The Division 2 - Review

I remember playing The Division a couple of years ago, it had some great gameplay and looked fantastic.  Naturally, when The Division 2 was announced I was pretty excited.  It was recently released and I knew I had to play it as soon as possible.


Walkers Crisps recently enough released a new style of Crisp - Max Strong.  There are a handful of flavors which are really intense including Jalapeno and Cheese.  However, initially, I wasn't too pushed on them.  I found the heat level on them overly intense and could taste that and nothing else.  While I like a little heat I need flavour too.  I gave it time and tried them again and I really loved them and now they are one of my go-to crisps.  Playing The Division 2 I found myself asking was it an instant winner or did it need more time to fully appreciate it?

Story

In the first game, you were dealing with the aftermath of Green Poison - a deadly virus that resulted in the break down a lot of the world as we know it.  Division Agents were activated to try and uphold law and order, along with helping to rebuild.  Several months after the initial outbreak the Strategic Homeland Divison (SHD) network goes dark.  This network connects all Division Agents and its loss will cause chaos, which is where The Division 2 starts. Essentially you need to travel to Washington D.C., get the system online and potentially get the cure for Green Poison.  There will be many obstacles along the way but you won't be alone.

The story in many ways takes a back seat to the gameplay.  Reflecting on it now, there is some good story scattered in the main campaign, but in a lot of ways, the most rewarding stories are the settlements mission which I'll get into later.

Visuals

The visuals in the first game were fantastic, but Ubisoft has stepped up their game even further in The Division 2.  This time you have moved away from the snow-covered streets of New York City and into the beautiful and dire-looking Washington D.C.  The world looks and feels a lot more open and something that really stood out to me was the weather.  Sometimes the sun will be shining, or it could be raining heavily or there could be a light mist.  All of this helped to create a more organic feel in the world.  One of my favorite moments visually is when you are making an incursion into the Capital Building - it feels really intense, smoke everywhere, mortar rounds going off, your character getting stunned, bullets flying everywhere.

Overall the visuals look great and are a welcome upgrade from the original game, I can't even imagine what The Divison 3 will look like (they are totally doing another one).

Music

The music perfectly fits the game, it can often be subtle sounding but always present, that is until the battle tracks start and things get crazy.  The sound moves from light guitar work and low key orchestral sounds to a more intense rock sound.  The composer is Swedish composer Ola Strandh, who worked on a number of video game score including; The Division, World In Conflict, Ground Control and Far Cry 3.

The score comes in at just over two hours and features many great tracks.  My favorite being; 'Prologue 2', 'Balcony Rotary', 'Dock Wrecks', 'Espinoza', 'Fire', 'Hyena Hunt', 'Junior' and 'Take The Capitol'.

The soundtrack is perfect and really helped heighten my overall enjoyment of the game.

Gameplay

There is so much talk about when it comes to the gameplay but I will try to limit it all to a few paragraphs.  I like organisation, so a well-structured menu is a good thing, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.  Even the menus have menus, it can be overwhelming at times and some menus feel like they could have been removed and/or simplified.

The weapons are great and there is a huge variety of them.  There is an option to obtain them through missions, buy them, upgrade them, or break them down and make better ones.  The same goes for protective armor.  There is the option to buy and sell items with credits but honestly there is no point, you will find and craft better gear then you will ever find in the shop.  Credits as a whole seem to be a rather useless currency.

There are options to change the look of your character from facial hair and tattoos to clothing.  I didn't feel the need to pimp my agent but it was nice to have the option.  Something I couldn't stand apart from the obligatory loot boxes were the dumbass Fortnite dance moves and other unnecessary gestures you can 'purchase'.  Not only was it unneeded but felt very out of place and clunky.

The Division 2 offers a perks system, you can purchase them by finding SHD Caches around the world.  Quickly I had purchased the all the upgrades I wanted with plenty of SHD caches to spare.  There are also skills you can obtain by doing certain missions, my two favorites were the drone and turret.  Both great for crowd control and even better if you like to play solo like me.

The settlements are a great element of The Division 2, you get to upgrade them see them improving and earn rewards from doing so. I also feel there was a more human element to the settlements than anywhere else in the game.

The enemies in the game can be tough at times and each faction has a different way to attack you. Winning a battle doesn't feel like dumb luck as the AI is pretty sophisticated when it comes to combat. There are strongholds, control points, and many activities you can complete to help reduce the enemy threat and help make Washington D.C. a safe place.

After the story ends what's next?  Well when the story is over, there is not only the Dark Zone which players of the first game will be familiar but also a new enemy. These enemies are so tough the game will let you know that even with Epic gear you need even better gear to stand a chance.  Signature weapons are unlocked which are great powerful weapons that really help clear an area, each of these have their own perks and can be upgraded.

Overall there is some great gameplay but also some really annoying elements and that's without discussing some of the bugs and glitches I encountered while playing - such as my character not responding, almost as though the server connection was lost. The result was occasionally having to reset and return right to the beginning of a long mission, rather than restarting from a checkpoint. 

Final Thoughts

So, after forty plus hours how did I feel?  Not bad.  The story felt a little lacking in places, but the settlements helped in picking up some of the slack.  The visuals and music were spot-on.  The gameplay had a lot of good parts to it but also some bad ones as noted above.  Overall this game was tough to score, higher than a 3 out of 5 for sure, but not quite a 4 out of 5.  I don't like decimal scores but in fairness, I don't see any other way.  The Division 2 gets 3.5 out of 5

Beat Cop - Review

I recently finished playing Hong Kong Massacre.  While making the purchase other games were suggested to me, including Beat Cop.  A pixelated point-and-click adventure about being a beat cop.  It seemed like an interesting game and thought why not give it a go.


I like doughnuts.  Some admittedly are a lot better than others.  Donuts have become the latest food trend, along with burritos, in Cork city (where I live). There are tons of donut shops, which all offer delicious looking donuts with creative fillings, but a lot of them fall short of expectation, being a bit dry or made from mediocre dough. However, for any doughnut lovers reading this you know it takes something special to make a truly tasty doughnut.  Playing Beat Cop I found myself asking was it enough to be considered a tasty doughnut?

Story


The storytelling mechanic is interesting and perhaps even unique.  The game offers you a quick set of storyboards that set the premise for the game.  However, if you miss this somehow and want to know the entire idea of the game including the story just listen to the track 'It's Gonna Change The Game'. The game is set in the eighties and you take on the role of Detective Jack Kelly, he is called to a Senator's house to stop a robbery, however, things go awry.   Kelly is quickly demoted to a beat cop after being suspected of the theft.   It sounds interesting, right?  It is but starts to falter from this point onwards.  The game has you deal with the mundanity of your day to day duties, keeping the peace with the people including people, store owners, and local gangs.  Unfortunately, it loses sight of the main story, it jumps in and out of it and can be easy to miss certain parts.


Overall the idea is interesting but is not executed very well.  The game has multiple endings none of which left me feeling satisfied.  When I tried to complete my final day I was unable to do anything which essentially meant I had to be a beat cop until the end of my days.  I feel the story could have been a lot stronger if it decided to focus either on the main story or being a beat cop, as overall it is not very well balanced.

Visuals

I love the visuals in the game!  I'm always amazed when a pixelated game manages to have so much detail in it.   There is graffiti on the walls, there are fumes from traffic, the walls of buildings look beaten up.  Easily the strongest part of the game is the visuals it provides.  They manage to be fun, quirky and gritty.  It feels like a living world, which for a pixelated game is quite impressive.


Overall the visuals are amazing and help create an impressive world, even if it is only one street.


Music

The score is a blend of Beastie Boys, cop show music and old retro games from the eighties and nineties.  The score was composed by Piotr Musial, who works include Witcher 3, This War of Mine and one of my favorite games of last year Frost Punk.  Working along with Musial are composers Patryk Grzeszczuk and William Bradford


The score comes in at around twenty minutes long and features a handful of tracks.  My favorites being, 'Beat Cop Theme', 'Corpus Delicti' and 'Get Even'.  Overall the soundtrack isn't especially amazing but certainly isn't the worst.

Gameplay


Beat Cop is a pixelated point-and-click game. The gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag, in a similar way to the story itself.  Each day you will get a briefing as to what you need to achieve that day.  Some days are okay, others are a bit more awkward.  For example, you might need to write ten parking tickets, other days you might have to write five tickets for broken lights, four for damaged tires and get half of them towed.  This is not to mention you will have to deal with requests from people.  There is also having to deal with gang requests, you can ignore them or help them, no matter what you do something will have to be sacrificed.   Time management is key.


One review I read was fairly negative and disapproved of the game for its amount of language, racism, and general bigotry.  It is important to remember this game was set in the eighties where much of this did in fact exist.  It doesn't mean it was right but it can't be ignored either.  I don't think the aim of the studio was to be political, but simply to highlight how some things were and to a degree still are now.


The beat you have is just one street, but with so much happening that is more than enough.  One of the biggest things you will do is write tickets, which is pretty mundane and can take time.  Playing you have the choice of writing up false tickets to hit your quota, and even take bribes to turn a blind eye, sometimes you will get away with it other times it affects your pay packet.  The gang requests I feel are some of the toughest because it is difficult to toe the line and keep everyone happy.  I never got the gangs to completely hate me fully if I had I think it would have been detrimental to my health.


I did have a number of issues with the gameplay.  If a robbery occurred at the Hi-Fi Store ninety percent of the time they would get away.  This is due to it being right at the end of your beat and the thief would run off screen straight away.  Occasionally the game would glitch not registering what I had done, or halfway through one day all the parked disappeared and I couldn't hit my ticket quota. Eating can help restore your stamina but I felt it was unnecessary as I never saw any improvement.  Some days are almost carbon copies of each other making it feel like a bit of a slog at times.

Overall there are some interesting elements to the gameplay but similar to the story it seems to spend too much having you write tickets and not enough time working on things that matter.

Final Thoughts

After ten hours of playing how did I feel?  Meh.  The game has potential but both story and gameplay need a bit of work.  The visuals are great, and the music is okay.  It's not the worst game in the world but never seems to realise its potential.  This one scrapes a 3 out of 5

Hong Kong Massacre - Review

I recently got back from a few days away at the coast, it was great. Watching the ocean, walking through fields and getting to experience wildlife you just don't see in the city.  It's nice to be back though as my hands were itching to play the new game I download, Hong Kong Massacre.  The game caught my attention a couple of months, it basically combines Max Payne with Hot Line Miami.


While I was away we ate good wholesome food.  My favourite meal was a part boned, part stuffed chicken thigh with garlic baby potatoes and a splash of chicken gravy.  It was simple, hearty and tasty.  Playing Hong Kong Massacre I found myself asking was this simple, hearty meal I needed or was it just a mess?

Story


The game is set in Hong Kong in 1992 and spans over fours days.  The game provides little story but from what I pieced together you are Detective that recently lost their partner.  After you both make one of the biggest drug busts the Triads become a little unhappy and kill your partner.  The story is about revenge, not only for your partner but from other lives who have been affected by the Triad.


The story is broken up into multiple chapters with names like, 'Bang, bang, feels good to be back',
'Vengence is my only friend', and 'No one else is safe until you're dead'.  While the story is fairly simple I didn't find this to be a bad thing, at the end of the day it's a story about revenge, no need to over complicate it.

Visuals


Throughout the levels, smoke hangs thick in the air which creates a moody and hopeless feeling.  The areas you visit often have discussed and run down look to them. Two of my favorite level designs were The Red Dragon and Kung Fang restaurants.  There was just something about the beaten up kitchens and dark alleyways that gave the feeling of old cop movies.  One of the smaller details I like is seeing papers flying up into the air, similar to John Woo's classic use of doves.  The downside with the visuals is that sometimes distinguishing the environment can be tough and sometimes that wall is actually a window.


Overall the visuals are great and have a real feeling of an old cop movie from the eighties and nineties.  While some of the environments aren't always the easiest to work out it never really stopped my enjoyment of the game.


Music 


The game combines electronic and dance music with sprinklings of old retro games similar to the ones you would have found on the Sega Megadrive and Genesis. The music is produced by Professor Kliq an American composer and musician.  He has released a number of albums including, Wire and Flashing Lights, Guns Blazing, and Scientific Method Volume Three.


The soundtrack runs a little over an hour and has features some great tracks.  Unfortunately, as of writing this, there is no official release of the sound.  Because of this, I can't provide names to any of the tracks.   Overall Hong Kong Massacre has an interesting soundtrack that fits in perfectly with the game.

Gameplay


Hong Kong Massacre was created by Vreski is a small independent studio based out of Sweden. It is a top-down game that is Max Payne meets Hotline Miami.  The gameplay is challenging and you will need to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge to survive.  The game has bullet time like Max Payne and features Hotline Miami's 'one bullet and you're dead' system.  These two together work really well.


There are four weapons, pistol, shotgun, SMG and rifle, all of which can be upgraded.  While they all have their benefit my favorite was the pistol, especially once I unlocked unlimited ammo.


The game has more than thirty levels and even a handful of boss fights.  Some of the levels can feel a little samey, and unfortunately, the bosses have a rinse and repeat feeling with no real decipherable difference between them.  If you are not finding the levels tough enough you can try to complete the challenges.


Overall the gameplay was a lot of fun, the levels can be challenging and while there is a little bit of rinse and repeat it still holds up pretty well.





Final Thoughts

So, after a little over five hours how did I feel? Pretty pumped.  The story is about revenge plain, simple and effective.  The visuals are very atmospheric and while there is a slight lack of variety the gameplay helps pick up the slack.  The music is well suited to the game and helps tie everything together.  Hong Kong Massacre gets 4 out of 5

Guacamelee 2 - Review

I remember playing the original Guacamelee! on the PS Vita a number of years ago and had a lot of fun playing it.  I was eager to play Guacamelee! 2 when it was released in 2018, but as these things often go I got distracted with other things.  I finally downloaded Guacamelee! 2 the other day and couldn't wait to play it.


I like chicken wings, but unless you are willing to go to a restaurant, or go to the effort of making them yourself it's hard to buy good shop bought ones.  I recently came across Diggers Hot 'N' Spicy Wings, I was intrigued so I bought a box of them.  Well damn, if they weren't tasty and had quite a heat to them.  Playing Guacmelee 2! I found myself asking would this be another disappointing shop bought chicken wing or would this be something special?

Story


Since Juan saved the world he got married, had a few kids, and he has let himself go a little.  If I'm honest he seemed a little unhappy, I suppose saving the world is a high that is hard to top.  But wait, what's that the world isn't trouble but the entire Mexiverse is?  Who can save us?  Luchador Juan!  The enemy this time is a luchador by the name of Salvador.  He is evil and has a bad case of smokers cough.  He intends to obtain the magical guacamole made by a god to take over and destroy the Mexiverse.  But fear, not Juan will not do it alone, he has allies and the Chicken Illuminati (we're not supposed to talk about them).


Overall the story is a lot of fun.  The game is not afraid to poke fun at itself, use cheesy and pun related jokes and generally be silly.  The game also has a lot of heart and there is a lot of effort put into the story as a whole, which for a Castlevania-style game is pretty different to a lot of others available on the market.

Visuals


The game is very vibrant even though the story itself is quite dark itself.  If I had to provide an image to describe the visuals in Guacamelee! 2, I would say it's like a bunch of colourful pinatas in a graveyard.  The game is dark but offers hope through its colourful imagery.  There is a nice day of the dead undertone throughout the game which looks great and works really well.  Some of the enemies from the first game are still present but there are also a number of new ones too.


Overall the game looks superb and it was a pleasure to look at the world, often to detriment of Juan's health.


Music


The music is so much fun and I found it hard to describe the feel of the music.  When I was listening to the soundtrack on Band Camp it was described as 'Mexican-inspired brass, strings and guitars blend with driving electronic beats (and the occasional chicken)'.  This is a perfect description of the soundtrack and I could not say it better.  The music is composed by Peter Chapman, Rom Di Prisco and Mariachi Entertainment System.  Some of their works include; Little Big Planet Karting, Castle Game, Unreal Tournament 3 and Guacamelee! The Mariachi Entertainment System cover many great songs everything from Kirby, Zelda and Chrono Trigger to the Avengers Theme.


The score runs at over ninety minutes and has 32 tracks.  My favourite tracks were; 'Guacamelee 2 Main Theme', 'Salvador's Theme', 'Badlands', 'Guacamelee 2 Theme Marachi Edition',
'Prison El Corazon', 'Pueblucho Darkest Timeline (World of the Dead)', 'La Tragedia De Salvador',
'Tempo De La Serpentine', 'Final Boss Theme', 'Los Manglares' and 'New Boss Theme'.  Big shout out to the Chicken Illuminati HQ track which by far one of the most fun tracks I have heard in a while.


Overall the soundtrack was fantastic and really shows how important music is in video games.

Gameplay


Guacamelee! 2 is Castlevania-style brawler but in earnest this doesn't define the game well enough.  There was a point in the game where I had to beat a heart to death in the chest of a man-dog-undead-shaman, this really sums up the game. 


There will be plenty of enemies to punch, throw, and headbutt throughout the game.  Outside of, this there will be moves that will help you get around or up obstacles.   Juan also has a secondary form, Juan Pollo!  Navigating the world as a chicken is a lot of fun, and in honesty even when it wasn't necessary I used it.


There are new allies in the game which give you access to skill trees.  These are quite fun and really add to the overall gameplay.  If you want some help the game can also be played in 4-player.


The game has a lot of fun games references, one of the areas you go into has signs for Tripple Dragon, Rivera City Ransom and includes the Street Fighter car bonus level.


Overall the game offers challenging gameplay that will bring you close to the point of frustration but never actually gets there.  That being said on the occasion while playing the game some parts felt a little overly awkward but as a whole, I had a lot of fun.




Final Thoughts

So, after spending twelve hours in the Mexiverse how did I feel?  Really happy.  It was a great experience offering an interesting story, vibrant fun visuals a great soundtrack and some fun gameplay.  In honesty, it is hard to fault the game, with the exception of the occasional bit of overly awkward gameplay.  This one gets a solid 4 out of 5

Earth Atlantis - Review

I have just finished my first game of the month, Earth Atlantis.  Earth Atlantis was released in 2018 by HeadUp Games.  What drew me to Earth Atlantis was the visual design, an interesting brown and white sketchbook looking style.  The game was recently on sale on the PlayStation Store so I thought to myself, why not purchase it.


Oreos. When I first tried Oreo biscuits I thought they were okay but nothing special.  Then I tried them covered in white chocolate and had a mouth orgasm, or a mouthgasm if you will.  Changing gears slightly I really like Cadbury's Creme eggs, I know they are bad, I mean really bad for me but I don't care.  Naturally, when I saw that Oreo has combined their biscuit with a creme egg I was more than a little excited.  However, my excitement was misplaced as it ended up being a dry hollow experience.  Playing Earth Atlantis I found myself asking was the idea better than how it tasted?

Story


Side-scrollers, as a rule, don't have much of a story, which is fine but because the gameplay generally makes up for it.  Earth Atlantis has less of a story and more a concept and you are informed of this before you have even started playing.  'The Great Climate Shift struck at the end of the 21st century, leaving 96% of the Earth's surface underwater.  Human civilization has fallen, and the ocean is full of creature-machine hybrid monsters.  You are a hunter with a mission to destroy all monsters'.   That's it really.


Overall the premise is simple but fun with no airs or graces about itself.

Visuals


The art style used in Earth Atlantis is stunning.  As you explore the ocean depths in your submarine you will get to see the ruins of our former civilization, everything from tall building and churches, to the Statue of Liberty and Space Shuttle.   There is a multitude of small and larger enemies that are mechanical aquatic creations which look really interesting.  There a couple of shortcomings, the first being it can be difficult to tell if you can pass through an area or not.  The second (and most frustrating) are that a number of enemies fire bullets/lasers that are almost completely white.  This means avoiding enemies attacks when you literally can't see them coming.


Overall the visuals are impressive, but a few poor choices made the playing the game a little frustrating.


Music


I had to take many deep breaths before reviewing the 'music' section.  Essentially there was one track in the game, with the only change up being when fighting bosses, which for the most part lasted a few minutes each.  If you watch/listen to the trailer below you will have listened to more than ninety percent of the entire soundtrack.  The composer is Canadian born Garret Schmidt, who worked on a number of project for films and video games


I am unsure if HeadUp Games asked Schmidt to just produce one main track and a couple of smaller ones.  Imagine listening to the same one-minute track for about six or seven hours.  My maths isn't great but that means you will end up hearing it between three-hundred-sixty to four-hundred-twenty times!


Overall the tracks themselves were okay but the lack of variety was both mind-boggling and annoying. So annoying in fact I ended up muting the TV and listening to a podcast instead.

Gameplay


Earth Atlantis's 2D-side scroller can be fun at times.  The are two modes Quest Mode, and Hunter mode. Basically, you have a submarine, you kill smaller sea monsters who drop power-ups and these are then used to kill one of the many bosses.  The bosses battles generally last a few minutes each and they vary quite a bit.  On occasion, you will be attacked by a pirate and if you are successful in defeating them you unlock their vessel. That's the good parts.


Then there are the bad parts.  The map is supposed to help you navigate the world to not only find bosses but also powers ups.  The problem is that it's not very intuitive, and in the early part of the game I could not work out how it worked.  I often found myself doubling back over areas which made it feel like a bit of grind.  The boss fights can be fun but if you get killed you have to gather your power-ups again and navigate back to the boss.  It really made it difficult to enjoy the experience.  While some bosses were quite good fun others felt wasted.  In some cases, there was so much happening you could not safely look at them without getting hit.  The white lasers/bullets mentioned in visuals was really gripe for me especially later on in the game.


Overall the gameplay is good but a few relatively smaller changes could have made the game a lot more enjoyable.




Final Thoughts

How did I feel after eights hours?  Not great.  There wasn't much of a story but it's a side scroller so it did not require anything too big.  The visuals were impressive but on occasion did hamper my enjoyment of the game.  The music, next!  The gameplay could be fun but similar to the visuals a few changes could have made the experience a lot more enjoyable.  Overall this one gets a disappointing 2 out of 5

Yakuaza Kiwami 2 - Review

Can anyone explain to me how it is almost the 1st of March?  2019 is flying by already, I have been so distracted with everything I've been neglecting playing games!  My second game of the year is Yakuza Kiwami 2, I was really excited to play this as I had so much fun with Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami.


There is a snack food company called Paqui, I came across them about a year or so ago when I saw people trying the one chip challenge.  Basically, you get sent one chip from them that is so hot you may actually die, well not really but it's crazy hot.  I wanted to try some of their products but they don't ship to Ireland, so I checked Amazon UK who had them but also won't ship to Ireland.  Finally resorted to Parcel Wizard and sometime later I got them.  One of the flavors of chips I got were Cool Salsa Verde, they were awesome and reminded me of the old Phileas Fogg chips.  They are dry but also full of flavor, they are not as good as Phileas Fogg chips but pretty good.  Playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 I found myself asking was it as good as the previous installments or was it slightly lesser but still good?

Story


There is so much story in the Yakuza games and Yakuza Kiwami 2 is no exception.  The game starts with you being able to watch the events of the previous games.  The games see Kiryu and his adopted daughter Haruka living together in peace.  That is until he is pulled into the Tojo Clan fold again due a dying wish, and an impending war with the Omi Alliance.  Kiryu will need to explore the streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori to find answers and stop an all-out war.

Outside of the main story, the game features seventy-six sub-stories which although good doesn't feel as memorable as previous games.   If this wasn't enough Majima is back!  He has his only saga, which is really short but also really enjoyable.


Overall the story is great, the Majima saga is really enjoyable if a little short, and while the sub-stories are not as good as previous instalments they are pretty solid overall.

Visuals


The visuals are completely overhauled versus the original release of Yakuza 2.  The game looks amazing and is bustling with life. The streets of Kamuroho and Sotenbori feel even more detailed than the previous game and feel more organic than the previous games.  Even going into the store there is so much more details to items in the shop.  The minimap feels a little clearer as well making it easier to navigate your way around the world.


Overall the visuals continue to amaze and I am curious to see what will be done with the Yakuza 3 Remaster, which will hopefully be released sometime this year in the west.



Music 


The music in Yakuza never really disappoints, as the game's progress so does the music.  There is still heavy use of electric guitars and electronic sounds, but it now features a nice dose of piano pieces which will really help in creating a sombre feel.  The score is composed by Hidenori Shoji, a composer from Japan who works include; Sega Touring Car Championship, Project X Zone 2, Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed and the Yakuza series itself.


Listening to the score again it reminded me in part of Yuzo Koshiro's Streets of Rage, which isn't a bad thing.  There were many great tracks in Yakuza Kiwami 2 including; 'Majima Construction', 'The End Of Dogma', 'Vertical Point', 'Ogre Has Been Reborn', 'Amusing Octagon', 'Bad Fortune, Not Bad', 'Fall Is Eternal Moment' (Piano), and 'Credits of Kiwami'.


Overall a great soundtrack that really helps define the overall feel of the game.

Gameplay


Like with the Yakuza Kiwami 2 story there is a lot to offer in terms of gameplay.  There are many enemies to take on, all lining up to be punched, kicked, thrown or otherwise abused.  Fights
can end up spilling into shops and you can even put enemies through windows.  A new, fun addition are allies, once you unlock them they can help you in battle by throwing you hot sauce, a large whip, an oversized fan and a leek are just some of the helpful weapons you can get.  The game won't always see Kiryu fighting alone and the special attacks you can pull off with allies are quite satisfying.


The leveling up system is interesting but in many ways, I prefer those in the previous installments.  Experience can be gaining by pretty much-doing everything, but the bulk of it will come from eating food.  There is now a hunger gauge which helps you pick gain points in certain attributes, which are then used to unlock abilities.  Getting the right balance of food can be difficult and I found that after completing a third of the game I had so much money but little to spend it on.

The hostess bar returns which is a fun mini-game which all about trying to take a run down and make it great.  Majima decided to set up his own construction company, you recruit staff, level them up and carry out missions to protect your area. It sort of plays out like a real-time strategy but the last mission was overly awkward and felt so much harder than the other missions including those online.


There are a number of other mini-games including; a peeing game (yep, that's right), baseball, golf, watching videos like 'An Anteater Ate My Husband, photography, Colosseum battles, and playing games in the arcade.  These are just some of the options on offer.


while I have my reservations in relation to the leveling up system and Majima constructions end mission overall the gameplay is fairly solid.




Final Thoughts

After forty-hours of playing how did I feel?  Pretty good.  The main story was good and I really enjoyed the Majima story, the sub-stories weren't as good but far from bad.  The visuals and music were amazing.  The gameplay was really solid and had some great new features, even if it did take me a while to the leveling system.  It might not have been as memorable as the other two games but it's hard to fault it.  This one gets a solid 4 out of 5

Sundered Eldritch Edition - Review

While visuals are not the most important thing to me when it comes to games, it's hard for me not to be blown away by Sundered's hand-drawn visuals.  I decided I just had to play it to see if the gameplay was as good as its visuals.  I was originally going to purchase a physical copy from Limited Run but alas I missed my opportunity, so instead download it from the PlayStation Store.


Duck in plum sauce.  I have always been sceptical to try it, not because I don't like duck or that I have anything against plums.  I just don't like my main courses to be sweet, it's why I have never really like sweet and sour sauce.  However, one evening I was ordering food and thought to hell with it, I'd give it ago.  I was not disappointed, the plum sauce worked so well with the duck and I'm already looking forward to trying it again.  Playing Sundered I found myself asking was this I write to hesitate or was it going to be a surprisingly tasty experience?

Story



The story has you play as Eshe, a woman wandering through the desert when out of nowhere she is pulled in the world below.  Upon your arrival, a mysterious entity offers you their abilities to help survive the harsh environment and promises more if you help it.  As you progress through the game you will find out there were two groups, the Valkeries and the Eschatons.  The Valkeries were all about science and military might, while the Eschatons were a religious cult that used a Holy Stone for guidance and worshipped The Elder One.  The world was dying and both sides had different schools of thought on how to 'save' it.  


The story is interesting, and you will get to find out more about both groups and what part you will play.  There are three possible endings to unlock depending on what you decide to do throughout the game.  Overall a great story that had me wanting to know more.

Visuals


The hand-drawn art used in the game looks amazing and helps in creating a dark atmosphere.  The enemies all look different from mechanical enemies to wraith style enemies.  There are three very distinct looking regions, which helps it feel varied especially when you are going to be traversing through them a lot.


Overall it's hard to fault the visuals, sometimes hand-drawn animations in games can have a tendency
to provide a soft edge in an otherwise dark game.  However, in Sundered it helps in creating a dark and horrific world.



Music 

The sound in Sundered is dark, moody and even horrific.  Playing the game there were moments where I felt tense for no other reason than the music.  The score is created by Canadian film composer Maxime Lacoste-Lebuis.  He has worked on films, documentaries and games including:
Civilization, The New Great Game, and Jotun.
The score runs at around forty-five minutes.  It is rare for me but this is one of these scores where I had no favourite tracks because they were all fantastic.  It is one that seamlessly blends with the other elements of the game to help create a memorable experience.

Gameplay


Sundered is a Metroidvania style game, there are enemies aplenty and just when you think you've pushed them back you get attacked by a horde.  The gameplay can be chaotic at times and initially, it was almost overwhelming, but quickly I grew to like it and the challenge it provided.


Similar to Metroidvania games you will not be able to access all pathways straight away.  As you progress you will find new powers ups, which later can be upgraded further with dark shards, should you choose to.  There is a skill tree which I really liked as even when dying I felt a sense of progression as I could spend my experience points to power myself up.


There are multiple bosses in the game that vary in difficulty, in most cases it only took me a few times to defeat them.  I think though they would be a whole other challenge on the insane difficulty but I'll save that for my next playthrough.  My favourite boss was Dominion Boss (Xea' Sh' Kaebt), the fight was intense, tough and when I did defeat him there was a great feeling of accomplishment.


Overall a fantastic experience that I really enjoyed from beginning to end.




Final Thoughts

So, after almost twenty hours playing Sundered how did I feel?  Awesome!   Sundered is the first game I've played this year and I'm really glad about that.  The story is interesting and dark as are the visuals and music.  The gameplay is chaotic, intense but also a lot of fun.  A great game that I have no hesitation giving 5 out of 5