The Battle Hardened Edition Of Dragon's Crown Pro Gets A New Bonus!

For those of you wise enough to have pre-ordered Dragon's Crown Pro from Gamestop you will have gotten, today, the "Battle-Hardened Edition" of the game. This simply means that the game comes packaged with a raised art inclusive steel book case (which is really nice), and a sealed card pack containing exclusive cards made to look like the game's character skills and common skills cards. They look a lot like tarot cards with George Kamitani art on the face of the cards. One thing I forgot to mention about the game in my review is that the soundtrack has been redone by composer Hitoshi Sakimoto. Also included is all of the storytelling (narration voice DLC) including that of the Japanese narrations. The updated game is also 4K optional, and contains cross-play functionality with the ability to import previous PS3, and PS Vita game saves. This is the penultimate version of 'Dragon's Crown'. I hope you didn't pass it up!

Rainbite's Playstation Indie "Reverie" Blends Two Nintendo Favorites While Doing It's Own Thing

As the PR description so boldly stated Rainbite's "Reverie" is inspired by games like "The Legend of Zelda", and "Earthbound". It features the retro dungeon exploring, and village antics that such games harbor. While there is definitely some inspirational elements at play from said games Reverie does good to create it's own unique lore via a story unfolding within a story. What I mean by that is that the game at hand begins by telling a tale akin to a Hawaiian fable regarding brothers who set out to sea to catch some fish. One of which fished up an island leaving the other brothers to be envious. In their jealousy the unlucky brothers drowned the brother who had found the island, and in that moment became bound by a curse on the very island that was discovered. Once this tale is established via story panels, and told through a textual conversation between two off screen characters we find out that the protagonist is a young boy named Tai who is aboard a ship bound for that very fabled locale. He is there to visit his Grandfather, and it is through that meeting of different generations that what once was considered legend comes to life in the form of an epic adventure. Tai ultimately sets out to calm the cursed brothers, and bring stability to the island community after an unusual earthquake shakes the land around them. He faces many worldly, and otherworldly threats along the way as he collects the relics needed to put all of the brothers to rest.

Vanillaware's "Dragon's Crown Pro" Returns To The Playstation In Glorious 4K Or Not!!!

I thought I'd never see Dragon's Crown reemerge on modern consoles. I thought it had lived it's course, and was long forgotten. Perhaps a gem, but forgotten. Thankfully that is not the case though, and a new generation of gamers can enjoy the experience in full with upgraded visuals to boot. For those of you who are new to Vanillaware games, George Kamitani's artwork, or Dragon's Crown you will find in place a fantasy masterpiece brought to life in the form of animated art. It is a beautiful side-scrolling co-op brawler with it's own slightly inspired story, a brilliantly read narration, and a cast of characters that make all the onscreen action worthwhile. You can go at it alone with NPC allies, or join up via the Playstation network with players across the globe. It is one of those buddy games that breaks the bounds of couch co-op, and brings to the gamer a competent online adventure that is worth taking on time, and time again.

Funcom's Take On Conan's Epic Adventures Harkens Back To The Source Material Ultimately Falling Short Of Such Grand Visage

Conan Exiles, for me, conjures up old memories of watching Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the leading role of Conan in the 1980's film adaptations about the fabled barbarian. The heavy drumbeats, the bloody battles, and the scantily clad females who at some point bared half of their lady parts for the audience to stare at comes to mind. It also reminds me of my favorite artistic masterpieces from fantasy painters such as Boris Vallejo which also featured some mature themes as well as the more tame story driven works of comic book artists presenting their own unique renditions of the hero's many adventures. I can imagine it does the same for a lot of you that are my age. At first glance, and first view it would appear to carry such an inspiration even down to the partial nudity, but as I found out hours into it, it's not quite as purely inspired or directed in that sense.

Before I got into the game I took it upon myself to view the trailers as I tend to do for potential game review prospects, and for me that was the initial selling point. That's what made me want to review "Conan Exiles". What I saw in the cinematic intros was a Conan tale more akin to the original source material, and less like the Hollywood counterpart. A Conan I was truly excited to see. Much like the classic stories, and works of art that surround Conan the barbarian this game did go deeper into the lore through character creation details, and within the world in which you survive, build, and dominate. As the intro catchphrase so boldly states in regards to it's mission directive. For that alone I was impressed. When it came to the actual gameplay aspect though I was thrown a slight curve as it didn't seem to hold that initially inspired passion. In saying that I felt the hours I spent surviving, building, and dominating were more along the lines of a game not as inspired by Conan as it could have been. The core focus of gameplay ended up being mostly influenced by games like ARK though much more refined, and tolerable with a Conan theme tacked on.

I Got So Triggered By Bread Team's "Phantom Trigger" I Rage Quit The Review!

Very rarely, if ever do I have to cut a playthrough short, and give up on a game. This, unfortunately, happened early on with Bread Team's "Phantom Trigger". The reason behind this was not so much that the game lacked in quality or was functionally bad, but more so that the game lacked any sense of direction. It lacked a control explanation, menu explanation, and a tutorial explaining the game's mechanics. The developer seemed to want the gamer to figure everything out on their own. This cannot be done in a game that is this complex, and unique even with prior knowledge of seemingly similar video game experiences. All I was able to learn was that a husband, for some unknown reason, passed out after his wife told him she couldn't cook him pancakes. It went from this to an alien world that was truly alien. Nothing made sense at all. Through button mashing I was able to figure out that the new alien protagonist had two types of attacks/abilities that could be used to clear certain environmental objects as well as help in the solving of puzzles via color coded means though. I also figured out that these abilities/weapons level up as you use them. Outside of that there was a menu system brought up by pressing the DPad directions. Beyond that fact I couldn't make heads or tails of the menu's function or purpose. It was like falling down the rabbit hole in Alice's Wonderland, and trying to make sense of the nonsensical. An impossible feat.

Intragames Indie "Survive! Mr.Cube" Utilizes Randomized Elements And Replay Value To It's Advantage

Such an odd, alluring, and unique take on the rogue-lite genre. This game that is "Survive! Mr.Cube" is perhaps one of the most simple rogue-lite experiences, but is one that holds it's own as engaging, and fun. The game begins by teasing the player with what appears to be a set in stone tale about a man, who on his way back to his beloved, stops by a pub and is greeted by a man with a pill. The protagonist that is Mr.Cube takes the pill, and wakes up in a world not his own. To get back home he must survive. That's simply it. With a sword in hand he must traverse the veil of darkness, face the foes therein, and loot the place for potions and weapons that will carry him through to a final portal home. As easy as that task may sound like Mr. Cube is faced with insurmountable odds in the form of powerful animal-like creatures, who like him wield weapons of varying sorts. Supposing Mr. Cube fails at his journey home all is not lost though, and in his stead will be a random assortment of protagonists who may or may not be fit for the journey themselves.

MegaDimension Neptunia VII Returns With Some New Virtual Reality Features

If fan service were a Neptunia game this reworking of "MegaDimension Neptunia VII" would be it. It takes the already improved game formula, improves further upon it, and adds in VR character interactions as a means to draw the player further into Gamindustri than ever before. It's like the ultimate interactive edition of the previously released entry. As far as VR features go the game can be experienced with or without a VR headset. The VR portions of the game are limited only to the new player's room area which can be accessed between gameplay sections through the world map. It is a supposedly real world place where you get to interact with the CPU Goddesses on a more personal level. You, as "The Player", are introduced to the ladies of the Gamindustri as that enigmatic guiding presence that they finally get to meet. Through continued interactions the Goddesses are able to change the items in your room, and carry a conversation through your motioned "Yes" or "No" answers as well as through the movement of the camera's focus. By focusing on certain parts of the Gamindustri gals it will sometimes provoke a response. Sometimes the response is that of embarrassment, and other times of shock if you look down towards their legs. Even the environmental objects will evoke a response if focused on in the correct moment. You'll even find that some of the conversations are deeply involved while some are flirtatious, and others meaningful in the sense that the player finally gets to meet those he/she has watched over throughout the history of the Neptunia series.

Streets Of Red Dares To Reinvent The Old Brawler Formula And Succeeds

A Shovel Knight, Link, Tron Bonne, and a Teenage Ninja cosplayer walk into a gaming convention ... It's the perfect segue for Secret Base Games' comical beat'em up, and the review thereof. At least I think so. This side scrolling nod to all things geek, and gaming culture known as "Streets of Red ~ Devil Dare Deluxe" goes full on 4th wall breaking with it's inclusive arcade mode story about an unlikely set of four poorly dressed cosplayers who are each tasked with battling hordes of the undead to supposedly save the world. While the story or plot behind this tongue-in-cheek action adventure into nighttime horrors of the unforgiving kind has it's own interesting setup all you really need to know is that some soul munching fairy offers the four protagonists the chance to save the world by killing off the infestation of zombies. By playing as one of four video game character themed cosplayers of the previously mentioned sort you will collect the souls for the fairy behind the scenes as well as loot the dead for all they're worth while you try to survive several sadistic nights of carnage, and bloodletting. A multiple stage engagement which begins with a Sonic the Hedgehog inspired stage intro screen along with Guilty Gear's starting catchphrase atop it, and ends with a series of final boss battles.

As you play through the game's many stages fighting off the various baddies therein you will find that nothing in the way of video game, or film lore is out of bounds for the developer of this pixel packed punching parade, and that as cliche as it might get, it breathes life into a dying genre with a unique gameplay system which plays out surprisingly well. Ultimately how you choose to use the given combo mechanics, fatalities, and special attacks at your disposal will determine what kind of loot is dropped. Loot which you can buy upgrades, continues, and even ... er, sorry. Almost spoiled something! The point being how you utilize the character specific abilities, and how well you manage your money throughout your playthrough will determine whether or not you survive the night ... nights. Supposing you don't survive you'll be faced with a dreaded perma death via the deletion of your save file. Meaning you'll have to start over from scratch. Thus a lot weighs on your ability to play the game properly. Skill is required.

Tera ~ My Evolving Thoughts On The Game

Despite running into different server issues, having my internet/cable connection compromised while playing, and finding bugs in the gameplay I still commit a decent amount of daily time progressing in Tera on the PS4. It's an MMORPG that has it's fair share of flaws, but that really shines where it shines. As I've said so often before the experience takes the usually complex MMORPG UI (user interface), and streamlines it in such a way as to make playing it less of a tedious task, and more of a casual in and out experience. Currently the only real problems I see with the game are the frequent server issues such as access to servers not working, and players automatically being thrust into a server upon login without initial choice. There's that, and a dire need for some sort of aided direction when it comes to questing as often times NPCs do not appear as they should or are so obscured from view it's like hunting for a needle in a haystack. I suggested some sort of guiding light like Monster Hunter World's scout flies. I think that would be the perfect solution. Maybe even a way to toggle on or off ground arrows when you find yourself lost.

My Thoughts on TERA

TERA is the latest free-to-play MMORPG to hit the Playstation 4. It's not the first of it's kind, and it will certainly not be the last. That being said there are some things TERA gets right, and some things the game fails at. What TERA gets right above all else is the streamlined gameplay, the user friendly controls, and the polished visual designed. It's mostly eye candy with fluid action packed functionality that you don't often see in such a game. The online portion of the game is mostly lag free to boot even with populated servers, and the experience as a result is vastly more enjoyable. That being said gameplay in TERA is a dumbed down series of sequential side quests, boss fights, cutscenes, and bland NPC conversations that are meant to breathe life in what ultimately amounts to a very tedious task oriented gaming experience.

The developer boasted it as being"Action Packed", but the action within the game is not all that exciting, if I were to be honest. The fights against mob minions are only made challenging due to their mob-like habits, and even the boss fights feel less than engaging outside of the fact that they do have legitimate attack patterns. Bosses, for the most part, are the usual sponges with layered health bars that only require your character to be leveled up enough to handle the fight. When it comes to the gear and weapons with which you dispatch these supposedly formidable foes this too feels less than awe inspiring. Sure there's rarity in the items you can earn and buy, but nothing seems outstanding or brag worthy. As such I don't see a lot of potential in the trading/selling economy that the servers host as a player to player market feature.

The Witch And The Hundred Knight 2 Is A New And Refined Standalone Sequel

Getting back into this series I was filled with a lot of questions regarding what direction NISA could take the story, and how they could change things to breathe life back into seemingly overlooked idea that was the first game. These lingering questions were thankfully met with brilliant answers. For the most part NISA stayed true to the first game's formula ultimately streamlining the experience, and adding in only a handful of new features as to not overwhelm those looking to get back into the now established series. Returning alongside the witch versus the villagers theme is the governing and depleting Gigacalories system, the playable Hundred Knight himself, and the base combo centered weapon stacking. That along with the stomach for storage, item rarity, weapon krafting, the mystical dodge, and the overall grind for better loot return in a refined/reinvented manner meant to make all features easy to access. Necessary functions are now assigned to the DPad directional inputs, R1 and accompanying face buttons, the face buttons alone, the OPTIONS button, and the touchpad. New to the game is the continuously alternating story involving a sister named Milm who early on becomes afflicted with the witch disease, her sister Amalie who is her caretaker, and a foul mouthed witch antagonist named Chelka who all become intertwined unwillingly in the current witch wars scenario. A battle now waged between the Rot Branch's Weisse Ritter alliance, their Holy Valkyries, and a couple of witches including the newly awakened witch Chelka.

10tons Shmup "Tesla vs Lovecraft" Is An Improbable Battle Of Genius And Madness

Like the epic battles between King Kong, and Godzilla 10tons studios takes two iconic characters from the world of man, and pits them against one another in a decisive battle made somewhat plausible yet not. In this battle of science versus fiction we find famed scientist Nikola Tesla battling horror author H.P.Lovecraft. A man whom had warned Tesla in a live demonstration that he did not know the powers he was meddling with. Those powers being free electricity for all. A tale we all know too well. After being imprisoned for the theatrical disturbance Lovecraft unleashes hell on Earth Eldritch horror style causing Tesla to counteract the threat with weaponized inventions of his own. Through mechs, augmented artillery, and perks of the shmup kind Tesla faces off against fiendish foe after fiendish foe in portal spawned waves powered by Cthulhu statues. Ultimately going between planes of existence including that of Arkham, the Aether, and Eldritch Tesla dares the adverse difficulty as he faces the monstrosities of old.

Slice, Dice & Rice (PS4)

Slice, Dice & Rice (by Dojo Games) is a gimmick fighter in the vein of games like 'Dive Kick' and 'Bushido Blade'. It takes the rock, paper, scissors formula in regards to trumping one's attacks or Bushido Blade's opening focus and wound system while utilizing a four button controller layout with 3 melee attacks (horizontal, vertical, heavy) & a parry along with dash options, aerial attacks & cancels to do so with. The fights last up to several rounds depending on the mode being played with each round being a potential insta-kill depending on the attack landed. There are fatalities done through a heavy attack no matter what round you might be on as well as splashy blood effects. The graphics are cell shaded, and the stages layered. It has an ancient Japanese folklore appearance, and a traditional instrumental soundtrack with a variety of different fighters included that each move, and attack differently according to fighting style & weapon type. The 'Dojo' mode which takes the place of a practice mode allows for learning the characters attacks on a basic level while the Story mode allows for a ladder style series of matches against select characters with story elements embedded.

Project Xenon Valkyrie+ (PS4)

Diabolical Mind and COWCAT Games take a tried and true indie platforming formula, jazz it up with impressive pixel art, and seal the deal with challenging gameplay that isn't off putting, but actually fun. The game comes complete with a light sprinkle of established lore about evil from the dark side of the moon encroaching on a civilization's turf with the intention of destroying all that is good. Past the hieroglyphics inspired telling of the world's looming disaster you are plunged beyond the animated display that is the story's prologue into a hub world with a crashed ship housing three could be heroes and heroines as well as a portal leading deeper into the alien world, and a shop of godlike gear to help you slay the evil that awaits you further into the game. There are no tutorials given beyond the set plot, and only through clicking the button prompts in front of NPC characters and items are you able to figure out a little more about the world, objectives, and features that will aid you as you go along from portal to portal facing a host of various alien creatures in a variety of different stages. Thankfully nothing in the game is overly complicated, and if you've ever played a game like Mega Man or any other Metroidvania you will be able to pick up on things rather easily.

The Aquatic Adventures of the Last Human (PS4)

Nowadays climate change is an unavoidable topic of discussion. Whether you're online on social media, or offline having a conversation with family and friends somebody will bring up their side of the argument. Personally I'm a climate change denier. I feel there's a more sinister cause behind the change in weather, and that while it does deal with humankind's interference I think it's more controlled than one might think, and purposefully so. Enter Brad's conspiracy theory of storm seeding. A deep seeded theory for a different time, and place ...

At the end of the day everybody including myself likes to throw their two cents worth in on the subject, and while the topic of climate change is interesting enough to entertain it all boils down to a lot of assumptions, and uncertainty. We just don't know for sure. The developers of this particular game take that very notion into account in an extreme yet not so far fetched way themselves. While there is little story handed to the player in "The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human" at the start the plot is hinted at continuously through a time referenced cinematic intro, and holo-deck recordings of a textual nature that allow the climatic demise of the human species to unfold in stride via a ambient Metroidvania experience.

When the game opens up we, the gamer, see a ship fly from Earth towards a wormhole during the Earth's future. The launch date into said void is 2971 AD to be exact. A time when Earth was flooded and frozen over due to the escalation of weather events, and it's surviving populous made to live in underwater cities as a last resort. The pilot enters the wormhole in search of a new place to live, but returns thousands of years later to a future Earth where humans were made extinct by their continued tampering of nature's creations. Seems they didn't learn their lesson the first time around, and thus the pilot of this story is left to find that out the hard way. Crash landing on the frozen watery planet the pilot dives deeper, and deeper ultimately discovering that he is the only human left, and that what lurks in the depths might just wipe out himself along with all of humanity's historical achievements.

Tiny Metal (PS4)

Area35 & Unties' "Tiny Metal" is a cutesy military grade SRPG made possible by a controversial kickstarter campaign. It is a turn based tactical RPG supposedly not originally planned by the developer. A turn based tactical gaming experience in which you command, control, and conquer with various military units on a tiled map that has special terrain and capture points made available. You basically fight enemy units as one of the game's warring factions while capturing points to spawn new units, heal, and bank METAL coins for spawning the new units. The inclusive gameplay also uses special terrain to add in other tactical/strategic options such as height and cover advantage. Tiny Metal currently includes two modes of play including a story driven 'Campaign', and a 'Skirmish' mode outside of that. It says it has a multiplayer coming soon as well, but that has yet to be implemented as of the posting of this review.

The game's campaign story which is the core focus of the game involves the warring America-like Artemisia, the Japan-like Zipang, and some suspicious mercenaries for hire who are all involved in an ongoing war resulting from the aftermath of a Great Global War. A great war that left in it's wake an electronic corrupting miasma which rendered electronics useless. There is betrayal, suspicion, and misunderstanding involved between the two included warring nations as the stakes of the fight continue to escalate. It is through key characters such as Nathan Gries of Artemisia that the plot unfolds in a point-by-point series of battles that get progressively harder, and progressively more inclusive when it comes to features and mechanics. The art style within this inspired plot setting is kind of anime in nature as one might expect from a Japanese developer, and includes multiple language/audio options for both English and Japanese gamers.

Albert & Otto: The Adventure Begins (PS4)

Albert & Otto is an ambitious indie project in the making. It was created by the development team over at "K Bros Games", and is published by Digerati Distribution. This first part of a potentially four part mini series (assuming this game is a successful sale) mimics ever so slightly games like 'Limbo'. The game is a puzzle platformer like said game, and utilizes a similar type of flat coloring scheme with 2.5D level and character designs. The colors in this particular story driven adventure are a mixture of white, red, and black along with some other tones. Albert is represented with white, Otto with red, and the various background and environmental set pieces a mixture of said limited color palette. This, of course is all packaged with an underlying story. A story of a brother hunting for his abducted sister with the help of her left behind red rabbit.

The embedded story which takes place in 1939 Germany is suggestive at best in this entry point telling, but drops hints through in-game features as to what direction the developer/s will be taking the plot. As for me I couldn't quite figure it out due to the cryptic nature of the game, and this seems to be what the developer wants. They want the gamer invested in the story, and anxious for each new installment. They want us seeing it through to the end where everything is finally revealed as it really is. With things like message inclusive postcards featuring child-like drawings that hint at the missing sister's whereabouts, and a shattered picture puzzle made of collectible shards the journey from start to finish leaves a lot to the imagination, and could be interpreted in a couple of different ways if not more. One being a psychiatric hospitalization, and another a WWII era holocaust scenario, among other things.

HORI Mini Gamepad (PS4)

For a thirty dollar wired controller you'd expect this latest piece of HORI manufactured hardware to at least perform well enough to warrant the price. The problem is that in some ways it works, and in other significant ways it doesn't. The wired controller, which is shaped much like a retro controller comes in a blue, and black color scheme with a USB docking cord that is quite long for such a small peripheral. Immediately you'll notice the absence of the usual center touchpad which has been replaced with a soft smaller button that unfortunately does not seem to function as it should in games that fully utilize all of the touchpad's interaction points. Furthermore you'll notice the absence of a headset port as well as a speaker, and a light. These are visible key features that a gamer would expect to have in hand, and in control while gaming on the modern-day PS4. At least some of them. Another missing feature is the rumble feature that comes native to PlayStation's DualShock 4 controllers. The HORI Mini Gamepad, for lack of a better word, is retro in every way and seems to take on the purpose of a certain gaming meme where the pictured child gamer in  the player 2 position is given an unplugged controller to make him think he is doing something.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana ~ Review in Progress

Nihon Falcom's latest entry in the Ys series was met with mixed reactions. At base level it seemed to be accepted widely among the NISA RPG fan community as a decent action RPG experience, but was later revealed to have some localization flaws. NISA was quick to address this issue with an official apology which can be found on the official website. Since that apology the localization team has been working on making things right. I commend them for their efforts ...

.HACK//G.U. Last Recode (PS4)

The reemergence of ".HACK//G.U." on the PS4 is a welcome sight, especially for a guy like me who missed out the first time around. It is a complete reissue that holds up quite nicely to today's quality standards, and includes the entire series in upscaled graphics along with some bonus content for a less than retail pricing in an impressively polished package. The series as a whole does what anime and games like "Sword Art Online" do, but in a much more intelligent and mature manner. Dare I say a darker manner. The series as a whole encompasses an ever changing virtual world in which a protagonist known as Haseo faces moral dilemma, and real world threats that impact the lives of those engaged in the ongoing ordeal. The journey is one that harkens back to an earlier state of internet social media when forums and email interactions were in a more primitive state. Through a mock OS interface, and dives into the virtual world the game touches base on current world technological advances and the concerns therein. All while discussing the nature of online freedoms, the policing of online and offline social interactions as well the ramifications that something as seemingly harmless as an online video game can have on real world society.