UHQBot
-
Posts
39,331 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
25
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Downloads
Posts posted by UHQBot
-
-
Hello Zavi,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Zavi joined on the 08/23/2019.
-
Publisher: Xbox Game StudiosDeveloper: Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, Wicked WitchRelease: November 14, 2019Rating: TeenPlatform: PCWith Age of Empires 4 remaining mysterious for a while now, a group of developers led by Xbox Game Studios has been steadily creating definitive editions of the classic Age of Empires titles. Age of Empires: Definitive Edition launched earlier this year, and now developers Forgotten Empires, Tantalus, and Wicked Witch are turning their attention toward creating the best version of Age of Empires II.
In 2013, Age of Empires II: HD Edition released with both expansions, better visuals, and new features in tow. However, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition takes things to the next level: Multiplayer has been redone, the team has added the ability to adjust zoom, and the A.I. has received a boost with a strong eye toward attack logic. In addition, players can swap between classic and modern A.I. and user interface, and one of the most tedious tasks from the original game, reseeding farms for crops, can be automated. Of course, with Xbox Game Studios publishing, another update is direct integration with Mixer, Microsoft's streaming platform.
According to Microsoft, the team has been working with Age of Empires 4 developer, Relic Entertainment, to see what kinds of advancements the team could include in the definitive versions of the classic games. Relic has found new ways to approach multiplayer, security, and anti-cheat, causing Xbox Games Studios to look at ways of implementing those advancements into Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
While the ability to zoom might sound like a minimally challenging addition, the fact that it's a tile-based sprite engine means zooming in can cause massive pixelization. To remedy this, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition improves the visual fidelity to ensure it looks good from any zoom level, but this also accomplishes another goal for the team: historical accuracy. With higher fidelity visuals comes the ability to see more details, which allows for more authenticity with the historical civilizations depicted in the game.
The changes made to the A.I. have the potential to fundamentally change how matches play out. The A.I. in the original game cheated; the characters could see the whole board even if it was still undiscovered and was even the benefactor of resource bonuses players couldn't access. However, the new A.I. is so smart, the dev team pitted seven of the old A.I. against one new A.I., and the new A.I. obliterated the old ones.
Microsoft recognizes that many of the hardcore Age of Empires players likely already own Age of Empires II: HD Edition, so it is giving those who own that version a 25-percent discount on the Definitive Edition on Steam.
While the topic of my meeting with the team was focused on Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Xbox Game Studios is really excited for the jump in visuals players will experience with the announced Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. When I ask about Age of Empires 4, Xbox Game Studios teased to me that X019, which happens to coincide with the release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, should have exciting news for Age of Empires fans.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition launches November 14 on PC.
-
Hello makscommando,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
makscommando joined on the 08/23/2019.
-
Hello Starzkee,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Starzkee joined on the 08/22/2019.
-
Hello vonpylon,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
vonpylon joined on the 08/22/2019.
-
Publisher: Paradox InteractiveDeveloper: Romero GamesRelease: 2020Rating: Rating PendingPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Mac
One of the most pleasant surprises of E3 was Romero Games’ strategy/RPG hybrid Empire Of Sin. The isometric game casts you as one of 14 gangsters (some historical figures like Al Capone, others fictional characters) trying to rule over Chicago during Prohibition. Whoever controls the most territory and cash at the end of 13 years emerges the victor.
While the E3 demo put on a strong show, which you can read about here, I wasn’t convinced that all of the elements would mix well together or that the final version might be too complicated, given this is a game that juggles tactical combat, resource management, and even RPG-lite traits for your characters. However, I got nearly 45 minutes of hands-on time with a demo and came away impressed with Empire Of Sin to the point it’s my personal game of the show.
The game starts you off in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood. You fight your way up by taking over rackets (casinos, bars, distilleries), often by force, raiding the building with your gangster and whatever mob of henchmen you’ve recruited.
Battles play out like a crunchy version of XCOM and Jagged Alliance with turns where units can move into cover and blast at at foes, using action points to shoot, reload, and move. Enemies slam into surfaces and walls in ridiculous, bloody fashion when they’re killed by gunfire. If an enemy is fatally wounded but still breathing, you can even have your character brutally execute them to terrorize whatever faction they belong to. It’s all gory tactics and a blast to play through.
Outside of combat, the most interesting element is the emergent storytelling that rises out of the character’s traits, which occur based one your choices. Have one of your characters execute foes too often and they can gain the cruel trait, becoming a serial killer who offs one of your other gang members. If you have two gang members that fight alongside one another, they could fall in love or develop unrequited affection that has an impact on combat. For example, if one character sees her lover perish in action, she might (free of the player’s control) fly into a murderous rage and empty a clip into the killer.
The compelling character traits and fun combat are married by the micromanagement strategy, which has you upgrading your various establishments to extend your rule over Chicago. You can bribe the police to keep raids away, make your bars fancier to attract richer clientele, and hire security to fend off other gang members. You can also call a sit down with other bosses you’re having trouble with to try and end things peacefully (or by force). You can even poison your own liquor and sell it to allied factions to weaken them for your own gain. Even in this small slice of the game, there was a ridiculous number of options I got to play around with that made this fantasy of being a 1920s gangster feel meticulous and enthralling.
Empire Of Sin is due out Spring 2020 and I can’t wait to play my hand at becoming Chicago’s new kingpin. -
Publisher: Yacht Club GamesDeveloper: Mechanical Head GamesRelease: TBAPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Games inspired by the 8-bit era aren't rare these days, but it's always nice to see one from an indie dev that so obviously has an abundance of love for the genre. That appears to be the case with Cyber Shadow, a game from Mechanical Head Studios. Combining the gameplay and level design of Ninja Gaiden with boss battles directly inspired by Contra, Cyber Shadow has landed firmly on my radar.
I played through two stages of Cyber Shadow, an early one with relatively little resistance, and a stage from the middle of the game with turrets and enemies galore. Tight gameplay, well-designed 8-bit visuals, and a terrific soundtrack contribute to making it feel like a worthy spiritual successor to Ninja Gaiden.
Swinging the ninja's sword feels good, and I loved using the various powerups. From powerful shuriken to a unique circular blade that whips around you as you move and attack, you uncover various ways to augment your combat. My favorite was an upward slash that sent fireballs hurtling above.
The enemies range from flying creatures to mechanical dragons, but the main attraction is the boss battles. The two I took on felt like a strong mix of Ninja Gaiden and Contra. The first one, Smasher, could have fit right in as the first boss of a game in Konami's popular side-scrolling shooter. I had to avoid projectiles from above, as well as shockwaves, while waiting for the devious machine to reveal its weakpoint. The second boss was a heavily-armored ninja mech with multiple forms. Slashing him and throwing fireballs with reckless abandon, I almost lose sight of my own health as I watch his bar plummet. However, I dodge his final thrust and counter with a flurry of slashes to finish him off.
Cyber Shadow looks to deliver exciting challenges and fun gameplay based on the popular formula for decades ago. If what I played today is any indication, I'm on board.
When it releases, Cyber Shadow will hit PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
-
Publisher: 505 GamesDeveloper: Lab Zero GamesRelease: October 8, 2019Rating: Rating PendingPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Indivisible has been catching eyes with its incredibly beautiful hand-drawn and hand-animated aesthetic. The game comes from Lab Zero Games, the developer behind beloved fighting game Skullgirls. While Indivisible is hardly a fighting game, the DNA is indisputable.
Indivisible combines action, platforming, and role-playing elements to create something unique, challenging, and fun. While various fantastical settings are explorable over the course of the story, my Gamescom demo takes place in Tai Krung City, a bustling metropolis under the thumb of a ruthless crime lord.
Making your way through the city is straightforward, but you're going to need some platforming chops. From simple jumping across platforms and pogoing like Scrooge McDuck across dangerous electrified blocks to pole-vaulting upward to reach higher levels and sticking her spear into the ceiling to cross large gaps, protagonist Ajna has an eclectic and ever-growing arsenal of moves to help her tackle the obstacle courses that make up Indivisible's levels.
Platforming may be an integral part of getting to Ajna's destination, but it's not the only core mechanic. When you run into an enemy, you enter the battle screen and your party emerges. You bring three companions to fight alongside Ajna, but choosing your allies likely won't be easy; there are more than 20 recruitable characters, each with their own abilities, to add to your party. My demo party consists of Ajna, a support character, a mage, and a brawler.
In battles, each character is represented by a face button. When you want to attack with that character, you press that face button. Energy refills any time the character isn't attacking or blocking, with some party members having longer recharges or more attacks they can store up. When you attack with a character, you can modify using the d-pad for upward or downward strikes. When you get locked in an intense battle, it feels like you're executing loosely improvised combos in a fighting game, harking back to Lab Zero's fighting-game expertise.
The characters also have super moves, which use a shared super meter in the upper corner of the screen. Each time you land an attack, the meter charges incrementally. Finally unleashing a super is satisfying and powerful. I'm excited to figure out how to work them seamlessly into combos as I master the combat in the final game.
While we've covered the game on multiple occasions since its 2015 reveal, we're getting to the point where we're just ready to play the long-awaited RPG. Thankfully, the finish line is in sight; Indivisible launches on October 8 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with a Switch version coming some time after that.
-
Publisher: Private DivisionDeveloper: V1 InteractiveRelease: 2020
Disintegration takes a familiar conceit from tactically oriented games – the shot-caller who monitors the action from above – and adds a clever twist. “What we wanted to do was turn that camera in the sky into an active participant in combat,” says V1 Interactive’s co-founder, Marcus Lehto. The result, which we played at its Gamescom debut, smashes together FPS and tactical action to create a fascinating, fast-paced hybrid.
Players control a crew of A.I. companions, while monitoring the action from above. You’re not just an observer, though; your vehicle, known as a grav cycle, is kitted out with both offensive weapons and defensive capabilities. As your crew of mechanized buddies scrambles on the ground below, you direct their actions by issuing commands via beacons and button presses while also taking out rivals with your own attacks. It’s a tense feat of juggling, but it became second nature after only a few minutes of hands-on time.
Click here to watch embedded mediaLehto says the sci-fi game features a complete single-player campaign, but that’s not what we’re playing at the show. Instead, we’re dropped into one of the game’s multiplayer modes, a take on capture the flag called Retrieval. Here, two teams of four take turns on attack and defense, trying to nab volatile power cores and deliver them past enemy lines before the payloads explode.
Players can choose between several themed crews, which Lehto likens to motorcycle gangs. These have their own cosmetic flair (the Sideshows are like maniacal clowns, while the Warhedz look like they were pulled straight out of Mad Max’s world), as well as gameplay specializations. From the six crews I see in the demo, I pick the King’s Guard, which gives me the ability to fire charged bolts as well as drop a mine that provides a slow healing trickle to allies that come within its range.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
The match takes place in what looks like a refinery, with choke points to guard and side passageways to slip through if you’re lucky. I hang back at first, doing my best to support the team with heals and taking shots when I can safely take them, but that strategy gets old after a bit. I find that I’m able to be far more aggressive than I initially thought, focusing on enemy grav cycles while my A.I. buddies provide solid backup. Both matches end in a draw, but I’m eager for more. Unfortunately, we’re out of time.
V1 Interactive is a small team of about 30 developers, which Lehto says is important. He says he’s seen what can happen when studios get too large (he left Bungie in 2012), which is an experience he doesn’t want to repeat. If this multiplayer demo is any indication, his team not only has some great ideas, but can potentially deliver on them, as well.
V1 Interactive’s co-founder Marcus Lehto has quite the gaming pedigree. He co-created the Halo universe, and worked at Bungie when you could squeeze the entire staff into an elevator. I asked if there were any connections between Disintegration and the primordial version of Halo. “When I first started working at Bungie, I was working on Myth: The Fallen Lords, which is a real-time tactics game. It was a really fun game to work on, and then when we moved onto Halo, that’s exactly how it started – we were just reskinning Myth with a sci-fi skin to it before it took on its own life after that, as you well know. [Disintegration] actually started a little similar, as a spiritual successor to some of those roots of what I had done and worked on with the Myth franchise. That was the inspiration, initially, but that was the very, very groundwork. It quickly changed, and rather than you being the boots on the ground as well, it took on this role as the avatar in the sky.”
-
Hello reimkiller,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
reimkiller joined on the 08/22/2019.
-
Publisher: Sony Computer EntertainmentDeveloper: Other Ocean InteractiveRelease: October 25, 2019Platform: PlayStation 4
Fans of Sir Daniel Fortesque had a lot to be excited for when Sony revealed earlier this year that it had a remake of the first MediEvil in the works. Flash forward to Gamescom 2019 and we've finally gotten some hands-on time with this nostalgic return to Gallowmere. And from what we played, those looking for a more scenic trip down memory lane are going to be very happy.
Like the recent Crash and Spyro remakes, MediEvil is a gorgeous and (obviously) massive upgrade over the original game when it comes to visuals. The first game was inspired by Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and the remake does an excellent job of making everything look more akin to that stop motion class. The textures are smooth, the models more realistic than oddly shaped polygonal models, and the moon-adorned skybox is enchanting.
The simple gameplay from the original is more or less retained. Weapon impacts land with a heavy thud and you can feel the weight behind your sword every time. You can attack foes with a close encounters weapons like sword or Daniel's arm, which he can pop out of his socket. Long-range weapons like throwing knives help to whittle zombies and other foes down before you run in for the kill.
So far, MediEvil seems like it's going to be a real treat for players who adored the original game or those in search of a goofy, colorful hack & slash adventure when it comes to PS4 on October 25.
-
Publisher: Electronic ArtsDeveloper: Ghost GamesRelease: November 8, 2019Rating: Rating PendingPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
There’s little doubt among fans that Need For Speed is also in need of some new life. The series' past few entries have been bogged down by intrusive microtransactions, poor storytelling, and lackluster settings. However, a beautiful new Miami-inspired metropolis called Palm City – as well as a particularly chaotic implementation of NFS’s classic boogeyman, the street-racer hating police force – might do just enough to propel the series back to the top.
During Gamescom 2019, we got to spend 30 minutes fiddling with customization options and playing out two street races. There is a large array of customization options for those who want to deck out their rides. We were given a sleek looking Mercedes AMG to play with in a garage before the first race, and I spent a few minutes switching out various models of canards, wheels, splitters, skirts just to see how it would change the car’s look. Stance tuning, paint and decal options, and even modifying the sound of your exhaust are also options you can tweak. Alongside your car, you can customize your driver's hair, clothes, and shoes. There weren’t that many options in the demo, but they did run the gamut from mundane, like curly hair, to wacky, with you being able to don serial killer masks.
The difference between the two races in the demo are night and day – literally. The first race has you gunning around Palm City’s harbor, passing ships and dockworkers in a giant circle. Heat leans more in the direction of arcadey than realistic, with turbo-boosted collisions and spectacular particle effects creating the sorts of crashes that wouldn’t be out of place in The Fast And The Furious. Hitting the nitro, which slowly refills over the race, sends you barreling ahead at breakneck speed for a brief instance of time, letting you hit trees hard enough you rip them for their roots and smashing small walls to pieces. The nitro is also practical, with careful uses of it letting you overtake other racers at a critical juncture. Admittedly, outside of the spectacle and how satisfying it is to pull off a tight turn and eclipse your opponents, the day race is traditional, without any notable modifiers or hooks to make it stand out. The next race, which takes place at night, is anything but and does a great job of demonstrating the tension and surprising amount of emergent storytelling that Heat is aiming for.
The race, which took me and the A.I. controlled racers, through the middle of Palm City, crossing through busy intersections and tearing across bridges, started normal enough. We zipped down the road, ramming into one another as we vied for an early lead. However, once I hit the nitro, cop cars started showing up out of nowhere. Unlike the cops in Payback and the reboot, these officers were much more relentless – usefully so. Bumping into cops calls in more cops. When I realized that, I started ramming every one I saw, creating an influx of police cruisers that were smashing into my opponents’ cars and sending them flying off the road. My agent of chaos strategy eventually backfired, as one plowed right into me and forced me to lose the race. However, in the moment, the thrill was so exciting that the loss wasn’t even close to being a bitter pill.
That’s not where the fun ends either. After a night race concludes, the police will chase you, forcing you to evade them and seek out a safe house. This might sound like a chore on paper, but I found the experience immensely entertaining as I darted through alleyways and crashed through barriers in a desperate attempt to evade cruisers and SWAT vans as they tried to bounce me around like a ball. Hearing the officers have detailed, convincing conversations over the police scanner about what me and the other racers were doing also added to the tension and made the chase feel particularly cinematic.
In the end, the justice brigade got me with a spike strip and a fantastic pile-up spectacle that rivals any of the police chases I’ve had in Grand Theft Auto V thanks to the overwhelming aggression and limited means to fight back. There is no other means of defense except your skills behind the wheel. Be crafty or get caught, losing whatever prize money (used to buy upgrades for your car) you gained during the race while also gaining some reputation currency. It’s not clear yet what reputation affects in the game.
There remains a number of questions about how Heat will handle progression and storytelling. However, the strength and intensity of the demo we played as well as EA’s confirmation that Heat is ditching lootboxes entirely after Payback’s grindy inclusion of them has our hopes up that this entry might be the one that puts the series back on track.
-
Publisher: SEGADeveloper: Ryu Ga Gotoku StudiosRelease: August 20, 2019Rating: MaturePlatform: PlayStation 4
Yesterday, Sega simultaneously announced the existence of The Yakuza Remastered Collection and released the first part. The collection, which is initially available as a sort of season pass, includes remastered versions of the PS3 games Yakuza 3, 4, and 5, running at 1080p and 60 fps on the PlayStation 4.
I asked series producer Daisuke Sato why the games aren't getting the full Kiwami treatment, and he says it came down to a question of time. If his team were to fully remake those games, it would require their full attention and would take more than three years. Since the games featured in this collection were originally released on PlayStation 3, the visuals hold up significantly better than their PlayStation 2 predecessors.
Yakuza 3 is available now, and the next games in the series will be unlocked automatically as the team completes the remastering process. Yakuza 4 is slated for an October 29 release, and Yakuza 5 should be unlocking February 11, 2020. February 11 is also the release date for a limited run of physical copies of the game – the first time Yakuza 5 is available as a physical release in North America. To mark that occasion, the Day One Edition of the game includes a PS3 case for Yakuza 5, to let collectors fill the gap on their shelves.
Click here to watch embedded mediaI played a bit of the Yakuza 3 remake, and while it's a noticeable step down from the Kiwami games – crowds have a tendency to pop into view and the UI is a bit clunky – it's fairly easy on the eyes overall. More than anything, as someone who got on board with the series when Yakuza 0 was released, I'm excited to finally fill in an important gap in Kiryu's saga.
The Yakuza Remastered Collection is available for digital purchase now for $59.99, which is the same price as the Day One Edition.
-
Publisher: Focus Home InteractiveDeveloper: Spiders StudiosRelease: September 10, 2019Rating: Rating PendingPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Greedfall, an upcoming RPG from Spiders Studios, tasks you with traversing a dangerous world full of warring factions and a horrible plague with seemingly no cure. However, while you can certainly skewer your adversaries with your sword or blast them away with magic, your character is often better off solving their problems using their words.
After customizing your character, including choosing between male or female, you take control of De Sardet, a diplomat from the Old Continent, a plague-riddled, overpopulated, and polluted region. They travel to Teerfradee, an island rumored to hold a mysterious means for a cure.
As a member of a neutral faction De Sardet acts as an intermediary between the warring factions on Teerfradee. Many of the interactions you have with other people is through dialogue, with traits like charisma playing a major role in what kind of convincing they can get away with. However, if the action heats up, De Sardet is more than capable in a fight.
I witness the power of the De Sardet I’m playing during my brief hands-on demo as a herd of buff beasts known as Tenlan circle around her. Using her magic, I loft ranged light attacks their way, before getting up close for the killing blow: a short-range heavy attack in the form of an energy burst. I love how the combat feels, but if it’s a bit too chaotic for you, you can use a tactical pause to allow you to queue up attacks and strategies. If you’d rather keep things flowing naturally, you can also map many of the tactical pause abilities to the d-pad.
This De Sardet was upgraded with magic in mind, so she can also use short-distance warps to dodge incoming attacks and get the upper hand on enemies. However, that doesn’t mean she’s completely useless if things get physical; slashing through the beasts to finish off the last remaining creatures is satisfying and effective. You can also craft customization items for De Sardet’s outfit, which can also grant boosts to stats, as well as differentiate them cosmetically.
With Greedfall putting such an emphasis on interactions with other characters in the world, choosing the right companions for your current objective is critical. You can recruit five different companions: Kurt is a respected mercenary, Siora is a native to the island with a justifiable hatred of the xenophobic sentiments brought by the other factions, Vasco is a member of the thoroughly religious magic faction called Theleme, Petrus is a member of the high-seas-traveling faction known as Naut, and Aphra is a scholar from the science-focused Bridge Alliance. With so many different personalities and loyalties in this group, you need to be careful when you choose which two to bring on adventure with you.
In addition to forming relationships with these characters through side missions and conversation trees, you can also romance your companions; in the very first conversation in my demo, I shoot my shot with Kurt, only to fail miserably.
Greedfall is impressive and ambitious, with beautiful graphics, a fun combat system, and intriguing promises about how much power your dialogue has. Thankfully, the wait to launch isn't a long one, and it hits PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 10.
-
Click here to watch embedded mediaPublisher: Xbox Game StudiosDeveloper: The CoalitionRelease: September 10, 2019Rating: MaturePlatform: Xbox One, PC
Ever since Gears of War 2, Horde mode has been a staple of Xbox's bloody shooting franchise. The ceaseless exhilaration of digging in your heels and defending a point from progressively difficult waves of enemies has kept players coming back for more, and it's always exciting to see how the team behind the series ups the ante with each passing entry. With Gears 5, The Coalition keeps the core conceit the same – players join up with a squad to fight off 50 waves of increasingly difficult monsters – but the developer is changing several elements that turn the series mainstay on its head.
The biggest alteration is similar to ones we've seen in the game's other modes: the appearance of hero-shooter-lite mechanics. Much like Arcade mode in competitive multiplayer and the new Escape, the character you chooses has sweeping consequences for how you play. At launch, players can choose from nine characters: six from the Gears universe, two from the Halo: Reach universe, and one from the Terminator universe. Yes, you read that right: the launch roster consists of Marcus, Kait, JD, Del, Fahz, Jack, Emile-A239 and Kat-B320 from Halo: Reach, and Sarah Connor from Terminator.
For Gears 5's Horde, each character has a passive and an ultimate ability. While the passive abilities are important, ultimate abilities have the potential to turn a disastrous wave into a successful one. Hopelessly pinned down? Activate Kait's camouflage ultimate to turn her invisible and get the perfect flank on your enemies. Desperately need some backup? Del's ultimate summons tracker robots that target nearby enemies. Some ultimates also affect nearby allies, like Marcus' Living Legend ability, which grants him and all nearby players auto headshots. If you use that ultimate in conjunction with Fahz's X-Ray ability which lets him see and shoot through walls, he'll be able to blast away Swarm skulls through walls with deadly efficiency.
While the characters from Halo: Reach and Terminator are interesting additions, Jack is perhaps the most unique addition. Yes, Jack, the hovering robot that hacks things for the COGs. Unlike the other characters, Jack can't inflict massive damage. Instead, the handy little bot hovers around the battlefield, shocking enemies into a stunned state. Stunned enemies stand upright, opening them up to easy shots from Jack's allies. Jack can also boost teammates, making him extra handy. Jack's ultimate allows him to hijack an enemy on the battlefield and wreak havoc using all their abilities.
To encourage players to avoid just digging into a single spot and camping, enemies now drop power orbs, which players must collect if they want to level their characters and their perks within the match. Thankfully, the obtained power is split evenly between all teammates, so if you want to let the team dig in while a more nimble character like Kait (who also has a built-in safety net in her ultimate ability if things get too hairy), you don't need to worry about one character monopolizing the power-up points.
With Escape, competitive multiplayer, Horde, and the campaign now out in the open, Gears 5 is looking like compelling, robust package. I'm looking forward to seeing which modes I sink the most time into when it launches September 10 on Xbox One and PC.
-
Hello Xc3L,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Xc3L joined on the 08/21/2019.
-
Publisher: Annapurna InteractiveDeveloper: Sam BarlowRelease: August 23, 2019Reviewed on: iOSAlso on: PC
When everything is a lie, how can you discern the truth? Telling Lies asks you this compelling question as you scour through video clips of dishonest people, and the answers can only be found with your own intuition.
Telling Lies is an adventure game from the creator of Her Story, and it takes the same clever concept and interface to greater heights and success. In Her Story, you search through grainy video archives on a retro computer. Telling Lies uses a modern interface, but you still type in clues (like phrases or words found in clips you watch) that lead you towards new videos as you piece together an overarching narrative. While that may sound mundane on paper, it’s far from boring in its execution, thanks to phenomenal acting and a deep central mystery with many different threads.
Click here to watch embedded mediaYou play as a whistleblowing FBI agent who stole an NSA disk drive, and you plan to upload its contents to the public. The entirety of your time is spent watching, rewinding, and fast forwarding through archived video calls (as well as some clips captured by hidden cameras) found on that drive in hopes of understanding what happened to four connected individuals. I don’t want to spoil the mystery, but the main premise is about a special agent infiltrating a certain group of people, and what’s most interesting is how this mission affects his life and the people around him. What was the point of this mission? How did a cam girl get intertwined in catastrophic events? I was fixated on finding the answers to these questions and more like them. Telling Lies isn’t especially challenging, but that works in its favor; the thrill comes from making connections and watching the pieces fall into place without feeling impeded by mechanics.
The four characters are all lying about something to someone, which makes connecting the dots an exhilarating experience. However, you can only hear the audio and see the video feeds of one person at a time. Sometimes it’s abundantly clear who they are talking to, such as a father’s animated expressions and simple language pointing to the fact that he’s speaking to his young daughter, but other times it’s more cryptic. Hearing half the conversation gives you only a fragment of the information you need, and assembling the rest is a lot of fun thanks to thoughtfully placed clues. For example, a tattoo on someone’s chest led me towards discovering their identity, since the character’s words couldn’t be trusted. Sometimes you find the other half of a conversation, and the moments of silence or facial expressions on a previous video make more sense and give you a better idea of what’s going on.
The best thing about Telling Lies is the fantastic acting from its cast. Whenever something felt off, like a badly put on Parisian accent, there was a reason behind it rather than an indication of poor acting. I loved getting to know the characters and seeing different sides to each person made them complex and real. This consistency of writing and performance is particularly impressive considering the non-linearity; no two players are likely to watch the same videos in the same order, so the story works regardless of your path through the clues.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
Every character behaves differently depending on the situation. They may have a shorter fuse when talking to their wife in comparison to how they speak to their boss. I was utterly fascinated by a man who could commit horrible acts but still be a loving father, and by one woman who was adamant about keeping her identity secret.
Telling Lies is especially interesting in how its themes connect to real-world politics and ethics surrounding privacy when in the hands of a government bureau. I empathized with certain characters, particularly because of their conflicted motives. Viewing different facets of their lives made me feel like a fly on the wall, and this voyeuristic touch bounces between unsettling and engrossing when peeking into these private moments.
Once I discovered the answers to the central mystery, I didn’t stop playing – I continued to find every bit of video content I could because I was enthralled by the people in this world. Attempting to understand the psychology behind each character’s actions made me all the more invested and perplexed, because in Telling Lies, even the smallest fibs lead to the biggest discoveries.
Score: 9
Summary: Phenomenal acting and a deep central mystery make this voyeuristic adventure game something special.
Concept: Search through video calls compiled by the NSA to piece together a mystery about four liars who are all connected
Graphics: The desktop computer aesthetic will be familiar to anyone who has used a Mac, and the glare of a woman’s silhouetted reflection in the screen fits the voyeuristic feel well
Sound: Mellow background music evokes emotion at the right moments. The characters’ tone of voice helps you decipher what’s real and what’s not
Playability: Swiping to the left or right easily lets you scrub through video content, and the desktop interface is simple to use
Entertainment: Excellent acting from actors like Angela Sarafyan (Westworld) and Logan Marshall-Green (The Invitation) brings depth and realism to the characters and their stories
Replay: Moderate
-
Publisher: 2K SportsDeveloper: Visual ConceptsRelease: September 6, 2019Rating: Everyone 10+Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Like clockwork, every year NBA 2K releases, a segment of the gaming community picks up the megaphone and shouts down the MyCareer mode, which was often accused of being too grindy and too geared toward encouraging players to spend a little extra cash to ease the pain of raising your player from a 60 overall rating to a respectable level. NBA 2K19 made it easier to earn VC, but many (like me) argued it still took too long to get good and kneecapped an otherwise strong experience. NBA 2K20 hopes to make this complaint a thing of the past with a dramatically faster upgrade process.
You still start as a 60 overall player, but when I asked how long it takes to raise your rating to the 80s, senior producer Ben Bishop says "we're talking weeks instead of months." The change should encourage more users to create mutiple characters for use in the Jordan Rec League and the Park, which is a net win for the series. This eased grind is just one of the promising things we learned about NBA 2K20's revamped MyCareer mode. Here are the other noteworthy features:
New MyPlayer Builder Encourages Experimentation
Player development in previous NBA 2K games was a bit of a guessing game because you never knew how your player would top out and what they would feel like at their apex until you put in the hundreds of hours to get there. The new MyPlayer builder feature (which you can check out yourself today) gives you unprecedented control over your baller, allowing you to tweak their base values, choose their takeover, and set their potential cap for each major skill. The flexible system provides over 100 different archetypes to peruse, and once you've carved the outline for your player, you can actually test them out. Before you take them on the court, you can select the overall rating you want to try them out at and then assign your preferred badges from the giant list of options. NBA 2K20's revamped badge system breaks them down across four categories – finishing, shooting, playmaking, and defense/rebounding. Many favorites return, but the game also introduces 50 new ones. Bishop says you can save up to 10 archetypes, and once you start a career with a particular archetype you can clear out that build, giving you plenty of room to lab new builds and keep your favorites.
New Progression System Introduces Badge Flexibilty
To unlock a badge, you no longer have to grind a particular way. For instance, if you wanted to earn the Corner Specialist badge last year, you would have to take shot after shot in the corner. Now, the badge unlock meters track across the four badge categories, meaning no matter what shot you take, you are earning experience that eventually allows you to choose any badge in the category. Every time you level up one of the four categories, you also have a chance to respec your badges in that category, so you don't have to worry about wasting a valuable upgrade point on a badge that doesn't work the way you hoped it would.
The progression changes dramatically once you read a 95-overall rating as well. "Once you hit 95, then it becomes all about how you play, what competition you're going up against, and you're essentially trying to chase that 99," Bishop says. "So if you're winning games, you're playing really well to move up in small increments, you'll be going up by tenths of a point. You'll get to 95.6, 96.3. But the other thing that we've never done before is now this falls back, This has nothing to do with you deciding what to use your VC toward, this is just based on what you're doing on the court. So if you playing well, you'll go up and you're not playing so well you'll drop back down. The key there is to try and keep your level of play high so you can get up to 99. You won't fall below 95, obviously, but if you're not playing ball, you're just kind of be stuck there."
The progression from 95 to 99 is much more weighted toward competitive players than those who prefer to dominate the CPU in the NBA games. You can still get up to 99 playing in the NBA eventually, but
LeBron James Helped Produce The Storyline
This year's MyCareer story comes to us courtesy of SpringHill Entertainment, the production house created by LeBron James and his longtime associate Maverick Carter. Directed by Sheldon Candis, the story features arguably the best cast of any NBA 2K game to date, featuring star actors Idris Elba (The Wire, Beasts of No Nation) and Rosario Dawson (Deathproof, He Got Game), plus a who's who of NBA stars. The story follows the career of Che, a star player for the fictitious Bay City Flames whose career trajectory derails following a showdown with his head coach regarding the treatment of an injured teammate. Fighting through the controversy, Che must fight against the perception that his social justice position makes him a problematic locker room presence and rebuild his reputation during the Portsmouth Invitiational and Draft Combine. Do well enough and teams may ask for an individual workout. You decide which workouts to take, which is the game's way of having some say over which team you may ultimately end up on. As long as you don't stink up the workout, chances are one of those teams will take a flyer on you.
Locker Rooms Feel More Alive
The story cutscenes are still heavily weighted toward cracking an NBA roster at the beginning of your player's professional career, but Visual Concepts has also added more moments that play out in and around the locker room that make you feel like a bigger part of an NBA team. You'll see more cutscenes featuring your teammates and coaches, and instead of just one style of press interview you will occaisionally do full press conferences like past NBA games, be in the middle of a press scrum, or asked to do a one-on-one interivew.
Past games did a bad job of keeping you abreast of team and league happenings – sometimes you wouldn't even know if a teammate was traded until you walked onto the court. This year, a radio program plays in the background when you're in the locker room that keeps you better informed. If they mention a teammate went down with an injury, you will even see them getting worked on in the trainer's room on game day.
Visual Concept also added a nice flourish for winners. If you capture an NBA championship, you can experience the celebratory parade in the Neighborhood.
You Have More Control Over Your Career Trajectory
The modern NBA experiences seismic shifts when star players plot ways to play together, whether via trade or free agency. To better reflect this culture where players dictate roster creation almost as much as general managers do, MyCareer now offers more straightforward ways to influence your team composition.
"We had elements of this in the past, but one of the things you can do when you get to a certain level with the team is ask them to try to trade for some people, and also give them a list of people you want them to sign in free agency," Bishop says.
Once the team decides you are a critical part of their franchise moving forward you will get these tools to help determine your roster. Bishop says it happens a lot earlier in your career than it would in previous games.
-
Hello caleblood,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
caleblood joined on the 08/21/2019.
-
Click here to watch embedded media
Publisher: Bandai NamcoDeveloper: CyberConnect2Release: 2020Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
The latest trailer for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot showcases the inclusion of the Cell saga in the action/RPG as well as showing a glimpse of the game world where you'll fly around on a Nimbus Cloud, collect apples, and eat to gain strength.
The father/son relationship of Goku and Gohan takes center stage in the new trailer, foreshadowing the ultimate showdown with Cell.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot comes out for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC in early 2020.
-
Click here to watch embedded media
Publisher: CapcomDeveloper: CapcomRelease: September 6, 2019Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne releases on September 6, so it won't be long before players return to the game looking for Old Everwyrm.
Along with the trailer, Capcom has also released an almost hour-long dev diary for the expansion. Both give fans a look at Brachydios, Elder Dragon Namielle, and much more.
For further info on the game, click on our hub below with features from our recent cover story.
-
Publisher: Square EnixDeveloper: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos MontrealRelease: May 15, 2020Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Since the unveiling of Avengers at E3 2019, Crystal Dynamics has been pushing the notion that players will be able to realize the powers of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in unique, personalized ways. While a hands-off, behind-closed-doors demo at E3 gave us a vague idea of how the pieces fit together, we were left with more questions than answers. I met up with Crystal Dynamics to not only learn more about how the campaign and characters progress, but also play the first 20 minutes.
As we already know, Avengers is an original story focused on the superhero team’s fall from grace. The A-Day celebration meant to laud the Avengers backfires as a surprise attack on the Golden Gate Bridge serves as little more than a distraction for the heroes as the real threat involved blowing up the Avengers’ Helicarrier and leveling much of San Francisco. As the city struggles to pick up the pieces, anger and blame falls on the shoulders of the iconic Marvel heroes.
Putting The Power In My Hands
This attack sequence serves as the introduction and tutorial of the game. As such, it introduces you to the five playable heroes in rapid succession. I start out as Thor, who wields his mighty hammer Mjolnir. Using the hammer, I bash generic gun-toting enemies over the head with combinations that combine light and heavy attacks. Enemies attack Thor from all directions, but indicators appearing over heads and from edges of the screen alert me of incoming strikes. With a simple press of a button, Thor dodges and opens the enemy for attacks. Thor’s melee combat feels competent, but basic. It’s only once I start using his powers that the encounters feel exciting. Using the god’s lightning, I annihilate the enemies around Thor, finally giving me the power fantasy that should come with controlling the son of Odin. Once I knock around some generic troops on the ground, enemies appear on top of the armored trucks, but Thor can easily dispatch of them by tossing Mjolnir their way. Performing ranged attacks works just how you’d think they would: the left trigger lets you aim, while the right trigger fires. For Thor, that means hurling his hammer at foes, but for Iron Man, who I control next, it means firing his repulsor beams.
As I take control of Iron Man, it begins with an on-rails chase sequence above the bridge. While I control the general location of Stark as he flies over the battle, the automatic dodge is generous when things get in the way. After I shoot down the enemies he was pursuing, the on-rails section gives way to a battle similar to what the Thor section threw at me. However, using Tony Stark often means hovering above the battlefield and raining death from above. Hovering up and down is simple, with one button lifting Stark up and the other bringing him close to the ground. I pick off the enemies one by one, with several uses of Iron Man’s powerful Heroic ability, the unibeam, destroying anything he aims his chest at.
However, while I love Iron Man and his suite of abilities (he’s arguably my favorite of the original Avengers squad), my brief time controlling the billionaire hero was a bit underwhelming. Hovering above the battlefield feels good, but blasting at enemies from afar felt so detached from the action; a ranged hero should still pack some oomph. I also wasn’t a fan of how each time he took damage, he fell from the sky, only to have to float back up to hovering altitude if I wanted to regain my vantage point. In addition, every time I used Iron Man’s unibeam ability, it felt like slamming the brakes on the action as the camera zooms in and Stark slowly turns toward his targets. I’m hoping these various combat modes can be polished and made to feel a bit smoother, as flying around and blasting foes as Iron Man should be endlessly exciting.
Thankfully, the scene transitions to Hulk, who feels like the unstoppable force that he is. His power lies in his brute strength, and it’s a sight to behold. Hulk can punch with light and heavy attacks just like Thor, but holding the button for heavy attack lets him grab an enemy and slam them around mercilessly. Seeing the bad guy ragdoll as you slam him into his buddies is satisfying, and running from battle area to battle area is fun thanks to Hulk's ability to jump great distances and off flat surfaces. The Hulk segment ends with him taking out multiple enemies with his Heroic ability, his thunderclap, and destroying a couple tanks in brutal fashion. The game accurately captures the rage-induced rampages of Marvel's green giant.
The scene then transitions to the Avengers' Helicarrier above the city with a battle as Captain America. Cap is a bruiser who can toss his shield and bounce it off enemies like a pinball. While he’s still fighting generic enemies, his combat stands out more than Thor’s thanks to his ability to use his shield as either an offensive or defensive weapon.
The final scene of my demo put me in control of Black Widow as she takes on Taskmaster in a boss battle. After a framerate-dipping chase scene that has her riding on his back and punching him through various quick-time events as the other Avengers continue the effort to salvage the iconic San Francisco bridge, the two land on a stable surface and clash. Taskmaster’s signature ability is rapidly learning his enemies’ fighting styles, so I have to adapt each time he catches on to my tricks.
Thankfully, Black Widow has more than a couple tricks up her sleeve. She’s as competent in close-quarters melee combat as she is from long range, and she’s able to acrobatically get out of the way of Taskmaster’s charges. Her combination of martial arts skills and mid-range gunplay makes her arguably my favorite character to control in the brief time I spent with the game.
Charting A New Narrative
One of Crystal Dynamics’ main goals for Avengers is to tell a unique, all-original story starring the iconic heroes. "Think about how we reinvented Lara Croft," senior brand director Rich Briggs says. "Taking these iconic heroes and reimagining them ... that's just part of our DNA. It's always about that epic, character-driven action-adventure, and it's about telling an original story with these iconic characters."
The fallout of the A-Day disaster affects each of the heroes differently. Captain America is lost in the explosion. Tony Stark withdraws from the world, with no fortune or tech to fall back on. He feels as though he no longer has the answers for what the team needs to do. Bruce Banner begins questioning the role of superheroes and blames himself to the point where gets stuck in Hulk form. Black Widow returns to her life as a spy, as she feels guilty for not being there for Captain America. Thor’s attitude is that he’s no longer worthy to wield Mjolnir, so he leaves it at the Captain America memorial statue and works to serve the people of Midgard.
In addition, superheroes are now outlawed, and in their place is Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). Five years after the destruction of A-Day, superheroes are all but gone from the public eye, with AIM’s advanced synthdroid A.I. filling their shoes. However, part of that directive includes “protecting” the public from the super-powered individuals. While AIM puts on a public-friendly face, its pursuit of a society governed by technology could result in one of the biggest threats the planet has ever seen. Despite their reservations about practicing as superheroes again, the Avengers can’t sit idly by and let AIM reshape the world in its image.
With the heroes in disparate places physically and emotionally, the story of Avengers is about reassembling the world’s preeminent superhero team. You do this by traveling around the world and completing missions. While all I have to go off of is the tutorial sequence I played, Crystal Dynamics tells me the rest of the missions are more expansive, feature more difficult enemies and have fewer quick-time events. When you're ready to jump into action, you use the War Table to choose from two types of missions: Hero and Warzone. Hero missions are single-player, narrative-driven stages. These put you in the shoes of a specific member of the Avengers as you advance the story of the campaign. On the other hand, Warzone missions can be played single-player or co-op online with up to four players total. Because these are typically more open, you can choose any hero. Playing either mission type unlocks new content, and grants you gear drops to equip on your character.
Assembling Your Avengers Your Way
These pieces of gear are important to powering up your hero. Gear is specific to each character, so don’t expect to equip that new rare reactor coil to Black Widow. Gear items can boost stats like melee, defense, and Heroic, and if you match certain sets of gear, you can reap synergy bonuses.
You can also customize your heroes’ various skills and loadouts through large ability trees unique to each hero. For example, with Iron Man, you can unlock new abilities in categories such as melee, repulsor, laser, and rockets. You can customize your loadout however you want, and even swap between different versions of these powers on the fly using the d-pad.
With all of these meaningful customizations feeding into how each hero plays, you can create different archetypes for how you want to play. For example, one player’s Thor might be a close-range brawler with the health of a tank, while another player’s Thor could be a bit nimbler and rely more on lightning attacks. I’m excited to experiment with Thor and Iron Man to see if I can spec them to play a bit more to my liking than they were configured for my demo.
Outside of customizations that can affect gameplay, Avengers allows players to also dictate how their characters look. If you don’t like Tony Stark’s suit in the screenshot above, you can expect a host of other suits to choose from. While chatting with the team, I see suits ranging from mainstream to obscure, from Crystal Dynamics’ take on Captain America’s classic costume and Black Widow’s predator outfit to King Thor and Joe Fixit Hulk. These skins are 100-percent cosmetic, meaning if you have an all-time favorite Iron Man suit, you don’t have to worry about limiting Stark’s powers just so you can equip it. Some of these cosmetic skins can be earned in game, while others must be purchased from the store. The studio wasn't ready to talk about any other potential ways the title could be monetized, but the studio currently aims to keep everything in the store purely cosmetic.
The Road Ahead
If Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Hulk aren’t up your alley, Crystal Dynamics may have you covered. In addition to the SDCC reveal that Ms. Marvel herself, Kamala Khan, is in the game in some capacity (including the opening scene), new heroes and regions to complete missions in will be made available post-launch free of charge.
Avengers launches on PS4, Xbox One, Stadia, and PC on May 15. In addition, PS4 players will have first access to the beta prior to launch.
-
Hello retrotrut,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
retrotrut joined on the 08/19/2019.
-
Publisher: Square EnixDeveloper: Square EnixRelease: 2019Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
At E3 this year, Square Enix finally broke their silence on the lack of a Final Fantasy VIII remaster, long thought to be the result of a music licensing issue for the game's main theme or a complete loss of the game's source code, by announcing Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. While not an overhaul on the level of Final Fantasy VII Remake, it is a markedly improved facelift for one of the most divisive Final Fantasy mainline titles.
We now know that we won't have to wait long for the game to release, as it will be hitting September 3. You can check out the release date trailer below.
Click here to watch embedded mediaThe remaster boasts overhauled character models and, at least going by the trailer, seems to have all its original music still intact. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on September 3.
Oninaki Review – Floating Between Life And Death
in Game Reviews
Posted
In the world of Oninaki, death is inevitable, but the aftermath is different. Spirits who are grieved may become shackled to the living world, so everyone tries to approach death with a practical stoicism. However, when playing Oninaki, maintaining that kind of measured neutrality is impossible. This is an action/RPG full of highs and lows, with erratic swings between the two extremes that had me loving it one minute and hating it the next.
The last two games from developer Tokyo RPG Factory (Lost Sphear, I am Setsuna) emulate classic turn-based titles, but Oninaki has more in common with Diablo than Final Fantasy. You control a Watcher, a warrior who can cross the veil to the spirit realm and bond with wayward souls. These souls (called daemons) serve as your companions in battle, giving you weapons and abilities to manage hordes of encroaching enemies. Each daemon effectively serves as a complete build with different strengths and weaknesses, and you can swap among them freely. The speedy scythe daemon is great for mobility and crowd control, while the long-range gun daemon allows you to handle encounters from a distance. When Oninaki is at its best, you are taking down many foes by switching among your favorite daemons, deciding where and when to fire off special moves, and collecting the spoils left behind. It isn’t intricate, but it conveys a satisfying sense of power.
Click here to watch embedded mediaBeyond the basic loop, I also got hooked by the daemons’ layers of progression. They all have individual skill trees, and you earn points to spend the more you use each ally, encouraging you to keep a rotating stable. In addition to passive and active abilities, the skill tree unlocks memories that tell the story of each daemon and how their lives ended, which adds a cool narrative incentive to experiment with your full range of options.
Diving into these interlocking systems was my favorite part of the whole experience, but the depth in the menus doesn’t always translate to gameplay. The enemy types and formations aren’t diverse enough to require many different strategies. On one hand, that means that your favorite daemons and abilities never feel completely useless, but it also means that your approach to combat is more of an aesthetic choice than a tactical one. This fosters a creeping sense of pointlessness and repetition as you move from one linear dungeon to the next, because even as you gain new daemons, nothing seems to evolve in complexity.
Another major problem is how the battle system struggles to deliver on the boss fights. While most of the action seems tailored to accommodate many possible playstyles, some of the most critical encounters can only be defeated with a handful of viable strategies. Not only do these difficulty spikes feel unfair, but they also isolate players who may have invested in the “wrong” daemons. In these instances when timing and reactions are important, the sluggishness of the controls is especially damaging. If you didn’t spend your skill points on being able to cancel lag after certain maneuvers, you can easily find yourself helpless in the face of an onslaught, unable to dodge or heal as you watch your health drop.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
During the first few hours, Oninaki’s haunting premise was its biggest draw for me. You jump between realms, undertaking missions for the dead to set their minds at ease. The quest resolutions have surprising and dark outcomes, and you get wrapped up in a plot about reincarnation and a world-eating demon. Those pillars sound cool, but as the story continues, nothing floods in to fill the conceptual gaps. The plot beats and characters all feel like items on a narrative outline, but with none of the connective tissue that makes the events or motivations compelling. It feels like you’re watching the summary of a story, rather than experiencing it yourself.
No single flaw in Oninaki is damning, nor is any good quality redemptive. Some parts of the experience are genuinely fun and engaging, and others are baffling and frustrating. Like the real world and spirit realm in the game, the light and dark sides of Oninaki blend together as you move between them, resulting in a dull glow somewhere in the middle.
Score: 7.5
Summary: This is an action/RPG full of highs and lows, with erratic swings between the two extremes that had me loving it one minute and hating it the next.
Concept: Explore the mysteries of the afterlife as you plow through monsters with the aid of different weapons, powers, and spirits
Graphics: The environments in Oninaki have a gorgeous simplicity, but the rest of the visuals have an unimpressive, low-budget vibe
Sound: The music seems sparse, but I enjoy it when it kicks in. The voice performances (which are in Japanese) are minimal
Playability: Sluggish controls keep the action from feeling as fast and furious as it wants to be, but the overall mechanics are intuitive
Entertainment: Combat is fun on a basic level, but repetition and a lack of evolution blunt that over time. The story and setting also fail to live up to their initial promise
Replay: Moderately low
Click to Purchase
View the full article