The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Wii U Review

Like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess before it, Breath of the Wild almost didn't release on the console that it was originally intended for. Unlike Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild actually released side by side with the newest console and its version of the title. Was it worth it to do both hardware generations? I would say so.

I'm going to start by stating two of my biggest issues. The first? To be expected, Breath of the Wild is graphically inferior to its Switch counterpart. Yes I believe that we all saw this coming but I still expected smooth edges like Twilight Princess and Wind Waker instead of fuzzy ones when it came down to the character models. The second? The original concept saw the use of the Wii U Gamepad for inventory and anything else that would have otherwise been on the screen to leave a clear view of Hyrule while also leaving all the the other information in your hands. This was scrapped instead lining it up with the Switch's version. It's not to say that you can't hide the HUD (short of your hearts), but if you do you still won't have the information in your hands as the only option that it gives you is to play off the Gamepad instead of your screen.

With that out of the way? Wow. The rest of Breath of the Wild is gorgeous. The vast landscapes are incredible to explore and the colors that are used only complement these explorable reaches. Grassy hills, mountain ranges with snow covered tops, you name it, it looks pretty. This is only accentuated by the trees, the animals, the fish, the swamps and the monsters that live in them making the world feel alive. The best part of it all? If you see something in the distance you can get to it.

For once on his adventures our re-re-(add exponent here) incarnated protagonist Link is unrestricted in where he wants to go. There are no invisible walls. There's no getting stuck on a tiny ledge that a simply larger step could cover. It's too high to walk up or jump? Link can simply climb up. You want to go left instead of right? Nothing is stopping you. This time the adventure takes you where you want to go. Something you just have to think about it. Oh yeah! Link can also actually jump. That wasn't a typo.

This new freedom for the series is more than just where you want to go. It also brings in a freedom from the hand holding that the series has been known for in the first few hours of most of Link's adventures that simultaneously act as the tutorials. Now? Just like the world you are free to learn as you explore. Would some details have been nice off the bat? Maybe. Did they need to be? Nah. You'll learn the new dodging system soon enough after seeing a Game Over screen or two.

Like exploring the world, there are also plenty of ways in order to bite the dust. Fall from too high, jump into an icy cold late, run out of stamina while swimming or taking on a badass that can cut you down in one hit. If Link loses all of his hearts then it's Game Over. Running out of stamina while swimming or falling off of a bottomless cliff will remove health and put you back onto the ledge as is standard for the series. Making it through these sections just means that you sometimes have to be a bit more creative with your approach and there's plenty of room for creativity.

Breath of the Wild while not being as technically advanced as Horizon Hero Dawn (which Breanna, Marc, Robert and I are all currently going through), is a lot more free in its approach and design. Nintendo have knocked this one out of the park. You can climb, you can swim, you can surf down a hill on your shield or sneak up on an enemy to take them out silently. Link can now stealth as well as instantly switch between his available shields, swords, hammers, two-handed weapons and his ranged arsenal. Further equipped with Runes and a slate that half looks like a Wii U Gamepad and half looks like a Switch (You know with the Switch really being a Wii U Gamepad with removable sides) there's more than one way to approach a situation.

A lot of these features are nothing new to gamers but they are new to this series. I used Twilight Princess as my benchmark for "maturity" but between this somewhat darker story line with bright colors AND gameplay elements? Breath of the Wild can now take that crown as well as my number one replacing A Link to the Past. This new adventure with its freedom also leaves room for the above mentioned creativity. Want to take out a group silently at night in their sleep? Go for it. Want to hit the explosives nearby taking out an entire other group around their campfire or inside of their skull shaped cave? Go nuts. Have enough arrows to shoot them all down so you don't even need to take out a melee weapon? Make sure you aim for the head as headshots are a thing and they do double damage. Just make sure that your gear is up to the task.

Link's gear now comes in a "durability format"! Shields can only take so many hits, or hills to be slid on, weapons can be used to hit so many times and range weapons can only fire so many shots separately from the ammo count. There isn't a counter for these which would have been nice but there is a warning that your gear is about to break and when it does? It slows down time as the gear explodes in a shower of sparks giving your brain the two seconds to catch up and hit the weapon selection options.

The first pieces of equipment that you pick up are about as useful as firewood. No really. You can set things on fire. Grass, trees, weapons, shields and even enemies! The later aren't fond of it and come to think of it neither is nature. But anyways. The first stick you pick up is good for a couple of hits before breaking. Breaking this stick over your enemies head yields your first weapon however so the stick served its purpose. Then you get the next one, and the next one, and then you realize that your weapon inventory is full. Don't worry as it'll be empty soon enough though you are never truly without the resources to save yourself. Unfortunately Link can't just punch someone...

If, and I mean IF, you manage to go through all of your weapons and all of your arrows you will still have your Runes that provide you with Bombs. Bombs are interestingly enough not out of a pouch with a limited number but instead an unlimited resource with a "respawn time". Coming in either circular format to roll around or square format to simply sit there, either of these can blast an enemy away which if it doesn't outright kill them could possibly have them drop their weapon for you to use. Any bad situation can be turned around if you are resourceful enough. That or just lucky.

This is not The Legend of Zelda that we grew up with. We are not given a sword because it's dangerous to go alone. We aren't given a sometimes… no… often annoying companion that spells everything out for you. We aren't even given jars to worry about as we wonder when the next one will show up. Given nothing from the start but a pair of pants and a shirt, it's up to you to take control of Link and figure everything out. Just keep in mind that you never know if it will work or not unless you try.

Taking a club to a tree and you may hear your subconscious laughing at you. Take a sword and it may start to worry a little bit. Taking a woodcutter's axe and you can yell timber as it's coming down. Use a bomb? Get out of the blast radius you fool! Bright side is that it will come down. Flipside is that unlike the axe you won't really be able to control the fall. Why would you want to? You would want to because a falling tree could be used as a bridge which is another area in which Breath of the Wild shines. There's more than one way around and trial and error is the only thing that stands between you and wherever you are trying to go. Which leads to cooking.

Like your equipment, food plays an integral part of your adventure. You can pick up apples, fish, hot peppers and meat from animals on the field but it isn't until you find a cooking pot that it hits its full potential. By placing up to five ingredients into the pot wonders can be born. Mushrooms skewers, spicy peppercorn steak, roasted Hylian bass and so much more. The base ingredients will restore a bit of health but the advanced dishes will restore health as well as add in some bonuses such as faster stamina regeneration or protection from the cold.

Cooking pots can do more than just cook food. By adding in monster parts to a "recipe" Elixirs can be created into of food dishes that while they will not restore any health, they can do a number of other things such as protect Link from electricity or make him run or swim faster for a period of time. The concept is the same as making a food dish I just hope that you don't mind mixing in bugs and monster parts such as their guts or horns.

All of this comes full circle while exploring as one element always adds to the next. Keeping warm when in the snowy reaches can be done with a spicy dish or with warm clothes if you have some. Just remember that if you do the cooking route you need the ingredients otherwise when Link gets too cold he loses health. Climbing a hill or a mountain becomes a lot harder when it starts to rain and then to downpour making you have to find another way around which could lead to monsters and if you're not prepared it won't be a pretty fight. Get too hot? Layers have to come off. Just remember to take off your metal equipment during a thunderstorm.

With all of this, all of the features, what's the point? There's no sugar coating this time around. Ganon one-hundred years ago attacked and decimated Hyrule while also defeating you. Placed in a rejuvenation chamber by the Princess Zelda, you are only now waking up and will need sometime to get back on your feet. Don't take too long though as Zelda is waiting but somethings can't be rushed which is why there are loads of distractions along the way.

The map of Hyrule is enormous and is split into regions with giant towers, ala Assassin's Creed, in which if you climb to the top you can gain a lay of the land. From up here it becomes easier to plan your route by placing waypoints that will act as marker on your minimap. More than that is that up here you can more easily spot challenge Shrines that act as both quick travel locations and a source of upgrade points.

These challenges are nothing like an actual "Temple" but they are fun and act as a good distraction to the main quest. Not only are they a good distraction but seeking out these locations can really help moving about the world because of the quick travel possibilities that they offer. Nothing is required to fast travel. No money, no resources, just good old fast travel from one unlocked point to the next. More than that, is upon completion of a shrine the monk at the end of the trial will grant Link an orb that can be used to increase his health or his stamina when four are offered up to a statue of the Goddess. This leads into your final set of choices.

Do you upgrade your carrying capacity for your weapons? Your shields? Or do you upgrade your carrying capacity for your ranged weapons? These choices come from collecting Korok Seeds from the children of the forest and bringing them to a very large fellow who's pretty good on his maracas. Like the health and the stamina, like the direction you choose to explore, that choice is up to you and how you feel at that particular moment. I quite liked expanding my melee repertoire first.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an amazing experience. While the Wii U version isn't as pretty as the Switch's, it still looks great once things get running and your eyes adjust to how it looks compared to its upgraded form. I am disappointed in the lack of the original Gamepad features that I had been looking forward to but compared to the rest it's something that disappears fast enough. Wii U owners do not have anything to worry about if they didn't manage to get a Switch as the core experience is of the same grade.

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Wii U
Developer(s):
Nintendo
Publisher(s):
Nintendo
Genre(s):
Adventure
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Nintendo Switch

Source:
Purchased

Article by Pierre-Yves

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch Review

The very first feeling I got from Breath of the Wild was this in a nutshell. Wow! Starting off with "Hey Link, glad you're alive, now GO!" pretty much made it the greatest intro that I could of asked for from someone who absolutely hates tutorials. Sure they give you little hints here and there, a few popups indicating which buttons do what, how to attack and block, but this game gives you nothing to work off of, and it's amazing.

100 years prior to the start of the game, Ganon was victorious over Link and his band of heroes, kidnapped Zelda and basically sent the land of Hyrule into utter chaos while he builds his strength in order to destroy it in the future. Zelda as an insurance policy sends Link off into a regenerative chamber where he is to rest and recover to hopefully one day come back to save her and all of Hyrule. Link eventually wakes up with amnesia and must then venture out and discover his past memories of who he used to be, as well as all the memories of those he fought bravely with in the past, ultimately leading up to a future encounter with the "Calamity Ganon".

Right out the gate, you start a directionless adventure where you get to chose your own path. The quest for weapons however starts now. Every weapon has a durability, wooden are more fragile while metal can usually last a few enemies until you start to get more and more special weapons. If you are expecting a swing away and never break your weapon type of game… this may surprise you a little bit as that won't happen. Aside from the weapons, the sets of armors are very cool and you can eventually upgrade the armors together as a full set and they will give you bigger bonuses.

Stamina makes its way back into Breath of the Wild as a core to Link's exploration. This places limitations on sprinting, swimming, or even climbing up the mountains making for more creative ways to go around the obstacles rather than running in a straight line or around invisible walls.

Speaking of creativity, where as the other Zelda's had you rely on potions and fairies to stay alive, Breath of The Wild has you cook. You can gather fruits, veggies, plants, frogs, insects, and so on. There is a ridiculous amount of combinations you can create ranging from healing 1 heart to 8+ and some will have special effects added, so being creative with your cooking can really pay off. There is also the fact that you can add monster parts into the mix and rather than having a healing item, it instead creates what are known as Elixirs, offering stats such as more stamina, or temporary boost of health, making you think twice before selling any of these materials, as they could be used for other purposes instead.

Anyways back to the game. This world is HUGE and by far the biggest, most vast world that The Legend of Zelda series has even seen. This doesn't mean that there is a ton of empty space and everywhere you go will simply take a long time. There is TONS to do in this world. There are 100 shrines which are mini puzzles that reward you with Spirit orbs, and after 4 shrines you can either upgrade your health or stamina. Outisde of these shrines there are plenty of monsters with bonus chests for clearing out their camps and hidden chests that require you to use your "runes" (extra powers you unlock as you go). Then to add another layer there are Kokiri kids who when found give you Korok seeds which allow you to unlock more weapon, bow, or shield slots.

There is simply so much content to this game and not once does it feel like it forces you to go more left than right, no hints (Editor's Note: Other than the Zora who can't simply "let" you find the way to their Prince. They are pushy...), and no directions. This game is entirely put into the hands of its player. Everything I have completed so far "outside of the main quest" has been simply because I felt like doing so. Breath of the Wild is reminiscent of an older generation of games with no help; everything had to be figured out on your own. Being prepared has much to do with the difficulty of encounters as if you wander too far without proper gear replacements, or a good supply of food, even a small encounter could turn difficult. Whether it's hidden armors, difficult shrines or simply how to take on a boss of the area, everything gives off a sense of reward and accomplishment.

While exploring, everything can make your life difficult from small ramps to cliffs over to thunder storms. The environment can be as treacherous as a group full of enemies. The first time a thunderstorm hit I was holding onto a metal sword and shield, and I noticed link giving off a crazy amount of static all of a sudden. After switching to a wooden shield that I had, and sadly no weapon, I noticed the static was gone. But for purely scientific reasons I re-equipped my metal gear, simply to get completely exploded… I am fairly certain it would 1-shot you at any amount of hearts. Good to know. The rain was another interactive part of the game as it could prevent you from climbing the simplest mountain by making you slide right back down when you attempt it.

A quest log filled with all sorts of quests ranging from "Kill Ganon" to please take a picture of this monster over to please collect me some frogs helps keep track of what you are currently up to. The wide range of things to do has had me running around for almost meaningless rewards. If asked why I did all that, I would reply with "Why wouldn't I?" as I loved every second of it.

The graphics from this game are fantastic. I love the shadings used, and the types of animation. I find it strange that they only applied voices to very specific characters at specific times but it flows very well. My only issue with my current play through of the game is a few FPS stutters, but only when I am playing it on the dock. In handheld version it seems to be working fine and has yet to "FPS lag".

As a whole I believe that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a solid game. It was not only innovative in its way to keep us busy and give us all the choices we could possibly want, but it lets us be creative with how we want to explore, solve puzzles or even create our own strange recipes. Breath of the Wild has given us a great expectations for the future of The Legend of Zelda series and was an absolutely fantastic launch tittle for the Switch as well as an amazing closer to the WiiU (Editor's Note: Damn right it is! <- That review is tomorrow). I couldn't of asked for better.

I was debating reducing a bit of the game's score only leaving out a small fraction for the graphic difficulties that the game can give you at times. But even with that, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild surpassed all of my wildest expectations and gets an easy 100% from me.

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Nintendo
Publisher(s):
Nintendo
Genre(s):
Adventure
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Nintendo WiiU

Source:
Purchased

Article by Marc L.

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News - Square Enix Collective Exclusively Signs Old-School WW2 Shooter ‘Battalion 1944’

The Square Enix Collective is on a role for the titles that they've been picking up of late and Battalion 1944 is no exception. Several members of the team are fans of shooters and I think this one will easily with a home with us.

Here's the Press Release!

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Square Enix Collective Exclusively Signs Old-School WW2 Shooter 'Battalion 1944'

Return to raw, skill-based multiplayer FPS on PC, PS4 and Xbox One

London, UK - March 9 2017: Square Enix Collective®, the platform that brings diverse and quality indie titles to market, has inked a deal with Derby-based Bulkhead Interactive™ to exclusively publish 'old-school' multiplayer WW2 shooter Battalion 1944™ on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

This time last year Battalion 1944 smashed its crowdfunding campaign with a promise to recapture the core action of classic multiplayer FPS game and propel WW2 into the next generation. Having grown up playing the sensational WW2 shooters from the turn of the century, the designers at Bulkhead Interactive have utilised the most up-to-date industry technology to create a visceral and heart-thumping multiplayer experience featuring raw, skill-based infantry combat across tight, focused, and competitive maps.

After the huge success of last year's The Turing Test™, Bulkhead Interactive chose once again to partner with Square Enix Collective for their latest title. Fans are the heart of multiplayer games and by choosing to work with Square Enix Collective, Bulkhead Interactive knows the task of expanding and nurturing Battalion 1944's community is in very experienced hands.

"From having partnered with Bulkhead before on the hugely successful The Turing Test, we know they're a very talented studio making great games", said Phil Elliott, Director of Community & Indie Development at Square Enix® Limited. "We trust Joe and the team as we know what they're capable of and we see them actively listening to their community. Our relationship is built on a foundation of minimum publisher interference with maximum support where needed. We'll help nurture and grow the community while Bulkhead can focus on crafting a fantastic FPS experience with Battalion 1944".

"We received some strong offers from other very big publishers on Battalion 1944. But ultimately, the one team that really stood out for us was Square Enix Collective", said Bulkhead Interactive's Senior Game Producer Joe Brammer, "Why? Because they published our previous game, The Turing Test on PC, so we've gotten to know them well and that means we know how they work. Crucially, we know that the relationship will be based on trust; and that's something which works both ways".

Joe continued: "On the one hand, we know that Phil and the team will come to us with suggestions or ideas but they'll leave us to make the creative decisions. On the other hand, from past experience we know they'll trust us (as FPS players) to make those decisions in the best interests of the game and its community and that we'll keep our heads down, work hard, and design the best game possible. Not only that - and it shouldn't be assumed even now - but the deal enables us to keep all IP rights to Battalion, and it was exactly the same thing with The Turing Test. So what Collective is doing is helping us build a sustainable business".

To announce their partnership, the team at Bulkhead Interactive released the following video explaining why Square Enix Collective is the ideal publisher for Battalion 1944: youtu.be/Ub1kUg670LU

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Article by Pierre-Yves

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DYSTORIA - PC Review

I am never, ever, going to look at a retro arcade station the same way again. Especially not in Canada! Walking outside in shorts along a small street in a Canadian town (obviously that one month of summer heat we get) you come across this retro arcade system titled DYSTORIA. Thinking to take it for a spin you are instantly abducted and brought to outer space. The machine was a front for alien abductions and you my fellow Canadian for the purpose of this conversation, are the new pilot and it's time to test your mettle.

DYSTORIA has a retro feel while taking the idea of an arcade shooter into another direction. Your ship, at nearly all times, will float above any surface that it finds itself on. Flying around cubic shapes is as easy as hitting forward on the throttle and leaving the rest of the work to your onboard systems. Your ship will simply follow the surface underneath. Just make sure you don't have motion sickness or vertigo because some of the environments allow for some crazy flying.

Sense of direction is important but more than simply a left right up down sense. What was once down could then become up while moving around an object and when you meant to go right you could be going left. Sound confusing? Because it can be. Even if the beginning stages take it easy on you it's not long until you wonder where the hell you're going. Thankfully your abductors provided you a map! Unfortunately it's a zoomed out map and it always defaults back to the direction you were looking sometimes making you just as lost as before you decided to take a look and plan out your route.

Having a good sense of direction in real life I could get frustrated at this but that just meant that I had to work harder at getting it right. It takes some time and that time should be given as the rest that follows is worth the directional confusion. Each stage has an objective such as collecting all the orbs or destroying all the enemies. Completing these objectives requires flying around giant random space objects that can either be entirely one piece or be linked together by moving parts.

Regardless of the configuration, there'll be several enemies between you and your objective. Enemies come in different flavours and not all of them are bound to the same rule of being stuck hovering upon these objects. Sure you too can manage to free float but then a timer starts counting down for you to reconnect to the "ground" of the stage. This is where things get tricky. Well tricky"er". Your ship can only shoot straight. Alright that's fine I'll just tilt over a bit… nope. Literally straight. This adds an interesting depth to the experience because the stages can definitely be used to your advantage with using corners for cover and using ledges to adjust your aim to enemies in the distance.

Loading DYSTORIA I could only think of one thing and that was if this supported VR then I would need to make a visit over to Nick's to borrow his Oculus. While not designed for it, it could be with both a third person view as well as a first person looking out through the glass of your cockpit. This can either be quickly viewed and then let go of or fully toggled to remain that way.

The nice thing about each stage is that you can spend as much or as little time as you want inside of them. Want to simply meet the objective and move on? Go for it. Want to stick around and destroy every enemy and pick up every collectable? That works too. Sticking around is generally the better of the two as it lets you pick up materials in order to unlock other ships to fly around in.

DYSTORIA was a lot of fun and visually made me think of older games back on Windows 95/98. Invoking a good retro feel and having smooth controls with a wild idea of hovering across giant space objects while shooting enemies and dodging their fire was a blast and well worth getting lost and trying to find my way around.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Tri-Coastal Games
Publisher(s):
Tri-Coastal Games
IndieHound
Genre(s):
Puzzle
Shooter
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
None

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Nintendo Switch - Hardware Review

In what was possibly the softest console launch in my more than three decades of gaming, the Nintendo Switch finally released last week. The compact console comes full of interesting ideas, but some questionable design choices make this a system that is going to appeal to a very distinct audience. Thankfully my family falls into that audience, and we have gotten a tone of mileage out of it in its first week since launch, but there is a lot of room for improvement here as well.

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Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove - Switch Review

Shovel Knight has proven to be one of those games that really just doesn't age. It's hard to believe that the title's been out for a few years now, but the retro visuals, outstanding music and challenging yet addictive gameplay allows it to hold up as time passes. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the definitive version of this title to date as it pulls the first three games into a single package for the newly released Nintendo Switch, and the end result is as much fun as ever.

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Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force - PC Review

Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force is an adventure JRPG originally released in 2013 as Fairy Fencer F, and then re-released in 2016 with the additional subtitle “Advent Dark Force”. Now it’s gotten a PC port like its predecessor. Not to be confused with a sequel, Advent Dark Force is a re-release of the original Fairy Fencer F with some additional characters, extra storylines, enhanced mechanics and a larger base party size.

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GTA Online: A Vision of Los Santos, Post-Red Dead Redemption 2 - Gaming Thoughts

GTA Online, Rockstar Games’ massive juggernaut of a multiplayer title is looking ahead to tough times - at least, if the rumors about it getting bumped back to second row when Red Dead Redemption 2 launches are to be believed. Thing is, they’re not, and there are a handful of reasons why players shouldn’t regard the rapidly approaching autumn release of the Wild West title as some kind of impending apocalypse.

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News - Deck & Dice Tactical RPG 'Children of Zodiarcs'Signed to Square Enix Collective

CHILDREN OF ZODIARCS has been something on my personal radar since it hit Kickstarter. Many of us here at CGR are fans of Strategy RPGs and the fact that this looks like the Final Fantasy Tactics Sequel that we never got? It's only made better since Square's Collective picked it up!

Want to know more about it? Here's the Press Release!

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Deck & Dice Tactical RPG 'Children of Zodiarcs' Signed to Square Enix Collective

Play the new level and hero at PAX East 10-12 March
 
London, UK - March 2 2017: Children of Zodiarcs™, the deck & dice single player Tactical RPG, has been signed to indie publisher Square Enix Collective®. Montreal-based developer Cardboard Utopia will be demoing the playable game - featuring a new level and hero - at PAX East in Boston from 10-12 March.

Developed by small team of AAA veterans with a huge passion for board games and collectible card games, Children of Zodiarcs is a return to classic single player Tactical RPGs from the era of the first PlayStation®. Layered on top of grid-based combat arenas, deck building and dice crafting gameplay mechanics combine strategy with controlled risk to build tension, anticipation and excitement. Having raised five times their Kickstarter goal in a highly successful crowdfunding at the start of 2016, Cardboard Utopia is partnering with Square Enix Collective to release Children of Zodiarcs on PlayStation 4, PC and Mac later in 2017.

"What we're creating at Cardboard Utopia is a game crafted with love and care to recapture the spirit of the Tactical RPGs of our youth; the same kind of games Square Enix has been publishing for decades", said Jason Kim, Creative Director at Cardboard Utopia. "For us, we could not have found a more fitting partner than Square Enix Collective to help us bring Children of Zodiarcs to market".

"The addition of the wonderful Children of Zodiarcs to Square Enix Collective is a huge boost to our campaign of delivering a fantastic line-up of varied and quality titles to gamers through 2017 and beyond", said Phil Elliott, Director of Community & Indie Development at Square Enix London. "We're proud the highly experienced team from Cardboard Utopia chose to partner with Square Enix Collective".

Game Designer Axel Baldoni is excited to demo the game at PAX East this March: "It's been a while since a good, original IP Tactical RPG has been released. Children of Zodiarcs has everything we love about the genre and then some: we've paired an original, fun and dramatic story with a combination of tactics, cards and dice to enhance the traditional strategic gameplay in a way gamers haven't experienced before. We're sure visitors to the PAX East booth will be glued to the controller!".

Gamers will be able to have hands-on with Children of Zodiarcs, plus speak with three members of the development team, at booth 16114, PAX East in Boston running 10-12 March.

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Article by Pierre-Yves

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Brut@l - PC Review

Brut@l has a striking aesthetic that tries to brush up on the ASCII dungeon roguelikes of old and modernize the formula some in the process. In the end, Stormcloud Games gets more right than wrong, though a few frustrating quirks turn the title into a niche title that will not appeal to everyone.

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Games of March 2017

It's that time again!

March has rolled around and with it the last entries of Styx, Atelier, Nier, Mass Effect, Toukiden, The Legend of Zelda and Vikings: Wolves of Midgard which is something that I've personally been looking forward to for a while now.

With Zelda releasing on both the WiiU and the new Switch that launched on the same day tomorrow, are you picking one up or keeping to the "legacy" system in order to experience Link's latest adventure. Chalgyr's Game Room will be covering The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on both of these systems and bringing you what we thought of this latest Hyrulian adventure later this month!

Friday March 3rd

Nintendo Switch

Nintendo's newest home console comes out tomorrow. If it can be supported more than they did the WiiU which was essentially left to its own abismal devices it could be boost that they need to get back into the game. I personally loved the concept of the WiiU having used it more for playing the older Wii RPGs with the needed CPU boost. With the Switch eseentially looking like a WiiU Gamepad with removable sides, I just hope that it lives up to expectations. Who doesn't want to take their home console on the go with them?

Check back later this month for our coverage on the system!

Skylanders Imaginators Starter Pack - Switch

At this point it only makes sense for the Skylanders to grace the newest console. I figure Lego Dimensions shouldn't be too too far behind.

Just Dance 2017 - Switch

I would have liked more new titles for the Switch's launch but like the Skylanders it makes sense to have some titles that people already know and that may either may have been holding out on or would like to get for a party night.

1-2-switch - Switch

Something new on the lineup is a quick switch up styled party game. It could be interesting but the real party game is coming up next!

Super Bomberman R - Switch

Everyone loves a good old versus and there's still almost nothing better than a good round of Bomberman. Not having really had a good shot at the limelight since the PS3 version years ago now, dust off your fingers and dust your "friends" Super Bomberman R!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch, Wii U

I've been looking forward to the newest entry for a long while now. With it coming out on both the WiiU and the Switch I personally will be playing both. While we will be separately reviewing both versions we will also be doing a comparason for this once exlcusive WiiU title that was supposed to use the gamepad to its full extent.

Tuesday March 7th

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey - PS4

The newest Atelier is just around the corner. Having just gone through Atelier Shallie Plus and Sophie on the PC recently I'm more than ready and excited to jump into the newest with Firis for another fun Alchemic adventure.

LEGO Worlds - PS4, XB1

I thought it was weird when I saw LEGO Worlds on the list of releases for the month. Thinking to myself "didn't this come out years ago?" it did as an Early Access title that Breanna covered back in July of 2015. Guess the full release is here!

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands - PS4, XB1, PC

Fan of the last genius' literary work, I never really got into the video game adaptations of his work. Ghost Recon Wildlands may change that this month as this look amazing. Maybe I should go play The Division first though...

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 - PS4, XB1

It's been a good six years since MvC3 came out on the PS3. It would be interesting to see what Nick thinks of the newest version compared to the orignal that he reviewed back in 2011 and the ultimate version back in 2014.

NieR: Automata - PS4

It's finally here! I'm a huge fan of the original on both the PS3 and the 360 and played the "living snot" out of both of them. I had started to play the demo when it became available but held back after two minutes realizing that I didn't want to actually spoil this one.

Tuesday March 14th

Danganronpa 1-2 Reload - PS4

I have both of these on my Vita and have still yet to actually load them which makes me a little sad as I still haven't found the time to do so. Maybe I'll just skip to the PS4 versions as I've only heard amazing things and Nick was a big fan of both the first and the second.

Styx: Shards of Darkness - PS4, XB1, PC

It took a while for me to get used to how to handle Styx when I was originally introduced to him. Having since played of Orc's and Men where he made his actual debut (and acts as a sequel to Master of Shadows in which I covered the PS4 and Robert hte XB1 versions) I can say that I've been looking very forward to this scarcastic short green goblin's latest adventure.

Friday March 17th

The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth + - Switch

This one has been around for a while. Seeing a re-re-re release at this point with the Switch? I may want to actually try it out before Rémi gives me another lecture on how good it is.

Tuesday March 21st

Toukiden 2 - PS4, Vita

Here's an entry on the list that a few us have been looking forward to. Nick, Richard and myself were all fans of the orignal and have been looking forward to the open world version of the Japanese Monster Hunter-like.

Mass Effect Andromeda - PS4, XB1, PC

This can go either way. I'm still looking forward to it though as I'm intrigued at what they plan to do without a central character at the helm. Well named central character anyways.

Touhou Genso Wanderer - PS4, Vita

Been needing a bit of Roguelike in your diet? Touhou is finally releasing outside of Japan for the first time. Jump on it!

Anima: Gate of Memories - Beyond Fantasy Edition - PS4

I quite enjoyed Anima: Gate of Memories last summer so I'm happy to see it get a physical release for the PS4.

Troll and I - PS4, XB1

Troll and I looks interesting. It's been a while since I've seen a new single player "co-op" game so it definitely has my attention.

Wednesday March 21st

This Is the Police - PS4, XB1

"This Is the Police is a strategy/adventure game set in a city spiraling the drain. You'll come face to face with the ugly underbelly of Freeburg, taking the role of gritty Police Chief Jack Boyd (portrayed by Jon St. John, the voice of Duke Nukem).

Dive into a deep story of corruption, crime and intrigues. You are taking the role of gritty Police Chief Jack Boyd – you'll come face to face with the ugly underbelly of Freeburg, a city spiraling the drain. Will Jack see his retirement with a nice sum of money waiting to be spend or will he end up broken … or even worse?"

Friday March 24th

Mario Sports Superstars - 3DS

I guess this had to happen at some point. Kind of surprised that they didn't make it for the Switch for a living room couch versus though.

Zero Escape The Nonary Games - PS4, Vita, PC

All I know is that these games are in a league of their own. I've heard of many different kinds of gamers speak about them and they've all enjoyed the various entries. Zero Escape or 999 your thing? Here's your next one.

Monday March 27th

Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy - PC

I'm ashamed to say that Operation Abyss is something that I've completed the tutorial of and have not been back since and not for the lack of want. Nick reviewed it favorably back on the Vita and I'm happy to see that developers continue to port these over to the PC for all of those without a console that would love to try these out.


NISA Vita Trailer

Tuesday March 28th

The new Baseball season is starting off and the newest game entries are coming out for your personal home running action!

RBI Baseball 2017 - PS4, XB1

MLB The Show 17 - PS4

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard - PS4, XB1, PC

Wolves of Midgard hit my radar a while back. Single Player Hack and Slash with couch coop based in a Nordic setting? I was sold.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 Remix - PS4

Annnnnnnnd here I thought that I would finally be sitting down and finishing my 2.5 Remix on the PS3 then they go and mash it all onto the PS4. Not that it's a bad thing for those that don't have it... at all... but how about we just release KH3 before the apocalypse please?

Has-Been Heroes - PS4, XB1, Switch, PC

This is a huge departure from Trine's Platforming. Being Frozenbyte though? I'm definitely looking into this one!

GOD WARS Future Past - PS4, Vita

With everything that I already want this month? This sits ontop of the pile as I've really been wanting to sit down to an SRPG for a while now. Not that much longer!

Darksiders: Warmastered Edition - Wii U

A little late to the party is the remastered edition of the first Darksiders which sees War voiced by the epic Liam O'Brien exploring the ruins of our world after inadvertently starting the Apocalypse.

Friday March 31st

Deformers - PS4, XB1, PC

Ready at Dawn... Ready at Dawn... rings a bell *googles it* WHAT!?!?! This is what they've done after The Order? Really? Looks awesome but I really wanted a new entry into The Order...

Article by Pierre-Yves
Information Provided by Jim

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Month in Review - February 2017

Looks like it’s that time of the month again! See everything that we’ve been up to and catch up on anything you may have missed.

February had some love to show for some and not so much for others. Speaking of love, Nick and I both got together for our Top 5: Favorite female characters in video games.

• Nick's
• PY's

On the back of that Brightrock Game's took some time to answer some of our questions after having covered War for the Overworld!

PlayStation Reviews

• Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
• Zen Pinball 2: Star Wars Pinball - Rogue One
• Tales of Berseria: A second opinion
• Tales of Berseria
• Nioh
• Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth
• Digimon World: Next Order
• Double Dragon IV
• Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers
• Zen Pinball 2: Bethesda Pinball
• For Honor

Xbox Reviews

• Sniper Elite 4

Nintendo Reviews

• 7th Dragon III Code: VFD

PC Reviews

• Time Machine VR
• Nights of Azure
• Angels With Scaly Wings
• Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book

Hardware & Software Reviews

• Epiphan Video Av.io HD Video Capture Device
• Lenovo IdeaCentre Y900 RE with Lenovo Y27g 4K monitor

Previews

• Nioh: Last Chance Trial

Retro Reflections

• Devil May Cry
• Burnout 3: Takedown
• Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Article by Pierre-Yves

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