Undertale

Happy Price: 9.99

Rating: 8.5

Gameplay

Undertale is a narrative driven RPG with a unique battle system that allows the player to fight or negotiate, most of the time. There are several different outcomes to battles and a short campaign that encourages replay ability. It combines classic elements of top down 8 bit games and modern gameplay storytelling which creates an experience of it's own.

Battle System

I was very excited to play this game and not kill any enemies. The first couple of battles consisted of me talking and enjoying the writing, often laughing out loud. I noticed however I was not getting XP or gold and not leveling up, surely I was doing something wrong. I then started to fight and kill my enemies, which allowed me to level up and get large amounts of gold. This is surely the path to go, and that's what I ended up doing, because it felt right. I did not really understand why the system was created like this. I wanted to experience the dialogue, and not kill anything, at the same time be rewarded for it to upgrade my character. To me, this is the most addicting part of RPG's. 

The player can select what they want to do via JRPG style battle screen. When the enemy responds with an attack, a dodging or other small mini game type is enacted. Quick reflexes are needed to get through each battle. The best part is, each character has a different attack which invokes a different mini game for each battle. The game in this sense does not feel lazy and very "craft brewed". There is a lot of thought and personality brought into this, and Toby Fox put a great deal of effort to make all this feel like it was thought out in a detailed way. I just wish exploring all the writing was rewarded with a conventional progression system so I felt like I was doing the right thing.

Story

The story is the main reason to play this game, which is rare for a video game. The best part is there aren't any cut scenes, the story is told through battles and level design. The art style is very simple and there isn't any voice acting, but the subtle facial expressions in the dialogue window convey the emotions just right. I was able to tell when a character was being devious, the designer knew I could tell, and when I made a decision based off of all that, I WAS CONFRONTED ABOUT IT, it was the best. I just thought to myself, that was done so well, I felt smart about doing one thing, but the designer in a way outsmarted me. I'm used to those things not really mattering, but in this case it did. I don't want to spoil anything, but things like this occur in the game.

Sound

The voices are distinguished by different tones and beeps that are mixed together. A fat character will have a set of machine tones that are low, lazy, and have bass. As dialogue runs across the screen, these tones will play and it sounds like the character is talking, which adds humor to the whole thing. I thought it was a great way to convey dialogue with limited resources. The soundtrack of the game is great. There are unique scores for each area of the game and even battles. All of which are addicting and make the experience pleasant. It's reminiscent of LISA, where I just loved the soundtrack, and it created a great mood for each area of the game. 

Art

For the most part, the quality of the art can be ignored. At times it appears lazy, but it doesn't really matter with the amount of depth that went into the writing and soundtrack. Nothing is really going to impress you, and honestly, I didn't really want anything to. I liked how I was focusing on the soundtrack and narrative. The downside is I never really looked around much, I was always trying to find the next story point or battle. I had no reason to stay in one area and examine my environment, because it wasn't really that appealing and I wanted another section of my brain to be activated as quickly as possible. Hopefully if there is a sequel, the same art style can be used, but more details and backdrops will be used. I think it will create a more pleasant environment for players to navigate and explore.

Summary

This is a must play for any gamer that is looking for something fresh and new. The story is short, around 6-8 hours so it doesn't take a huge time investment. The writing alone is worth your time and money, and add in the gameplay elements and you have a great game. The is the underlying counter intuitiveness of an RPG that exists which bothered me, but I think for most people it didn't bother them. Many people love this game, I certainly liked it.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Rating: 10

Happy Price: 59.99

When all the parts are summed up, this is probably the best game that has ever been made. I'm not saying its the most fun game ever created, but when the elements of design, programming, sound, story, and writing are all put together, this game stands above them all. This game is truly the benchmark of what a AAA game should be, and we won't see anything compare to this for years.

Gameplay

Even though its touted as an open world game, it's more of a "do a mission any way you want" type of game. Open worlds usually have things to do other than the side missions or main missions on the map, Metal Gear doesn't achieve that. However there is more freedom to complete a mission than I've experienced in any other game.

Missions

Each mission usually consists of three main phases to be successful, but the player need not follow these if they don't like to. It goes Recon, Strategy, Execution. First thing that is suggested is the player get to a vantage point far from the enemy base. Use the special binoculars to tag all the enemies in the base, see their ratings across multiple categories, see who's wearing a helmet, and hopefully identify the main target to assassinate or save. The player must also know if there are communication relay outposts setup, resources to steal, and Anti-Air detection. These all play a factor on how the player will approach the mission. If all the communications are destroyed, the base can't call for backup. But if you are spotted while still active, there will be a world of trouble ahead if spotted.

The next thing the player has to do is figure out how to infiltrate or attack the weak point of the base, and using which weapon loadout. Are the anti-air and communications network close to one another? Can I C4 both of these at the same time and call in a gunner chopper? These are things the player has control over, and its great feeling like your intelligence can result in the success or failure of a mission. There are two main countries the game is played in. One has mountainous terrain while the other is more flat. The mountain terrain offered better vantage points but there were limited ways to infiltrate due to natural borders. There is usually the front door, back door, and then a secret way that must be found which had the best advantage. As the game progresses, it becomes more essential to find that secret way in order to successfully complete a mission. The more flat country offered poor vantage points but the player could attack a base from any point in which they like. Having both offered different ways to strategize and kept gameplay from becoming static.

Next comes the execution. At its core MGSV is a stealth shooter, but killing is optional and often not recommended. The entire game revolves around building a base, and kidnapping enemies is more efficient than killing them in order to build that base. Kidnapped enemies are "convinced" to join your cause once they reach base. An airstrike is not recommended, but as the game goes on you can unleash a cloud of sleep gas instead of a bombardment. This knocks out everyone that can then be transported to the base via kidnapping balloons. Researching different weapons, armor, and types of hand propelled explosives make each mission different. For example in an "eliminate" mission a confiscated tank and light machine gun would be the approach. In a hostage rescue mission, powerful tranquilizer would do the trick.

Base Building

The more the base is built, the more weapons and armor can be researched. This drives behavior during missions, because 90% of the time the player is trying to accrue assets so they can upgrade their stuff. This means temporarily stunning enemies with tranquilizer guns, sneaking up and choking them up, or shooting them with flat rounds. The downside to that, is if an enemy discovers a sleeping enemy they will wake them up, and the the victim will alert the base. Things must be approached where the player will knock an enemy out, then be in position to kidnap them and add to their base. Enemies have different ratings that range from: E, D, C, B, A, A+, S, S+, S++. Extracting an enemy with a higher grade and assigning them to a base platform raises that platform's level, allowing for new upgrades. Enemy mortars, anti-air, and mounted machine guns can also be stolen in order to build up the base's defenses. However, every time something is stolen it costs money to transfer that, so as money is accrued, it's also spent rather rapidly depending on how aggressive the player is in building their base. 

Story

It has been a while since I've played a game with such complex and developed characters. The narrative drives gameplay and assists in making it more immersive with cut scenes that deliver great voice acting and animation. The world is combined with an interesting mix of supernatural elements while also being very calculated and military. It's a strange mix that shouldn't work, and at times seems unbelievable. But then again, the motives of all the characters isn't always clear, so the viewer is forced to pay attention as things unfold in a unpredictable manner. The story is also told through level design and cassette tapes in case the player wants more narrative. It's a great approach because everything ties in together, and the world is more cohesive and developed. The main villain, Skullface, is a complex character that you can't help but secretly like. His motives, even though evil, have some logic behind them. If the viewer is as cold hearted and calculated, they can easily get behind the villain and appreciate his character. Although, the guy looks like a ghoul from Fallout.

Art

Very bold colors and clean character models, while maintaining a very crisp 60fps frame rate that never went down ONCE. It was amazing the experience of having a piece of software that run on the xbox one that looked this good, without any issues. This is especially different when comparing to Fallout, which has inferior graphics and tons of frame rate issues. This is an example of technical excellence that any AAA game should follow. The only other game that compares is MKX, but that is a 2D fighter and doesn't have to deal with canyons, vehicles, helicopters, explosions, and all the other stuff in this game. The animations of the cut scenes were precise and conveyed emotion, it felt more like an animated theatrical film rather than a video game. I don't know how MGSV did not get the amount of hype it should have. 

Summary

Never have I played such a complete game end to end. It's nothing like any Metal Gear I've ever played, nor any game I've ever played. Combining the freedom of choice and large variety of weaponry creates a different gameplay style for everyone. While one person might go in with a tank, another might go in with a suppressed pistol. There is 100+ hours of gameplay in this masterpiece, and everyone should purchase this game at full price. Hideo Kojima puts his name everywhere in this game, but I think I would do the same. He created one of the best games ever produced and now the world knows it.