Massive Chalice

Rating: 7.9

Happy Price: 9.99

Gameplay

A strategy game that emphasizes marrying bloodlines and strengthening the genetic pool for a battle that lasts 300 years. The player is required to pay attention to genetic and personality traits that will influence the stats of future heroes for years to come. A bad trait such as "slow learner" from a mother can influence 6 children and dilute your genetic pool.

Combat

There are three core types of classes: Melee, Archer, and Alchemist. Through breeding hybrids can be created from these beginning three. The melee class known as caberjacks wield higher armor than the other classes but early on in the game are susceptible to death if not used carefully. Enemies will gang up on them if left out to dry. The archer class known as a hunter wields a bow and has powerful ranged attacks. They are especially important in the beginning of the game, but towards the end lose their value. The alchemist creates potions that create area effect damage and are probably the most powerful class if paired with caberjacks. 

This is a turn based game that uses tiles as the means for navigation. It's the exact same formula as XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and at times feels exactly the same but at times in inferiorly designed. Attacking from behind does not influence damage, and at times there is a "glancing blow" that will result in 1 or 2 damage but the player is never told why that happens. It seems random and can be frustrating when planning an attack. A game with such harsh consequences of losing a hero (gone forever) has to offer more feedback to the player and allow for strategy to ensue. 

Breeding

This is probably the most fun part of the game, but then becomes completely irrelevant at around year 220 and beyond, which are the hardest parts of the game. Examining personality traits and pairing them up with another to see the result is just fun, and is one of those moments you get to play god (sort of). The resulting traits from two parents are predictable most of the time, but there are times when an unexpected trait happens in a child. Between year 220 and 240 I had 3 sets of heroes completely wiped out due to what seemed like impossible map setups. Losing 15/26 heroes is scary and demoralizing, and at that point the game became a burden. One map resulted in having 7 enemies on the map that have a powerful attack that does tons of damage (2 hits will kill a hero), reduces XP, and causes a skill cooldown. To add, there were 2 enemies that spawn seedlings and have a powerful area attack. Not to mention that enemy gets two turns, one to spawn an enemy and then one to attack the player. When that enemy is killed, it spawns three more enemies in the location it died. How can anyone compete with that while having only 5 heroes in the field at a time?

The third battle I had this experience in row, I realized breeding was no longer going to win anything. I was forced to "Search for new heroes" which resulted in getting near max level heroes and it allowed me to complete the game. I just don't understand why there would be such a sudden shift in difficulty at that point in the game. 

Art

I did not mind the cartoony art style, and since it was consistent I enjoyed it. It made me feel like it was done on purpose to render low polys to accomadate the amount of data that was being interpreted by the processor and gains the ability of having lots of enemies on screen. It offers a lightness to the game that counters the harsh consequences and seriousness of gameplay, so that you are not so depressed when demolished in battle. In the final battle though there were some serious frame rate issues which would make the game awful to play. At times the game would freeze there were so much polygons being rendered. I had three alchemist on the board that could spawn pillirs and foliage for cover. Couple that with about 20 enemies on screen and the Xbox One could not handle it. I had to save my game in the middle of battle out of fear that the game was about to crash. From an aesthetic point of view it was pleasing, technically there is some work to be done. How did this miss during QA?

Sound

The background music is nice and fit the game well. There is a lot of time spent waiting for time itself to pass and this was not a bad experience. There are scripted voiceovers that occur at certain points in the game and they feel organic. I don't think every player will have the same experience as their are points in the game decisions are made that result in a different voice or line used. I appreciated the effort put into this. The sound effects of combat are rewarding and punchful. A bomb feels like a bomb, and a hit from a caberjack feels intense. The audio is a high point for this game. 

Conclusion: You are better off playing a game like XCOM: Enemy Unknown for a $20 price point. There are some really cool things done in this game like the lineages created but at times you feel cheated by the level design. I got this game for free, and the 20 hours I put into it were worth it. I had a good experience but if I paid for this game I would be annoyed I wasted my time.

Destiny

Rating for this game: 9.9

Happy Price: 69.99 (House of Wolves DLC)

Gameplay

The best way I can describe Destiny is take Halo, Call of Duty, Borderlands, and Mass Effect and put them into one game. You have the tight controls of Halo, the iron sights in Call of Duty, FPS RPG elements taken from Borderlands, and special power builds similar to Mass Effect. Oh yea, not to mention this game takes place in an open world with endless amounts of adventure to do with friends.

Campaign: It is recommended that one does the campaign before entering multiplayer, because you will take your character into multiplayer that is used in the campaign. It's best to level that character up and upgrade weapons before entering that battlefield. That said, the Destiny story isn't all that great. You play as a guardian trying to protect Earth from four different alien races, whom in turn are also fighting each other for the right to take over the planet as well. You start on Earth where you deal mainly with the Fallen alien race and get a taste of the hive. You then go to the Moon, Venus, and Mars where you deal with the other 3 alien races. It all culminates to you defeating all of them, and Earth is saved. Very predictable. The adventure is undeniably fun however, and is worth the 10-15 hour campaign. It's a great way to learn the basics and how the classes work, and you will find which one suits your play style the best.

Multiplayer: This is where all the action is, and where I've spend most of my time. There is a lot to do regarding PvP and PvE. This game incorporates farming and loot in a FPS MMORPG, so you can imagine how fun this is with friends. Unlike Borderlands, teammates do not have to compete for loot. If an enemy drops something in the midst of battle, it is yours. PVP modes are set for the most part, but on the weekends there are exclusive modes that offer different modes of play. It provides fresh experiences every weekend and allows for the game to remain relevant. For example the Iron Banner takes the users actual level and weapon damage value to determine just that against another guardian. All other PVP multiplayer modes flatten these out, but players still get the unique benefits to each weapon. For example "bullets from this weapon ricochet off of walls"

Multiplayer Maps: I wasn't able to find one that I loved, but there isn't one that I hate either. You can see the Call of Duty and Halo clash happening here. Bungie maps typically have levels or planes to them, and they are structured and defined. COD maps don't typically follow a structure, there may be multiple assymetric planes in a map, and Destiny has this. It feels a bit strange to play a game that feels like Halo, but the maps feel like COD set in a Halo world. There is so much action going on with Grenades, Golden Guns, Invisible slashers and Hulk Smashes going on, that its not really a factor. The maps are still fun, but its always nice to have that one map you love in a game. 

Classes: There are three classes to pick from when the game is started. The Tank, The Assassin, and the Mage. Offically they are called the Titan, Hunter, and Warlock. They each provide advantages in gameplay and suit different play styles. I played as the most boring but most effective class, the Defender Titan. My super is a bubbleshield that offers myself and teammates buffs. Compare that to wielding a sword, sending a superblast from your hands, a hulk smash, a golden gun, and throwing strange fire grenades. My bubbleshield with a heavy weapon has gotten me quite a few multikills, even though its not the most sexy super to have.

https://youtu.be/SrbWTXyjJHI?t=3m51s

Art

The art is top notch and AAA as would expect. There is an immense about of creativity. The Crota are probably the coolest race of alien and looks like a monster that belong in video games. I feel like there was some freedom with the art style and artists were able to create what they wanted. 

Environments: This game takes place on 4 different planets. That is very difficult to do correctly from an art point of view. That means the moon has to feel like the moon, and the Earth has to feel like the Earth. Each planet feels different and credit has to go to the art team to achieve that. It doesn't feel like I played a game that had different planets and there was just a texture overlay tricking me the whole time, even though its possible that is what was happening. 

Characters: The Hunter is undeniably the coolest looking character in the game. Just a badass looking assasin type of character that looks the part. They get capes and its fun to change them up, since its such a visible and defining part of the character The Titan is probably the least interesting but still has style. It would have been better if there was more emphasis on the shoulders or upper body area that would make it unique. The Warlock wears a trenchcoat type of thing which is also cool, it reminds me of Neo from the Matrix and has the same effect as the Hunters cape. 

Conclusion

There is so much to do in this game that its impossible to even write about all of it. I did not even get into the raids which are done when your character is completely leveled up. Everything from top to bottom in this game is great. Art, gameplay, sound, social activity, it highlights all the great things video games can do and executes on them. It's not the MMORPG that WoW is, but its still great. In my opinion this is the best game made in the last 5 years and one of the top games of all time.

The Walking Dead: Season 1

Rating for this game: 8.5

Happy Price: 24.99

Gameplay

Walking dead is a narrative driven adventure game that mainly consists of quicktime events that lead to decisions that alter the course of the story. The focus is choice and ability to make decisions quickly, and dealing with the consequences of each decision. It doesn't take long before you realize decisions matter and you must be fully invested and attentive during gameplay. 

Decisions: This game throws a lot of difficult decisions at you, and you can only sit on your couch and be thankful that these are not real choices you have to make in life. However a decision made in episode 1 can effect something that happens in episode 4, so decisions have a lot of weight to them and feel very real. It makes for an edge of your seat experience that you need to fully invest in. The player has to pay attention to what is going on and understand the context of each situation. A wrong comment or suggestion can alter the group's perception of you and have consequences that are not entirely obvious, as if the NPC's have minds of their own. The ways the story can branch off displays great game design and programming. Everyone that plays this game will have a slightly different experience. 

Killing Zombies: Killing zombies is not the focus of this game, but still looms as the consistent threat throughout the game which stays true to the television series. Most of the conflicts happen when coming across other humans. When put in situations where Zombies need to be dealt with, the controls are very simple. Either aim with the cursor and press A or repeatedly tap a button in situations where there is a test of might. Based on decisions made, these confrontations can vary. If I decide to look around and find a knife or handgun, then my next encounter will go smoother as opposed to not having anything at all. I made sure to scavenge every area I was in to avoid such situations. 

Cinematics

Acting: The voice acting is spectacular. Heavy emotions are in full force in this depressing apocalyptic world, and it comes through in dialogue. There are times when the writing feels a bit forced, but the voice acting covers it up. The expressions of the characters can be inconsistent. At some points It's very good and everything comes together beautifully. At other points, things feel very rushed and there seems to be a lack of attention to detail. This comes through sometimes when zombies are chasing the character and there is an expressionless look of fear that stays plastered on the player's face. It doesn't take away from the emotion felt during these situations though, but is still something that is noticeable. 

Embedded Gameplay: You must pay attention during cinematics because it's apart of the game. Dialogue will suddenly stop and a timer will appear giving the player about 5 seconds to read all 4 available decisions that can be made, then the player must react by pushing the correct button. The short amount of time given to make the decisions keep the story moving at a correct and natural pace as natural dialogue would, adding realism and pressure to each situation. This is where the game thrives, it's a great mechanic and innovative way of integrating story telling and play into one. Games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age allow the player to make branching decisions, but can stop the game, think about it, then choose what I want to do. Walking Dead does not allow this, and incorporates your own psychology and behaviors into the game.

Conclusion

Worth playing by anyone and everyone. This game is very accessible to people that are not hardcore gamers or gamers at all. Very simple controls and gameplay hinders on good decisions, not necessarily reactions with fingers. I will definitely pick up Season 2 and play other games by Tell Tale. However the experience is very intense and does not allow for side conversations with ACTUAL people. So I will have to pickup another Tell Tale game when my girlfriend is out of town or something.

Dark Souls

Rating: 9/10

Happy Price: $45-50

This is certainly late for a review, but I would argue that there's rarely a time too late to get into Dark Souls. With the announcement of Dark Souls III, it's good practice to look at the series' roots (sans Demon's Souls).

Overall:
Dark Souls is a game series that focuses more on punishing bad plays and reckless behavior in games. That's the main reason the game has been considered notoriously difficult by many. If you decide to run around without using a shield or swing your sword at an enemy without managing your stamina, then your death is typically on you. The game gives the player the means to survive in the world, and it's up to the player to use what they must in order to survive. RNG (Random Number Generators or the sense of chance) has little to no involvement. Which means that the methodical player who is attentive and quick to respond is sure to pass through the game with little difficulty. To be fair, a decent amount of patience is necessary as occasionally enemies will kill you in one blow and lingering hurt-boxes do exist in inconvenient places. Which will lead to that famous panicked dash to reclaim your souls (unless you frequently spend them). But with Dark Souls, the message is that even if you lose everything, as long as you have the will to keep going then you will be sure to win eventually. Victory isn't always guaranteed, but perseverance and trying multiple paths to victory may lead to the best way for you.

Standout points:
-Story
Dark Souls' storytelling deserves its own topic as it's largely interpretive. If you go through the entire game -  never reading any item descriptions and thinking nothing to explore every single area - your view of the story will be completely different from someone who has read everything on a similar playthrough. Different even still for someone who has done everything without reading everything. So really the best way to get the most out of the story is to play through a couple times, read everything, do everything and even THEN it's largely left to your own interpretation.

Sounds like too much of a pain, huh? If you like really deep stories, then this is perfect. And then you can join the community in discussing these narratives and where it will show up again in future games. Though if interpretive narratives aren't your thing, then it's still fine because the base narrative is perfect for you. You are the chosen undead who will save the world if you gather souls and gain enough strength to conquer all.


-Multiplayer/Community
How Dark Souls handles multiplayer is interesting as it's mostly handled with in-game features. If you wish to partake in multiplayer and engage in jolly co-operation, you have to be in human form. You can summon people who may or may not exactly help you to beat the area boss. However, being human allows for other players to enter your world in order to fight you. In these instances, there are a few typical types of invaders depending on your level: The ones who will joke around and use tactics to inconvenience the player resulting in an inconvenient death; the ones who take invasions seriously (most likely using katanas) and will either bow or use disrespectful gestures if they win; and the neutral players who do it for fun (though they may or may not be on their way into either of the previously mentioned groups).

Aside from that, the people love the game and do actually want others to play/continue to play despite any and all complaints about "noobs" and spammers.


Conclusion:
Would I buy it? 

If you love games that challenge you to master skills and don't mind possibly dying thousands of times until you figure how to best apply said skills? Then you need this game.
If you hate losing in games or don't want to invest time into learning something, then don't seek this. You may not like it.

I would honestly suggest to everyone to try it, not just to make the Souls community grow, but just so everyone can enjoy a game that challenges you to be a better you. That honestly wants you to win despite throwing death at you at the turn of every corner.

Dark Souls has the kind of storytelling I wish more games would incorporate. Where you're given the baseline narrative and you as a player question why you're doing these things. Then you do something else, and something else happens. It may be significant, it may not be. You could discover that you're doing some great thing or you're committing some horrible atrocity to all mankind.

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition

Rating for this game: 8.9

Happy Price: 14.99

Gameplay

Guacamelee starts with an average Joe type of character turned into a super luchador after a series of unfortunate events. The combination of humor, great combat design, and a unique Mexican art style make for a great cohesive experience. 

Combat: The combat reminds me of a wrestling game mixed with a fighting game. There is so much satisfaction launching opponents into the air, getting a 3 hit combo, then transitioning into a bone crunching suplex. As the protagonist wears a luchador outfit, there is a strong emphasis on wrestling moves like the super frog splash. This game is the best thing to happen for wrestling fans and fighting games alike. As the game progressively gets more difficult, your moveset can be upgraded and larger combos can be generated. There are also more enemies on screen, which plays great into the ability to suplex or throw opponents into one another. Doing so can launch another opponent into the air that can be followed up with more combos and the following sequence can be repeated. Skilled players can easily get 200 hit combos, the largest I got was 117. 

Progression: Staying true to the theme of the game, the user acquires Pesos based on enemies defeated, treasures found, and the length of the combos during battles. Upgrades are pretty expensive, so the player is forced to decide what exactly they want to build out. You are not forced to grind at any point, but you do have the freedom to go back and defeat more enemies for more Pesos if you wish. There did not seem to be a limit on upgrades, and from some footage I've seen online there were people that had far more life and stamina than I did. I was able to complete the game without having to go back at any point though. Defeating bosses gives you sliver coins, which are used to buy skins or outfits. Buying outfits usually consist of a trade off, for example "hits drain life of enemies, but player has 50% normal health". You can switch outfits at any checkpoint though, so its fun to try out different outfits and see what suits your play style.

Story

The story emulates Super Mario. Superboss has your love, you chase them through the game, and you defeat a bunch of sub-bosses along the way. At one point, there is even a tribute to Mario during a boss battle, which was awesome. The dialogue stayed true to the Mexican theme throughout the entire experience. Characters periodically speak Spanish, and names of characters are slang Spanish (Mexican) which brings authenticity and humor to the dialogue. I could not believe the people that made this game were from Canada. The writing is funny and keeps you engaged, but the focus of the game is gameplay. I was happy the story was written concise and dense enough to allow for quick, purposeful dialogue that allowed me to get back into the action.

Art

Environment: There is a clear influence on the art that resides with Mexico itself. The color palette is very festive and bright, and I think I've seen every major color in this game. Even the dead dimension has neon incorporated within it, making everything feel very alive and fast paced. It makes for a very pleasing look that never seems to let up. There are details and works of art in every corner of the game. From the skeletons that resemble the known day of the dead art style to the design of the villages, each element of this game was carefully thought out and executed cleanly. 

Animation: With the amount of enemy types and NPC characters I was surprised I did not feel like there were shortcuts taken with animation. It seemed each enemy had their own thing going on and nobody shared moves or animations. With 2D games often times there are things that get re-used and it is easily identified. I appreciated the fact that this was either hidden very well or not done at all. Along with the rest of the art style, animation was flawless and there isn't much else to say than that. 

Conclusion

A must have. The game is accessible to people of all ages. It is friendly enough for kids yet mature enough for a hardcore gamer myself. It reminds me of watching a Pixar movie where hidden jokes are added that only adults understand. When I was done playing, all I wanted to do was play more. The combat system is the star of this game because it is so addicting, but supported very well by the art style and authentic Mexican folklore that is both educational and fun to experience.

Banner Saga

Rating: 8.7

Happy Price: 9.99

Gameplay

Banner Saga is a turn based tactical RPG. It deals with a max party of six warriors of different classes, each with a unique ability. It is seldom you will find two warriors with the same ability, creating a unique combination of tactics that can be used depending on who is in the player's party. It also focuses on asset management and dialogue choices similar to Oregon Trail.

Combat System

Banner Saga created a system I had never seen before. There are two attributes to each warriror, strength and armor. Strength is also the users health. The way the system works is, if a user has a strength of 7, but the opponent has an armor of 8, there is a percentage chance that the attack won't hit. If strength is 7, and armor is 6, damage is guaranteed, but will probably do little damage. The lower the armor of the opponent, and higher strength of attacker, the more damage done. Some classes are designed to do more damage to armor, and others strength, so it's good strategy to mix these classes together.

Another unique thing was instead of one party having a turn, then the other party makes all their moves, there is a turn order based on individuals from each party. This creates interesting scenarios, because if you have a situation where it is 4v2, both sides have the same amount of moves in a given time. The person with four people in their party will make their four moves with each party member. The person with two people in their party will also move four times in the same span, but only with 2 party members. The strategy I used was take out the most powerful opponents first, that way as time went on weaker opponents got more moves instead of having powerful ones at the end going over and over again.

Party Management

Unlike an unforgiving game like Fire Emblem, your characters don't die for good in this game. If a party member reaches zero health, they are injured for a set amount of days. This injury imposes a penalty if they are not healed until the next battle. Even if a battle is lost, the game does not stop. The story changes instead which is something that defies what most RPGs do. Of course there is a negative impact to losing so it should be avoided at all costs, but it's not something that isn't salvageable. Based on decisions you make during dialogue, party members my leave or join your caravan. You must be very careful when deciding who to level up in this regard. If there is tension with a character, it is not wise to use them much when you can level someone else that appears to be more loyal. I had a situation early game where one of my top members wanted to leave, and I had to swallow my pride for him to stay.

The Journey

The Oregon Trail aspect creates tension throughout the entire experience. Since there is a currency known as "renown" that is used to promote party members to new levels, and also used to purchase supplies, you have to constantly have that battle on what to do. If you run out of supplies, caravan members starve to death and die. If you don't level up your characters when they are eligible, you risk losing battles. Most of the dialogue and minute decision making also happens on the journey from one town to another. There is great opportunity to increase renown and supplies in the moments of travel. However the wrong decisions can doom the caravan and have everlasting effects. Each decision has to be meticulously analyzed.  

Artwork

The artwork and animations are hand drawn and it all looks amazing. This is high grade production that rivals Disney classic movies like Lion King or Cinderella. It creates a beautiful setting amidst the dread of trekking through snowfall on the verge of starving to death. It's difficult to tell if animations we're re-used by multiple characters, but from what I can tell they are unique. I used four different archers and they all had different stances and ways they shot their bows. You can't say enough about hand drawn video games, they are incredibly difficult to make and something that is seldom done for those reasons.

Narrative 

One of the focal points is the story. It is incredibly complex and deep, with a large amount of characters to follow and many regions are talked about. They are all Nordic names and regions and it can be difficult to follow. I found I never really found certain characters to have a "voice" I could imagine in my head. Also, the presentation of the narrative could be confusing. At times I could not tell who was talking or saying what. I could see two people are talking to one another and understood what was going on, but when two people of the same faction we're talking it was hard to distinguish one personality from another. The story is incredibly engaging and helps get addicted to the gameplay as you want the story to progress.

Summary

It caters to an older more mature audience as it deals with complex dialogue and narrative that one must follow closely. Combat is innovative and the artwork is some of the best in any video game. It's a short game that will be around 9-12 hours depending on the player, and if you want to replay it for different outcomes. If you like tactical RPG's, this is a must have. However it's very difficult and new people to the genre will have a hard time. 

WWE '13

Rating for this Game: 9.2

Happy Price: 49.99

Gameplay

I remember when I played WWF Attitude in 1998 on the PSX. I had this idea of what a wrestling game should be, what I wanted to see and do in a game. WWE '13 has finally fulfilled that idea. This is the most complete wrestling game I've ever played.

WWE Attitude Mode: This mode is the closest thing to a campaign mode. You're taken back to 1996 when Bret Hart got screwed out of the title by Vince Mcmahon, and relive all the events up until the conclusion of the attitude era. If you were a wrestling fan during this time, it's one of the best experiences you will have playing a game, and the best experience on a next-gen wrestling game. Each match has different objectives to match what actually took place. For example, the famous hell in a cell with Undertaker and Mankind. In order to get the unlockable, you must throw Mankind off the top of the cell through the announce table. You can spend hours in this mode to unlock everything.

WWE Universe: This mode is oversold on the back cover of the game. The stories generated are quite minuscule and not fulfilling. Essentially you set your own goals of what you want to do, and choose how you want it done. This mode has no restrictions. If you create a wrestler, you can set up a title shot his first match, or choose to fight through the ranks and having the WWE Universe generate the timeline for you. Cut scenes and scenarios are quite repetitive, but you can spend hours in this mode as well. Most of the time you're just waiting for something exciting to happen, but nothing does.

Customization

Superstar: Customizing your superstar can take 3 hours alone. There are hundreds if not thousands of items to select from. The layering system allows for creating unique facepaint and tattoos. You can also create your own clothes if you don't like what's provided! After you've created your awesome avatar, you must select the move-set. There are thousands of moves to choose from. This process can take a long time but it's fun to construct a wrestler from the ground up. The option to choose a move set is also available. After the moves are selected, you can create an entrance. Doing all this work makes WWE universe worth playing, even though it lacks creating scenarios for your created superstar.

Matches/Scenarios: You can create your own PPV's, Shows, Arenas, and match styles. For people that love to create worlds  as I once did when I was about 11 and had a huge imagination, this can be very fulfilling. Want to pit Sheamus against Randy Orton? Then have CM Punk interfere, the power to do that is given. You also have the ability to merge Attitude era superstars into the universe. So you can have Stone Cold wreak havoc on all the modern superstars. Knowing I had this ability diminished the fulfillment of when cool things occurred though, because I could have just created them myself. That's the drawback of giving the user this much power without a penalty.

Conclusion

A must buy for a wrestling fan. You can easily spend 40+ hours in this game. Although with THQ being sold their servers haven't been working properly, so online is unstable. This game is selling for 39.99 and well worth it. To beat the Attitude Era and win the WWE championship in WWE universe mode without making drastic changes to it will take over 40 hours. That's $1 an hour to play this game!
I am going to keep this game, plus we don't really know if Yukes will develop the next installment. This is the best one yet, purchase it and hold onto it.