My Thoughts On The New BBTAG Character DLC

Locked away from the core game at $4.99 a pop, character DLC packs #2 and #3 along with their equally inclusive three additional characters each definitely have an impact on the state of balance within the updated roster. Initially BBTAG was comprised of a base roster of what I like to call equally exploitable characters. By that I mean these are the types of characters everyone cheesed back in the early BlazBlue, UNIEL, and P4A/P4AU games. They are factually characters of certainty that guarantee victory in most cases. Back in the day, of course. While that was an early concern of mine I felt it was balanced in that all the characters were either able to get in easily, or were so zoning heavy that they could hold their own at a distance. Exploitable, but not so much in the traditional one-sided sense.

The Lost Child ~ Brief Synopsis Plus Video Review Link

From time to time NISA likes to publish new games that are outside of their flagship series. They sign on with well known Japanese gaming studios such as Kadokawa Games, and publish said titles. Their latest release that is "The Lost Child" follows this usual testing of the metaphorical waters. By that I simply mean they brave the market to see if their game choice pays off among loyal fans. When it comes to the game's presentation, and what it offers I believe "The Lost Child" does good for it's $40 budget price point. While it borrows some influence from other older JRPGs it still manages to do it's own thing at the same time. It harbors many different mixed and matched religious themes including various good deities and interesting evils. All alongside tweaked first person dungeon crawling combat of the turn based sort.

The developer manages to innovate quite decently on the gameplay portion of the story being told. It genuinely coincides with the game's storytelling focus in regards to the religious themes therein, but does so in such a way as to make the given plot the most intriguing point of all. It takes the old first-person dungeon crawling gameplay, and applies a "Shin Megami Tensei" inspired demon capture system in which the protagonist, and accompanying angel are able to team up with purified and strengthened demons (Astrals) in a fight against the hidden evils of the mortal world. The occult journalist Hayato (the protagonist) ultimately gets involved as God's chosen one unwillingly, and must use a demonic gun called the Gangour in tandem with a special tablet utilized by his guiding angel Lua to do God's bidding while simultaneously investigating paranormal goings on for Hayato's co-produced LOST publication. Hayato, through various worldly and otherworldly acquaintances, gets caught up in a tug-of-war for his allegiance. It is a tug-of-war that features some key characters whose motives aren't initially clear. Thus is the hook. The thing that keeps you playing through the sometimes repetitive, and tedious traversing of the demon labyrinths known as layers. Overall it's a good gaming experience for a good price, but is one that will cater more to oldschool JRPG fans than those looking for the more modern action oriented type of JRPG.

The Lost Child - Twitter Review Preview

Below you'll find the basic summary of what I've experienced so far with NISA's latest SRPG release of "The Lost Child". I touch base on almost all of the vital points regarding plot, and mechanics. Not all of them, mind you, but definitely the important aspects of the game. The game has already been released, and with me having gotten my review code later than usual you will have to wait for the full review after the launch. I do apologize for that, but hopefully this review preview will give you some insight on what you'd be paying for if you chose to buy into the game.

Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare - My Brief Thoughts And Opinions

Zombie indie games seem to be on the rise these days. Pun intended. Everywhere you look there seems to be a new zombie game of some sort popping up. I assume it's because of all the end time hysteria, and whatnot. Whatever the case may be "Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare" attempts to capitalize on said trend like so many other games do. Does it succeed in being interesting, and different? I'd say for a zombie themed mobile style indie with RTS gameplay mechanics it does alright to that end. Like many mobile games of that kind though it's a quick to pick up, and easy to put down experience that definitely caters to the casual crowd. Not that that is a bad thing in this case. As far as the game goes it does have an objective, but not a really story. That objective, as simple as it may sound, is to get a bus load of people across areas that are both blockaded by debris, and guarded by waves of zombies. As the bus driver you pay for help with courage, and rage points that refill over time or can be refilled through single use items. Your help comes in the form of tools as well as weapon toting individuals that make their way from the bus to the guarded blockade to deal with the problem, and the threats at hand so that the bus can move on to the next area for supplies. Supplies in the game which are basically rewards are used to upgrade your ragtag RTS brigade, and make them more fit to handle the increasingly more difficult odds, and objectives. Supposing you use your resources, and manpower correctly you can earn up to a three star ranking per level, and loot the area as well. Of course that is the end goal. Completing each mission area with three stars, and on all difficulty settings.

WoblyWare's "Omega Strike" Does Decently What Retro Does Best

If you fancy indie games, particularly the sort that take inspiration from the retro gaming era, you might not be disappointed with "Omega Strike" for the PS4. It's a game that borrows a lot from such an age, but that does so in a way that is, at the very least, aesthetically pleasing and unique visually. It's a mixture of 'Mega Man', 'The Legend of Zelda II', and even 'Metal Slug'. If I dare say so myself. Along with these obvious nods it features blood and gore with a super soldier project gone wrong theme to boot. Of course you'll find that you have two different scientists behind it all. Both malevolent, and savior-like in the guise of a good professor, and a doctor gone mad. No doubt inspired by Mega Man's famous two doctors. The trick, or what makes this game different than others though is not so much the base gameplay, the doctors, or the given plot, but more so the main playable characters' functionality. As the player you at times control one of three different freedom fighters in a fight against Doctor Omega, and his mutant minions. The diabolical genius who concocted the super soldier serum, and in turn created his own army of super mutant soldiers. Each freedom fighter which can be swapped out on the go via the good Professor's teleporter device gives the players different weapon options, and special character functions that aid in getting further into the game as well as help to solve puzzles.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle - The Short And Sweet Of It Review

BlazBlue has evolved quite a bit over the years. There's no denying it. It started off as an anime fighter in the vein of the flagship fighting game series Guilty Gear. It was fast paced, and featured an entirely new roster of characters with an entirely new story. Regardless of the new offerings the early or initial games in the ongoing series that is BlazBlue were simpler in the sense that they weren't as mode inclusive, or as story heavy as series entries midways, and later on down the line. As the series continued to grow though the story expanded as did the lore, the roster of characters, and the modes of play. Even in the online portions of the games innovation showed, if slightly so. New ways to stand out as players were given, and things like nameplates, avatars, and titles made their way in. Fast forward to today's times, and BlazBlue has all but strayed from it's beaten path. In "BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle" it has ditched the tried, and true formula for a lesser spin-off that in most ways gives the paying players less. The roster, though inclusive of different characters, does not present the game in a light that truly builds upon, or even changes the core experience in such a way as to be awe inspiring. It borrows mechanics from tag team oriented games like MvC and Dragon Ball FighterZ, renames said mechanics to seem different, and in doing so only manages to rehash what's already been done. Perhaps to a slightly different degree.

The Importance Of Being Thorough And My BlazBlue Video Review

By now you've no doubt read my "BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle" impressions article. In all honesty it didn't paint a very good picture of the new entry, and like the IGN review itself you were no doubt left with more questions than answers. Since that article posting I was given the opportunity by Aksys Games to play through, and review the game myself. To experience it for myself, and share with you what I experienced. In this instance I decided to do things differently though. I decided to do a raw hands-on review via Twitch to allow everyone to get my reactions as they happened in accordance to the features contained within the game in the most genuine fashion possible. That and to also disclose important need to know details in a manner that would be more beneficial to someone than having them to read through ten paragraphs of technical breakdowns regarding in-game features. I think I succeeded in doing so, but you will have to sit through nearly two hours of video, and commentary to get the most of it. Supposing you can you will get enough coverage of the game's inner workings to be able to decide for yourself if this is a worthy fighter to add to your collection. At least I think so.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Impressions Taken from Reviews And Gameplay Footage

So ... I spent part of the day watching gameplay, and reviews of the latest entry in the BlazBlue series. I saw IGN give it a beat around the bush passing review that pointed out both good, and bad things. The bad mostly attributed to a lackluster, and repetitive story mode element as well as some matchmaking quirks. Being the observant fighting game player that I am I paid attention to the roster. Those guys, and gals who transferred over from RWBY, BlazBlue, UNIEL, and Persona Arena Ultimax. What bothered me was the fact that the roster was made up mostly of the easy to use, and abuse characters. The projectile pests, and the ranged reachers. Even Iron Tager in all his abusive magnetic glory returned to my dismay. The only exceptions I noticed were Rachel Alucard who is a more technical BlazBlue character, and Chie from Persona Arena who is an up close melee martial artist. I had paid attention to the roster situation since the first announcement, and knew it was going to be the deciding factor as to whether or not I bought the game for myself, and as it turns out I did not end up buying the game for that very reason.

Gekido Kintaro's Revenge Proves Some Things Are Best Left Alone

I fondly recall, as an original Playstation gamer, my experience with "Gekido". It was a rocking 3D arcade style brawler that was unique for it's time. It dared to do something different. It had an amazing in-game soundtrack, a hidden song that could be played on a CD player, and gamplay that was overall fun. The art style was akin to something seen in comic books back when comic books were actually good. For whatever reason this tried and true formula was ditched for what best could be described as a blatant middle finger to fans of the first entry in the series. Gekido Kintaro's Revenge, in all of it's mediocre glory, puts players in control of two seemingly familiar characters (Tetsuo & Travis), and has them taking on the arduous task of finding out why the dead are rising in a nearby village. It feels, and plays out a lot like a plot inspired by the anime, "Ninja Scroll". While this could have been cool it falls short of being so through bad controls, poorly implemented combat, bad graphic design, and cheap sucker punches that happen way too often. It's almost as if the developer who made this game had a grudge against the gamers who bought what they were selling the first time around.

My Brief Impressions Of The "Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection"

For what it is offline Capcom's re-release of the various Street Fighter series entries is very much worth the asking price. If you value a proper offline experience over an online one. For $40 you get 12 full games that can all be enjoyed alone or in the company of local friends. Ports of games that can be tweaked to a decent widescreen HDTV presentation, and adjusted with different visual filters for added effect. The games from Street Fighter (original) to the Alphas, and on to the 3rd Strikes all play out as you'd expect them to. As you'd remember. Offline the games are a proper trip down memory lane with the addition of historical timeline info entries, newly introduced art galleries, and various other features that give you more for your money. Oddly enough though things aren't all perfect with this particular collection. While most of the problems are player induced in the online portion of the game the netcode Capcom chose to go with for their four online titles is truly a step down from their previous online releases of "Darkstalkers Resurrection", and "Street Fighter 3rd Strike" for the PS3. I'm fairly certain they did not pay for high end netcode this time around, and more than likely cut corners for cost efficiency. Not only is the netcode bad this time, but the matchmaking also suffers from a lack of much needed options like that of region selection, and ping/connection identifiers. This lack of needed features only serves to further hurt what could have been a good online competitive scene.