Official Site: [Not working]
Source: Youtube Channel otakubutgangsta
Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: SEGA
Platforms: [Playstation 3], Xbox 360
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Genre: Beat 'em Up
Pros:
+ Easy to pick up combat mechanics
+ Great music that really enhances the experience
+ Exciting online multiplayer with 11 different modes
+ A campaign mode for a single-player experience
+ Tutorial, training and simulation modes to practice for multiplayer
Cons:
- Can get repetitive, especially for those who aren't fans of Beat'emUp
- A match can get one-sided by chance depending on items and level events
- The story doesn't get in-depth and ends up being simple and vague
Recommended: Maybe, beat 'em ups aren't for everyone to begin with, and the main attraction is multiplayer which is uncertain if people still play it.
Anarchy Reigns wasn't something high on my priority list, but I got it after finding out that it was only $30 and a friend of mines wanted to play together online. Multiplayer is pretty fun, but I was hoping for a single-player experience as well. Fortunately for me, there was a campaign waiting for me to play. I thought single-player was going to be like fighting games where you fight each of the characters in the game, which is somewhat true. Single-player provides open-map environments where random events and enemies appear while quests and side-quests appear for the player to progress through the story. Combat is a bit confusing at first, but can be picked up fairly quickly after an hour or so. By positioning yourself and utilizing all the skills a character has, the player can take on dozens of enemies and come out unscathed. The story is simple and a bit vague, but I suppose it's nice to have rather than having all the characters fight each other in a cliché fashion. Despite being a sort of sequel to MadWorld, the gameplay, art direction, and story are pretty different. The one thing that's similar is how great the music is. At its core, Anarchy Reigns is a beat 'em up and has the mechanics that makes it a fun and entertaining experience. Single-player is great for relaxing and fighting hundreds of enemies while multiplayer provides a competitive and exciting experience against other players.
Aesthetics
Art-style: Neo-Urban 3D
+ Dark, yet colorful, the environment is almost like walking into a comic book
+ Characters are designed with unique and quirky aspects that make them stand out
+ Level designs make for a lively environment that changes frequently
+ Simple and clean user-interface makes navigating the menu easy
+ Voice acting is pretty good, especially love Blacker Baron's voice
+ Music is so good that I put it too max and put Sfx to 75% instead
+ Amazing animations and effects for special attacks
- All special moves have 1 animation, there's no variation
- Kind of liked the over-the-top violence from MadWorld, toned down in this
- With only 4 different environments, level variety might feel limited
Aesthetics: 9/10
Buttons
Controller: PS3 Controller
+ Keys are mapped in a familiar fashion and is easy to adjust to
+ Basic combos are easy to pull off
+ Special moves are simple while still allowing complex combos to be done
+ Lock-on helps with keeping enemies in vision
+ There's counters to everything, it's just a matter of being able to perform it
- Camera controls can be a bit tricky while in combat with multiple enemies
- Keys cannot be changed/customized
Buttons: 8/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Utilize attacks, specials, items and grabs to defeat all enemies
+ An entertaining single-player campaign
+ An exciting and competitive online multiplayer
+ Lots of characters to choose from (18 including Bayonetta DLC)
+ 11 different multiplayer game modes!!!
+ Levels have random events adding a dynamic element into the fight
+ Story isn't elaborated very far, but it was nice to have for single-player
+ Special moves and techniques are universal in execution, but differ in ability
+ Simulation mode allows solo-play multiplayer experience for practice
- Single-player length and content is very limited compared to multiplayer
- The combat system can be repetitive for some players
- Multiplayer falls apart once the community is gone
- There isn't enough references from MadWorld for the fans
- A fight in multiplayer can really be one-sided by chance (items, specials, etc.)
Concept and Content: 8/10
Duration
+ Progression in campaign is split piece by piece (quests) with a nice flow
+ Some quests requires using a weapon or vehicle which mixes the gameplay
+ Multiplayer provides plenty of modes to play, lots of gameplay time
+ Simulation is a fun mode to play to get the multiplayer experience when offline
+ 3 different difficulties for campaign, with about 50 quests
- The campaign is actually very short and story isn't elaborated very much
- Game can feel repetitive if played for long durations at a time
- A whole chunk of the game is gone if players don't play online anymore
Durations: 7/10
Fun
+ I like the characters, they're all unique in personality and combat style
+ I'm glad there was a single-player campaign for me to play
+ Combat is satisfying and is most exciting in multiplayer
+ Blacker Baron's lines and voice acting was truly the best
+ The music is so good, I can't stop listening to them. Very catchy hooks and beats
- The campaign can get boring after playing for long durations, must take breaks
- I would've really liked to see the characters and story have more depth to them
Fun: 8/10
Overall
I really liked the art style the game took and it was an interesting change to see the characters from MadWorld in color. The music just blew me away. The style of RnB and electronic is similar to MadWorld and even has many of the same contributing artists work on this one, but I think a lot of the songs are even better. The fast beats and catchy hooks make for an enhanced experience for the game. Combat seems a bit too simplistic at first, but gets a lot more interesting when they're utilized more effectively alongside items, level events, and alongside team-members. The game does feel like it favors a niche audience as beat 'em ups are not widely popular but has always had its fanbase. It can be very repetitive for those who don't enjoy the game and so I would mainly recommend the game to those who know they like beat 'em ups. Anarchy Reigns is a pretty solid beat 'em up with satisfactory entertainment and I'm glad I had gotten it. Overall: 8/10
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
GameLight Review - Sonic Generations
Official Site: http://www.sega.com/games/sonic-generations/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/71340/
Source: Youtube Channel MachinimaTrailer
Developer: Sonic Team (Xbox 360, PS3), Devil's Details (PC), Dimps (3DS)
Publisher: SEGA
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, [PC], 3DS (3DS version is different)
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Genre: Platformer, Action-Adventure
Pros:
+ Beautiful graphics with dynamic level designs
+ A tribute to all Sonic games that released before it
+ High-speed gameplay with incredible boss battles
+ Great remixed tunes and levels of past Sonic games
+ Incredible gameplay on Classic 2D and modern 3D side alike
+ Easy to pick up and play, but still provides a decent challenge
+ A game that fans and non-fans could enjoy
Cons:
- Missing out on a LOT of reference and nostalgia if never played a sonic game
- 3D portions of the game might be challenging for new players/non-gamers
- No Multiplayer of any form other than online leaderboards
- Very short game if played through without playing the extras
Recommended: Absolutely! Veteran or New to the series, fan or not, Sonic Generations is a game that anyone could enjoy.
Sonic Generations is like a huge "Thank You" from Sega to the fans for supporting Sonic through the 20 years. It takes all the greatest elements of every Sonic game ever made with the best levels, music, and mechanics to create the ultimate homage. With half of the game played as Classic Sonic while the other half is played as Modern Sonic, fans of both the 2D era and 3D era will have their fill of Sonic action. The game is fast-paced, slick, and stylish as a Sonic game should be. The game challenging but never overwhelming. Some of the challenges will be a bit frustrating, but the main game is mostly great. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous, the music is exciting, and the gameplay is solid. This is definitely the best Sonic game I've played in years and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys videogames and not just Sonic fans.
Aesthetics
Art-style: 2.5D and 3D
+ Bright, colorful, and dynamically changing environments
+ Faithful recreations of levels in both 2D and 3D games
+ Crazy fast semi-auto-pathed scenes that run smoothly and stylishly
+ The animations are slick and modern, but captures the essence of their origins
+ The music remixes of past songs are amazing
+ A lot of the sound effects are similar or the same as its origin
+ All boss battles are large in scale and has a sense of Sonic's speed
+ The white space is an interesting presentation for level selection
- A few instances where the camera is at an odd angle and blocks vision
- I really want to find flaw or fault in graphics or audio, but there isn't that many
Aesthetics: 10/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard or [gamepad] (I didn't try keyboard at all)
+ Familiar controls to those who've play Sonic games
+ Tight and responsive controls for the craziest of speed and platforming
+ Speed-ups and bumpers will direct the player to prevent odd direction pathing
+ Advanced techniques are taught slowly and progressively
+ There's a single button for a spin dash for classic Sonic now
- Some running parts have odd problems where Sonic keeps going to one direction
- Spin dashing (2D) or boosting (3D) on slanted area causes Sonic to turn around
Buttons: 8/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Run and jump to get to the goal
+ Taking the best levels and having both 2D and 3D play favors both sides of fans
+ Despite having the modern graphics, the game holds the essence of the originals
+ Simple story, but makes a plausible case for why all the past levels are here
+ As usual, each level has multiple paths that can be taken
+ Levels are faithful recreations of the originals with believable counterparts
+ Besides the main game, there's challenges, collecting, and online leaderboards
+ Lots of characters in past Sonic games make an appearance a help out
+ A really cheap DLC that adds a Casino Night Pinball game
- Some of the challenges aren't that fun and have questionable design choices
- For videogame veterans, the game could be considered "too easy"
- Sadly, no multiplayer of any kind (cooperative, race, etc.)
- An extra set of levels from Sonic 3, Sonic Rush, and Sonic CD would be nice
Concept & Content: 9/10
Duration
+ Despite taking a lot of the first levels of each game, progressively gets tougher
+ The game progression is played at the player's choice, can ignore most extras
+ Levels can be replayed for higher scores and collecting red coins
+ Challenges can be replayed for higher scores, or be ignore for the most part
+ Online mode posts highest scores on leaderboards for competitive aspect
- If challenges were ignored, the main game is actually incredibly short
- Some of the challenges feel like dumb time fillers for the game
Duration: 8/10
Fun
+ Hearing Green Hill Zone's theme and in 3D brought a tear to my eye
+ The 3D renditions of the 2D levels blew me away
+ Gameplay felt great for classic and modern side
+ Going super fast while staying in control is how Sonic games should be
+ I loved the boss battles, they were all so exciting (Silver was the surprising one)
+ I was so happy to see all the auto-path scenes work flawlessly
+ The music remixes are so great, I can't stop listening to them
+ Final boss made good use of both Sonics and left a good impression of the game
- There's a few challenges I just don't like (especially the one with Rouge)
- It would've been nice to have some sort of multiplayer (co-op, race)
Fun: 10/10
Overall
The last Sonic game I played and enjoyed was Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS 7 years ago. I have tried Sonic games from then till now but have only purchased Sonic 2006 last year to play through and only go through 1/3rd of it (completed Sonic's Story) before I gave up. It was a painful experience and one that's still fresh in my mind which was why I quickly bought Sonic Generations when it went on sale. What scared me was seeing the "Crisis City" level from Sonic 2006 in Sonic Generations, but even that level turned out to be really fun. Everything that's great about Sonic games have been brought together and put into a single game. The graphics are bright and colorful, the music is exciting and nostalgic, and the gameplay is fast and exhilarating. Even after completing the game, I can't stop thinking about how exciting the boss battles were, how fast I was going speeding through enemies, how beautiful the levels looked, or how catchy the songs are as I listen to them. I would definitely recommend this game to any gamer, Sonic fan or not. What really concerns me now is "how in the heck is Sonic Team going to outdo this creation?" Overall: 9/10
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/71340/
Source: Youtube Channel MachinimaTrailer
Developer: Sonic Team (Xbox 360, PS3), Devil's Details (PC), Dimps (3DS)
Publisher: SEGA
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, [PC], 3DS (3DS version is different)
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Genre: Platformer, Action-Adventure
Pros:
+ Beautiful graphics with dynamic level designs
+ A tribute to all Sonic games that released before it
+ High-speed gameplay with incredible boss battles
+ Great remixed tunes and levels of past Sonic games
+ Incredible gameplay on Classic 2D and modern 3D side alike
+ Easy to pick up and play, but still provides a decent challenge
+ A game that fans and non-fans could enjoy
Cons:
- Missing out on a LOT of reference and nostalgia if never played a sonic game
- 3D portions of the game might be challenging for new players/non-gamers
- No Multiplayer of any form other than online leaderboards
- Very short game if played through without playing the extras
Recommended: Absolutely! Veteran or New to the series, fan or not, Sonic Generations is a game that anyone could enjoy.
Sonic Generations is like a huge "Thank You" from Sega to the fans for supporting Sonic through the 20 years. It takes all the greatest elements of every Sonic game ever made with the best levels, music, and mechanics to create the ultimate homage. With half of the game played as Classic Sonic while the other half is played as Modern Sonic, fans of both the 2D era and 3D era will have their fill of Sonic action. The game is fast-paced, slick, and stylish as a Sonic game should be. The game challenging but never overwhelming. Some of the challenges will be a bit frustrating, but the main game is mostly great. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous, the music is exciting, and the gameplay is solid. This is definitely the best Sonic game I've played in years and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys videogames and not just Sonic fans.
Aesthetics
Art-style: 2.5D and 3D
+ Bright, colorful, and dynamically changing environments
+ Faithful recreations of levels in both 2D and 3D games
+ Crazy fast semi-auto-pathed scenes that run smoothly and stylishly
+ The animations are slick and modern, but captures the essence of their origins
+ The music remixes of past songs are amazing
+ A lot of the sound effects are similar or the same as its origin
+ All boss battles are large in scale and has a sense of Sonic's speed
+ The white space is an interesting presentation for level selection
- A few instances where the camera is at an odd angle and blocks vision
- I really want to find flaw or fault in graphics or audio, but there isn't that many
Aesthetics: 10/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard or [gamepad] (I didn't try keyboard at all)
+ Familiar controls to those who've play Sonic games
+ Tight and responsive controls for the craziest of speed and platforming
+ Speed-ups and bumpers will direct the player to prevent odd direction pathing
+ Advanced techniques are taught slowly and progressively
+ There's a single button for a spin dash for classic Sonic now
- Some running parts have odd problems where Sonic keeps going to one direction
- Spin dashing (2D) or boosting (3D) on slanted area causes Sonic to turn around
Buttons: 8/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Run and jump to get to the goal
+ Taking the best levels and having both 2D and 3D play favors both sides of fans
+ Despite having the modern graphics, the game holds the essence of the originals
+ Simple story, but makes a plausible case for why all the past levels are here
+ As usual, each level has multiple paths that can be taken
+ Levels are faithful recreations of the originals with believable counterparts
+ Besides the main game, there's challenges, collecting, and online leaderboards
+ Lots of characters in past Sonic games make an appearance a help out
+ A really cheap DLC that adds a Casino Night Pinball game
- Some of the challenges aren't that fun and have questionable design choices
- For videogame veterans, the game could be considered "too easy"
- Sadly, no multiplayer of any kind (cooperative, race, etc.)
- An extra set of levels from Sonic 3, Sonic Rush, and Sonic CD would be nice
Concept & Content: 9/10
Duration
+ Despite taking a lot of the first levels of each game, progressively gets tougher
+ The game progression is played at the player's choice, can ignore most extras
+ Levels can be replayed for higher scores and collecting red coins
+ Challenges can be replayed for higher scores, or be ignore for the most part
+ Online mode posts highest scores on leaderboards for competitive aspect
- If challenges were ignored, the main game is actually incredibly short
- Some of the challenges feel like dumb time fillers for the game
Duration: 8/10
Fun
+ Hearing Green Hill Zone's theme and in 3D brought a tear to my eye
+ The 3D renditions of the 2D levels blew me away
+ Gameplay felt great for classic and modern side
+ Going super fast while staying in control is how Sonic games should be
+ I loved the boss battles, they were all so exciting (Silver was the surprising one)
+ I was so happy to see all the auto-path scenes work flawlessly
+ The music remixes are so great, I can't stop listening to them
+ Final boss made good use of both Sonics and left a good impression of the game
- There's a few challenges I just don't like (especially the one with Rouge)
- It would've been nice to have some sort of multiplayer (co-op, race)
Fun: 10/10
Overall
The last Sonic game I played and enjoyed was Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS 7 years ago. I have tried Sonic games from then till now but have only purchased Sonic 2006 last year to play through and only go through 1/3rd of it (completed Sonic's Story) before I gave up. It was a painful experience and one that's still fresh in my mind which was why I quickly bought Sonic Generations when it went on sale. What scared me was seeing the "Crisis City" level from Sonic 2006 in Sonic Generations, but even that level turned out to be really fun. Everything that's great about Sonic games have been brought together and put into a single game. The graphics are bright and colorful, the music is exciting and nostalgic, and the gameplay is fast and exhilarating. Even after completing the game, I can't stop thinking about how exciting the boss battles were, how fast I was going speeding through enemies, how beautiful the levels looked, or how catchy the songs are as I listen to them. I would definitely recommend this game to any gamer, Sonic fan or not. What really concerns me now is "how in the heck is Sonic Team going to outdo this creation?" Overall: 9/10
Friday, April 26, 2013
VGCulture - Filler - All Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Prologues and Endings
I've been out all day today and am burnt out from reviewing games this week. And so I present to you all the Prologues and Endings from Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition.
Source: Youtube Channel onebyonetv
I'll be continuing the game reviews next week as I'm behind in them and am playing catch-up to get back on track.
Source: Youtube Channel onebyonetv
I'll be continuing the game reviews next week as I'm behind in them and am playing catch-up to get back on track.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
GameLight Review - Razor 2: Hidden Skies
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/34920/
Source: Youtube Channel INVENT4E
Developer: Invent4 Entertainment
Publisher: Strategy First
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Jul 19, 2010
Genre: Shoot-Em-Up
Pro:
+ Lots of action going on all the time
+ Incredible graphics for backdrops, enemies, effects, and user-interface
+ Not particularly memorable, but some pretty good orchestrated tracks
+ Upgradeable weapons, defenses and boosters
Cons:
- All sorts of problems when mapping keys to a controller
- The hit box for the player's ship is the whole ship, and bullets are pretty long/big
- You can't save the game in-between and nothing is saved other than hi-scores
- Even at the highest weapon upgrades, they're weak against even regular enemies
- The game's mechanics is flawed and poorly designed for a Shoot-em-up
- A lot of the boss battles are similar to each other with a few exceptions
Recommended: No, there are so many other better shoot-em-ups to play on Steam/PC
Razor 2: Hidden Skies presents itself really well in videos and screenshots due to its incredible graphics. The backdrops are 3D as many other objects in the game are, but still plays like a 2D vertical shooter. The effects from weapons, enemy explosions and such are flashy and color showing a more modern aesthetic to an old-school style of shoot-em-ups. The first problem I had with the game was trying to reconfigure the keys onto a controller and having all sorts of problems. I eventually had to download a keyboard to joystick program in order to get it somewhat working (the keys were still mapped wrong for some odd reason). As I got further into the game, enemies became significantly more resilient to my weapons, and so I focused on large damage to get through some of the heavy waves that appears; however, the weapons at full upgrade still struggles to take down the simplest of enemies. Adding onto the indestructibility of enemies is the amount of bullets they shoot out. It's normal for a shoot-em-up to have its difficulty rise by adding more bullets on the screen, but then I realized that the hit-box for the player's ship is the whole ship. It is literally impossible to dodge enemy bullets half-way through the game. This lead up to the notion that it was designed to have the player buy and upgrade stronger shields for the ship which would mean they would have to sacrifice weapon strength which was already struggling to take down enemies at full upgrade. Bullets are abundant and rather long in length, much like the ship. The player can choose to continue once after they have lost all their lives. But if they lose all their lives a 2nd time, it's game over and the player has to start over from the very beginning. The game looked great, but plays very poorly.
Aesthetics
Art-style: 2.5D Sci-fi
+ Incredible, moving, 3D backdrops that really immerses the player
+ Lots of colorful effects and explosions from enemies and gunfire
+ Clean and well designed user-interface
+ Okay orchestrated music
- The 3D graphics make it difficult to discern the orientation of projectiles
- Enemy bullets are the same color as player weapons (bullets hides behind them)
- The music isn't particularly memorable, nor does it really change the mood
Aesthetics: 6/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard, gamepad or joystick
+ Simple move, shoot, and alternate shoot button layout
+ Automatically auto-fires, no need to constantly mash the shoot button
+ Easy weapon and alternate switch
- Lots of problem mapping controllers and joysticks, mainly the directionals
- Moving with the keyboard is difficult when dodging bullets
Buttons: 6/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Shoot through enemies, buy upgrades, repeat
+ The 3D graphics and Orchestrated music has a nice modern feeling
+ There's a lot of action going on, keeping the player on their toes
+ Having 3 different weapons to accommodate situations adds dynamics
+ There's 3 difficulty levels to choose from
- Why is the hit-box so large in a shoot-em-up?
- Upgrades are a gimmick
- Weapons are weak, even at the highest upgrade
- Advertised as a casual game, but I can hardly imagine a casual gamer enjoying it
- All the boss battles are pretty similar with a few exceptions
Concept and Content: 4/10
Duration
- Played through it once and can't stand it anymore, not playing again, not worth it
Duration: 4/10
Fun
+ I have to admit that I really liked the stylized graphics
+ It was pretty exciting to see my weapons look stronger, but they were still weak
- I was already annoyed trying to get the controller to work with the game
- My weapons were so weak even at full upgrade
- It's irritating that it's necessary to upgrade shield because you HAVE to get hit
- The final straw was having to start all over after dying
Fun: 3/10
Overall
Honestly, Razor 2: Hidden Skies has a lot of potential to be a great Shoot-em-up. Sadly, it's poor design choices and problems with controller detect has turned it into a regrettable experience. I read many posts by other players that the game had tons of bugs and problems when it first released, so it was worse than it is now. If they fixed the controller support, made a smaller hit-box that's visible to see, made weapons stronger and more useful, have the player start over a level rather than the whole game when they've lost all their lives (at the very least on Easy), allow saving and new game+ for persistence, and recreate some more dynamic and interesting boss battles, I'd gladly double the score I'm about to give. But as it stands now, it's only a game of potential that isn't worth the time. Overall: 4.6/10
Source: Youtube Channel INVENT4E
Developer: Invent4 Entertainment
Publisher: Strategy First
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Jul 19, 2010
Genre: Shoot-Em-Up
Pro:
+ Lots of action going on all the time
+ Incredible graphics for backdrops, enemies, effects, and user-interface
+ Not particularly memorable, but some pretty good orchestrated tracks
+ Upgradeable weapons, defenses and boosters
Cons:
- All sorts of problems when mapping keys to a controller
- The hit box for the player's ship is the whole ship, and bullets are pretty long/big
- You can't save the game in-between and nothing is saved other than hi-scores
- Even at the highest weapon upgrades, they're weak against even regular enemies
- The game's mechanics is flawed and poorly designed for a Shoot-em-up
- A lot of the boss battles are similar to each other with a few exceptions
Recommended: No, there are so many other better shoot-em-ups to play on Steam/PC
Razor 2: Hidden Skies presents itself really well in videos and screenshots due to its incredible graphics. The backdrops are 3D as many other objects in the game are, but still plays like a 2D vertical shooter. The effects from weapons, enemy explosions and such are flashy and color showing a more modern aesthetic to an old-school style of shoot-em-ups. The first problem I had with the game was trying to reconfigure the keys onto a controller and having all sorts of problems. I eventually had to download a keyboard to joystick program in order to get it somewhat working (the keys were still mapped wrong for some odd reason). As I got further into the game, enemies became significantly more resilient to my weapons, and so I focused on large damage to get through some of the heavy waves that appears; however, the weapons at full upgrade still struggles to take down the simplest of enemies. Adding onto the indestructibility of enemies is the amount of bullets they shoot out. It's normal for a shoot-em-up to have its difficulty rise by adding more bullets on the screen, but then I realized that the hit-box for the player's ship is the whole ship. It is literally impossible to dodge enemy bullets half-way through the game. This lead up to the notion that it was designed to have the player buy and upgrade stronger shields for the ship which would mean they would have to sacrifice weapon strength which was already struggling to take down enemies at full upgrade. Bullets are abundant and rather long in length, much like the ship. The player can choose to continue once after they have lost all their lives. But if they lose all their lives a 2nd time, it's game over and the player has to start over from the very beginning. The game looked great, but plays very poorly.
Aesthetics
Art-style: 2.5D Sci-fi
+ Incredible, moving, 3D backdrops that really immerses the player
+ Lots of colorful effects and explosions from enemies and gunfire
+ Clean and well designed user-interface
+ Okay orchestrated music
- The 3D graphics make it difficult to discern the orientation of projectiles
- Enemy bullets are the same color as player weapons (bullets hides behind them)
- The music isn't particularly memorable, nor does it really change the mood
Aesthetics: 6/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard, gamepad or joystick
+ Simple move, shoot, and alternate shoot button layout
+ Automatically auto-fires, no need to constantly mash the shoot button
+ Easy weapon and alternate switch
- Lots of problem mapping controllers and joysticks, mainly the directionals
- Moving with the keyboard is difficult when dodging bullets
Buttons: 6/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Shoot through enemies, buy upgrades, repeat
+ The 3D graphics and Orchestrated music has a nice modern feeling
+ There's a lot of action going on, keeping the player on their toes
+ Having 3 different weapons to accommodate situations adds dynamics
+ There's 3 difficulty levels to choose from
- Why is the hit-box so large in a shoot-em-up?
- Upgrades are a gimmick
- Weapons are weak, even at the highest upgrade
- Advertised as a casual game, but I can hardly imagine a casual gamer enjoying it
- All the boss battles are pretty similar with a few exceptions
Concept and Content: 4/10
Duration
- Played through it once and can't stand it anymore, not playing again, not worth it
Duration: 4/10
Fun
+ I have to admit that I really liked the stylized graphics
+ It was pretty exciting to see my weapons look stronger, but they were still weak
- I was already annoyed trying to get the controller to work with the game
- My weapons were so weak even at full upgrade
- It's irritating that it's necessary to upgrade shield because you HAVE to get hit
- The final straw was having to start all over after dying
Fun: 3/10
Overall
Honestly, Razor 2: Hidden Skies has a lot of potential to be a great Shoot-em-up. Sadly, it's poor design choices and problems with controller detect has turned it into a regrettable experience. I read many posts by other players that the game had tons of bugs and problems when it first released, so it was worse than it is now. If they fixed the controller support, made a smaller hit-box that's visible to see, made weapons stronger and more useful, have the player start over a level rather than the whole game when they've lost all their lives (at the very least on Easy), allow saving and new game+ for persistence, and recreate some more dynamic and interesting boss battles, I'd gladly double the score I'm about to give. But as it stands now, it's only a game of potential that isn't worth the time. Overall: 4.6/10
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
GameLight Review - Garshasp: The Monster Slayer
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/99400/
Source: Youtube Channel 1986anakonda
Developer: Fanafzar Sharif Co., Dead Mage Inc.
Publisher: Dead Mage Inc.
Platforms: PC
Release Date: May 9, 2011
Genre: Action-Adventure
Pros:
+ Highly ambitious indie game for a much lower price now ($20->$5)
+ Incredible level designs with breath taking environments
+ Lots of checkpoints make deaths a little less than a bit of wasted time
+ Decent looking execution animations
+ An okay hack-n-slash combat experience
Cons:
- Animations are choppy and erratic between transitions
- Combat doesn't change very much and gets boring
- Collision detection is odd and causes lots of problems during platforming
- The game feels incredibly unpolished
- Camera angles change instantaneously, dangerous around cliffs
Recommended: No, I actually bought and played the game to see why it was rated so low by critics and players alike to study it
For and Indie game, the game is very ambitious in its graphics, its gameplay mechanics, and its presentation. Just looking at screenshots, I would've been fooled to believe this was a AAA game for the Playstation 2. The graphics in detail can be seen as rigid and low quality, but it looks amazing the way its presented when the camera pans out and shows the entirety of the architecture around the level. Then the lower qualities of the game is shown when the combat begins. Combat animations are erratic and awkward when they transition into each other, attacks feel clunky, and the camera is fixed in weird angles sometimes. The player isn't able to block or dodge in the middle of an attack or combo which leaves them wide open during a fight. Jumping is heavy and weird which makes platforming less enjoyable. Why are there side-climbing parts? This is such an age-old mechanic in Action-Adventure games that developers don't even use anymore because it doesn't add any entertainment value anymore. You climb ropes and climb through walls. The only part that seemed appropriate as a legitimate challenge is the wall with all the razor wheels moving around. To put it bluntly, it's an attempt to make a God of War or Prince of Persia as an indie game, but doesn't have the same polish and quality as a AAA game.
Aesthetics
Art-style: Mythological Fantasy 3D
+ Amazing environment level designs
+ A charismatic and believable narrator
+ Cool execution animations
+ Although the music is forgettable, it did have the feeling of a AAA game
- Models in detail are rigid and blocky
- Textures are low-res and muddy looking
- Color palette is dark tones and all blend into each other, nothing stands out
- Animation in and out of combat is erratic and awkward
Aesthetics: 5/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard and Mouse
+ Simple single button combo system
+ Key mappings can be changed
+ Ledge detection can be a bit strange, but grabs on most of the time
- Jumping has a weird animation, physics, and fall rate which affects platforming
- Can't block or dodge when in a combo, and using it while standing is pointless
- Aside from the ground slam, all other combos are useless
Buttons: 5/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Progress forward through combat, puzzles, and climbing
+ The Persian theme has been done before, but shows it in a different manner
+ The presentation of the game's environment is really high quality
+ Combat isn't too complicated and fairly easy to get used to
- Combat got really boring as only one attack was effective (ground slam)
- Climbing ropes and walls is so outdated, it was tedious and boring
- Puzzles were annoying as well as you were constantly attacked by enemies
- Platforming had its collision detection problems
Concept and Content: 4/10
Duration
+ Combat had an okay flow to it. It went on from one section to another
- Although the game was fairly short, it felt long
- Frustration from controls and bugs made the game drag on
- There's no replay value in the game, and there's no reason to play it again
Duration: 3/10
Fun
+ The environment was absolutely breath-taking. I couldn't believe it was indie
+ At first, combat, puzzles and platforming was okay; it was almost fun
+ The executions were pretty cool at first
- Executions were all Quick-time Events (QTE) later on
- Combat got repetitive, puzzles were annoying, and platforming wasn't fun
Fun: 6/10
Overall
I wasn't expecting too much from Garshasp: The Monster Slayer and bought it with the intention of studying it. For an indie developed game that started in Iran, it's quite impressive. But as a game, it's not something I'd play again or recommend to friends. The game is an emulation of 3D action-adventure games of the past without its polish and quality. A prequel was released for the game, but I think I played and learned enough from this series to avoid playing another one in its series. Overall: 4.6/10
Source: Youtube Channel 1986anakonda
Developer: Fanafzar Sharif Co., Dead Mage Inc.
Publisher: Dead Mage Inc.
Platforms: PC
Release Date: May 9, 2011
Genre: Action-Adventure
Pros:
+ Highly ambitious indie game for a much lower price now ($20->$5)
+ Incredible level designs with breath taking environments
+ Lots of checkpoints make deaths a little less than a bit of wasted time
+ Decent looking execution animations
+ An okay hack-n-slash combat experience
Cons:
- Animations are choppy and erratic between transitions
- Combat doesn't change very much and gets boring
- Collision detection is odd and causes lots of problems during platforming
- The game feels incredibly unpolished
- Camera angles change instantaneously, dangerous around cliffs
Recommended: No, I actually bought and played the game to see why it was rated so low by critics and players alike to study it
For and Indie game, the game is very ambitious in its graphics, its gameplay mechanics, and its presentation. Just looking at screenshots, I would've been fooled to believe this was a AAA game for the Playstation 2. The graphics in detail can be seen as rigid and low quality, but it looks amazing the way its presented when the camera pans out and shows the entirety of the architecture around the level. Then the lower qualities of the game is shown when the combat begins. Combat animations are erratic and awkward when they transition into each other, attacks feel clunky, and the camera is fixed in weird angles sometimes. The player isn't able to block or dodge in the middle of an attack or combo which leaves them wide open during a fight. Jumping is heavy and weird which makes platforming less enjoyable. Why are there side-climbing parts? This is such an age-old mechanic in Action-Adventure games that developers don't even use anymore because it doesn't add any entertainment value anymore. You climb ropes and climb through walls. The only part that seemed appropriate as a legitimate challenge is the wall with all the razor wheels moving around. To put it bluntly, it's an attempt to make a God of War or Prince of Persia as an indie game, but doesn't have the same polish and quality as a AAA game.
Aesthetics
Art-style: Mythological Fantasy 3D
+ Amazing environment level designs
+ A charismatic and believable narrator
+ Cool execution animations
+ Although the music is forgettable, it did have the feeling of a AAA game
- Models in detail are rigid and blocky
- Textures are low-res and muddy looking
- Color palette is dark tones and all blend into each other, nothing stands out
- Animation in and out of combat is erratic and awkward
Aesthetics: 5/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard and Mouse
+ Simple single button combo system
+ Key mappings can be changed
+ Ledge detection can be a bit strange, but grabs on most of the time
- Jumping has a weird animation, physics, and fall rate which affects platforming
- Can't block or dodge when in a combo, and using it while standing is pointless
- Aside from the ground slam, all other combos are useless
Buttons: 5/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Progress forward through combat, puzzles, and climbing
+ The Persian theme has been done before, but shows it in a different manner
+ The presentation of the game's environment is really high quality
+ Combat isn't too complicated and fairly easy to get used to
- Combat got really boring as only one attack was effective (ground slam)
- Climbing ropes and walls is so outdated, it was tedious and boring
- Puzzles were annoying as well as you were constantly attacked by enemies
- Platforming had its collision detection problems
Concept and Content: 4/10
Duration
+ Combat had an okay flow to it. It went on from one section to another
- Although the game was fairly short, it felt long
- Frustration from controls and bugs made the game drag on
- There's no replay value in the game, and there's no reason to play it again
Duration: 3/10
Fun
+ The environment was absolutely breath-taking. I couldn't believe it was indie
+ At first, combat, puzzles and platforming was okay; it was almost fun
+ The executions were pretty cool at first
- Executions were all Quick-time Events (QTE) later on
- Combat got repetitive, puzzles were annoying, and platforming wasn't fun
Fun: 6/10
Overall
I wasn't expecting too much from Garshasp: The Monster Slayer and bought it with the intention of studying it. For an indie developed game that started in Iran, it's quite impressive. But as a game, it's not something I'd play again or recommend to friends. The game is an emulation of 3D action-adventure games of the past without its polish and quality. A prequel was released for the game, but I think I played and learned enough from this series to avoid playing another one in its series. Overall: 4.6/10
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
GameLight Review - Code of Princess
Official Site: http://www.atlus.com/codeofprincess/
Source: Youtube Channel insidegamesjp
Developer: Agatsuma Entertainment, Bones
Publisher: Atlus
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Genre: Beat-em-up, RPG
Pros:
+ Story is light-hearted and humorous
+ Gameplay is simple, but can be challenging at times
+ RPG elements include switching equipment and stat building
+ Lots of replay value with over 50 characters to choose from
+ An amazing music score throughout the game
+ Online cooperative/competitive play
+ Memorable characters, moments and boss battles
Cons:
- The skills sets are rather limited and combos don't have that much depth
- There could've been a lot more character and story development
- Graphics lag when 3D is on, but doesn't look that great when 3D is off
- A lot of the equipment is junk while only a select few are useful
- Competitive arena is only for multiplayer, no customizable solo play
Recommended: Yes, fans of Action games and Beat-em-ups should check it out
It's difficult to talk about the game and not compare or even mention Guardian Heroes as the game's mechanics are essentially the same with the three rail planes, beat-em-up action, and stat building RPG elements. The game is developed by Agatsuma Entertainment and Bones, Inc. (The animé cutscenes) with two members who worked on Guardian Heroes (the director and lead programmer). Many would say that it's Guardian Heroes stripped down by a lot. Unlike Guardian Heroes, it doesn't have branching story paths (there's 2 different endings though), combos and skills are a lot more limited, and there isn't a difficulty setting. Despite those missing aspects, the game turned out to be incredibly entertaining and a lot of fun. Even with a limited amount of attacks and skills, they chain into each other pretty well for some interesting combos. The dialog is funny, the combat is hectic but satisfying, and the aesthetics is just absolutely mesmerizing. This is a game I wouldn't mind going back to play again once in a while.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 2D-Animé Style graphics with cartoon-ish 3D characters/enemies.
+ Light-hearted story of protecting a kingdom and magic
+ Animé-style cinematics thoughout the game
+ Unique and memorable characters both on protagonists and antagonists sides
+ Catchy and memorable music
+ 3D usage makes it easy to tell which plane an enemy is on
+ Flashy and destructive effects for attacks and spells
+ Some pretty good dialogue lines in some of the conversations
- Story could've been expanded into so much more than what was told
- Lots of lag and frame skipping with 3D on but graphics don't look good without it
- Lag in the graphics also causes delays in button commands
- A lot of the voice acting is pretty painful, but some are absolutely golden
Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
Controller: Analog and buttons
+ Easy to understand combat mechanics
+ Skills are simple commands and can be accessed on the bottom screen
+ Combos are fairly easy to pull off
+ Both analog and digital pad can be used to move
- Some commands will be delayed or won't execute entirely when lagging
- A limited amount of skills and combos for each character
Buttons: 7/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Kill all enemies or boss enemy to progress
+ A quirky cast of characters with fun personalities
+ The use of animé cut-scenes is effective and appropriate
+ Combat can be hectic, but has a satisfying, chaotic action sort of feeling
+ Aside from the main campaign, there's free mode, bonus quests, and multiplayer
+ Lots of characters to use in free-mode and bonus quests
+ Multiplayer allows cooperative play as well as competitive play
+ A shop and equipment system offers different builds and advantages
+ The player is free to build on any stat for all sorts of play styles
- I wish the story and character's were more in-depth and fully developed
- 3D graphics are effective, but gameplay suffers from laggy graphics
- Other than certain bosses and later bonus quests, the game is very easy
- A lot of the equipment found and bought are useless, only a select few are good
- Unlike Guardian Heroes, competitive play can't be played solo
Concept and Content: 8/10
Duration
+ The game keeps me wanting more
+ Campaign is chopped up into lots of tiny sections, perfect for on-the-go play
+ Progression is a nice and steady flow fed to the player little by little
+ Tons of modes, characters, equipment, and builds for replay value
+ Despite a very short campaign, I played the game up to 20 hours
- Very short campaign
- The game can feel repetitive after a while
Duration: 8/10
Fun
+ The opening cinematic is amazing, it really set the whole theme of the game
+ I can't get over how much I love the music within the game
+ It's a great feeling when I take on a dozen enemies at once and destroy them all
+ As bad as some of the voice acting are, I really liked all the characters
+ I was really impressed with the boss battles
+ A great deal of the time played was spent in Bonus quests, they were hard
+ Getting to play as a Dragon was a treat when no other character could win
- I really wanted to see the story and characters develop, but then the game ends
- The lag in graphics was a huge issue when fighting against a boss
- Some of the Bonus quests were incredibly frustrating/irritating/dumb (Dragon time!)
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Code of Princess is far from perfect, but ironically I would consider it a classic for the Nintendo 3DS. Overlooking a somewhat shallow storyline, laggy graphics, and a limited list of skills and attacks, the gameplay turned out to be really fun, characters were memorable, and the art and music stands out as a prominent factor to the game's wonderful experience. This will be one of those games I'll remember and talk about while many others will probably forget or never hear about the game. The game is not for everyone, but those who enjoy beat-em-up games like Double Dragon, Guardian Heroes, or Dungeon Fighters Online will find an enjoyable experience with Code of Princess. Overall: 8/10
P.S. They should totally make an animé expanding on the story and characters!
Source: Youtube Channel insidegamesjp
Developer: Agatsuma Entertainment, Bones
Publisher: Atlus
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Genre: Beat-em-up, RPG
Pros:
+ Story is light-hearted and humorous
+ Gameplay is simple, but can be challenging at times
+ RPG elements include switching equipment and stat building
+ Lots of replay value with over 50 characters to choose from
+ An amazing music score throughout the game
+ Online cooperative/competitive play
+ Memorable characters, moments and boss battles
Cons:
- The skills sets are rather limited and combos don't have that much depth
- There could've been a lot more character and story development
- Graphics lag when 3D is on, but doesn't look that great when 3D is off
- A lot of the equipment is junk while only a select few are useful
- Competitive arena is only for multiplayer, no customizable solo play
Recommended: Yes, fans of Action games and Beat-em-ups should check it out
It's difficult to talk about the game and not compare or even mention Guardian Heroes as the game's mechanics are essentially the same with the three rail planes, beat-em-up action, and stat building RPG elements. The game is developed by Agatsuma Entertainment and Bones, Inc. (The animé cutscenes) with two members who worked on Guardian Heroes (the director and lead programmer). Many would say that it's Guardian Heroes stripped down by a lot. Unlike Guardian Heroes, it doesn't have branching story paths (there's 2 different endings though), combos and skills are a lot more limited, and there isn't a difficulty setting. Despite those missing aspects, the game turned out to be incredibly entertaining and a lot of fun. Even with a limited amount of attacks and skills, they chain into each other pretty well for some interesting combos. The dialog is funny, the combat is hectic but satisfying, and the aesthetics is just absolutely mesmerizing. This is a game I wouldn't mind going back to play again once in a while.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 2D-Animé Style graphics with cartoon-ish 3D characters/enemies.
+ Light-hearted story of protecting a kingdom and magic
+ Animé-style cinematics thoughout the game
+ Unique and memorable characters both on protagonists and antagonists sides
+ Catchy and memorable music
+ 3D usage makes it easy to tell which plane an enemy is on
+ Flashy and destructive effects for attacks and spells
+ Some pretty good dialogue lines in some of the conversations
- Story could've been expanded into so much more than what was told
- Lots of lag and frame skipping with 3D on but graphics don't look good without it
- Lag in the graphics also causes delays in button commands
- A lot of the voice acting is pretty painful, but some are absolutely golden
Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
Controller: Analog and buttons
+ Easy to understand combat mechanics
+ Skills are simple commands and can be accessed on the bottom screen
+ Combos are fairly easy to pull off
+ Both analog and digital pad can be used to move
- Some commands will be delayed or won't execute entirely when lagging
- A limited amount of skills and combos for each character
Buttons: 7/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Kill all enemies or boss enemy to progress
+ A quirky cast of characters with fun personalities
+ The use of animé cut-scenes is effective and appropriate
+ Combat can be hectic, but has a satisfying, chaotic action sort of feeling
+ Aside from the main campaign, there's free mode, bonus quests, and multiplayer
+ Lots of characters to use in free-mode and bonus quests
+ Multiplayer allows cooperative play as well as competitive play
+ A shop and equipment system offers different builds and advantages
+ The player is free to build on any stat for all sorts of play styles
- I wish the story and character's were more in-depth and fully developed
- 3D graphics are effective, but gameplay suffers from laggy graphics
- Other than certain bosses and later bonus quests, the game is very easy
- A lot of the equipment found and bought are useless, only a select few are good
- Unlike Guardian Heroes, competitive play can't be played solo
Concept and Content: 8/10
Duration
+ The game keeps me wanting more
+ Campaign is chopped up into lots of tiny sections, perfect for on-the-go play
+ Progression is a nice and steady flow fed to the player little by little
+ Tons of modes, characters, equipment, and builds for replay value
+ Despite a very short campaign, I played the game up to 20 hours
- Very short campaign
- The game can feel repetitive after a while
Duration: 8/10
Fun
+ The opening cinematic is amazing, it really set the whole theme of the game
+ I can't get over how much I love the music within the game
+ It's a great feeling when I take on a dozen enemies at once and destroy them all
+ As bad as some of the voice acting are, I really liked all the characters
+ I was really impressed with the boss battles
+ A great deal of the time played was spent in Bonus quests, they were hard
+ Getting to play as a Dragon was a treat when no other character could win
- I really wanted to see the story and characters develop, but then the game ends
- The lag in graphics was a huge issue when fighting against a boss
- Some of the Bonus quests were incredibly frustrating/irritating/dumb (Dragon time!)
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Code of Princess is far from perfect, but ironically I would consider it a classic for the Nintendo 3DS. Overlooking a somewhat shallow storyline, laggy graphics, and a limited list of skills and attacks, the gameplay turned out to be really fun, characters were memorable, and the art and music stands out as a prominent factor to the game's wonderful experience. This will be one of those games I'll remember and talk about while many others will probably forget or never hear about the game. The game is not for everyone, but those who enjoy beat-em-up games like Double Dragon, Guardian Heroes, or Dungeon Fighters Online will find an enjoyable experience with Code of Princess. Overall: 8/10
P.S. They should totally make an animé expanding on the story and characters!
Monday, April 22, 2013
GameLight Review - Torchlight 2
Official Site: http://www.torchlight2game.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200710/
Source: Youtube Channel runicgames
Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Runic Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Sep 20, 2012
Genre: Action-RPG
Pros:
+ Faster-paced gameplay with a steady progression
+ Visceral combat with great visuals, audio, and effect feedback
+ Bright, colorful and vibrant environments
+ A challenging, but gratifying experience
+ More open-world than ever before
+ Lots of skills and build customization
+ Tons of end-game content (New game+ and lots of bonus dungeons)
+ Mod tools provide an infinite amount of possibilities
+ Capable of 6 Player cooperative play Local or via Internet
Cons:
- Internet play has problems connecting to other players sometimes
- Game occasionally has trouble starting up
- Incidents of the game crashing has occurred (save often!)
- Some class skills can be incredibly useless
Recommended: Absolutely! Point-n-Click Action-RPG fans are sure to love this game for its vast amount of content, multiplayer, and mod capabilities.
Torchlight 2 was quite a surprise for me. I was originally reluctant to purchase the game when it had released "after" Diablo 3, but I really enjoyed the first one and decided to give the game a chance. The first one was fun, but dragged on and became tedious and boring near the end. The 2nd game was delayed for nearly a year and the wait had initially lost my interest as I was suspecting that it'd be similar to the first one. Torchlight 2 took everything that was great about the first one and multiplied it several times over. The developers found everything that was wrong about the first one and noted them in the 2nd game as its solution. The transition to only dungeons in the first one to an open world is similar to the transition Diablo 1 had in Diablo 2. Traversing the world and combat started to feel slow after a while in Torchlight 2, so everything in Torchlight 2 is slightly faster. A lot of the skills in Torchlight 1 felt similar and boring, and so skills in Torchlight 2 are more diverse, unique, and dynamic (though some are still useless). Just everything about Torchlight 2 is so much better than the first one and made for a really enjoyable experience. Combat is satisfying, looting is addictive, exploration made me want to play more, and boss battles are really creative. If you're asking for a comparison to Diablo 3, I'd have to say that they're different experiences and that it's still worth playing one if you've played the other.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 3D Cel-Shaded, Cartoon-ish style
+ Vibrant environments
+ Lots of different enemies with unique models/look
+ All weapons and equipment are reflected upon the character
+ Skill effects are flashy and beautiful
+ User-Interface is clean
+ Atmospheric and easy-listening music
- Can be difficult to see certain enemies sometimes
- Can be confusing when player, items, or enemies are behind a wall
Aesthetics: 9/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard/Mouse
+ Hotkeys are customizable to any layout comfortable for the player
+ Quick and tight responses to key presses
+ Menu system allows quick access to attributes, items, and skill while in combat
+ Mini-map can be place in a corner or sides with a press of the button
+ Quick and simple pause menu to access options, save, and quit the game
- There can still be more skills than hotkey bars leaving some skills unused
Buttons: 9/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Explore, Kill, Loot, Equip, and level-up
+ Big open world maps is a great change from constant dungeon crawling
+ Combat is a lot more engaging and dynamic with new classes and skills
+ Lots of new items, enemies, and content
+ Boss battles are varied, creative, challenging, and satisfying when beat
+ The pet system favors my desire to loot everything
+ Each class has numerous ways to build them, making lots of unique characters
+ Bonus maps at the end of the game provides more to play past the last boss
+ New Game+ is provided rather than inheritance system from the first game
+ Mod capabilities open an infinite amount of possibilities
- Connecting to friend's games have been problematic or futile
- There are still skills and even entire paths that are useless for a character
- Equipment upgrades can be rare (used some gear for over 10 levels)
- Story was forgettable and rather anti-climatic at the end
Concept and Content: 10/10
Duration
+ A full playthrough is pretty lengthy (by my standards) which is good
+ The flow of the game progressed steadily and always stayed challenging
+ Bonus maps provides a good amount of end-game content
+ New Game+, multiplayer, and other classes provide lots of replay-value
+ Modding opens up all sorts of possibilities
Durations: 10/10
Fun
+ I really liked the multi-tiered boss battles, they were difficult, but fun
+ Playing with friends was a lot of fun, but I also didn't mind playing solo
+ I liked the varied possibilities of equipment usage for my outlander
+ Each class is really unique and provides a different experience (I made all 4)
+ I was so happy to be able to pick up absolutely everything to sell with my pet
+ I think I want to try making my own class using the mod tools, sounds fun
+ The bonus maps will probably bring me back to play the game some more
- I was disappointed with the story, it could've been just as good as the gameplay
- Internet play had a lot of problems and finally deterred my friends from playing
- Some skills were useless; not enough hotkey bar space to fit all the skills
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Torchlight 2 was a pleasant surprise for me and I'm really glad I got it. It left a really good impression on me well after completing the game. I had so much fun with it that I stopped caring about my disappointment with the story. There always seemed more to explore, more to loot, more to level, and more to experience within the game. I would definitely recommend this to any point-n-click Action-RPG fans. Overall: 9.4/10
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200710/
Source: Youtube Channel runicgames
Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Runic Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Sep 20, 2012
Genre: Action-RPG
Pros:
+ Faster-paced gameplay with a steady progression
+ Visceral combat with great visuals, audio, and effect feedback
+ Bright, colorful and vibrant environments
+ A challenging, but gratifying experience
+ More open-world than ever before
+ Lots of skills and build customization
+ Tons of end-game content (New game+ and lots of bonus dungeons)
+ Mod tools provide an infinite amount of possibilities
+ Capable of 6 Player cooperative play Local or via Internet
Cons:
- Internet play has problems connecting to other players sometimes
- Game occasionally has trouble starting up
- Incidents of the game crashing has occurred (save often!)
- Some class skills can be incredibly useless
Recommended: Absolutely! Point-n-Click Action-RPG fans are sure to love this game for its vast amount of content, multiplayer, and mod capabilities.
Torchlight 2 was quite a surprise for me. I was originally reluctant to purchase the game when it had released "after" Diablo 3, but I really enjoyed the first one and decided to give the game a chance. The first one was fun, but dragged on and became tedious and boring near the end. The 2nd game was delayed for nearly a year and the wait had initially lost my interest as I was suspecting that it'd be similar to the first one. Torchlight 2 took everything that was great about the first one and multiplied it several times over. The developers found everything that was wrong about the first one and noted them in the 2nd game as its solution. The transition to only dungeons in the first one to an open world is similar to the transition Diablo 1 had in Diablo 2. Traversing the world and combat started to feel slow after a while in Torchlight 2, so everything in Torchlight 2 is slightly faster. A lot of the skills in Torchlight 1 felt similar and boring, and so skills in Torchlight 2 are more diverse, unique, and dynamic (though some are still useless). Just everything about Torchlight 2 is so much better than the first one and made for a really enjoyable experience. Combat is satisfying, looting is addictive, exploration made me want to play more, and boss battles are really creative. If you're asking for a comparison to Diablo 3, I'd have to say that they're different experiences and that it's still worth playing one if you've played the other.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 3D Cel-Shaded, Cartoon-ish style
+ Vibrant environments
+ Lots of different enemies with unique models/look
+ All weapons and equipment are reflected upon the character
+ Skill effects are flashy and beautiful
+ User-Interface is clean
+ Atmospheric and easy-listening music
- Can be difficult to see certain enemies sometimes
- Can be confusing when player, items, or enemies are behind a wall
Aesthetics: 9/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard/Mouse
+ Hotkeys are customizable to any layout comfortable for the player
+ Quick and tight responses to key presses
+ Menu system allows quick access to attributes, items, and skill while in combat
+ Mini-map can be place in a corner or sides with a press of the button
+ Quick and simple pause menu to access options, save, and quit the game
- There can still be more skills than hotkey bars leaving some skills unused
Buttons: 9/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Explore, Kill, Loot, Equip, and level-up
+ Big open world maps is a great change from constant dungeon crawling
+ Combat is a lot more engaging and dynamic with new classes and skills
+ Lots of new items, enemies, and content
+ Boss battles are varied, creative, challenging, and satisfying when beat
+ The pet system favors my desire to loot everything
+ Each class has numerous ways to build them, making lots of unique characters
+ Bonus maps at the end of the game provides more to play past the last boss
+ New Game+ is provided rather than inheritance system from the first game
+ Mod capabilities open an infinite amount of possibilities
- Connecting to friend's games have been problematic or futile
- There are still skills and even entire paths that are useless for a character
- Equipment upgrades can be rare (used some gear for over 10 levels)
- Story was forgettable and rather anti-climatic at the end
Concept and Content: 10/10
Duration
+ A full playthrough is pretty lengthy (by my standards) which is good
+ The flow of the game progressed steadily and always stayed challenging
+ Bonus maps provides a good amount of end-game content
+ New Game+, multiplayer, and other classes provide lots of replay-value
+ Modding opens up all sorts of possibilities
Durations: 10/10
Fun
+ I really liked the multi-tiered boss battles, they were difficult, but fun
+ Playing with friends was a lot of fun, but I also didn't mind playing solo
+ I liked the varied possibilities of equipment usage for my outlander
+ Each class is really unique and provides a different experience (I made all 4)
+ I was so happy to be able to pick up absolutely everything to sell with my pet
+ I think I want to try making my own class using the mod tools, sounds fun
+ The bonus maps will probably bring me back to play the game some more
- I was disappointed with the story, it could've been just as good as the gameplay
- Internet play had a lot of problems and finally deterred my friends from playing
- Some skills were useless; not enough hotkey bar space to fit all the skills
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Torchlight 2 was a pleasant surprise for me and I'm really glad I got it. It left a really good impression on me well after completing the game. I had so much fun with it that I stopped caring about my disappointment with the story. There always seemed more to explore, more to loot, more to level, and more to experience within the game. I would definitely recommend this to any point-n-click Action-RPG fans. Overall: 9.4/10
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