R-Type Tactics I • II Cosmos - PlayStation 5 Review

R-Type Tactics I • II Cosmos by developer Granzella and publisher NIS America, Inc—Sony PlayStation 5 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher. #RTypeTactics #keymailer Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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Mass Effect Legendary Edition with Elysian Space Dust IPA – Beeps and Beers

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. Space Dust IPA is made by Elysian Brewing Company. Article by Nick.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

I’ll begin this by pointing out the obvious to anyone who is familiar with the Mass Effect games: clearly this one beer did not come anywhere close to being the only one I drank during my time with this game. Why? Because it’s actually a collection of three games that each can take about forty hours to play through. I started to replay these back on Game Pass some months ago, and have been thoroughly enjoying my time with the trilogy again as I near the conclusion of the third game.

So, with a trio of games that have been getting played for months, I found myself trying to figure out which beer I wanted to associated with these games, and rather quickly settled on the Elysia Space Dust IPA for obvious thematic reasons. Simply put ‘space dust’ is a fun tie-in to a science fiction game set out in space. That being said? It’s also a damn tasty IPA that I had the fortune of drinking very recently.

Odds are if you’re a gamer, you’ve at least heard something about the Mass Effect games, both good and bad. The first game’s combination of action / shooter gameplay mixed with meaningful choices throughout the story thrilled fans. Mass Effect 2 was a critical and commercial success that ranks atop many ‘all time’ lists from that era. Mass Effect 3 brought the story to a head and combined it with the best visuals and action gameplay yet, but a conclusion that certainly raised controversy. Oh, and Andromeda was pretty meh, and I am not touching that spin-off title again any time soon.

Hard to believe that the first Mass Effect game came out over fifteen years ago now. It was a title I had a bit of trouble getting into originally (more on that in a future article). Conversely firing it up in the Legendary Edition, it fit like an old glove. Given how long ago I played it, I was surprised at how much I still remembered about the game. Not just the major plot points, but many of the smaller details along the way as well. It was comfortable and familiar. Along the way you make numerous choices that impact how the story plays out, and both those small nods and larger plot points serve the series well as it feels like it is your story.

I’ve had Elysian’s Space Dust IPA in the past several times. I think the first time was several years ago now. It’s not one I get my hands on regularly. IPAs aren’t my go-to year-round, but I certainly enjoy a good one. I wouldn’t say it is a great one – but better than average. To my nose it's sort of floral sweet scent that leads into the first sip. It’s an interesting IPA that has some citrus sweetness right off the back, but that piney, hoppy bitterness shows up on the backend and lingers on the back of the tongue. It’s not a hazy / New England IPA, but there’s a hint of haziness to the initial pour. It’s worth noting that at 8.2% ABV, it’s a little stronger than the average IPA, but not quite up there with a double IPA either. There is a bit of complexity where the malts come through as it warms a bit, but I still prefer this one cold. In general, I prefer my IPAs colder than not, unlike some of the heavier stouts and porters that I sip on as I allow them to draw closer to room temperatures.

I specifically had this beer while working through Mass Effect 2. In particular while I was on the Citadel. Fans of the game no doubt are familiar with the options that your protagonist (Shepard) can leverage to get discounts at shops if he does an advertisement with them. My brain couldn’t shake the idea of him walking around going: I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite beer on the Citadel!

If you know, you know.

One of the really interesting things about playing these games through the Legendary Edition was the DLC. Because I was somewhat late to the game with the original Mass Effect, the DLC was already out. I picked it up and experienced it. Of note: the Pinnacle Station DLC from the first Mass Effect is not included in the Legendary Edition, because the source code was written by another developer who said it was now corrupted. That was not the case with Mass Effect 2 and 3. I played both games immediately upon release, and I never picked up and played the DLC that came later. As such, there were characters, missions and story elements that I missed out on the first time around. This of course includes the updated endings for Mass Effect 3, which just adds greater sense of completion and closure than the as-released ending had.

I mentioned above how one of the key elements to this series was how decisions I made along the way. Many of them quite difficult with no 'right answer' but more of a 'making the best of a bad situation' feel to them. There was a feeling that the choices Shepard made throughout the game really didn't have enough of an impact on the ending. I can see that perspective, I don't necessarily agree with it. I think in the end the writers for the series had a story to tell. They began it and ended it (with some variation in the end sequence based on a final choice made) the way they wanted, and allowed us as players a bit of room to color within those lines along the way. 

My only real grumble about this collection is the lack of multiplayer mode. It was a pretty big part of Mass Effect 3, and it was a survive multiple waves spin-off. I enjoyed the snot out of that mode back in the day. I played it almost every weekend for months. They regularly had weekend events that I kept track of and participated in as I tried to get the most out of the game's rewards. I get that not supporting an online mode likely made this rerelease faster and cheaper for EA, but I was still somewhat bummed by its omission.

The Legendary Edition of these games saw several improvements to visuals, gameplay mechanics, the aforementioned DLC – so it really is a fantastic collection of titles that will span many hours if you play them through from start to finish. While I had several other beers along the way, I felt like Space Dust IPA was probably the most thematically aligned, if not the best of the bunch I had along the way. It’s a good beer, but hardly one of the most memorable I’ve had to date. Conversely the Mass Effect trilogy is among my favorite video game series ever.

Score dropping time.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition: 9/10

Space Dust IPA: 7/10

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Ripout Preview

Ripout by developer Pet Project Games and publisher 3D Realms—PC (Steam) preview written by Pierre-Yves and Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated Reading Time:  6 minutes.

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Treated to a first look at Pet Project Games and 3D Realms' first person science fiction horror and roguelike Ripout, Richard and I took our first delve into this horror filled world. Tasked with a set of objectives and making it out alive, this will be one to keep an eye on as it travels through Early Access.

Set in the future once humanity has taken to the stars, you and up to three others can suit up to tackle abandoned spaceships in search of loot and hope in surviving the experience. Equipped with a living gun that can devour certain enemies, a standard pistol and an axe, each derelict ship will have plenty of horrors standing between you and safety. The catch? You can only move forwards in hopes of making it back to the ship. You don't want to leave empty handed do you?

Starting off with the atmosphere, it’s creepy and it doesn’t take long to set the mood. Barely lit corridors and sounds of things moving just outside your reach? You’ll want a few people along for the ride as it helps break that tension that settles in the back of your shoulders as you move forwards. Preferably with your flashlight turned on so that you can hopefully spot creatures reminiscent of the Dead Space series before they see you. Really made me think what the hell I had gotten myself into again…

These creatures are… gross? Scary? Definitely not the things that you want to run into once the lights go out. Currently split between arm like creatures, dogs and more giant humanoids, some will try to kill you immediately while others may take a few seconds to realize that you’re standing there. In either case, ammo is limited and while you have an axe… do you really want to get close to these space monsters?

So it’s a good thing that moving around these darkened husks full of monsters feels normal enough and aiming your weapons feels just like it should with a mouse. Where things may need a bit of an adjustment is that running doesn’t really feel like running per say and it uses up a lot of stamina to do so. Otherwise, your axe works great in a pinch, the pistol isn’t a bad choice, but your living weapon? Your pet gun for lack of a better word, should almost always be your go to regardless of if you have ammo left or not.

This is really where Ripout started to sell me on it. I’m not one for horror but when you can use horrors against horrors? I’m in. Basically having a laundry list of what it can do, your pet can detach itself from your gun to attack various creatures before they have a chance of getting to you. If you're running around, your pet can attack smaller creatures and steal what they have in order to bring back to you. If it’s an arm, it’ll give you an arm attached to your shoulder of limited use that packs for lack of a better word, a punch. Shoulder cannons are also an option as well as shield generators to take a few hits for you. It’s pretty awesome.

From these mechanics are where Ripout will either make or break your adventure. Ripout is a roguelike, not roguelite, and it has a variety of fangs just waiting to sink themselves into you. Spread throughout the darkened husks are a variety of upgrade stations that will allow you to pick temporary upgrades that last as long as your adventure does. Extra pet damage, extra health, health back on pet damage, axe damage, etc., there are upgrade stations per sector with three choices in each that you won’t want to pass up.

Currently win or lose, you’ll wind back up at your base of operations to select your next sortie. Not currently available, and I look forward to seeing how it’s implemented, there will be options to craft new armors and weapon upgrades through the components picked up while on your adventure. How many components will be required and how effective the upgrades are will need to be seen as they are implemented but it brings one more question. Just how much harder will each successive stage be, and what happens if it becomes too much? Time will tell on those items.

Finally, the one item that I would like to be implemented much sooner than later is how multiplayer is handled. Currently there’s an option to open a lobby and join a lobby. There are no ways to lock a lobby meaning that anyone could potentially drop in on your game or take up a spot currently reserved for someone else. This is about the only real issue I can see for the current moment in time short of needing to adjust the running speed.

Summary

Otherwise, I think Pet Project Games and 3D Realms’ Ripout is off to a good start. Mixing in a First Person Shooter with Science Fiction, Horror and Roguelike elements, it’s a good mix. The only thing from this point will be to see how well what comes next is implemented for both the PC and the eventual console release.

Score: N/A

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Richard's thoughts

P.Y. has covered all of the main bases for the gameplay, so I'm going to talk a bit about the issues I had that hopefully the devs will sort out. First up, let me tell you that the pet gun is really fun, but a little restricted. There are some enemies that are easily dealt with using the pet, but will replace your current "pet weapon", which you may not want. Minorly inconvenient, but reasonable. Another issue with your pet is that currently it can only be sent out to attack enemies while your primary weapon is equipped. Cue me changing to an assault rifle that's out of ammo just to grab a small enemy running around. Not sure if that's intended or not, but if so I'm on the fence about it.

Warning for you, there are environmental hazards, and they hurt. Electrical wires? Half your health gone. Literally. Throughout the demo, I took more damage from the electrical wires than I did enemies. Additionally, as P.Y. mentioned, you can select from one of three upgrades when the opportunity arises. There is not, however, anything preventing those three options from being the same. A few times I walked up to an upgrade station and saw the options listed as something like "pet damage increase, ax damage increase, pet damage increase" and I was a little sad.

Richard's Summary

I had quite a bit of fun with Ripout. Being able to shoot off portions of enemies, grab and use enemy parts or smaller enemies as weapons, and the ease of picking up and just going are nice. The ambience fits well, and the lighting isn't bad enough to the point it's frustrating, just enough to make you nervous. While there are a few issues here and there at the moment, that's what being in Early Access is there to solve. I look forward to seeing where this goes.

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Chernobylite Review

Chernobylite developed by The Farm 51 Games published by All In Games—Microsoft Xbox Series X|S review written by David with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes.

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Chernobylite is an engaging sci-fi title set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone that dips into half a dozen genres while keeping that realistic grounding. Inspired by the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, Chernobylite maintains its own identity and story. You play as Professor Igor Khymynuk, a former Soviet scientist working on a project at the Chernobyl power plant when the disaster struck. Thirty years later, a substance created by the disaster called Chernobylite is being studied by a private organization known as the NAR. Using technology associated with the substance, Igor returns to the Zone seeking answers about the disappearance of his partner, Tatyana, after receiving a pre-disaster picture of her.

The game opens with Igor having a disorganized nightmare that serves as a super brief tutorial before dumping you into the action, being woken up by the two mercenaries, Olivier and Anton, whom you've hired to help you get you through The Zone. Once awake, a more practical tutorial happens here mostly involving navigation and stealth and you have a moment where Igor volunteers without player input to take down one of the soldiers blocking the path forward. The stealth takedown prompt causes Igor to choke the man out from behind here and Olivier reprimands you for hesitating and not using the knife.

Following this moment, your future stealth takedowns will involve multiple graphic stabs to the chest from behind. On that note, it is a graphic game. Many game ratings mention graphic violence and gore, but most of them don't reach the head-bursting level of this title. Heads up for anyone not wanting to see a pretty messy bullet wound in their foes. The prologue continues, you get some Chernobylite, and then a big nasty guy in all black shows up, teleports, kills Anton, and then hesitates when they see your picture of Tatyana you dropped, giving you just enough time to escape.

Pripyat, the Ferris Wheel, and a downed chopper. How familiar was this view?

Chernobylite has an interesting story, and your comrades all have their own motivations and end goals, so the non-linear approach makes getting your team together and picking work for the day feel engaging rather than repetitive. Each day you organize your inventory for the day, outfit your allies, and either pick a section of the Zone to send them to, carrying out an objective like securing a food drop or simply clearing the way to make your own story mission easier to accomplish, especially if it takes some skills you personally don't have. No matter the goal, there's almost always more than one way to solve a problem. Stealth is helpful, but slow, and the longer you spend in the zone, the worse the storms that manifest become, and the more Chernohosts you have to deal with right up until the Black Stalker appears again.

The game reacts to your play too. The more you kill, the more allies and enemies acknowledge it. On day eleven, I started noticing helmets in places I'd previously made one-shot messes in. The Zone gains radiation, Chernobylite crystals take over more and more, you begin finding it consuming soldiers, and the Stalker comes sooner, all based on whether you craft and maintain environmental modifiers or simply make different choices. Crafting isn't such a prevalent part of the game as far as "build a shelter and survive" as it is "organize and allocate resources across your team."

You maintain a base, but it's premade. Health and Psyche are stats you all deal with, and the crafting is centered on those and field-utility. Maintaining your base involves air quality, radiation maintenance, comfort level, and making sure everyone has a good enough place to sleep. At the end of every mission, you give out food. From no food to a double portion, you decide how much each person gets each day. I didn't usually find a benefit in shorting people, but when we found enough I made sure those who did well, or who simply needed it, gained a double portion. Food affects psyche and health as well, which also affects performance on the next mission.

I hate dolls.

Every day is about choices. From who will go where, to how much everyone will eat, to what resources get used, Igor makes choices. Story missions though, these come with a choice of a different kind. Your comrades usually have an opinion too. Do you blow up Duga RADAR or use it to enhance your scanner. Do you leave a kid in a secret NAR prison where at least he's guarded or do you set him out to run through the Red Forest and hope the locals in a village there take him in, that he survives the trip? These choices are a bit less final though, because Chernobylite dips into roguelite territory, making death an integral part of the game. Upon death, you can spend Chernobylite to change certain choices. Some situations have multiple choices you can change that all affect the world and game when you return.

The game is scored beautifully too, from soft strings sneaking through the underbrush to heart-pumping crescendos as combat progresses. More than just the score though, the sound design is fantastic. Every crunch of grass makes me feel immersed, the lighting combined with these crank that spooky factor way up as soon as the sun goes down. When you've rounded a corner in a brutalist apartment building in Pripyat, relying on your flashlight or a thermal scope, holding your own breath so you can tell what's Igor and what's a lurker gasping it's way toward you in the dark.

Everybody got a double portion this day, I showed up with 12 myself.

The gunplay is pretty comfortable, and while I wouldn't call ammo scarce, I also wouldn't advise mag-dumping your AK. Back at your base, you can craft weapons you need, if you need to, and each weapon has a range of customizations available to assist in your play style. My AK is a full-on sniper with the way it's customized, with a drum mag to make that semi-auto last longer, and my shotgun has the Thermal on it for when my light is less than helpful. My go-to though is my Big Iron. The first gun Igor gets is a revolver. I've got a double-cylinder mod for extra ammo, a "sniper" barrel that suppresses and extends the functional range, and just a closed red-dot to aim before I paint. Works though, at least until the helmets started appearing and making me adjust my aim.

Summary

Chernobylite is a captivating first person shooter adventure that blends survival and roguelite elements into a thoroughly engaging, conspiratorial sci-fi/horror mystery to unravel.

Score: 9 / 10

 

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Worth the wait? Mass Effect 3 - Extended Cut DLC

I have given a lot of coverage to Mass Effect 3 at this site so far, including a review where I gave the game high marks despite the controversial ending.  While I did not mind the ending, it was quickly made clear that a lot of other fans felt that it was a complete disservice.  I never fell in-line with that thinking, but I did feel like the ending was lacking in impact from your decisions and it felt a bit undercooked.  Shortly after the public backlash over the ending to Mass Effect 3, Bioware promised an Extended Cut DLC that would not fundamentally change the ending, but add context to what was already out there.  So how did it fare?  Warning - spoilers ahead!

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