Unravel - Review

When Microsoft first announced the XBOX One they showcased a number of games that would be available on launch including Unravel.   The game looked like a fun puzzle platformer with a cute protagonist called Yarny.  I didn't buy the XBOX One on release & ended up forgetting about the game until recently.  I decided last week that I had waited long enough to play it & so started my journey with Yarny.


I like to make comparisons between foods & the games I have played.  Smaller games always feel like snacks to me, some of them leave you wanting more while others remind you why a proper meal is better.  While playing Unravel I had to decide was it a tasty treat like GÜ Millionaire Flapjacks (which for some reason Tesco no longer stock & I wake up in cold sweats wanting them) or a Twinkie that seems okay at the time but after you have a had a few you think 'meh, there not that great & now I feel horrible'.

Unravel follows the story of a little red creature called Yarny.  His mission is to help recover memories of a families almost forgotten past by collecting badges.  This is achieved through entering photos in the house & traversing that moment in time.


As you explore these memories you see many happy ones along with some very dark painful ones. One of the main themes of the game is family & how important it is.  The other is nature, it's beauty & how it's destruction is so devastating, not only to people but also the environment.


Unravel may appear like a simple story at first glance but is actually full of depth, emotion & heart. As always I won't reveal anymore about the story as it's an adventure you need to experience for yourself.

The game looks stunning & proves once again you don't need to be a big studio to produce high-end visuals.  There is just so much detail in every area of the game, the background is just an impressive & important as the foreground.  There were times when I was playing that I would just stand still & admire the beauty of the game.


As is my way when discussing games I won't go into much details about the various levels, that being said I would like to mention one of my favorites.  Mountain Trek was my favorite part of the game for so many reasons.  It features outside areas & caves, scary enemies, magic mushrooms & you get to ride a fish.  In case you wondering is riding a fish as cool as it sounds yes, yes it is.


The music used in the game was very interesting & has a very Nordic sound.  Violins & pianos feature heavily in the soundtrack which help create homely & folksy sounds.  There are two composers who worked on Unravel, they are:

Frida Johansson; who is from Sweden & not only composes but also plays music, mainly violin & piano.  She has worked on music for radio, theater & has featured on many other musical collaborations.

Henrik Oja; who is also from Sweden & has been part of multiple groups including Spacious Mind.
who are; David Akerlund, David Johansson, Jens Unosson, Niklas Viklund, Thomas Brannstrom. Their albums include; Take That Weight Off Your Shoulders, Sailing the Seagoat, Organic Mind Solution & many more.


Some of my favorite pieces included: 'Yarny's Theme', 'Mountain Trek', 'Snowfall', 'The Sea (parts 1-4)' & 'Credits'. The music has a very distinct rich sound that works really well & adds the already impressive atmosphere in the game.  Overall a solid soundtrack that helped make something good into something great.

At first glance Unravel looks like just a fun & entertaining game but at closer inspection you see it for what it is truly is, a masterpiece of emotion, character, feeling & depth.  I think the game would have been better suited to be called 'Yarny' because without him the game wouldn't be the same.  You could argue some other character could have filled his place but I would have to disagree.  The game is visually impressive in it's own right but I feel it is Yarny who is the really makes the game.


I found myself emotionally connected with Yarny in the early parts of the game.  He is bursting with personality.  For example the first time a butterfly appears he jumps with surprise but also looks in wonder & awe.  Like with Sonic if you take no action he starts to get bored or will cross his arms looking contemplative.  Throughout the game you see him get; scared, inquisitive, happy, sad & so much more.  As you move along the level his body unravels & the smaller he gets I found myself panicking looking for more yarn to save him.  To put it simply Yarny is amazing, powerful & is highly memorable.


Yarny's key tool to solve puzzles is the lasso & for the most part it works really well whether you need to; climb to a higher area, swing across somewhere, create a bridge or any number of things. Random animal encounters are not only cool but can help you navigate areas or try to attack you (feckin' birds).   The hedgehogs were one of my favorite animals not only from a visual stand point but they just acted so cute.


The gameplay I felt overall was strong with one main exception & a few minor ones.  The main one was on the level Last Leaf.  I found that when dragging the lantern it was not always successful & seemed to get stuck on something invisible.  I restarted the level a number of times & each time I did I got a little more frustrated. In the end I clearly the stage but with significant perseverance.  The minor exceptions were that some puzzles did not always work on first try even if the solution was correct & Yarny's lasso sometimes failed to work as intended.





So after over 8 hours gameplay how did I feel?  Overall I really enjoyed the game & Yarny feels like a truly magical character.  While there were some flaws in the game it was never enough to make me give up.  I would say the game is great & I like forward to future projects by the studio.

Resident Evil Biohazard - Review

January is over & I thought to myself  'I deserve a new game', so I decided to pick up Resident Evil 7 Bio Hazard.  I remember seeing some of the early gameplay & thinking 'damn that looks freaky'.  It seemed more intense than a lot of the other games in the series. Generally speaking, I am not the biggest horror game fan but I was more than willing to give it a go due to how much I enjoyed some of the other games in the series.  This is the first big new release title I played this year so was pretty excited to play it.


Who else here like's burgers?  Juicy, tender, meat-filled burgers, so many toppings & condiments to choose from the possibilities are almost endless.  Outside of your standard meaty goodness, you have some alternatives like spicy bean burgers.  I find it hard to consider them burgers as they are so different to what I'm used to.  That being said they have their place & can be a nice change from the heaviness of meat.   Playing Resident Evil 7 Biohazard I found myself wondering am I eating another tasty meat-filled burger or some spicy veggie alternative?

The story starts with our protagonist Ethan receiving a message from his wife Mia.  She has been missing for three years with no word until now,  so naturally, he is pretty excited to find out she is still alive.   Ethan's destination is a house located at an old plantation in Louisiana, so it's time to take a road trip.  It's terrible but when I think of Louisiana I find it hard to picture anything else but swamps, swamp boats, old beaten up wooden houses & people sitting on porches giving everyone the stink eye.  Basically, it's the perfect setting for a horror game.


The games start out dark & clouded in mystery. Why was Mia here? Where was has she been for three years?  Who would live here?  Very quickly you find Mia who is a little worse for wear & is scared because of Daddy.  Who is Daddy & what does he do?  He freaks you out & tries to kill you every chance he gets.  The rest of the family is even worse, Mommy is a scary old lady who likes bugs & then there is their son Lucas who is just completely insane.  Things don't get any better or any easier for Ethan but like any good protagonist he doesn't let anything keep him down.


Ethan's mission, should he choose to accept it is to explore a creaky old house, take on a crazy family & save his wife Mia who may have gone a little nuts after three years.  This Resident Evil game is so very different to the others in the series that I found it hard to draw any comparisons between them.
There are sprinklings of the Resident Evil Universe scattered throughout the game but overall there is very little tie-in. That's not to say the story is bad,  in fact, it is really good from start to finish I am just unsure as to why they found the need to use the Resident Evil name.

Visually speaking the game looks fantastic & there is no real difference between cut sequences & gameplay.  The attention to detail is amazing & disturbing, for example in the kitchen there were old plates of food with maggots squirming in them - ewww (slightly shivers).  Initially, I found Ethan's movement's to be a little disorientating as it really feels like you are looking through someone else's eyes.  The look & feel of the game makes it really immersive, I would love to play the VR version as I can only imagine how intense it would be.  When it comes to visuals this game does not disappoint.


There are many composers that helped create the Resident Evil 7 Bio-Hazard soundtrack, they include:

Akiyuki Morimoto  - who worked on; Monster Hunter 3, Lost Planet 2 & Resident Evil 6.
Miwako Chione - who worked on Monster Hunter 4G.
Satoshi Hori -  who has a fantastic self-titled album that I highly recommend listening too.
Brian D'Oliveira - who worked on; Spirits of Spring, Tearaway, Little Big Planet 3.
Cris Velasco - worked on Mass Effect 3, Overwatch, The God of War Series.

Some of my favorite pieces in the game were; 'Atmosphere - Swamp Encounter', 'Main Hall', Into Madness', Welcome to the Family', 'Garage', 'Molded I', 'Safe Room', 'Tatari', 'Apprehension' & 'The Beast'. At times I felt like the music was almost crawling up my spine. Strings feature heavily in many of the pieces helping to create an almost claustrophobic feeling. Overall it a very eerie, well-crafted soundtrack & listening to it all again made me realise how integral it was to the game.

The game offers a few difficulty levels; Easy, Normal & Madhouse - the last one unlocks once you finish the game on normal.  I would not describe the overall gameplay as hard even though some of the puzzles did have me scratching my head, often because I had missed something small.


There are so many details big & small that make this game feel amazing.  It looks to freak you out as often as possible, have you ever seen a chain link fence with lots of baby dolls attached them or a ball bouncing past you but yet there is no one in the room - I have.  The game never wants to make you feel safe & even in the save room I always felt on edge.  I loved the way your character opened & closed doors, in many games you just run through a door without thinking about it.  When Ethan comes up against a closed door he will cautiously open it which always leaves you in a state of suspense.  Most of the time you have nothing to worry about but other times, well other times you get a horrible surprise.  I died a number of times in the game & some of the deaths were pretty dark.  I won't go into specifics too much but let's say getting cut down the middle is pretty damn gruesome. While most of the game you play as Ethan occasionally you will get the opportunity to play through someone else's eyes.  These are available in the form of VHS movies, each one of them helps give the game even more depth.  I would say my favorite one featured a birthday party, not the nice kind where you have fun, but that's not to say there isn't cake.  These side stories not only give an insight into other characters but can also help you work out ways to get into a previously inaccessible area, solve puzzles or find new items.


Resident Evil games have always been a little scary but this one is truly terrifying & the Baker Family are a big part of that.  They are creepy, crazy strong & are a pain in the backside when they attack you. Lucky enough you have a small arsenal of weapons, my weapons of choice were buckshot & blades.  As a whole I had little to complain about with regards to gameplay, I was constantly on guard & never felt relaxed.  This works really well in a horror game but I would not recommend playing it before bed.

So after 12+ hours of gameplay how did I feel? Freaked out.  A brilliant game, with a great story, impressive visuals & an unnerving soundtrack.  It is hard to pick fault with the game, the only stand out one is that it just not feel like a Resident Evil game.  I wish they had released this as a stand-alone game rather trying to loosely tie it into the Resident Evil Universe.  Overall I would have to give a big thumbs & recommend it to any horror game fans.

Halo 5 Guardians - Review

Still in January & still need a game to play so I turned to Halo 5 Guardians.  I forgot I had bought a copy last year & thought now was a great time to play it.  I remember getting goosebumps seeing the teaser trailer for it back at E3 2013, unfortunately when it was released I did not have the XBOX One & by the time I bought one it just slipped my mind to buy it.  I will be up front with you guys the review covers the campaign mode only not the multiplayer aspect.  As many of you know I am just not that into multiplayer.


Anyone in the house like steak? I love a good steak especially if it's cooked to perfection with a side of chips or mash, corn on the cob with a generous serving of pepper sauce.  Even just the thought of it gets my mouth wet.  However if you end up getting a piece of meat that has more fat than it should or is a little tough it can really spoil the meal.  That being said it's steak so you will still enjoy it but not as much as you would have liked to.  That's the dilemma I faced with Halo 5 Guardians, was it a really good steak dinner or just a so so one.

The Halo story is vast & intricate, as normal I will try to keep information on the story light to avoid giving away spoilers.  At the end of Halo 4 Dr Halsey (semi mad scientist & creator of the Spartan program) is being held by the Covenant (collective of aliens bent on ruling the universe).  Fire Team Osiris is tasked with extracting her & taking out one of the Covenant Leaders.  The team is comprised of:

Locke - leader of the team & before becoming a Spartan was previously part of ONI & he was basically a government assassin.
Buck - easily one of my favorite characters, not only because he is in Halo 3 ODST but also because he is voiced by Nathan Fillion who is just awesome for so many reasons.
Tanaka - smart & general badass, she also one of the few people so survive the destruction of her world.
Vale - the most cultured of the group, not only having a deep knowledge of Forerunners & the Covenant but can also speak Sangheili (the Covenant language).


Off somewhere else you have Blue Team trying to secure an abandoned ONI research station, unfortunately the Covenant show up & you have to get the hell out of dodge.  While all this is happening Master Chief receives a message from an old friend, determined to find out what it all means he & the teams goes AWOL.  Blue team is comprised of:


Master Chief - the most legendary Spartan & kicker of alien asses, he is still reeling after the lose of the AI Cortana.
Linda, Kelly, Fredrick - I won't lie these characters are not very fleshed out in the game especially by comparison of Fire Team Osiris.  It would have nice if they developed these characters, the team felt like it was comprised of Master Chief & the three interchangeable Spartan's.


This is the basic story but as I mentioned I don't want to give much away regarding the story.  There are some really great characters in the game including;  Rowland (UNSC Infinity AI) who is not afraid to speak out. Spartan Palmer, who in my opinion is one of the best characters & the best female character in Halo 4 & Halo 5 Guardians. Captain Laskey commander of the UNSC Infinity, a well rounded character who I felt they should have used more in Halo 5 Guardians after they developed him in Halo 4. If you have not watched Halo Forward Onto Dawn I would highly recommend it as it reveals more about Laskey & features Master Chief.


While there are many great elements to the Halo 5 Guardians story for me there was something missing.  Perhaps it was the pacing or some of the characters but I felt the story at times to be weak. This was especially true with regards to the ending & it really felt like they held back because they knew there would be a Halo 6.  I felt the story in Halo 4 to be much stronger.

Visually the games looks fantastic, everything for the level designs & characters to the cut sequences themselves.   One of my favorite cut sequences was the opening one, not only because it looks visually impressive but it also really shows how badass the Spartans are.  Seeing them in action really made me want to watch Halo Legends again.  One of my favorite levels was planet Genesis it is covered in trees & plant life.  Additionally I loved the detail, for example the insects running around the place that move away as you get close.  Being honest I really could not fault the game graphically speaking.


The composer for Halo 5 Guardians was Kazuma Jinnouchi who also worked on the additional music on Halo 4.  War is a large theme of the game & the music definitely was created with that in mind. Some of my favorite pieces include; 'Light is Green', 'Scavengers', 'The Trails', 'Sentry Battle', 'Walk Softly',  'Dominion','Osiris Suite Act 2'.   Jinnouchi weaves the classic halo music into his own to create new pieces that work really well. The soundtrack was often pulse pounding & really helped create a tense atmosphere.


For many people they felt the direction of the music was much improved over Halo 4 but for me I would say they both sounded great.   If I had a Spartan Laser to my head & had to chose I would say the music from Halo 4 wins out - marginally.

Running around like a tank on legs is always a lot of fun, throw in an arsenal of weapons, some vehicles (including an actual tank) & you have some truly fun gameplay.  I am going to mention some of my favorite parts below.


I loved the spartan charge, whether you are breaking through a wall, knocking into an enemy or jumping across ledges it's just feels good.  The executions are not a new feature in Halo but does not make them any less fun.  Even if you manage to mess up an execution  killing an enemy by smashing them in the back of the head never gets old.  AI team mates assist you in battle, follow your directions & pick you up if you get knocked down.  It may sound strange but I had a love/hate feeling for this. The team element could be a lot of fun & knowing they had your back was great, but at the same time for me Halo was always about you against the world, almost isolated from everyone else which I kind of missed in this game.


There is so much more detail in the character designs then ever before, one of the many examples of this are Unggoy.   For those of you who are unfamiliar these are the little guys who often run round panicked & screaming.  This particular alien is unable to breath outside it's own planet without a gas mask & tank.  Naturally shooting these tanks are a lot of fun, in some cases the little guys go flying away from you, other times they spin around in front of you.  I won't lie I laugh each time I do this & feel bad at the same time as they usually cry out - not sure what that says about me.


The conversations between the Covenant can be hilarious.  Elites will often mock the grunts for being lesser & sounds like a big brother picking on a little brother.  Grunts will often talk amongst themselves saying if they were in charge the war would have been won.  I would sometimes hold off attacking just to hear what they would say.


Overall the gameplay is solid but if you have played other games in the series it will not offer you much that you would not have experienced before.  That all being said if the Warthog ain't broke why fix it?

The main campaign took me little over 10 hours to complete which I felt was a good length for a first person shooter.  The story could have been stronger & the gameplay while solid offered little in the way of something new.  The visuals & music were the highlights of the game for me.  It was a steak dinner but not as tasty as I would have liked, I'm sorry to say I would have say the game overall was; meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, you can't hear inside my head but I'm doing that to One Final Push from Halo 3.

Murdered Soul Suspect - Review

January is a tough month for all of us. Some of you will have made New Resolutions which you have already broken, there are not many new games out & our wallets are feeling light after Christmas.  So what is a gamer to do?  I guess it is time to play one of the Playstation Plus or Games for Gold titles.


Hands up if you have ever eaten Koka Noodles, I have.  According to the Daily Edge "Koka Noodles are the food that keep Ireland running".  They are not super tasty, filled with chemicals & don't look very appealing but they help fill the void in your stomach during tough times.  There is no point complaining about all they could be because you know what you signed up for, this is sort of how I felt about Murdered Soul Suspect.

The game is set in modern day Salem Massachusetts, you play as Detective Ronan O'Connor, a rogue cop with a murky past.  In the opening moments of the game you are thrown through a third-storey window by the Bell Killer, unfortunately you can't fly so you can imagine how that works out.


I really liked the introduction to Ronan, you are given a back story by way of tattoos appearing on his body marking major events during his life.  The most notable of these is meeting his wife Julia which helped make him a better person, naturally her murder throws his life into turmoil.


Ronan loved being a Detective when he was alive & decides to continue being one now he is dead.
His mission is to figure out why he was killed, stop the Bell Killer & find Julia in the afterlife.  Don't worry you are not completely alone, you have Joy, an angst ridden teenager who looks like how I would imagine Triss Merigold's daughter to look like, oh & a cat.


There is genuine heart & emotion in Murdered Soul Suspect along with an interesting detective story with a paranormal twist.

Visually speaking the game does not look awful but does not look great either, considering Square Enix rubber stamped their name on it I hoped it would look better.  That being said there some great character designs, especially the Demons & some of the more random ghosts in the background.  One thing I really liked was that parts of old Salem often come through into modern day Salem which gave a really eerie feel.


The composer for game is Jason Graves who's works include; Fear 3, Far Cry Primal & The Order 1886.  The music lingers in the background & is never really intrusive,  unfortunately it so much so that the soundtrack is not very memorable.  There are only a few pieces that stood out for me; 'Main Theme', 'Julia' which has a very somber sound & 'Devour Your Soul' which is a rather chilling piece.
Due to the nature of the game it instead focuses on sound effects which being honest maybe was a better choice.

Onto the meat - the gameplay.   There are multiple cases to solve in the game, each one requiring you to find clues.  Once you have most or all of the clues you can answer the question being asked of you. While for the most part I enjoyed this I never quite understood what difference the order of clues you picked mattered especially as you were only asked one question. Picking the wrong order penalised & you would lose one of your three shields but being honest it never seemed to have an impact on the overall result of the case.


There are a number of trapped souls in Salem all who are looking for your help.  If you can successfully help give them closure they will pass on to the afterlife.  It made me feel good watching them float up to the sky all happy.


You have a host of ghostly abilities that you gain in the early part of the game.  One of them is called 'reveal' which helps reveal (funny enough) something from the past or something that was hidden. When you find something to use your ability on it actually looks like a glitch in the game.  I wonder was this originally an accident & someone in the studio thought this would be a great way to cover up a glitch?  Another ability you will use frequently in the game is 'Poltergeist', it works well for the most part but other times you have to be at a very specific angle to get it to recognise there an item to interact with.


There are few Easter Eggs in the game; in the Police Station almost all the computer screens have the main menu for Deus Ex Human Revolution & there are Just Cause 2 posters randomly put up in the station as well.


As a whole the gameplay was okay but was never very exciting, it could of been an action horror like Fear 2, or a pick your own path game like Telltale's Walking Dead but instead never really committed to being either & went for something sort of in the middle that did not really work.

So after less than 10 hours how did I feel about Murdered Soul Suspect?  If I take it as budget title, with a good story & some interesting characters I could almost say it was good.  Being honest though that was not what it was supposed to be & if I had to pay full price for a game that offered under 10 hours of gameplay & no real replay value then I would have to give it a 'meh' rating.  If you have nothing else do & want something to play while eating your Koka Noodles this might fill the void.

Final Fantasy 15 - Review

Ever eaten a BBQ Pork Bun?  "A man who never eats a pork bun is never a whole man" - hats off to anyone who knows what game that is from.  Pork buns sound nice & look appealed, so whether you have had them before or it is your first time your likely to approach them with the same gusto. However on occasion when you bite into a pork bun you think, 'this is nice & fluffy but where is all the meat?' This game made me ask that question on more than one occasion, is there enough meat in the middle to make this tasty or is there too much fluffy dough?


I remember seeing gameplay of Final Fantasy XV & thought to myself that the game looked awesome.  I am not the world's biggest RPG fan, despite the fact that three of my favorite games of all time are RPGs. Final Fantasy X, Panzer Dragoon Saga & Persona 4 Golden (technically the last one is a JRPG but let's not split hairs).  What attracted me to the game is the same thing that seemed to attract a lot of others; open world & beautiful free flowing combat. Square Enix made sure the game appealed not only to newcomers but also to fans of the series.

The game is set in the world of Eos, there are two main continents; Lucis & Nilflheim.  The kingdom of Lucis is at war with the vastly more powerful & militarised Nilflheim.  Lucis's capital Insomnia so far has been unconquerable due to a protective barrier surrounding the city that is powered by a crystal & the life force of the King.  Naturally how to you create peace between two warring nations? Nukes!  No, they decided to go with marriage to help bond the two sides.  Enter Prince Noctis & Lady Lunafreya, they are childhood friends that have not seen each other in sometime. That being said neither seems unhappy about the prospect of getting married.  Naturally Prince Noctis has to go off with some of his loyal buddies for a road trip/bachelor party before getting married.


Your group is comprised of:

Prince Noctis - group leader, part time cry baby & future King.
Gladiolus - the groups muscle & all round tough guy, you know he is tough as he has tribal tattoos & always has his arms on show.
Ignis - the smart guy in the group, as you know all smart guys wear glasses & are well spoken.
Prompto - the comic relief of the group, part kid brother & pain in the ass not just because he gets downed easily during battle.


The groups dynamic is fantastic & feels like they are all really friends rather than just sidekicks. There is character development & meaningful bonds between them all.  However three quarters of the way through some of this is soured for me.  I won't give away any spoilers but I'm pretty sure I am not the only one that felt this way.  There are some truly amazing & entertaining characters you meet along the way & as always I won't give details but you will know them when you meet them.  As a whole the main story is not bad but from time to time I had an issue with the pacing and if it were not for some of the side quests I think I would have felt a little unsatisfied with the story overall.

Does anyone else get excited watching E3, TGS, PAX & the many other games showcase conventions? Well I do, so many cool new games to see & look forward to.  Unfortunately when some of these games are released they are not as visually impressive as they were shown to be.
Final Fantasy XV is not one of these games.  It truly is a visual delight & roaming the open world feels fantastic.  I really don't want to spoil it for you but some of the enemies in the game look amazing.  One thing I will say is that summoning one of the astral's is jaw dropping, for those of you who have played it you know what I mean.  There are many great places to visit, two of my favorite were; Lestallum, which feels like a small Cuban town & the music reminded me of that performed by Buena Vista Social Club.  There is Altissia, which is a city surrounded by water & is definitely inspired by the city of Venice right down to the use of gondola's.  As always there are no short cuts with Final Fantasy cut sequences & the ones featured in the game look truly magnificent.  When it comes to visuals it really is hard to fault the game.


The music is composed by Yoko Shimomura who is famous for her work, most notably for the Kingdom Hearts series.  The score features some really nice pieces that are heavy on both piano & strings which I really loved.  Some of my favorite pieces were; 'Valse Di Fantastica', 'Omnis Lacrima', 'Apocalypsis Noctis', & 'Veiled in Black'.  Honorable mentions included; 'Relax & Reflect', 'Chocobo Theme', 'Veiled Aggression' & least we forget Prompto's humming of the classic victory song after some battles.


While there are many great pieces I felt the overall soundtrack was tarnished by some of the poor Country/Cajun/Bluegrass style pieces.  I can understand why this style of music was chosen but ended up coming across as a bad attempt at doing it.  The end result was a cheesy sound but not the good kind of cheese, however it did really grate on me.  Another out of play piece was the rendition of 'Stand By Me',  it features twice in the game & although the second time is more poignant it just didn't feel right.  Overall what could have been a very epic soundtrack was spoiled by a few bad choices.

Onto the gameplay!  The fighting mechanics are unlike any I have seen in an RPG before,  they take a little getting used to especially if you are more used to turn based combat.  Due to the pace of most battles I found myself sticking with melee weapons rather than magic.  While magic is really powerful (especially when you can craft your own spells) it is very easy to damage yourself or others in your party so sometimes it is just not worth the risk using it.  Each of your team can pull off special techniques & if performed correctly you will be able to perform a team link with them which can be devastating, in some cases turning the tide of the battle.  Taking on enemies big or small is a lot fun, apart from the Malboro who is still terrifying & it still sucks ass when he uses foul breath.


A feature I really loved in the game was camping.  It not only gives you the chance to bond with your team & enjoy one of Ignis's tasty meals but actually feels like a real reprieve from all hardships of the day.  While it is a great way to level up it is more beneficial if you visit a hotel, that being said I generally camped rather than paying to stay somewhere.


Each character has there own unique skill.  Noctis's is fishing which is okay but I did not find it as much fun as the version in the first Nier game.  Ignis's skill is cooking, this is quite a lot of fun as by picking up ingredients, eating in restaurants & diners he figures out new recipes.  Each of his meals offers some bonus to the team including increased health or extra XP.  Prompto's skill is photography which although in itself is not much use it can offer some fun dialogue between the team. Gladiolus's skill is Survival which is very useful, at the end of battle you pick up items - these drops increase the more you walk around the world.


There are a few ways in which to get around in Eos; walking, driving in Regalia & riding Chocobo's. Walking is rather slow, running is much better but make sure to keep an eye on Noctis's stamina as if he loses all of it he will need to catch his breath for a few moments.  There is a way round this which you can be found online.  Once you get the Regalia all fixed up you can start driving around, at the start this was fun but in a very short time I found myself handing the wheel off to Ignis or fast travelling between town & cities.   A friend described this well saying that it felt like you were stuck on a rail moving from point A to point B rather than actually driving, it ended up being my least favorite way to travel.  The third form of travel is Chocobo's - need I say more?  For those unfamiliar the yellow bird features heavily in the Final Fantasy series & is a fast, fun way to traverse all landscapes, they even have their own theme music.  Basically they are awesome, rent one as soon as you can.

The skill tree used to buy new abilities is really interesting & is broken down into different categories; Magic, Stats, Exploration, Combat, Teamwork, Techniques & Armiger.  You can buy abilities using AP, AP is gained easily by doing pretty much everything.  There are a few abilities that help boost this further.  I found exploration & teamwork were two skill trees I focused on heavily but there was nothing I really felt was an outright waste.  Leveling in the game was a lot easier than most RPGs & required little grinding, in the end I finished up on about level 63 which is more than enough to finish the game.

The elevator section late in the game really drove me nuts, it was frustrating & out of key with the rest of the game.  In all honesty what were the developers thinking?  Do you remember the first Assassins Creed?  You start with all your weapons & abilities but quickly get them all removed, slowly throughout the game you gain them back.  Imagine waiting until a really annoying area near the end of the game & doing that? Yep, that's what they did!  As a whole the gameplay was good but fell short of greatness due to a few minor annoyances & one large one.

So after 40+ of playing how did Final Fantasy XV fair?  I would say the game was very good & I definitely do not regret playing it.  Loved some of the characters, it was visually stunning, the combat was fluid & fun, also Chocobo's!  That all being said some of the story pacing along with sprinklings of poor music & one or two tedious areas stopped it from achieving it's full potential. 

Assassins Creed Syndicate - Review

Have you ever eaten a Pot Noodle?  Well, if you haven't I will try to describe the whole experience for you.  You have gone shopping, you are not entirely hungry but could use something & you are on a budget.  Slowly you traverse the isle filled with pasta, noodles & other low cost food stuffs.  Nope, nothing really jumps out at you, but wait what's this - a Pot Noodle - Bombay Bad Boy, that sounds fun.  Check the price, it's on special - yoink!  After paying for it you go home, boil the kettle & just add water.  It tastes good enough at the time but then you finish it & feel empty & disappointed inside.  It was so cheap what did you expect?  You decide not to have one ever again until of course you do, generally with the same results.


That is in nutshell how I feel about Assassin Creed Syndicate & to a degree the series.  I continue to buy & play each of the games, some better that others but with the exception of Black Flag & the first two games in the series I am always left feeling unsatisfied. For some reason I continue to play each one of them that gets released.  Maybe I should give up on the series but I can't help myself I always get drawn toward it & generally get left disappointed.

The game is set in London 1868, the industrial revolution is in full swing. Unfortunately the Templar's have all but taken over London & there is no one to help save the city.  Henry Green seems to be the only Assassin in the City, he asks for help from the Brotherhood but receives none.  I have a small problem here, London is seen at that time to be hugely important but yet the Brotherhood could not muster together anyone to help them? That to me is a bit odd no matter what the state of the Brotherhood some effort should have been made to free the city right?


Enter Jacob & Evie Frye, the brother & sister duo, they see how bad London is & want to free it from oppression. George Westhouse who seems to be their senior says that it is too hard a task, to be patient & wait.  Of course, wait while the Templar's get stronger in London that will make it a lot easier to take them down.  Jacob & Evie decide to take on the task but they are not alone in their fight.  They have many historical figures who are willing to help along with a street gang they form called the Rooks.


The main thorn in your side is Crawford Starrick, the Grand Master Templar.  He loves the sound of his own voice & clearly likes the Conor McGreggor - check out his hair.  Evie & Jacob's mission is to take down Starrick & all his head people along with freeing London.


As in previous games you are another faceless person in the real world who this time you do not get to control at all.  I know people complained about Desmond Miles in the earlier games but I always liked the character.  You were invested in a someone outside of the Animus & this made you more aware of what you were fighting for rather than just being in what felt like another simulation.

Graphically speaking the game looks good & London feels alive.  There is a lot happening around you; people talking to each other, the Thames is filled with ships carrying all kinds of goods, the trains looks impressive & running on top of them is great fun.  While it looks great there always felt like there was something missing.  Perhaps it is because I grew up in London, admittedly it was not in 1868. I just did not get that excited when I climbed landmarks like; Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Nelson's Column & being honest I would have expected to,  they seemed almost too small.  That being said the game as whole looked good.


The music is composed by Austin Wintory & Tripod.  Tripod take care of most of the lyrical performances, which sound like old style pub songs mixed with a dash of comedy.  My favorite songs they perform are; 'The Late Pearl Attaway', 'Jokes Jokes Jokes' 'Tale of Twopenny'.  Austin Wintory composes some good tracks that heavily features strings of all shapes & sizes.  Some of my favorite pieces are 'Top Hats & Sword Canes', 'Men Have Become Monsters', 'A Gauntlet Scherzo' & 'Hooded Allegro Vivace'.


While I enjoyed some of the score the person who stole the show was Bear McCreary.  He composed the music for the add on Jack The Ripper.  The music is intense, pulse pounding & feels more dramatic than the score for the main game.  I can't pick a favorite piece as I enjoyed all of it. At the end I was left wondering how different the overall game would have sounded if he had composed the score for the entire game.

On to the gameplay itself, let's start with combat.  For the most part the combat was fluid & easy to get used to.  The system is definitely more refined than in previous games, this especially noticeable once you start upgrading each of Evie's & Jacob's skills.  Counter attacking opponents feels more straight forward & helps in keeping your combat counter high during fights, this results in awesome finishing moves.


Like in previous titles in the series you have an arsenal at your disposal, the latest addition is the grapple hook.  When I was using it I was reminded of the grapple hook HG Wells uses in Warehouse 13 & how cool it was.  I had a love/hate relationship for it, it was a great way to get around but almost made it too easy & took away from the parkour elements that I enjoyed from the earlier games in the series.


Just like previous games there are things to upgrade, the primary & most important ones being for Jacob & Evie.  The skill trees are broken into brawler, stealth & miscellaneous,  for Jacob I focused on the brawler skill & for Evie Stealth as this naturally suits each of them.  Outside of this you can upgrade your train hideout by completing missions & upgrade the Rooks to make them more effective along with granting you certain bonuses in game.


The main mission assassinations were often really good, you were given choices as to how to kill your mark.  Often you could seek the help of someone close by who could get you close to the target or steal a key to access an area or throw caution to the wind run in there & just kill them outright. I generally mixed between stealing a key or just using a hidden blade to take them down.  The downside to assassinations is the long drawn out death scenes.  The victim tells you that you are wrong they are right & you are not seeing the big picture.  Please Ubisoft I am begging you stop doing this, it was interesting in the early games but now it is just boring & over used.


The differences between Evie & Jacob are vast. Jacob is a go in guns blazing & hope for the best kind of character where as Evie is about thought, stealth & all good things assassins aspire to be.  When using Evie she moves gracefully, her attacks feel more precise & again just feels more like an assassin should.  Then there is Jacob who runs like he has full nappy but rather than change it keeps on going.  He is a brawler & very rough round the edges, while I know this is intentional it just does not feel right.  When I look at Jacob I think of that Father Ted quote, "Dougal, how did you get into the church in the first place? Was it, like collect 12 crisp packets & become a priest?"  I wonder the same thing about Jacob.  When it comes down to it feels like he is an assassin because his dad & sister are. I think the game would have played out better had it focused on Evie & had Jacob as minor character.


There are some great characters in the game that really add to the gameplay such as, Alexander Graham Bell who you have great interactions with & is a very likable character.  Charles Dickens was another great character & his ghost hunting/disproving missions where really fun.  Lydia Frye is a character that you can play during a World War I sequence, while I liked her character the missions were not very exciting especially if you consider those in Assassins Creed Unity.  Crawford Starrick left me feeling deflated, he was not a great villain, spent too much time yammering on & generally did not ever move out of his study.   He reminded me of an 80's/90's villain but instead giving cheesy dialogue it was just plain old bad & the climax with him was, well meh.

So after 30+ hours of gameplay how would I rate Assassins Creed Syndicate, thumbs up, thumbs down or just meh?  I have to say guys I have to give it a 'Meh' rating.  The combat was good, some good story & some great characters.  That all being said a lot of the story was dull & some characters just did not hit their mark.  When Ubisoft releases another assassins Creed game will I buy it? Yes. Perhaps I am just junkie or maybe I feel if I run at a wall enough times that eventually the outcome will be different.

PleaSe, The Vita?

When I first saw the PS Vita all I thought was "hmm".  I was on a budget at the time & "hmm" was not enough justification to pay the same money for a handheld console as a home console.  I know, I know you can't look at it that way but at €249 for the cheapest bundle deal & that was without a memory card I really had to.


Of course I found a way round not having the money to buy one, it was really quite simple.  I suggested to the manager where I worked at the time, that we needed to spend more time "testing" the products we sold.  I mean after all if we were more confident of how the products work we will sell more of them. So for research purposes & building my product knowledge I played the Vita almost every lunch time for weeks.


While it took a little while longer then expected to actually buy one I can tell you this; if my PS Vita broke tomorrow & I could not get repaired where I now work, I would buy a new one straight away - no questions asked.

I am...I umm...this game is....I am blown away by this game!!!!  I had never played a Persona game before playing Persona 4 Golden Week.  It truly is a masterpiece & I have been absorbed completely into the Persona 4 world.  I have now played; Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Ultimax, watched some of the anime series (which I must finish), am currently playing Persona 3 just for some tie in purposes and am looking forward to getting Persona 4 Dancing All Night.


Anyone that knows me, knows that I am not really big into fighting or dancing games but Persona 4 is just so good I can't get enough.  I have the soundtrack, I even have a design sorted for a tattoo that would cost me a €1000 to get done & I am still thinking to myself "I can probably justify that".  Okay I am going to calm down & look at reviewing this game but yes I think it's a little bit alright.


The story focuses on the protagonist Yu which is you (I am sorry I couldn't help myself).  Your parents have to go abroad to work so you get shipped off to the quaint rural town of Inaba.  Lucky enough you get to live with your uncle Ryotaro; a gruff cop who is coping with being a widowed husband & raising a young daughter. It is not all bad for him though as Nanako is awesome, cute & the kind of kid you always wanted.  So far nothing crazy right? All normal, nothing weird, prepare for your mind to be blown.


It starts with a mysterious murder, finding some friends, falling into a TV at an electronics store & finding a life size plush Teddy who only speaks in Bearisms!  What do you mean Bearisms? He says things like, "I am Bear-y scared", "I am a Beary busy bear", "I am Beariffic".  So mind blown yet? No? But wait there is more!  Inside yourself you have another side of you so to speak, this is called your Persona.  Persona's are powerful beings that can be used to fight monsters in the TV world, you & your friends must all learn to summon them.  Only by working together can you help stop the monsters, solve the growing number of murders & pass your exams!


Onto music! I have always had a like for J-Pop due to some of the anime series I have watched.  The music in Persona 4 Golden Week brought this to a whole new level for me. Shoji Meguro composes a brilliant array of songs accompanied by the lyrics of  Reiko Tanaka & vocals of Shihoko Hirata.  The music perfectly fits with every part of the game & really helps reflect why video game music is so important in games.  My favorite tracks are; Reach Out to The Truth, Junes Theme, Heartbeat, Heartbeat, How Much? & I'll Face Myself.


The game looks beautiful, everything from the warmth of Dojima's living room, to the quaint living, breathing town of Inaba & of course the TV World with it's varied dungeons. The changing seasons is another great visual effect & helps make everything feel more real. It is difficult to be non biased about a game you love but I can't think of anywhere in the game that I felt it was dull or uninteresting.


The game play is difficult to sum up because there is simply so much you can see & do.  Like with any JRPG you have dungeons you need to clear to power yourself up & beat bosses.  To me though the game really shines with all the other things you can do.  Hanging out with friends & building relationships is highly rewarding not only from a story stand point but also helps improve your Persona.  Getting a part time job is a great way to make money, level up skills & make new friends. Fancy like watching a movie, fishing, catching butterflies or visiting a shrine it is all possible & more in Persona 4 Golden Week.


How do I best sum this game up? Buy It. That is all.

I remember seeing all the TV commercials when Gravity Rush was being released & I thought to myself, "yes this seems like a game I would like".  It ended up being the first game I tried & bought on the PS Vita, I was not disappointed.


The game is set in the upside down town of Hekseville, the place is falling apart & I mean literally.
You play as Kat, a girl who has lost her memory but rather than let it get her down she picks herself up & gets on with. She quickly meets a mysterious black cat called Dusty, he helps you rediscover your power - the power to manipulate gravity.  Kat's mission is try & help the people of Hekseville put there town back together by destroying crazy shadow monsters, collecting crystals all while trying to remember who she is, oh & of course stopping the bad guy.


The music is composed by Kohei Tanaka is interesting & runs between beautiful melodic pieces & a jazz sound reminiscent of the 20s/30s. These sounds are really apparent on tracks like; Pleasure Quarter, Douse Shinundakara, Old Town & Ease.  Then out of left field you have very intense tracks like, Bloody Claws & Gravity Raven. It has a really great soundtrack & is one of the best features of the game.


Visually speaking the game is gorgeous, Hekseville reminds me of an alternate universe french town. The cobblestones & architecture of the buildings really bring the town to life.  The developers went for a cell shading style when creating the game which works fantastically on the PS Vita.  I love little touches like the comic panels being used to break up the the normal speech bubble dialogue when talking to people in the world.  Another great touch is that for the most part cut sequences flow seamlessly into gameplay & back again.


The gameplay is fun but at times can be frustrating,  the movement of Kat can feel a little unpredictable. I can't remember how many times I fell off of somewhere or missed landing an attack on an enemy.  While the controls could be fiddly at times I still really enjoyed playing.  I have many great memories from the game but one of my most memorable parts was when Kat is trying to find a home.  She ends up living in a sewer which is actually way nicer than it sounds.  Obviously she needs some furniture & has to scavenge it from round the town.  It takes time but when you finally get all you need I felt really proud,  I thought to myself, yes I could be happy in this home.  I quite enjoyed helping the people of the town out & helping pull parts of the town back together.  Collecting crystals to level up your abilities was very satisfying & helped in getting orientated with the controls.


With few flaws I found it to be a lot of fun & I have not played any game like it before or since.  Well worth adding to your collection if you don't already have it.

I have played only a few of the Final Fantasy titles but by far this one is my favorite.  I remember saying after I finished the game on the Playstation 2 I would love if this became available on a handheld console. The big reason for this, apart from the convenience would be that I could play Blitzball on the go.  I loved playing blitzball & if it was a real sport I would definitely watch it. Naturally when I heard it was announced for the PS Vita I was excited & bought it immediately upon release.


The game opens in the futuristic, tranquil, neon lighted city of Zanarkand, Tidus narrates what happened just before his life got turned upside.  You play the character of Tidus the star player of the Zanarkand Abes Blitzball Team. People are cheering for you as you run late to the stadium for a big game, then it begins.  You get to watch one of the best cut sequences I have ever seen in a game & I still stand by that now.  All I will say is something happens & causes you to be transported to another world - Spira.  As it is massively story based like any RPG I don't want to spoil anything for you, I will say the main enemy is impressive & is so much more than just a simple enemy.


The music is put together by Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu, Nobuo Uematsu.  There is a beautiful heartfelt piece by Nakano Ritsuki called Suteki Da Ne, if you have played the game you will know the song well. If you have not played it find it on line right now & listen to it.  The soundtrack for the game is huge & is available as a 4CD set.  There is so much to say about this soundtrack that I could easily do a post solely on it.  The music has so many levels & even if you don't like Final Fantasy games listen to this soundtrack.  Some of my favorite pieces are; I Want to Tell You Everything, Hurry,  Rikku's Theme, Enemy Attack, Song Of Prayer - Valefor, Auron's Theme, Otherworld, Brass De Chocobo, Blitz Off, Someday the Dream Will End.  If I was to sum the music of the game up I would say, it is magical.


The game looks superb!  From the small village of Besaid, to the breath taking temples & character designs they are all a visual delight. The cut sequences are amazing & as mentioned one of my favorites is right near the start of the game.  I remember seeing the opening sequence before the title screen the first time & I was blown away.  Hearing Tidus narrating & the camera panning showing a beach with all your allies standing around looking distraught & tired. There was just something very powerful about it & set the tone for the whole game.


Where to begin with the gameplay? Well I am going to jump right ahead & say "Let's Blitz!" I loved playing blitzball & I know I am not the only person that got into it in a big way.  Playing through various leagues trying to win overdrives & special techniques was awesome.  Basically the stadium is a sphere of water where two teams try to score the most goals before time runs out.  Aqua football is an over simplification of what it is but is a great visual aide.  I easily poured 40+ hours into playing Blitzball alone & I don't regret a moment of it.


Summoning Aeon's on the battlefield was always a delight & in quick battles watching their attacks swot aside enemies with ease made me smile with glee especially if you got overkill's - which you almost always did.  Once of my favorite Aeon's was Yojimbo who was a slight luck based character who I always had great success with especially when it came to his instant kill move -  Zanmato.  In some cases I had not even had my overdrive charged half way & got him to pull it off anyway. Ahhh even thinking about him performing the move nearly brings a tear to my eye.


Like any great RPG character interactions are key, whether they are with your allies or someone you have met on the side of the road.  There are many great characters in FFX, some of mine include; Auron, Maechen, The Chocobo's, Dona & Barthello, Belgemine, Wakka, Lulu.


It is difficult to flaw this game, however there are some parts of the story that can be slow at times, getting some of the more specialized weapons (Lulu's for example) is a real pain, there are also a few enemies like Malboro who can end up killing before you have even landed a punch, this is slightly frustrating especially if you have been powering up for an hour & forget to save. In the grand scheme of things these are minor issues & does not spoil the overall experience.  Whether you have played it before or are just considering playing it for the first time pick up a copy & play it today!

Well that's the PS Vita & all the console reviews for now.  I am sure at some point in the future I will review the Nintendo 3DS & the XBOX One.  Going forward I will just be looking to review games that I am playing.  Before I finish with the PS Vita I wanted to give a few honorable mentions:



Sine Mora
Hot Line Miami
Guacamelee!
Freedom Wars
Nihilumbra
Uncharted Golden Abyss



This is Little Monkey signing off!