As we usher in a new generation of consoles, everyone is looking forward at what those new games will bring. Yet we mustn’t forget that this current generation is still alive and kicking. Naughty Dog had created the perfect swan song to set the PS3 off into retirement with The Last of Us.

It’s easy to look at the service of this game and just see another post-apocalyptic violent shooter, you would be grossly mistaken. The Last of Us perfectly combines narrative with a fully fleshed out world tearing itself apart from the infected on the outside and human nature on the inside. Joel, our protagonist, is tasked with smuggling a young girl, Ellie, out of Boston and into the care of the Fireflies, a separate faction of militarized people. What takes place is the struggle of a man, grizzled by his environment, to keep Ellie safe from not only infected humans but also hunters who will kill you the moment they see you. The story really shines in its slow burn that dives into the human condition. The duo meet plenty of people one their adventures from introverts who shut themselves off from the world to survive, to those who embraced the cruelty for complex reasons. The story is Oscar worthy and the acting is the best I’ve ever seen in a video game. Troy Baker is superb as Joel and every character you meet delivers perfectly the despair and hope they share in this cruel world.

The star of this story is the relationship between Joel and Ellie. One, a man who’s lost a lot and became ruthless in order to survive, the other a young naïve girl born in a violent world and never knowing anything else. She’s inquisitive and foulmouthed while Joel is violent and cold. What starts off as a dysfunctional relationship slowly blossoms into a father-daughter relationship, but not through easy means.  Other characters you meet along the way are very fleshed out for the amount of time they are in the story. I felt something for just about everyone from compassion and caring to out right hatred.  Being able to evoke these emotions really puts Naughty Dog in a class of its own.

I never knew a post-pandemic America could look so gorgeous. From rainy destroyed cities to sunset neighborhoods to luscious forest, Naughty Dog pushed the PS3 to its limits created this fully fleshed out world. And it’s the environment is what you need to use to your advantage to survive. Stealth is important; you are not some superhuman here. You have to hide, distract, and sneak up on your enemies if you want any chance of surviving. Most of the time, if you rush in on an enemy, you will die. Humans are smart and will shoot to kill, and the infected will usually gang up on you and overwhelm you. You could find cover and try to shoot your way through, but chances are you will waste precious inventory in doing so. It makes almost every encounter thrilling and nerve racking. There are multiple ways to tackle an obstacle but taking your time to access the situation is always best.

What can make encounters even more hectic is the crafting system. Finding certain items in the world can be used to make helpful tools for battle such as a nail bomb or first aid kit. Crafting these items happens in real time, as does healing, so the player must strategically pick when to craft and heal so as to not leave yourself exposed. There is also an upgrade bench that you can upgrade your guns to make them more efficient. Even with these upgrades, you never feel like more than a man. You aren’t Nathan Drake surviving impossible odds, you are Joel and everything you go through seems plausible and realistic, aside from fungal zombies.

The Last of Us never feels like an escort mission, Ellie and other people you meet will never cause you to be discovered by the enemy. This one of the few complaints about the game, and it’s a minor one. It’s not that other people can’t cause you to be discovered, but that Ellie won’t always hide convincingly. Sometimes she’ll come into full view of the enemy and he will completely ignore her. It breaks up the realism of the game and is a little glaring. Another complaint is that Listen Mode doesn’t always work, very rarely there were times I could see an enemy hiding but in Listen Mode it wouldn’t work. These were the only issues I could find with the game and it was very minute.

Lastly we have the multiplayer; while not important to the main story, I found it to be charming and quite fun. Called Factions, the multiplayer has two modes; Survivors and Supply Raid. Survivors is a four-on-four deathmatch. The caveat is that once you die, your stay dead for the rest of the round, best of seven wins. In Supply Raid, the team has a shared number of lives, for each death the team loses a count towards the team life. When it hits zero, that team loses. In multiplayer, you are a leader of a camp, by winning or losing matches; your camp is affected positively or negatively. It’s a slight addition but pretty fun.

The Last of Us is as perfect as a video game could get.  Naughty Dog has created a near flawless video game experience that throws you on an emotional roller coaster ride from start to finish. This is by far the best Playstation 3 game and perhaps one of, if not, the best video game of this generation. 5 out of 5 stars, 10 out of 10, 100 out of 100, whatever rating score you like to use, The Last of US is a masterpiece.

It has begun.

E3 2013 is all about Sony versus Microsoft, and I think I can say for everyone that this is going to be the most anticipated, fierce, and earth-shattering year for both consumers and developers alike. For the first time ever, both Microsoft and Sony will be releasing their consoles around the same time, whereas the XBox was released 20 months after the Playstation 2, and the Xbox 360 being released a year before the Playstation 3. Everything that we’ve all heard since the start is boiling down to what’s going to happen within the next few days. There are so many websites that provide different information on the Ps4 and XBoxOne that it’s really hard to get all the facts put together in one article from a reliable and non-biased source. Real Otaku Gamer to the rescue!

I stated on twitter earlier today, videogames are not about which kind of gamer is better; it’s about a family of outcasts who come together to share their passion, not war. Unfortunately, there’s no stopping the PC/Sony/Microsoft war that’s erupting, but as an avid gamer myself, keep videogames as a hobby, not a religion. I want to make it perfectly clear that while the staff here has their own opinions and the console they’re excited for, it is not war, and the gaming community should never feel like it.

With that being said…

We’ll start with the Playstation 4.

The Dualshock 4, equipped with LED bar, touch pad, options and share buttons, and gamer sensor underneath to recognize the user.

For everyone who’s into the specs and the hardware, the console will feature 8GB GDDR graphics ram, a single chip custom processor, a low-power “Jaguar” CPU with 8 cores, and an AMD Radeon GPU. The controller itself will have a new design that will be easier to hold, featuring all the classic L and R bumpers and triggers, a touch pad, and a share button which will allow video streaming so you can prove that amazing KD ratio you tell everyone about. The controller will also have built in speakers (I’m sorry, that’s sooo cool!), rechargeable battery, LED lights so you can identify other gamers easily, see when your character is low on health, etc., and will also have the ability to sense if you’ve passed the controller onto someone else and will automatically adjust the split screen. The camera, called PS Eye, will not be required for all games, but will be fore some. That should not come as a shock to as since the available dancing and exercise games require the camera.

Let’s hop to Sony’s pros and cons with this console:

Pros:

- Because the camera will not be required in order to play this system, that will keep costs down for consumers. For more More About the Playstation Eye, click the link!

- It will use the same GPU, CPU, and hardware used in the best gaming PCs. Sony was smart in this area because they know that PC gaming is becoming the new standard. Built with a Solid State Drive, where the output will be able to have more cinematics, which is more than what many PCs can currently do. Check out the PS4 System Specs and the system specs in greater detail here.

- Sony designed this console to have a 10 year lifespan. We understand things are buggy at first release, but I think both Sony and Microsoft learned from their latest consoles what went wrong with their rings and lights of death.

- Controller can charge when the console is off. Can I get a ‘Hallelujah’?!

- Sony is keeping their focus with the “This is a game console” mentality. The KISS (keep it simple, stupid) method has always been good. When you focus on too many capabilities, you short-change on all of them, making each utility sub-par.

- Every game released for the PS4 will be available for PSN and will have a playable demo.

Cons:

- Not backwards compatible. Note: There will be an alternative BC service through Gaikai that will be offered through this console. We are also unsure on whether or not original Playstation games will be able to play.

- While the PS4 is dedicated to being a game console, it is still just that; a game console – a more powerful PS3

- There is no definitive answer as to how used games will work, whether there will be a fee, or it will work like Microsoft’s system. Thankfully, this question will be answered very soon.

- Probably the biggest problem is that we don’t know much of anything. Xbox One, at least, gave us a decent amount of information whereas Sony did not.

So in conclusion…

Playstation 4 is for gamers. It is designed to do just that, and aside from the familiar apps (like Netflix or other TV services) and capabilities (like bluray), there’s not much else. That’s not said in a drab way, but like I said, this console is designed to game. That’s it.

For more information on this beast, please visit the Sony PS4 Official Website.

Now, onto the XBox One!

The console at the reveal last month, featuring the console, controller, and Kinect.

There’s no denying the uproar and outrage about the recent news and information Microsoft reveal. Some people just don’t care because they love Microsoft, they love all the utilities it’s capable of, and that’s great for someone who can and will use them all to the max. Microsoft will be providing over 300,000 servers as opposed to the 15,000 that the 360 currently has. This console also features the 8 core x86 processor like the PS4. It will have 8 GB of RAM and a 500BG HD.

Pros:

- The long awaited Blu Ray abilities will be available.

- You can download your games straight to the cloud. No more missing/scratched disks. You can access your movies and game saves anywhere, anytime. And no need to spend money on extra hard drive space because the games will be stored in the cloud. That also includes no more waiting for game updates.

- You can add up to 1000 Live friends as opposed to the original 100.

- It’s an all-in-one media center that will connect your gaming needs, music, cable, Skype, Netflix, and everything else into one place, all voice activated. No more switching inputs!

- A multi-useful Kinect that will sense your body and movements better than its predecessor. You will also be able to skype with your friends while watching TV or playing your games. If you play on a Fantasy league, your stats will be automatically updated for you.

-  Personalized console that knows what you like and what you don’t, and saves your preferences.

In all honesty, there is a lot to be said about the XBox One due to the fact that it does so much. This console is going to be great for those who love everything and don’t have enough screens to do them all with. Microsoft has put all control in your hands and your voice; your gaming, your way. For a full list of its functions, please visit the XBox One Official site.

Cons:

We all have heard, and given these cons, I agree that we’re really being screwed over. On the other hand, we don’t know much about the PS4 either, so it’s just a waiting game.

- The Kinect is required in order for the Xbox to do its functions. Because there is additional hardware that comes sold, the initial cost will be much higher. The Kinect also cannot be shut off, and if it does break, then you’re really out of luck with playing your console.

- You must connect to the internet on your console once every 24 hours. If not, you will not be able to play and the Xbox will be a pretty paperweight until you can connect.

- Only certain, pre-approved retailers will take your trades. Because less places take the trade, you will get less money for it. You cannot lend games, rent games, but you can sell games if the person has been a friend on Live for at least 30 days. Once they purchase it, it will be theirs forever and it cannot be sold.

-Not backwards compatible.

- If you’re sitting with your significant other while one wants to watch a game while the other wants to watch Teen Mom, at the sound of the voice, the TV will switch. “XBox, play Knicks Game.” Switch! “… XBox, play American Idol.” Switch! Very prone to trolling.

To sum it up…

I think the cons are tending to outweigh the pros in this area. But when looking at what it can do as a whole, it really gives the player ultimate control over all entertainment.

Putting PS4 and Xbox One Into Perspective

Understand that this is not a final list, but this is a good chunk of what all gamers should know going into Microsoft and Sony’s conferences. Us here at Real Otaku Gamer want you to be as informed as possible, without bias, straight from the source (or at least the credible ones). The pros and cons are great and concerning on both ends for this to be considered a very neck-and-neck competition.

So what do you all think about the story so far? Will PS4 win over the population, or Microsoft sway the audience with their all-in-one media center?

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Ah, the end of the Final Fantasy 13 series, finally. It’s been a long time coming, and initially I felt that it should have ended a very long time ago. Playing the first one, I hated nearly every second of it. Despite my mind talking me out from repeatedly picking up the controller, it seemed that I just played it simply because it was in my console. And then FFXIII-2 came out, and I let out a soft sigh, mumbling here we go again. I do have to admit that the second installment was 10 times better than the first with a much more cohesive and comprehensible story line  enjoyable worlds to visit… very reminiscent of Kingdom Hearts in a way. After I beat it, I was left with 25% of my brain saying that I couldn’t wait to see what was next. Albeit a bit late, the game now takes a change in what seems to be for the better. Before we get into technicalities, we need to establish the background of this latest installment.

A screenshot during Toriyama’s presentation in Tokyo, Jan 2013.

Following the events in FFXIII-2, In 1000 AF, Valhalla and Gran Pulse have merged after Etro’s death. The result of the chaos is called the Nova Chrysalia – the four continents in the Sea of Chaos and Bhunivelze as the new Cocoon. Due to the merge of Valhalla and Gran Pulse, people have stopped aging. On one of the continents named Luxerion, the citizens start to form a closed religious city where those who do not believe are cast out. Lightning then awakes, and in 13 days, 13 hours, the world will be decimated. She is then called by the god Bhunivelze to save the world. She reunites with the old gang along the way and fights her way through those who oppose her mission in hopes of saving mankind.

I have to say, the idea sounds pretty frickin’ awesome and solid.

Motomu Toriyama, the series director, stated that Lightning will face her final battle. Whether or not she will return or not in any future games outside of FFXIII is not clear, but what is clear is that this trilogy featuring Lightning’s story is over. Toriyama made it a point to the directors to bring the power and glory in her eyes, to make her fierce, persistent, and relentless towards her mission. I like it! That tells me that there will be even greater graphics to bring emotion onto the field, trying to close the chasm between player and character. Let’s move on as to what will make this game very different from what we’re used to.

When it comes to gameplay, think of the doomsday clock element of Majora’s Mask and the interactive abilities of Assassin’s Creed. She will be able to hang off ledges, duck around corners, jump, etc. The characters will also be able to freely move during combat, which is an element that didn’t really catch on much in the Final Fantasy series. In addition,  this game will feature a more realistic time setting where the day is split into morning, afternoon, and night and interactions with other NPCs (non-playable characters) will vary depending on the time of day (inspired by Skyrim). The monorail that takes you from continent to continent or between cities will run on a regular schedule as well, so yes, you might have to practice your patience when transferring to different places. Yet another familiar feature are the Schematas, where Lightning can change outfits that will change her abilities during combat (a la Final Fantasy X-2) instead of the Paradigm Shifts that we’ve been accustomed to. In one person’s review of the demo, the combat system is very easy to get accustomed to and requires less strategy that was required in the series’ predecessors. That’s not to say that the boss battles will be easy nor simple. It does make it convenient that we no longer have to worry about the different paradigms that are in the queue in order to survive.

The demo will make its debut at E3 next week, where we will have more information on whether or not the game is a yea or nay. Check out the E3 trailer below and tell us what you think!

The game is set to release Fall of 2013 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Amazing is one of the many words that can describe the game. Many of our editors have given the game a go, many were left in shock and in awe on how beautiful this game is. The Uncharted series creators, Naughty Dog,  have done it again and absolutely have another hit on their hands with The Last of us.

**WARNING THE FOLLOWING DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS, SCROLL DOWN TO CONTINUE**

The demo was recently released to those that bought God of War: Ascensions, load the game and download the demo from there if you haven’t already done so. After downloading it, there will be a second download when launching the game.

The game does a great job of showing the mechanics of how the game works. The first part of the game takes you through the scenery  allowing you to experience the games graphics. It also gives you a basic understanding of how to crouch, climb and pick up items. At one point in the game, I ran into a situation where I couldn’t figure out how to climb up a wall with vines growing out of it. Maybe it was just me, but I spend quite some time on it. I cut that out of the video considering how time consuming that was. Moving past the dead bodies that have been torn to shreds, we are presented with a body so “infected” that once the main character moves the body it turns into dust. From here we are introduced to our first enemy, a Clicker.

Clickers are infected humans that are so badly infected they are completely blind and use a clicking noise as a type of sonar to find their prey. In the game they are best described as bats. In the game if you hide behind something they can’t see you, seeing as how the noise passes overhead or around you. At that point you can launch a brick or bottle to get their attention else where and away from you. These are the most difficult enemies to beat in the demo.

After getting passed the Clicker and moving a bit forward, you’re presented with some eerie moaning coming from all sides. This is where the game basically tells “Hey you like this game so far? Well, f*** you. Here have a ton of Runners after you”. Yes, we are now introduced to Runners. Runners are NOT blind and chase after you. They chase you so that they can give you hugs…. deadly hugs. This part of the game almost made me rage, I was killed several times.

The demo was a great idea on Naughty Dog, I would highly suggest to them to make this demo more available to the public instead of a download via GOW. I’m sure when the game is available on June 14th, we should see a demo. This is a must have game! Naughty Dog did an excellent job with this game and I’m just speaking on the demo. I can only imagine what the actual game will be like.

Today we are diving into an artistic dream world, in a fast paced arcade puzzle adventure! Echoes is playable on PS3, PSP and Vita. These are called Minis, simple yet very entertaining. The game is created by Indie game developer Halfbrick. Echoes is an old version of you, every time you collect a crystal in the game, you create an Echo that traces your path back and forth. The point of the game is to collect the selected amount of Crystals every round.

The game presents you with a more and more difficult challenge as you progress. Echoes also features different powers that help you thought the game, such as hourglasses that stop time. The game starts you with 3 life’s,  although you may lose a few life’s hitting your own Echoes, you eventually do get life’s in some of the stages.

The game also comes with different modes to keep the game fresh. The game includes Arcade mode, Jackpot mode, Survival mode and clock work. These are modes are unlocked the further you progress in the game. Jackpot mode gives you about a minute to grab as many crystals as possible while avoiding your own Echoes. Survival mode, starts you off with 10 seconds,you then set off pulses ( crystals that eliminate echoes). The point in this mode is to get the highest score possible. Clockwork allows to move your Echoes forward and back with the trigger buttons.

The game is really fun, especially for the price. At last check it was going for $2.99 and remember it is a PS Mini, meaning that this game be played on most of you Playstation handheld devices. Great game, HalfBrick did a great job to make such a simple artistic looking game very entertaining.

Bejeweled 2 can easily be called a game that most hardcore or casual gamers have at least tried before. The game is widely available and has seen its share of different looks and style. The game has been available on almost every platform imaginable including mobile cell phones. This can easily called one of Popcaps “Jewel” games.

The Bejeweled gameplay concept is very simple, match 3 in a row of the same color to clear those specific Jewels off. Better yet, if you where to match more the 3 special items are created.  Matching 4 provides a bomb that clears out a small cluster of Jewels. 5  Provides an item when combined with a jewel, destroys every other jewel of the same color off the board. Finally 6 created an electrical jewel that shoots an electrical current in 4 directions destroying everything in its path.

The point of the game varies on the mode you are playing the game in. In Classic mode, players must complete a progress bar. The higher the clearing combo, the faster the progress bar fills. Each time the progress bar is filled, players advance to the next stage. Careful though, if your combos arent pulled carefully you might end up in a bind with no possible moves, at that point its game over and have to start over from stage one.

The other modes in the game include Action, Puzzle and endless mode. Action mode allows you to enter your top scores, this in turn allows you to compete with others to get the highest score possible. In Puzzle mode you are presented with… well…. puzzles. Boards are presented to players and players must complete the board with a certain amount of moves allowed. Endless is… well… endless…. play until you cant play no more!

Overall Popcap does a great job with their games, they know exactly how to reach out to gamers of all sorts. They are fully aware of what they are doing when it comes down to a specific group of people to target. Bejeweled is a game series that will be here for the long run. They have so much room to apply different aspect to always make the game seem refreshed. I wouldnt doubt seeing new ways to play in the near future along with new items and power ups.

Poker Night at the Inventory 2 is TellTale’s latest Xbox Live Arcade, Steam and Playstation Network game and is, as the title suggests, a Poker game at it’s core. More than that, this downloadable title is an example of how great personalities and some clever writing can make a functional but not particularly exciting card game into an engaging and fun experience for the player.

After a short and cameo filled introduction the player, aptly named and referenced to as “Player”, is introduced to their adversaries for the night’s game; Brock from “The Venture Bros.”, Claptrap from “Borderlands”, Ash from “Army of Darkness” and Sam of “Sam and Max”. Other characters from these titles and other telltale titles drift in and out during the course of tournaments.

The Cast of Poker Night at the Inventory 2

The writing in this game is superb, drawing from popular culture, developer-in jokes and character backstories, always keeping the player engaged and chuckling throughout. TellTale has made the focus of the game the characters and their interactions whilst playing, not the poker itself. This works well in this game as the mix of nostalgia and humour, brought to life by the characters and Glad0s, allow the player get wrapped up in the experience not the base gameplay, often hanging out for the cast’s quips and comments more than counting the chips on the table and watching for tells.

The poker in game feels a little drab itself, and without the writing would probably be just another basic poker game. The choice of Glad0s as dealer helps to liven up the gameplay as she regularly drops from the ceiling to provide ‘helpful’ comments to the player. The game also features character animations to give away when they are bluffing, but they are not common or very well executed. The Player may also buy drinks for the cast from the bartender Mad Moxxi of the  Borderlands games. They make the ‘tells’ from others more obvious, but they still didn’t play much of a role in the results of the tournaments. When you get to playing you get a choice between “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “Omaha”, both games play well and the tournaments serve as opportunities for bragging rights, and more importantly, unlocks. After completing challenges you are offered the chance to win a special item from each character’s title, such as Ash’s Necronomicon and Claptrap’s Video Game Award, each awarding the player with unlocks outside of the game.

Borderlands 2 Unlocks

The game’s brilliant writing is added to by the ability to get heads and skins for Borderlands 2 on all platforms, and then platform specific unlocks including avatar items, Team Fortress 2 hats and exclusive themes. These unlocks keep the game playable well after the dialogue starts to repeat, but once you complete these there is little to keep you playing after the occasional game for nostalgia’s sake. There are also felt, deck and chip variants for each title to unlock, purchasable with ‘unlock tokens’ won in tournaments. These re-skin the bar and game aspects, but don’t affect gameplay.

Overall this game is quite fun and well worth the price tag, quite cheap on all platforms. The jokes, dialogue and unlocks make the game quite addictive and entertaining, but the replay value drops once the dialogue starts to loop and the unlocks are all collected. Some extra modes, multiplayer and more dialogue would help with the replay value, but the game is still great. For some laughs, free items and a good bit of poker fun this is well worth the download. A solid 8/10!

First appeared on NerdyButFlirty.com

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is the expansion to the Capcom game Dragon’s Dogma. It includes the original Dragon’s Dogma, as well as an all new setting, Bitterblack Isle. The game comes with two discs, one of which is an optional install disc that ups the textures and allows you to select the original Japanese voice acting.

If you don’t have any save data from Dragon’s Dogma, you’ll have to level a bit (to level 45) before you can take on the denizens of the isle. If you do have save data, you’ll be able to export your character and all save data with new skills and augments as well as new weapons and armor sets. You’ll also get 100,000 Rift Crystals, unlimited Ferry stones, and the Gransys Armor Pack, consisting of six brand new costumes. Which was pretty awesome.

To catch you up, Dragon’s Dogma was an action RPG released last May. The setting is open world fantasy, and the combat is hack and slash. Although I didn’t finish the original game, I loved it, and only traded it in to get this one! This new expansion is sure to please those who’ve leveled their characters up past the hundreds, as the challenge is quite substantial.

Plot

“Just off the Gransys mainland is the cursed Bitter black Isle, where gamers will embark on an all-new quest to discover an underground realm, complete with new terrifying foes and incredible treasure.”

Basically, you meet a strange woman who tells you she’s not really there, but she can take you to herself. You hop in the boat and end up on the island, where you will explore, fight insanely hard battles, and then bring back items for her to uncurse. She’s very vague, just like that official plot up there.

You can also continue the plot of the original game, which was to defeat the dragon that is terrorizing your country. The Dark Arisen story is set after the events of the first game, where you will face a new boss in a new area of that world, but if you haven’t played, it will just fold in like part of the original story.

Graphics and Music

The graphics in Dark Arisen are generally quite nice, but once in a while they just get bad. I don’t know what it is (I’m not technical when it comes to graphics issues) but one minute it will look glorious, and then you’re fighting five goblins and you’re half in a barrel and textures look funny. Sounds like my Saturday night. Zing.

Speaking of funny, watch NPCs mouths when they talk. Only the bottom lip moves! Which is better than my pawn, who doesn’t move his mouth at all.

The music is haunting and lovely. I sometimes let the game sit at the start menu just to hear the intro song. The ambiance is perfect for adventuring!

Gameplay

Pawns

Dark Arisen is set up like most Western style RPGs, with one main difference: the Pawn system. Pawns are helper creatures. I say creatures, because it is constantly made clear throughout the game that Pawns are not people. They are expendable – you can always get rid of one and buy a new one to fit the current questline a little better. It’s a very unusual system, especially since most RPGs want you to grow attached to your companions, not consider them, well, pawns.

Your pawns are amazing. Pawns learn skills and communicate with you in the way you teach them to. Netting a high level pawn who knows a lot of skills and quests means having constant tips and advice when you need it…and often when you don’t. They attack based on tactics you lay out, meaning I often had absolutely nothing to do with most battles.

Pawns also gather loot for you and break boxes, which is my favorite thing of all. Do you know how nice it is not to have to do all the looting by myself? You all know about me and my looting habit already though, so moving on.

Menu

In Dark Arisen, the Dragon’s Dogma menu system has been tweaked slightly in hopes of being more intuitive. It didn’t bother me either way, so I can’t say if it’s an improvement or not. I will say that it probably takes some getting used to, as it is a true RPG. You have your inventory, maps, quest area, stats, equipment, tools and curatives (potions). All of that has got to go somewhere, and I can’t really think of a better way to do it than the method Capcom chose.

Combat

There are some new enemies in Dark Arisen, such as the Elder Ogres, Pyre Saurians, and Necorphagous. Oh, and Death. Death is an enemy. And he one-hit kills you, so have fun with that.

Combat in Dragon’s Dogma was already pretty fun, with all the monster climbing reminding me of Shadow of Colossus. In Dark Arisen, combat is no laughing matter. The expansion is meant to be just that: an expansion, so expect a lot of challenging battles. The final boss has a very frustrating attack as well, but I wont spoil it for you. Suffice to say, tactics and pawns are vitally important on the isle.

My main issue with combat is the lack of an enemy lock. It drives me crazy to be in a clump of combatants and to not be able to choose who I fight. The combat also isn’t as satisfying as the combat in the original Dragon Age was to me (I had the same complaint with Skyrim), but maybe it’s just the hack and slash aspect that doesn’t work as well for my play style.

What I do love about the combat is how you interact with the larger or more complex enemies. For example, I can grab a flying monster’s leg while my pawns attack, or my pawn can throw me into the air to grab onto the back of a griffin. Some giant monsters have to be taken down piece by piece by climbing to the appropriate body part. Fighting large monsters is very exciting, and really shows off how well done the AI system is.

But this is just Dark Souls/Skyrim/SotC!

A possible complaint some could have with Dark Arisen is that it isn’t very new or original. It’s obviously influenced by Western-style RPGs, and even seems like a love letter to Dark Souls.

However, a girl like me, who deeply loves these fantasy RPGs, isn’t going to tell you that’s an issue. I don’t need the RPG genre to be rewritten with every new game (lookin’ at you, Dragon Age II and the possibly even more different Dragon Age III). I don’t need to be wowed by how original the game is. To be perfectly honest, I love RPGs for the same reason I love books – escaping into a fantasy world. So bring on the quests and the sweeping meadows and the orc-like creatures and, yes, the dragons. Playing this game was like putting on my favorite hoodie…which tries to murder me in a nice, comfortable way.

Final Verdict

Score: B+

Not mind-blowing or stunningly original, but this is good, solid RPG fun, with an exciting level of challenge. Dragon’s Dogma was one of the forgotten gems of last year, and Dark Arisen just builds on that.

If you’ve played Dragon’s Dogma, you will find the perfect amount of (or maybe too much) challenge for your high level character. If you haven’t played Dragon’s Dogma, this is an excellent value for your money, so get it now! I plan to spend many more hours in this lovely world.

First appeared on Nerdy But Flirty

I had the pleasure of getting my hands on a copy of Injustice: Gods Among Us, the new superhero fighting game from NetherRealm Studios, the folks that brought us Mortal Kombat. This game is very much in the vein of the new Mortal Kombat (that isn’t a bad thing at all), with heroes and villains fighting epic battles on a huge scale, with lots of over-the-top sequences. The storyline is very authentic, and was apparently created in collaboration between NetherRealm Studios, DC Entertainment, and writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti.

Before diving into the game review, I’d be remiss not to mention the AWESOME comic attached to the game. What? Yeah, I know that sounds like crazy talk! But the Injustice: Gods Among Us comic series is amazing. I intend to write a full review this week, but in the meantime, you should just know that it will add to your game experience in a meaningful way.

Plot

“What if our greatest heroes became our greatest threat? Injustice: Gods Among Us features DC Comics icons such Batman, Cyborg, The Flash, Harley Quinn, Nightwing, Solomon Grundy, Superman, and Wonder Woman. This latest title from the award-winning studio presents a deep original story.”

Without spoiling anything, I will just say that they actually mean it when they say a deep story. The comics add even more depth to it, but basically you are given excellent reasons for why you are fighting the heroes and villains you are, as well as a minor explanation for how the lesser heroes and villains are keeping up with the stronger ones.

Characters

There are twenty-four characters, including Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Raven, Killer Frost, Harley, and Catwoman. Three girls for the bad guys and three girls for the good guys. Overall, this was a pretty eclectic mix of DC fighters, and I was happy to see them attempt to be a little different by including characters who normally don’t make it into the big name fighting games.

The characters are split into good and evil, as well as power-based characters and tech-based characters. I found the tech -based characters harder to play, of course (if you know me, this makes sense), but I wouldn’t say the power-based characters are better than the tech ones, they just suited my play style.

Women in Games

My male friend kept muttering to himself every time Harley Quinn was on screen. I asked him what was wrong and he explained that he hated the way each game seemed to want to make Harley more and more naked. I thought it was an interesting point, especially when I was feeling a similar way about Wonder Woman’s breasts. They just looked SO physically impossible. I kept getting distracted by all the logistics of trying to fight with DDs. But hey, this is a fighting game, and they have NEVER made physical sense as far as the female fighters are concerned. Catwoman is pretty covered, and Hawkgirl looks like a total badass, so I guess I’ll take the small wins…even if Killer Frost does stroke herself sensually when you leave her alone for a bit…

Also, this statement happened: “Our Wonder Woman is better looking!” >.<

Graphics

The graphics are solid, realistic, and ugly. Yes I said ugly. I’m sorry, but it’s the same complaint I had with the new Mortal Kombat. This is not a pretty game.

The intro graphics looked beautiful, until the first person showed up. It was kind of obvious what their graphic priorities were in the game. Backgrounds, cutscenes and special moves look awesome, but character rigs and model faces look strange.

Music

What music? That about sums up how I felt about the music. It was appropriate to the scenes, but not spectacular. There were fifteen stages, and I can’t think of any of their music without going and checking. It sounds like an epic battle is raging.

Combat

Stages

Speaking of stages, the stages in this game are a joy to play on. They are varied and interesting, with a great level of interaction. Not only can you smash into and through things into transition stages, but the backgrounds also react to the level of damage being tossed about, with candles jumping in the background, holes appearing in the ceilings, etc. You can also propel yourself off of objects, trigger traps, or hurl objects at your opponents.

The transitions were my favorite – they looked so painful!

Modes

There are quite a few modes to play, which really adds to the re-playability of this game, with or without friends around. There are the multiplayer modes, such as versus and online mode. In online mode, there are multiple ways to play with other folks: ranked matches, private matches, 1v1, Koth, and Survivor modes.

For single player, there is story mode, arcade mode, S.T.A.R. Labs, and a training mode. There is also a Battle Mode, where you can choose to fight only heroes, only villains, while poisoned, or in survival mode.

Story Mode was just excellent. Not only was it deep and involving, but it was also hilarious and fun. Sometimes it would even throw in relevant quick time events that would give you the chance to lower an enemy’s health before a fight. You all know how much I hate QTEs, but these were actually pretty small and not very obnoxious at all, especially since they didn’t really matter and moved so slow only a toddler could miss them. Playing Story Mode was like watching an excellent cartoon or reading a great comic, and that’s pretty amazing to say about a DC superhero fighting game.

S.T.A.R. Labs was pretty cool and is where I spent most of my time after beating story mode. Each character has a set of missions that are like mini-stories with tasks you need to complete. These tasks include more than just defeating enemies: they range from keeping Superman in the sunlight to playing as Catwoman’s cat. You earn stars in missions by accomplishing one or all of the three goals. A certain number of stars opens up the next sets of missions, and so on.

Fighting

Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. So how is the fighting? Pretty darn fun. I think this game will be a darling among the fighting game community, actually.

The combos and fighting system is basically the same as Mortal Kombat. You use directional buttons and attack buttons to do light, mid, and high attacks. At your disposal are moves, combos, special moves, stances, the move specific to your character, and the special move specific to your character. There is also a bounce cancel and the ability to juggle characters around like a beach ball. Examples of moves specific to characters include Batman’s remote bats, Hawkgirl’s flight, and Flash’s speed. The full special moves are generally pretty funny because they’re so over the top. You’ll see what I mean; I don’t want to spoil the surprised grin that’s going to flash over your face when some of these happen.

There is also an interesting little system called the clash. Basically, the clash allows the defender the chance to regain some health and the attacker the chance to inflict more damage. It can be initiated once per match per character after revealing the second health bar. During the timed wagering phase, each player has the option of secretly wagering an amount of their super meter against their opponent’s amount. If the defender wins the clash, they will gain an amount of health determined by the difference of how much meter was wagered.

Is the fighting perfect? Not by any means. Depending on what type of fighting game you prefer, you may find the combat repetitive – or certain characters will seem very overpowered. Then there is the sheer nonsense of watching a Joker beat a Superman…it just seems absurd, despite the story-driven reason given for the inconsistency.

However, the good definitely outweighed the bad for me.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think NetherRealm did a great job with this game. The story is deep, plausible, and funny, the fighting is solid, and there are tons of options to hold your attention. Despite the ugly-fied graphics, boring music, and hideous face models, I just can’t dislike this game! Now off I go to defeat more foes in online mode! See you there.

First appeared on Nerdy But Flirty

This game is freakin’ awesome.

What game, you ask? Why, Guacamelee! of course! Guacamelee is an indie, 2-D platformer from DrinkBox Studios that melds features of Metroid, Outland, Castlevania, the cartoons of our childhood, and a healthy dose of The Emperor’s New Groove into one solid, action-packed game.

Inspired, vaguely, by Mexican culture, the game doesn’t take itself too seriously and hopes you don’t either. Players control Juan, a wannabe luchadore. Or, in my case, they play player number 2: Tostada, a luchadora. But I’ll get to that feminist stuff later.

Lovers of old-school platform gaming will delight in the many, many callbacks to other games, from Mario to Zelda, Megaman to Castle Crashers.

Gameplay

The core gameplay revolves around moves used in both combat and platforming. They’re color-coded and have awesome names, including the words derpderp and goat, so you know I was a fan. Enemies include all types of skeletons. Big ones, small ones, giant ones, fishy ones: the undead are out in full force.

Moves involve smashing, grabbing, and pile driving enemies into pieces, along with a dimension switch mechanic similar to that of Outland.

The puzzles and boss fights were actually pretty challenging, which is such a refreshing change of pace from the norm of repetitive battles or constant guidance. Guacamelee! features the Metroid-style open-world, which grows even larger as you gain new powers and backtrack to old areas. Sometimes my mind was just blown by what I was doing. These are the kinds of games I love: the ones that are challenging enough to give you a sense of accomplishment when you play well.

The game was probably about five hours long for a normal person, but I’m a loot maniac and a sucker for treasure hunting, so it took me about seven hours to get 80% completion. I felt that this was a good length for a game with such a thin story, but I’d love to see more levels added as DLC in the future.

The game offers boss fights that are actually challenging in the old-school way: learning to read your opponent, memorizing patterns, and learning by dying repeatedly until you figure something out. I missed this! And it is the perfect kind of game for a handheld like the Vita so that was another excellent decision, especially with the ability to cross save and cross play.

As for combat itself, the game has a surprisingly robust combo system! I got to the final level of combos before I finally walked away, but I managed to impress myself with the length and complexity of combos I was able to learn. And they helped! The further you progress into the game, the more combat tactics will come into play, as wave after wave of enemy, some with shields and some in other, untouchable, dimensions, delivereth the smacketh down on you.

Plot

“But Sarah, you ALWAYS put plot before gameplay in your reviews! What’s up?”

Well, I’m glad you asked.

You see, I want you to understand that this game is amazing and that I loved it, so I put the happy stuff first. The best part of this game truly is the actual gameplay, followed closely by the art and ambiance.

The plot, on the other hand, is the same tired, boring old trope dressed up in its fiesta best: rescue the princess from the bad man.

This is an indie game, so I could go light on the criticism here. Guacamelee! clearly isn’t out to change the world. It’s fun and challenging. So why did I have such a hangup? Well, along with the plot, there’s the way women in the game are portrayed and talked about.

Once again, I want to reiterate that I think this game is fantastic, but this was definitely the sour note in the chorus. I’m still pretty stoked that I get to be Tostada at all, so I’m not taking it out on the studio. This is more like the “I’m complaining because I care about this game and want it to go to college and grow up to be a productive citizen” kind of deal. It’s also just odd, because the hilarious dialogue made it clear that these folks know how to write.

The one interesting thing about the plot has to do with the ending of the game. There is no real resolution or discussion of what happened to Juan, who is treated like a second class citizen because, inexplicably, he is not a luchador. But there is no moral at the end, no need to say, “Hey you guys, it’s not fair that you love me now that I’m a luchadore!” That doesn’t happen. He just revels in it until the end, not seeming to care that he had to conform to their standards to be accepted. It seems especially odd because the beginning of the game had lots of foreshadowing that something’s not quite right with Juan, but it is never looked into – we only get a brief flashback that doesn’t explain much. That, along with a few other choices near the end, were pretty bold, so there was some great potential here for intrigue.

Art and Sound

The art is lush and gorgeous. I spent an inexcusable amount of time checking out the backgrounds and moving slowly through the game to let my eyeballs soak in the bright, beautiful glory that is Guacamelee!‘s art. I especially loved the little touches like Aztec shields and swords on ancient warriors and the motif of the hero holding the woman on a mountain top. The color schemes and little signs in the background were also perfect touches. The details were gorgeous, and I loved finding the HUGE amount of Easter eggs in the game.

The music was very Mexican-sounding, though that doesn’t mean it’s authentic. I found it rather repetitive and annoying after the first thirty minutes or so, which is unfortunate and made me feel bad for not appreciating horns more.

Another interesting choice was the lack of voices as well as the lack of voice or written speech for Juan, the protagonist. I probably wouldn’t have noticed that Juan didn’t speak, except that people kept asking him questions, and sometimes pretended that he had answered…but mostly reacted as if Juan kept silent. It was pretty strange.

On the other hand, putting on ridiculous voices and reading the other character’s lines was immensely entertaining. And, as I mentioned, the dialogue was mostly fantastic, with characters making me laugh out loud at some of the things they said. For example: “Like an orphaned cabbage, you rolled straight into my trap.”

Multiplayer

Playing with friends is fun and natural. There is something supremely satisfying about brawler style fights with friends along for the ride. I also loved solving puzzles cooperatively: that moment when you figure something out and you get the hi-five going – you can’t get that by yourself…easily.

Sharing the screen was the right way to go, and as I’ve mentioned, I was overjoyed that player two is a female character. The only time it gets difficult are with moves that come later in the game, especially with dimension flipping. Fortunately, only one team member needs to make it to the next section, as it will automatically teleport the other player to the beginning of the next area if one person makes it.

In Conclusion: Go Get It!

My hangups with the plot and trope-d out women are nothing compared to the amount of sheer FUN I was having. Guacamelee! is not only eye candy, it’s challenging in a refreshing way. I can’t wait to dive back in with my friends!

Guacamelee! is out now for the PlayStation 3 and Vita for $14.99.