Assault Android Cactus - XB1 Review

Assault Android Cactus has been out for a while now on the PSN and Steam with stellar reviews and has now launched on the XB1 with specific graphic content for the Xbox One X. So what's it all about? I'm glad you asked. You see when an interstellar police officer with no regards for the rules decides to crash right through the hull of a ship all mayhem ensues. Taking your twin-stick controller in hand for some very fast paced Bullet Hell and Shoot ‘Em Up Arcade action, you and up to three others get to unleash all hell!

Every now and then Bullet Hells and Shoot ‘Em Ups are exactly what the doctor ordered and Witch Beam delivers. Not only is the Assault Android named Cactus armed to the teeth and badass to boot but she starts off with three others geared up and just as ready to go before unlocking the rest later on. Playing solo or having a few friends on the couch in order to blast through the hordes of enemies is simple to get into and easy to swap out of taking seconds and feeling rather seamless especially when you want to swap out your chosen character.

The action is quick, fun, and game overs only come in if you’re not fast enough. Instead of doing something “normal” like health bars or timing, the system works into the lore of it all with the Androids relying on their battery usage while in combat. Because it takes a lot more out of them they can only go for so long without recharging which is where taking out your enemies faster is going to come into play because they’ll drop the batteries that you and your cohorts will need to continue.

Now that being said, each Android does have health that if depleted will drop them to the ground in order to mash the firing-key in order to get back on their feet. The only drawback that this causes is a dip in your battery levels making it worth learning enemy attack patterns to not get hit. This won’t always work which is why there’s a wonderful dodge feature that is unfortunately tied to your more powerful weapon swap trigger. That is just about the only issue that ever came up. It would have been nice to have these separate.

This is perhaps one of the main reasons that Assault Android Cactus works as well as it does. You move around with one stick, aim with the second, fire with either the right shoulder or trigger and swap with the left set. That’s it. With less to worry about hitting on the controller you get to keep your eyes on the action which if very colorful and easy to lose yourself in. Wouldn’t be a Bullet Hell otherwise would it?

To help with Cactus’ warpath are three “upgrades” that rotate from one into the other as long as they are left on the ground. Enhanced speed, enhanced firepower and locking enemies down for a few moments as you get a chance to catch your breath as they are all turned to slag. You’ll really need to utilize these well for the boss fights which put everything you’ve learnt on your way up to them to the test.

The boss fights were amazing. They were big, they were powerful and they had phases. Because of the battery system learning to take them out efficiently is an absolute must because you’ll only be receiving batteries once you’ve knocked them into their next phase. Otherwise? You’ll be restarting.

Assault Android Cactus was awesome. Once you’re fully done your first playthrough and maybe hit the S or S+ rank you’ll unlock multiple other modes to test your mettle against. Solo or with friends on the couch this was a blast to play and definitely made better with friends to yell at to get the battery before having to restart a particularly challenging stage once again!

Game Information

Platform:
Microsoft Xbox One
Developer(s):
Witch BEam
Publisher(s):
Witch Beam
Genre(s):
Shoot 'Em Up
Bullet Hell
Twin Stick Shooter
Mode(s):
Single Player
Coop
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

Read More

Hyakki Castle - PC Review

Hyakki Castle is an interesting title, mostly traditional as a dungeon crawler, but with unique visuals and one really quirky gameplay mechanic that defies genre norms. The end result is strange game that has some weaknesses, but plays up its strengths enough to be worth the time of dungeon crawling RPG fans.

Read More

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 5: Don't Stop Believin' - Xbox One Review

And that is a wrap - our trouble-making Guardians provide a satisfying conclusion in  Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 5: Don't Stop Believin'. A pretty predictable ending does not diminish the great overall story arc punctuated by some genuinely entertaining moments for several of our characters, leaving me to hope that there will be more seasons to come.

Read More

Lost Dimenion - PC Review

Lost Dimension is an atypical JRPG that looks, sounds, and feels like a typical JRPG.  Originally released for the PS3/Vita, this two-year old game finally has a more accessible steam port for the plebeians among us that didn't choose the proper game console. The premise is straightforward enough, in that there is a collection of unique cast members that take the form of diverse and varied characters, a clear and obvious antagonist, very clearly defined rules, and absolutely no real surprise to the plot.

Read More

Grim Dawn: Ashes of Malmouth - PC Review

Grim Dawn was a fantastic take on the Hack & Slash genre with multiple character class combinations in a post-apocalyptic world. Back for more, Ashes of Malmouth provides new content and also adds more character classes both in the form of a ranged god of war dubbed the Inquisitor and a master of the dead who we all very well know as the Necromancer.

Having been a while what better way to dive back in and try out the brand new classes? Both are very well designed in their own rights though I found myself more drawn to the Inquisitor with it's ranged mastery than that of the Necromancer. While fun, the Necro really needed the boost from the previously added Shaman to make a serious dent in the enemy as the Shaman was both a two-handed specialist with plenty of pet based enhancements. In either case, they are both great additions to the experience and fit just as well in the early stages as they do in the later ones.

New classes aside, if you want to get into the new areas "now" you're going to need to have already beaten the core game. So doing what any sane person would do in the apocalypse, I took my old character out of retirement and dove headfirst into the first boss who made me one with the ground not unlike Bloodborne's Cleric Beast on a new game plus. It hurt, a lot. Now knowing what was in store, it was time to get creative.


My original character is a mix of a NightBlade and an Arcanist. I had them designed to hit hard, hit fast, and not worry about anything else getting close because I could freeze them all with my magic. That… didn't quite work out so well. The new areas have a lot of enemies in close proximity and a lot of them hit hard and are hard to take out. This is NOT a complaint as even on normal mode it provided a challenge and meant that if I wanted to get anywhere I needed to level up and get new gear.

The new areas that you'll be moving through aren't just more of the same. Ashes of Malmouth adds some interesting elements such as fog that closes in around you limiting visibility all while five steps further it's bright sunshine because you've moved out of the cover of the forest. Malmouth itself is something to explore with its interesting architecture and designs. I really enjoyed that the expansion wasn't just a new quickly passed through area and two new characters but a fair amount of quests, locations and factions that can be interacted with.

Overall, Ashes of Malmouth is a great addition to Grim Dawn and the care that Crate Entertainment have put in since the beginning of their Early Access is still there. They still listen to feedback, they still improve the core content all the while adding in new adventures to that map that still has some space that looks like it could be explored later down the line.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Crate Entertainment
Publisher(s):
Crate Entertainment
Genre(s):
Hack & Slash
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

Read More

Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 4: Below the Bedrock - Xbox One Review

The entire Minecraft: Story Mode series has been a hit and miss one for me, but I can happily say that the trend over the last couple of episodes continues with Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 4: Below the Bedrock. That trend? Continued improvement in all areas, from gameplay to story. I have my doubts that this series will ever rank among my favorite Telltale properties, but I have every confidence that Season Two can end on a very high note now.

Read More

Hand of Fate 2 - PS4 Review

Hand of Fate 2 continues a pleasing trend I have been seeing lately - sequels that improve upon the original while taking chances at the same time. The original Hand of Fate was a fantastic mashup of ideas that worked far better than I had initially thought it would, and Hand of Fate 2 adds depth and nuance to existing mechanics while providing some new ones to the mix as well.

Read More

Holiday Gift Guide 2017

In complete honesty I am not entirely sure where 2017 has gone; it seems like it was only yesterday that I was loading up the hits there were in last year's Gift Guide. To stick with the norm, this year I put together a few of my favorites, some provided by publishers or development studios, others those that I picked up myself, and some that are on my own personal wishlist of things to pick up. With the 2017 holiday shopping season right around the corner, these are a few of the gaming-oriented goodies that would make the perfect gift for the gamer in your family (even if that is you!)

Read More

RiME - Switch Review

RiME has been around on other platforms for awhile, and while the Nintendo Switch version of the game doesn't really bring a whole lot new to the table, it is still an enchanting adventure worth undertaking if you happened to miss it previously.

Read More

Demon Gaze II - PS4 Review

As far as sequels go, Demon Gaze II hits the mark as it manages to improve on almost every aspect of the original game. The Dungeon Crawler genre is not the easiest type of game to get into, but Demon Gaze II deserves some credit for not only being a well-polished title for veterans of the genre, but also being pretty approachable for newcomers as well.

Read More

8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One - PS4 Review

As the name of the game implies, 8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One is about as old-school as you are going to get. Obviously this package is not going to be for everyone. However, if you are like me and enjoyed these classic adventure titles on the NES years ago, 8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One is probably worth a look.

Read More

Super Mario Odyssey - Switch Review

I mean, it's a Mario game - right? Nintendo was not going to screw this up, even if some of their entries have been better received than others, the pudgy ex-plumber has been treated with Nintendo with a great deal of care over the years and the whimsical adventures he has gone on resonate with gamers far more often than not. Even with these ridiculous expectations in mind, it is safe to say that Super Mario Odyssey is quite the accomplishment, putting a fantastic exclamation point on what has been a really strong 2017 for both Nintendo and the Switch.

Read More

Middle-earth: Shadow of War - PS4 Review

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a worthy sequel to the original Shadow of Mordor game in many ways, but it manages to fall short in a handful of others that are impossible to completely dismiss. That is a shame, since Mordor was my contender for Game of the Year when it released, and I had high, similar hopes for Shadow of War that unfortunately doesn't reach those lofty expectations I had hope for.

Read More