Zenith (PS4)

Badland Games' "Zenith" is a self-aware, and self-loathing RPG which incorporates not only older JRPG elements, but also includes comedic rip offs of said JRPG material as well as hilarious mockery of some of the 80's to early 90's greatest cult film classics. While it does bare it's own story centered around a foul mouthed mage known as Argus Windall, and his unfortunate dealings with an ancient scepter for the sake of the empire he serves under it continuously displays all sorts of cliches with tons of fourth wall breaking moments meant to stir a reaction from the gamer who is intently playing through the oddly orchestrated adventure. Nothing in the game is overly complicated, and after having played through it myself I realized the main focus was mostly about the developers' underlying message to gamers. Their personal opinion regarding the various cliches, and tropes found within most of, if not all RPGs. It's a proper adult comedy that gamers who grew up playing RPGs can appreciate, and enjoy ... to a certain point. Unfortunately the game does have it's issues, and those issues tend to break the immersion that should have been more smoothly delivered.

Slain: Back From Hell (PS4)

Finally! Slain has made it to the PS4!!! Well, at least it did last week. I know I'm a little late to the show, but I've been waiting quite a while to get my hands on this game, and see what it's all about. Was I disappointed? Not really. Digerati Distribution, the masterminds behind this Metroidvania homage have done the genre justice. Slain may not have the deepest of stories, but the attention to detail, and the overall experience included lives up to the hype that surrounded it's initial release.

At the heart of the hardcore horror fantasy tale is a long dead hero named Bathoryn who is summoned once again by his spirit guide to fight the forces of evil led by Lord Vroll. Though stubborn at first this dude of metal morals sojourns forth braving the odds in the form of perilous landscapes, and vile enemies. As the gamer you will take control of Bathoryn, and guide him along as you face the threat of instant environmental death, death by the hands (er, claws) of minions, and even that of the dastardly larger than life boss creatures that look as if they were torn out of someone's nightmares. With your sword, spirit magic, and capabilities as a tried and true warrior you will deal with all this, or suffer the consequences of your inability to do so. It is an unapologetic, and challenging game in the light of older Metroidvania platformers much like the early Castlevanias, Chakan the Forever Man, and even Altered Beast. Along with said challenge comes a symphonic heavy metal soundtrack, tons of blood, and plenty of gory bits. If you like your Metroidvanias maturer, and hardcore you'll no doubt enjoy what Slain has to offer!

Zen Pinball 2 - Women of Power (PS4)

Up until this point Zen Studios has chosen the more well known, and older selection of MARVEL superheroes, and superhero tales to make as their focal point in pinball table design. They've chosen pivotal moments from past MARVEL histories, and timelines including that of the Hulk's exile to space, and even the 'Fear Itself' table which was about as "Metal" as I've seen a MARVEL product get. They even used single characters as the spotlight interest from time to time, and built said table around said character. Most former MARVEL fans can appreciate the attention to detail put in these older tables as they are more relative to those of us who have been with MARVEL in the past, but who have currently abandoned them for their awkward direction in both storytelling, and art. Myself included in that statement.

That having been said the "Women of Power" two table set isn't all that bad. I was intrigued by the "A-Force" table which included Black Widow, and Madame Masque as it's flagship characters. It looked, and seemed similar to a lot of the more male inclusive story spin-offs I've read through in the past. On the flip side of the same set though the "Champions" table completely lost me outside the fact that it's the one table out of the set with the easiest high scoring mechanics included. In fact today I landed a score of 143+ million in a 20+ minute playthrough. The inclusion of Ms.Marvel, Lockjaw, and the other female casting kind of turned me away from liking it regardless of this plus side. As I mentioned in my preview stream the characters, and the table felt too slapstick, or rather too comical to be considered what I think of as MARVEL. In a Scooby-Doo sort of way.

That aside both tables in their entirety look superb, and for the most part play excellently under the guide of skilled, and even amateurish control. Everything from the soundtrack to the voice-overs, and even the visual effects come together in a manner befitting of Zen Studio's advancing, and ever improving quality. For that very reason I find myself on the fence about either loving, or not liking what path Zen Studios has currently taken with their trek into MARVEL comics coverage. There's definitely an air of PC (Political Correctness) influence, and aspirations with the theme. I'm not saying it's bad to cover only super heroine inclusive MARVEL plots, but like the latest MARVEL films this too seems to be introduced for propaganda purposes by outside sources with their own agendas. God knows I favor the female characters over a lot of the male characters, because they've always looked cooler to me, but this gender divide and singular focus has got to stop in the entertainment industry. Seriously.

Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 (PS4)

As far back as I can remember, even in the original championship series spin-off, Pac-Man has always been about collecting the dots, traversing the mazes masterfully, avoiding the four infamous ghosts, and only attacking when Pac-Man was powered up by the power pellets he consumed. To me this flagship formula in it's simplest, and early championship edition form was what Pac-Man was meant to be. It's what it was from the start. An arcade style experience centered around high scores, and only complicated by the mazes themselves as well as the ghosts that inhabited said mazes. In this latest installment of the championship series this flagship formula was turned upside-down. Topsy-turvy, if you will. By that I mean Pac-Man, the protagonist of the game, is no longer really all that troubled by the presence of the ghostly inhabitants of the mazes he takes on, but is instead challenged by the mechanics that add several extra options for capitalizing on the ghost chains which were the main scoring features within the original championship edition. At base level the game looks, and reacts as it did in it's former championship glory, but over-complicates things at the same time. The biggest of differences in regards to this change, the ones causing the fuss, being the change with the effect of the bombs, the ghosts' behavior in general, the addition of a boss inclusive adventure mode, and the ability to basically bully the ghosts and their trains out of your way with little repercussion.

Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet (PS4)

Admittedly I went into this review rather blindly. I knew little of the Touhou anime universe, or the characters that resided therein. Despite this lack of series knowledge I do know my shmups though. I've played every possible kind of shoot 'em up from the bullet hell type to the side scrolling type, and even the top down variety. I've also played old school, and newer shmups from various publishers and developers throughout the years. Yar's Revenge on the Atari 2600 included. The thing that's always drawn me to the genre, and it's sub-genre offerings has in each case been the challenge, and the accompanying top score goals. Everybody wants to be the best at a game, but in the shmup genre this aspect of gameplay really does show, and you really do have to work hard to earn your placing among the honorable few. It's kind of like pinball in that sense. Looking back at my review playthrough I can definitely see those core values, and similarities in this game as well.

When it comes to this latest NISA release known as, "Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet" you'll find that it brings with it an all encompassing variety of shmup mechanics. By that I mean even though it is a top down shooter it uses every mechanic known to the genre, and then some. The power-ups, the bullet barrage, and even the scoring are included in the mix. While it does stay true to those more traditional elements it in some ways also seems to blend fighting game offerings with it's fleshed out character roster, story driven content, and the melee system that uses two colored rings as a way for players to dish out melee combos instead of the traditional bullet hell attacks. There's definitely a lot to this budget bullet hell title, and for what it's worth it may be one of the more interesting shmups I've ever played.