Original Journey - PC Review

Original Journey is an interesting beast that doesn’t show it claws until you are several hours in and then realize: it’s been several hours. Taking the best parts of a side scrolling shooter and a Roguelike, welcome to the end of an alien race’s time as they perform their last ditch effort in order to not perish and become another of the galaxy’s footnotes.

The ideas that make the wheel turn are simple yet the execution is one that had me going for hours at a time. Put in the role of the Rookie that overslept and on the first day and gained both the attention and the wrath of the commander, you march your butt out the airlock in your power suit in order to scout around, collect materials and ultimately try to find your race’s salvation.

Once out the airlock there’s where it becomes so easy to simply lose yourself in stage after stage. Original Journey throws players through random layouts every time that they move onto a new stage which makes sense as the planet’s landmasses are constantly shifting about and never staying still. Knowing this makes it easy to accept that it’s possible to visit similar landmasses multiple times because hey, they could have finished their lap around the planet as you move onto the next one.

Now just because the land masses are the same doesn’t mean that everything else along for the ride will be. For every stage that you visit the difficulty increases until you either head back to base and keep what you’ve acquired or die and lose everything short of your experience. Like a Souls game however, you have one chance in order to make it back to where you kicked the bucket in order to re-obtain what you’ve lost. It’s not always easy but at least on the bright side it means more experience!

Mechanically Original Journey is simple. You can jump and you can shoot. Once you’ve shot at everything trying to kill you on a stage you can move forward to the next one. Nothing to shoot at? Move on to the next one! Honestly though there are moments when it’s so easy to lose yourself in the stages because sometimes a stage can take nothing more than two seconds and that’s not an exaggeration.

As you progress through the adventure and gain better gear it becomes so easy to clear the first stages because the enemies are at their weakest. Even later on if only one or two enemies spawn then that’s all the time it takes. It’s the addictive aspect of “one more” that will keep you going on for long lengths of time because “one more” may be nothing more than a few seconds so what harm is there in continuing? Depending on the point in time death but hey, that’s expected.

When not in the midst of the “one more” syndrome you can explore the base in order to better prepare yourself for the next time out. Guns, armors and your drone companion can be created, and in certain cases modified, in their respective labs. Creating anything new will require a hefty amount of resources from the field in which sometimes you just simply do not ask how a bunch of eyeballs and spleens lead to these marvels in technology. You simply trust the technician taking care of the job, smile, nod, and walk away slowly before they use you for parts…and then it’s back to the field for more!

Visually Original Journey hits my graphical design sweet spot by using a sepia tone for its hand drawn graphics. It’s gorgeous to look at for long periods at a time through because of some of the elements it can be a bit hard to discern at times what is safe to walk on and what will deplete your health. Other than that fact the visual presentation is only aided by the awesome soundtrack that follows along for the ride which makes the “one more” that much easier.

Original Journey is a blast to play for hours on end. Quick paced gameplay mixed in with a great audio visual design makes for an easy time to simply keep going for just “one more”.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Bonfire Entertainment
Publisher(s):
Another Indie
Genre(s):
Action
Adventure
Shooter
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Consoles Q1 2018

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Battlestar Galactica Deadlock - PC Preview

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock is shaping up to be a fantastic space-based tactical turn-based strategy game set during the First Cylon War. For those new to the franchise, the First Cylon Wars took place 30 years prior to the events of the most recent Battlestar Galactica series and for those fans of the franchise you will find all manner of little tidbits that will be instantly recognizable. To finally get a licensed title that is shaping up to be an excellent strategy game, one cannot help but be eagerly awaiting the full release that comes on August 31, 2017.

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Black the Fall - PS4 Review

Skillful Escape, Hollow Rebellion

The Greatest victory of Communism, a victory dramatically revealed only after 1989, was to create people without a memory - a brainwashed new man unable to remember what he was, what he had, or what he did before communism.

-    Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance

Life in 1980’s Communist Romania was stupidly harsh. Freedom of speech was nonexistent. Any anti-government whisper improved the chance of receiving a terrifying visit from the Securitate, Romanian secret police, which pressured families and neighbors to snitch on one another. Writer, journalist, and photographer became some of the most dangerous professions; citizens who engaged in these passions risked, for the crime of “denigrating the socialist reality,” a minimum of six years in prison or a maximum of being disappeared, never to be embraced or gazed upon by loved ones again.

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Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion - Vita Review

A short while ago I had the opportunity to review Fallen Legion for the PS4, and I mentioned that I hadn’t had the opportunity to play the Vita version. Well, now I have, and my quote of “There are a lot of issues that people can be divided on: music, politics, flavors of jellybeans, and of course also ruling a country” is proving its worth even more so. While I greatly enjoyed the experience I had with the PS4 version, I found the Vita version to be a bit less enjoyable.

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Dungeon Chess - PC / VR Review

Dungeon Chess brings together a couple of my favorite things - Dungeons & Dragons and chess. So right there out of the gates, Experiment 7 had my attention. Still, a good premise does not always equate to good execution. Thankfully Dungeon Chess manages to deliver a simple yet very solid experience on the Oculus.

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Adventurer's Guide Review - Tabletop and Board Game Review

Pathfinder has been getting a lot of well-deserved buzz lately; with the release of a card game adaptation on PC, not to mention the recently released Bestiary, Paizo is really on a roll here. Today's review brings you the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Adventurer's Guide, which is chalk-full of rich factions in incredible detail so Game Masters can bring the most exciting content to bear in their games. The Adventurer's Guide is less about factions and more about characters in the fact that all factions, with their own unique functions, are treated like fully developed characters complete with detailed back story and their own special beliefs. With its incredible attention to detail, the Adventurer's Guide is a must-have for any Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GM.

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Masquerada: Songs and Shadows - PS4 Review

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows in an interesting game. On one hand, we have a title that could have made a beautiful point-and-click or even a visual novel. On the other, we have the amazing adventure RPG that sees an unlikely group follow through an investigation that leads ever further down the rabbit hole.

I know what you’re probably thinking by this point. Unlikely group? Again? While the answer is “yes” it takes a different spin compared to the normal grouping of a ragtag bunch. Firstly, they are not ragtag. Your main character and protagonist Cicero is an exile called back in order to search for missing members of the society that he was cast out from.

Tagging along and using one another are characters such as Kalden who’s looking for his brother that happens to be at the center of Cicero’s investigation and Tiziana who’s openly spying on Cicero for her master and prepared to do what is needed to further their ambitions. They are all playing politics and keeping their cards close to the chest while still trying to figure out how to work together to find out what is really going on.

With the stage set and gameplay in hand, Masquerada uses a few elements that it probably could have done without. For the most part, Cicero will get to walk through shallow environments that have little or nothing to do other than move over to the spot that will take him and the party to the next location. Sometimes lore can be found lying about and if it’s in a crowded city then the conversations are worth listening to but otherwise it’s on a rail and you simply follow the points onto the next dialog and story segment.

It’s not a bad approach by any means as a lot of titles follow suit, but sometimes I felt like it could have been done without especially with no combat present in order to get your fingers moving. With the amount of dialog that is present the characters could have walked and talked instead of standing still which could have still have showcased the beautiful environments and their soft colors without making you needless have to move through corridors or streets with nothing in them.

When there are enemies and the swords are unsheathed from their scabbards however these environments are worth knowing. Masquerada uses a real-time system that has characters able to either auto-attack or have their skills set up to use in specific instances not unlike FFXII’s Gambit System. If that isn’t enough, direct control of a character can be taken can moving them behind that wall in order to evade an attack is sometimes much better than getting the hits in.

Combat is fun and it doesn’t feel out of place especially since you already know that getting your hands dirty is going to happen because some people don’t want you finding out what you need to. As mentioned above each character has access to standard attacking or skills that can be used on cooldowns. The cooldowns themselves aren’t ridiculous but neither are the power of these skills making them useful to use but not the be all end alls. From that perspective there’s a good balance to the system and as time goes on it requires more hands on and less letting the characters do what they want if you want to survive.

After each combat each party members receives points that can be used to either unlock new skills or upgrade existing ones. There’s no progression per say as you’re free to choose which skills you want and if you like them enough you can level them further. It was nice not to be locked in and forced to waste points on ones that you didn’t want. It adds a bit of flavour and a more personal touch to how you wish to fight your enemies.

If the stylistic approach of Masquerada wasn’t enough, the voice acting is top notch with VAs such as Matt Mercer, Jennifer Hale, Robbie Daymond and a personal favorite Yuri Lowenthal (Full List). With the amount of dialog that is to be had, this cast brings about an experience that could not have been done otherwise having simply gone with text or a half voiced approach. I personally have a bad habit of simply reading ahead and skipping most of the time but these combinations had me taking the slow way and enjoying every moment of it.

It is with these elements that everything comes together and the “empty” corridors can be forgotten because everything else is made more full through the unfolding experience. Also helping to alleviate this is the sheer amount of lore that is unlocked through characters speaking or through the odd node that can be found while exploring an area. Each entry is lengthy enough and helps develop both this world and Cicero’s past for a better understanding of what someone could have meant with the tone in their voice.

Finally adding to it all is an optional tutorial that can be accessed from the main menu. Optional. Words I really like to see as often tutorials could be covered with no more than a few sentences. In Masquerada’s case however this tutorial should be done as it acts as a prelude to the main event and is often enough referenced. You don’t have to but it helps to have seen it alongside the journal entries to give a more complete experience.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows comes together to offer a wonderfully artistic experience. The visual art as well as the well crafted character dialog and their voice overs combine to create an experience that would have been less without the efforts put into each.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Witching Hour Studios
Publisher(s):
Ysbryd Games
Genre(s):
Action
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Microsoft Xbox One
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Wilson's Heart - PC / VR Review

I have often said that the primary advantage to virtual reality is immersion - and as a result of this, horror games are probably the most natural fit with the hardware. Wilson's Heart is a really well made game that reminds me of those classic, campy horror movies while making fantastic use of the Oculus Touch controls and keeping me on edge throughout.

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Week in Review - July 24th to August 11th

Welcome back to our not quite Week in Review! Being out of town last weekend I figured I would just pack two weeks into one.

Week of July 24^th to the 28^th

Last week started off on a good note with Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. I don't think that I've ever played an adventure title with no combat and it made for quite a refreshing experience.

"Yonder is an important title because it proves that you don't need conflict, violence or combat in order to bring about a good adventuring experience."

- Pierre-Yves

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The week then continued onto an experience that a few of us had been waiting for. Read up on Nick's experiences diving back into the classic of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age.

"There are a ton of improvements to a really good game that helps to make this one of the better remakes I have had the pleasure of playing. If you missed Final Fantasy XII the first time around, it is at least worth taking a peek at since the quality of life improvements make it more accessible than it original was."

- Nick

---

Next up is one of my favorite tactical versus experiences in quite a while with Antihero.

"Antihero is great and well thought out. With multiple modes and a ton of replayability both online and off with a hotseat feature to try your mettle against a friend, there's no way that it'll be going quietly into the night any time soon."

- Pierre-Yves

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Beating everyone on the team to the punch is Richard with the PS4 version of Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire. His time with the Vita version is coming up!

"While Fallen Legion may not appeal to everyone, especially those who can't get timing down to save their lives (which it will in this game), there's a great nostalgia kick for older gamers, while introducing some novel systems, or at least novel takes on systems, that are sure to drawn in the younger crowd."

- Richard

---

Finishing off the week is Nick's time diving back into the Story Mode of Minecraft with Season 2.

"It is clear that Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 1: Hero in Residence has potential, especially if you are a fan of the original season."

- Nick

---

Week of July 31^st to August 4^th

This week started off with something that I've personally been waiting a long time for and honestly? Children of Zodiarcs is the next Final Fantasy Tactics entry that I've been waiting for.

"Children of Zodiarcs is a turned based strategy that I've been waiting for. While some elements will be familiar to fans of the style it was the elements that weren't that made this experience a masterpiece. Rolling the dice and splitting the deck became more than simple battle mechanics but were instead much more as they alone were half the battle."

- Pierre-Yves

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Tuesday Nick shared his time with Gigantic which is a free to play MOBA.

"Gigantic is a really slick overall combination of shooter and MOBA, and it is far easier to learn and get into than other similar titles."

- Nick

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And the middle of the week once again showed me that I need a VR Headset in my life. Preta: Vendetta Rising looks quite interesting so far.

"With more content and more options and a little additional polish around the controls, Preta: Vendetta Rising could be one of the most compelling VR titles yet."

- Nick

---

Thursday we took a look at the latest gaming entry of SAO with Accel World vs Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight. It's a good one, great story, great gameplay, but the Vita is starting to show its age when titles release simultaneously with the PS4.

"Accel World vs Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight is a great title though the smaller platform suffers from the lack of power that the larger one benefits from. Is it worth diving into? Definitely."

- Pierre-Yves

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Topping the week off are Nick's impressions of Witchblood for the PC through the use of VR. I'm personally glad to see that VR isn't all about first person but that other styles can be used and still create a sense of wonder.

"VR is about immersion, and there are plenty of games out there that can immerse you regardless of visual perspective or genre. Witchblood is an action platforming game that feels right at home on the Oculus."

- Nick

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Article by Pierre-Yves

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Witchblood - PC / VR Review

While a 2D (or 2.5D if you prefer the term) does not seem like a prime candidate for virtual reality - to which I feel compelled to ask: why not? If VR is only for first person games, as I've seen far too many people say of late, then I feel they are missing the point. VR is about immersion, and there are plenty of games out there that can immerse you regardless of visual perspective or genre. Witchblood is an action platforming game that feels right at home on the Oculus.

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Accel World VS Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight - Vita Review

Accel World vs Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight is the latest in the SAO series’ original entries. Merging both SAO and Accel World, it is up to both sets of characters to save Kirito and Asuna’s beloved Yui and both groups’ respective Online Worlds.

What I love about the SAO series, at least in regards to the gaming entries, is their willingness to explore brand new ideas instead of sticking too close to the anime seasons or the manga. Because of this the stories can be developed as the developers see fit while still using the characters and ideas that make the series was it is. Millennium Twilight is no exception - especially since they explore the idea of one digital VR MMO world invading another. After seeing the original SAO location of Aincard from the first season appear at the end of it inside of Alfheim Online the idea isn’t out of the question so to add some depth and craziness to the mix, enter time travel as the invading MMO world is from the future.

All of these factors have allowed to create an experience that is both new yet familiar as the world of Alfheim Online is still there but different. While familiar characters will be making their appearance both inside and out of the game through communication, the inside has gone through a bit of overhauling as the two worlds have started to merge. What does that mean for the players still left inside? Nobody wants to leave as this “new event” looks too cool to pass up. Unlike Aincard and those kept within once Kirito beat the game, players can log out but once they do they can’t log back in making this a quest that the main cast need to see through to the end regardless of what it does to their outside selves.

It’s a neat approach and it really comes together once you get fully hands on and get to start exploring the fields and the new city hub that is a result of the world mergers. The city offers up shops to buy new equipment and items as well as connect up online and play with other players. While there is an autosave, there’s also a location in order to manually save which lets you know for absolute certainty that your file and progress have been preserved. Finally there’s the most important factor that comes through the Quest Board that should be frequently visited between story sections in order to get the most out of it and obvious rewards for your efforts!

Now while this next statement is just a personal thing, I would love to play an original SAO title with a brand new self created character not unlike Dragon Ball Xenoverse. The reason for this is that once again with Kirito in hand you start off in the level one-hundreds. Not much is going to kill you and the beginning monsters and even boss fights are a bit of a joke because of how strong you are. That said the system in place while being in the level one-hundreds is fun.

Starting off with Kirito and Asuna it’s not long until you have Black Lotus from Accel World in your party and then other members start to trickle in from both sides. Only being able to take three members out at a time you’ll soon have enough choice for exactly how you wish to fight. Dual-wielding, larger two-handed swords, bows, quick rapiers so on and so forth are all at your disposal once they’ve joined your party. Switching between these characters is also fairly easy and once the meter is filled up joint attacks can be used for loads of damage.

There are some gameplay elements that while they work, you can tell that they were either designed for the PS4’s touchpad or were designed that way to supplement for the lacking L2/R2 buttons. While most of what you need will be found between the L or R shoulders and both sides of the controller, switching between characters and putting things in focus require tapping the screen. Now these work for the most part as long as you remember that you need to hit the screen in order to perform this actions.

Combat is smooth with a ton of skills that can be assigned to the above mentioned L and R shortcuts. Between these and your regular attacks your arsenal won't be lacking. As characters level up and use these skills they’ll obtain new ones and make the ones that they currently have more powerful. The only issue is that because of how high of a level your party is most of these mobs are basically just hanging about for you to create new skills or obtain materials as they really don’t pose a threat or a challenge and are really there for filler between main story events.

The one thing that I loved above all else are the flying mechanics. These can honestly be so hit and miss that it was awesome to be able to fly around either slowly or quickly and then just swap into battle mode without your toes ever hitting the ground if you didn’t want them to. Boss battles the same could be said with them flying around and you could attack from either above or below as you saw fit. It felt natural even inside of caves where you were limited to how high you could go since they don’t let you simply fly to the end instead of trudging over the pathways.

One major downside is that regardless of how hard they tried to make the Vita version work, the limitations of the system can be seen in the performance. Not currently having the PS4 version to compare it to, AW vs SAO can often be laggy once things come into focus or make their appearance on the maps. Monsters in the field is a common example as you are often out there and when flying around you can have multiple levels appear causing the system to slow down.

Even in town when walking into a building it can take time for some characters to finally load which wouldn’t really be such a bad thing if you didn’t need to talk to them in order to initiate a quest. While I appreciate the continuous love for the system, this is not the first time that the Vita version suffers because they tried to pack just as much in as they did on the much larger and more powerful home console.

Accel World vs Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight is a great title though the smaller platform suffers from the lack of power that the larger one benefits from. Is it worth diving into? Definitely. If you don’t have a PS4 then I would recommend picking this one up on the Vita. If you do have a PS4 it’s probably a safer bet to take to the skies on the bigger platform unless you really enjoy the portability factor. One way or the other it should not be passed up on for fans of the series.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation Vita
Developer(s):
Studio ArtDink
Publisher(s):

Bandai Namco Games America Inc.

Genre(s):
Action
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Preta: Vendetta Rising - PC / VR Preview

Preta: Vendetta Rising is an ambitious and potentially fascinating title, recalling popular action RPGs such as Diablo, Dark Souls and Monster Hunter. However, this being an Early Access title, there is plenty of room to grow and create its own identity as well. Still, what is here is pretty promising so far.

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Gigantic - Xbox One Review

When a game tries to blend several different influences into its DNA, you run the risk of that game suffering from an identity crisis. To be honest, I thought that might be a concern for Gigantic, a new free-to-play multiplayer game on both PC and Xbox One. I am happy to say that while there are some issues, Gigantic actually does a really nice job of carving out its own niche in a genre that has been heavily diluted of late.

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