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Showing posts with label nintendo switch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nintendo switch. Show all posts
Wednesday 20 June 2018
Mediaholics Podcast: E3 2018
Late to the party? Maybe, but better late than never (unlike PrE3 this year)
Monday 21 May 2018
Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition vs. Fire Emblem Warriors (Switch) vs. Hyrule Warriors Legends
As clickbaity as that sounds, that is basically what this post is going to be, it'll be hard not to compare the Switch release of Hyrule Warriors to the last Warriors game released for Switch (outside of the Japan eshop, no I haven't got any of them, I don't have a Japanese account and haven't looked into how to pay for them, but I will admit I am interested in Warriors Orochi 3), and the 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors (along with the WiiU release by extension). I'll try to keep my bias due to buying this game three times now out of the review though.
Instead of my usual format, I'm going to split this review up into categories and compare from there, starting with the Story (you can check my in-depth thoughts on the stories in my previous reviews of the games), putting the two head to head though, its a fifty-fifty split when you factor both the story, and the delivery of said story. Hyrule Warriors wins on story due to the wider variety of characters and locations at its disposal, and while I like the 2D drawing cutscenes, they're still not used often as the game bounces between CG cinematic cutscenes, narration over basically Jpegs, and narration over the animated 2D drawings. I wish they went for something more consistent. Fire Emblem Warriors though, while the longer, not as entertaining of a story does lose to HW (going forward, HW= Hyrule Warriors, HWL= Hyrule Warriors Legends, HWDE=Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition and FEW= Fire Emblem Warriors), it has the better delivery of the story thanks to sticking to Fire Emblem's way of delivering stories, CG cinematics and emoting character portraits talking with each other. Granted, most of the dialogue (in the main story, History mode is excluded) is forgettable, it's still more interesting than the narration in HW. So... point to both? Maybe more towards FEW because History Mode's story moments are a lot better in execution compared to the main story, even if there are moments like the mission to unlock Male Corrin, where to win over the trust of your brothers and sisters, you have to go to war with them.
On the subject of History Mode, we might as well go into History Mode from FEW vs Adventure Mode in HW. This is another fifty-fifty split as both have their pros and cons. First of all, to get it out of the way, HW's (the WiiU game) Adventure Mode is the worst of the lot, due to forcing all of the content into the one map, making the map more frustrating to navigate through. Legends had the advantage over the WiiU version due to being able to space the content out more, something that HWDE continues with. Now then, while I haven't finished the game (its been three days at the time of writing, and I've been working on all three), you do unlock the ability to play almost all the Adventure Mode maps as soon as you finish the first mission in Legend Mode. The one map missing being the Rewards Map, due to how you unlock missions in it. Each of the maps now has a difficulty marker on them that hints at the difficulty of the map. Adventure and Great Sea are easy, Master Quest and Master Wind Waker are normal, Twilight and Termina are Hard, and Koholint Island, Grand Travels and Lorule are Hero (hardest difficulty in the game). Alongside spacing out the weapons, the hero unlocks have been spaced out too. By default, you have Link, Impa, Shiek, Lana, Zelda, Ganondorf, Darunia, Ruto, Agitha, Midna, Zant, Fi, Girahim, Cia, Volga, Wizro, and Linkle unlocked. I have heard that you can unlock Toon Link, Tetra and (cause I cannot remember how to spell his last name to save my life), the King of Red Lions when you finish the Wind Waker Epilogue in Legend Mode. The remaining unlockables are split up as such
Why do I bring all of this up? It's because HWDE does beat out FEW in terms of this kind of content. While structurally, FEW does have a better way of handling the missions, because backtracking isn't required (although HWDE allows you to purchase item cards now to help minimize backtracking), the rewards you obtain in History Mode are, overall, not interesting. Most of the time you're getting materials needed to make your characters stronger, which in itself isn't as interesting as finding a Heart Container. What weapons you do get in History Mode I personally found almost useless, and only good for quick money. It's the main reason I never felt the need to finish FEW's History Mode. Score's now one each for the two games.
Characters and Movesets: This is another clear win to HW. Excluding the roster size difference, 31 for HWDE (as the Challenge Mode along with the missions where you play as Gannon and a giant Cucco are back) and 32-34 for FEW (depending on if you view the Male and Female variants on Robin and Corrin as alternate characters), the reason why HW has the advantage is in the weapons. Every single weapon type in Hyrule Warriors has a unique playstyle to it, which not only makes every character feel unique, but even unique when compared to themselves if they have two or more weapons. I said it before and I'll say it again, the biggest problem with FEW is the roster. Aside from it not being a strong representation of the entire Fire Emblem Franchise, a lot of characters share movesets with each other, and some of the unit potentials are locked behind DLC. Leo and Elise have the same moveset, Sakura and Takumi have the same moveset, Rowanand Lianna, I believe Chrom and Lucina share a moveset, Hinoka, Cordelia and Caeda feel like they have the same moveset, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the DLC characters share movesets too. What's a problem as well is that there are not only missing classes from the game entirely, but characters like Oboro and Azura, the ONLY TWO LANCE USERS WHO DON'T HAVE A PEGASUS AND THEREFORE AREN'T ARCHER FODDER, are locked behind DLC. Armored Knights? Nope. More Creature Stone users other then Tiki? Nope. We don't even really have a bruiser Sword user, further making all the sword users feel similar in nature. Yes, some of the weapons in HW are dumb, I won't deny that for a moment, but its a kind of dumb that I welcome because of the sheer lunacy of it. Hate on the Great Fairy as a weapon all you want, your argument is invalidated by the fact that she can AIRDROP MAJORA'S MOON ONTO ENEMIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN! 2-1 for Hyrule Warriors.
Mechanics and controls. This is a clear win to FEW (when compared to HWDE), due to three things, control mapping, Infinite inventory (as far as I could tell, I never tested it), Bonus XP, and AI level ups. While yes, you can control more than one character in many parts of HWDE, when they aren't being controlled by you, they are as dumb as rocks. FEW has that problem too, but what helps alleviate it is that the AI controlled characters can still level up, be they on their own, or when paired up as a support. This did make character grinding a lot easier, because if you needed to power level, just have them as a support for one of your stronger characters for a while. This and being able to map controls are something I wish they added to HWDE because you need to do a lot more here and after spending hundreds of hours in HWL, it just feels clunky by comparison. Item swapping is a bit of a pace killer for me as in order to get to it, I need to stop moving, move my thumb down to the Directional buttons on the left Joycon, and swap between the items I need. The worse one though is how to use the Fairies. as that's now mapped to pressing the right Analogue stick, something that never feels natural for me, in any game. While there is a degree of customization in the controls, it's limited to two options that mostly change what the ABXY buttons do, I'd rather the option to customize my layout so that I can map things I use more often to easier to access buttons (like swapping Fairy magic and Guard around). Granted, I say all of that as someone who uses Joycon controls, not a Pro controller so your mileage may vary if you use a Pro Controller, but for what I use, it just feels clunky. I miss the touchscreen of HWL, point to FEW for two each.
In terms of looks and sounds, these games are pretty even, as it really just comes down to personal tastes. Both can run at a smooth 60 frames per second (if you so choose in the case of FEW), both games look really bright and vibrant (especially when comparing the WiiU and Switch versions of HW), and the soundtracks for both games are amazing rock covers of songs from each game. Some of my favorites from FEW being Conquest (Flames), Road Taken (Roar), Alight (Hoshidan Wind) and A Dark Fall (Fire). In regards to HW, Eclipse of the Moon, Hammer of Stones, Skyloft, Solidus Cave (Crystal Cave), Eclipse the Sun, Title and Dragon, Molgera, Tal Tal Heights, and the 8 bit inspired version of Overworld Adventure from Spirit Tracks. It comes down to which franchise you like more at the end of the day, so while I cannot objectively say "this game is better in visual appeal and music compared to this one", subjectively, I have more of an attachment to Legend of Zelda then I do Fire Emblem, so subjectively it goes to HW. I won't count it though so its still two apiece.
Finally, value for money, in terms of bang for your buck? When comparing their full prices, HWDE beats out FEW, FEW does still have the season pass after all, while HWDE doesn't. If you haven't played the previous versions of HW, then HWDE is a great way to play the game. THAT BEING SAID THOUGH, what about the people who are double or even triple dipping this game (like me)? Well, I don't think its worth the full price. While this is a way to play everything from the WiiU and 3DS versions of HW, there's not much on top of that so if you have bought the 3DS version and its Season Pass, the only thing you're getting out of this is better looking visuals, the return of Challenge Mode, and two new costumes (one for Link and one for Zelda, both based on Breath of the Wild). HWL had an easier sell, cause while you weren't getting Challenge Mode and the 8-bit weapons, you were getting 5 new characters in the base experience, a new adventure mode map, two new stages based on Wind Waker, including new enemies to fight, two new giant bosses, the Fairy system and other smaller tweaks. Here, its really just the smaller tweaks. While I don't need another Adventure Mode map, it would have been nice to see some more playable characters, or even more costumes. People want Groose and Linebeck in the game, I'd personally like to see Urbosa (the Gerudo Champion from Breath of the Wild), a new weapon and costume for Ruto to let you play as Mipha, a new costume for Darunia to let you play as Daruk, maybe a Revali costume and weapon for Medli. I would have liked a little more as a way of getting people who have played it before to pick it up again. While yes, the Switch version is the better version to get if you haven't played the game at all or since the WiiU version, if you have played the 3DS version, there's not much more on top of it, as such I can't really recommend it for someone who has.
With that said then, if you had to choose one, Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition is the better game between it and Fire Emblem Warriors, though it's not as one-sided as many like to claim it as. I hope this helps anyone still on the fence about it. If you want to see my reviews of the WiiU and 3DS versions of Hyrule Warriors, along with my review of Fire Emblem Warriors, you can find them here
Hyrule Warriors WiiU: https://mediaholicreviews.
Hyrule Warriors 3DS: https://mediaholicreviews.
Fire Emblem Warriors: (https://mediaholicreviews.
I think that just about covers it. If I have missed anything, let me know, until then, I'll see you for the Spider-Man homecoming review.
Instead of my usual format, I'm going to split this review up into categories and compare from there, starting with the Story (you can check my in-depth thoughts on the stories in my previous reviews of the games), putting the two head to head though, its a fifty-fifty split when you factor both the story, and the delivery of said story. Hyrule Warriors wins on story due to the wider variety of characters and locations at its disposal, and while I like the 2D drawing cutscenes, they're still not used often as the game bounces between CG cinematic cutscenes, narration over basically Jpegs, and narration over the animated 2D drawings. I wish they went for something more consistent. Fire Emblem Warriors though, while the longer, not as entertaining of a story does lose to HW (going forward, HW= Hyrule Warriors, HWL= Hyrule Warriors Legends, HWDE=Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition and FEW= Fire Emblem Warriors), it has the better delivery of the story thanks to sticking to Fire Emblem's way of delivering stories, CG cinematics and emoting character portraits talking with each other. Granted, most of the dialogue (in the main story, History mode is excluded) is forgettable, it's still more interesting than the narration in HW. So... point to both? Maybe more towards FEW because History Mode's story moments are a lot better in execution compared to the main story, even if there are moments like the mission to unlock Male Corrin, where to win over the trust of your brothers and sisters, you have to go to war with them.
On the subject of History Mode, we might as well go into History Mode from FEW vs Adventure Mode in HW. This is another fifty-fifty split as both have their pros and cons. First of all, to get it out of the way, HW's (the WiiU game) Adventure Mode is the worst of the lot, due to forcing all of the content into the one map, making the map more frustrating to navigate through. Legends had the advantage over the WiiU version due to being able to space the content out more, something that HWDE continues with. Now then, while I haven't finished the game (its been three days at the time of writing, and I've been working on all three), you do unlock the ability to play almost all the Adventure Mode maps as soon as you finish the first mission in Legend Mode. The one map missing being the Rewards Map, due to how you unlock missions in it. Each of the maps now has a difficulty marker on them that hints at the difficulty of the map. Adventure and Great Sea are easy, Master Quest and Master Wind Waker are normal, Twilight and Termina are Hard, and Koholint Island, Grand Travels and Lorule are Hero (hardest difficulty in the game). Alongside spacing out the weapons, the hero unlocks have been spaced out too. By default, you have Link, Impa, Shiek, Lana, Zelda, Ganondorf, Darunia, Ruto, Agitha, Midna, Zant, Fi, Girahim, Cia, Volga, Wizro, and Linkle unlocked. I have heard that you can unlock Toon Link, Tetra and (cause I cannot remember how to spell his last name to save my life), the King of Red Lions when you finish the Wind Waker Epilogue in Legend Mode. The remaining unlockables are split up as such
- Adventure: Young Link, Twili Midna, Skull Kid, Tingle (it also looks like you can unlock the remaining Level 1 weapons)
- Great Sea: Medli, Tetra, King Daphnes (along with the Level 2 weapons)
- Master Quest: Level 3 weapons
- Master Wind Waker: Based on the 3DS version, this will have Medli's Level 2, 3, and 4 Weapon
- Twilight: Level 4 weapons for Zelda, Lana, Agitha, Impa, Link, Ganondorf, Midna, Linkle, Zant, and some characters I haven't unlocked yet
- Termina: The remaining Level 4 weapons for the characters unlocked to this point
- Koholint Island: Marin, Linkle's Level 2, 3 and 4 Boots, and 4+ weapons (weapons introduced in HWL's DLC that have the same power as Level 4 weapons, but have two elements tied to them) for unlocked warriors
- Grand Travels: Toon Zelda, Toon Link's Level 2, 3 and 4 Sand Rod, and more Level 4+ weapons
- Lorule: Ravio, Yuga, and the remaining Level 4+ weapon
Why do I bring all of this up? It's because HWDE does beat out FEW in terms of this kind of content. While structurally, FEW does have a better way of handling the missions, because backtracking isn't required (although HWDE allows you to purchase item cards now to help minimize backtracking), the rewards you obtain in History Mode are, overall, not interesting. Most of the time you're getting materials needed to make your characters stronger, which in itself isn't as interesting as finding a Heart Container. What weapons you do get in History Mode I personally found almost useless, and only good for quick money. It's the main reason I never felt the need to finish FEW's History Mode. Score's now one each for the two games.
Characters and Movesets: This is another clear win to HW. Excluding the roster size difference, 31 for HWDE (as the Challenge Mode along with the missions where you play as Gannon and a giant Cucco are back) and 32-34 for FEW (depending on if you view the Male and Female variants on Robin and Corrin as alternate characters), the reason why HW has the advantage is in the weapons. Every single weapon type in Hyrule Warriors has a unique playstyle to it, which not only makes every character feel unique, but even unique when compared to themselves if they have two or more weapons. I said it before and I'll say it again, the biggest problem with FEW is the roster. Aside from it not being a strong representation of the entire Fire Emblem Franchise, a lot of characters share movesets with each other, and some of the unit potentials are locked behind DLC. Leo and Elise have the same moveset, Sakura and Takumi have the same moveset, Rowanand Lianna, I believe Chrom and Lucina share a moveset, Hinoka, Cordelia and Caeda feel like they have the same moveset, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the DLC characters share movesets too. What's a problem as well is that there are not only missing classes from the game entirely, but characters like Oboro and Azura, the ONLY TWO LANCE USERS WHO DON'T HAVE A PEGASUS AND THEREFORE AREN'T ARCHER FODDER, are locked behind DLC. Armored Knights? Nope. More Creature Stone users other then Tiki? Nope. We don't even really have a bruiser Sword user, further making all the sword users feel similar in nature. Yes, some of the weapons in HW are dumb, I won't deny that for a moment, but its a kind of dumb that I welcome because of the sheer lunacy of it. Hate on the Great Fairy as a weapon all you want, your argument is invalidated by the fact that she can AIRDROP MAJORA'S MOON ONTO ENEMIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN! 2-1 for Hyrule Warriors.
Mechanics and controls. This is a clear win to FEW (when compared to HWDE), due to three things, control mapping, Infinite inventory (as far as I could tell, I never tested it), Bonus XP, and AI level ups. While yes, you can control more than one character in many parts of HWDE, when they aren't being controlled by you, they are as dumb as rocks. FEW has that problem too, but what helps alleviate it is that the AI controlled characters can still level up, be they on their own, or when paired up as a support. This did make character grinding a lot easier, because if you needed to power level, just have them as a support for one of your stronger characters for a while. This and being able to map controls are something I wish they added to HWDE because you need to do a lot more here and after spending hundreds of hours in HWL, it just feels clunky by comparison. Item swapping is a bit of a pace killer for me as in order to get to it, I need to stop moving, move my thumb down to the Directional buttons on the left Joycon, and swap between the items I need. The worse one though is how to use the Fairies. as that's now mapped to pressing the right Analogue stick, something that never feels natural for me, in any game. While there is a degree of customization in the controls, it's limited to two options that mostly change what the ABXY buttons do, I'd rather the option to customize my layout so that I can map things I use more often to easier to access buttons (like swapping Fairy magic and Guard around). Granted, I say all of that as someone who uses Joycon controls, not a Pro controller so your mileage may vary if you use a Pro Controller, but for what I use, it just feels clunky. I miss the touchscreen of HWL, point to FEW for two each.
In terms of looks and sounds, these games are pretty even, as it really just comes down to personal tastes. Both can run at a smooth 60 frames per second (if you so choose in the case of FEW), both games look really bright and vibrant (especially when comparing the WiiU and Switch versions of HW), and the soundtracks for both games are amazing rock covers of songs from each game. Some of my favorites from FEW being Conquest (Flames), Road Taken (Roar), Alight (Hoshidan Wind) and A Dark Fall (Fire). In regards to HW, Eclipse of the Moon, Hammer of Stones, Skyloft, Solidus Cave (Crystal Cave), Eclipse the Sun, Title and Dragon, Molgera, Tal Tal Heights, and the 8 bit inspired version of Overworld Adventure from Spirit Tracks. It comes down to which franchise you like more at the end of the day, so while I cannot objectively say "this game is better in visual appeal and music compared to this one", subjectively, I have more of an attachment to Legend of Zelda then I do Fire Emblem, so subjectively it goes to HW. I won't count it though so its still two apiece.
Finally, value for money, in terms of bang for your buck? When comparing their full prices, HWDE beats out FEW, FEW does still have the season pass after all, while HWDE doesn't. If you haven't played the previous versions of HW, then HWDE is a great way to play the game. THAT BEING SAID THOUGH, what about the people who are double or even triple dipping this game (like me)? Well, I don't think its worth the full price. While this is a way to play everything from the WiiU and 3DS versions of HW, there's not much on top of that so if you have bought the 3DS version and its Season Pass, the only thing you're getting out of this is better looking visuals, the return of Challenge Mode, and two new costumes (one for Link and one for Zelda, both based on Breath of the Wild). HWL had an easier sell, cause while you weren't getting Challenge Mode and the 8-bit weapons, you were getting 5 new characters in the base experience, a new adventure mode map, two new stages based on Wind Waker, including new enemies to fight, two new giant bosses, the Fairy system and other smaller tweaks. Here, its really just the smaller tweaks. While I don't need another Adventure Mode map, it would have been nice to see some more playable characters, or even more costumes. People want Groose and Linebeck in the game, I'd personally like to see Urbosa (the Gerudo Champion from Breath of the Wild), a new weapon and costume for Ruto to let you play as Mipha, a new costume for Darunia to let you play as Daruk, maybe a Revali costume and weapon for Medli. I would have liked a little more as a way of getting people who have played it before to pick it up again. While yes, the Switch version is the better version to get if you haven't played the game at all or since the WiiU version, if you have played the 3DS version, there's not much more on top of it, as such I can't really recommend it for someone who has.
With that said then, if you had to choose one, Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition is the better game between it and Fire Emblem Warriors, though it's not as one-sided as many like to claim it as. I hope this helps anyone still on the fence about it. If you want to see my reviews of the WiiU and 3DS versions of Hyrule Warriors, along with my review of Fire Emblem Warriors, you can find them here
Hyrule Warriors WiiU: https://mediaholicreviews.
Hyrule Warriors 3DS: https://mediaholicreviews.
Fire Emblem Warriors: (https://mediaholicreviews.
I think that just about covers it. If I have missed anything, let me know, until then, I'll see you for the Spider-Man homecoming review.
Thursday 10 May 2018
Operation M.A.Y.V.E.L Phase 1 (Maybe? Kinda?); Lego Marvel Superheroes 2: TT, we need to talk
I have a love-hate relationship with the Lego games. Two of my favorite games when growing up was Lego Star Wars Complete Saga, and Lego Batman 1, and motion sickness inducing camera aside, I do enjoy BIONICLE Heroes (though that's for another time). While simplistic, the games are still entertaining. However, things did change during the last generation of consoles. While it is a case by case situation, some of the changes made to the game since Lego Batman 2 turned me off of the games, and when I did try them again with Lego Dimensions, the flaws of the engine started to become really apparent to me. I got this game a few weeks ago as, encase it wasn't obvious, I've been on a marvel binge, and the game was heavily discounted. So I figured why not, and I'd even get the DLC because the two together was still cheaper than the normal retail price... See if you can guess where I'm going with this based on the title alone.
Wednesday 21 February 2018
Fire Emblem Warriors: "It was successful" "It was successful" "It was successful", just cause you repeat that, doesn't make it true
Does anyone else think this game was sent out to die? I don't mean that as a hint of what I think of the game, I genuinely mean it. The reason why this game took so long to review was mostly due to the timing of its release, one week before Super Mario Odyssey came out. I didn't actually get the game until the new year, just after they announced that Hyrule Warriors was coming to the Switch. Combine that with Dynasty Warriors 9 being in development around the same time, and the best way to describe its development are things like "rushed", "potentially understaffed" and other similar words and phrases. What also didn't help was how the game was critiqued prior to release due to how it was handling its roster and DLC, and there's a strong chance this game underperformed. Did it deserve to underperform? Well, one way to find out.
Wednesday 22 November 2017
Sonic Forces: Apparently I am doing this alone
Relax, I'm not going to compare it to Super Mario Odyssey. Too many others have, I want to be somewhat original here.
Well, time to see if my thoughts on the game are still as high as they were when it was announced, huh? Back in that awful livestream when Sonic Mania was announced, Sonic Forces was also teased, and I remember saying I was looking forward to it (proof of that being in the Podcast episode with Marcus talking about the event). As time went on though, that excitement was quickly draining. The first big sign was how much of a promotion Mania was getting by comparison, and even after Mania was released, the promotion never really seemed to be there for Forces. In fact, I wasn't seeing any excitement for the game aside from the memes with the Avatar, and the cross promotion with Hooters of all things (I still don't get that either). If anything, most of what I was was negativity and hate, at least from what I saw. Is it really worth it now that the game's out? Well...
To start with the plot and, I know this is going to sound weird, but while the story is awful, the writing is solid overall with some great lines. The overall story is garbage and one of the worst Sonic stories because the tone is all over the place. What do you think of when you get a story that's about a rising revolution to take back the world from evil? Was your answer "anthropromorphic animals saying cheesy one liners that kill the grim tone the story is trying to do"? No? Well too bad as that's what's here. While that isn't a bad thing, as the character writing is some of the best the series has ever had, it just doesn't work in this setting at all. Sonic and co are on point with great writing in their dialogue, but that can lead to bad payoffs. For example, the little promotional material given was trying to build up Infinite as something mysterious. Wanna know his backstory? He was a hired thug that Shadow beat up and got pissed off. "Sonic was being tortured for six months", yet has Sonic act like nothing ever happens once we see him again. Heck, you know how the game was promoting the return of Metal Sonic, Chaos 0 and Shadow as villains along with that red guy for Sonic Lost World? Well, Chaos 0 and Shadow are beaten up in cutscenes, you only fight Metal Sonic, Infinite, Eggman and that reg guy from Lost World. It feels underwhelming by every stretch of the imagination due to the shifting tone.
In terms of gameplay, while I had fun with the levels overall (oh primus that Casino Level as Classic Sonic is awful), it still felt unrewarding, like the levels are just hitting their stride once they end. A lot of the Metropolis (no not that one) levels are really fun to play through along with the ones on the Death Egg for Modern Sonic and the Avatar, but I don't get the satisfaction from them that I got from something like Rooftop Run, Empire City, Starlight Carnival, and more, and that's with all the collectibles as a large chunk of the red rings I was finding without even trying, though there was an unhealthy mix of "ok, how the hell was I supposed to think to do that?" to get them. In terms of a gamplay break up. Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic do still play almost as they did in Generations. However there are some control changes (why is jump and homing attack mapped to the B button?!) and Classic sonic actually feels worse to play here then he does in Generations. I don't know if that's the level design, or an engine change, but I can't even say "No, he doesn't have the same "physics", but he's still playable" because he feels clunky and in levels like "Not Casino Night", I get genuinely angry at the game because I know Pinball physics (I like playing Pinball games ok?), and that felt awful. Shadow plays close enough to Modern Sonic that I think there should be a Shadow mode in boost formula going forward, as for the Avatar, like the Werehog, it was fun, but not needed.
The Avatar plays as a Modern Sonic without the boost and a few extra tricks. Which is fine as the new tricks lead to some interesting level design. The Grapple acts as both your homing attack and a way to use grapple points which sometimes leads you to new paths, while the Whispons let you use Whisps to attack and provide ways to get to new paths and secrets, along with new ways to defeat enemies. Only problem is that there's little reason to swap the weapon around. I just stuck with the Electric Whispon unless I needed to swap. The Character Customization is also solid with lots of combinations, but I found one specific limitation (combining chest and back as just "Body", meaning I couldn't wear a shirt and a backpack as an example) annoying while the UI quickly became a mess. There were times where I wanted to see the brand new stuff I got to quickly add, but lost the item in the mess of gear. I personally didn't notice if there was a way to sort gear into "new acquisitions" either which didn't help. Honestly the only reason why I think the Avatar isn't needed is the Avatar itself. I'd have preferred the gameplay be given to a character with a personality, like Tails. I can say that with some certainty because the Modern Sonic and Avatar levels just scream "Modern Sonic and Modern Tails gameplay".
Presentation is another mixed bag honestly. Visually, the game looks great on the surface, but some individual animations look really stiff, and these animations aren't easy to miss either. Worst offender for me is Shadow in the scene where the two armies clash. Soundtrack is a similar situation where some are good, but nothing's great, and even Fist Bump is just kinda "ehh" at best (I really hate the way its structured honestly). To be honest, overall the soundtrack felt like white noise. It was there, but it just there, it never stood out. I'm listening to the soundtrack as I write this and even on its own, it doesn't stand out, and I wish I didn't have to say that about a Sonic soundtrack.
In fact, "ehh: is probably the best way to describe the experience overall to be honest. Nothing absolutely stands out, what good bits are in the game finish too soon, and the bad bits are abundant. Forces is not the worst Sonic game. Nowhere close to 06 or Boom. However it is the worst boost formula Sonic game beyond a shadow of a doubt and it shows the biggest problem plaguing Sonic Team right now, a lack of trust in their ideas. While I'm not going to compare the game to Odyssey. I will compare it to Mania. When you break down the differences
Sonic Mania: 2D game that plays like the original games with new levels and older levels getting new geometry, with a story akin to the older games where its there, but not the center of attention.
Sonic Forces: 3D game that plays like Unleashed with the 2D gameplay of Generations, and a avatar that's a watered down of the main 3D gameplay with extra gimmicks, and Shadow who's another slightly watered down of the core 3D game, with a story that feels more like a focus, but with nothing making it crucial to the game.
Notice how Forces sounds more complicated, more scrambled? There's no focus because instead of sticking to one idea, and designing ideas that compliment that one idea, they just threw everything in and hoped for the best. And it didn't work. At all. I get that a part of why this game feels rushed was the development of the new engine. But at the same time I don't see that as an excuse, because Unleashed was the debut of a new engine and that game felt complete, like it wasn't rushed at all. Here, they had to patch in Super Sonic, and even then he's still unobtainable in the game. If the engine was going to take that long to make, why not start making the levels in the old engine and then port them to the new engine to finish them? When a game four years in development still feels rushed, there's a big problem. From where I sit, Sonic Team needs fresh blood, and a focus. I don't care what that focus is. But Sonic needs to find something to stick to, to refine, to improve. Sonic needs an identity in the 3D space, or at least an identity at all. I don't want 3D development on Sonic to stop, but it does feel like a possibility based on how well Mania did, and how badly Forces is doing by comparison. Now, while myself and Marissa play Pokemon Ultra Moon (neither of us started playing Ultra Sun...), some smaller projects in the meantime. Such as Machinima's Combiner Wars, because I'll cash in on that Titans Return cross promo.
Well, time to see if my thoughts on the game are still as high as they were when it was announced, huh? Back in that awful livestream when Sonic Mania was announced, Sonic Forces was also teased, and I remember saying I was looking forward to it (proof of that being in the Podcast episode with Marcus talking about the event). As time went on though, that excitement was quickly draining. The first big sign was how much of a promotion Mania was getting by comparison, and even after Mania was released, the promotion never really seemed to be there for Forces. In fact, I wasn't seeing any excitement for the game aside from the memes with the Avatar, and the cross promotion with Hooters of all things (I still don't get that either). If anything, most of what I was was negativity and hate, at least from what I saw. Is it really worth it now that the game's out? Well...
To start with the plot and, I know this is going to sound weird, but while the story is awful, the writing is solid overall with some great lines. The overall story is garbage and one of the worst Sonic stories because the tone is all over the place. What do you think of when you get a story that's about a rising revolution to take back the world from evil? Was your answer "anthropromorphic animals saying cheesy one liners that kill the grim tone the story is trying to do"? No? Well too bad as that's what's here. While that isn't a bad thing, as the character writing is some of the best the series has ever had, it just doesn't work in this setting at all. Sonic and co are on point with great writing in their dialogue, but that can lead to bad payoffs. For example, the little promotional material given was trying to build up Infinite as something mysterious. Wanna know his backstory? He was a hired thug that Shadow beat up and got pissed off. "Sonic was being tortured for six months", yet has Sonic act like nothing ever happens once we see him again. Heck, you know how the game was promoting the return of Metal Sonic, Chaos 0 and Shadow as villains along with that red guy for Sonic Lost World? Well, Chaos 0 and Shadow are beaten up in cutscenes, you only fight Metal Sonic, Infinite, Eggman and that reg guy from Lost World. It feels underwhelming by every stretch of the imagination due to the shifting tone.
In terms of gameplay, while I had fun with the levels overall (oh primus that Casino Level as Classic Sonic is awful), it still felt unrewarding, like the levels are just hitting their stride once they end. A lot of the Metropolis (no not that one) levels are really fun to play through along with the ones on the Death Egg for Modern Sonic and the Avatar, but I don't get the satisfaction from them that I got from something like Rooftop Run, Empire City, Starlight Carnival, and more, and that's with all the collectibles as a large chunk of the red rings I was finding without even trying, though there was an unhealthy mix of "ok, how the hell was I supposed to think to do that?" to get them. In terms of a gamplay break up. Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic do still play almost as they did in Generations. However there are some control changes (why is jump and homing attack mapped to the B button?!) and Classic sonic actually feels worse to play here then he does in Generations. I don't know if that's the level design, or an engine change, but I can't even say "No, he doesn't have the same "physics", but he's still playable" because he feels clunky and in levels like "Not Casino Night", I get genuinely angry at the game because I know Pinball physics (I like playing Pinball games ok?), and that felt awful. Shadow plays close enough to Modern Sonic that I think there should be a Shadow mode in boost formula going forward, as for the Avatar, like the Werehog, it was fun, but not needed.
The Avatar plays as a Modern Sonic without the boost and a few extra tricks. Which is fine as the new tricks lead to some interesting level design. The Grapple acts as both your homing attack and a way to use grapple points which sometimes leads you to new paths, while the Whispons let you use Whisps to attack and provide ways to get to new paths and secrets, along with new ways to defeat enemies. Only problem is that there's little reason to swap the weapon around. I just stuck with the Electric Whispon unless I needed to swap. The Character Customization is also solid with lots of combinations, but I found one specific limitation (combining chest and back as just "Body", meaning I couldn't wear a shirt and a backpack as an example) annoying while the UI quickly became a mess. There were times where I wanted to see the brand new stuff I got to quickly add, but lost the item in the mess of gear. I personally didn't notice if there was a way to sort gear into "new acquisitions" either which didn't help. Honestly the only reason why I think the Avatar isn't needed is the Avatar itself. I'd have preferred the gameplay be given to a character with a personality, like Tails. I can say that with some certainty because the Modern Sonic and Avatar levels just scream "Modern Sonic and Modern Tails gameplay".
Presentation is another mixed bag honestly. Visually, the game looks great on the surface, but some individual animations look really stiff, and these animations aren't easy to miss either. Worst offender for me is Shadow in the scene where the two armies clash. Soundtrack is a similar situation where some are good, but nothing's great, and even Fist Bump is just kinda "ehh" at best (I really hate the way its structured honestly). To be honest, overall the soundtrack felt like white noise. It was there, but it just there, it never stood out. I'm listening to the soundtrack as I write this and even on its own, it doesn't stand out, and I wish I didn't have to say that about a Sonic soundtrack.
In fact, "ehh: is probably the best way to describe the experience overall to be honest. Nothing absolutely stands out, what good bits are in the game finish too soon, and the bad bits are abundant. Forces is not the worst Sonic game. Nowhere close to 06 or Boom. However it is the worst boost formula Sonic game beyond a shadow of a doubt and it shows the biggest problem plaguing Sonic Team right now, a lack of trust in their ideas. While I'm not going to compare the game to Odyssey. I will compare it to Mania. When you break down the differences
Sonic Mania: 2D game that plays like the original games with new levels and older levels getting new geometry, with a story akin to the older games where its there, but not the center of attention.
Sonic Forces: 3D game that plays like Unleashed with the 2D gameplay of Generations, and a avatar that's a watered down of the main 3D gameplay with extra gimmicks, and Shadow who's another slightly watered down of the core 3D game, with a story that feels more like a focus, but with nothing making it crucial to the game.
Notice how Forces sounds more complicated, more scrambled? There's no focus because instead of sticking to one idea, and designing ideas that compliment that one idea, they just threw everything in and hoped for the best. And it didn't work. At all. I get that a part of why this game feels rushed was the development of the new engine. But at the same time I don't see that as an excuse, because Unleashed was the debut of a new engine and that game felt complete, like it wasn't rushed at all. Here, they had to patch in Super Sonic, and even then he's still unobtainable in the game. If the engine was going to take that long to make, why not start making the levels in the old engine and then port them to the new engine to finish them? When a game four years in development still feels rushed, there's a big problem. From where I sit, Sonic Team needs fresh blood, and a focus. I don't care what that focus is. But Sonic needs to find something to stick to, to refine, to improve. Sonic needs an identity in the 3D space, or at least an identity at all. I don't want 3D development on Sonic to stop, but it does feel like a possibility based on how well Mania did, and how badly Forces is doing by comparison. Now, while myself and Marissa play Pokemon Ultra Moon (neither of us started playing Ultra Sun...), some smaller projects in the meantime. Such as Machinima's Combiner Wars, because I'll cash in on that Titans Return cross promo.
Wednesday 15 November 2017
Super Mario Odyssey: Time to go off the rails
Before anyone asks, I'll come back to Gumball, its just that I've been more focused on Odyssey. Sorry.
This year's been a pretty good year for platformers, hasn't it, and it was tied off with the tease that was Super Mario Odyssey. A return to the style Super Mario 64 helped pioneer, featuring a world adventure (am I the only one who's going to say that it ripped of Sonic Unleashed in that area?), and sporting an earworm of a song that got people excited from the moment it was announced. But, now that its released, while it has gotten an overwhelming amount of praise, its also gotten the "oh its been praised to much, everyone's lying" treatment too. So what do I think of it then? Forewarn, spoilers ahead.
Starting with the story, its a very, very, very slight variation on the usual Mario story, in that Bowser wants to marry Peach, and enlisted the help of five rabbits (one of whom could seriously go for either a diet or a new wardrobe because that dress does not look good on her), to plan the wedding by stealing priceless artifacts and treasures from many kingdoms all over the planet, so its up to Mario and newcomer Cappy (who's trying to save his sister Tiara who Bowser also kidnapped, remember, this is the Mario series, almost every time there's a problem, its because Bowser kidnapped someone or stole something, or a combination of the two). With a goal in place, and a ship to captain, it is up to Mario to crash Bowser's party. This honestly, for me at least, is the weakest part of the game. I don't know, I guess I was just hoping for something more. It does what it needs to do, and there are moments in the story that are great to see (seriously, who gave Bowser a dragon?!). The story gets you from kingdom to kingdom, but there's a part of me who wants more then just "it'll do".
Especially when the rest of the game seems to go above and beyond to entertain. Throughout the entire game I was enjoying every single moment, and like many, I had a smile on my face. It was fun to go through each of the kingdoms, and none of them (so far, I'm still going through post game), have overstayed their welcome. Thinking back, the two times I got genuinely annoyed with the game was a moment in Tostarena, where I couldn't get the Jexi to spawn at the ruins (until I went back to the village and there it was) and the Seaside Kingdom boss, because I wasn't a fan of the enemy you had to Capture in order to fight it. Granted, that was 5 moons out of the over 400 I have now, not even 1% of the moons in the game. That being said, I've heard horror stories about some specific moons, so it is likely that number will change. On the subject of the Power Moons though, they are everywhere in this game. On the one hand, their over abundance does make it easy to say to yourself "just one more moon", but on the other hand, I would have personally preferred less Power Moons, but all of them would have been more rewarding then just "ground pound here, go here to see it floating there to tease you, catch the bird, get to this female Goomba" and so on. To compare it to Super Mario 64, while there are far, far, FAR less Power Stars in that game (even the version I own, SM64 DS with 150 power stars), all the stars in it feel more rewarding to get. It is however a case of "to each their own".
To go into the presentation. I almost cannot fault it. At all. I've looked hard trying to find something, anything I have a genuine issue with, but almost nothing. Visually the game looks amazing, in every sense of the word. The kingdoms look gorgeous and so distinct from one another that they all stand out. From the rolling hills of Tostarena, to the giant skyscrapers of New Donk City, to the crystal clear waters of Bubblaine. Heck, even Bowser's Kingdom looks distinct from many of his other castles, going for a traditional Japanese theme to the aesthetics which looks and sounds amazing. The music itself is an absolute delight to listen to, and is up there as one of the best soundtracks I've heard this year alongside Sonic Mania and Splatoon 2. I love this soundtrack that much. While I don't like some of the individual songs, what ones I like, I love. Jump Up Superstar, the Sand Kingdom ruins, Lake Lamode's serenity, the Jazz of New Donk City, I could go on here with examples of how good this soundtrack is. The only fault I have with the presentation is that some of the Mario enemies feel a bit out of place in some of the kingdoms, but even then that's me reaching hard for something to say against the presentation.
I'm genuinely surprised this came out this year, considering as the system launched with Breath of the Wild, this could have easily waited until next year as it is another game of that caliber. It's such an adrenaline rush for the franchise because, while realistically, not much is different in aesthetics. A lot of these have been seen before in Mario in generic forms, the level of charm here is a delight and helps me ignore the fact that I'm in another desert themed level, or another beach, or another Bowser's Kingdom, as different as they may be to predecessors. While to many, it doesn't have the charm of Super Mario 64 (because that charm is just nostalgia), to me its not something to knock the game down for, because its not Odyssey's fault that people have been playing Mario games for decades. If you were on the fence about getting a Switch, this should be enough of a push to get it. From one platformer to another, I'll next be going to Sonic Forces, and no it won't be a video... let's just say Marcus hasn't seen the reports on the game I've been giving to him privately as a reason to go get the game.
This year's been a pretty good year for platformers, hasn't it, and it was tied off with the tease that was Super Mario Odyssey. A return to the style Super Mario 64 helped pioneer, featuring a world adventure (am I the only one who's going to say that it ripped of Sonic Unleashed in that area?), and sporting an earworm of a song that got people excited from the moment it was announced. But, now that its released, while it has gotten an overwhelming amount of praise, its also gotten the "oh its been praised to much, everyone's lying" treatment too. So what do I think of it then? Forewarn, spoilers ahead.
Starting with the story, its a very, very, very slight variation on the usual Mario story, in that Bowser wants to marry Peach, and enlisted the help of five rabbits (one of whom could seriously go for either a diet or a new wardrobe because that dress does not look good on her), to plan the wedding by stealing priceless artifacts and treasures from many kingdoms all over the planet, so its up to Mario and newcomer Cappy (who's trying to save his sister Tiara who Bowser also kidnapped, remember, this is the Mario series, almost every time there's a problem, its because Bowser kidnapped someone or stole something, or a combination of the two). With a goal in place, and a ship to captain, it is up to Mario to crash Bowser's party. This honestly, for me at least, is the weakest part of the game. I don't know, I guess I was just hoping for something more. It does what it needs to do, and there are moments in the story that are great to see (seriously, who gave Bowser a dragon?!). The story gets you from kingdom to kingdom, but there's a part of me who wants more then just "it'll do".
Especially when the rest of the game seems to go above and beyond to entertain. Throughout the entire game I was enjoying every single moment, and like many, I had a smile on my face. It was fun to go through each of the kingdoms, and none of them (so far, I'm still going through post game), have overstayed their welcome. Thinking back, the two times I got genuinely annoyed with the game was a moment in Tostarena, where I couldn't get the Jexi to spawn at the ruins (until I went back to the village and there it was) and the Seaside Kingdom boss, because I wasn't a fan of the enemy you had to Capture in order to fight it. Granted, that was 5 moons out of the over 400 I have now, not even 1% of the moons in the game. That being said, I've heard horror stories about some specific moons, so it is likely that number will change. On the subject of the Power Moons though, they are everywhere in this game. On the one hand, their over abundance does make it easy to say to yourself "just one more moon", but on the other hand, I would have personally preferred less Power Moons, but all of them would have been more rewarding then just "ground pound here, go here to see it floating there to tease you, catch the bird, get to this female Goomba" and so on. To compare it to Super Mario 64, while there are far, far, FAR less Power Stars in that game (even the version I own, SM64 DS with 150 power stars), all the stars in it feel more rewarding to get. It is however a case of "to each their own".
To go into the presentation. I almost cannot fault it. At all. I've looked hard trying to find something, anything I have a genuine issue with, but almost nothing. Visually the game looks amazing, in every sense of the word. The kingdoms look gorgeous and so distinct from one another that they all stand out. From the rolling hills of Tostarena, to the giant skyscrapers of New Donk City, to the crystal clear waters of Bubblaine. Heck, even Bowser's Kingdom looks distinct from many of his other castles, going for a traditional Japanese theme to the aesthetics which looks and sounds amazing. The music itself is an absolute delight to listen to, and is up there as one of the best soundtracks I've heard this year alongside Sonic Mania and Splatoon 2. I love this soundtrack that much. While I don't like some of the individual songs, what ones I like, I love. Jump Up Superstar, the Sand Kingdom ruins, Lake Lamode's serenity, the Jazz of New Donk City, I could go on here with examples of how good this soundtrack is. The only fault I have with the presentation is that some of the Mario enemies feel a bit out of place in some of the kingdoms, but even then that's me reaching hard for something to say against the presentation.
I'm genuinely surprised this came out this year, considering as the system launched with Breath of the Wild, this could have easily waited until next year as it is another game of that caliber. It's such an adrenaline rush for the franchise because, while realistically, not much is different in aesthetics. A lot of these have been seen before in Mario in generic forms, the level of charm here is a delight and helps me ignore the fact that I'm in another desert themed level, or another beach, or another Bowser's Kingdom, as different as they may be to predecessors. While to many, it doesn't have the charm of Super Mario 64 (because that charm is just nostalgia), to me its not something to knock the game down for, because its not Odyssey's fault that people have been playing Mario games for decades. If you were on the fence about getting a Switch, this should be enough of a push to get it. From one platformer to another, I'll next be going to Sonic Forces, and no it won't be a video... let's just say Marcus hasn't seen the reports on the game I've been giving to him privately as a reason to go get the game.
Wednesday 27 September 2017
Friday 22 September 2017
Mediaholics Review: Sonic Mania
One big mascot platformer return to form, at least one more to go. Bubsy's... debatable if he counts. And Look! WE'RE DOING A VIDEO REVIEW ON SOMETHING THAT ISN'T POKEMON!!!
Sunday 16 July 2017
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Yes, I own a Switch now
And unlike last time, I'm reviewing this as someone who owns the game and the system.
Ports, many people hate them, many see them as a waste of development time. Me? Well it depends on the state of the port but overall, my stance on the matter is "They're done by backup teams with a small time frame, meant to help fill out a library. I would rather have ports of good games then shovel ware". After having this for close to two weeks, and playing with my fellow volunteers at the Tech Games Fest this year, I think it'll be good to tackle this, and give it an update seeing as when I last reviewed Mario Kart 8, I didn't experience most of the DLC. Also, your eyes don't decieve you, this is a review of a Mario Game on its own, though technically Mario Kart Wii got their first... also reviewed around the same time... should I just do Mario Karts around this time and make it a trend?
Ports, many people hate them, many see them as a waste of development time. Me? Well it depends on the state of the port but overall, my stance on the matter is "They're done by backup teams with a small time frame, meant to help fill out a library. I would rather have ports of good games then shovel ware". After having this for close to two weeks, and playing with my fellow volunteers at the Tech Games Fest this year, I think it'll be good to tackle this, and give it an update seeing as when I last reviewed Mario Kart 8, I didn't experience most of the DLC. Also, your eyes don't decieve you, this is a review of a Mario Game on its own, though technically Mario Kart Wii got their first... also reviewed around the same time... should I just do Mario Karts around this time and make it a trend?
Thursday 19 January 2017
Fire Emblem Direct Impressions
"Why is this not a podcast?" Well, both Marissa and Marcus have next to know knowledge on Fire Emblem, and CJ on top of that is busy applying to do her Masters course for univercity. Do I have a working knowledge of Fire Emblem? No, but I know more then just playing Super Smash Brothers like Marissa, Marcus and CJ. That's why. These are also primerilly going to be just notes as I'm writing this as soon as the livestream finished.
Wednesday 2 November 2016
Pokemon Adventures Gold, Silver and Crystal Arc: THE PODCAST IS HERE TOO!
We've gotten on several boats before we went across some kinda steep mountains. We're getting to those games soon, I promise. But hey, at least we can talk about them now. Let us go to the Jhoto region, one year after the events of Yellow, and take a peak into the life of the breeder, the trader, and the catcher.
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