Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4) Review

Just as Yakuza Kiwami was a fresh remake of the original, the second Yakuza also gets its due.  Yakuza Kiwami 2 continues Kiryu's tale, and even uses the same engine as Yakuza 6.  It also boasts new mini-games, and some returning or refined ones.

The story continues one year after the previous game, and deals with the fallout of those events.  I like this aspect of the Yakuza story.  It might not always go the places I think it should, but it always moves forward, and lets time pass in a fairly realistic manner.  There are points where it feels like things happen just to make the story longer.  Personally, it can be a bit hard for me to keep a lot of the lore straight.  Having played 5, then Kiwami, then 6, and now Kiwami 2, there are a lot of story developments that I can't always remember the order of.  If I had the time, I'd re-play them in order to better sort out the time line.  This isn't necessarily a problem that others will face, but with the re-releases coming between the ending ones, I'm sure there are others in the same boat.  Thankfully the start of Kiwami 2 does have a memory sequence near the beginning, so you can hit the major points.

If you have played any of the other Yakuza games, the combat will feel familiar, as it is largely unchanged from the core experience.  You attack thugs, build up your heat gauge, which then allows you to unleash really powerful attacks.  It does seem like the developers are continuously refining the combat engine, making minor changes along the way.  This time, it feels like there are far fewer heat moves.  I still get them, but they feel much more situational, and I guess I'm just not in the situation for them.  Extreme Heat returns from chronologically later game Yakuza 6, but you have to buy it after a certain point in the game.  That's a bit of a pain, but I still like and use the mode.  I just wish buying a longer heat bar didn't make it harder to activate Extreme Heat.  Weapons are still very useful, but you have to store them after picking them up in order to actually keep them after a fight.  It's a bit cumbersome.  For better or worse, they give you tons of them in the enemy hideouts, so use them and throw the empty ones away.

While I will miss the plethora of heat moves, my biggest problem in combat is the dodge.  Blocking still only works from the front, ensuring I can't and won't use it.  So, I have to rely on dodging.  Trouble is, by default, it is terrible.  It's more of a timing thing, since Kiryu barely moves anywhere when dodging, which seems to go against the concept.  Trying to dodge for me usually did nothing.  In the skill menu, there is a way to increase the dodge distance.  Buying one level had such a minor effect, I checked to make sure I actually bought it.  That doesn't make me want to invest more points into it.  However, there is also a skill that gives you the ability to string multiple dodges together.  This was a much more effective way to dodge, and I could actually use it.  Too bad I had to go through half the game before finding and being able to buy it.

Kiwami 2 has a few more chapters than other Yakuza games I've played, but the chapters themselves feel shorter.  The only have a few story and battles scenes.  I think you are supposed to use the time between to wander around and do the side stories, which is pretty much what I did.  Of course there are many side stories, quests, and mini-games to fill your time.  Like the other games in the series, expect many hours of beating punks, finding locker keys, and helping out random strangers.

One cool and fun addition is the Majima story line.  No longer content to stay in the background (or attack you at random times), the cyclops now has his own mini-story and game mode.  It's really fun to use him, as he has a knife and lacks Kiryu's aversion to killing people while totally killing them.  Goro Majima just straight up stabs fools, and loves every second of it.  He doesn't gain experience sadly, but you can use items to heal.  He even has his own heat moves.  I like this mode, but unfortunately you are limited in how far you can progress in it until you complete more of Kiryu's story.  Since it takes place between Kiwami and Kiwami 2, this doesn't make sense to me.  Just let me run wild as the Mad Dog of Shimano when I want to!

Yakuza knows you like your mini-games, and Kiwami 2 brings them to you.  The Sega arcade not only packs in Virtua Fighter 2 again, but also adds Virutal On!  You can also help run a club, which is a lot more hectic than I would have thought, or play a crane game.  Yes, the virtual one is rigged too, but I've won it a few times.  The crowing achievement in mini-games has to be Toylets.  It's a mini-game that you play while Kiryu is taking a piss.

No, you didn't misread that, and yes, it's true.  There are two Toylet games, and they seem kind of simple.  Admittedly, I lost the first one I tried, but was unable to try again until I ate and drank to fill my bladder.  It's really weird to think about, weird to write about, and weird to play.  However, it does feel appropriate to the Yakuza universe.  Don't forget that probably every iteration has a sub-story to help some guy in a bathroom stall.

Like me, if you enjoyed the Clan Creator in Yakuza 6, you will be glad to know that it has...sort of returned.  Instead of Kiryu's clan, it is the clan for Majima Construction.  He truly is everywhere.  After the destruction and desertion of Purgatory, Majima moved in and is building his own paradise.  Unfortunately, some real estate big wigs know how "money" it will be, and are moving in to steal the plans.  Instead of being on the offense, you are defending your equipment from the endless thugs these construction moguls throw at you.  No longer will you buy generic units, but instead direct a small group of individuals where to go to either save your equipment, or prevent the enemies from reaching them.  So far it's pretty fun, but I do prefer the original.  Just as before, the enemies are Japanese professional wrestlers.  This time it's some legends instead of the newer guys.  It's still an awesome idea to include that kind of thing, and I'm curious who they will get next time.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an easy recommendation if you are following the Yakuza tale.  It looks great and plays pretty well.  Combat is again similar to all the others, but slightly tweaked to ensure it is not the exact same.  One day they will get it perfect.  Like all the others, there is a focus on the story, but includes a lot of side stuff to distract you.


The Good:
More of Kiryu being a badass, lots of things to do and punks to beat up.

The Bad:
Story drags on at times, combat is again tweaked from previous releases.

The SaHD:
My favorite part in any side story is when some dumb punk talks down to Kiryu.  You just smile as he runs his mouth, because you know you are about to whoop his ass.

(Review code for Yakuza Kiwami 2 was provided by the publisher)

The Curse of Deadpool 2

A few weeks ago, there was a small contest of sorts that allowed people to get a free digital version of Deadpool 1 and 2 on Vudu.  I didn't have an account at that time, but managed to get one of the codes.  So, I just had to wait until it was available, and then my wife and I could watch it.  Simple, right?

Of course not.  Story time!

Before it was available to stream, I looked at the listing in my Vudu movies.  It's in a format called HDX, which I had never heard of before.  According to the site, it's a very high quality, and not really meant for streaming.  That meant it was unlikely to work on my downstairs TV.  The most logical course was to download it when available, use the Chromecast I received with my phone purchase, and watch it on the upstairs TV.

Just for kicks, I tried streaming it on the smart TV.  It would play about 1/2 a second of the 20th Century Fox logo, cut to a black screen, and repeat.  After a few rounds, it politely informed me that my connection wasn't good enough.  Not quite how I thought it would play out, but somewhat entertaining.

So, on to the main event!

Early Saturday morning, I started to set everything up.  Step 1 was download the movie.  Well, first I started to stream it on my computer, to see if it was actual possible, and if the HDX description lied to me.  It ran for about 30 seconds just fine.  Even so, I didn't think it would be a good idea to stream it from the internet while streaming that to my TV, so I figured I would just download it.  I knew it wouldn't just let me download it, I also had to download the Vudu app on the computer to do so.  Fine, let's just get it over with.  I downloaded what it wanted, signed in, and hit the download button.

An error message.  "Download is incompatible with Adobe Air 30, you need Adobe Air 29 to download in the app."

The hell?  Then why not just put version 29 with the download instead of 30?  I sighed, dug through the programs to find it and uninstall it.  Then I followed the link to get version 29.  Well, eventually.  There were 3 different options, and I didn't know which to get at first.

Anyway, back to the program, which of course wanted to update to version 30...to which I said hell no.  Program up, Deadpool 2 downloading.

While that was finishing up, I hooked up the Chromecast to stream to the TV.  Plugged it into the HDMI, and...nothing.  Oh, it needs a power cord of course.  I don't remember seeing one in the box, so I check again.  Nope, not there.  I had opened it previously, but it hasn't been used.  Was the power cord ever there?  I couldn't remember.

I looked for the power cord and plug for a solid 30 minutes, and came up with nothing.  My wife was content to sit on the couch and read her phone.  Don't worry, she helped by showing me what the cord looks like.  Thanks, honey.

No cord.  It might never have been in the box.  I don't know, and it's too late to do anything about that now.  I found a similar one to try.  It powered on.  Success!  Well, for the moment.

I have to set the dang thing up now.  Go to the site it gives me and...the site tells me I need an app.  Why?  Let me just set the stupid thing up.  I search to see if I need the app, as I don't want or need more apps on my phone, and I don't want to use the phone just to set it up, which I know I don't need to.  There's supposedly a link to do in on the PC, but it doesn't show up on the site.

Guess why?  Because that link only shows up if you view it in Chrome!  F#($#ing stupid.  So, I go to the link in Chrome to finally set up this monstrosity.

Well, until it tries to connect to it.  I don't know what went wrong at that point, as it just didn't connect.  Then, it couldn't try to reconnect, even though the setup could find the Chromecast on the network.  I could have spent more time on that problem, but during this whole debacle, my TV display was showing lines.  It just started when I tried to connect the WiFi to the Chromecast the first time, and didn't want to stop.

Power cycling didn't work.  Unplugging it for a few minutes didn't work.  Slapping it a bit didn't work.  Hey, don't laugh at that, I've known several TVs that don't work right until you teach 'em who's boss.  Point is, the TV seems to finally be giving out.  Either I pay $300 to get the board repaired, or pay a similar amount and get a new TV.  Pretty easy option, but not a happy situation.  It does make sense, since the TV is over 10 years old, and had a few brief issues in the past.  Not bad for a display model!

In an effort to salvage the day, my wife drove us to Best Buy to price out some new TVs.  We started to look online, but for some reason trying to connect to the Chromecast set our region as Canada.  All sites kept sending us to the Canadian version until the PC was rebooted.  How does that even happen?  After a drive to check out the TVs, we found a pretty good contender for $500.  That's less than the previous one cost me, hopefully it lasts near as long.

Let's recap.  My free digital copy of Deadpool 2 cost me a day, a Chromecast power supply, some of my sanity, my old TV, and (probably) a few hundred dollars for a new one.

All of that, and I still don't know if the movie is any good.

[UPDATE 8/20/18]
We ended up buying a new TV, and even had an adventure getting it in the car.

But.
But!

We finally saw the movie, and it was really good.

[Spoilers]
Damn, I was excited to see one of my favorites, Juggernaut, made to look badass.  While I don't like the look of the character, but it made sense, they did the rest of him so well.  I'm amazed I was able to not see spoilers for the movie before I got to see it.

There were a lot of good lines and parts.  "Cleaning up the timelines" probably made me laugh the loudest.  It was so appropriate and so cathartic.  Definitely worth seeing.  I don't know if it was worth the cost of a new TV, though.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 (PS4) Review

The first The Witch and the Hundred Knight came out on PS3 four years ago.  It's also been two years since the PS4 re-release, so I guess it's time for a full-blown sequel.  The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 has a new setting and characters, with similar gameplay and a host of changes.

It's still an action RPG, so combat feels very similar to last time, with a few modifications.  You run around and attack, but the stamina bar is gone.  This makes combat feel more fluid.  Being away from the castle still takes Gigacals (GCs), and they drain faster as they heal your damage over time.  Dodging no longer takes stamina, since that system is gone, but instead takes a tiny amount of GCs.  There is another powered-up state that builds from defeating enemies, now called Third Eye.  It's slightly more useful than its previous incarnation, but I still rarely use it.  Instead of a separate running command, moving uninterrupted for a bit will make Hundred Knight move faster.  This does drain GCs faster than normal, but not near as many as it previously did.  That's good, since running is more automatic than it used to be.  Running out of Gigacals is harder than it was previously, since managlands (more on those later) have a nearby enemy that restores most of them, and gaining a level (no longer only at the base) will fully restore Hundred Knight.

Like before, your combo is determined by what weapons you equip to the five weapon slots.  Further slots get a slight increase in damage, but they no longer have an associated die that you can match for a bonus.  I'm fine with this change as well, since that system felt a little more complicated than it needed to be.  It's streamlined, not dumbed-down.  There's also a new feature called Depletura.  If you land the fifth attack of your combo, "L1" will appear on your screen.  When you press it, Hundred Knight will dash toward an enemy and attack them.  If the hit kills them, you get a brief cinematic kill that restores some AP and GCs.  It's not bad, but feels unreliable after the first two hours of the game.  At least the extra damage is useful.  While the left stick can be used to aim the Depletura attack, I wouldn't do that.  It will auto-aim if you only press L1, and that is much more reliable than trying to do it yourself.

My biggest complaint with combat is the boss fights.  They are very adept at hitting you (read: some cheap attacks), which is compounded by the generous enemy attack hit detection.  Unsurprisingly, they also have a lot of health.  Once I figured out that you are supposed to run around, avoid their attack, run in, hit them 1-3 times, then repeat, I did much better at the fights.  Trouble is, that isn't very fun either.  Once you gain the ability to make enemies weaker, I'd suggest doing that just for the boss fights.  You can still die, but at least the fight is shorter.

The map has also received an overhaul.  Instead of picking a different area on the map, it is now one big, linked map.  Plus, you won't spend GCs to uncover it!  The different areas have different enemies and scenery.  Each "square" of the map is also randomly drawn from a batch, so it won't be the same layout the next time you enter.  Similar to the previous game's pillars, there are many managlands on the map.  Once activated, you can teleport to them, or back to the castle.  It makes moving around the map easy, and it feels much more like an adventure than before.  As far as I've found, witch domination, powering up at a pillar, and the bonus gauge are now gone, and I won't really miss them.  I'm not as fond of the enemies leveling up as you do.  Each area has a limit, but you will usually fight enemies close to your level.  Since it is harder to out-level them, you have to rely on other methods to gain significant strength.  Even so, I really like the map changes.

Items you pick up from enemies or treasure chests are still stored in Hundred Knight's stomach.  The available room expands when you level up, and at a much faster rate than the first game.  Instead of needed a special stone to clear out unwanted inventory, you can now digest an item inside, and gain a tiny amount of GCs from it.  Running out of HP will have you lose a few items (which isn't fun), but I still think the inventory changes are for the better.

The hundred knight will still gain facets as you go through the game.  Each one is like a class, with different damage rates of weapons, defensive ratings from armor, and skills.  Again, this is like the first game.  However, now the facets share the hundred knight's level instead of having their own.  You aren't hindering yourself to switch, which makes them more useful.  The skills they have can be leveled up, and because the skill point pool is based off your level, that is also shared.  You get plenty of points, so it's definitely worth powering up the skills you use.

While you can kind of get by using what you find, you really need to use alchemy to make weapons stronger.  The system is easier to understand than it was previously.  While you can make things stronger by fusing other pieces of equipment into them, there are special items that give bonus experience to the different types of equipment.  These are fairly plentiful, so I'd recommend using most of the ones you get.  Higher ranked weapons start stronger, but it's rarely worth dumping an older, higher level weapon into it.  Stick to leveling up legendary and maybe some epic weapons, and you won't need to replace them for awhile.  After you get farther along in the game, you get special materials that directly give bonuses to a piece of equipment.  You can use one for every level something gains, which can lead to some really big stat boosts.  Because the maximum level determines how many can be used, legendary items, even weak ones, are far better to use than even higher ranked common and rare ones.

So, the gameplay is improved, but what about the other aspect of the game- the story.  Last time the main character was Metallia, a very unlikable, foul-mouthed braggart.  It was probably the low point of that game.  In this game...well, not much has changed.  This time you get Chelka, a very unlikable braggart, and Amalie, a lying and useless witch hunter.  So, not really an upgrade.  Witches go from being overpowered and invincible to completely powerless in the next scene.  It was easily the weakest part of the game, so much so that I wanted to skip most scenes, especially if Chelka was in it.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 is improved over its predecessor in the gameplay department, but not in the story.  Even so, it's worth playing for action RPG fans, and anyone who enjoyed the first game.


The Good:
Some great improvements over the first game to combat and map exploration.

The Bad:
The story is still filled with unlikable characters.

The SaHD:
What child would name anything Huninnmuginn?

(Review code for The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 was received from the publisher)

Toukiden 2 (PS4) Review

I really enjoyed the first Toukiden, more than I thought I would.  I figured Tecmo Koei's first foray into the monster hunting genre would be a bit shaky, but it was solid and felt familiar enough, yet different, from other offerings.  I ended up playing it for many more hours after reviewing it, and was very excited to finally get my hands on the sequel.  Of course, I had the carryover demo to help satiate me beforehand, so I was able to hit the ground running in the full release.

If you haven't played the first Toukiden, or read my review of it, I'll briefly cover the basics.  You play as a slayer who is tasked with defending a village from various monsters called Oni.  This involves choosing a weapon, getting some allies together, and hitting them a lot until they die.  You can then purify them, which gives you an item.  Each medium and large Oni has several parts that have their own durability.  If you hit them enough, the part will break off.  Those too, can be purified.  While you can sever legs and arms, most time the monster gets a phantom version so they can still use it to move and attack.  Those parts can still be targeted, which can aid in stunning  or tripping them, giving you a few seconds to hit them without fear of retaliation.

The controls are mostly the same as the first entry, but with a few new additions.  Square, Triangle and Circle will do different attacks based off the weapons types.  X is your dodge button, which is the same as last time.  Filling up your weapon gauge still allows you to do your super attack that will sever a monster's limb instantly.  Running and the Eye of Truth no longer drain stamina, which is nice.  Also newly added is the demon hand.

The demon hand adds a new layer of mobility for your character.  You can target an Oni with it to pull yourself to them quickly, which can help in hitting their higher sections.  You can also use them in the environment to go up ledges and across gaps.  The unity gauge has also changed to be used with the demon hand.  When it is filled, you can target a monster's part and break it, sometimes permanently.  It's different per monster, but some can be left legless, dragging themselves around to fight you.  It's really useful and cool.  At first I didn't really care about the demon hand, but after smashing off an Oni's arms and watching it walking around trying to peck me, I realized its true worth.

Mitama are back, and also slightly reworked.  They don't level up as before.  Instead, doing different things will unlock and level up their skills.  There's also very specialized skills that some have, affecting other types of mitama or certain weapon types (think of the corporate buzzword "synergy").  The second and third mitama give you new skills.  One is activated by holding R1 and pressing R2, and the other activates automatically when the conditions are met.  They have lots of new skills, too, like filling up your weapon gauge at the cost of health, or keeping you from dying when your health is out.  It took me a bit to get used to how the new skills worked, but I do like them.  Besides just reworking the types of mitama already present, a few more have been added..  I still really like my spirit type, but I'm starting to like the plunder type as well.  The command type is a bit of a let down, though.

The story mode for the series went through an overhaul.  It used to be just like Monster Hunter, where there was dialogue bits in the town, and you would take missions from the counter, complete them, then repeat to press on through the story.  Now, the town has the different "ages" outside of it in a giant, connected map that you can run around in.  There are plenty of Oni, items to pick up, side quests to complete, and even collectibles.  There are also random "joint operations" where you help another slayer out (or even a Tenko).  When you complete it, the slayer will temporarily join you, effectively giving you a fifth party member.  You can encounter other player's characters in this way.  When encountering a large or medium sized Oni, there is a barrier keeping you within a certain area.  It's possible to leave the blue types, but red keep you in.  These are for quest targets, so you probably don't want to run from them anyway.

When I first experienced the large map, I though it was just a side thing to do, where you could free fight Oni and gather stuff.  It took me way too long to realize that this is where the campaign takes place.  I thought about if I liked that or not, and finally decided it was actually a good choice.  It moves it farther from the game that inspired it, but gave it something unique that works really well.  I don't know if it needed the collectibles, but I really like the new, large, connected map.

The multiplayer stays closer to its roots.  However, instead of having a map with different zones, you are basically put in the area with the target(s).  You will be in a section of the normal map, but within the red barrier area.  This makes missions much faster.  I wasn't able to find an online lobby the few times I tried, but you can do the quests offline with the story characters or a copy of anyone that you have the card for (other players, basically).

While the first Toukiden and the Kiwami expansion had story and plot, Toukiden 2 has more.  The story is a bit predictable towards the end, but the character backstories are really good.  Going through the story and some of the side quests took me 25 hours.  Completing the rest of the side quests and doing the hunting missions will rack up many more hours.  I've put on an additional 20 hours and still have more to do.  Like the first game, the difficulty isn't as high as its competitors, mostly because you can take AI with you almost constantly and they can revive you.  I had no difficulties going through the story, although some of the later monsters hit very hard.

If you are a fan of the first Toukiden, like myself, I would definitely recommend Toukiden 2.  Just realize that they have changed some things to better separate it from the crowd, which I could see alienating some people.  I actually really like the changes, and had a lot of fun playing through the story and side quests.


The Good:
Expands the game in interesting ways to further differentiate itself from its inspiration.

The Bad:
The changes may alienate some fans of the genre.

The SaHD:
I'd really like to play online with my friends, but none of them have the game.

(Review code for Toukiden 2 was provided by the publisher)

Mercenaries Saga 2 (3DS) Review

Mercenaries Saga 2 is a strategy RPG, much in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics.  So much so that it looks similar.  However, it isn't a copy, and if you draw inspiration from another SRPG, you might as well start at the top.

Battlefields are divided up into small squares that your character can move around on.  If you have played any other grid-based SRPGs, then you will feel right at home with the battles in Mercenaries Saga 2.  Each side takes their turn in alternating order, so being faster won't get you more turns.  Your characters can move and then take one action, be it an attack, skill, or using an item.  Unfortunately, you can't do an action first, and still have your move, like some other great SRPGs (although there is one character who can get that as a skill).

MP starts at 0, but units recover some each turn (based on their MPR stat that you can't see), so mages and healers stay useful throughout the fight.  Though, sometimes the close-range fighters struggle to gain any useful MP until late in the fight because heavy armor has a MPR penalty.  By the end of the game, you have 10 characters, but can only take 6 with you into battle (save the last two fights), meaning the later characters likely won't be used much.

At the end of each battle, all surviving characters get a portion of the obtained skill points.  These are used to buy new classes, skills, and power-up skills you already have.  It's a nice system that lets you power up any character brought into battle (and doesn't retreat), regardless of how many enemies they killed.  This is great for the healers, and helps balance out how easily the mages can destroy foes.  They will still be ahead in levels, though.

Once you reach level 10 or 20, you can class change your characters.  Each character can use all of the skills he or she has purchased, regardless of class.  Changing classes can easily be done in the menu.  You will have to re-equip their stuff, though.  Two of each character's high classes are locked until you exchange special items for them, but these will keep through playthroughs.  Overall, it's a great job class system, since you get the benefits from all your classes, and can pick whichever one you want for look or stats!

There are 32 story battles to go through, and almost as many free battles.  Each story level can be completed once per run, but the free battles can be completed as many times as you want.  I'd recommend doing most of them anyway, since you will want the extra experience, money and skill points from them.  Yes, it is grinding, but it's pretty quick, so I don't mind it.  It took me over 20 hours to get through the story mode, which included doing almost all of the free battles, too.

The game also has a very good new game+ mode.  You won't keep your levels or normal equipment, but you keep your money, skill points (although you have to re-allocate them), and magical/unique items.  If you get enough of the powerful and rare stuff, you can still power through a chunk of the game, even if your level is low.  You also unlock extra free battles and can challenge a higher difficulty once you complete the game.  Since there are two endings, it would be worth it to go through again.

Mercenaries Saga 2 is not as deep as other similar offerings (not limited to the 3DS), but is still very fun.  It offers good replayability, a great price for the content, and I would heartily recommend it to fans of grid-based strategy RPGs.


The Good:
Fun and well done SRPG with hours of content for a tiny price.  The skill and class system is pulled off very well.

The Bad:
Story is a bit bland.

The SaHD:
It can be a real pain to find the hidden weapons, so just use a guide.

(Mercenaries Saga 2 was purchased by the reviewer)

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 (3DS) Review

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 brings back the run and gun action of the previous game, but adds a much appreciated extra - a whole new character.  The formula is similar to last time, you pick a stage, run through it trying not to get hit, and beat the boss at the end.  Copen, the added player character, will fight the same bosses, but in a different order, giving players a different experience in his journey.

Gunvolt is an adept with lightning powers, and his abilities are near identical to those from the last game.  As such, his gun isn't his main source of damage.  It still does a tiny bit, but its main purpose it to tag enemies.  By default, he can tag up to three enemies (or even stack them on fewer targets), which will focus his lightning attack onto them.  This attack is much stronger than just using his voltage field, but that has its own uses too.  Since it is a field around him, it can destroy physical projectiles, making a useful shield.  It's also used to power occasional things in the environment.  Using his powers drains his EP meter that you can let refill slowly on its own, or press down twice to charge it up quickly (but you are open to attack during this time).

Gunvolt can also dash and jump, but cannot dash in the air without an item (bummer).  If he still has power left in his EP meter, taking a hit will drain some of that instead of doing health damage.  This is paramount to your survival in the game.  There are plenty of times where you can't avoid damage, and have to use the shield to avoid HP damage.  When he defeats some of the bosses in the game, Gunvolt gets a different shot type for his gun, which can make it easier to tag some enemies.  Lastly, Gunvolt has three SP marks in the lower left of the screen that allow him some special attacks.  The default is a strong attack, and he quickly learns a healing one.  This was very useful to me, but it is a very weak heal.  There are other SP skills he learns, but I didn't end up using any others, since I needed the heal so often.

Copen, Gunvolt's rival, is also playable in this game, and plays differently than his blue counterpart.  For starters, his gun does more damage, and is his main source of attack.  Copen also has an air dash.  However, his air dash consumes a refillable resource called Bullits.  These also power his anti-damage shield, called prevasion, like Gunvolt's.  There are a few times where I ran out of Bullits when air dashing around, causing me to fall in pits.  One of the hazards of trying to rush through a stage combined with old habits.  If you dash into an enemy, it marks them so Copen's attacks will track the target.  This is a really useful function that I discovered on accident, since I didn't see the game point it out.  It is hidden in the Help section, but I doubt I would have looked there if I didn't stumble upon it by accident.

Where Gunvolt gets different shot types from bosses, Copen can somewhat mimic their attacks.  This is yet another meter he has, but it really feels natural to me as an old Megaman player.  In addition to the nice attacks and damage they cause, Copen can still use his gun while using the boss attacks, meaning he can dish out some serious damage in short order.  It's one of the big reasons I had much more fun using Copen than Gunvolt.  The other was the difference between their prevasion shields.  Using Copen's takes away from your mobility (air dash), where Gunvolt's takes away from your attack (can't use the voltage field).  However, I had the same problem charging both of their respective meters.  Pressing down twice to charge didn't always register, regardless of which pad I used to control them.

Overall, the game wasn't too hard for me.  There were a few tricky spots, especially with Gunvolt, but I was able to persevere through them.  With Copen, I was able to dispatch all the bosses without dying, thanks in part to his playstyle and stronger heal.  Admittedly, I think the game would be better if you could dodge all the attacks the bosses have.  There are several that hit the entire screen, or enough of it to effectively do the same thing.  It goes against my Megaman/Monster Hunter instincts, but you are supposed to abuse the anti-damage shields for both characters to get through without taking damage.  Still, I'd rather all attacks be avoidable.  Especially since most bosses have cheap hits that are hard to survive even with the shield.

Gunvolt also has some RPG elements.  Killing enemies gives experience that will level you up.  Levels grant more health, so the game becomes easier as you play through it.  Also, there is equipment that you can craft.  The pieces necessary to craft them come from the bonus game at the end of every level.  It takes a lot of luck or grinding to get most of the pieces.  By the time I had finished the game, I only had enough pieces to make one thing for each character.  Copen's was a skill chip I really wanted, which is nice, but if I got that far without it, I probably didn't need it at all.  If you do want them, then replaying levels and attempting the challenges is the only way to go.  Too bad you have to replay a stage to attempt the challenges for it.

The missing mid-battle dialogue was such a big deal after it was removed from the first game.  While on one hand I am glad to have it included in Gunvolt 2, on the other hand it is useless.  If the game stopped so you could actually read it, it would probably be better.  As it stands, your character banter while the action is going on, meaning you either take lots of damage to try and read it, or just ignore it.  To make matters worse, the dialogue box and character portrait takes up valuable screen space, making the fight even harder.  It's sadly better to just turn them off.

It only takes about 3 hours to make it through one of the characters' story, so double that for the whole package.  Even so, it's a game that I can see myself replaying, just to get better at fighting the bosses, and figuring out which weapon is best for each.  I wouldn't want to replay the levels just for material drops, but that would happen as I was re-playing through the game, and it is certainly an option to other players out there.  There are also challenges to try and complete for extra items, but you unfortunately can't get most of them your first time through the stage.

Overall, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is a very fun game.  It is very reminiscent of the old and awesome Megaman X games, while being different enough to not be a copy.  The game isn't very long, but there are reasons to replay the stages, and having two different characters is always a plus.  The prevasion shield is a useful mechanic, even if I think the game relies on it a bit too much.  I had a ton of fun playing as Copen, so I hope he continues to show up in the game.  I would definitely recommend the game to fans of the first Azure Striker Gunvolt, Megaman games, and side-scrolling action games.


The Good:
A fun and challenging side-scrolling action game that I can see lots of potential in learning enemy/boss patterns in order to improve.  Playing as Copen was a lot of fun.

The Bad:
Have to replay stages/grind to get drops to make equipment you don't really need.  Some enemy attacks unavoidable.

The SaHD:
The ice/slippery level is really annoying.  Can we as a gaming community just stop doing these kinds of levels?  It was cute the first few times, back on the NES, but they just aren't fun.  Do any players actually enjoy them?

(Review code for Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 was provided by the publisher)

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors (PS Vita) Review

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors has come to western shores, and I am happy to see it happen.  The first game was fun and unfortunately mired in some misplaced fan backlash, so I wasn't sure we would even see the sequel come here.

The basic plot of the game is similar to last time.  You play as an instructor banding together a group of girls as they fight their way through hell to be reborn and cleansed of their sins.  This time, the girls died before committing their crimes, so they are, in effect, in purgatory.  They must still face their possible futures, and learn from their mistakes to grow as a person before they can be cleansed.  While it is a similar plot to the previous game, there are definitely enough differences that it doesn't feel like a retread.  Similarly, there are some similarities in the dungeons, but they do feel very different.

Combat is largely the same as it was in the previous game.  Since you don't directly control the party members, they will each have a suggestion of what to do in a turn, and you pick one of the four suggestions.  This time the attacks and characters are animated, which to me, makes it look a better.  The system works for the game, but isn't ideal.  Many times a certain skill the girls have would be the best, but you have to hope they suggest it first.  Thankfully, the game is smart enough to give you the "defend" skill when the enemy is charging up a powerful attack, or "heal" when someone is low on HP, assuming you have the skills and MP for it.  Other than that, most times you can't use the best power for the occasion, since it is up to a random chance that it shows up.  The more skills you learn, the harder it can be to get the one you want.  At least usually feels balanced enough, since you only really get one action per turn, not per girl per turn.

So what else does the instructor (you) do in battle?  Well, you can use one item and/or switch out one of the girls per turn.  Switching them out is very useful if one is out of HP.  Unfortunately, the item use is still a pain, since many times you will need to use more than one, and have to make the call on which would be more beneficial.  Both of those will cause new actions to be suggested, so there is some strategy to it as well.  A new system added to the game is the 'coach' command.  This will shout encouragement to the girls,  Their damage will raise or lower depending on which coaching option you choose.  I didn't often use this until the second half of the game, and even then it wasn't automatic for me to remember and use it.  The effect is has on the girls is substantial enough that you should take advantage of the system, especially on boss fights.

So how do the girls acquire their battle skills?  Well, it is by, uh, punishing motivating them in very suggestive ways.  Similar to the previous game, you will pick a girl and a method, then rub and poke the screen in various ways to...help them out.  Unlike last time, there is no more pink fog!  Some motivations will have another girl with your chosen one.  When you "motivate" them enough to level up, you can now choose one of two skills, either relating to "S" or "M".  Yes, the S&M that you are thinking of.  Any time you are at a camp, these can be switched, so you can try them out and pick the ones you like best, or whichever will serve you better in the current dungeon.  I do like this bit of customization, but there are a few skills where I would want both of them (or even neither).  Some skills are repeated among the girls, so it is possible to spread them out or even double up.  This also makes it easier to swap around which girls you use in battle.

It's usually not very hard to make your way through the various floors and dungeons of the game, but the bosses seem tougher this time around.  Even the first boss required me to grind a couple of levels before I could topple it.  Unfortunately, this tend continued through the rest of the game.  Every time I reached a boss, I had to stop and grind another level or two before beating them.  It didn't seem like I was missing some element or trick, but that I just had to be able to take less damage and dish more out, which you can only really get by gaining levels.

Even more unfortunately, this does add up.  The story takes about 20 hours to reach the conclusion, and at least a third of that was grinding.  It's a shame, because Criminal Girls 2 is fun, if sometimes unreliable, and the grinding really puts a damper on it.  Fans of the first game and those that dismissed the previous game's censorship should definitely check it out.  I'd also recommend it to people who likes quirky and unique RPGs.


The Good:
Improves upon the first game in nearly all areas.  No more pink fog!

The Bad:
Battles can take longer than they need if the girls don't suggest decent attacks.  Needing to grind to beat the bosses kills your momentum.

The SaHD:
The slime throwing motivation was oddly fun.

(Review code for Criminal Girls 2 was provided by the publisher)

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2 (Xbox One) Review

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance joins a long and growing list of games being tweaked to release on current generation platforms.  With each offering being a hit or miss, where does Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2 fall?

Before we look at how the games have translated to the newer systems, let's look at how they play as games.  Both games are action RPGs that play from an isometric point of view.  You play as a team of four heroes (or villains!), attacking and using your super powers to fight off various enemies.  You control one character at a time while the AI handles the rest.  You can jump (some characters can fly), pick up and throw objects, and in general, cause a lot of mayhem in your quest to save the day.  The games are fairly linear, moving you from one location to the next as the story dictates.

Both games play largely the same, but Ultimate Alliance 2 adds team up special moves and healing items.  The healing items are self-explanatory, although it can be tough to know who to heal since it only shows your current character's HP.  The team up moves are pretty cool, coming in several flavors (aimed, AoE, etc.) and differing depending on which characters you team up for the attack.

Combat is pretty fun, but there are a few minor quibbles I have with the game.  In the first Ultimate Alliance, it can be hard to keep track of your character.  There are times when there are swarms of enemies, explosion effects, and even parts of the environment clogging your view.  Even with the colored ring at your character's feet, it can be very easy to lose yourself.  Plus, with no healing items it is a huge pain to resurrect fallen allies, as you have to wait out a timer and retrieve them from a save point, or reach a save point and swap them out.  It's kind of a bummer when you have characters you want to use, but can't since they are still injured.

The second game's problem is more the interface.  Switching character is still on the d-pad, but their position shifts on-screen when you switch.  It doesn't actually change which direction you press, but there is a disconnect with the direction their portrait is displayed versus the direction you select them with.  I don't have this problem in the first game.  To heal or use a team-up move, you hold a button and then press another to choose who to use it on/team up with.  The problem is the button is displayed over the character, not their portrait, so it is really hard to make out which button to press when it is displayed as a tiny picture over the head of a moving character.  These aren't game-breaking, but they can be really annoying.

The Xbox One and PS4 versions are smoother than their last-gen counterparts.  Beyond that, there isn't much extra flair added to the visuals.  The pre-rendered cutscenes look the same as they were before.  Character models, areas and visual effects don't appear to be beefed up in any way besides looking smoother.  Both games ran really well with no hangups, even after playing several hours in a row.  So while they haven't been changed in any significant way, at least they run really well.

Both games each offer 12-15 hours of content, with multiple characters to use and unlock.  You can play them with others online and off.  Couch co-op players will all need to sign in, which can be a pain.  That's mostly a symptom of current gaming rather than the game, though.  Also, since the game is several years old, keeping all characters on the same screen feels a bit more restrictive than something like Diablo 3.  Strangely, the Ultimate Alliance 1 DLC is not included, but it is for Ultimate Alliance 2.  Activision has confirmed that a patch will be en route fix this, which I am hoping comes soon.  I really want to use Venom and Doom in the first game!

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2 are still fun games, whether you play by yourself or with friends.  Gameplay and content hold up well to current games.  Visually, they aren't much different from their previous gen counterparts, which is a bit of a shame, considering the price tag.  If you have played them before and would like to go through them again, or are now interested in trying them out, both games hold up well and are worth playing, but maybe not at the current price.  Digital copies of the games for the previous generation of systems have been much cheaper in the past, making the pricing on this release a bit on the high side.


The Good:
The games are still really fun and have some good character choices.

The Bad:
The games look slightly better, but that's about it.  No other real changes.

The SaHD:
I'd really like to know how they missed the first game's DLC coming with it.  The version on the 360 marketplace has it in.  Did they not use that file?

(Review code for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Bundle was provided by the publisher)

Project X Zone 2 [Demo] (3DS): the Good, the Bad and the SaHD

The Good:
The demo showcases the combat, which I still really enjoy.  Plus, you get a bonus in the real game for completing the demo.  UP TO 10 TIMES!  That's crazy (crazy cool), and I want more demos to do things like that.

The Bad:
Skipping all the talking is a chore.  The start button will skip a small section, but you still end up having to mash it to get through it all.  This isn't a problem the first time through, but it sucks after the second time.

The SaHD:
The game tells you the enemies get harder if you go through again, but it does so each time you go through, which I didn't know.  The enemies were actually a threat during my 9th and 10th cycle.

I'm really looking forward to the full version, since I loved the first game.  I didn't get a review code, so I'll have to buy it at some point.  This kind of works out, since I prefer to have any Nintendo software in physical format (their digital system sucks).

(Project X Zone 2 Demo was obtained as a free download from the 3DS E-shop)

Year End Wrap-Up, part 4

The Future
While the first two parts looked at the past, the fourth will look to the future.  There's a few things, mostly gaming related, that are on my radar for next year.

From Bamco (Bandai Namco), I really want to play Project X Zone 2 and Digimon: Cyber Sleuth.  I loved the first PXZ and I'm confidant I'll like the sequel as long as the combat hasn't been ruined.  Sure, they have shuffled some teams around, for better or worse, but I like a lot of the character choices.  It's still a game that I'm likely to sink hours into.

I've liked the Digimon franchise since I watched the first season, and I've actually enjoyed a lot of the video games.  It's been years since we had a Digimon RPG, as the last one were the Dusk and Dawn versions of Digimon World on the DS.  While initially I wanted the Vita version of Cyber Sleuth, I might go with the PS4 version.  Even the pre-order DLC looks awesome.  Agumon dressed as Tai is cool, and you get Beelzemon Bluster Mode!  I already know my favorite Diaboromon is in the game, so that's two slots on my team that are already taken.

Bandai Namco also announced late in 2015 that they are bringing over God Eater Resurrection and God Eater 2 Rage Burst.  I enjoyed what I played of Gods Eater Burst on the PSP a year or so ago, and would love to play these on a more current system.  Hopefully the release of these is spread a bit through the year, rather than have two different God Eater games for two different systems (PS4 and Vita) release simultaneously.  It would be a bit confusing.  Given their track record, I might not get review copies for any of these four titles, but I will definitely check them out down the road.

A few more games I'm looking forward to that may or may not end up being released in 2016.  No Man's Sky, which I am really hoping to review, still looks like a lot of fun to just go exploring the universe.  I'd also like to see more of two hopefuls, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Re:Core.  We have seen very little about these, and if they aren't releasing in 2016, I'd like to see a good chunk of gameplay to see if they look good or just mediocre.  Who knows, we may even see Mighty No.9 release as well!

In non-gaming areas, I'm also psyched to see some cool looking Transformers toys coming out next year with Titan Wars.  While not as cool as this year's Combiner Wars, there are some good toys shown that I'm going to try and get.  He'll be expensive, but the Fort Maximus looks cool and I'm hoping for a recolor/remold of the leader class Blaster as my favored Soundwave.  While the games I know I can either get a review copy of or wait for a great price, that doesn't usually work with the TF toys.  I'll have to figure out some way to get the money for them, but I'll likely have to continue to be choosy about which ones I pick up, and hope that the Hasbro Toy shop has them in stock when they have the % off coupon codes.

There were a lot of fun games I played in 2015, and 2016 should have its fair share as well.  Happy new year readers!

Wasteland 2: Director's Cut (PS4) Review

Following a trend I approve of, Wasteland 2: Director's Cut has made the jump from PCs to consoles and is now exposed to a whole new audience.  It is a turn-based tactical RPG with battles on a grid.  This is how I pictured the first two Fallout games, and according to my pal David, I'm not that far off the mark.  Considering the first Wasteland almost 30 years ago influenced Fallout, it makes sense.  Regardless, I'm always game to try an RPG, so I was eager to try my review copy of Wasteland 2.

When starting the game, you can either go with premade people or make your own.  There are many different options for each character, and even though it was daunting, I choose to go through and make them all myself.  You can make a maximum of four to start any playthrough, so I did that.  You can choose all of their skills and give them a name, portrait, starting perk, age, religion (!) and brand of cigarettes (?!).  You can even give them a bio, which is awesome.  Sure, it's a pain to type it out on the controller, so I only did one, but I do think the option is great.  Too bad you can't zoom in to make it easier to see most of the appearance customizations.  Otherwise, it is hard to tell the different faces apart, even on a big TV.  Since the view is zoomed out anyway, I guess it doesn't ultimately matter, but it feels like an oversight.

You can also choose a starting perk, but they are noticeably less cool.  While some were wonderfully named, they all pretty much had a downside that to me, negated the positive.  Once I tired one, Raised in a Circus, since it was going on a character that wouldn't have the downsides.  Once I started the game, I quickly realized that my character is now a clown.  Red wig and nose, face paint, the whole nine yards.

Sigh.

So, I rerolled my entire party again, since you can't just save characters you make to some list.  As if the starting perks weren't useless enough, some will permanently make your character's appearance messed up.  It just seems like a waste to even have them if they are so bad.  Maybe one or two is useful, but I doubt I'll use any of them.  Even ones that seem great have compelling arguments against them.

While in each area, you move your character group around directly with the analog stick.  There are people to talk to and items to examine.  When you leave an area, there is then a world map that is used to move your party around.  Instead of seeing all members of your party, your group is represented by the rangers icon.  There's also a water level that drains while you move the cursor around, and you will take damage if it runs out.  You can encounter enemy groups or wandering merchants while moving around.  The biggest danger on the world map is the areas of radiation dotting the landscape.  Your whole party takes damage if you move in them, but there are radiation suits you can find to help with that.  An actual fast travel option would have been nice for returning to base and stuff.  Sure, that would negate the canteen for half of the game, but it would be nice.

When you encounter enemies, or a discussion goes awry, battle takes place.  It will take place on the actual area you are in, and the grid is just laid down on the landscape.  Each time a character's turn rolls around, they are granted their AP (action point) allotment.  Every action takes a certain amount of AP.  Movement is pretty cheap, so you can move really far if you don't want to attack.  On the grid, the blue movement spaces are where you can move and still attack, while the yellow ones are just how far you can move.  It's also possible to attack more than once a turn, as long as you have the AP.  Lower cost weapons also help a lot with that.  If you end your turn, you can keep a point or two of AP for the next turn.

There's also a few other things you can do on your turn.  You'll need to spend AP to reload your weapon if you run out of ammo, or to unjam your gun if it locks up.  It's a small chance to happen, but it really sucks when it does.  Spending AP to then fix it just makes it worse.  It's a more realistic system, but it can get annoying.  The last thing I'll mention is the Ambush system.  Give up some AP and your character will wait to attack.  When an enemy moves within range, or pops up from cover to attack, your character will attack.  It's a nice ability if you want to create a small death zone, get some pesky enemies hiding behind crates or punish melee-based enemies.  I'd enjoy it more if your people could attack more than once, but that would probably be overpowered.

At first, I had a fair amount of trouble with battles.  My accuracy was low, so hitting something was a pain.  This in turn wasted ammo and led to more damage sustained by my team.  I turned the difficulty down, and it was slightly better, but still not great.  So, I decided to look into stats and character creation.  Sadly, it turns out that there is some disparity with how useful certain stats are.  Luck is all but useless, and Charisma is mostly useless as well.  Intelligence is best set at one of three levels so you can get enough skill points to stay relevant.  Your accuracy with weapons is based on the appropriate skill, so this makes sense.  Also, while AP is important, battle initiative might be more so, since it determines how often you get your turn.

You can pretty much screw yourself if you make a bad party.  So, I rerolled them and applied the information I learned.  I also started on the easier setting, but probably didn't need to.  I was much more effective in combat and the game was much less annoying.  I'd prefer to not have to scour outside information to make a party that doesn't suck.  I feel it's less forgiving than the similar and recent Divinity: Original Sin in that regard.  However, I can also see that figuring out a great build across your party could make tackling higher difficulties much more plausible.  It's a learning process, so don't be surprised if you also have to start over.  While looking up info, it seems I wasn't the only person to have the same problem and solution.  Also don't be afraid to look up character builds to understand what each stat does and what is recommended and why.  There is no one perfect solution, but there are a lot of bad ones.

It's also really easy to miss stuff or mess up your game in a few other ways.  Early on you get an NPC part member who is pretty good.  However, she will eventually leave your team, so you can't build your other characters around her.  Thankfully I knew that ahead of time, but the game doing that can basically screw you over halfway through the game.  Yuck.  Most other companions will stay with you for the whole game, but only if you recruit them the first time they ask.  If you don't, they are forever locked.  What?  Missable things in an RPG or other long games is a big pet peeve of mine.  It might not be quite as bad in some games, but Wasteland 2 only gives you 10 save slots (not counting the auto and quick save ones).  A long game with lots of choices and punishing consequences should allow more than that.

Another problem with the game is the controls.  Half of them make sense, but the rest just don't gel with me.  I forget how to do certain things because it just doesn't seem intuitive.  Simple functions are made more complicated, and that frustration takes me out of the game.  I wouldn't recommend taking a long break from the game, as that exacerbates the problem.  Healing is pretty annoying, since it is really odd how you select your target.  I've accidentally healed enemies while trying to figure out how to target my own people.  Another stupid thing I've done is accidentally buy something from a vendor while trying to advance their dialogue.  Since there is no sell back, I would either lose money or time by reloading.  Some of these are pretty small, and some personal, but they add up.  It's not always a constant thing, but when these little annoyances creep up, it can be frustrating.

Wasteland 2 has a lot of dialogue, and much of it is spoken.  Your characters get several dialogue options, and even more if you have some of the right skills.  Note that there is a lot of mature language in the game (read: swears), so I definitely don't play it around my kids.  There are a few points in the game where you have to make a decision, which can effect where you can go and who can join your group.  Several of these have an associated trophy, so you'll have to either reload or go through again.  I like that there are good reasons to replay the game, but the completionist part of my brain screams at it.

Overall, Wasteland 2 is a mixed bag.  The game can be really fun.  It has a nice battle system with visceral kills, choices that change your progression and a lot of jokes and references to find.  The game is also pretty long and has good replay value in taking the other choices, alternate character builds and recruiting different NPC companions.  Then there is the flip side.  Base accuracy is really low, forcing you to take a lot of points in the relevant skill to not bleed out money and bullets.  It's ridiculously easy to make a terrible character that will near-necessitate starting the game over.  I would recommend the game to RPG and strategy fans, just be prepared to do research beforehand, or have the time to start over several times.

Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (Xbox One) Review

Darksiders II follows up on the original Darksiders, but stars Death as he seeks to gain redemption for his brother War, who was unjustly blamed for the events of the previous game.  I originally played this on the Xbox 360, but now the Deathinitive Edition has been released for the current gen consoles, and bring with it some improvements, the previously released DLC and a cutesy name.

The graphics have improved some, but it isn't a huge jump.  Lighting effects, on the other hand, look much better than I remember.  This is one of the things specifically mentioned as an improvement, and it is obvious.  The game loads a little quicker, although there are parts where it studders a bit while doing so during gameplay.  Also, there were times during cut scenes where the audio was out of sync with the video.  I'm not sure if it's just a problem with the Xbox One version, or if that was present in the 360 version (it was a few years ago that I played it after all).

Combat is action-oriented, but with many RPG mechanics.  The X Button is your main weapon (scythes), and the Y Button is whatever your equipped sub-weapon is, which ranges from claws to giant hammers.  There are a few different combo moves to fill out your arsenal, but I really only stuck to a few I found useful.  Where War (in the previous game) was beefy, Death is much more lithe.  Hence, he dodges instead of blocks.  The timing can be very strict, as many times I was a hair too slow and just ate an attack.  If you dodge too early, most enemies will track your movement and hit you anyway, so you have to be pretty precise.  Sometimes Death didn't want to dodge in the direction I was pressing, which again would lead to me taking unnecessary damage.  Locking on to enemies helps your attacks aim at them, and is especially helpful when using the gun Death gets.  Plus, it will show the enemy's HP.

Besides two weapons, Death can equip a few different pieces of armor on his shoulder, waist, hands and feet.  These can be purchased, found in chest or dropped from enemies, and will show up on his character model.  While most of them will increase stats like defense, some pieces have skills attached to them, like health regeneration.  Also, there are some special weapons that you get when you defeat a boss.  The last special piece of equipment would be the possessed weapons.  These rare items can be fed other pieces of equipment to power them up.  While cool, I rarely used them, as I tended to find better stuff.  I do like the boss weapons, though, since I'm a special item hoarder.

Every kill and completed quest gets you experience, which will predictably level you up after you gain enough.  Besides increasing your stats, you will also gain a skill point to put in one of Death's two skill trees.  There are several active abilities in each, and more upgrades to modify those active skills.  Each "tier" of skills is accessible by leveling up, and you can freely choose to mix and match abilities.  Plus, you can buy a respec from Vulgrim the shopkeep if you want to reallocate your points.  The only part that isn't the most user friendly is mapping the active skills.  You can't do it from the skill tree, but must press down on the d-pad when not in the menu.  Then you can highlight a skill and hold down the Right Bumper and the button that will activate the skill.  Not a huge deal, but can be hard to remember all of that if you want to put on a new ability or change one you have set.

Besides combat, there is a lot of exploration for Death to do.  There are several areas you travel to, and dungeons to overcome.  Each area tends to be connected by narrow canyons that are a perfect time to mount your horse and run through them.  I'm not sure if these areas are so the horse feels useful, or to helps seamlessly load the next area (or both), but ultimately it doesn't matter.  They are just there.  Anyway, there are lots of little side areas that tend to have collectibles in them, or at least an extra chest.  You can also fast travel to many explored areas, which makes  jumping back and forth to dungeons and finishing up side quests much less of a hassle

Dungeons have the most platforming sections, and a fair amount of puzzle parts, too.  The puzzles aren't too hard, mostly pulling switches and placing balls in the right spot, but I do really like the ones that use the golems.  Death can ride around on certain golems, and they can destroy the corruption and fire their fist off on a chain that Death can use to cross some chasms.  They are fun to use.  Death also has some now standard platforming skills at his disposal, like wall running and climbing around specific wall areas.  For the most part the controls for these are spot on, but there are instances where I was trying to run along the wall and the game thought I wanted to run straight up.  Sometimes Death will also do this when you are jumping next to the wall, even if you aren't pushing toward it.

The game has supposedly be re-balanced from its initial release, and some fights did seem a bit easier.  Still, the game isn't too hard on the normal setting, just make sure to have spare health potions on hand, since you will very likely need them.  It's very easy to get hit, especially from off-screen, and the best source to heal yourself is potions.  There are some skills and abilities that will heal you, but it is not near enough to help you in a tough fight.  I did also occasionally get lost in a dungeon and not realize what I had to do to proceed.  It was usually me not noticing an area I could platform to, and not a result of the dungeon puzzles.  Lastly, there are times where the camera won't cooperate during combat.  Sadly, that is par for the course in 3D action games, but it is annoying to take some cheap damage when you can't see what's going on or get your bearing and try to dodge out of trouble.

Content-wise, the game is closer to RPG than action title.  This gives the story over 25 hours, and even more if you are like me and search around for all the extra stuff to do.  Since this version includes the DLC, you will even get another 3 hours or so of extra stuff.  There's also a lot of collectible stuff to pad the length even further.  If you are going for achievements, you will likely go through the game again to get the difficulty related achievements.  Overall, a good length for the cost.

I like Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition and think it is a very fun game.  It has a few small issues and the combat isn't as tight as, say, a Platinum Games game, but it's still solid.  If you like action RPGs and didn't try out Darksiders II when it was initially released, I would recommend trying it out now on the current gen systems.  It's less worth it for repeat buyers, but if you didn't get any of the DLC last time and would like to go through the game again, it is worth the price of admission.

Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library and the Monster Seal (PS Vita) Review

By Tina Hand

Dungeon Travelers 2 is, in many respects, typical for its genre.  Like the old Wizardry, Might and Magic, and Bard’s Tale games from the 80’s, it is a first-person dungeon crawler.  Unlike those old games (and more like its contemporaries) it has benefited from a more modern perspective.  Instead of the carefully crafted party of eight player-created characters, there is a collection of truly lovely female party members to choose from, each distinctly unique in her own way.  Unfortunately, the player is restricted to five, but they can be arranged in a true formation rather than simply putting them in a line-up and hoping for the best.  A wide range of items, equipment and skills allows the player to customize each character as desired.  While the class system is limited in that there are only four base classes (fighter, mage, scout, and a class called spieler) they branch out into a tree of other available classes, making it possible to have multiple beginner classes become different things.

The game has a number of dungeons to explore, and as is usual for the genre, an incessant amount of grinding for better equipment, more money, and experience.  The first-person battle system harkens back to the nostalgic days of old PC games, but with far better graphics.  Though this game is technically a sequel, playing the first is completely unnecessary for understanding the plot.  There are numerous playable characters, and what is surprising for this type of game is that each one has a plot that is more than just paper-thin.  The characters all have personality and history—sometimes with each other and sometimes not—that make them more realistic.  There is humor present as well, sometimes at the expense of the characters, but always tasteful and in many cases subtle rather than blatant.

There is a lot to like about this game.  Though the main character—the only male in the entire story as far as I can tell—is not actually playable, he acts as a general for the rest of the party, giving at least the pretense of the characters doing what the player commands because they are meant to, and not just because a button got pushed.  Dungeons are artistically appealing without being overly-detailed, and monster graphics have a great deal of uniqueness to them.  After all, it isn’t every day you end up fighting fruit.  Also, there are extra rewards to fighting enemies that otherwise would be better avoided.  Once you have beaten a certain amount, you “seal” a monster inside the main character’s tome, allowing you to create a tome based off that monster later in town.  Those books can be equipped to improve a character’s stats and bonuses.

Menus and the interface are all very simple and easy to understand, with everything laid out logically and easy to access.  Of all the controls, a particular favorite is the right trigger, which displays the level and any status effects on enemies.  This is extremely useful when fighting enemies that cast spells, as you can see them “chanting” and it makes interrupting them easier.  Experience and money are on the low side, which forces a player to grind considerably.  Perhaps the only down side in this is that bosses are typically overpowered compared to the enemies in the dungeon surrounding them.  For example, if the dungeon has level 15-20 enemies, the boss is more likely to be 25-30 than something more reasonable.  Enemies also are unaffected by area issues.  If you are in an anti-magic area, the enemies will still be able to use spells.  Unfortunately, this renders pure magic classes practically useless, something that is actually irksome when your healer is unable to heal.   The ability to save in dungeons and exit quickly means that despite its disadvantages, it is still a fairly easy game to pick up and play.

The game also provides the player with the ability to reset a character’s levels.  This makes it possible to change classes and increase stats for a particular character without harming the entire party.  While it adds to the time spent grinding for experience, it also allows the player to reset a character’s skills, so if you accidentally purchase a skill you find yourself not using, or end up thinking is useless, you can reset their level and start again.

There are also extra dungeons that can be unlocked by performing quests.  The more quests a player completes, the more dungeons and additional options are unlocked, increasing playability as well as improving the player’s experience.  While these side-dungeons are not necessary for the plot, they provide another useful place to grind for money and experience.  On a side note, the addition of not one, not two, but twenty extra characters available via downloadable content—while not absolutely necessary to the completion of the game—gives a player the opportunity to build multiple parties, so it becomes possible to handle nearly any circumstance.  [Editor's note: You do get many party members through the game.]

Overall, the game is clear enough to be easy to play, complex enough to keep a player engaged, and fun enough to be worth the price of admission.  With multiple characters, multiple classes, and a barrage of beautiful enemies there is enough playable content to keep even the shortest of attention spans interested.  This is easily a game that can be played by casual and dedicated players alike, and all without massive DLC additions.  It was enjoyable, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dungeon crawlers.  Just be aware of all the fan service in this game, as there is a lot.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 and 2 (PC, Steam) Quick Look

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1

Last year, Idea Factory International announced they were bringing some titles to PC by way of Steam.  I'm not much of a PC gamer, but I thought it was pretty cool, since the more people that can play them, the better.  The first one they released was Hyperdimention Neptunia Re;Birth1.

At first I wasn't sure if my PC would even run it competently, since it is a mid-range machine from 4 years ago.  Surprisingly, it ran well.  There were no hiccups or anything like that, but the screen would go black at the end of the results screen.  I'm not sure why, since I don't remember that from the Vita version.

I tried the keyboard and mouse for the game, to get the true PC experience.  It was serviceable but  weird.  It might be different if you are used to playing games like that on a keyboard, but I vastly preferred the controller.  Since the game was first developed for (home and portable) consoles, the controller is perfect for playing it.

Content-wise, it is the same as the Vita version, and so is the story.  Hyperdimension Neptunia games are centered around Neptune, who is representative of the Sega consoles.  Each nation and CPU goddess are a different first party game manufacturer, so in a way you are playing through the console wars.  It's not as knock-down drag out nasty as it is in the real world, though.  The game is pretty light-hearted and doesn't take itself too seriously.

Since I already reviewed the PS Vita version, you can check out that review if you would like more details on the gameplay and other stuff.  It surprising ran fine on my machine at the time, which is a big plus for me.  Neptunia looks really good and fluid in 1080p!
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Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation

Since I already covered the Vita version of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 and the content and story is the same, this will mostly cover how it ran and felt.  For starters, much like the first Re;Birth on PC, the game looks really nice and fluid.  The visuals sure are a step up from the Vita version.  Yes, this is to be expected, and graphics aren't everything, but it does looks better, so I felt I should mention that.

I learned last time to just stick with the controller instead of the keyboard and mouse combo.  I used the Xbox 360 controller, and it worked perfectly.  So perfectly, in fact, that maybe they should bring the series to the MS platforms... well, a man can dream.  Between playing this and the previous game, I had purchased a new computer.  The newer one is considerably more powerful, and ran Re;Birth2 with no issues for the few hours I played it.

For both titles, if you have been interested in the series and didn't have a Vita, then you should get the PC versions.  They aren't connected much story-wise, despite having many of the same characters, so no need to play one before the other in order to get the whole story.  The first game deals with introducing the four CPU goddesses, and the second focuses on their sisters.  The main CPUs represent the consoles, and the sisters are the portable consoles.  The PC version's content is identical to the Vita, and you can play it in nice 1080p and a smooth frame rate, plus on a bigger screen!

Project X Zone 2 and Monster Hunter Stories Announced!

Wow.  As a fan of the first Project X Zone, I was happy to see late last night that Bandai Namco (Bamco, as I call them) announced not only the release of a sequel, but that the sequel was heading outside of Japan as well.  Planned for a fall release in the US, I am definitely excited to get it!  The first was probably the first game I played on it that made my 3DS purchase worth it.  Project X Zone 2 will of course be adding new characters, and even replacing a few, based off the trailer.

Gone is Pai, replaced with Kage, both from Virtua Fighter.  Leon from Resident Evil 6 is joining, as is some people from the Yakuza series.  Thankfully X and Zero return from Megaman X, and now Virgil from Devil May Cry joins his brother Dante (eat that, stupid Dimitri!)  And for better or worse, Haseo from .Hack//GU is replacing Blackrose from the original .Hack.  While I liked GU and think it should have some representation, it seems weird that they replaced two females with guys.  Either way, I'm still looking forward to playing it on the 3DS later this year.

You can see the trailer for it here.

Also on the 3DS, Capcom announed Monster Hunter Stories.  Slated for release in Japan in 2016, I am hoping the game makes its way west as well.  It is an actual RPG this time, with cutesy graphics, but still with the terrifying Tigrex.  I have no idea why they would use him in a trailer, since... ah, nevermind.  Anyway, it seems you play as people who ride some of the monsters, since the trailer has the protagonist ride a small Rathalos to escape his pursuer that doesn't understand "no means no".  I'm sure Mark will love that.  The game definitely looks different, I'm still deciding if I like it or not.  Still, I'm hoping it makes its way outside of Japan with the forthcoming Monster Hunter 5.

The trailer for Monster Hunter Stories is here.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sister's Generation

Like the previous game, Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk 2 has been remade for the Vita.  While the first game had some major revisions, this game didn't have as much to change.  The story and characters are slightly reworked, as they have removed one and added a few more, and even increased the roles some of them play in the story.  The core plot of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sister's Generation follows Nepgear, the little sister of Neptune, banding the other CPU candidates (the handhelds, since the CPUs themselves represent the consoles) together to free the CPUs from the Gamindustri graveyard.

The flow of the game and combat have also been updated.  You still do some plot, which usually opens a new dungeon, go to the dungeon for a boss and/or more plot, then return to town and repeat.  It's not really as bland as I am making it sound, thanks to the writing for the characters, but progression does follow a predictable flow.  The game still doesn't take itself too seriously, since this is a parody of the industry, with lots of references and nods to video games.

Dungeons are small areas that have monster moving around them.  There's a few different ones, but if you have played any of the series, they are areas you have seen before.  A fight starts when you make contact with the moving enemies.  Whenever a character's turn comes up, they can move freely in a circle around their starting location.  Your weapon's attack range is shown as a box in front of your character, which is used to aim your attacks.  Using both the movement and the aiming, it is very possible and advisable to hit multiple enemies with each attack.  CPUs and CPU candidates can even transform into a more powerful form if you need an extra edge in battle.  The combo/attack/SP systems have been streamlined in the games since the original release of Mk 2, and those changes are reflected here.

The plans from ReBirth 1 make a return, which allow you to add items to the shop, add dungeons, and even change enemy spawns and gather-able loot.  I really like the plans, and am glad that they returned.  Besides being fun things to unlock, you can make the enemies harder, or add new enemies, making it easier to grind levels, gain specific loot or complete quests.  You probably will have to do some grinding, as I hit a few points where I just wasn't strong enough to fight a boss, or one of the powerful monsters lurking in the dungeons.  I've had those points in all of the other Neptunia games, and ReBirth 2 is no exception.

One last addition to the game that I really enjoyed was Stella's Dungeon.  Unlockable through the plans system, it adds a little minigame where you send Stella, one of the NPC people, and her cat through various dungeons in search of items.  You select a dungeon and an area, equip her, and let her go.  She travels in real time, so when it says 10 minutes, you can either play or put it in sleep mode for 10 minutes and she will return.  Even though you don't actually do anything with Stella's Dungeon, it's oddly fun for me.  I like sending her out so she clears a dungeon and brings me back a few items.

The length of the game is about the same as before, being about 35+ hours, and there are still multiple endings if you want an excuse to play even more.  While ReBirth 2 isn't quite as overhauled as ReBirth 1, there's still some good changes and it's easy to recommend it to players who haven't played the original release, especially if you enjoy RPGs.  For returning players, it's probably still worth playing, as the game is still fun.  While only Vita and Playstation TV owners are currently the only ones who can play it, both ReBirth 1 and 2 are on their way to Steam.  If you haven't played any of the Hyperdimension Neptunia games, it's not necessary to start at the beginning, as they don't directly connect, but are similar in nature.  So if you are more interested in the handheld wars, jump right in to Nepgear's story!