been overhauled and is a lot more accessible than it was in Siralim 2.
- Major quality of life improvements, including a revamped user interface and faster battle system.
[WWW]: Just how long do you think a typical playthrough of Siralim 3 will take most players?
[Thylacine Studios]: The game is intended to last players for as long as they wish to continue playing. There's no true endpoint in the game, which is why so many of our players are still enjoying the game past the 1000 hour mark. Some people stop playing after 40 hours, while others will probably continue to play indefinitely. There's no level cap, and there's no limit to how difficult the content can become.
[WWW]: Can you tell us more about your studio?
[Thylacine Studios]: Technically, Thylacine Studios is a one-man operation. I'm the designer and programmer for all our games, but I hire freelancers to create things like graphics, music, sound effects, and more. Recently, I've been hiring people who are avid Siralim players. For example, the two people who wrote the creature lore for the game (Mario and Sergio) have been playing the Siralim series for several years now. My ultimate goal is to work with people who are passionate about the game rather than someone who is merely looking to treat their work as a routine job.
[WWW]: When you're done with the Siralim series is there a dream project that you folks would like to work on?
[Thylacine Studios]: I have several dream projects, and I'm working on one of them right now! It's called "The Negative". The Negative has the monster catching gameplay and complexity of the Siralim series mixed with the environment and feeling of hopelessness that you might feel in games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne. It's a much higher-budget game than Siralim, and I think some of its features are going to blow people away. I'm excited to reveal more about the game soon!
Also, I've always wanted to work on a game similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. There aren't many games out there with FFT-style gameplay, and I have several exciting ideas to deliver a fresh experience to this genre.
There's definitely a lot more to come for the Siralim series as well.
[WWW]: Thanks for allowing us to interview you! Hopefully we can do this again sometime!
[Thylacine Studios]: Thanks for the interview, and thanks to everyone who reads it!
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#Exclusive #Feature #DevelopersInterview #ThylacineStudios #Siralim3 #JRPG #MonsterCollection #PS4 #Vita #PSN
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- on March 27th 2019, 7:27 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Jump Force (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 26
- Views: 2817
Review: Jump Force (PS4 Retail)
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J-Force Assemble!
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Developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco, Jump Force is likely the biggest, most ambitious anime game the gaming community will see this year. So will it satisfy player’s anime fighting needs?
Game Modes:
Tutorial Missions: Tutorial mode is an extension of the mandatory tutorial and teaches the player more of the basics of combat in the game.
Story: Jump Force’s story starts off slow which makes it seem lackluster and impersonal at first. It starts with way too many story missions, the majority of which feel more like side missions. After completing the first few chapters, the story does start to improve and increase interest. There aren’t as many missions that don’t feel related to the story, and it picks up its pace which makes it more engaging than before. Finishing the story feels like completing an anime, it is very satisfying, but it feels like there should be more. One thing to note is that it occasionally a character might seem out of character in story mode which can make that part of the story feel off. Another important thing to note is that to play and progress in the story; the player must either go to the mission counters and chose Key Missions or talk to the correct character to progress. It can get a little confusing trying to figure out where to go at times but remembering the minimap is key.
Free Missions: This mode is definitely a good one to grind. In this mode, the player can obtain experience, money, upgrade materials, cosmetic items, abilities, and J-Skills. These missions are not that hard to complete and range in difficulty from Easy to Expert. To get the most out of this mode, the player would want to get S-rank on each mission which does take some time.
Extra Missions: In this mode, the player completes missions which increase their level cap and obtain elements to apply to some abilities allowing the player to fine-tune their play style even more.
Online: In online mode, the player can fight other players online. There is the option to play quick matches, ranked matches, or friend matches. These modes are well implemented, but it would have been nice to have a rematch option in the friend matches, so friends don’t have to go through a ridiculous number of loading screens each time they do a match.
Offline: In offline mode, the player can choose to fight a couch-side friend, a CPU, have two CPUs fight each-other, or train. This mode probably doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves, but it certainly isn’t as prominent as the other modes.
Customization:
In the game, there are multiple options for customization which are mostly broken down into avatar creation, customization items, and abilities.
Avatar Creation: In avatar creation, the player can create their avatar. They chose which type of fighting style (Martial Arts, Pirate, or Ninja) and customize their avatar’s appearance. The avatar creation is very good and allows players to create incredibly unique avatars or recreate a character from the animes in the game. Some of the options such as hair and the two features can be changed in-game, but everything else is not, so create wisely.
Customization Items: Customization Items are the clothing and accessories the avatars wear. They can be obtained via the in-game shop or through Free Missions. The options for this seem a little limited currently in terms of styles and colors, but the developers are releasing more options in future patches.
Abilities: Abilities are the moves the player’s avatar uses from the pool of in-game playable characters’ moves. Choosing moves allows for some whacky combinations or utter destruction. Abilities can be swapped out at any time, and the player can obtain new moves either through the in-game store or playing Free Missions. Some abilities are also eligible for element changes which were mentioned a little earlier. Abilities are a very important part of avatar customization as it decides the players play style.
Technical Bits:
Controls: The controls are very different from other Bandai fighting games, but are very easy to get used to and help create a very smooth fighting experience.
Visuals: The visuals in Jump Force are one of the things that had the biggest interest factor for the game. Luckily the visuals live up to what was seen in the trailers and continue to be amazing with few flaws. The main flaw left by having such great graphics is that the faces of some of the anime characters wind up looking like their face was pasted onto their model, but luckily that flaw does not apply to most of the characters. Apart from that, the graphics for the game are amazing compared to other Bandai fighting games. The special effects, maps, and avatar details are awesome.
Audio: Chunsoft chose to go with an epic style for their music which sounds good and helps round out the theme of the game, and the sound effects are good. The voice acting is very good, but it only comes in Japanese audio with English subtitles which could cause an issue for some players.
Completion: Full completion of Jump Force will likely take at least 70 hours likely more to do all the missions and experience multiplayer. It is also the kind of game where the multiplayer is something to come back to for an extended length of time.
DLC: There are confirmed DLC characters as of right now and a Character Pass which grants players nine DLC characters and access to those characters four days before they are available for purchase. There are only nine DLC character spots confirmed at this point, but there is the possibility that they could increase the number later on.
Conclusion: Jump Force will satisfy a player’s anime fighting needs at least until their next game comes out if not beyond that. It has a few rough spots but all in all, it is a solid game.
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Score: ★★★★★★★½☆☆ 7.5/10
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#Review #BandaiNamco #SpikeChunsoft #Fighter #Anime #PS4 #Retail #PSN
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- on March 19th 2019, 7:03 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: The Princess Guide (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 3058
Review: The Princess Guide (PS4 Retail)
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A Guiding Lighthearted Adventure To Enjoy!
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Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, The Princess Guide is a strategic beat 'em up with RPG elements and is similar to Penny Punching Princess in many ways, but very different in others. How does this game stack-up in comparison to Penny Punching Princess? Continue reading our review to find out the answer!
First off the story in the game, while somewhat basic is quite charming and sets the mood for the mostly enjoyable adventure. The characters are charming and lovable, the plot in borderline genius at times with clever plot-twists in a few of the four character's stories. Overall in this aspect the game is absolutely amazing.
The gameplay is good too, however several issues do hold the game back, which we'll explain a bit later on, but first let's talk about the positives! The zany beat 'em up formula from Penny Punching Princess is mostly intact here, but is more refined with a Full-fledged skill and stat building system for your princesses. With four princesses and four stories between them the game is quite substantially longer than Penny Punching Princess which is great as we felt that the aforementioned game was a tad on the short side.
The mechanics and enemies attack patterns also add almost a bit of a shoot 'em up feel to the game unlike the mostly hand-to-hand combat in PPP. There are even heavy tactical RPG elements thrown into the mix, further adding to the game's depth especially in the overworld area. Another HUGE difference between the two games is the added depth in the character building aspect of the game where you can really power-up your princesses. The main character "you" a.k.a. The Guide is able to be customized with whatever gender you want, and your choice between different voices, character portraits, and name. Overall this does add a nice personal touch to the game and is much appreciated!
The downsides are basically bugs or technical issues. While rare, it is possible to accomplish every goal during a stage and still lose thanks to a rather unfortunate bug. There are a handful of visual bugs as well as semi-frequent crashes that we also encountered which hurts the game's overall score. Essentially without these bugs the game would have received a near-perfect score.
The controls in the game are intuitive and easy to learn yet can take a few days to fully master. The audio-visual presentation is vibrant and cheerful while absolutely ludicrous in some ways "We're looking at you boob jiggle". Otherwise it's quite good with excellent visual novel style storytelling with gorgeous character designs and backgrounds and a superb soundtrack. The character's voice acting did get on our nerves a bit however which is unfortunate, but only a minor gripe.
Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, good, but flawed gameplay, a mostly great audio-visual presentation, and solid controls, The Princess Guide is a great game in many ways and is well worth diving into, however some technical issues hold the game back quite a bit and as such we give The Princess Guide for the PS4 a solid level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #NISAmerica #DeveloperPlaceholder #JRPG #Action #Strategy #BeatEmUp #PS4 #Retail #PSN
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- on March 15th 2019, 10:57 am
- Search in: Switch eShop Reviews
- Topic: Review: Almost There (Switch eShop)
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3032
Review: Almost There (Switch eShop)
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Are We There Yet?
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Almost There is a simple little game developed by Bony Yousuf and published by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild, but is it worth sinking the hours into?
Game Mechanics:
In Almost There, there is only a straight play mode which consists of three worlds with fifty levels apiece. There is no story, multiplayer, etc. Just a straight forward select a level and play. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Almost There being this way, it just would have helped the game to have another mode to allow players to mix it up to lessen the stress the game creates. Almost There is very difficult, and to achieve three stars on some of the levels just seems inhuman at times but they are indeed achievable. However, it might take hundreds of tries before the player can streamline their movements enough to perfect a level.
Almost There is addicting due to its difficulty and the wish to perfect it, but it is a very frustrating and stressful addiction. The only other thing to say about the content part of the game is that it feels like more of a mobile game for a phone. That isn’t a “bad” thing, it just feels a little lacking for a console game.
Technical Bits:
Visuals: The graphics are fine, but the level construction is a little rough around the edges. It is not immediately noticeable if one is totally engulfed in the gameplay. Plus, the character is simple but cool. It’s a little cube that has a red ribbon around it to where it kind of looks like a ninja cube. There is also a red trail left by the cube as it moves which is a nice little touch.
Audio: The audio is also ok. The sound effects fit, but the background music is an issue. There are only three different “songs” in the whole game and they only change from world to world. This means that in one world of 50 levels the player must listen to the same song over and over as they try to complete the world. And the song is only 10-second clip on loop. It is ok for a bit, but over time the background music gets annoying.
Controls: The controls are easy to pick up on after testing the buttons on the joy-cons, but there is a problem with them. If the player tries to use the analog stick for movement, the input for it cuts out sometimes. If the stick is pushed to the left, there is a chance that it will move the character left for a moment and then stop. This makes the analogs almost unusable and almost forces the player to use the d-pad for movement which is highly disappointing.
Completion: I am not going to give an estimation of completion time because this is a kind of game everyone would take at their own pace.
Bottom-Line: This game is rough around the edges with control issues and just being hard in general. It is probably not worth playing unless you're into this genre of games. We give Just There for the Nintendo Switch a bad to below average level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★½☆☆☆☆☆☆ 3.5/10
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#Review #BonyYousuf #QuantumAstrophysicistsGuild #Platformer #Physics #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PSN
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- on March 11th 2019, 11:03 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Evoland Legendary Edition (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2864
Review: Evoland Legendary Edition (PS4 PSN)
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Legendary Voyage!
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Developed and published by Shiro Games, Evoland: Legendary Edition is a series of two retro-style action-RPG's that are heavily inspired by classics such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Metroid, Mario, Diablo, and many, many more series. But does this live up to the series that are the source inspirations for the game? Not quite, but it's still an amazing set of games nonetheless. Continue reading our review to find out why we enjoyed the game so much!
The story of the Evoland games are actually quite good and have tons of references from classic characters, to anime and western cartoons, and even non-animated programs. The characters in the games are quite lovable, but the one's in Evoland II are by and far more complex and relatable. The gameplay is pretty interesting as well. In the first game you basically start off in a world reminiscent to an original Gameboy title, but as you progress your game will evolve to become more and more modern, mostly by finding the upgrades through treasure chests.
The second game handles this differently, the game has a time-travelling theme with each era in time representing a different era in gaming. Both games also have different gameplay styles and elements that represent different classic series such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and more and at times you'll face turn-based battles, platforming segments, and more in this short, but sweet duo of quests!
The first Evoland is extremely short clocking in at around five to six hours in length while the second Evoland title is far longer clocking in at just under fifteen hours in length. It'll likely take around forty hours to earn the platinum trophy for the game. The game can be quite brutal on the hardest difficulty setting as well, but on the easy setting it is an absolute cakewalk so the standard difficulty is recommended for most first-time players of the game.
The controls are also superb which is always a good thing. The audio-visual presentation is absolutely incredible in Evoland as not only do the visuals and soundtrack perfectly reflect every era of gaming, and look AAA quality for each era save for a few exceptions. Speaking of the soundtrack it is quite catchy and enjoyable and fits the game perfectly.
Bottom-Line: With an enjoyable story, excellent gameplay and controls, and an incredible audio-visual presentation with only a few minor exceptions in the visual department. The only other complaint we have with the games are the fact that they are extremely short, especially the first Evoland title, but otherwise the game is amazing! We give Evoland: Legendary Edition a great level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
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#Review #ShiroGames #JRPG #Action #Adventure #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on March 7th 2019, 8:21 pm
- Search in: PSVR Reviews
- Topic: Review: Eden-Tomorow (PSVR)
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2450
Review: Eden-Tomorow (PSVR)
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A Massive Disappointment Like The ill-Fated Titanic...
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Developer: Soul Pix.
Publisher: Soul Pix.
Ok let’s review this game, when I played the demo for this game I was excited and intrigued because it seemed like a game were you would need to survive and would need to venture out and find many means of survival. However after playing the full game after 3 hours or so it all went downhill, let me explain, basically you start in a sort of drop ship falling down to a planet and it seems while in mid air you were in the process from awakening cause you were asleep but the drop ship gets torn apart and it crash lands. After landing you get attack by a monster that flies and you quickly get out, you are then greeted by a little robot or drone that got damaged in the crash and can’t remember his name or purpose and your character can’t remember anything either all he has is a photo of him and his wife and son.
Essentially the drone explains the basic controls of how to use him to scout places, that in order to control him you need to be inside a ring the creates a barrier that protects you from harm, that’s basically how the entire game works you walk a little, get stuck by a wall or something similar and you have to look for a “safe zone” activate it and then use the drone who calls himself newton and always find 3 energy core to boost his shockwave and even thought he tells you that you only get 3 shot to brake the wall, it’s so simple and easy you had to be a complete moron to miss the shot on a big wall and even if you shoot it in 1 shot the other 2 just disappear.
As you progress in the game the main character starts getting flash backs of his past revealing what has happened. Now the biggest problem with this game aside from the graphics which most of the time all you ever going to see is dirt and metal is that the game practically holds your hands throughout the entire game and it’s so linear there is little to nothing to explore whenever you control Newton its 90% of the time is to look for 3 energy cores to blast something out of the way with one shot which basically makes the other 2 cores useless.
The game also moves extremely slowly even when running it looks slow, and then there are part were the monster who sort of look like dragons are everywhere and you have to sneak by them which makes the game move slower.
The story is actually pretty boring, basically the story is that the humans built an ark, a ship to travel to another planet because it seemed that their home planet was messed up and can no longer live there and to manage the ark they made a supercomputer with an AI called mother she was suppose to keep the human in cryo stage and drive the ark to a new planet, however since she had the ability to think for herself she studied the humans and their nature and decided that humans are a plague and they don’t deserve to live except the main character so she decided to create her own human and tried to program them to act the way she wanted but before that when the main character was put in a cryo state she had put something in the liquid of the pod to induce amnesia.
Also at some point the main character got out of the pot and opened a gate which let out the artificial humans mother had created and they ended up worshiping mother like some goddess but she didn’t want that so she decided to drive the ark into the sun but she needed the genetic code that was in the main characters blood to have that authority in the ship so she hacked the drones and send them to hunt him, newton since he was created by the main character wasn’t affected at first so after you finally get inside the ship you end up giving the blood sample anyway to go further into the ship, meet mother, end up giving her the authorization she needed and then tricking her in order to shut her down , then the artificial humans appear through a gate you open and give the main character a key to stop the ship from going into the sun however they didn’t know what the object did since they had little knowledge of technology, and that’s the only moment you speak with a person in the last 5 min of the game, after you stop the command of the ark, your characters passes out and then wakes up on a ship with the artificial humans and one of them is holding the picture of his family and says I think know where the wife is and that’s it the game ends there with a “the end”. The story was too generic and disappointing and I tried to summarize most of it because it left a lot of unanswered questions
Bottom-Line: The game did have objects you can get in certain places but everything looks the same and so boring that I didn’t bother to look I just occasionally found some. Also this game uses the ps4 controller not the PSmove. So I give Eden Tomorrow a poor level of recommendation due to the boring story, having little freedom to really explore and the game being completely linear while holding your hand. The camera was fine, however.
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Score: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ 4/10
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#Review #SoulPix #PSVR #PS4 #PSN #Digital #Adventure
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- on March 6th 2019, 10:09 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Caligula Effect Overdose (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 27
- Views: 2761
Review: Caligula Effect Overdose (PS4 Retail)
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Digiheads Ahoy!
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Developed by Aquria and published by NIS America, Caligula Effect: Overdose is a unique JRPG with some pretty interesting concepts, but is this enough to make the game shine? We think so and here's why.
The story in Caligula Effect Overdose is pretty good sci-fi stuff and has an extremely dark tone oftentimes. What caught us off guard were the sheer amount of drastically different directions the story can take depending on your decisions. It's on par with visual novels in this regard which is an oddity amongst JRPG's, but a very welcome one at that.
The gameplay might seem like standard JRPG fare at first, but there is so much depth if you're willing to explore the game's features and learn how to battle utilizing the game's very complex systems. There are a ton of different elements such as using social media and taking quests for students that can help weave the story in Caligula Effect: Overdose. Perhaps the biggest change in the new Overdose version is the inclusion of the-similar-yet-different storyline in the perspective of a female student, while the differences aren't huge there are some varying storyline branches between the male and female student paths.
Speaking of the battles they are turn-based in this game, but utilize a unique rock-paper-scissors approach with the skill system, but it's actually deeper then that as your position and the position of the enemies on the battlefield can drastically affect the effectiveness of your skills and the same is true of your enemies who're usually pretty dumb digiheads who don't have a lick of strategy to their attacks or even spam the same action endlessly. These cannon-fodder are usually a breeze to take out, but the named bosses that retain their intelligence can be extremely difficult and require a sound strategy to defeat.
The game is reasonably long and can take 50 hours to beat and the controls are pretty straightforward and easy to learn. The audio-visual presentation is decent as well. The standard graphics outside of the animated cutscenes aren't all that impressive, but they get the job done. The several anime cutscenes in the game are gorgeous however. The soundtrack is quite good, however the lack of English voice acting is quite disappointing. Overall the audio-visual is decent to solid quality.
Bottom-Line: With deep and enjoyable gameplay, an excellent branching story, superb controls, and a decent audio-visual presentation, Caligula Effect: Overdose is a good game through-and-through, however the lack of english voice acting was a bit of a letdown. We do recommend this game to older audiences who are fans of the JRPG genre! We give Caligula Effect: Overdose a solid to good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★¾☆☆ 7.75/10
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#Review #Aquria #NISAmerica #JRPG #PS4 #Retail
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- on March 6th 2019, 10:04 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Kingdom Hearts III (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 21
- Views: 2404
Review: Kingdom Hearts III (PS4 Retail)
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The End of An Era!
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Developed by Square Enix and published By Disney Interactive and Square Enix, Kingdom Hearts III is the final game in Sora's arc in the series, so does the conclusion go out with a bang? We think so, but not for all of the right reasons. Continue reading to find out why we think the game is a good, but flawed ending the epic trilogy.
The story in Kingdom Hearts III is decent although some things pan out differently than they really should have based on previous games, such as Organization XIII members who instead of provoking Sora and the gang into fighting them, they instead just provoke the gang and then run away.
The Disney themed stories are quite enjoyable as expected and the inclusion of Pixar worlds and characters is amazing, however Kingdom Hearts III mentions the Final Fantasy characters one time in the game and you never actually see any of them which is a seriously bone-headed move in our opinions as the Final Fantasy characters actually had more important roles than the lion's share of the Disney characters in previous games in the series.
Things actually get worse in the last 10-15 hours of the game as the story shifts focus to the Kingdom Hearts exclusive characters and everything feels like a rushed hot-mess that should have been 30-40 hours worth of story condensed into roughly a third of that time. It really hurts the game's storytelling, however worst of all the ending itself was unnecessary in our opinions and we'll leave it at that as to not spoil anything for you, our loyal viewers. All we can say is that the ending will catch you completely off-guard.
The gameplay is top-notch as expected from a game in the Kingdom Hearts series. The game's famous action-packed combat is back and tweaked to perfection! The battles feel like a combination of the best aspects of the first two main Kingdom Hearts games, plus a few new features such as attraction commands have been added allowing you to summon Disney theme park attractions to deal a tremendous amount of damage to enemies and bosses and in some cases while a gorgeous spectacle, it makes boss battles far too easy to win.
The minigames are kind of disappointing this time around which is rather unfortunate. The Gummi Ship battles are very disappointing as well and can be ridiculously difficult and time-consuming at times to the point of taking a good third of the game's actual length. The controls are pretty easy to learn which is always nice.
The audio-visual presentation is absolutely breathtaking in Kingdom Hearts III, with gorgeous worlds brimming with detail and absolutely gorgeous characters and top-notch special effects. This game is clearly Triple-A through and through, and the soundtrack is amazing as well.
Bottom-Line: With superb gameplay, an amazing audio-visual presentation, and good controls Kingdom Hearts III is a good game that is worth getting if you are a fan of the series or Action-RPG's in general, however a rushed story and terrible ending ruin the experience and the game's somewhat short length doesn't help matters. Overall we do give Kingdom Hearts III for the PS4 a good level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
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#Review #Disney #SquareEnix #JRPG #ARPG #PS4 #Retail
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- on March 3rd 2019, 10:40 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Alvastia Chronicles (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 15
- Views: 3530
Review: Alvastia Chronicles (PS4 PSN)
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Decent Mechanics Make A Glacier-Solid Game!
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Developed by Exe-Create and published by KEMCO, Alvastia Chronicles is a decent attempt at recreating the greatness of the 16-bit era, however it falls short in many ways, but regardless is still a solid JRPG! Keep reading our review to learn more!
The story of Alvastia Chronicles is pretty straightforward and doesn't do much that we haven't seen before, but what's there is pretty good stuff. The gameplay on the other-hand is pretty unique. It's basically The Last Remnant in 16-bit form in the way it utilizes squads of characters who fight together as one with a united HP pool and multiple attacks, which is quite enjoyable, but the mechanics are definitely watered down so don't expect complex unit commands and such.
The game itself is somewhat short and can be beaten in 20 hours or less if you don't focus on side-quests and collecting all units in the game. The controls are easy to learn and the game's difficulty is a tad on the easy side. Another great thing is that the Vita version of Alvastia Chronicles is PSTV compatible which we commend the developer for continuing to support the niche device that has long been discontinued.
The audio-visual presentation is decidedly retro, but unlike previous 16-bit or is this 12-bit? KEMCO titles Alvastia Chronicles has a somewhat lacklustre art-style and feels off in a sense, because in some aspects it's 8-bit while in others it's 16-bit. It sort of ruins the game's nostalgia factor that KEMCO strives for. Luckily the soundtrack is much better and not only fits the game, but is quite memorable as well!
Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, flawless controls, and an excellent soundtrack, Alvastia Chronicles is commendable JRPG that has potential, however a somewhat erratic visual presentation and short story hold the game back quite a bit, though the PSTV compatibility really does help if you plan on purchasing the Vita version of the game. In any case we give Alvastia Chronicles for the PS4 a solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #ExeCreate #KEMCO #JRPG #Retro #PS4 #Vita #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on March 3rd 2019, 9:46 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Death End Re;Quest (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 22
- Views: 2781
Review: Death End Re;Quest (PS4 Retail)
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A Deep Dive Into Insanity!
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Developed by Galapagos RPG and published by Idea Factory, Death End Re;Quest for the PS4 is not only one of the best games released by Idea Factory thus-far, it is also one of the darkest, possibly even eclipsing Mary Skelter in that regard. Continue reading our review to find out more about why we have such high praise for this game!
The story in Death End Re;Quest is one of pure terror as the protagonist Shina, a developer of a VRMMO is trapped inside her own game which is bugged and damaged beyond all recognition for more than a year and initially has lost all of her memories. The bugs in the game are able to not only glitch and drive the lifelike NPC's to insanity, but are also somehow effecting Shina in the same way. Luckily some of her colleagues figure out she's alive and mount a rescue attempt, however before long bizarre things begin to happen to them as well in the real world. Be prepared for tons of horrific scenes and terrifying narrative that is highly recommended to be played where no minors are around.
The gameplay while mostly similar to other Idea Factory games such as the Neptunia series has a ton of unique nuances that really make the game feel unique, such as altering the genre of the game, activating cheats, and investigating the secrets of Shina's disappearance in the real world. The corruption system is also interesting as you can go into glitch mode once corruption reaches a certain percentage and grants you access to new skills as well as boosting your powers. Oh and the character transforms and in this state has next to no clothing for some odd reason.
The game is somewhat lengthy clocking in at nearly 60 hours and the controls are quite intuitive and easy to learn despite the complex gameplay mechanics. As for the audio-visual presentation, it is exceptionally good despite clearly being a somewhat lower budget game. The character models are superb, as are the dungeons, visual novel style cutscenes, and even the battlegrounds during battles. The only area where the game struggles a bit is with the special effects which aren't bad mind you, just somewhat limited. Regardless the visual presentation is great.
The audio presentation is even better with an amazing soundtrack that fits the game like a glove and superb english voice acting or the equally good Japanese voice acting if you prefer! Overall the audio-visual presentation is nearly perfect as is the game as a whole!
Bottom-Line: With a superbly dark story, excellent and unique gameplay, flawless controls, and a nearly perfect audio-visual presentation, Death End Re;Quest for the PS4 is a top-notch JRPG that is worth every penny, however it must be stressed that this game is only meant for mature audiences. That said we give the game a perfect level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10
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#Review #GalapagosRPG #IdeaFactory #IFFY #JRPG #PS4 #Retail #PSN #AdultsOnly
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- on February 26th 2019, 3:11 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Song of Memories (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 3775
Review: Song of Memories (PS4 Retail)
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A Melodic Love Story Making A Splash!
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Developed by Pure Wish and published by PQube, Song of memories is an Romantic apocalyptic visual novel with light RPG elements that left a lasting impression, but is that enough to make it stand out amongst the dozens of other visual novels that are available on the PS4? We think so and here's why:
Song of Memories starts out as a typical and somewhat pervy visual novel for the first few chapters with some awkward adopted sister moments, and the stereotypical harem storyline, however you'll suddenly find a tablet with AI girls with super powers and will face-off against monsters in a rhythm/RPG hybrid battle system which all comes together excellently!
The story is quite lengthy, clocking in at over 50 hours in length and as odd as this is to say in a "visual novel" it can be rather tough at times during battles, that said it didn't prevent us from finishing the game!
The audio-visual presentation in Song of Memories is absolutely superb with excellent character models, enemy designs, and animated backgrounds. The special effects during battles can be mesmerizing at times, though it can be somewhat distracting. Also the over-the-top boob physics can be quite erm...funny, yet can detract from the otherwise perfect visual presentation at times. The soundtrack and voice acting are also flawless, though as always we do wish there was at least an option for English voice overs.
Bottom-Line: With an excellent story with unique gameplay and an amazing audio-visual presentation, Song of Memories will provide adults with many hours of enjoyment. It is a shame that the Nintendo Switch version of the game was cancelled, but if you are an adult and own a PS4 or Vita, we recommend giving the game a chance! As for our opinions, we give Song of Memories for the PS4 and Vita a good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★¼☆ 8.25/10
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#Review #SongOfMemories #PQube #PureWish #VN #RPGLite #Rhythm #Anime #PS4 #Vita #Retail #PSN #AdultsOnly
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- on February 17th 2019, 11:31 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: The Liar Princess And The Blind Prince (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 21
- Views: 3124
Review: The Liar Princess And The Blind Prince (PS4 Retail)
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Lying Has Never Been So Fun!
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Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, The Liar Princess And The Blind Prince is a heartfelt tale about a wolf with a beautiful voice and a prince who is accidentally blinded by the wolf and their journey to restore his eyesight! Continue reading our review to find out why we highly recommend the game to all PS4 and Switch owners!
The story is most certainly the strong point of the game and is absolutely amazing! The storybook style storytelling is gorgeous, will the script is touching and at times, enchanting! The downside is the game is quite short so you'll likely wish there was more content, but what is there in-terms of story is nearly flawless!
The gameplay is the weak-point, but is still solid. Basically it's a puzzle-based platformer and its mechanics are excellent, though there isn't a whole lot of variety between the various stages which holds the game back from getting a perfect score. The game can easily be beaten in a few hours and there are a couple of different endings which adds a bit of replay value to the game.
The controls in the game are pretty easy to learn and are quite simple to master to be quite honest, and while the platforming aspects are for the most part exceptionally easy, the puzzle elements can be quite sadistic at times so expect some mind-bending puzzles that might leave you scratching your head for a spell or two.
The audio-visual presentation is nothing short of amazing, whether it's the storybook cutscenes, the gorgeous artistic backgrounds in the stages, the superbly detailed characters and enemies, or the amazing soundtrack, it's top-tier stuff and is nearly perfect!
Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, solid gameplay, excellent controls, and a nearly flawless audio-visual presentation, The Liar Princess and The Blind Prince is a great game that is worth looking into if you're an owner of a PS4 or Nintendo Switch the only downside is that the game is quite short. Anyways we give The Liar Princess and The Blind Prince a good to great level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10
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#Review NipponIchiSoftware #NISA #PS4 #Switch #Retail #Platformer #Puzzler #StoryDriven #Atmospheric
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- on February 9th 2019, 10:17 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Asdivine Hearts II (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2959
Review: Asdivine Hearts II (PS4 PSN)
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Totally Twobular!
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developed by Exe Create Inc. and published by KEMCO, Asdivine Hearts II is a direct sequel to the original Asdivine Hearts that takes place a couple of years after the events of the first game and is every bit as enjoyable! Continue reading our review to find out why we think this is on par with KEMCO's best release on home consoles to date!
The story in Asdivine Hearts II is quite hilarious at times, but can take itself seriously when necessary as well. The character development is top-notch especially if you count how the characters grow and change across both games in the series. The gameplay is more-or-less the same, although there are some pretty good tweaks that have been made to the game.
The added buddy system is the biggests change and adds more depth to the battles. These buddies aid you in battle and act as support units, boosting power, healing you, etc. The gem system also returns from the first game and it allows you to gain use of spells, boost stats, and add effects to your weapons and defense. Overall it's mostly unchanged, however it feels a bit less important this time around which is somewhat disappointing.
Asdivine Hearts II, much like its predecessor is split between multiple worlds, however the worlds are actually MUCH more expansive this time around! The game is also quite a bit longer than most KEMCO published JRPG's clocking in at over 50 hours in length so don't expect to beat the game in a few days time!
The audio-visual presentation is fantastic. It still has a decidedly retro feel to it, but there are much more unique assets and the character models and cutscenes are more detailed. The soundtrack is also quite catchy and fits the game perfectly! Overall the audio-visual presentation is most certainly really good!
Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, a superb story, and a great retro-style audio-visual presentation, Asdivine Hearts II is an amazing budget JRPG that will knock your socks off! And the impressive amount of content will keep you coming back for more! And lastly the game is also PSTV compatible which is always a good thing in our opinions! Overeall we give Asdivine Hearts II for the PS4 and Vita a nearly perfect level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★★¾ 9.75/10
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#Review #KEMCO #ExeCreate #JRPG #PS4 #Vita #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on February 1st 2019, 11:18 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: At Sundown ~ Shots in the Dark (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2359
Review: At Sundown ~ Shots in the Dark (PS4 PSN)
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A Shot in the Dark!
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At Sundown: Shots in the Dark is a quirky, new, omniscient, third-person shooter developed by Mild Beast Games and published by Versus Evil that has potential.
Game Modes:
Training Mode: The only single-player mode that is the unofficial tutorial of the game. This mode has trials for movement and each weapon in the game. The training mode starts with the movement trials which teach the player the movement mechanics. The game then goes on to do the same thing with the weapons trials. These trials teach the player what happens when that fire mode is used with each weapon. As the player levels up, they will unlock new weapons which will unlock more trials. There is also the option to earn medals by completing the individual trials under the bronze, silver, and gold times.
Local Mode: In this game mode players can play matches with a maximum of four other people or play players against bots. In this mode, any unlocked match types and maps can be used. The player(s) can also use unlocked special limitations that can make the games even more exciting.
Online Mode: Here the player can play against other players online. In this mode, all playable modes in local can be played with others online with the addition of 1 v 1 and 2 v 2 ranked modes. Online mode has the potential to be enjoyable, but with 10-30-minute queue times, it makes it hard to be able to sit down and play. The problem with the queue times is likely that there are not enough players trying to play at the same time. Unless the player has a full group of 4, it is unlikely that a full session will be found. This game would certainly benefit from more players, but it lacks them so severely it is likely driving away current players in the process.
Game Mechanics:
At Sundown has a level progression system that allows the player to unlock more content by gaining experience. Experience can be gained by playing all of the available game modes (in training it only counts for the first completion, and the achievement of the medals also limited to their first completion). The player gets to unlock new weapons, game types, maps, and special limitations to make matches more exciting.
This game’s niche is that the player cannot see where the other players are unless they are in the light or exposing themselves. This niche is a fun concept, but it seems like it is difficult to implement fairly. While there are obvious ways for players to expose themselves such as running and shooting, the player also reveals themselves by pinging their location. In the training mode, this mechanic is introduced to provide players a way to find themselves in the darkness, but it does not explain that it also reveals themselves to other players online. Due to this, the player’s ability to keep up with their location is challenging to do without giving it away which takes away some of the fun of the game.
Technical Bits:
Visuals: While the game is based around darkness, Mild did not use that as an excuse to take a shortcut on the visuals. The 15 maps are enjoyable and detailed, and the special effects for running and attacking are remarkable. The color contrasts they bring into the game is very visually pleasing as they chose to use bright neon colors to pop against the dark maps.
Audio: The music in this game helps set the theme. It is a mellow jazzy sound with moments of urgency that almost seems to be out of a spy cartoon. The sounds for the weapons are good, and the voice lines that occur when a player dies, or an objective is completed are highly amusing.
Controls: The controls take time to learn. In training mode which teaches the player the controls, it only prompts which controls to use when. It does not have explanations for what is going on, so it is mostly learning through guided experimentation.
Completion: To complete this game it would probably take 15-20 hours to finish the in-game level-up system, but probably closer to 30 or more to achieve all the trophies.
Conclusion:
This game has some flaws but also has potential. It would make for an excellent party game, and the best thing that could happen for its online mode is more players.
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Score: ★★★★★¾☆☆☆☆ 5.75/10
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#Review #MildBeastGames #VersusEvil #Shooter #PS4 #PSN
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- on January 25th 2019, 11:03 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Nippon Marathon (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3070
Review: Nippon Marathon (PS4 PSN)
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Nipp-On Track To Greatness?
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Developed by Onion Soup Interactive and published by PQube, Nippon marathon is a sort of marathon racing game that takes place in a semi-fictitious version of Japan where you and several other contenders race through lengthy courses filled with hazards such as watermelon canons, open sewage manholes, and pitfalls among other things as well as obstacle courses. If this concept sounds fun you'll probably want to continue reading our review to find out what we think of the game!
The gameplay in Nippon Marathon is reasonably enjoyable with a fun concept and refreshingly unique gameplay mechanics, you'd think it'd be a home-run, but some shortcomings really hold the game back. Firstly the positives are that Nippon Marathon has a large assortment of courses, fun hazards that aren't unfair in nature, and excellent multiplayer modes including four-player multiplayer races, a unique bowling style mini-game, and an obstacle course competition for up to eight players for crazy multiplayer fun!
The negatives are the really unresponsive and hard to master controls which can be flat-out frustrating at times and the ridiculously dumb A.I. which is so easy to beat that it essentially makes the single player story absolutely pointless and boring. This of course seriously hurts the game's overall score.
The audio-visual presentation of Nippon Marathon is meh, it certainly gets the job down and isn't terrible, but overall is quite forgettable. The graphics are 3D, look passable, while the music is there and doesn't sound bad, it's just kind of there which isn't good for the game if the audio-visual presentation feels this bland. Overall this hurts the overall score of the game.
Bottom-Line: With unique and often enjoyable gameplay, at least in multiplayer and a decent amount of content, Nippon Marathon could have been absolutely amazing, however atrocious controls, a lacklustre single player story mode, and a forgettable audio-visual presentation really hold the game back. We give Nippon Marathon for the PS4 a decent level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
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#Review #PQUBE #OnionSoupInteractive #Racing #Unique #Party #PS4 #PSN
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- on January 17th 2019, 11:48 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: My Hero One's Justice (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 23
- Views: 4030
Review: My Hero One's Justice (PS4 Retail)
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My Hero's Justice?
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Developed by Byking Inc. and published by Bandai Namco, My Hero Academia now has its own fighting game: My Hero One’s Justice. While this fresh anime has wooed fans, is the game up to par?
Story:
In the Story Mode there are three chapters to the campaign. The first chapter of the three-part campaign is the Hero chapter. This section of the campaign takes you through the events from when the young heroes begin their internships to the fight between All Might and All for One. Which in reference to the anime is around the middle of season two to the middle of season three. Finishing the Hero chapter feels very rewarding and unlocks the villain chapter. Unfortunately, the villain chapter falls a bit flat.
It is practically the same thing as the hero chapter, so it just feels like a repeat with different characters. In addition to the lackluster feeling of repeating the main events they also seemed to throw in some unnecessary side missions which have nothing to do with the plot. After finishing the villain chapter, the last chapter of the campaign unlocks. This chapter covers the U.A Sports Festival, which happened before the events of both the previous chapters. It is nice that it was included, but it feels very out of place and seems like a last-minute decision. Overall the Story mode to My Hero One’s Justice started off strong but fell short towards the end.
Mission Mode:
Mission Mode in My Hero One’s Justice is a great place to fine tune fighting skills and earn more accessories for customization. The missions start off easy, but progressively gets harder towards the later missions.
This mode is good for hone skills since it introduces fighting under extreme circumstances sometimes. Mission mode adds specific stipulations under which matches can be won. Some examples of these stipulations would be: win by ring-out (out of bounds), survive until time expires while health slowly degenerates, beat enemies while their health slowly regenerates, etc. These missions make mission mode challenging and rewarding upon completion.
Customization Modes:
In game there are two modes for customization: Customize Profile and Customize Character. In Customize Profile one can customize a card that will display player information while playing in online mode. This card customization consists of a background, a picture, a title, and a comment. All the customizations for this mode are available by playing, beating, or leveling specific characters. In Customize Character one can customize the outfits, introduction scenes, and voice sets. Most of the character’s outfits and accessories can be obtained by fulfilling conditions in story and mission modes, but a few of them must be purchased using in game currency earned by completing matches.
The customizations to the introductions include a special background, a customizable “mottos” and text color. Most of the mottos can be unlocked by fulfilling conditions or can simply be unlocked through purchase. The backgrounds and text colors are exclusively unlockable through purchase. There is also the option to change the sets of dialogue the characters use in matches.
There are voices for match introductions, attack voices, victory voices, and extended voice packs. All the voice packs besides the default ones must be purchased. There is the ability to create three costume presets in Customize Character mode which allows for the player to save three different outfit, accessory, voice sets, and introduction customizations to be used in Mission, Local, and Online modes. All in all, the game has a very expansive customization system that lets the players express themselves.
The Technical Bits:
Controls: The controls for this game are very easy to learn on PlayStation 4 as they are relatively similar to other fighting games.
Visuals: The visuals for this game are standard for Bandai brand fighting games. They are not anything particularly new or more detailed, but still satisfying to see.
Audio: The audio for the game is satisfying. The music in the menus is very peppy but not in your face. In the matches the music is more intense and helps set the mood while fighting. In the end the music fits the game very well. The dialogue for the game is in Japanese and is very nice to listen to since it is the same voice actors from the anime, but the only problem is that there are no subtitles. Due to this someone who does not know Japanese will likely be unable to know what the characters are saying.
Completion: To 100% this game with fulfilling all the special conditions in story and mission modes could take an average of 50 hours give or take. This does not include all the customization unlocks and trophies (for the PlayStation 4 version) since there are so many customizations unlocks which also feed into the trophies.
A word on Multiplayer: In this game the Online Mode works completely fine most of the time. There are some instances where the matchmaking will time-out and force the player to re-que, but there is also another error that is a bit more frustrating. Less common than the previous error is when loading into a pre-match screen the screen will just stay a dark red with nothing on it to indicate it is loading. The screen can stay that way for an indefinite amount of time. The easiest way to fix this is to restart the game. Waiting the screen out is doable sometimes, but likely not worth the wait.
DLC: There are DLCs for My Hero One’s Justice to unlock extra characters and missions for extra customizations. They are not necessary to enjoy the game and thus are completely optional.
Bottom-Line: My Hero One’s Justice is a decent anime fighting game. For fans the game is enjoyable despite the shortcomings of the story. However, for people who have not watched the anime or read the manga it would likely be lackluster. We give the game a decent level of recommendation.
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[b]Score: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
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#Review #BykingInc #BandaiNamco #Fighter #Anime #PS4 #Retail #MyHeroAcademia
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- on January 16th 2019, 10:14 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: YIIK ~ A Postmodern RPG (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 15
- Views: 3281
Review: YIIK ~ A Postmodern RPG (PS4 PSN)
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The YIIK Bug Is Back Baby!
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Developed by Ackk Studios and published by Ysbryd Games, YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a psychedelic trip that will have you relive the craziness of the 90's and is heavily inspired by the Earthbound/Mother series, but does this game reach the greatness of the aforementioned series? No, but it's still fantastic in its own way! Continue reading our review to find out why:
The story in YIIK is nuts, but in a good way. Through a series of events you meet a young woman and her cat with a Salvador Dali mustache, but then the woman is suddenly whisked away by unknown forces while in an elevator. You eventually set out on a journey to find her, the writing is hilarious at times, but be warned that the game's characters can be extremely sensitive and VERY odd at times. Sometimes you'll roll your eyes, but it's all good fun!
The gameplay is typical RPG fare and has alot in common with the Mother/Earthbound series, but has some of its own unique nuances such as the way characters in your party fight during battles. The protagonist for instance fights with records and his record player is used to boost his attacks, while another character utilizes arcade game shinanagans to fight, this system is not only unique, but is highly enjoyable!
The game features around a half a dozen dungeons which can get quite tricky at times with their puzzles. The game itself in our personal experience took 25 hours to beat, however it most definitely can be finished much faster if you try to power through the game. The controls are pretty simple and shouldn't give anyone any difficulties which is always a good thing!
The audio-visual presentation is where this game is not only shines, but is one of its most unique aspects! The visuals are in full-3D and are beautifully cel-shaded. The art-style definitely falls under the psychedelic theme, which works amazingly well for YIIK's bizarre setting. The music while not as good as the visuals, fits the game quite well.
Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, an excellent story, intuitive controls, and extremely unique and gorgeous visuals, YIIK is a game that we highly recommend to all fans of the RPG genre and as such we give the game a good to great level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★¾☆ 8.75/10
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#Review #AckkStudios #YsbrydGames #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #FutureVitaRelease #RPG
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- on January 15th 2019, 7:08 pm
- Search in: PSVR Reviews
- Topic: Review: Guns and Stories Bulletproof (PSVR)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2434
Review: Guns and Stories Bulletproof (PSVR)
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Spaztic Gunslinging...
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Developer: MIROWIN.
Publisher: MIROWIN.
All right let’s review this hot-mess, so the game is a wave type of game where your goal is to shoot down enemies and survive. It’s divided into a few acts which each have three stages, it also has various difficulty levels such as baby, easy, normal, hard, etc. The game starts with an old man sitting in a rocking chair and his grandson finds his old gun so the kid asks him to tell him a story of his youth, the grandpa decides to tell him a story while also demanding more beer or whatever he drinks.
As you progress through the game you will hear the old man tell the story and during each level all of the enemies will stop attacking while the old man talks and then introduce you to a new gun. The game is bizarre to say the least, you got your old west style cowboys and such but then you have enemies with Lincoln bears or motorbike helmets, there are even drone enemies, and some guys using Gatling guns while wearing gear from Rome. Personally I think they were very creative instead of just a plain old survival wave game, and the gun design are nice except one that has a smile face on it for some weird reason. There are also a lot of variation of commentary in the game and in one scene they were making fun of Mexicans which I found unnecessary, I’m not one that takes offense to that kind of stuff since it’s just a video game, but some may take it a bit personal.
Now the real problem of this game is the following, first the graphics, now I am not one to care much about graphics but the problem is some enemies are so far away that the image are a little blurry and since this game doesn’t have anything that tells you where you are aiming you need precise aiming to hit them which makes it difficult when the characters are too far away and blurry, another thing is that the stages are very wide, which is not exactly a bad thing but sometimes you have many enemies on the front or on the right and you don’t see the enemies on the left at all or you are so focused on the enemies in front of you that sometimes enemies that walk near you are so out of site that you usually won't notice them until you are getting shot by them so you really have to turn your head a lot to see them.
Now the worse part of the game is the PS Move's detection, it’s just awful, most of the time the two guns that you start with start spazzing out moving forward and then back on their own or just won’t turn well cause detection is faulty, worse yet is when they give you new gun which uses both hands to fire and aim, I literally had to move left and right almost hitting the floor just to try to aim at enemies cause the detection was so awful that the big gun kept spazzing out all over the place making it almost completely unplayable, I literally had to put the game on baby difficulty and move around as much as possible to avoid the bullets and try to aim in order to pass the third stage. I thought maybe it’s just this stage that has the problem, but I was wrong because in one of the stages in act 2 I get a sort of rail gun that shoots electricity, which again the gun looks cool but the game cannot detect the PS Move controller properly and just spazzes out again. The game frustrated me to no end and I thought perhaps there’s a problem with my camera or controllers so I popped in raw data and works fine even using the shot gun in raw data which uses two arms almost the same way as the gun in this game and while it was a little hard to control it wasn’t spazzing out all over the place.
This game was more frustrating than fun, I really don’t know if it was my equipment or not, I am not that much of a tech guy but seeing as the controls worked fine in raw data I don’t think it was my equipment. Unfortunately I can’t progress any further in the game due to the horrible PS Move detection. So I’m reviewing this with how little the game allowed me to see and experience. I would have liked to do a better review cause it's not a bad game aside from control detection but i really just couldn't get past act 2, even in baby mode.
Pros:
1. Its entertaining because its creative
2. It has cool designs for the guns
Cons:
1. Its repetitive
2. The map is to wide and the camera can’t see well the enemies that are too far or very close
3. The ps move detection is horrible and will frustrate you ( this has been fixed in update now its much better and playable)
4. It can be a little offensive to those who can’t handle stereotypes
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Score: ★★★★★★★½☆☆ 7.5/10
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#Review #ShootingGallery #PSVR #PS4 #PSN
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Update: (02/11/2019) ok so recently the game had an update and it was a huge improvement on the motion controls the camara had better detection and the oversized giant guns,were replaced by a one hand gun and an extension for it for example in one of the stages it was a realy huge yellow gun the fired grenades as well as rapidfire bullets so now it was changed to a smaller rapid fire gun on the right hand and on the left hand you control the grenades. So if you wana give it a try now you can cause its more stable. So i up the score to a 7.5 out of 10.
I didnt wana erase my previous review of it because the only thing that realy changed was the detection problem being fixed and adjustments to guns. Plus i wanted you to know how it first turned out and then how it was fixed with the update.
- on January 14th 2019, 12:29 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Super Pixel Racers (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2565
Review: Super Pixel Racers (PS4 PSN)
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"Grand"-Prix Racing!
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Developed by H2 Interactive and published by PQube in North America, Super Pixel Racers is a 16-bit isometric racing game like no other! It's uniqueness is by far it's greatest strength, but does the game have any major drawbacks or flaws? Continue reading our review to find out the answers to these questions and more!
The gameplay in Super Pixel Racers is actually quite deep, with refreshingly varied missions and tight controls that are extremely intuitive and easy to learn. We were expecting a top-down arcade-racer, but were surprised to see that the game is actually a mission-based racer with progressively more challenging missions that actually get quite difficult later on.
The story? There's not much of a story to talk about and the game is quite short. You could easily finish the game in an afternoon binge, but what's here is a superbly crafted masterpiece worthy of praise!
The audio-visual presentation in Super Pixel Racers is superb. The graphics are done in an isometric 16-bit style and are fairly detailed and the game's animation is quite fluid which is always a plus. The music and sound effects are decidedly retro and fit the game well!
Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, excellent controls, and a superb audio-visual presentation, Super Pixel Racers is an a fantastic mission-based racer that we highly recommend! We give the game a good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
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#Review #PQube #H2Interactive #Racing #PS4 #PSN
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- on January 8th 2019, 10:24 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Battle Princess Madelyn (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 20
- Views: 3870
Review: Battle Princess Madelyn (PS4 PSN)
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Battle Princesses Rock!
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Developed by Causal Bit Games and published by PR Hound, Battle Princess Madelyn is an action-platformer similar to classics such as Ghosts and Goblins, however there is so much more to the game than pure inspiration from the classics of yesteryear, but is that enough to recommend this game? We think so and here's why:
There are two noteworthy modes in Battle Princess Madelyn, one is the Story mode which is a Metroidvania style mode that is absolutely amazing, but has some flaws such as a fair bit of backtracking and not having a map which really makes it hard to navigate the world. But overall is a solid mode.
The second is arcade mode and it plays like an updated version of Ghosts 'n Goblins complete with power-up's, the ability to double-jump, and challenging gameplay, luckily it is a fair bit easier than the original Ghosts 'n Goblins while it is quite challenging with enough effort and time most players should eventually beat the game! Oh and the controls are easy to learn as well which certainly is a good thing!
The 32-bit visuals in Battle Princess Madelyn are amazing, while it does harken back to the classics, its level of detail, and fluid animation really give the game a level of polish rarely seen in an indie title, while the soundtrack is superb and fits the game like a glove! Overall the audio-visual presentation is flawless in our opinions!
Bottom-Line: With excellent gameplay, multiple enjoyable gameplay modes, easy to learn controls, and a simply breathtaking audio-visual presentation, Battle Princess Madelyn is a platforming game that no PS4 owner should miss out on, while there are a few minor gripes, the game earns a great level of recommendation from us!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★★½ 9.5/10
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#Review #PRHound #CasualBitGames #MetroidVania #Platformer #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on January 1st 2019, 11:11 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Marenian Tavern Story: Patty and the Hungry God (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 20
- Views: 3343
Review: Marenian Tavern Story: Patty and the Hungry God (PS4 PSN)
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"Pub"lic Sensation!
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Developed by Rideon Inc. and published by KEMCO, Merenian Tavern Story is a very relaxed JRPG with simulation elements that clearly has been inspired by the long-running Atelier series, but has an identity and flavor of humor of its own. Is the game worth purchasing though? We think so and here's why:
The story in Merenian Tavern Story is cutesy with a quirky sense of humor. The protagonist and her family get cursed when her brother is possessed by the God of Poverty and must work at the local tavern and work off their debt while learning how to undo the possession. There's actually much more to do than simply work at the tavern though! You also gather and hunt monsters for materials in the dungeons, grow materials at the local farm, do favors for customers, and much more, which will keep you entertained and busy for quite some time.
The only downside is that the game doesn't always explain what you need to do next to advance the story, which can be somewhat annoying at times. The gameplay is very enjoyable and is very reminiscent of the Atelier series of JRPG's. The turn-based battles are quite enjoyable and the bosses require some strategic planning to defeat.
The controls are easy to learn which is always a good thing. Marenian Tavern Story is also fairly lengthy and will take most newcomers a good 30 hours to beat, but completionists will find the game is significantly longer to 100%. The audio-visual presentation is nice enough, the 16 graphics look amazing while the character art in the visual novel style cutscenes looks detailed and gorgeous. The music is pretty enjoyable as well and fits the game well!
Bottom-Line: With a great story that's both enjoyable and humorous, amazing gameplay, and an excellent audio-visual presentation, Marenian Tavern Story for the PS4 is a highly enjoyable game that is a blast to play and we highly recommend it to fans of the genre! We give the game a a good to great level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★¾☆ 8.75/10
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#Review #RideonInc #KEMCO #JRPG #Simulation #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on January 1st 2019, 3:28 am
- Search in: WiiWareWave Exclusive Features
- Topic: Feature: Game of The Year 2018 ~ #1 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of An Elusive Age (PS4)
- Replies: 17
- Views: 2387
Feature: Game of The Year 2018 ~ #1 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of An Elusive Age (PS4)
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Quest of The Year!
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It's been many years since we've seen a Dragon Quest title on a Playstation console and Dragon Quest XI fills the multi-generational void quite nicely! It feels very similar to Dragon Quest VIII, however its scale and character development are on a completely different level. The game is divided into three acts and each act is over 50 hours in length unless you try to power through the game, "Where's the fun in that?". The game also features a robust post-game with many more hours of gameplay to tackle after the end credits roll.
The music is fantastic despite the fact that the songs are in midi format and the visuals are absolutely breathtaking. It should come as no surprise after reading this as to why we think Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of An Elusive Age deserved to be chosen as our choice for 2018's game of the year!
What do you think of our choice for last year's game of the year? As always be sure to let us know in our comments section below!
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#GoTY #DragonQuestXI #PS4 #JRPG #SquareEnix
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- on December 31st 2018, 7:32 pm
- Search in: WiiWareWave Exclusive Features
- Topic: Feature: Game of The Year 2018 ~ #2 Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2470
Feature: Game of The Year 2018 ~ #2 Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)
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With Great Power Comes Great Results!
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Superhero games have been hit-or-miss over the years, but we've seen a surge in amazing superhero titles in the past decade or so and Insomniac's Spider-Man is among the best with a lengthy story, incredible audio-visual presentation, and utterly sublime gameplay. The DLC is top-notch as well and is worth its price. These reasons and more are why Insomniac's take of Marvel's Spider-Man is the second best game released in 2018 in our opinions!
What do you think of our choices so far? Also which game are you hoping receives our choice as Game of The Year for 2018? Be sure to check back tomorrow when we publish the next article in this series!
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#GoTY #Insomniac #ActionAdventure #Superhero #PS4 #SpiderMan
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- on December 21st 2018, 6:36 pm
- Search in: PSVR Reviews
- Topic: Review: Arca's Path (PSVR)
- Replies: 17
- Views: 2889
Review: Arca's Path (PSVR)
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Arca's Path of Fun!
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Developer: Dream Reality Interactive.
Publisher: Rebellion Games.
Price: $19.99.
Let’s see Where do we start? Well first of all the game is a peaceful puzzler game that has you controlling a sphere with your head or helmet so to speak. I found the puzzles to be rather simple at least up to the 6th level, after that it became a little more complicated, but not anything that would really make it difficult. The only challenge you'll face is if you are collecting all the crystals in order to unlock the time trial mode and even that is only a little more difficult, but only because you have to backtrack a bit sometimes. Other than that Arca's Path is a very peaceful game that you can play when you are tired of playing fighting games or rpg's, or whatever else you may fancy.
The game has 25 levels and visually it looks nice and I don’t think it would make anyone get sick playing it because it’s very easy on the eyes. The colors are not too bright so if you’re not used to playing vr or get motion sickness easily, this game is a good game to start with while you get adjusted to the PSVR. There isn’t much to the story the main character in the game is a girl that seems to live in a junkyard of sorts and finds a mask that transports her into a virtual world where she controls a sphere, uhm then some guy charges the mask again after a while so she can continue using it, which then turns out the guy is some kind of machine and forces the girl to keep wearing the mask and thus the levels keep going.
For $20 it’s not such a bad price for the game, I personally would wait for a discount but like I said it’s reasonably priced, and seems like the developers worked hard at making a fun and simple game that anyone could enjoy. Unfortunately what it does lack is challenge, the stages mostly are very short and only seem longer if you’re looking for the crystals which don’t really serve much of a purpose since all they do is unlock a time trial that is really just for you because there no online leader board if you’re aiming for that.
The music isn’t anything to exciting since its meant to be a relaxing game so you mostly hear relaxing music that sometimes are just random sounds, and since you don’t need the controller to play the game you could probably eat while playing if you wanted to, but good luck not making a mess haha. But in all seriousness the game is good, but it’s just not a game I would personally pay $20 for, not because it’s bad, rather it's because I prefer a bit more of a challenge from a puzzle game.
Bottom-Line: With good gameplay that is both relaxing and fun, functional controls, pleasant visuals, and an atmospheric soundtrack Arca's Path is a fun little puzzler for the PSVR and is a good choice to get yourself acclimated to VR games if you're not used to them yet. The only real drawback to the game is that it just isn't very challenging. We give Arca's Path a solid level of recommendation.
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[b]Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10[/b]
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#Review #ArcasPath #DreamRealityInteractive #RebellionGames #PS4 #PSVR #PSN #Puzzler
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- on December 5th 2018, 9:21 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Labyrinth of Refrain ~ Coven of Dusk (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 22
- Views: 3006
Review: Labyrinth of Refrain ~ Coven of Dusk (PS4 Retail)
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Bewitching Tides?
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Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NiSA, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is a dungeon crawling RPG that has a bewitching theme, no really! Is this unique witch theme enough to entrance you into loving the game? Probably not, but it has other things going for it, though even still it's only enough to make the game a decently enjoyable experience and here's why:
The story in Labyrinth of Refrain is pretty unique which is both good and bad. In-terms of storytelling the game falls flat, but the dialog is hilarious at times and there are serveral unexpected plot-twists that will catch you completely off guard which is the sign of good story progression, but some of the voice overs are just barely passable and some of the lines are cheesy as heck which does hurt the game's overall score.
The gameplay in LoR:CoD is pretty enjoyable with a few unique quirks, but overall the developers played it safe and as a result the gameplay is average at best. The few unique elements are enjoyable at least including the ability to pay the leader of the caravan a certain amount of mana to get her to pass decrees that boost stats and or add new gameplay elements to the game among other bonuses. Then the puppetry aspect where your puppets a.k.a. party members can lose limbs which affect their stats and other unique attributes really adds to the overall experience of the game!
Then the dungeon itself is quite impressive and has many traps and other dangers that require you to tread new floors carefully or risk being wiped out. The battles are standard fare, though the enemies are quite unique and have a wide array of attacks and skills that will test any would-be adventurers skills!
The game is quite difficult so expect to be thoroughly challenged. The game is very long as well clocking in at over 50 hours in length so don't expect to beat this during a weekend binge! The controls are also quite intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing in our opinions!
The audio-visual presentation in Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is above average with excellent dungeon designs both in sensibility and visually, the music is also terrific, the only thing that is somewhat of a letdown are a couple of the voice actors, but overall the audio-visual presentation is good to great!
Bottom-Line: With solid albeit uninspiring gameplay, superb story, excellent audio-visual presentation, and top-notch controls, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk can be fun at times, but the developer played things far too safe and as a result the gameplay feels far too similar to other games in the genre. Overall we give the game a decent to solid level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★½☆☆☆ 6.5/10
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#Review #NipponIchiSoftware #NiSA #PS4 #Retail #DRPG #FirstPerson
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- on December 1st 2018, 12:45 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Chronus Arc (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3670
Review: Chronus Arc (PS4 PSN)
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A Refreshingly Decent Title!
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Developed by Hit-Point and published by KEMCO, Chronus Arc is a solid budget RPG in many ways, but is it worth the cost? We think so, continue reading our review to learn why!
The story in Chronus Arc is relatively straightforward and cliche, however it is still quite enjoyable despite not doing anything in its story that hasn't been done before. The gameplay is also standard JRPG fare which oozes with retro goodness, between it's retro visuals and soundtrack as well as its turn-based battles and simplistic gameplay mechanics that would feel right at home on a home console of the early to mid 90's! The gameplay is superb, but does lose some points for playing it safe and not doing anything unique, but it's still highly enjoyable!
Item collection plays a big role in Chronus Arc and the game does a good job at making the grind to complete your collection quite fun! The controls in the game are also simple and easy to master as expected from a game that emulates the style of the 16-bit classics we all know and love!
The game can be quite difficult later on though if you've played any major SNES JRPG this will hardly pose any trouble with beating the game! Also Chronus Arc is cross-buy and the Vita version PSTV compatible which is always good in our book!
Visually the game looks great in all of its 16-bit glory and the visual novel style story scenes look nice as well, but it's no SNES Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger so don't expect it to look as good as the best games of the 90's, regardless it still looks nostalgic and should bring back memories of playing the classics of yesteryear.
The soundtrack on the other-hand is hit and miss and more so miss. It's easily the weakest aspect of the game . The sound effects can be quite annoying as well, so unfortunately overall the audio presentation is below average.
Bottom-Line:
With great visuals, excellent controls, and a good story that is fun to see play out, although it's somewhat cliche and predictable as well as gameplay that's great, but doesn't do anything new or unique, Chronus Arc is a worthy budget JRPG that's worth giving a shot if you enjoy JRPG's from the SNES era, but the annoying sound effects and lacklustre soundtrack do hold the game a bit, but overall we give the game a decent to solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★¾☆☆☆ 6.75/10
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#Review #KEMCO #HitPoint #PS4 #PSN #3DS #eShop #JRPG #Retro
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- on November 22nd 2018, 9:28 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Valthirian Arc (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 14
- Views: 3009
Review: Valthirian Arc (PS4 Retail)
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School of Heroic Fun!
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Developed by Agate Studio and published by PQube, Valthirian Arc is a surprisingly deep school simulation title with RPG elements that has alot of unique gameplay elements, but is that all there is to this game? Hardly, Valthirian Arc is a blast to play and is well worth a purchase and here's why!
The story in Valthirian Arc is quite good and entertaining, while the gameplay has a fantastic mixture of simulation and RPG elements. Those looking for a deep JRPG need to look elsewhere, but what we have here is quite an enjoyable experience. You basically must build your school up and train heroes using the school's facilities while meeting the quota of graduates which means that you will have to do some micro-management to avoid graduating all of your best heroes-in-training leaving you unable to complete more challenging missions.
The missions themselves are where the RPG elements come in as you'll be able to battle enemies in small fields and dungeon in rather simplistic action-RPG fashion. Overall the RPG elements while fun are absolutely overshadowed by the simulation elements. This is why the game will likely be more enjoyable to those who like simulation titles.
The game also features item creation which is somewhat simplistic, but a nice feature nonetheless. The game is pretty accessible and shouldn't be too difficult for newbies to simulation games, while still being deep enough for fans of the genre. The controls are also quite intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing!
The visuals in the game are colorful a cheery, but don't expect to be blown away by them as the game is very outdated in that regard, but gets the job done. The soundtrack on the other hand is fantastic albeit somewhat repetitive, regardless it is pretty good stuff and earns our seal of approval! Overall the audio-visual presentation is good in our opinions!
Bottom-Line:
With a great story and unique yet enjoyable gameplay, excellent controls, and a good audio-visual presentation, Valthirian Arc is a worthwhile PS4 game that fans of simulation games and RPG's should enjoy, overall we give Valthirian Arc for the PS4 a good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
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#Review #AgateStudio #PQube #Simulation #RPG #PS4 #Switch #Retail #Budget
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- on November 12th 2018, 11:36 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: STAY (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 17
- Views: 3357
Review: STAY (PS4 PSN)
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STAY or LIVE With The Consequences of LEAVING!
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developed by Appnormals Team and published by PQube & Ratalaika Games, STAY is a horror visual novel with retro graphics that has you STAY in contact with an unfortunate person who has no clue where he is and how he can escape. This is a rather interesting plot and that alone is worth checking this title out, but there's much more to this game than that. Continue reading our review to learn more!
The story in STAY is pretty wild, an unfortunate man wakes up to unfamiliar surroundings with little more than his computer and the clothes on his back. In this dark place not all is as it seems and it's dangerous to attempt to escape without assistance. Luckily he has you! As the only person in his chatroom you must guide him to safety and stave off insanity from setting in by communication and giving him advice. You'll want to play the game frequently until finished as the game's time will progress without you so things can get pretty dicey if you take a long break between sessions.
The game also features a huge number of extremely difficult puzzles, which we admittedly had to rely on a guide to solve some of the more challenging ones. STAY features multiple endings which adds to the replayability of the game. The game can be exceptionally difficult at times, but is quite short clocking in at under 10 hours in length. The controls are intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing and best of all STAY is PSTV compatible!
STAY has a fantastic yet very retro art direction with great details, the menues are streamlined and look amazing as well. The soundtrack is pretty solid as well and fits the mood of the game quite nicely!
Bottom-Line:
With a great and unique story, solid gameplay, flawless controls, amazing visuals, and a fitting soundtrack, STAY is a great game worth checking out, but the puzzles in the game feel extremely unfair and difficult at times which really hampers the accessibility of the game, but overall we give STAY for the PS4 and PSTV a solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #STAY #PQube #RatalaikaGames #VN #Retro #PS4 #PSN #Vita #PSTV
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- on October 26th 2018, 11:43 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Metal Max ~ Xeno (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2912
Review: Metal Max ~ Xeno (PS4 Retail)
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Hits Like A Typhoon, But Never Reaches The Stratosphere.
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Developed by Kadokawa Games and Published by NiS America, Metal Max Xeno is an action game that pits a platoon of tanks against a bunch of iconic and not so iconic mechanical monstrosities in a bizarre turn-based JRPG series. Is this a top-tier game? No, but it has its moments, do we recommend the game though? Continue reading our review to find out!
Metal Max Xeno is a game in the long-running Metal Max series, but is only the second game in the franchise to see a western release. The first was "Metal Saga" which released in North America in 2005 on the PS2. The story is REALLY dark, the world is an absolute hell, and the few people left are being hunted down by a diabolical Artificial Intelligence. The characters are pretty messed up as you'd imagine, but some of them have pretty decent character growth during the game's story!
The gameplay is quite unique, with turn-based battles featuring fully customizable tanks. Think of it as a cross between Valkyria Chronicles, Car Battler Joe, and MS Saga? It's really hard to describe, but all comes together rather well. The game is pretty standard length for a JRPG, clocking in at around 50-60 hours, but the game is tough-as-nails so expect your first playthrough to be substantially longer. The game is also a complete grindfest for the first 15-20 hours, luckily it becomes much more enjoyable in the last two-thirds of the game.
The controls are somewhat cumbersome and takes a bit of time to get used to, but overall it's not bad. The audio-visual presentation is pretty average, though the voice acting is good, the music is rather uninspiring and the visuals are extremely drab with the exception of the characters which are detailed and look amazing. This is easily the game's biggest flaw, but overall the game is a solid and unique JRPG.
Bottom-Line:
With excellent yet unique gameplay, a decent story, and a ton of customization options, Metal Max Xeno for the PS4 is a refreshingly unique JRPG that can be great fun after the early game grinding. The audio-visual presentation does hold the game back quite a bit, but overall we give Metal Max Xeno a solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #KadokawaGames #NiSA #Action #PS4 #Retail
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- on October 21st 2018, 6:50 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Revenant Dogma (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 3604
Review: Revenant Dogma (PS4 PSN)
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Darkness Ahoy!
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Developed by EXE-CREATE and published by KEMCO, Revenant Dogma is another solid KEMCO JRPG, but what sets it apart from the myriad of KEMCO titles already available on PSN? Continue reading our review to find out!
The gameplay is pretty straightforward and there isn't much that separates it from previous KEMCO JRPG's, but what it does do is pretty solid. The game possesses 3-D battles which are definitely better than those of Revenant SAGA with better frame-rate and special effects. The battles are turn-based as usual and the mechanics while simple are very enjoyable.
The story is pretty dark this time around and there are a good deal of superb plot-twists that should keep most players interested in what will happen next! The game is fairly lengthy as well, clocking in at around 35 hours in length. The game is pretty easy overall so don't expect a serious challenge, at least until the post-game content. The controls are intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing. And you PSTV owners will be happy to hear that Revenant Dogma is PSTV compatible!
Visually Revenant Dogma is generally nice looking with its 2-D world and detailed visual novel style story scenes, however the 3-D battlegrounds are a bit drab and the 3-D character and enemy models are rather blocky which detracts from the game's overall aesthetics. The soundtrack on the other hand is decent, albeit a little uninspiring. Overall the game's audio-visual presentation is average to slightly above average.
Bottom-Line:
With solid gameplay, a great story, and excellent controls Revenant Dogma is a pretty enjoyable experience, however an average audio-visual presentation does drag the overall experience down a bit, but overall we give the game a solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #KEMCO #EXECREATE #JRPG #RevenantDogma #PS4 #Vita #PSN #PSTV #Switch #eShop
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- on October 7th 2018, 1:44 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Punchline (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3275
Review: Punchline (PS4 Retail)
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A Splash of Humor With Apocalyptic Consequences!
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Developed by 5pb and published by PQube, Punchline is a visual novel like no other and is not only hilariously zany, but has a great cast of lovable characters. Is this enough to give the game a fantastic score? We think so and here's why:
The story in Punchline is so bizarre, but in a good way. Basically the protagonist gains super powers by looking at girl's panties and tries to save the day during a terrorist attack, but something happens and the bad guy steals his body leaving the protagonist as nothing more than a ghost. It is your job to regain your spirit and eventually your body by haunting a bunch of girls while avoiding panties because for some reason seeing panties twice in a row will cause the world to come to an end.
The characters are really cool and likable. You will notice alot of character development over the course of the game and by the end you'll love the entire cast of characters. The plot is also surprisingly good despite being silly as heck which is fantastic news!
The gameplay is relatively straightforward, you must use your limited powers as a ghost to manipulate the environment around you, but at first you'll only be able to move or knock-down light items, however once you start gaining back more of your spirit you'll be able to bang on doors and windows, and manipulate heavy objects as well as possess the girls you are trying to interact with. Beware however as some actions will have dire consequences. The game is also not kid-friendly so make sure to not play the game where your youngsters might witness something you wouldn't want them to see.
The controls are flawless, but since the game is a visual novel it wouldn't bode well if its controls were cumbersome. The game is fairly lengthy and can take 25-30 hours to beat and 200+ hours to see everything the game has to offer.
The audio-visual presentation is a mixed bag as the animated cut-scenes are gorgeous and the soundtrack is superb, but the voice acting is only passable, while the in-game visuals such as character models look very dated.
Bottom-Line:
With great gameplay, a goofy yet highly enjoyable story, excellent controls, and great animation, Punchline is an excellent visual novel that can be highly enjoyable at times Punchline is well worth picking up if you're a fan of the genre. Dated visuals and dull voice acting drag the game down a bit, however the soundtrack makes up for that. Overall we give Punchline a good to great level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10
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#Review #Punchline #5pb #PQube #VisualNovel #PS4 #Vita #Retail
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- on September 22nd 2018, 11:07 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Fernz Gate (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 3801
Review: Fernz Gate (PS4 PSN)
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The "Solid" Gateway To Fun!
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Developed by Exe-Create and published by KEMCO, Fernz Gate is a fairly lengthy KEMCO JRPG that actually does quite a few unique things not seen in other KEMCO games thus-far and it is a breath of fresh air! Is this enough to give the game a good level of recommendation? We think so and here's why:
The story in Fernz Gate is excellent with several surprising plot-twists, unfortunately we can't explain these in detail without spoiling the game, but we can say that they're are a cut-above the usual plot-twists seen in previous KEMCO JRPG's that have been released on dedicated gaming platforms!
The gameplay is solid as expected from a KEMCO game, if you're looking for modern gameplay then look elsewhere. Fernz Gate does have the standard turn-based formula of previous KEMCO releases, but adds to it with the Buddy System, basically animal familiars who fight as allies. Your buddies can boost your abilities and even do joint attacks alongside your human characters which is a fantastic addition to the gameplay mechanics!
The game's difficulty is relatively easy so don't expect to get stuck all that often. If you want to earn the platinum trophy expect to sink over 60 hours into the game at the very least. Lastly the controls are straightforward and easy to learn which is always a good thing in our opinions.
Also just so you all know the game is cross-buy between Vita and PS4 and what's more the Vita version is PSTV compatible which is not something you see very often these days.
The audio-visual presentation is pretty good with definite retro vibes while still possessing fairly detailed HD graphics. The music is also fantastic and fits the game perfectly!
Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, excellent story and controls, and a superb audio-visual presentation, Fernz Gate is the perfect game for all fans of retro-style JRPG's and as such we give the game a good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
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#Review #KEMCO #ExeCreate #JRPG #PS4 #Vita #PSTV #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on September 21st 2018, 10:37 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: SNK Heroines ~ Tag Team Frenzy (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 22
- Views: 4200
Review: SNK Heroines ~ Tag Team Frenzy (PS4 Retail)
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Scantily Clad Girls Everywhere!
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Developed by SNK and published by NIS America, SNK Heroines is a fighting game for people who for a lack of better words like a full cast of female characters in their fighting games. So you know there will be oversexualized characters, however once you get into the meat of the game it is excellent at least in-terms of its gameplay mechanics, but is this enough to earn a passing grade from us? Keep reading to find out!
The story is mostly forgettable, but the characters are quite humorous and will constantly complain about things such as their bust size, or their outfits which is hilarious to be honest. The gameplay mechanics are actually quite accessible and easy to learn and the combo input is definitely fast-paced so expect battles to end rather swiftly rather than slow-paced technical fights.
Overall SNK Heroines feels like an old-school arcade fighter in every way which is nice for longtime fans of the genre. There are several modes, but nothing all that unusual for a fighting title
The controls are intuitive and easy to learn which is always a must in a fighting game. The visuals are nice, sure they won't blow you away, but are definitely detailed and at times quite pretty. The music is also quite solid and fits the game perfectly.
Bottom-Line:
With great gameplay and controls, and solid audio-visual presentation the game had potential to be extremely good, but a forgettable story and ridiculous amount of fan-service held this game back from its potential, regardless the game is still a solid choice for fans of old-school arcade-fighters and as such we give SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy a solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #NiSAmerica #NiSA #SNK #Fighter #Arcade #PS4 #Vita #Retail #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on August 29th 2018, 6:24 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Gal Gun 2 (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 28
- Views: 4976
Review: Gal Gun 2 (PS4 Retail)
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Pervy Sages of The World Unite!
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Developed by Inti Creates and published in Europe by PQube, Gal Gun 2 is a very provocative and VERY Japanese game at its core and requires a very specific set of tastes in games, in other words it's ϋber niche. That said there's definitely something alluring about this title, but is it worth purchasing? Continue reading our review to find out:
The game has you fight a demon who's possessing schoolgirls with your mighty blowdryer that you obtain from a special app. This might sound weird and it IS weird, but the gameplay is quite amusing and enjoyable albeit definitely NOT for children or teenagers, I daresay if you have kids don't play this unless they're away or in bed and you're playing in your mancave. Seriously this game is that sexually inappropriate for young audiences.
That said the game's missions are quite shallow and don't possess much variety and the game itself is quite short as well. There's not much to do once you finish the game either which really hurts the game's replayability.
Visually the game is an improvement over the first game, but the world is still rather sparse and lifeless and the characters are okay, but not all that good looking. The auidio-presentation is good, but a bit lacking in variety of BGM's in the soundtrack. Overall the audio-visual presentation is average in our opinions.
Bottom-Line:
With fun albeit lacking gameplay, a very niche story that is as crazy as they get, and an average audio-visual presentation, Gal Gun 2 can be fun at times, but we can't recommend paying full price for the game. Nonetheless if you're an adult gamer and find the game on a good sale for a good price it could be a worthwhile purchase. Overall we give Gal Gun 2 a decent level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
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#Review #GalGun2 #PQube #IntiCreates #Niche #Adult #Action #PS4 #Switch #Retail #PSN #eShop
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- on August 12th 2018, 10:05 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Shantae ½ Genie Hero: Ultimate Edition (PS4 PSN) {2018 Indie Game of Fame Award Winner}
- Replies: 18
- Views: 3543
Review: Shantae ½ Genie Hero: Ultimate Edition (PS4 PSN) {2018 Indie Game of Fame Award Winner}
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Half Genie Legend!
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Developed and published by WayForward Games Shantae ½ Genie Hero is the latest title in the long-running Shantae series, which is a top-tier platforming series with some Metroidvania elements, but how does this adventure stack-up to the rest? Continue reading our review to find out!
The gameplay in Shantae ½ Genie Hero is quite a bit closer to a traditional platformer compared to its previous entries which were more akin to Metroid or Castlevania, though a few of those elements such as upgrades and transformations remain. As usual you attack enemies with your hair whip, and transformations which return from the very first Shantae title, allow Shantae to reach previously impossible to reach places.
The game does seem a bit shorter than a typical Shantae title, but it makes up for it with various modes that completely change the way the game plays, such as The Mighty Switch Force mode where you must utilize switch blocks to travers courses while collecting criminals and shooting enemies. You can also kill enemies by launching them into your TV screen with the switch blocks, but be careful not to do that to Shantae now. Other fantastic modes include the fast-paced Ninja mode which allows Shantae to scale walls, slash enemies to ribbons, ans use throwing weapons. Then there's the Friends Till The End and Risky Boots campaigns which shed more light into the main game's story. There are many more modes than the one's that we mentioned and best of all, they all have a unique storyline which really adds to the replayability of the game!
The controls in Shantae ½ Genie Hero are intuitive and easy to learn while the difficulty varies greatly depending on the mode you choose. The audio-visual presentation is superb as the characters and world are lush and detailed with gorgeous use of colors while the voice acting "what little there is" and the soundtrack are flawless and fit the game perfectly.
Bottom-Line:
With incredible gameplay, a ton of different modes offering an insane amount of replayability, flawless controls, and a superb audio-visual presentation Shantae ½ Genie Hero is an amazing game that is nearly perfect in every way and as such, not only do we give it a perfect score, but we're also awarding Shantae ½ Genie Hero our 2018 Indie Game of Fame Award which means that we think that it is the best indie released since August 2017!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10
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#Review #WayForward #Kickstarter #Shantae #Platformer #PS4 #WiiU #Switch #PSN #eShop
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- on July 28th 2018, 3:56 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: The Lost Child (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 15
- Views: 3138
Review: The Lost Child (PS4 Retail)
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Battle of The Damned!
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Developed by Kadokawa Games and published by NIS America, The Lost Child is a dungeon crawling JRPG with heavy religious overtones, and gameplay similar to the Shin Megami Tensei games, but does it live up to the aforementioned series? Not really, but it's still a very solid game in its own right and here's why:
First off, The Lost Child has a very compelling story with an extremely dark overtone. It starts off very strong, but then kind of peters out for a while before picking back up, which is somewhat disappointing. The character development is slow, but the cast is great so you'll love them right away. Now to the real meat of the game, its gameplay is good, but never really does anything to set The Lost Child apart from previous games in the SMT sub-genre.
The gameplay while great gets quite repetitive after a while which is a shame and hurts the game's overall replayability. In-terms of content, expect the game to take somewhere over 50 hours to finish. The Lost Child is also an extremely challenging game so expect to die a lot!
The controls are pretty good and responsive which is nice. The audio-visual presentation is varied on one hand the visual novel style cutscenes are gorgeous and full of character, but the world itself, especially the dungeons are VERY bland and lifeless. There isn't a whole lot of variety in the dungeons designs either, however it still "feels" good despite the poor design choices which proves that this game could have truly been great if things had been better designed, however it's still quite fun as is.
The soundtrack is great for the most part though there are a few lacklustre tracks in the game, the sound effects and voice acting are great by the way! It was kind of weird hearing the english voice actress for Botan from the Yu Yu Hakusho series in a Anime style game after all of these years, but it was a pleasant surprise, Bingo!
Bottom-Line:
With good, albeit somewhat repetitive gameplay, superb story, a fantastic audio presentation, fantastic anime-style cutscenes, and solid controls, The Lost Child is a good game, however somewhat bland and lacklustre dungeons that are also somewhat lacking in creativity really hold the game back. At the end of the day, however the game is solid to good so we give the game a good level of recommendation to all fans of dungeon crawling RPG's.
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Score: ★★★★★★★¾☆☆ 7.75/10
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#Review #KadokawaGames #NiSA #DungeonCrawler #JRPG #PS4 #Vita
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- on July 25th 2018, 9:09 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 17
- Views: 3574
Review: Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded (PS4 Retail)
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Wandering Lady In A Strange Land.
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Developed by Aqua Style and published by NIS America, Touhou Genso Wanderer: Reloaded is a roguelike mystery dungeon game with a very Eastern theme and it is among the strangest games we've played, but we enjoyed every minute of it! The only problem is the game's price. Continue reading our review to learn more:
The gameplay in Touhou Genso Wanderer: Reloaded for PS4 is more or less pretty typical Mystery Dungeon stuff, but it's done quite nicely with very few of the traps or shortcomings of the genre. The problem is, that it never tries to do anything new and as a result feels like a solid, yet somewhat stale game in this regard. The controls are intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing in our opinions.
As for the battles, they are fast paced and easy to figure out, but mastering some of the nuances can take a few hours. The battle system is quite solid overall. The story and characters are extremely weird albeit in a very endearing way with bizarre plot-twist and excellently quirky characters!
The game is breathtakingly beautiful visually with detailed characters and a colorful and lush world. The enemies are just as gorgeous, while the visual novel style storytelling and handful of CGI cut-scenes are superb. The soundtrack and Japanese voice acting are great though we'd have liked to see an option for English voice overs, but otherwise we thoroughly enjoyed the game's presentation!
Bottom-Line:
With a solid gameplay and story, great controls, and a superb audio-visual presentation, Touhou Genso Wanderer: Reloaded is a solid game that worth checking out if you enjoy mystery dungeon titles, however the game does lack a bit in creative and unique gameplay and it's pretty expensive to boot. Overall, however we did enjoy the game and as such we give Touhou Genso Wanderer: Reloaded for the PS4 a solid level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
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#Review #NISA #AquaStyle #PS4 #PSN #Retail #MysteryDungeon #JRPG
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- on July 16th 2018, 9:59 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Horizon Chase: Turbo (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 17
- Views: 3220
Review: Horizon Chase: Turbo (PS4 PSN)
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Pole Position!
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Developed and published by Aquiris, Horizon Chase: Turbo is a wonderfully trippy old-school racer that the developers obviously poured their hearts and souls into crafting! We knew Horizon Chase: Turbo was going to be good, but even we were floored by the game's quality! Continue reading our review to learn why:
Right off the bat you can tell that alot of love went into the development of this love letter to the arcade racers of the 90's! The gameplay is similar to titles such as Super Hang On and other old-school racers, but you'll immediately notice that the gameplay is drastically better than the retro games this title tries to emulate.
The controls are intuitive and exceptionally responsive, the game is also quite challenging which is a delightful surprise in today's time as most modern arcade racers lack much challenge. Horizon Chase: Turbo also possesses a ton of content spanning hundreds of tracks across many different regions which will provide players with dozens of hours of gameplay to enjoy.
The game has gorgeous old-school polygonal graphics which look really striking and detailed while the soundtrack and sound effects are great and fit the game well! The game also possesses split-screen multiplayer for up to four players which is great, but sadly online multiplayer is not an option.
Bottom-Line
With awesome gameplay, flawless controls, and a superb audio-visual presentation, Horizon Chase: Turbo for the PS4 is one game no PS4 racing fan should pass up! As such we give the game a perfect level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10
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#Review #Aquiris #HorizonChaseTurbo #Racing #PS4 #PSN
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- on July 13th 2018, 12:18 pm
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: All-Star Fruit Racing (PS4 Retail) (PAL Region)
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2974
Review: All-Star Fruit Racing (PS4 Retail) (PAL Region)
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A Solid Yet Fruity Racer!
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Developed by 3 Clouds.it and published by PQube, All-Stars Fruit Racing is an ambitiously fruity racer that does fill a gap in the PS4's library of games as there aren't many arcade kart racers on the console, but is it worth purchasing? We think so and here's why:
All-Stars Fruit Racing takes a unique approach to the kart racing formula in many ways, but the game nails the core aspects of the genre perfectly with tight controls that are both responsive and easy to learn, good course design, challenging A.I., and of course a hearty power-up and item system.
What makes this game so unique is that each character has their own item sets that can be powered up or altered through the fruit mixture system. This system is actually quite hard to explain in any sort of detail without spoiling too much, however it is among the most enjoyable power-up system we've seen in an arcade racer!
Visually the game is a real treat as the courses are vibrant and lush and feature a lot of intricate details, the character and object models as well as the special effects are quite impressive and the soundtrack is exceptional to boot, there's really nothing short of perfection when it comes to the audio-visual presentation of All-Star Fruit Racing!
Bottom-Line:
With great gameplay, excellent controls, and a breathtaking audio-visual presentation, All-Star Fruit Racing for PS4 is a fantastic arcade racer that we highly recommend to all fans of the sub genre, and with such a unique and enjoyable power-up system we had to give this game a good level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
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#3Clouds #PQube #AllStarFruitRacing #Arcade #Racer #PS4 #Retail
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- on July 7th 2018, 11:07 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle (PS4 Retail) (PAL Region)
- Replies: 19
- Views: 3400
Review: BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle (PS4 Retail) (PAL Region)
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Interdimensional Tag Battles Ahoy!
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Developed by Arc System Works and published by PQube in the PAL region, Blazblue Cross Tag Battle is a great game in many ways, but is somewhat marred by an overabundance of paid dlc, is this enough to affect our opinion of the game? Yes, but it's still well worth purchasing and here's why:
The gameplay in Blazblue Cross Tag Battle is pretty standard stuff for the Blazblue series, but with only a couple of notable changes, which honestly isn't a bad thing given how tight Blazblue's gameplay has always been. The combat is fast-paced and has tons of action, while there are a few technical fighters in the roster most characters are easy to learn how to use.
The game focuses on online modes with the only noteworthy single player mode being story mode. The online modes are pretty good and the online servers "at least the European ones" are very active and quite stable so don't expect many disconnections during matches!
As for the gameplay additions to the formula, the primary addition is the tag system which allows you to not only switch characters on the fly, but also perform cross combination technique between you and your tag partner which is a blast to do and a must to win online battles, other than that most of the changes are mostly to balance the game, however that one major change makes the game so much better than it would otherwise be!
The controls are very responsive and fairly easy to learn which is always a must in the fighter genre while the difficulty is perfect for players of all skill levels! The only gripe we have is that the game reuses a ton of assets from previous Arc System Works fighters, but it's not a game breaker for us.
The audio-visual presentation is fantastic, despite mostly reusing assets from various older games, everything goes together quite well. The character models look great, the stages are gorgeous, and the special effects look amazing as well! The music is fantastic, especially the RWBY season one theme! It's hard to find anything to dislike in the game's presentation.
Bottom-Line:
With great gameplay, excellent controls, and an amazing audio-visual presentation, Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle for PS4 is an amazing game that any fan of the fighter genre should enjoy. The only negative is the overabundant dlc, but otherwise the game is flawless as a result we give the game a good to great level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10
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#PQube #ArcSystemWorks #Blazblue #Crossover #UnderNight #RWBY #Persona #PS4 #Retail
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- on July 5th 2018, 8:29 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Inksplosion (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 9
- Views: 2748
Review: Inksplosion (PS4 PSN)
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Splashing Some Ink!
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Developed by Petite Games and published by Ratalaika Games, Inksplosion is a simplistic arcade-style shoot 'em up title that is tough as nails, but definitely quite sparse in-terms of content. Is the lack of content enough to ruin the experience of this retro shooter? Not necessarily and here's why:
The gameplay is pretty straightforward as Inksplosion is an arena-based shoot 'em up title with extremely retro mechanics, you have a few variety of enemies that fire various weapons and certain bullet patterns and there are a few level hazards here and there, but this game really goes back to the absolute basics. This is its greatest flaw as well as its greatest strength.
The overall amount of content is fairly lackluster and there isn't much variety in the level designs which repeat frequently. There are a few modes, but all of them are pretty basic. The one upside is that you can earn the platinum trophy in under a half an hour with enough luck and skill and the game is cross-buy with Vita and has different trophy lists between systems and regions!
The audio-visual presentation is very simplistic in nature and in all honesty the game looks quite sleek and the soundtrack fits the early to mid-70's arcade theme the developer was aiming for in Inksplosion!
Bottom-Line: With fun gameplay, responsive controls, and a superb yet simplistic audio-visual presentation, Inksplosion is a good way to kill a few minutes here and there, but its one fatal flaw is that it really doesn't have much in the way of content or replayability which hurts the game immensely, however we still think it's a decent little game and as such we give Inksplosion a decent level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★½☆☆☆ 6.5/10
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#Review #PetiteGames #RatalaikaGames #Arcade #ArenaShootEmUp #PS4 #Vita #PSTV #PSN #Switch #eShop
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- on June 19th 2018, 5:01 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Flight of Light (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2746
Review: Flight of Light (PS4 PSN)
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Rhythm Making A Splash!
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Developed and published by Crystalline Green LLC, Flight of Light is an ambitious foray into the world of rhythm games and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with the game, but what makes the game worth getting when there are plenty of other rhythm-based games out there? Continue reading our review to find out!
The gameplay in Flight of Light is relatively straightforward, yet unique with six-axis controls and what is essentially a combination of elements from the runner, racing, and rhythm genres you won't find another game like it period. The motion controls are fantastic, switching between the different lanes on each of the games tracks feels fresh and new, the visuals are also quite nice.
The game is not without faults however, as there are only twelve relatively quick tracks in the game and what's worse is more than half of the tracks feature rather lackluster music which is not good in a game like this. Regardless we think the game has enough positive aspects to give the game a decent level of recommendation, just know that the game may have very limited appeal.
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Score: ★★★★★★¾☆☆☆ 6.75/10
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#Review #PS4 #PSN #CrystallineGreen #Rhythm #Music #Racing
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- on June 17th 2018, 5:48 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Maria The Witch (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2519
Review: Maria The Witch (PS4 PSN)
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Kiki's Delivery Service Two?
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Developed and published by NAPS Team, Maria The Witch is a clear Flappy Birds clone with heavy inspirations from works such as Kiki's Delivery Service, is it any good though? We think so and here's why:
As we've said before, Maria The Witch is clearly inspired by iconic anime features such as Kiki's Delivery Service, and the game does a good job capturing the "feel" of those anime, but it falls short in many ways. There's not much of a story which is to be expected while the gameplay is a fun way to pass a little time, the somewhat unresponsive controls can make the game frustrating at times.
The gameplay is very similar to Flappy Birds, but is a little better in many aspects. Delivering mail can be quite challenging, but fun overall. The soundtrack is nice, albeit forgettable while the visuals are quite stunning and detailed. Overall there's not much to hate about the game, but the problem is there's not a whole lot to love. As a whole the game is a decent time passer, but is certainly not something that'll hold your attention for long and as such we give the game a decent level of recommendation.
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Score: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
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#Review #NAPS #PS4 #PSN
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- on June 9th 2018, 9:43 am
- Search in: PS4 Retail Reviews
- Topic: Review: Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet (PS4 Retail)
- Replies: 31
- Views: 6168
Review: Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet (PS4 Retail)
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A Fatal Flurry of Bullets!
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This is the latest installment in the SAO (Sword Art Online) series from Bandai Namco. In this game, you are a new player in the world of Gun Gale Online. Which is a post-apocalyptic world where it is a lawless world outside the main city SCC Glocken. As a new player in this competitive VRMMO (Virtual Reality Mass Multiplayer Online) can you become the greatest player in this game?
StoryThe story begins shortly after you enter the Glocken for the very first time where you are introduced to a strange young girl in a pink outfit who reveals herself to be your childhood friend "Kureha". She begins explaining what GGO is and showing the player around town. During the tour guide, the player is then thrust into a tournament against other players for an incredibly rare item which whoever obtains it will have a massive advantage among other players. In this tournament, Kureha will quickly explain how to protect fight and protect yourself since in this mode it's kill or be killed. And she takes you to an area inside the dungeon so both of you won't be targeted by high tier players. Among reaching a fork in a road both the player and Kureha runs into one of GGO top ruthless players Itsuki. Who finds two low-level players competing in the tournament and believes this a joke and lets you pass without killing you. Once the player passes Itsuki they will end up in a teleporter room which leads to the rare item.
However, you aren't the only one who found the room.
Your Afrs-sys could be a male or a female. It's up to the player.
The rare item is called an AFr-sys X type which is an android that you can customize his or her looks and give it a name(He/She will be nicknamed Rei regardless of what you picked) Rei is going to function as your partner and grant you access to a special weapon called the UFG (Ultra Fiber Gun) which functions as a grappling hook which can be used to access high ground, take down airborne enemy units (except flying Gundams) and steal items from knocked down enemies. After this point, you will meet the original SAO character cast. Kritio can explain all the previous key points of previous games that link with Fatal Bullet to bring the player up to speed. Then the story is all downhill from here henceforth. As the player keep your expectations extremely low when it comes to Fatal Bullet story and everything plot related.
After a few upgrades, she can do banking and purchase equipment with allowance money. Rei has some pretty good taste in weapons.
A mass majority of the story is going to be about upgrading Rei from finding parts and interacting with people around it. Since you are a beginner Rei will just tell you that you suck and because your low prestige and level, the features that the Rei had are gone and doesn't remember all it can do. Rei is a trip to deal with, it will go through personality conflict crisis, extreme anxiety, moments of depression, running away for some of the dumbest reasons, tripping over nothing, and so much more.
Searching for the bad guy in the tournament.
Aside from the main story which involves Rei. After the majority of the story is finished the player gains access to play Kritio. In this mode, the story becomes much darker and a lot of people lives are on the line, as Kritio your main objective is to work alongside the Japanese Government and figure out the mysteries of why people are dying from playing GGO, and the killing happens only during interviews and major events. The next major event is called B.O.B where all the top ranking players will be in and most likely when the killer will strike next. However the there are hundreds of players, many of them are good and well known and some are just bullet sponges, you are only given a few hours to figure out this mystery, Who is the killer? Why are they killing top players in GGO? Will Kritio and his friends be safe?
GameplayAfter a few upgrades, she can do banking and purchase equipment with allowance money. Rei has some pretty good taste in weapons.
A mass majority of the story is going to be about upgrading Rei from finding parts and interacting with people around it. Since you are a beginner Rei will just tell you that you suck and because your low prestige and level, the features that the Rei had are gone and doesn't remember all it can do. Rei is a trip to deal with, it will go through personality conflict crisis, extreme anxiety, moments of depression, running away for some of the dumbest reasons, tripping over nothing, and so much more.
Searching for the bad guy in the tournament.
Aside from the main story which involves Rei. After the majority of the story is finished the player gains access to play Kritio. In this mode, the story becomes much darker and a lot of people lives are on the line, as Kritio your main objective is to work alongside the Japanese Government and figure out the mysteries of why people are dying from playing GGO, and the killing happens only during interviews and major events. The next major event is called B.O.B where all the top ranking players will be in and most likely when the killer will strike next. However the there are hundreds of players, many of them are good and well known and some are just bullet sponges, you are only given a few hours to figure out this mystery, Who is the killer? Why are they killing top players in GGO? Will Kritio and his friends be safe?
When it comes to gameplay Fatal Bullet does it really well here and it's a lot of fun! It is a fast-paced third-person action game. In this game, you can have up to of 3 party members join you. Each member is represented by an icon next to their name which signifies their role in combat. There are six main roles which easily fall into two categories which are Offensive and Defensive. The offensive roles are Assault, Destroyer, and Sniper. Assault is the fast hitting, in your face, and dance around bullets role, Destroyer just use weapons and abilities that hit extremely hard, use explosions, cause black holes and leaves nothing but destruction, Sniper picks off enemies from a distance and have very unique support abilities.
For example. This nutcase of a woman here is an assault class character due to her icon.
As for the defensive roles you have Tank which is to soak up a lot of damage and extremely difficult to take down and most enemies will focus on the tank while the other members do their role. Engineer which uses a lot of skills to weaken enemies, decrease attack/defense, poison, shock, or set enemies on fire. The final role is to support which is basically the healer. They use healing skills, revive fallen members, increase their combat abilities. Support roles are always welcomed.
The roles are determined by the character stats and skills they have equipped. There are six main stats in the game Strength, Vitality, Intelligence, Agility, Dexterity, and Luck. Seems simple enough but this can get complex rather quickly so here is an easy breakdown.
Strength- Increases your carry weight, damage with photon swords (Star Wars lightsabers) and a requirement to hold weapons. A high investment in this stat will push the character towards damage roles.
Agility- Increases your full sprint speed, accuracy, and defense. Many evasive and photon sword skills require lots of Agility. A high investment in this stat will push the character in the damager roles mainly in the Assault role
Dexterity- Increases your accuracy, main damage with firearms, weak point damage and the main requirement to use all weapons. As a player you must have Dexterity, this is the main damage stat of firearms and without investment in this, you will be locked out of 99% of the weapons.
Vitality- Increases how much damage you can take. Raises max health. A high investment with this stat puts the character into a supporter role, also very handy with shotguns.
Intelligence- decreases the cooldown time of skills (That's a good thing) and gadgets( Items) increases the chance of status aliments attacks working on enemies. A high investment in this stat puts the character in Engineer or Support roles.
Luck- Increases drop rate of items, increases the rarity of items, reduce damage from status ailments, increase critical hit chance. A universal stat like Dexterity. However, I did notice in my playthroughs high luck grants you better skills on weapons and accessories it could be just me though.
The player can only allocate stats and skills for their created character and Rei. Any other party member will do their own skills and stats. While using a skill that is in your role that ability becomes more effective. However, the player can equip any ability from any role as long as they meet the gun and stat requirements to do so.
In this game when it comes to equipment there are three categories weapons, accessories, and outfit. You can find weapons and accessories from shops and sometimes fallen enemies drop them as loot. There is no armor in this game what so ever so if you want to increase your defense, raise up the agility and vitality stats. There are eight main weapons in the game. Going from the lightest to heaviest it is handguns, photon swords, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, RPG's/ grenade launchers and finally Gatling guns.
Agil is the only person in the game who can appraise your equipment to see what you obtain. He's just awesome!
All weapon share these few traits among themselves. Stat requirements to use them, Weapon rank, fire type (Single, burst, semi-auto, fully automatic) memory chips (Traits/added effects) and rarity. The rarity comes in different tiers, grey, red and blue being the lowest while yellow and green being the best the higher the rarity the better stats and memory chips you will find on the equip weather if it's accessory or weapon. The further you go in the game the weapon ranks will increase demanding higher stat requirements but in return offer higher damage outputs. Fashion is basically to look good. And accessories are completely random when it comes to abilities. Some increase in base stats, some offer a % of protection against certain attacks, and many are just so bad you will just sell them.
The two most important characters Agil and Lisabeth. Agil appraises and buys items
from your character. Lisabeth on the right upgrades your weapons. You will be visiting them often.
When outside of SCC Glocken the screen changes into battle screen until you go back to town. Here you will have an assist auto-aim that will lock on to a target that is in your firing range. If this feature is annoying it can be turned off by pressing up on the direction pad of the controller. The thin blue bar underneath the gun icon/ bullets is the player's health bar and trust me when you start off in this game you do not get that much health and it feels like you can die so easily in this game. It does not take much effort to kill a player. There are some defensive tactics that can work such as hiding behind cover, dashing and rolling away or just find high ground such as buildings and mountains. The enemies will also do tricks like that including setting up ambushes, using smoke grenades to confuse the player, summon a Gundam (A giant robot with superior combat skills), or a straight up gun fight.
Oh no! It's a Gundam! Need to run FASTER!
The difficulty of enemies out in the field ranges drastically from easy to is this even fair anymore? You have the cupcake difficulty enemies such as scorpions, bees, run and shoot automation and then you have the insanely difficult enemies which include human A.I (Artificial Intelligence) enemies which seem to never miss a shot even while rolling, A Gundam, some evil looking hunchback monster that shoots fire and likes to run people over. The teammates you can have on your team are classified as stupid. There have been many times where they will fail to do their role or follow commands. The player can give commands by pressing in the touchpad. Sadly many of them are just to dumb so commands are almost virtually useless. If the player falls in battle one of your team members can just run over to you and revive you. Honestly, this is a 50% chance of working. They can run towards and just look at your corpse until they die, trip over your corpse, run to you and then make a U-turn and do the shuffle dance and reload their gun ( I wish I was making this up) or my personal favorite screw up is where they do nothing but barrel rolls to your character, trip over your corpse and then get shot and die.
At that moment I knew... I messed up.
There are dungeons in this game and once inside you are automatically given a blank minimap and it will fill up the more you progress through the dungeon. Inside you will fight dozens of enemies who will block your path to fight if you are in a long dungeon there will be multiple teleporters. So you can just skip sections if you feel like it. Also, there are very carefully hidden treasure chests that are for a quest item, ammunition, or some rare part for upgrading. There are mini bosses and just regular bosses. Both drop unique equipment. The only real difference between the two is that mini-bosses have around two health bars when regular bosses have three or more.
Once you head back to town you from the field you will get results on your actions outside. The more enemies you defeat the more money and experience you obtain, gain enough and you will level up. Every level up the player will be awarded CP which is the currency to spend on upgrading the character stats.
Graphics.
Go on a date with her and she'll make the ultimate female armor.
Sadly she hates the armor and will never wear it again.
Become a bro with Agil and he'll give everyone MadMax punk outfits and take on all GGO while making a profit.
It is beautiful. I had no problem with the graphical look of the game characters and how it looks outside. It was just wonderfully done. You can unlock characters dates/hangouts by increasing their affinity towards you which then awards the player with unique cutscenes or romance in your bed. This does take quite of a lot of work and dedication to pull off many of the scenes are very enjoyable and quite funny. As far as problems go, there are two issues which include how dull the dungeon designs are for the majority of the dungeons and they needed to add a few more enemy designs.
Soundtrack
It was truly wonderful. The soundtrack is really good, they have some jazz pieces, upbeat songs, and a few some pop songs. My favorite pieces of music in the game comes from Zeliska theme and the music they play in the quest area lobbies like treasure hunting, PVP (Player vs Player), and unique enemies. There is a little something for everyone. It's hard to dislike the music in this game.
Multiplayer
This what co-op looks like, just smashing a boss.
They have a player vs player matchup which I was never able to test. Every time I join a lobby no one is ever online to play a match. The other online game mode is where you join in a room up to around eight people to fight a boss. Once the boss is defeated everyone obtains an item and some money. You do not get exp from playing online.
DLC/ Season pass worth it?
I personally do not own the DLC or Season Pass. However from word of mouth the current DLC that is out is called Ambush of the Imposters which grants access to new weapons, new hairstyles, fashion, three characters the most talked about is Musketeer X and how awesome she is. The new dungeons have veterans of this game ripping their hair out and comparing the difficulty to Dark Souls series (Extremely difficult games) As far as the season pass is worth it? If you like the game sure go for it!
This game could have easily been the best of the Sword Art Online video games released. The gameplay is great, the graphics are beautiful and the soundtrack is amazing. However despite all of that the game suffers from a horrible story and terrible A.I partners. If you look past the story you have a pretty decent game on your hands with just a few flaws but you can easily spend many hours in this game and have fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~For example. This nutcase of a woman here is an assault class character due to her icon.
As for the defensive roles you have Tank which is to soak up a lot of damage and extremely difficult to take down and most enemies will focus on the tank while the other members do their role. Engineer which uses a lot of skills to weaken enemies, decrease attack/defense, poison, shock, or set enemies on fire. The final role is to support which is basically the healer. They use healing skills, revive fallen members, increase their combat abilities. Support roles are always welcomed.
The roles are determined by the character stats and skills they have equipped. There are six main stats in the game Strength, Vitality, Intelligence, Agility, Dexterity, and Luck. Seems simple enough but this can get complex rather quickly so here is an easy breakdown.
Strength- Increases your carry weight, damage with photon swords (Star Wars lightsabers) and a requirement to hold weapons. A high investment in this stat will push the character towards damage roles.
Agility- Increases your full sprint speed, accuracy, and defense. Many evasive and photon sword skills require lots of Agility. A high investment in this stat will push the character in the damager roles mainly in the Assault role
Dexterity- Increases your accuracy, main damage with firearms, weak point damage and the main requirement to use all weapons. As a player you must have Dexterity, this is the main damage stat of firearms and without investment in this, you will be locked out of 99% of the weapons.
Vitality- Increases how much damage you can take. Raises max health. A high investment with this stat puts the character into a supporter role, also very handy with shotguns.
Intelligence- decreases the cooldown time of skills (That's a good thing) and gadgets( Items) increases the chance of status aliments attacks working on enemies. A high investment in this stat puts the character in Engineer or Support roles.
Luck- Increases drop rate of items, increases the rarity of items, reduce damage from status ailments, increase critical hit chance. A universal stat like Dexterity. However, I did notice in my playthroughs high luck grants you better skills on weapons and accessories it could be just me though.
The player can only allocate stats and skills for their created character and Rei. Any other party member will do their own skills and stats. While using a skill that is in your role that ability becomes more effective. However, the player can equip any ability from any role as long as they meet the gun and stat requirements to do so.
In this game when it comes to equipment there are three categories weapons, accessories, and outfit. You can find weapons and accessories from shops and sometimes fallen enemies drop them as loot. There is no armor in this game what so ever so if you want to increase your defense, raise up the agility and vitality stats. There are eight main weapons in the game. Going from the lightest to heaviest it is handguns, photon swords, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, RPG's/ grenade launchers and finally Gatling guns.
Agil is the only person in the game who can appraise your equipment to see what you obtain. He's just awesome!
All weapon share these few traits among themselves. Stat requirements to use them, Weapon rank, fire type (Single, burst, semi-auto, fully automatic) memory chips (Traits/added effects) and rarity. The rarity comes in different tiers, grey, red and blue being the lowest while yellow and green being the best the higher the rarity the better stats and memory chips you will find on the equip weather if it's accessory or weapon. The further you go in the game the weapon ranks will increase demanding higher stat requirements but in return offer higher damage outputs. Fashion is basically to look good. And accessories are completely random when it comes to abilities. Some increase in base stats, some offer a % of protection against certain attacks, and many are just so bad you will just sell them.
The two most important characters Agil and Lisabeth. Agil appraises and buys items
from your character. Lisabeth on the right upgrades your weapons. You will be visiting them often.
When outside of SCC Glocken the screen changes into battle screen until you go back to town. Here you will have an assist auto-aim that will lock on to a target that is in your firing range. If this feature is annoying it can be turned off by pressing up on the direction pad of the controller. The thin blue bar underneath the gun icon/ bullets is the player's health bar and trust me when you start off in this game you do not get that much health and it feels like you can die so easily in this game. It does not take much effort to kill a player. There are some defensive tactics that can work such as hiding behind cover, dashing and rolling away or just find high ground such as buildings and mountains. The enemies will also do tricks like that including setting up ambushes, using smoke grenades to confuse the player, summon a Gundam (A giant robot with superior combat skills), or a straight up gun fight.
Oh no! It's a Gundam! Need to run FASTER!
The difficulty of enemies out in the field ranges drastically from easy to is this even fair anymore? You have the cupcake difficulty enemies such as scorpions, bees, run and shoot automation and then you have the insanely difficult enemies which include human A.I (Artificial Intelligence) enemies which seem to never miss a shot even while rolling, A Gundam, some evil looking hunchback monster that shoots fire and likes to run people over. The teammates you can have on your team are classified as stupid. There have been many times where they will fail to do their role or follow commands. The player can give commands by pressing in the touchpad. Sadly many of them are just to dumb so commands are almost virtually useless. If the player falls in battle one of your team members can just run over to you and revive you. Honestly, this is a 50% chance of working. They can run towards and just look at your corpse until they die, trip over your corpse, run to you and then make a U-turn and do the shuffle dance and reload their gun ( I wish I was making this up) or my personal favorite screw up is where they do nothing but barrel rolls to your character, trip over your corpse and then get shot and die.
At that moment I knew... I messed up.
There are dungeons in this game and once inside you are automatically given a blank minimap and it will fill up the more you progress through the dungeon. Inside you will fight dozens of enemies who will block your path to fight if you are in a long dungeon there will be multiple teleporters. So you can just skip sections if you feel like it. Also, there are very carefully hidden treasure chests that are for a quest item, ammunition, or some rare part for upgrading. There are mini bosses and just regular bosses. Both drop unique equipment. The only real difference between the two is that mini-bosses have around two health bars when regular bosses have three or more.
Once you head back to town you from the field you will get results on your actions outside. The more enemies you defeat the more money and experience you obtain, gain enough and you will level up. Every level up the player will be awarded CP which is the currency to spend on upgrading the character stats.
Graphics.
Go on a date with her and she'll make the ultimate female armor.
Sadly she hates the armor and will never wear it again.
Become a bro with Agil and he'll give everyone MadMax punk outfits and take on all GGO while making a profit.
It is beautiful. I had no problem with the graphical look of the game characters and how it looks outside. It was just wonderfully done. You can unlock characters dates/hangouts by increasing their affinity towards you which then awards the player with unique cutscenes or romance in your bed. This does take quite of a lot of work and dedication to pull off many of the scenes are very enjoyable and quite funny. As far as problems go, there are two issues which include how dull the dungeon designs are for the majority of the dungeons and they needed to add a few more enemy designs.
Soundtrack
It was truly wonderful. The soundtrack is really good, they have some jazz pieces, upbeat songs, and a few some pop songs. My favorite pieces of music in the game comes from Zeliska theme and the music they play in the quest area lobbies like treasure hunting, PVP (Player vs Player), and unique enemies. There is a little something for everyone. It's hard to dislike the music in this game.
Multiplayer
This what co-op looks like, just smashing a boss.
They have a player vs player matchup which I was never able to test. Every time I join a lobby no one is ever online to play a match. The other online game mode is where you join in a room up to around eight people to fight a boss. Once the boss is defeated everyone obtains an item and some money. You do not get exp from playing online.
DLC/ Season pass worth it?
I personally do not own the DLC or Season Pass. However from word of mouth the current DLC that is out is called Ambush of the Imposters which grants access to new weapons, new hairstyles, fashion, three characters the most talked about is Musketeer X and how awesome she is. The new dungeons have veterans of this game ripping their hair out and comparing the difficulty to Dark Souls series (Extremely difficult games) As far as the season pass is worth it? If you like the game sure go for it!
This game could have easily been the best of the Sword Art Online video games released. The gameplay is great, the graphics are beautiful and the soundtrack is amazing. However despite all of that the game suffers from a horrible story and terrible A.I partners. If you look past the story you have a pretty decent game on your hands with just a few flaws but you can easily spend many hours in this game and have fun.
Score: ★★★★★★½☆☆☆ 6.5/10
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#Review #BandaiNamco #PS4 #Retail #PSN #Switch #eShop #JRPG #SimulatedMMORPG #OnlineMultiplayer
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- on June 2nd 2018, 2:20 pm
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Earthlock (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2769
Review: Earthlock (PS4 PSN)
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An Even Bigger Festival!
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Developed and Published by Snowcastle Games, Earthlock is a sort of director's cut remake of Earthlock: Festival of Magic which we reviewed for the Wii U [here insert url with alternate text] Is the new content worth double-dipping? Perhaps, but this is definitely the definitive version of the game without a doubt and here's why:
The gameplay is more or less unchanged from the previous version of Earthlock so expect rather enjoyable turn-based battles, robust partner system, and the unique stance system that Earthlock: Festival of Magic possessed. There is a ton of new content however including a quest system, new sidequests and more.
The story has been heavily altered with a ton of new content including new and alternate story scenes which will be enjoyed by newcomers and veteran players alike!
The controls in Earthlock are solid, but the difficulty can be downright brutal at times with sudden spikes in difficulty which can be a bit jarring at times, but it didn't stop us from completing the game.
The visual presentation is nice enough for a 3-D PS4 indie title, it won't blow you away, but it's pretty nice with unique characters and enemies and a relatively detailed world. The audio on the other hand is top-notch with an excellent musical score that fits the game remarkably well! There is no voice acting which is a shame, but otherwise the audio-presentation is flawless!
Bottom-Line:
With an expanded story with quite a bit of new content, excellent gameplay, and solid controls Earthlock is a great addition to any RPG gamer's library of games, and the solid 3-D visuals and amazing soundtrack will keep you coming back for some more! Overall the game is fantastic, really the only flaw the game has are some spikes in difficulty, but thankfully those spikes are manageable if you grind a bit. We give Earthlock for the PS4 a great level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
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#Review #Earthlock #SnowCastleGames #PS4 #PSN #JRPG
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- on May 12th 2018, 10:46 am
- Search in: PS4 PSN Reviews
- Topic: Review: Devious Dungeon (PS4 PSN)
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2742
Review: Devious Dungeon (PS4 PSN)
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Roguelike Funlike!
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Developed and published by Ratalaika Games, Devious Dungeon is an action-platformer with some roguelike elements that had a lot of potential, but does the game live up to that potential? Not really, but it's still a fairly solid game and here's why:
Devious Dungeon's gameplay formula is relatively simple, find a key to the next floor of each stage and exit all while trying to survive, every few floors will have a rest area with a shop and a healer to heal your health for a nominal fee. Once you've progressed a bit you will take on the area's boss which is much more challenging than any normal enemy in the game and will require at least a bit of strategy to defeat.
The floors have a bit of random generation, however the number of layouts are pretty limited so expect some repetition. The difficulty level is somewhat easy and the game's platinum trophy is a cinch to earn and can even be earned twice courtesy of the Vita version which is included via crossbuy making this a perfect game to farm gold, silver, and platinum trophies for your Sony Rewards account!
The controls in Devious Dungeon are easy to learn and almost as easy to master. You'll hear no complaints from us in this regard. The audio-visual presentation is also quite solid with decent retro-style graphics and a soundtrack that is solid albeit fairly forgettable.
Bottom-line:
With solid gameplay, intuitive controls, and a decent audio-visual presentation, Devious Dungeon is a decent budget title that most people should get a fair bit of enjoyment out of, however the game fails to live up to its potential which is a shame as the game could have been fantastic if only it had a bit more depth to it. Regardless we give Devious Dungeon a decent to solid level of recommendation!
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Score: ★★★★★★½☆☆☆ 6.5/10
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#Review #RatalaikaGames #Platformer #Roguelike #PS4 #Vita #PSTV
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