Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition

Rating: 9/10

Happy Price: Full Price on PC ($25 on Steam), $40 on PS4/XBO


Overall:
It's Devil May Cry 4, but with a couple extra cutscenes, 5 playable characters, a couple additional features and a new difficulty - Legendary Dark Knight. For a game that was released back in 2008, this sounds pretty underwhelming. Instead of outrage, I am absolutely hyped for everything they've done with this game. Along with Nero and 'Uncle Dante' comes the combination of Lady and Trish, as well as bringing Vergil back from the dead (or maybe they're just telling events that happened ages ago, it's honestly not clear).

The game is just as smooth, if not smoother than it was all those years ago. And though the bonus characters may seem strange at first, they all feel so good to play that it almost feels like cheating. Not to mention the bonus irony of finally getting to play as Lady and fight Dante, while also re-taking control of (a much faster/stronger) Vergil and once again laying down the law on Dante.

Standout points:
In this portion, I will actually talk about the new characters since their different abilities and how they play are rather significant.


-Lady/Trish

When I started playing as Lady, it was strange. Relying more so on guns than swords, since Lady's devil arms (non projectile) moveset is terribly limited. Didn't like it, but as I obtained more moves, I couldn't help constantly getting SSS stylish rankings. Her gameplay style is essentially easier than Nero, though some technical skill is necessary to beat the game. And then switching over to Trish, she's like Dante lite. Her moves are fast, the gunplay is limited, but the things she can do with physical combat are vast. Enemies too far away? Make Sparda snatch them towards you into a spinning bird kick-esque attack. Trap enemies in a Raikousen loop and then continue to wail on them with Sparda. It's easier to get into using techniques like jump cancelling for combos using Trish, but you can't be as overly creative as you can with Dante's multiple styles and weaponry. Overall leaving a lingering note for me wishing more of the characters, even though it was utterly satisfying once I got the hang of their movesets in respect to the rest of the cast.

-Vergil

Vergil's campaign is essentially only him. He has an interesting mix of Nero/Dante in his moveset and therefore is the most complex of the whole cast to play as. To start, vergil doesn't have guns, which means he can use projectiles while using his sword. While at first, his moveset can be overwhelming and easy to get a false sense of "Mash and win," you then have to come to grips that Vergil is a calculated combatant. Each move has to connect, no energy expended, you have to focus along with Vergil. Which brings us to his gimmick. Vergil has a focus meter, which builds on being close to an opponent as well as each connecting attack. If you whiff, get hit or spend time away from enemies, you lose meter. The meter determines how much damage Vergil deals to foes. So the closer and clean you are in your fighting, the easier time you'll have with Vergil, though you still have to be stylish - which is where challenge comes in. Plus since Vergil doesn't have guns, the traditional Devil May Cry "hovering in the air by gunfire" may give newer players a spot of trouble in certain parts of the game. He's the most technical and precise of the characters, since you're actively punished for whiffing attacks as opposed to Dante (even though Dante is probably actually the most technical of the cast.

Conclusion:
Would I buy it?
I love the Devil May Cry series, so...

Should you buy it?
YES!

Yes, the same problems from before exist where you're backtracking halfway through the game. That's why it's not perfect. It's an amazing introduction into the Devil May Cry experience and with so many characters to play as, it's definitely worth the price.

As far as playing through the game, I would say start playing as Nero up until they switch off to Dante. Then play as Lady and Trish, then Dante, then Vergil. That way you build up the use of utilizing tech, understanding of bosses and certain play-styles and then display an ultimate mastery of the game's mechanics.

Hatred

Rating For This Game: 4.5/10
Happy Price: $19.99 (On Steam)

This is the game that garnered so much controversy last year with all of its senseless violence, and it fits in perfectly with all of the stereotypes that the older generation dislikes about video games where it is destroying the youth. Ever wanted to know how it feels like to murder countless amounts of unarmed civilians, police officers, and military personnel? Ever wanted to know how it feels like to be an active shooter? Then this is the game for you!


Story:
The game doesn't really have an overall story. You are just one dude armed to the teeth just wanting to release all of his anger at the useless "sheep" in the world by depopulating it en-masse. Other than that there is not much else. The voice acting and scripting is nothing to really get excited about. It is just bland.

/*Insert generic speech about how I hate the world and everyone should die here*/

Gameplay:
The game plays as a top-down third person shooter. The player's goal is to kill as many people in the map as possible. The player can do this by throwing molotov cocktails, grenades, shooting up gas canisters, and by just shooting people. The early maps in the game are very destructible which can create some pretty hilarious moments when you unleash your destruction. The player does get damaged from explosions, civilians with guns, cops/military shooting the player. The only way the player gains health back is by executing people. This occurs when an NPC is wounded and the player walks up to them and does an execution with a button press. Later on in the game, the player gains body armor which provides a health boost as the player fights more military.

Overall:
Overall, the game itself is just pretty much bland and doesn't really add anything new to the genre. The destructible environments are fun to mess around with, but there is nothing much else. The gameplay is very repetitive and could get boring pretty quickly. Repetitive gameplay ranges from performing the same executions over and over again to let's just shoot everyone. There aren't any puzzles where you are supposed to stop and think. Also the AI in the game are pretty much dumb and just act casually when you are mowing down their fellow bots. In the end, for so much controversy this game has created during its marketing phase, I felt pretty let down with having just this bland top-down third person shooter.

Mortal Kombat X

Rating for this game: 9.0

Happy Price: 59.99

Story Mode: Netherealm has once again created an awesome story experience. Rendered cutscenes seamlessly turn into matches, which is something I've never seen before. The story is engaging, and has a good ending. The focus has shifted from Liu Kang to the Cage family, which is a nice change of pace. I was impressed by how much kombat there was in the cut scenes, its an action packed cinematic experience that would rival a production value film. The story experience is the same as MK9, where you get to play as a number of characters throughout the story. The game is worth buying for the story alone.

New Characters: I have put in hours trying out all the new characters. In total there are 8. Here is the rundown. Kotal Kahn, the brother of Shao Khan and ruler of outworld. D'vorah, the insect queen that serves Kotal Kahn as a bodyguard. Erron Black, the gunslinger from Earthrealm that acts as a mercenary for Kotal Kahn. Ferra Torr, large brute that Kotal Kahn controls. Cassie Cage, child of Sonja Blade and Johnny Cage. Jacqui Briggs, daughter of Jax. Kung Jin, cousin of Kung Lao. Takeda, son of Kenshi, pupil of Scorpion. 

The strongest of these new characters is between Cassie Cage and Kung Jin. The most fun to play with is the gunslinger Erron Black. Despite adding new characters, the strongest characters in the game are still in the classics. I currently main Mileena and Ermac, but I see a lot of Scorpion and Sub-Zero when I play online. 

New Modes: There is a new element called Factions. The first time you boot up the game, you will be prompted to select a faction. There are random events that happen that will influence how well your faction does as a whole. Every player in the world is in a faction, so there is an ongoing battle between your faction and the rest of the world which is a cool element. You can enter new modes called faction towers and defeat faction bosses to increase the standing of your faction. When playing online against a rival faction, the faction fatality is enabled. These are unique for each faction. For example, my Lin Kuei fatality allows for Smoke to come out of nowhere and finish off my opponent with a fatality. Winning 5,000 koins or so for winning a week long faction battle though, doesn't really feel rewarding. I typically don't participate much in faction related battles.

See my personal footage here

Variations: The variations are a great addition to the game. I've spent hours trying to figure out which character I like best, then finding which variation suits me best. It's very time consuming but fulfilling at the same time. You can play with the same character in multiple ways and it keeps the game feeling fresh. When you first start the game, it feels overwhelming to have all these options, but at the same time it feels like there is so much to do. Characters are easy to grasp but difficult to master, which makes for a great fighting game.  

Online: I have only participated in 1v1 versus and ranked matches. I've noticed most of the players I play against have yellow or red ping values. I'm not sure if the people that buy this game have crappy connections or the WB servers Netherealm utilizes are only in select locations. This does effect matches online which can be annoying. I'd rather have matchmaking find me someone with a closer ping value to reduce lag. Even though Netheralm has done a good job creating a balanced roster, most of my opponents consist of Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Cassie Cage, and Kung Jin. I main Mileena, so this is good for me. I pulled a 13 game winning streak the other night because I'm getting used to playing against these characters. I did not have this experience when playing Injustice, and I have played 800 ranked matches in that game.

Conclusion: The best part about this game is that no character feels more powerful than any other. I feel like if I put the time in, I could be great with any character. Mileena just tends to suit my style and I like her attitude. If you like fighting games, this is a must buy. After the story mode, head to training, find your character, then tackle players online. The game has consumed hours of my life and will for a while. 

Dragon Ball Z: Xenoverse

Rating for this game: 8.3

Happy Price: 29.99

Gameplay

The ability to create your own character and build them in a RPG fashion is the main draw of this game, and it repeatedly rewards you as the game progresses. You can choose from Saiyan, Earthling, Namekian, Majin, or Frieza Clan. Xenoverse provides general moves and equipment but also offers specific sets of moves and equipment for each race. This makes playing each race unique. 

Campaign: The first 5 hours of the game are perfectly balanced as your character levels up at the same rate as the story progresses. Xenoverse follows the storyline with Vegeta, Ginyu Force, Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, and more. Opponents are challenging and its very fun as you gain the most XP doing the campaign missions. When you get to the 5-20 hour mark, Frieza and Cell come into play and you will be required to do side missions to level up your character. Side missions offer material rewards, armor, and new moves. It's fun getting through the side missions as they offer more story context and allow you to visually see your created character in more action. Once at the 20 hour mark, the game becomes a grindfest. You will have to repeatedly do side missions in order to level up your character enough to progress the story.

Combat: Combat is pretty simple. Mash two buttons and hope for the best, block, repeat. Aquire enough ki and then start doing combinations of button mashing and super ki blasts. If you hit the right sequence of buttons, you can pull off a sweet attack that involves powerful punches that launch the opponent a far distance that follow up with teleport strikes that we are familiar with in the shows. It's not very clear how to do them, I typically just press one button 5 or 6 times then switch it to the other strike button.

Side Missions: More time will be spent doing side missions than anything else. They offer a base set of currency and based on your performance, it can increase. They also offer moves and new equipment, however the biggest problem is there aren't any conditions known to the player to acquire moves or equipment. Before a side mission starts, there are a list of things the player can obtain by completing the mission. I recall doing a mission 6 times trying to get Frieza's Death Slash. I figured I had to grind to progress anyways, and I really wanted that move. I still don't know what I did to obtain it, but I felt more happy my frustration ended rather than happy I did something to earn the move. This gets ever more frustrating when there are moves you feel are necessary to obtain in order to progress in the story. For example Super Saiyan 2 power up is acquired via side mission. It's very powerful and I tried over and over again to get it. I ended up having to purchase it for 50,000 zen. This is long after I had grinded to progress the story and it was available in the shop.

Art

The art style is true to the Dragon Ball Z universe and looks absolutely fantastic. I played on a PS4 and the cell shaded characters make repetitive gameplay worthwhile. There is so much attention to detail. From the particle trails when traveling at supersonic speeds, super blasts, vanishing during combat, unique combat animations, and unique combo styles per each race, the art keeps your attention as you appreciate the amount of work that was done. Character creation allows for color selection for every single piece of clothing equipped which allows for endless amounts of customization.

Cinematics: The story comes with its own animated show integrated into the game. There is a mix of in engine cut scenes and full Dragon Ball Z episode type of animations to progress the story. As a Dragon Ball Z fan, its refreshing to see new episodes in a world I exist in. They are just long enough for you to feel satisfied and get back into battle, which is great because sometimes when games spend a lot of time on the story, the cinematics are too long and get annoying. The in engine cut scenes don't contain any dramatics with avatar animations, but it's really not needed. They are dialogue sessions and do its purpose.

Environment: The whole experience is encompassing. The world itself looks identical to the TV show. Couple that with the authentic audio, crazy particles, unique animations for super moves, and the small cut scenes for perfectly timed combos, immersion sets in quickly. There are also dragon balls that exist in the world, although I'm not exactly sure how to obtain them all. It seems to be random or when I do a great feat in side quests. 

Conclusion: This is a fun game, but I would not buy it at full price. At one point its very addicting and you can't stop yourself from playing. Then out of nowhere, the game gets so hard you have to grind for a couple of hours, repeat. Teaming up with people online to grind together can be a waste of time, because EXP is given to those that contribute the most. Completing a mission online might not even offer the player a grade if teamed up with players at a higher level than you. It ends up being frustrating.

LA Cops

Rating: 6.5

Happy Price: 2.99

Gameplay

LA Cops is about two cops that are on a mission to take out the drug and gang infested streets of Los Angeles. It's done with an isometric view, a unique art style, and quick reactions. Basically it's Hotline Miami with a partner and a cleaner art style.

Combat

Enemies are quick to shoot, and deal tons of damage when they connect. This forces the player to be strategic and be precise when executing the plan. If there are three enemies, in three different rooms close to one another, the smarter approach is to go in each room silently and arrest each person individually. Guns blazing in that situation would cause all the surrounding enemies to rush toward the sound, which can go one of two ways. Another situation is one room with three or four enemies. This situation calls for telling your partner to "go in". As the partner charges, so does the player and the partner AI will take out a couple of enemies and so will the player. It's moments like this where LA cops shines. 

Level Design

There are only 10 levels to play, and they all consist of the same objective. Destroy servers, Take out all criminals, go to elevator. The other version of that is Destroy drug table, take out criminals, go to elevator. Destroying a server and drug table is pretty much the same exact thing, but just a different model. The levels feel repetitive and tedious after a while, since the narrative is not compelling. This gets worse in the later stage of the game. In the eight level there are multiple floors. The player can clear out a whole floor of 15+ enemies, then die on the second floor and have to restart from the beginning of the level. Getting through the first floor was hard enough. When comparing to Hotline Miami, this game fell short at balancing the difficulty of the game and the reward of completing a section of a level. The layouts of the levels are good however, each stage seems to have unique sight lines and requires a different strategy. 

One thing I found strange was the materials and what could be penetrated by a bullet. There seem to be glass cases or objects that would seem to be waist height. However the player is not educated on what can be shot over or shot through. I always felt a little unsure of what I was doing, or could be doing to make my life easier. Hotline Miami had two materials, glass and everything else. Glass was clearly labeled in the level and I knew the enemy could see me, and I could shoot them. I feel like that simplicity is missing in this game, as it mixes a bunch of unique objects in levels for a authentic aesthetic, but don't always interact well with gameplay.

Story

I became totally disassociated with the story in the third or fourth scene when a balding middle aged white man had a black man's 1970's dialect. I think it was a bug, but a major bug that should be easily fixed with another audio track. Not only does it happen once, but reoccurs as the narrative progresses. I don't know what happened there, but a character model that resembles Jimi Hendrix should have been created for that voice. I can tell you there is a huge drug problem, and one of the cops is likely crooked, and its that white guy with the black man's voice. I got too frustrated with the game and story to see what happens, maybe he was wearing a costume the entire time. I do enjoy frustrating games, I've beaten LISA and Hotline Miami, but both had very compelling stories I felt engaged in. Something has to drive the player when playing a frustrating game like this, and I never felt into it. The screenshot below shows the black character model that should have been used as the antagonist, but wasn't.

Art

The art style is great. It's fun and consistent which contrasts the violence and brutality of the gameplay well. The art style is a great way to hook the player in to make the purchase, and that's exactly what happened to me. It's very polished and smooth, and gameplay exhibits this as well. Animations are extremely fluid and clean, I don't know the frame rate but it seems to exceed 30fps. I found the movements of the player and act of shooting guns to be better than Hotline Miami, which I have been using as the benchmark since these two games are so similar. Hotline Miami could have been created in the mid 90's with its art style. Lets say in an alternate universe they made a sequel in 2016, it would probably look like this. 

Summary

If you are in the market for a fast paced top down/isometric shooter, just buy Hotline Miami. LA cops has the element of building up characters' stats, but thats the only thing unique. Hotline Miami has a legendary soundtrack that makes the frustrating experience easier to deal with. It also had smarter checkpoints so the player doesn't have to always start over. Theres nothing more frustrating then doing something awesome like busting in a room and taking out 8 guys through some voodoo magic, then dying in the next stage because you missed one guy in the corner. The narrative is missing, nothing really hooks the player, and its not a long enough game to justify the 14.99 price on the ps4 right now.

Battlefield: Hardline

Rating: 8.8

Happy Price: 49.99

Gameplay

Hardline takes all the elements Battlefield players are used to and compresses them into more colorful and urban environments. The color palette is similar to GTA V but infuses tight FPS mechanics along with a frame rate of 60fps which is a noticeable upgrade. It makes for quick online gameplay and a satisfying single player campaign

Online: EA did a wonderful job marketing the online play with awesome shootouts, explosions, and unique experiences never seen in games before. Even though all these are possible, its rare any of it happens online. I've put 20 hours of online play in, and have never been side by side with an enemy vehicle in an epic shootout with 6 players. Typically what happens online is a chase will occur, the opponent will crash, you will zoom past them while shooting, the driver of your vehicle will stop and turn around, and the opponents have gotten out of their vehicle and are hiding in a building. That said, online play is still great and I'm not done playing. Combining the vehicles and destructible environments make for an endless amount of variables and each session feels different.

I prefer the gameplay over Call of Duty, but the progression system is slightly frustrating. There are two build outs for the players profile, cops and criminals, then the class loadouts creating a total of 8 different profile builds. Cash acquired during gameplay goes to one central player account, so you have to decide which side you'd like to build. Criminals and Police have access to different weapons, so buying a shotgun may not apply to your police build. Acquiring cash is not easy and you must perform well to make any substantial money, so it can be annoying when you enter a session as the police but most of your weapons were purchased on the criminal side. You essentially have to do everything twice. This gets deeper when you purchase items that apply to classes of that side. A scope for the assault class of your criminal build will make a dent in your pocket and will only apply to a class you may use 20% of the time. I would much prefer to have one repository of weapons that are class specific, so I can clearly invest in something and not feel so constrained. Thats what real life is for. 

The new online game modes are a fresh twist on the series. Dealing mainly with one team trying to steal loot from a location, and the police trying to prevent it. Sometimes this is one location, the loot is actually in vehicles resulting in chases, or can be in multiple locations. At first they are refreshing and new, but I find myself playing classic conquest more than anything else. It enables you to play battlefield for what it is designed for, vehicular mayhem and everything that comes with it. Flying a helicopter, parachuting out of it onto a vantage point, and setting up for sniping is incredibly fun. As the player you feel that you have found something unique and that is what makes this game great. Maps are generally smaller and more urban than previous games, so you get a better sense of where players are and the flow of action, similar to the Call of Duty series.

See me snipe a dude driving a van here 

Single Player: HIGH PRODUCTION VALUE. Since the protagonist is a police officer, you are encouraged not to shoot all your enemies in sight. You can if you'd like, but the game becomes much harder and EXP is not gained by killing enemies. Instead you must flash your badge and arrest them or tase them. Half points given to tased enemies, but its actually more effective than shooting with a silenced pistol. Flashing the badge in front of three men equipped with body armor, shotguns, bad attitudes, and then arresting all three does not seem like a likely scenario. Especially after you just snuck into a drug compound. These are supposed to be dangerous people. That part seemed off and its a core mechanic of the campaign. It doesn't take away that its fun though, if you are spotted from a distance doing this, you will be shot. 

However the acting, cinematics, and level design is great. You participate in high speed chases, overwhelming shootouts, and environmental hazards that are done very well. The campaign plays like an episodic series so when an episode is complete, its followed by "Next time on Hardline" if you decide to take a break. It shows the highlights of that next episode and get you excited to play. I was surprised how good the single player story was. I would not prefer it over Destiny or Halo, but they did a great job introducing a new character, the supporting players, and progressing the story in a believable way. During the cinematics the expressions of all the characters are perfectly on point and each character's personality is clearly defined by facial expressions alone. The writers and animators at Visceral did a great job and I'm looking forward to their next project. This is one of the first stories in gaming that did not feel like there were cheesy moments.

Life in a Miami Hurricane 

Conclusion

Highly recommend. This game does not feel like it was pieced together in one year. The story and attention to detail makes it feel like a very high quality production. There are multiple moments like the clip I posted above where the building falls apart in the hurricane and you have to react to avoid death. These things keep you engaged and wanting more. Online play is super fun, but not something I ever got addicted to or woke up wanting to do. It satisfies a need though when I want to shoot something or blow some stuff up. 

LISA

Rating: 7.6
Happy Price: 7.99


Gameplay

LISA is a 2D side scroller RPG. It's filled with unique characters, sadistic humor, and strange events. The player is forced into difficult choices that permanently alter the state of either the main character or party members. There are also battles that result in death of party members for good, without any warning. This game is for the true masochist.

Battles

Similar to Pokemon, the user is presented with a list of attacks they can choose from. There can be four people in the player's party at a time, but an unknown amount of enemies on screen. Sometimes it's 4v1 or it can be 4v8. At points in the game, it's 1v8. The turn based RPG style alters between parties, so the player's party will attack first, then the opponent. The value of damage for a move is not presented, so it makes it slightly difficult to calculate or get a sense of how powerful an attack is. Also, the opponents health is not visible. It's trial and error for the most part, and the more you play the better sense you will have of the damage an attack yields. Every party character available in the game has a unique move-set, so experimenting with them is fun. Also, party members will die forever in some cases, so the player is forced to use multiple party members. Most of the time its unbalanced, either your party is way too powerful for enemies, or the enemy is way too overpowering. At the same time, the game is labeled the "Painful" RPG. So you should know you are getting into a game that is meant to frustrate.

Soundtrack

It seemed that each battle and each area had a new chiptune that was catchy and addicting. The mood general theme was eerie yet upbeat. It fit perfectly for this post apocalyptic dystopia. It's one of the best soundtracks in any game to date, and was my favorite part of navigating this frustrating world. I couldn't help but enjoy myself when my stuff was getting stolen after deciding to rest at a campfire because I liked the music it was happening too. It felt comedic. Even though I'm done with the game, sometimes the sound of it still ring through my head, and it brings me back to this sadistic game.

Dark Humor

There are so many funny events that go on if you have the stomach for it. This is a mature rated game, and there are people that have serious emotions rise to the surface when playing this game. Walking through a passage way  and getting attacked by greasers because my head was bald, was just funny. One of the enemies in that battle was their collective hair, and things like that would cause me to laugh out loud, something that never happens when I play video games. All of the dialogue is text based, so there is no bad voice acting to get in the way. Another instance was dressing up as a woman and whoring myself out, only for the green ranger to seek out my services.

Summary

A very frustrating game, and the only way I got through it was a walkthrough online after hours of getting lost. There is no map or much assistance to the player, but every so often a game like this is refreshing in a day when the player can have too much help. This game is not for everyone, and at times you're not sure if its technically not advanced enough or some of the missing parts to this game were designed that way. Great soundtrack, decent balancing, fun art style, but I wish I had a map.