Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Project Starship X | PS4 Review

Panda Indie Studios is a developer known mostly for their indie shmups. It is in this specific genre that they consistently evolve and innovate with their characters, and universe. They take Lovecraftian horror, blend it with science fiction, and set you out into the stars to combat the greatest of all evils. That evil being Cthulhu himself. Being the direct sequel that it is 'Project Starship X' continues this lore building, and builds upon it's legacy design by porting over familiar themes, and characters. All while improving upon the graphic design, and adding in new gameplay content. Returning is the rogue-lite formula for replay value sake, and four different pilots each with their own unique shooting mechanics. This, and the handful of unlockable modes will further add to the overall experience. Combat, as it were, is familiar yet tweaked in such a way as to differentiate it from the first game in the series. 

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Classic Mode Review

Igarashi was not misleading you with the title of his new Bloodstained classic mode. The new addition to the base Bloodstained experience is most definitely inspired by earlier Castlevania releases. Namely the original Castlevania. It features Miriam as the protagonist, has her wielding a familiar whip weapon, and collecting assist weapons that use the game's stained glass flower petals as usage currency. You'll also find the score based gameplay returns, and that you can collect point based items to increase that score along your journey. Unlike the core game though classic mode has you pushing your way through several level settings of familiar Castlevania inspiration while dealing with bosses, and lesser enemy types that replace and simultaneously mimic their Castlevania counterparts. 

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Terrified | DVD Review

I'm a fan of horror. Been one most of my life. I've watched about every sub-genre of horror that there is. From the supernatural to the slasher flicks, and everything between I've seen it all. In the past 10 years or so, in the midst of my routine horror viewings, I've noticed that the horror genre has not only been revived, and rescued from Hollywood has beens, but has also been saved many times over by indie directors and studios from all over the globe. One such studio which recently started putting out films in physical and digital formats regularly is RLJE Films. In conjunction with streaming services like Shudder RLJE has released quite the interesting library of modern takes on the usual frightful formulas. One of the most recent releases that is "Terrified" is one such take on time honored tradition. It blends the paranormal with the otherworldly, and adds a few twists along the way in it's fractured timeline of events.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story | Nintendo Switch Review

Top Hat Studios' indie game "Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story" was subject to some misplaced scrutiny at least a week before the scheduled launch. The SJW portion of the gaming community decided to not only spread disinformation regarding the game, and it's contents, but also to threatened the developers if they did not censor it. Having played enough of the game to see what it's about I found that there's nothing remotely offensive, sexually or otherwise, within the game. While there are some suggestive themes, and some sexual imagery/innuendos it's nothing worth censoring, or fretting over. The game itself is a far cry from the pornographic experience it is claimed to be. It is instead a horror sleuthing, and survival game centered around an Asian character known as Mei who is a part of a dystopian cyberpunk world set in 2084 Hong Kong. 

Through Mei, and her enhanced eyes, we get to see the world in great detail as she goes about solving puzzles, and interacting with the various NPCs. We get a glimpse of the state of the world, it's politics, and how it operates on a civilian/governmental level. Additionally the game's story throws things for a loop with a sort of supernatural twist that happens after Mei honors the dead for a mystery man. Turning her world into a haunted nightmare where she encounters ghosts whose souls have yet to pass over. Through back and forth investigations within the spirit realm Mei must try to find her way back to her world while simultaneously dodging the dead, and freeing them from their trapped state. The horror that ensues due to the methodical, and slow burning nature of the artistically rendered narrative adventure is more suspenseful, and less of a jump scare in that the atmosphere set is one that is both melancholy, and foreboding. Filled with an air of expectation, and dread as you try to assist Mei in figuring out what it is she needs to do to remedy her situation.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | Onslaught Review

Zombies in Cold War seems to be the most lucrative experience of the entire game. It offers up XP in spades, and even has one of the game's only ways to earn special weapon blueprints. When it comes to the modes of play within Zombies there are a trio of different modes with their own separate variations. You've got your Die Maschine, Dead Ops Arcade 3, and Onslaught. I almost immediately took a liking to Die Maschine,and it's holiday spin-off, but after awhile I sought fun elsewhere in Zombies. That's where Onslaught comes into play. As of today I've spent a fair amount of time in Onslaught. Enough to give you the insider info you'll need to know if you dare to take it on. Unlike Die Maschine, and it's 4 player co-op setup, Onslaught is strictly a 1 - 2 player co-op experience that can be played publicly or privately. The goal is simply to follow an orb of Aether, and feed it the souls of the undead as you kill them wave after wave. The catch being that every few rounds elites are introduced, and the stakes in those encounters are raised as it is one of the ways you will be able to earn rewards.