Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Blade Strangers (PS4)

I have decided to approach this review differently than past reviews. I'm gonna ditch the artistic word play, and get to the point section by section. Those sections will include a story, characters, mechanics, modes, and visual/audio breakdown. By doing this I hope it will make digesting the information easier, and help you to find what you want to know about the game easier. Without further adieu here is my review of "Blade Strangers" for the PlayStation 4 ...

Monday, August 27, 2018

Shikhondo: Soul Eater (PS4)

I am in love!!! ... maybe lust!!! There's finally a shmup with a mature Asian folklore theme that I can get behind!!! This shmup I speak of is none other than Deer Farm's original shoot'em up creation, "Shikhondo: Soul Eater". A shmup brought to us by Nephilim Game Studios via conversion, and published by Digerati Distribution. The game itself is a five stage fright fight featuring a female Grim Reaper protagonist, and some sword wielding girl with equally soul sapping powers. They face off alone or in co-op against some of ancient Asia's/Korea's most frightful haunts. Ultimately battling through bullet hell, and facing off against truly hellish forms of yokai bosses after having bested their slightly lesser than hellish forms. It's a shoot'em up with expertly choreographed bullet hell patterns fitting of the bosses, and 6 modes of play that cater to all the challenges, and desires a shmup enthusiast might like. The experience itself is complimented by an electronic soundtrack filled with haunting melodic tunes, laughter, screams, and heavy hitting synthesized sounds when the action is at it's most intense. Combined with the traditional, and layered style of Asian scroll-like artwork everything comes to life in a way befitting of the theme it encompasses.

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor Martyr - Post Review Post

My initial impressions of NeoCore Game's new ARPG addition to the Warhammer 40K video game franchise may have been a bit misleading, or overly zealous. The more I've played the game, and the more it has opened up the more flaws and new features have come into light. One of my few complaints regarding the flaws lies with how complicated the control scheme is in comparison to the game's obvious Diablo inspiration. The way the developer has the evasive roll for the Assassins mapped everywhere but the tilting of the 'Right Thumbstick' only serves to complicate things. Additionally autoguns which feature auto-tracking/auto-aim will often times target distant enemies or objects instead of what is directly in front of you. From what I can tell the options menu gives you no option to turn off auto-aim. I think the developer needs to either ditch auto-aim altogether, or fix the auto-aim targeting, especially in regards to mob situations.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor Martyr (PS4)

Going into this review I had preconceptions, and expectations. Knowing of GamesWorkshop's Warhammer table-top RPGs, and the legacy thereof I had initial concerns as to how lore inclusive the game would be. I also assumed it would be an action-RPG akin to the Diablo series. Both guesses weren't too far off the mark when it came to the reality of what the game presented. In regards to the lore it felt, as I feared, like a game that would be more appreciated by diehard Warhammer fans in that the lore wasn't origin oriented so much, and at the same time like a game that Diablo fans could appreciate without prior knowledge of the expansive series/universe. I greatly enjoyed my time with the game despite being lost in some of the lore references at times. It is a beautifully rendered masterpiece filled with some of the most impressive cutscenes you'll ever see, and overall visual design elements that impress in their own right as well as a voice actor cast that truly compliments the characters that are being portrayed. The gameplay itself isn't hard to pick up on, and with the touchpad tutorials shown in the initial singleplayer playthrough players will grow easily accustom to mechanics that feature a unique cover system, weapon swapping, weapon based skills, and combat that is more fluid than you could imagine.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Fall of Light: Darkest Edition (PS4)

Before you read further into this review you need to understand I gave up on it at the very first level/stage, and for a valid reason. This game, which boasts about being like Dark Souls, is made artificially difficult through the control setup. The control arrangement, which cannot be remapped, is so awkward in design that it makes the fights and tasks at hand difficult where they would otherwise not be if the controls were mapped differently. I think the developer knew this, and that's why they chose to not allow the player to change the controls ...

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Disgaea 5 Complete Edition PS4!!!

Probably one of the coolest JRPG surprises to hit the PS4 PSN store this year is "Disgaea 5 Complete Edition". This All-In-One bundle not only features the robust gaming experience that is "Disgaea 5", but it also comes complete with all of the story expansion DLC which features character tie-ins as well as special party member DLC that features minions and mainstay characters that hail from all of Disgaea. I reviewed "Disgaea 5" a while back on here when it first released, and I was personally so impressed that I actually put my own money down on some of the DLC. Disgaea, as a series, has always given gamers more bang for their buck. It has always featured an engaging, and somewhat comical story with a colorful cast of original characters. It has built upon as well as innovated the genre strategy offerings, and continues to offer over 100+ hours of playthrough and replay value that will more than likely satisfy any JRPG fan's SRPG itch.

Saturday, August 4, 2018

The Funko Fad ~ Is it Failing?

Everywhere you go shopping, from the local Walgreens to Walmart and even Gamestop you'll find Funko's POP! Vinyls stocked on store shelves. To some extent. You'll find store exclusives, limited editions, and even plastic casings for these budget priced collectibles. Oddly though that availability has somewhat slumped along the way for some reason or another. Lately in the midst of this craze that I call the "Funko Phenomenon" stores have begun to discount the toys, and even offer bundle prices in what seems like an attempt to get rid of stationary supplies. The kind of Pops that stay shelved for quite some time without much customer interest. It is slightly concerning seeing what could be possibly one of the last great toy innovations come to a crashing halt. There's no doubt in my mind that toys and collectibles are being lost among an audience who is more easily snared by the various entertainment offerings.

As a toy collector I've followed the Funko fad from it's start years ago to it's current day status. I've had the privilege to review some of the toys for Funko, and have even done some showcasing on my own dime, and my own time. What I've noticed is a continuous support of the brand by the company, and continued release of hyped "got to have" items that are definitely hard to get your hands on. The question that begs to be answered though is whether or not this hype is having any true influence on sales. Sure, the limited editions, exclusives, and giveaway editions have no doubt captured collectors' attention, and money, but with the sought after Pops being hard to find that leaves a less than desirable variety that no one really cares for or wants. The bulk of what it is Funko obviously hopes to sell.