I've talked a lot about Undertale here. I even made it my game of the year. I thought it was time to get out my feelings, so I talk about it for 50ish minutes in the newest episode of the podcast. It's a few days before the end of the month, but I won't be able to record the next few days, so I decided to put it up now.
Enjoy.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Memorable Melodies: Epilogue ~ The End of the Night
Song: Epilogue ~ The End of the Night
Game: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Composer: Masakazu Sugimori
Masakazu Sugimori is well known for his work on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and Phoenix Wright: Justice for all. Both of those are great, and really add to games. The soundtrack he produced for Ghost Trick is no different and I personally think it's the best out of the three. If you asked me to sing/whistle songs from the first two Phoenix Wright games I couldn't do it on cue. Ghost Trick is another story though.
One thing that makes a video game tune particularly memorable to me is when it ends up being tied to a particular scene in my mind. In the case of this one it's tied to the credits of Ghost Trick, because that's the point where it plays. Man, the ending of Ghost Trick is insane. At first I didn't even believe it. I had to set my DS down several times in shock as it played out. The ending continues into the credits as scenes detailing what happened to the characters play out. Interspersed between the character vignettes are the credits.
During the credits I felt gleeful. The game was a wild ride that had some great twists. Epilogue is a combination of the main theme of Ghost Trick and a new melody that makes you feel victorious, It says that the struggle is over and it's something to be happy about.
Thinking about the Ghost Trick ending gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. This song sure is a doozy, What a great game! Capcom needs to put out more stuff like this.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Memorable Melodies: Title Sceen from Spelunky
Song: Title Screen
Game: Spelunky
Composer: Eirik Suhrke
When I started streaming I wasn't the best at talking while playing games. I'm still not great at it, but I have definitely improved. In order to hone my speech skills I started streaming myself playing Spelunky daily. It's a challenging game, but there is so much to talk about. The game is dense in a way that I don't think many other games are. There is so much to know, and that's what makes Spelunky great.
I used to have a definitive list of my ten favorite games of all time. Over the past three years that list has been shattered and rebuilt numerous times. At the moment I think that I would put Spelunky on the list.It was the first Roguelike I tried, and it's still my favorite. At this point I don't know that anything else can replace it. If you want to hear more about my love for Spelunky you can head over to the podcast page and give the Spelunky episode a listen.
We're here to talk about music though. When you boot up Spelunky it goes to a title screen like games of old. It stays on screen until you push start, and loops the same melody forever. Every time I hear the title screen song for Spelunky I get psyched. It means that it's time for some runs. Maybe I'll die instantly, or maybe I'll run train on everything. You never know what you're going to get and that's exciting. The title screen song is one of the only constants in Spelunky I can count on, so I'm glad it's great.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Memorable Melodies: Battle! Champion from Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
Song: Battle! Champion
(In reality I have no idea, because there is no official OST for this game. It's just the music that plays when you battle Lance and Red.)
Games: Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
Composer: Junichi Masuda
I used to be way into Pokemon music. The original battle theme will forever be in the dark reaches of my mind ready to strike out at any moment. I would assume that it's the same for anyone who played Pokemon as a kid. I've been looking for Pokemon songs to put up as Memorable Melodies, but haven't been able to find anything I really like. The issue is that the music from the original Gameboy is kind of hard to listen to. It's a bunch of very harsh tones that aren't super pleasing to the ear. Just give the video above a listen as an example.
The new issue is that I think all the music in the newer Pokemon games runs together. If you asked me to hum a track from Pokemon X and Y I wouldn't be able to do it.
That brings us here today. I still think that the music that plays during the champion fight in the second generation Pokemon games is amazing. While the above track doesn't hit as hard as it used to it was remixed for the second generation remakes on the DS. It sounds nicer to the ear, but doesn't get me as pumped up.
During the champion fights you're supposed to be amped up. You're at the end of the road and it's time to prove that you're the best Pokemon trainer around. In this specific case you need to take on Lance and his super tough dragon type Pokemon. It's a tough fight, but it's a lot of fun.
As a hot bonus I'll leave you with the dope remix of this song that I listen to all the time. It's ridiculous. You're welcome.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Thoughts After Finishing Life is Strange (Marked Spoilers)
Man, Life is Strange certainly was a video game.... Aghhhh.... I literally just finished the final episode, and I honestly don't think it was very good. However, I do think that if you take all five episodes together they add up to a solid story.
In case you don't know Life is Strange is an adventure game that takes place in the seaside town of Arcadia Bay. You play as Maxine Caulfield who has recently transferred to a private school to further her dream of becoming a photographer. Five years prior to the game's start she moved to Seattle with her parents. Arcadia Bay may have been her home town, but she finds that not everything is as it used to be. To start she didn't talk to her childhood best friend after her move and she feels guilty about it.
To cut down on spoilers I'll be talking a bit surface level here. Max encounters her old friend Chloe in the school bathroom. It's not exactly a happy reunion though, because Chloe gets shot by the school's resident creeper! In a shocking turn of events Max finds out that she has the power to rewind time.
Time rewinding is the crux of the entire game. Most modern adventure games feature a slew of hard choices, and Life is Strange is no different. You can however, change any of the "life changing" choices you make. If you make a decision you can rewind time and take it back. On occasion the game has you solve puzzles with Max's time rewinding power as well, but most of the time you're just talking to people.
More than trying to shake up the traditional adventure game formula Life is Strange tackles some interesting topics in its narrative. Video games often don't take on controversial real life topics, but Life is Strange definitely does. Off the top of my head I can think of bullying and suicide. I'd expect these subjects to be eye roll inducing in the average video game narrative, but this one pulls them off exceptionally well.
*sigh* I really like the characters of Max and Chloe. The game can be a bit try hard at times, but there's something endearing about it. Even though a lot of the "teen" dialogue felt fake I still got invested in the characters.
If any of this sounds interesting, then I think you should probably play the game. It's five episodes and each one is around three to four hours long. You're looking at a twenty hour experience maximum. It's available on PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
As I said, I have some thoughts on the ending of this game that I need to spill out into the vastness of the Internet. If you don't want to spoil the entire game, then do not cross the line below!
Seriously!
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As soon as I started Life is Strange I figured out how it was going to end. Max wakes up in class after having a vision of a tornado destroying the town. She then leaves class and goes to the bathroom where she takes a photo of a blue butterfly. Chloe comes in, and gets shot and Max saves her by rewinding time.
Time travel stories tend to all blend together at some point. It was fairly obvious (to me at least) that the storm was a result of Max messing with time and space. I had a feeling that the game was going to end with Max choosing whether she wanted to save Chloe, or everyone in the town of Arcadia Bay. It did end that way, but the ending was a lot more rough on me than I thought it would be.
Chloe is a punk who's rebellious on the surface, but good at heart. Over the course of the five episodes you learn that she's actually pretty cool. Her dad died in a car crash shortly before Max and her family moved to Seattle. Chloe was extremely close with her dad and it crushed her emotionally. Max moved shortly after and didn't really keep in contact. Understandably this left her emotionally devastated as well. She then began her punk phase and got expelled from school. Around that time her mother fell in love with a man who is a gigantic tool and got married. She felt betrayed by this. She then became friends with a local girl, and "replaced" Max. It eventually became more than a friendship and Chloe fell in love with the girl.
That girl was Rachel Amber. At the beginning of the game you find out that she's been "missing" for months. Chloe seems to be the only one still looking for her. I don't have it in me to explain the entire plot of this game, but Rachel got into some awful shit.
Despite the fact that Max wasn't in touch with Chloe for years it's very obvious that they're still close friends. Pair this with all the shit Chloe has been thorough and it makes the final choice that much harder to make. Max learns that she can travel through time, because she wants to save Chloe from dying. In fact, Chloe dies multiple times in the game and you have to save her every time. Max's entire goal is to find Rachel Amber, and make Chloe happy. There are times when Chloe flies off the handle and acts like an insufferable child, but as you learn about her deep depression it's totally forgivable.
The final scene of the game sees Max and Chloe in the midst of the world ending storm. Chloe realizes that the only reason that the storm is happening is because Max saved her in the first place. She then asks you to go back in time and let her die....
The screen then blurs out and you are given two choices. Sacrifice Chloe, or sacrifice Arcadia Bay. It was at that moment that I put my head in my hands and didn't know what to do. Do you want to kill your best friend, or kill literally everyone in town. On the surface it seems like an easy choice. Chloe told you to let her go, and that's the choice I ended up making.
What makes me sad is that if presented with that option in real life I probably wouldn't choose it. In video games I always try to choose the selfless options, but in real life I don't know that I'd be able to let go so easily. In the end I watched Chloe's funeral and got ridiculously sad. I think what makes it harder is that I can relate to a lot of things in Life is Strange. I've been severely depressed, and I've had a parent die much before they should have. It sucks.
I don't even really know what I'm trying to say here. Words are just kind of happening at this point.
I really liked the final choice in Life is Strange, but everything in the final episode leading up to it was complete bullshit. The entire plot had already been resolved, so the game presents you with a bunch of dream-state bullshit to pad itself out until you have to sacrifice Chloe or not. It sucks, because everything else came together pretty well. This is generally what happens with time travel stories though. They collapse in on themselves and turn out lackluster in the end. I won't even get into the fact that Max still has to go back in time in order to have Chloe die, so she still ended up messing with time travel. Negating the entire purpose of sacrificing Chloe in the first place...
Life is Strange was cool, and the ending made me sad. Chloe shouldn't have to die. That is all.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Memorable Melodies: Strike the Earth! from Shovel Knight
Song: Strike the Earth!
Game: Shovel Knight
Composer: Jake Kaufman
I was listening to some game of the year arguments over the past few days and heard people say that they are getting sick of new age chip tune music in video games. I definitely do not feel this way. To show my support for how awesome new age chip tunes can be I thought about what I could put up as a memorable melody. I loved the Undertale soundtrack, but I used a song from it far too recently.
That's when I remembered Shovel Knight. The moment I entered the first level of Shovel Knight and heard Strike the Earth I knew I was going to like the game. It's super energetic and gets you pumped up for the journey to come. Not all of the songs in the game are this upbeat, but they're all very good. Recently I've been way into upbeat chip tune music, so this one really gets me amped up.
What makes this even better is that I put this very song in the edition of Game Time where I talked about Shovel Knight. I thought it had amazing music then, and it still holds up now a few short months later.
So no, I'm not sick of chip tune music. If it's all as good as this I'm totally down with it. Also if you haven't played Shovel Knight what the hell are you doing? It's available on basically every platform known to man at this point (PC, 3DS, Wii-U, PS4, Vita, and Xbox One).
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Game Time - December 2015
2015 is over, but me talking about the games I played in 2015 isn't. I'm here to give you the low down on three games I played in December.
Originally I intended to play all the way through Xenoblade Chronicles X before the end of December, but SEGA decided they wanted to surprise me with the release of Yakuza 5. I played a few hours of Xenoblade, but then took a break from it in order to play Yakuza 5 to completion.
Other than that I played quite a bit of Nuclear throne. This was another surprise release. I've had it on early access for months, but could never really get into it. Now that it's been released on PS4 I have been having fun, but the immense number of bugs is becoming upsetting.
Let's get right into it!
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Okay, I played a whole lot of Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. In fact, I played it so much that I got burned out on it before I even beat the final boss. Eventually I did, because my brother reminded me that I had never beaten the game. So when I saw that Xenoblade Chronicles X was supposed to be fairly different I was quite pleased. However, that isn't necessarily the case.
The main way Xenoblade Chronicles X differs from its predecessor is that it's a much more dense game. In fact, it may be one of the most dense games I've ever played. The game doesn't really helpo you either. You're thrown right into the game with only a basic tutorial on how combat works. Most of the deeper combat mechanics and other things the game wants you to read the in game manual for. Even when doing that the explanations are fairly poor, so it doesn't help very much. I had a friend watch me play through the first hour or so, and he explained to me what he had learned in his time with the game.
I can't stress enough how overwhelming Xenoblade Chronicles X is at first. The open world is monstrously huge, there are quests everywhere, monsters everywhere, overpopulated UI, tiny text, and unlimited menus. At first I thought my mind was going to explode, but through playing I learned a lot. The game definitely doesn't hold your hand and encourages you to learn things on your own.
The plot sees two warring alien races fight outside of earth's atmosphere and cause catastrophic destruction to the surface. Evacuation ships had been prepared, but many were lost in the escape. You were aboard the last remaining ship to survive, New Los Angeles. While drifting through space the ship was attacked again and forced to make an emergency landing on the nearest inhabitable planet. In the beginning "you" are woken up from your escape pod. I say "you," because the main character of this game is player created. You make a character and then immediately start your adventure.
So far in my approximately ten hours of play I have seen very little story. From what I have read it seems that Xenoblade Chronicles X isn't so focused on an overarching story, but instead focuses on the exploration of the world. This to me makes it feel like a single player MMO much more than its predecessor did. Yes, there are story scenes, but they are so few and far between that it gives you plenty of time to forget everything. It's an odd choice, but at least the game is still fun.
The combat is very similar to the previous game. You have a skill bar on the screen, and you play it like an MMO. You use skills to attack, and then they have to cool down. Outside of that you auto-attack. It's all about managing cool downs. It doesn't work exactly like the previous game, but it;s similar enough that anyone who played it will be able to pick up the system with little difficulty.
I haven't played enough to form a full opinion yet, but this doesn't really seem like my kind of game. There isn't a whole lot of structure to the game. It's about exploring and taking generic quests while you work towards unlocking story missions. Since the story isn't a huge focus you have to make your own story, and I'm not really about that kind of thing. Perhaps as I play more it will grow on me.
Yakuza 5
Sony took the initiative to push for Yakuza 5's localization, and now it's out in English. Well, the text is in English. All of the dialogue is still in Japanese, but that's par for the course. I began playing this series with Yakuza 3, and it hasn't changed a whole lot since then. The general feel of the games has continued to be the same, but that's both a blessing and a curse. The best way to describe Yakuza is that it's a Japanese drama about the Yakuza mixed with a beat-em-up, and mini-game collection. It's probably the only game where you can rub a man's face on the pavement, and then enter the nearest building to play Taiko Drum Master. That's what I love about it.
In Yakuza 4 the concept of controlling multiple main characters with different fight styles was introduced, and that has continued on to Yakuza 5. This time however, you play as five characters! The first is series main stay Kazuma Kiryu. He's the ultimate badass, but now he's trying to get out of the Yakuza life and become a humble cab driver. As you'd expect he gets pulled right back in. Saejima, and Akiyama return as playable characters from Yakuza 4 as well. The Two new protagonists are Shinada who is a baseball player who has fallen from grace, and Haruka who is Kiryu's adopted daughter turned pop idol.
Each character has their own story and fighting style. Well, except Haruka. She doesn't fight. She just has dance battles to increase her skills. No fighting sadly. The fighting is my favorite part of Yakuza though. It feels so smooth and satisfying. Random thugs will accost you on the streets of Japan and you have to beat them down. You have weak attacks, and strong attacks. Pushing them in combinations will perform combos. When you hit enemies enough your heat meter will fill, which lets you perform "super" moves. Depending on the context the character will perform brutal moves that do a ton of damage. As I mentioned before Kiryu can rub an enemies face on the pavement, Saejima can clothesline fools, and they can all smash people into walls. These moves are context sensitive and there are tons to discover.
At the end all of the stories converge and the characters meet. I must say I was a bit disappointed with a lot of Yakuza 5's story though. It had some serious pacing issues. Yes, all of the games have had pacing issues, but 5 takes those issues to the next level. Most scenes go on for way too long, and characters reiterate the same points over and over. It can be excruciating at times. This made me sad, because when the story is in full swing it's a lot of fun. If Yakuza 6 isn't drastically different I don't know if I'll be able to continue playing the series.
I loved Yakuza 5, but it's definitely not for everyone! It was originally released in 2012 and its age shows. The frame rate can get a bit rough in spots, and the character models don't look amazing by modern standards. If you like Japan, the Yakuza, and mini-games then you should try it out. If you do want to give the series a shot I'd recommend starting with 4.
Nuclear Throne
If you've been reading my stuff for long enough you already know how much I love Spelunky. I learned about it for a long time and was even doing daily runs for a while. At some point I fell off, but it started my love affair with rogue likes. Rogue likes are games that have you start a game from the very beginning when you die and nothing carries over. The only thing getting better is your skill. Some of them have unlocks such as characters or weapons. My newest rogue like obsession is Nuclear Throne.
Vlambeer has been working on Nuclear Throne for what seems like forever. I bought it in early access on steam six months ago and it had been out for a long time at that point. I played it a bit then, but I couldn't really get into it. I was trying to play with mouse and keyboard then. In Nuclear Throne you control a mutant in the post apocalypse. The goal of the game is to shoot your way through the wasteland and reach the nuclear throne.
I got into it now that it has been released on PS4. During PSX in December they put up a ton of games on PSN and Nuclear Throne was one of them. It's now at version 1.0, so it's officially released. I don't know if it should have been released on PS4 yet though, because it has a lot of issues.
It's a fast paced game where you pick up guns. There are many types of guns. You have to use the ones that work best for you. When you kill enemies they drop radioactive material or "rads" as the game calls them. Once you collect enough rads you level up. Once you kill all of the enemies in a stage a portal opens to take you to the next level. Before going to the next level if you have leveled up you get to choose a mutation. Mutations grant various bonuses for the remainder of the run. These things range from regenerating health when you kill to not taking damage from fire when you have low health.
What I love about the game is that it's super fast paced and there are a ton of options when trying to reach the end of the game. You have to know how the enemies move and how much health they have. You need to pick the right weapons, and conserve your ammo. Character choice is also very important. Each character in Nuclear Throne has a special ability that can be used by pushing L2 on the controller. The character I use is named Crystal. He has a lot of health and his ability works as a shield to stop bullets from hurting him temporarily. What's cool is that every character works so differently so no two characters feel the same. You start off with two unlocked, but the farther you get into the game the more you unlock.
This is where I rage a little bit. The PS4 version is busted. It was not ready for release. It is undeniably the most unstable PS4 game I have ever played. I've had games crash on me before, but I've had Nuclear Throne crash on me dozens of times! I'll be doing super well on a run and then when I finish a level the game crashes for no apparent reason. Sometimes when accessing the leaderboards the game crashes. Certain gunshots make the game crash. It's infuriating! I gave it a pass the first few times, but now it;s getting ridiculous. Also the frame rate is crazy bad in some spots. If you're going to buy it definitely do it on PC, because the PS4 version needs to be patched VERY BADLY. I guess it speaks to how much I like the game that I keep playing it though.
I'm Ready for February
There's not really anything coming out in January that I will be buying. It's a slow start to the new year, which is fine. Maybe I'll have time to beat Xenoblade Chronicles X and Fallout 4? The way I've been managing my time I probably won't though.
Things really start popping off in February though when four games I've been looking forward to for a very long time come out. Expect to see a lot of Digimon and a lot of Street fighter over the next few months.
See you next time!
Originally I intended to play all the way through Xenoblade Chronicles X before the end of December, but SEGA decided they wanted to surprise me with the release of Yakuza 5. I played a few hours of Xenoblade, but then took a break from it in order to play Yakuza 5 to completion.
Other than that I played quite a bit of Nuclear throne. This was another surprise release. I've had it on early access for months, but could never really get into it. Now that it's been released on PS4 I have been having fun, but the immense number of bugs is becoming upsetting.
Let's get right into it!
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Okay, I played a whole lot of Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. In fact, I played it so much that I got burned out on it before I even beat the final boss. Eventually I did, because my brother reminded me that I had never beaten the game. So when I saw that Xenoblade Chronicles X was supposed to be fairly different I was quite pleased. However, that isn't necessarily the case.
The main way Xenoblade Chronicles X differs from its predecessor is that it's a much more dense game. In fact, it may be one of the most dense games I've ever played. The game doesn't really helpo you either. You're thrown right into the game with only a basic tutorial on how combat works. Most of the deeper combat mechanics and other things the game wants you to read the in game manual for. Even when doing that the explanations are fairly poor, so it doesn't help very much. I had a friend watch me play through the first hour or so, and he explained to me what he had learned in his time with the game.
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| Xenoblade Chronicles X looks beautiful. |
I can't stress enough how overwhelming Xenoblade Chronicles X is at first. The open world is monstrously huge, there are quests everywhere, monsters everywhere, overpopulated UI, tiny text, and unlimited menus. At first I thought my mind was going to explode, but through playing I learned a lot. The game definitely doesn't hold your hand and encourages you to learn things on your own.
The plot sees two warring alien races fight outside of earth's atmosphere and cause catastrophic destruction to the surface. Evacuation ships had been prepared, but many were lost in the escape. You were aboard the last remaining ship to survive, New Los Angeles. While drifting through space the ship was attacked again and forced to make an emergency landing on the nearest inhabitable planet. In the beginning "you" are woken up from your escape pod. I say "you," because the main character of this game is player created. You make a character and then immediately start your adventure.
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| THE WORLD IS HUGE! |
So far in my approximately ten hours of play I have seen very little story. From what I have read it seems that Xenoblade Chronicles X isn't so focused on an overarching story, but instead focuses on the exploration of the world. This to me makes it feel like a single player MMO much more than its predecessor did. Yes, there are story scenes, but they are so few and far between that it gives you plenty of time to forget everything. It's an odd choice, but at least the game is still fun.
The combat is very similar to the previous game. You have a skill bar on the screen, and you play it like an MMO. You use skills to attack, and then they have to cool down. Outside of that you auto-attack. It's all about managing cool downs. It doesn't work exactly like the previous game, but it;s similar enough that anyone who played it will be able to pick up the system with little difficulty.
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| Manage all the cooldowns. |
I haven't played enough to form a full opinion yet, but this doesn't really seem like my kind of game. There isn't a whole lot of structure to the game. It's about exploring and taking generic quests while you work towards unlocking story missions. Since the story isn't a huge focus you have to make your own story, and I'm not really about that kind of thing. Perhaps as I play more it will grow on me.
Yakuza 5
Sony took the initiative to push for Yakuza 5's localization, and now it's out in English. Well, the text is in English. All of the dialogue is still in Japanese, but that's par for the course. I began playing this series with Yakuza 3, and it hasn't changed a whole lot since then. The general feel of the games has continued to be the same, but that's both a blessing and a curse. The best way to describe Yakuza is that it's a Japanese drama about the Yakuza mixed with a beat-em-up, and mini-game collection. It's probably the only game where you can rub a man's face on the pavement, and then enter the nearest building to play Taiko Drum Master. That's what I love about it.
In Yakuza 4 the concept of controlling multiple main characters with different fight styles was introduced, and that has continued on to Yakuza 5. This time however, you play as five characters! The first is series main stay Kazuma Kiryu. He's the ultimate badass, but now he's trying to get out of the Yakuza life and become a humble cab driver. As you'd expect he gets pulled right back in. Saejima, and Akiyama return as playable characters from Yakuza 4 as well. The Two new protagonists are Shinada who is a baseball player who has fallen from grace, and Haruka who is Kiryu's adopted daughter turned pop idol.
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| From left to right: Akiyama, Shinada, Kiryu, Haruka, Saejima. |
Each character has their own story and fighting style. Well, except Haruka. She doesn't fight. She just has dance battles to increase her skills. No fighting sadly. The fighting is my favorite part of Yakuza though. It feels so smooth and satisfying. Random thugs will accost you on the streets of Japan and you have to beat them down. You have weak attacks, and strong attacks. Pushing them in combinations will perform combos. When you hit enemies enough your heat meter will fill, which lets you perform "super" moves. Depending on the context the character will perform brutal moves that do a ton of damage. As I mentioned before Kiryu can rub an enemies face on the pavement, Saejima can clothesline fools, and they can all smash people into walls. These moves are context sensitive and there are tons to discover.
At the end all of the stories converge and the characters meet. I must say I was a bit disappointed with a lot of Yakuza 5's story though. It had some serious pacing issues. Yes, all of the games have had pacing issues, but 5 takes those issues to the next level. Most scenes go on for way too long, and characters reiterate the same points over and over. It can be excruciating at times. This made me sad, because when the story is in full swing it's a lot of fun. If Yakuza 6 isn't drastically different I don't know if I'll be able to continue playing the series.
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| This is a real thing that happens in the game. |
I loved Yakuza 5, but it's definitely not for everyone! It was originally released in 2012 and its age shows. The frame rate can get a bit rough in spots, and the character models don't look amazing by modern standards. If you like Japan, the Yakuza, and mini-games then you should try it out. If you do want to give the series a shot I'd recommend starting with 4.
Nuclear Throne
If you've been reading my stuff for long enough you already know how much I love Spelunky. I learned about it for a long time and was even doing daily runs for a while. At some point I fell off, but it started my love affair with rogue likes. Rogue likes are games that have you start a game from the very beginning when you die and nothing carries over. The only thing getting better is your skill. Some of them have unlocks such as characters or weapons. My newest rogue like obsession is Nuclear Throne.
Vlambeer has been working on Nuclear Throne for what seems like forever. I bought it in early access on steam six months ago and it had been out for a long time at that point. I played it a bit then, but I couldn't really get into it. I was trying to play with mouse and keyboard then. In Nuclear Throne you control a mutant in the post apocalypse. The goal of the game is to shoot your way through the wasteland and reach the nuclear throne.
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| Nuclear Throne can get out of control at times. |
I got into it now that it has been released on PS4. During PSX in December they put up a ton of games on PSN and Nuclear Throne was one of them. It's now at version 1.0, so it's officially released. I don't know if it should have been released on PS4 yet though, because it has a lot of issues.
It's a fast paced game where you pick up guns. There are many types of guns. You have to use the ones that work best for you. When you kill enemies they drop radioactive material or "rads" as the game calls them. Once you collect enough rads you level up. Once you kill all of the enemies in a stage a portal opens to take you to the next level. Before going to the next level if you have leveled up you get to choose a mutation. Mutations grant various bonuses for the remainder of the run. These things range from regenerating health when you kill to not taking damage from fire when you have low health.
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| These are all of the playable characters! |
What I love about the game is that it's super fast paced and there are a ton of options when trying to reach the end of the game. You have to know how the enemies move and how much health they have. You need to pick the right weapons, and conserve your ammo. Character choice is also very important. Each character in Nuclear Throne has a special ability that can be used by pushing L2 on the controller. The character I use is named Crystal. He has a lot of health and his ability works as a shield to stop bullets from hurting him temporarily. What's cool is that every character works so differently so no two characters feel the same. You start off with two unlocked, but the farther you get into the game the more you unlock.
This is where I rage a little bit. The PS4 version is busted. It was not ready for release. It is undeniably the most unstable PS4 game I have ever played. I've had games crash on me before, but I've had Nuclear Throne crash on me dozens of times! I'll be doing super well on a run and then when I finish a level the game crashes for no apparent reason. Sometimes when accessing the leaderboards the game crashes. Certain gunshots make the game crash. It's infuriating! I gave it a pass the first few times, but now it;s getting ridiculous. Also the frame rate is crazy bad in some spots. If you're going to buy it definitely do it on PC, because the PS4 version needs to be patched VERY BADLY. I guess it speaks to how much I like the game that I keep playing it though.
I'm Ready for February
There's not really anything coming out in January that I will be buying. It's a slow start to the new year, which is fine. Maybe I'll have time to beat Xenoblade Chronicles X and Fallout 4? The way I've been managing my time I probably won't though.
Things really start popping off in February though when four games I've been looking forward to for a very long time come out. Expect to see a lot of Digimon and a lot of Street fighter over the next few months.
See you next time!
Friday, January 1, 2016
GOTY 2015 Podcast
As I promised here is the podcast version of my letting you know what my favorite games of 2015 are. This year I also invite my friends Matt and Noukeo to join me and tell me about their games as well.
It goes a bit long, because there are three of us, but we definitely have a ton of fun. It's almost two hours of ridiculousness. It was an awesome year and I had a hard time putting my list together. If things come together next year will be even better!
It goes a bit long, because there are three of us, but we definitely have a ton of fun. It's almost two hours of ridiculousness. It was an awesome year and I had a hard time putting my list together. If things come together next year will be even better!
Top Ten Games of 2015
The year has once again come to an end, which means I need to tell you what my top ten games of the year were. As always I will start at ten and work my way down to one. This year was savage, because there were a ton of great games that came out. I had a super hard time deciding what to put on my list and where to put it.
Keep in mind that these are my personal opinions.
10. Disgaea 5
I love the Disgaea series for its weird characters and insane grinding. However, Disgaea 5 just didn't do it for me like I thought it would. I still had a ton of fun, but the story dragged on for so long that I had lost interest by the time I got to the post game. The overall story was bland and predictable, but the characters held it up.
I may return to it again soon for some more leveling goodness.
9. Yakuza 5
After playing Yakuza 3 I fell in love with the franchise. The combat is a modern take on old school beat em' ups, and feels silky smooth. It's a ton of fun to run around Japan and beat the living hell out
of any thug that tries to take you on. The story in this one was hit or miss for me. Some parts were amazing, while other parts felt like needless filler. The good parts of the story definitely outweighed the bad though. The ending alone was worth playing through the entire game.
8. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Monster Hunter isn't the most accessible game, but 4 brings it much closer to where it should be. The fact that the game teaches you the basics now is a huge improvement. On top of that there are now more weapons and monster variations than ever before. Being able to jump and mount monsters also adds a whole new layer to an already mechanic heavy game. It's a dense franchise, but it rewards those who are willing to put in the time and learn.
7. Shovel Knight
Recently many games have been trying to capitalize on nostalgia by having a "retro" feel. Shovel Knight is one of the few games in this vein that feels genuine. It captures the retro feel while still managing to feel and play like a modern video game. It's challenging, but not so challenging that I felt like I needed to snap my controller in half!
6. Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono Stones
Anime soccer is my jam. I stream Chrono Stone every Wednesday and I still enjoy it. It's the Inazuma Eleven I love but with a lot more characters, moves, and general content. The story was insane in the best possible way, and some cool new characters were introduced. It doesn't do much to change the formula, but it adds enough content to justify its existence.
5. Splatoon
I love when Nintendo is willing to take risks. Somehow Splatoon manages to make me have fun in an online multiplayer focused game. Shooting and swimming around in ink is just plain fun. It helps that you don't have to chase down and shoot your opponents too. Even someone like me can aim at the floor and cover it with ink to contribute to the team. On top of the gameplay Splatoon is oozing with style. The clothing and music are incredible.
4. Rock Band 4
Rock Band 4 didn't really change much from its predecessor. In fact, it actually lost a lot of popular features. This is understandable considering that Harmonix doesn't have a major publisher behind them anymore. The fact that they were able to re-license almost all of the previous DLC for the franchise is bananas.
The reason this is on my list is because I have fun when I play Rock Band. I get together with my friends every Friday and rock out.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Phantom Pain isn't much of a Metal Gear Solid game. Sure you play as Big Boss, but the insane story feel and long cinematics are all but gone. In their place is a game that plays very well. In a shocking turn of events the Phantom Pain plays like a modern video game and allows for a lot of possibilities. Anything you can think of trying you'll probably be able to do.
There is so much attention to detail in this game it's shocking. It's not hard to see why the game cost Konami so much money. They didn't think it was worth it, but I certainly did. Somehow Kojima was able to take the craziness missing from the story and implant it into the gameplay. This is a perfect way to end an amazing franchise!
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The world that CD Projekt Red manages to create in the Witcher 3 is vibrant and well realized. I've been getting sick of open world games for years now, but somehow the Witcher managed to make me forget all about that. It helps that when you come across a quest it matters. Even if you don't get a good reward the story itself is generally worth the trouble. That might be my favorite part of the game. There are things and people in every part of the world. It doesn't feel like the desolate wasteland that most open world games have become. Very few things you find will be happy though, because the world of the Witcher is beyond grim.
Combat is challenging when playing on the higher difficulties. You can't just go in and swing your sword around like a fool. You need to prepare potions and douse your sword in oils in order to take down monsters. Everything meshes together to make a cohesive package.
1. Undertale
When I finished Undertale I didn't know what to think. It took me a couple of days to realize that I loved almost everything about the game. Never before have I become so attached to characters in a
video game in such a short time. Undertale can be 100% completed in around six hours. Somehow that is enough time to feel like you're friends with fictional characters, There was a moment in Undertale that made me tear up, and there were multiple moments where I laughed out loud. It's rare for a video game to make me feel such real emotions and that's why Undertale is so special to me.
The game does a great job at subverting what you know about the RPG genre. Sure you can go berserk on an enemy and kill it, but you could also talk to it until it doesn't want to fight anymore. You don't have to kill anything and that's cool!
Above all else though, I will remember Undertale and that's the highest praise I can possibly give a game.
Keep in mind that these are my personal opinions.
I love the Disgaea series for its weird characters and insane grinding. However, Disgaea 5 just didn't do it for me like I thought it would. I still had a ton of fun, but the story dragged on for so long that I had lost interest by the time I got to the post game. The overall story was bland and predictable, but the characters held it up.
I may return to it again soon for some more leveling goodness.
9. Yakuza 5After playing Yakuza 3 I fell in love with the franchise. The combat is a modern take on old school beat em' ups, and feels silky smooth. It's a ton of fun to run around Japan and beat the living hell out
of any thug that tries to take you on. The story in this one was hit or miss for me. Some parts were amazing, while other parts felt like needless filler. The good parts of the story definitely outweighed the bad though. The ending alone was worth playing through the entire game.
8. Monster Hunter 4 UltimateMonster Hunter isn't the most accessible game, but 4 brings it much closer to where it should be. The fact that the game teaches you the basics now is a huge improvement. On top of that there are now more weapons and monster variations than ever before. Being able to jump and mount monsters also adds a whole new layer to an already mechanic heavy game. It's a dense franchise, but it rewards those who are willing to put in the time and learn.
7. Shovel KnightRecently many games have been trying to capitalize on nostalgia by having a "retro" feel. Shovel Knight is one of the few games in this vein that feels genuine. It captures the retro feel while still managing to feel and play like a modern video game. It's challenging, but not so challenging that I felt like I needed to snap my controller in half!
6. Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono StonesAnime soccer is my jam. I stream Chrono Stone every Wednesday and I still enjoy it. It's the Inazuma Eleven I love but with a lot more characters, moves, and general content. The story was insane in the best possible way, and some cool new characters were introduced. It doesn't do much to change the formula, but it adds enough content to justify its existence.
5. SplatoonI love when Nintendo is willing to take risks. Somehow Splatoon manages to make me have fun in an online multiplayer focused game. Shooting and swimming around in ink is just plain fun. It helps that you don't have to chase down and shoot your opponents too. Even someone like me can aim at the floor and cover it with ink to contribute to the team. On top of the gameplay Splatoon is oozing with style. The clothing and music are incredible.
4. Rock Band 4Rock Band 4 didn't really change much from its predecessor. In fact, it actually lost a lot of popular features. This is understandable considering that Harmonix doesn't have a major publisher behind them anymore. The fact that they were able to re-license almost all of the previous DLC for the franchise is bananas.
The reason this is on my list is because I have fun when I play Rock Band. I get together with my friends every Friday and rock out.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainThe Phantom Pain isn't much of a Metal Gear Solid game. Sure you play as Big Boss, but the insane story feel and long cinematics are all but gone. In their place is a game that plays very well. In a shocking turn of events the Phantom Pain plays like a modern video game and allows for a lot of possibilities. Anything you can think of trying you'll probably be able to do.
There is so much attention to detail in this game it's shocking. It's not hard to see why the game cost Konami so much money. They didn't think it was worth it, but I certainly did. Somehow Kojima was able to take the craziness missing from the story and implant it into the gameplay. This is a perfect way to end an amazing franchise!
2. The Witcher 3: Wild HuntThe world that CD Projekt Red manages to create in the Witcher 3 is vibrant and well realized. I've been getting sick of open world games for years now, but somehow the Witcher managed to make me forget all about that. It helps that when you come across a quest it matters. Even if you don't get a good reward the story itself is generally worth the trouble. That might be my favorite part of the game. There are things and people in every part of the world. It doesn't feel like the desolate wasteland that most open world games have become. Very few things you find will be happy though, because the world of the Witcher is beyond grim.
Combat is challenging when playing on the higher difficulties. You can't just go in and swing your sword around like a fool. You need to prepare potions and douse your sword in oils in order to take down monsters. Everything meshes together to make a cohesive package.
1. UndertaleWhen I finished Undertale I didn't know what to think. It took me a couple of days to realize that I loved almost everything about the game. Never before have I become so attached to characters in a
video game in such a short time. Undertale can be 100% completed in around six hours. Somehow that is enough time to feel like you're friends with fictional characters, There was a moment in Undertale that made me tear up, and there were multiple moments where I laughed out loud. It's rare for a video game to make me feel such real emotions and that's why Undertale is so special to me.
The game does a great job at subverting what you know about the RPG genre. Sure you can go berserk on an enemy and kill it, but you could also talk to it until it doesn't want to fight anymore. You don't have to kill anything and that's cool!
Above all else though, I will remember Undertale and that's the highest praise I can possibly give a game.
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