Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion, The Crown Tundra: Trading one grind for another.

Though I wasn't expecting the Sword and Shield Expansion Passes to fix the main issues I had with Sword and Shield, it has become clear in hindsight they've chosen to double down problems that feel like they've been plaguing Pokemon since Generation 6. While Isle of Armor was ok for what it was, it didn't make me excited for the second half of the Expansion Pass, the Crown Tundra. 

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (Switch Port): Just as unpolished as ever

This is a follow up review to the original review of Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth. Link to the original: https://mediaholicreviews.blogspot.com/2017/02/digimon-story-cyber-sleuth-shes-had-her.html

While Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth was a game I enjoyed when playing it on the Playstation Vita, there were some glaring problems with it when it comes to the polish of the game. From localization errors to not making story event changes depending on the player characters gender, it gave the game an awkward charm to it that players will either like, or hate. As a quick follow up to that review though, the game has come out on the Switch, and has it made any improvements in that department?

Short answer, no. In fact, using patch 1.01, it's even worse, but in an amazing way that I am surprised did not get caught earlier on in development. There isn't much to add to the presentation, it looks and sounds as good as it did on the Vita, but thanks to the Switch's Sleep Mode, and the Digi bank, it is shocking how quickly you can get powerful Digimon as the game doesn't stop counting playtime while the console is in Sleep Mode. According to the in-game clock, I've put in over 114 hours and am barely into Chapter 3 (at time of writing). According to the console though, I've put in somewhere between 10 and 20 hours. In that time, I already have 15 Ultimate Level Digimon, most of them in the level 20s to 40s, purely by having the game running in sleep mode. I honestly struggle to call that a glitch because of how easy it is to catch and use. It's baffling to me that something like that wasn't caught before release, but considering as the game gives you several Mega level Digimon in the form of smaller versions of the Royal Knights for free, I can't help but wonder if it was intentional or not.

Presentation-wise though, this is still basically the same game, just with the extra DLC (not counting the Vita themes). Some of the visual problems are more obvious now, such as some stiff animations here and there, but it does look like the localization hasn't been improved either, as I did notice some odd word choices in cutscenes every now and then. The soundtrack is still good, and fitting for the game, but some parts of the game that I didn't do in the initial playthrough, such as the Digimon missing items in Kowloon are annoying to do and were probably worse to do on the Vita. Seriously, who's idea was it to put white sparkly things for items in a dungeon that has the primary colours of light blue and white?!

Is it worth a double-dip? That depends. For me, the main reason to get it was to get Hackers Memory, a prequel to the events of the story that I'm hoping to get a proper review of done sometime in the new year, as that game only came out to the PS4. It's a solid game to play on the go and being honest, most people reading this probably don't have a Vita around, and the better investment is to get a Switch (unless you're committed to PS4 Remote Play?). Worth a look if you can find it on sale at least, but that's without judging the second half of the package.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: “She’s had her body digitized, she hasn’t had a sex change” #BlameKurata

So... this week's review has tentacle monsters, clothing designs that raise more questions then answers in terms of usefulness, a tentacle monster that evolves to use a teenage girl as a energy weapon, and was made in Japan. I swear this isn't a hentai. This one was recommended to me by a store clerk when I was picking up another Digimon game, Digimon All Star Rumble. Once I finished with Shantae, I gave it a shot, just for a different style of RPG. And… well it is different, at least for me, forewarn I haven’t played Atlus RPG’s so if some of these feel tamed by comparison to it, you don’t need to bring it up, I’ve heard. I’ll be using the PSVita version for review, and there is free DLC and themes for the game, should you be into those.

Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero: Time to dance

Time to do a follow up to the first impressions post, which you can find here: http://mediaholicreviews.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/opening-impressions-shantae-12-genie.html . This isn't going to be too much longer, mainly because it turned out I was actually further into the game then I thought I was. I haven't gone back yet to do a New game plus run yet, as unlike Fire Emblem fates, I'm letting it simmer a bit before going back to it. So, care to dance through the danger?

Opening Impressions: Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero

Did this literally just come out? Yes. Did I back it on Kickstarter? No. Why am I doing this now? Because I haven't had the time to do the impressions I promised last week, going to do a Christmas review on Sunday, and was playing this on my Vita on the train ride to and from work today, so I have it on the mind. Lets do this!

Pokemon Go: First Impressions

Everyone that ever played a core Pokemon game probably imagined what would it be like if Pokemon were real. Thanks to the advances in technology, we have that in a free to play smartphone app called Pokemon Go. How it works is that your phone locates you via GPS tracking and wild pokemon spawn a little aways from you, so you’ll have to go out and find them. It’s basically an improved Pokewalker from when Heartgold/SoulSilver came out. Although instead of it being a pedometer where you can cheat steps in by shaking it, you have to physically move your location.

If you live near a town, you’ll probably notice little blue markers by some locations. Those are called Pokespots. When you get close to one, the Pokespot will grant you items when you interact with it on your phone. People can use lure modules at pokespots and they’re marked by swirling cherry blossoms near the pokespot. Lure modules lure nearby pokemon towards them. Don’t get confused with the incense which only work for you.

Some locations can become gyms too. When you pick a team as you reach level 5 (either Red, Yellow, or Blue), you can take on these gyms. You can either take a gym of a different team or you can add a pokemon to the gym of the same color as you. When you add a pokemon they will stay at that gym, but if they lose while you’re away, they automatically come back to you even if the gym is far away.

Pokemon Go uses AR to show a pokemon in front of you using the phone camera. I find it easier to catch pokemon with the AR off, plus it saves battery. When you catch a pokemon, you get some candy of that species. Catching even weak pokemon is good because you need plenty of candy to level up and evolve some pokemon. Pokemon will have CP meaning Combat Points. The higher the Combat Points the stronger it is. There is no cap on CP from what I can see.

My personal experience with this app was quite fun. My friends would go on these outings to various locations like the park or the beach. There’s a town walking distance from my house with a lot of pokespots, so I usually go there for some items and some pokemon catches. After that we go to the beach and catch some wild water type pokemon as well as Dratini.

The amazing thing about Pokemon Go is how active it is. When you go out on let’s say an afternoon, a surprising amount of people play it. You can probably notice at least one person playing it and most likely have a stable conversation with them. The team system makes your neighborhood into, as my friend puts it, a socially acceptable gang war. People yelling out encouragements for their teams and trash talking other teams, all in good fun of course. Although the experience can depend on what kind of neighborhood you live in. As the loading screen with the Gyarados says, always stay aware of your surroundings.

This game is of course without its faults. The game tends to lag when catching pokemon. Sometimes the screen would glitch and you can’t press anything, usually what happens when you use battery saver. Most of the time in certain crowded areas, it would kick you out saying that the servers are busy. It’s very important to carry an external battery charger while you go out, this game tends to drain a lot of phone battery. Though that’s to be expected when you have the app open as you travel.

Pokemon Go is a fantastic idea that needs a lot of polishing. I can forgive all the faults because it’s still in beta. It’s playable for the most part, it’s basically a free early access game for everyone. Currently it’s very active and has scheduled updates from the company for various bug fixes. You can’t ignore how much of a phenomenon despite how buggy the game is. Various news stories on mainstream networks, and a surprising amount of how many people play the game never picked up a core pokemon game. It’s a great way for people to get introduced to the franchise. It’s still a great time to at least try it out. It’s free to play so you’re not really losing anything by downloading it. Pokemon fan or not, it’s a good introduction to the types of pokemon you can meet. It’s still an amazing experience and I highly recommend going out with friends to play together.

-keybug55