After 2 years of waiting for the home console version, was it worth it? Yeah, I'd say so.
I honestly wasn't that excited for Tekken 7. I wasn't even planning on buying it until it was much cheaper. I don't know what compelled me to pick it up, but I pre-ordered it and hoped that I wouldn't be disappointed with it like I did with Street Fighter V. I played through Story mode and was sadly disappointed with it. It wasn't as contrived as Street Fighter V's story mode, but I didn't really like the reasons that panned out the events that has happened. Heihachi threw Kazuya down the mountain because he knew he's survive the fall? WHAT? I think "trying to kill him" would've been a better reason as evil as it seemed. And I find it strange that Kazumi wants to kill Heihachi because "he'll be a threat to the world" AND YET STILL HAD A SON WITH HIM! Things don't add up and it bugs me.
As for the game itself, it's oddly refreshing and feels new to me. The core basis of Tekken is still there, but the addition of Rage Arts (a revenge super) is an interesting new mechanic. The cast of characters is much smaller than Tekken Tag Tournament 2, but has a decent variety of unique styles to choose from. The graphics are beautiful playing on my own monitor (didn't seem much different from TTT2 watching on stream). The music is some of my favorite in the series aside from TTT2's music. But what really got me into the game (and still has me playing the game) is Treasure Battle. It's a mode where you fight one opponent after another and the more wins in a row you get, the better your rewards. The only consequence of losing or quitting is breaking the bonus chain (and maybe your own pride). You can use the fight money you earned to unlock items and outfits to customize your characters, unlock images and videos from the gallery, or unlock banners and stuff for your profile card. It's the incentive that drive me to keep playing, the bonus chain that makes me want to get better, and the depth of each character that makes me want to learn another character so I can play some more treasure battle to unlock stuff for. This is what I was hoping for from Street Fighter V: being able to enjoy the game with single-player content and earn in-game currency to unlock new content to further enjoy my experience (this might still be possible with Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition update coming next month). Tekken 7 lacks content with modes and characters compared to its predecessors, and yet I'm so drawn to it. I think I've played Tekken 7 the most among the fighting games I bought this year.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Let's talk about Sonic Forces [SPOILERS]
Sonic Forces was another game that had a lot to live up to because of how well Sonic Generations was received, how poorly Sonic's franchise has been perceived the years after it with Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom, and how incredibly well Sonic Mania sold just a month before it.
Sonic Forces has a similar concept as Generations where you play as Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic along with the player's own original character (OC). Stages are separated between character types: Classic Sonic Stage, Modern Sonic Stage, OC Stage, and OC + Sonic Stage. Classic Sonic stages focuses on platforming. Modern Sonic stages focuses on going fast. OC stages focuses on semi-exploration and combat with wispons scattered throughout the level which are power-ups that allow you to get to hard to reach areas. OC + Sonic Stages are a mix of combat and going fast. Sonic Forces had a lot going for it and did some things right.
Pros of Sonic Forces:
+ Incredible graphics. The environment is so beautiful!
+ One of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a Sonic game!
+ Making an original character is incredibly entertaining in of itself
+ GOTTA GO FAST! I adrenaline rush of the speed without losing control of Sonic
+ Some stages have some really nice paths and secrets to them
+ Creative ways to deal with enemies with the different wispons
+ They took out the lives system. There's really no point in it for this kind of game
+ Jump into a spin dash (from Sonic Mania) is a nice addition
But as I played the game, I started having problems with it.
Cons of Sonic Forces:
- An edgier than edgy story. Sonic is captured, Eggman takes over the world
- Builds the expectation that you'll get to fight all previous games' bosses (you don't)
- A lot of Classic Sonic stages are rather boring or have tedious platforming
- Most Classic Sonic music range from boring to "ugh" (EXCEPT FOR GHOST TOWN!)
- Levels are super short. They average between 1-2 minutes.
- Color blend too much. Dark enemies blended in with dark backgrounds, ugh!
- Unskippable in-game cinematics
- Lack of creative Boss fights. Metal Sonic, Infinity 1&3, and Final Boss fights are the same!
- As fun as creating original characters are, the options are limited
- Some stages lack variety in paths
- Super short game, even for $40. It's about 5 hours long leisurely.
Despite the game's shortcomings and flaws, I had so much fun playing the game. I kept creating new characters, kept improving my times, and tried to find all the secrets until I reached 20 hours of gameplay time. I loved going fast and trying to find ways to go even faster (but never faster than people on the leaderboards, holy smacks). But beyond anything, I really love the music so much. I think it's some of my favorite music I've listened to this entire year. I might revisit the game one day because of how much fun I had with it. I quickly played through it and deleted it because I was running out of hard drive space.
Seriously though, listen to the music:
Sonic Forces has a similar concept as Generations where you play as Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic along with the player's own original character (OC). Stages are separated between character types: Classic Sonic Stage, Modern Sonic Stage, OC Stage, and OC + Sonic Stage. Classic Sonic stages focuses on platforming. Modern Sonic stages focuses on going fast. OC stages focuses on semi-exploration and combat with wispons scattered throughout the level which are power-ups that allow you to get to hard to reach areas. OC + Sonic Stages are a mix of combat and going fast. Sonic Forces had a lot going for it and did some things right.
Pros of Sonic Forces:
+ Incredible graphics. The environment is so beautiful!
+ One of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a Sonic game!
+ Making an original character is incredibly entertaining in of itself
+ GOTTA GO FAST! I adrenaline rush of the speed without losing control of Sonic
+ Some stages have some really nice paths and secrets to them
+ Creative ways to deal with enemies with the different wispons
+ They took out the lives system. There's really no point in it for this kind of game
+ Jump into a spin dash (from Sonic Mania) is a nice addition
But as I played the game, I started having problems with it.
Cons of Sonic Forces:
- An edgier than edgy story. Sonic is captured, Eggman takes over the world
- Builds the expectation that you'll get to fight all previous games' bosses (you don't)
- A lot of Classic Sonic stages are rather boring or have tedious platforming
- Most Classic Sonic music range from boring to "ugh" (EXCEPT FOR GHOST TOWN!)
- Levels are super short. They average between 1-2 minutes.
- Color blend too much. Dark enemies blended in with dark backgrounds, ugh!
- Unskippable in-game cinematics
- Lack of creative Boss fights. Metal Sonic, Infinity 1&3, and Final Boss fights are the same!
- As fun as creating original characters are, the options are limited
- Some stages lack variety in paths
- Super short game, even for $40. It's about 5 hours long leisurely.
Despite the game's shortcomings and flaws, I had so much fun playing the game. I kept creating new characters, kept improving my times, and tried to find all the secrets until I reached 20 hours of gameplay time. I loved going fast and trying to find ways to go even faster (but never faster than people on the leaderboards, holy smacks). But beyond anything, I really love the music so much. I think it's some of my favorite music I've listened to this entire year. I might revisit the game one day because of how much fun I had with it. I quickly played through it and deleted it because I was running out of hard drive space.
Seriously though, listen to the music:
Let's talk about Destiny 2 [SPOILERS]
I remember when I returned Destiny 1, I said to myself "maybe I'll pick up the game if it ever came out on PC".
I'm pretty sure I posted something about Destiny 1 back when I tried it out. It was my friend's birthday and he said he wanted to rent Destiny 1 and blast through the story over the weekend. He brought his PS3 over with a monitor and set it up right next to mines and we fired up the game. Both of us had the expectations of an experience as unforgettable as Halo. Sadly, our two days of blasting through the game was filled with a boring campaign, a convoluted story, and countless disappointments. The thing I remember most was spending over an hour on a strike mission because we were heavily under-leveled and under-geared with my friend walking out of the room while I was carefully sniping a boss for over 45 minutes. Still, we didn't regret playing the game since it was a long while since we played any games together. I returned the game with little incentive to ever pick it up again unless it was maybe on PC.
And then Destiny 2 was announced to be on PC. I pre-ordered the game with uncertainty and hopes. After trying out the short open beta testing, I was impressed with the beautiful graphics, the humor filled-dialogue, and the smooth gameplay. Playing through Destiny 2 with my friends, I felt that I had found the Game of the Year (GOTY) for me. But I think I had a change of heart after I got to the end.
Destiny 2 prides itself for being an involving MMORPG Shooter, but suffers from the lack of end-game content that could keep me interested in the game. I really like the game though. Level designs are more reasonable, story is easier to follow, campaign is more evenly paced, there's lot of neat weapons to collect and use, and combat feels satisfying. What I looked forward to most was the Strike Missions and Raids. Strike missions are a lot easier than I thought they'd be and there are only about 5 of them. Running them after a while becomes pointless because the rewards weren't worth the effort. Raids are notoriously difficult, and we are always short 1 player from a full 6-man party. When you get to max level, there's little incentive to continue playing because there's nothing to work towards and no new content to keep things interesting. My main reasons for continuing playing now is doing the weekly objectives for a chance to get slightly better items than what I'm carrying or to create a new character.
I'm making it almost sound like Destiny 2 is a bad game. It isn't. It just didn't have the lasting appeal I was hoping from it. Combat really does feel satisfying, boss fights are creative and challenging, and public events can feel involving. I just think that I have to re-evaluate how I feel about the game being GOTY because as fun as it is, it lacks depth and content compared to some of the other games I've played this year. I'll probably still continue to play Destiny 2, but I hope there's so fun and long-lasting content to enjoy in the future because going through what we have now over and over is going to grow old, fast.
I'm pretty sure I posted something about Destiny 1 back when I tried it out. It was my friend's birthday and he said he wanted to rent Destiny 1 and blast through the story over the weekend. He brought his PS3 over with a monitor and set it up right next to mines and we fired up the game. Both of us had the expectations of an experience as unforgettable as Halo. Sadly, our two days of blasting through the game was filled with a boring campaign, a convoluted story, and countless disappointments. The thing I remember most was spending over an hour on a strike mission because we were heavily under-leveled and under-geared with my friend walking out of the room while I was carefully sniping a boss for over 45 minutes. Still, we didn't regret playing the game since it was a long while since we played any games together. I returned the game with little incentive to ever pick it up again unless it was maybe on PC.
And then Destiny 2 was announced to be on PC. I pre-ordered the game with uncertainty and hopes. After trying out the short open beta testing, I was impressed with the beautiful graphics, the humor filled-dialogue, and the smooth gameplay. Playing through Destiny 2 with my friends, I felt that I had found the Game of the Year (GOTY) for me. But I think I had a change of heart after I got to the end.
Destiny 2 prides itself for being an involving MMORPG Shooter, but suffers from the lack of end-game content that could keep me interested in the game. I really like the game though. Level designs are more reasonable, story is easier to follow, campaign is more evenly paced, there's lot of neat weapons to collect and use, and combat feels satisfying. What I looked forward to most was the Strike Missions and Raids. Strike missions are a lot easier than I thought they'd be and there are only about 5 of them. Running them after a while becomes pointless because the rewards weren't worth the effort. Raids are notoriously difficult, and we are always short 1 player from a full 6-man party. When you get to max level, there's little incentive to continue playing because there's nothing to work towards and no new content to keep things interesting. My main reasons for continuing playing now is doing the weekly objectives for a chance to get slightly better items than what I'm carrying or to create a new character.
I'm making it almost sound like Destiny 2 is a bad game. It isn't. It just didn't have the lasting appeal I was hoping from it. Combat really does feel satisfying, boss fights are creative and challenging, and public events can feel involving. I just think that I have to re-evaluate how I feel about the game being GOTY because as fun as it is, it lacks depth and content compared to some of the other games I've played this year. I'll probably still continue to play Destiny 2, but I hope there's so fun and long-lasting content to enjoy in the future because going through what we have now over and over is going to grow old, fast.
Let's talk about Cyberdimension Neptunia [SPOILERS]
It's Nep-Nep time!
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online was a game I was both excited for and worried about. On paper, it sounded really exciting: Hack 'n Slash Action-RPG in an MMO setting. But seeing videos of it in action, I had a different impression. Combat looked a bit stiff, graphics were rather poor, and gameplay looked repetitive. But I'm stubborn and I was prepared to buy and play through it. I was sadly hit with a ton of disappointments when I first started.
Things that disappointed me:
- The beginning is so long with lots of talking
- Environmental graphics were not that good
- Camera angles can be awful and the environment can sometimes block the entire screen
- Enemies looked cheap and lazy
- Combat felt stiff and clumsy
- Lots of revisiting areas (though I kind of suspected that from previous games)
- No exciting item drops like in a real MMO
But after about 6 hours into the game, things started to change:
+ I got the 4 little sisters, they're so much fun to play! AND THEY'RE SO CUTE!
+ More skills were added and combat suddenly got a lot more interesting
+ There are a lot of original music for once!
+ Revisiting areas and killing the boss over and over felt relaxing and somehow familiar
+ And then I realized it's very similar to Phantasy Star Online, one of my favorite games
+ Boss fights can be quite challenging and preparing my team for them is entertaining
+ Story took a different turn and it really got me into it
The familiar feeling of grinding and farming felt almost cathartic despite it usually feeling like a tedious chore in other games. The fact that it reminded me of the days of playing Phantasy Star Online is probably what got me really into the game. I finished the main story, then the MMO's game story, and stopped right afterwards because post game was mostly just grinding and farming to fulfill quests and I really wanted to move onto new games. It took some time to get used to, but learning how to dodge, parry, and use skills effectively really changed how combat felt. I liked arranging my party and leveling them up. Switching between the different characters and utilizing different skills kept the game from being monotonous. The character designs are great. Tsunako did a wonderful job. Bouquet is flippin' adorable! I really like all the new and different outfits the characters wore, especially after seeing them in their familiar attire for so many games in a row. The game has a lot of flaws, but it was well worth playing through and I had a lot of fun.
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online was a game I was both excited for and worried about. On paper, it sounded really exciting: Hack 'n Slash Action-RPG in an MMO setting. But seeing videos of it in action, I had a different impression. Combat looked a bit stiff, graphics were rather poor, and gameplay looked repetitive. But I'm stubborn and I was prepared to buy and play through it. I was sadly hit with a ton of disappointments when I first started.
Things that disappointed me:
- The beginning is so long with lots of talking
- Environmental graphics were not that good
- Camera angles can be awful and the environment can sometimes block the entire screen
- Enemies looked cheap and lazy
- Combat felt stiff and clumsy
- Lots of revisiting areas (though I kind of suspected that from previous games)
- No exciting item drops like in a real MMO
But after about 6 hours into the game, things started to change:
+ I got the 4 little sisters, they're so much fun to play! AND THEY'RE SO CUTE!
+ More skills were added and combat suddenly got a lot more interesting
+ There are a lot of original music for once!
+ Revisiting areas and killing the boss over and over felt relaxing and somehow familiar
+ And then I realized it's very similar to Phantasy Star Online, one of my favorite games
+ Boss fights can be quite challenging and preparing my team for them is entertaining
+ Story took a different turn and it really got me into it
The familiar feeling of grinding and farming felt almost cathartic despite it usually feeling like a tedious chore in other games. The fact that it reminded me of the days of playing Phantasy Star Online is probably what got me really into the game. I finished the main story, then the MMO's game story, and stopped right afterwards because post game was mostly just grinding and farming to fulfill quests and I really wanted to move onto new games. It took some time to get used to, but learning how to dodge, parry, and use skills effectively really changed how combat felt. I liked arranging my party and leveling them up. Switching between the different characters and utilizing different skills kept the game from being monotonous. The character designs are great. Tsunako did a wonderful job. Bouquet is flippin' adorable! I really like all the new and different outfits the characters wore, especially after seeing them in their familiar attire for so many games in a row. The game has a lot of flaws, but it was well worth playing through and I had a lot of fun.
Let's talk about Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash [SPOILERS]
For a game that would've been perfect for Summer, it was sad to see it released near the beginning of Autumn.
Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash is a Third-Person Shooter that utilizes ability cards that buff/debuff allies/enemies, assist with various attacks and summon little helpers. At its core, it's a 5-on-5 competitive arena shooter. With the single-player content, there's story mode, side-stories, and tournament mode along with the usual dressing-room where you can also pose your favorite characters to take pictures. In single-player modes, there can be hordes of enemies running up to you to smack you with a noodle floater, water balloons, and tackle you head on.
I wasn't expecting the game to have semi-auto-aim as part of its mechanic, but I didn't mind as much since I was only playing the single-player content (I don't have PS+ so I can't play online anyways). For the most part, I liked the game. Being able to jet high up into the sky or sliding around the ground like in the game Vanquish felt really nice as the options for movement were fast and exciting. I didn't like all the weapons in the game since some of them use up ammo (water) really fast and knocks out enemies too slowly, but I found ones I liked and stuck with them. The abilities can be kind of confusing since there are so many, but I have to admit that not having them would kind of make the game bland.
Despite its cheery appearances, I was expecting another moment from the game to mess me up again since every game in the series (other than Senran Kagura 2 Deep Crimson) and I was right. Gessen Girls' Academy's story focused on Shiki. She seemingly acted suspiciously throughout the story, saying that she should enjoy her time with her friends as it may be the last time. I suspected that she probably got an offer to study overseas judging from the promise she made to her grandfather in Estival Versus. And I was right! She was offered a scholarship to study abroad and further develop her English skills (Or French from the English translations). She was torn between staying with her friends or following her dreams and study abroad. In the end, all her friends supported her decision to study overseas. It was a nice, simple story that connected with the previous game's story. Here's the one that messed me up. Hanzou National Academy focused it story on Ikaruga (yay, my favorite character!) and started by talking about how she and Katsuragi was going to take their final exams soon and graduate. It dawned on her that graduating meant becoming a full fledged ninja, working away from the friends she had made. This made her depressed and throughout the story, the others were worried about her well-being and thought that she might be nervous about the final exams. After attempts of talking to Ikaruga and cheering her up, Katsuragi confronted Ikaruga and wanted to know what was causing this shift in mood. When Ikaruga started breaking down and explaining to Katsuragi, I started tearing up and really tried to hold it back because the last time I cried playing a video game (The Last of Us, I was bawling that time), my mom walked in on me. Sure enough, she walked in right then and wanted to tell me something really quick. I'm just sitting there saying "okay", trying to hold back tears. I got through that scene and continued to play the game. When it got to the end of the story, Ikaruga explained her recent disposition to her friends and cleared things up. She started crying, then her friends started crying, then I started crying, ugh, why did it have to have this scene?! I liked it though, it was my favorite story out of the game. It just hit a little too close to home as I felt the same exact way on my last year of college and knew I'd be saying goodbye to a lot of friends and perhaps never seeing some of them again. Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy had the two pairs of siblings arguing with one another while their leader brings them back together. Homura and crew's story was them trying to garner attention for more part-time jobs so they can earn the money to eat decent food. All the stories led up to a final story which hinted at possibly one of the biggest battles they'll ever have. I'm worried because it's they're building up quite the expectation, but can they live up to them?
The side stories were kind of a drag to get through and they weren't as funny as the ones from previous games. Aside from that, there's the tournament mode. It's pretty fun since it's simulating what you would experience playing online. I stopped playing from there though as I have a lot of other games to get through. I also messed around in the dressing room and took 2 neat pictures of my favorite characters before I shelved the game away.
I didn't like it as much as the main series games, but I enjoyed it.
Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash is a Third-Person Shooter that utilizes ability cards that buff/debuff allies/enemies, assist with various attacks and summon little helpers. At its core, it's a 5-on-5 competitive arena shooter. With the single-player content, there's story mode, side-stories, and tournament mode along with the usual dressing-room where you can also pose your favorite characters to take pictures. In single-player modes, there can be hordes of enemies running up to you to smack you with a noodle floater, water balloons, and tackle you head on.
I wasn't expecting the game to have semi-auto-aim as part of its mechanic, but I didn't mind as much since I was only playing the single-player content (I don't have PS+ so I can't play online anyways). For the most part, I liked the game. Being able to jet high up into the sky or sliding around the ground like in the game Vanquish felt really nice as the options for movement were fast and exciting. I didn't like all the weapons in the game since some of them use up ammo (water) really fast and knocks out enemies too slowly, but I found ones I liked and stuck with them. The abilities can be kind of confusing since there are so many, but I have to admit that not having them would kind of make the game bland.
Despite its cheery appearances, I was expecting another moment from the game to mess me up again since every game in the series (other than Senran Kagura 2 Deep Crimson) and I was right. Gessen Girls' Academy's story focused on Shiki. She seemingly acted suspiciously throughout the story, saying that she should enjoy her time with her friends as it may be the last time. I suspected that she probably got an offer to study overseas judging from the promise she made to her grandfather in Estival Versus. And I was right! She was offered a scholarship to study abroad and further develop her English skills (Or French from the English translations). She was torn between staying with her friends or following her dreams and study abroad. In the end, all her friends supported her decision to study overseas. It was a nice, simple story that connected with the previous game's story. Here's the one that messed me up. Hanzou National Academy focused it story on Ikaruga (yay, my favorite character!) and started by talking about how she and Katsuragi was going to take their final exams soon and graduate. It dawned on her that graduating meant becoming a full fledged ninja, working away from the friends she had made. This made her depressed and throughout the story, the others were worried about her well-being and thought that she might be nervous about the final exams. After attempts of talking to Ikaruga and cheering her up, Katsuragi confronted Ikaruga and wanted to know what was causing this shift in mood. When Ikaruga started breaking down and explaining to Katsuragi, I started tearing up and really tried to hold it back because the last time I cried playing a video game (The Last of Us, I was bawling that time), my mom walked in on me. Sure enough, she walked in right then and wanted to tell me something really quick. I'm just sitting there saying "okay", trying to hold back tears. I got through that scene and continued to play the game. When it got to the end of the story, Ikaruga explained her recent disposition to her friends and cleared things up. She started crying, then her friends started crying, then I started crying, ugh, why did it have to have this scene?! I liked it though, it was my favorite story out of the game. It just hit a little too close to home as I felt the same exact way on my last year of college and knew I'd be saying goodbye to a lot of friends and perhaps never seeing some of them again. Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy had the two pairs of siblings arguing with one another while their leader brings them back together. Homura and crew's story was them trying to garner attention for more part-time jobs so they can earn the money to eat decent food. All the stories led up to a final story which hinted at possibly one of the biggest battles they'll ever have. I'm worried because it's they're building up quite the expectation, but can they live up to them?
The side stories were kind of a drag to get through and they weren't as funny as the ones from previous games. Aside from that, there's the tournament mode. It's pretty fun since it's simulating what you would experience playing online. I stopped playing from there though as I have a lot of other games to get through. I also messed around in the dressing room and took 2 neat pictures of my favorite characters before I shelved the game away.
I didn't like it as much as the main series games, but I enjoyed it.
Let's talk about Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite [SPOILERS?]
I'm not sure if I can really spoil Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite other than revealing what the last boss is like (It's Sigma and Ultron combined together). So Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite lead up to its launch with criticism and controversy from the community. None of the X-Men were going to be part of the roster, a lot of the characters looked ugly, the roster felt uninspiring and the lack of female representation made it that much worse. And like always, they asked fans to pay for a season pass for 6 additional characters with only one of them revealed. I've always hated the idea of having to pay extra game content when you don't know what you're going to get. But the roster was leaked and proved to be quite accurate up to that point, and one of the characters was "Monster Hunter" and I really wanted to play as that character.
Before it was announced, I discussed with a friend on who I would like to see added in as a character. I said I wanted to see Samanosuke Akechi from Onimusha, Yukimura Sanada from Sengoku Basara, The Arisen from Dragon's Dogma, and/or Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil on Capcom side. None of those showed up. For Marvel, I threw out some names: Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and/or Squirrel Girl. Surprisingly, the first two characters are part of the roster. Sadly, they're kind of boring.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite had a lot to live up to because I absolutely loved Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and even then fans of the previous games didn't like it. So you could imagine how a lot of those fans felt about MvC:I. With the inclusion of X from Mega Man X and Monster Hunter, I was too excited to wait for a future discount and pre-ordered the game along with the season pass. Playing through the game, I just kept feeling.....disappointed.
Things that disappointed me in MvC:I
- Ugly character models; it's like Capcom forgot how their characters looked like
- Only 6 out of 36 of the characters are female (13 out of 50 for UMvC3 - 16% vs. 26% ratio)
- Uninspiring character roster (I really like Gamora and Monster Hunter though)
- Music makes me mad, sad, and angry. I don't like any of Marvel character's themes.
- They changed Marvel character's awesome themes to generic film like ones.....
- The art style is boring; more detailed and realistic compared to UMvC3.....but boring
- Story is contrived and seems to focus on making Marvel look better than Capcom characters
- Poor representation of characters: Marvel = generic with no souls; Capcom = A Joke
There's probably more, but I don't remember them all. But least they got the most important thing right: The gameplay. Combat is closer to the original two games and the inclusion of the Infinity stones does add a whole new layer of strategy and options. Combos don't feel overly complicated, movement feels fast and free-flowing, and the comebacks are still really exciting to watch. I feel thankful that there's an arcade mode and a solid local/online versus mode after experiencing both those things go wrong in Street Fighter V, but I have to remember that they're standard things that should already work right from the beginning. Despite the many disappoints I've had with the game, I can't deny the fact that its base game is a lot of fun. So I would say that it's a "fun" game, but not a "good" one. They can still continue to improve the game by adding more characters, add in an extra mode like Heroes & Heralds from UMvC3, or simply revamp the entire game's graphics (some modders added some thick ink lines on character models and they look really cool). Story mode was pretty dumb, but I can still find enjoyment in playing Arcade mode and Versus. I can only hope for a fun mode to be added in for that extra incentive to keep playing the game.
Before it was announced, I discussed with a friend on who I would like to see added in as a character. I said I wanted to see Samanosuke Akechi from Onimusha, Yukimura Sanada from Sengoku Basara, The Arisen from Dragon's Dogma, and/or Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil on Capcom side. None of those showed up. For Marvel, I threw out some names: Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and/or Squirrel Girl. Surprisingly, the first two characters are part of the roster. Sadly, they're kind of boring.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite had a lot to live up to because I absolutely loved Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and even then fans of the previous games didn't like it. So you could imagine how a lot of those fans felt about MvC:I. With the inclusion of X from Mega Man X and Monster Hunter, I was too excited to wait for a future discount and pre-ordered the game along with the season pass. Playing through the game, I just kept feeling.....disappointed.
Things that disappointed me in MvC:I
- Ugly character models; it's like Capcom forgot how their characters looked like
- Only 6 out of 36 of the characters are female (13 out of 50 for UMvC3 - 16% vs. 26% ratio)
- Uninspiring character roster (I really like Gamora and Monster Hunter though)
- Music makes me mad, sad, and angry. I don't like any of Marvel character's themes.
- They changed Marvel character's awesome themes to generic film like ones.....
- The art style is boring; more detailed and realistic compared to UMvC3.....but boring
- Story is contrived and seems to focus on making Marvel look better than Capcom characters
- Poor representation of characters: Marvel = generic with no souls; Capcom = A Joke
There's probably more, but I don't remember them all. But least they got the most important thing right: The gameplay. Combat is closer to the original two games and the inclusion of the Infinity stones does add a whole new layer of strategy and options. Combos don't feel overly complicated, movement feels fast and free-flowing, and the comebacks are still really exciting to watch. I feel thankful that there's an arcade mode and a solid local/online versus mode after experiencing both those things go wrong in Street Fighter V, but I have to remember that they're standard things that should already work right from the beginning. Despite the many disappoints I've had with the game, I can't deny the fact that its base game is a lot of fun. So I would say that it's a "fun" game, but not a "good" one. They can still continue to improve the game by adding more characters, add in an extra mode like Heroes & Heralds from UMvC3, or simply revamp the entire game's graphics (some modders added some thick ink lines on character models and they look really cool). Story mode was pretty dumb, but I can still find enjoyment in playing Arcade mode and Versus. I can only hope for a fun mode to be added in for that extra incentive to keep playing the game.
Let's talk about Metroid Samus Returns [SPOILERS]
Oh man, I didn't expect to be so incredibly busy these last two months. Right after finishing the Super Mario Medley Remix, I started working on the Ghosts 'n Goblins Medley Remix and it took a lot of work. Here it is:
It originally had 3 more songs than this, but I wasn't sure if I was able to meld it in well while making in interesting and short. It was the first time I worked with sidechaining and I'm glad I finally have that skill in part of my repertoire. It was a nightmare balancing and mixing the tracks this time around as it reach up to 32 tracks. But now that it's done, I'm taking the rest of December off from working to catch up on other things and relaxing. One of the things I need to catch up on is writing about games because there are a LOT of games I want to talk about. I think the only way I can reasonably do this without taking all of December to write about them is by keeping them short and writing many at a time. In fact, it'd be great if I can finish them all today so I can focus on playing and finishing up some games for the rest of December. It will be difficult to write about most of the games in detail anyways as the experience and memories of them aren't as fresh as when I had finished them.
So first up is Metroid: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS.
I was obviously excited for the game as it has been over a decade since the last 2D Metroid game and I absolutely love Metroid. But when I saw that MercurySteam was co-developing the game, I got worried because of their work on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate on the 3DS. I also really didn't want to compare the experience to the fan-made game Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R) released last year, but it's impossible not to since both game's objective was the same: to recreate Metroid 2. Having played AM2R kind of set the bar of expectation and what I wanted out of a Metroid game.
Pros of Metroid: Samus Returns:
+ Beautiful 3D graphics, environments and creatures
+ Sound effects were of high quality
+ Combat has a nice flow to it
+ Interesting new abilities and uses for them
+ Not particularly short or long gameplay time
+ Had speed running in mind for level design
+ Last boss almost ruined the experience for me, but the true last boss made up for it
Cons of Metroid: Samus Returns:
- Few and unmemorable boss fights
- Music were high quality and had some familiar tunes, but was mostly unmemorable
- Melee counter gets old and tedious half-way though and free-aiming can be annoying
- Area Themes were weak; it made everything kind of meld and feel the same
- Backtracking had little purpose and felt more tedious than rewarding
- Boss fights are tedious and drawn out unnecessarily
- Hard mode offers nothing new except for enemies doing more damage
Things AM2R did better:
+ Quite a few memorable boss fights that were challenging and exciting
+ Strong sense of area themes and atmosphere
+ Smarter level designs that made exploration interesting
+ Metroid fights were fast-paced, exciting, but still challenging
+ Controls were nicer with better air movement
+ Lots of "moments"
+ A true challenge in Hard mode with new AI movements, less resources, and higher damage
I played through Samus Returns three times: Casual run on Normal Difficulty, 2nd run on Hard, 3rd run as speedrun on Normal. I felt iffy about everything the first run, more sure the 2nd run, and certain on how I felt about the game the 3rd run. To boil it down in general terms, I found the game to be mildly entertaining and enjoyed it, but it was sadly an unmemorable experience that seems to be outclassed by the experience I had with AM2R of which I played 5 times. Invincible enemies that need to be flipped with melee counter or invincible indefinitely, Metroid fights with invincibility states, the digger bot with a few repeating patterns with a small window of vulnerability and the Metroid Queen having long attack patterns with invincibility state made everything feel tedious like it's wasting my time. If it weren't for the True Boss fight with Proteus Ridley at the very end of the game, I would've been pretty angry about how the game ended because the fight against the Metroid Queen was long and boring. I liked the fight against Proteus Ridley in terms of presentation, from its familiar and exciting music to the fast-paced combat that didn't involve invincibility states. In all honesty, the actual fight itself wasn't spectacular as it's pretty easy to learn his pattern after a few tries and he becomes really easy. So while I'm glad they finally made another 2D Metroid and having enjoyed it, it was honestly the least memorable 2D Metroid game in the series.
It originally had 3 more songs than this, but I wasn't sure if I was able to meld it in well while making in interesting and short. It was the first time I worked with sidechaining and I'm glad I finally have that skill in part of my repertoire. It was a nightmare balancing and mixing the tracks this time around as it reach up to 32 tracks. But now that it's done, I'm taking the rest of December off from working to catch up on other things and relaxing. One of the things I need to catch up on is writing about games because there are a LOT of games I want to talk about. I think the only way I can reasonably do this without taking all of December to write about them is by keeping them short and writing many at a time. In fact, it'd be great if I can finish them all today so I can focus on playing and finishing up some games for the rest of December. It will be difficult to write about most of the games in detail anyways as the experience and memories of them aren't as fresh as when I had finished them.
So first up is Metroid: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS.
I was obviously excited for the game as it has been over a decade since the last 2D Metroid game and I absolutely love Metroid. But when I saw that MercurySteam was co-developing the game, I got worried because of their work on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate on the 3DS. I also really didn't want to compare the experience to the fan-made game Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R) released last year, but it's impossible not to since both game's objective was the same: to recreate Metroid 2. Having played AM2R kind of set the bar of expectation and what I wanted out of a Metroid game.
Pros of Metroid: Samus Returns:
+ Beautiful 3D graphics, environments and creatures
+ Sound effects were of high quality
+ Combat has a nice flow to it
+ Interesting new abilities and uses for them
+ Not particularly short or long gameplay time
+ Had speed running in mind for level design
+ Last boss almost ruined the experience for me, but the true last boss made up for it
Cons of Metroid: Samus Returns:
- Few and unmemorable boss fights
- Music were high quality and had some familiar tunes, but was mostly unmemorable
- Melee counter gets old and tedious half-way though and free-aiming can be annoying
- Area Themes were weak; it made everything kind of meld and feel the same
- Backtracking had little purpose and felt more tedious than rewarding
- Boss fights are tedious and drawn out unnecessarily
- Hard mode offers nothing new except for enemies doing more damage
Things AM2R did better:
+ Quite a few memorable boss fights that were challenging and exciting
+ Strong sense of area themes and atmosphere
+ Smarter level designs that made exploration interesting
+ Metroid fights were fast-paced, exciting, but still challenging
+ Controls were nicer with better air movement
+ Lots of "moments"
+ A true challenge in Hard mode with new AI movements, less resources, and higher damage
I played through Samus Returns three times: Casual run on Normal Difficulty, 2nd run on Hard, 3rd run as speedrun on Normal. I felt iffy about everything the first run, more sure the 2nd run, and certain on how I felt about the game the 3rd run. To boil it down in general terms, I found the game to be mildly entertaining and enjoyed it, but it was sadly an unmemorable experience that seems to be outclassed by the experience I had with AM2R of which I played 5 times. Invincible enemies that need to be flipped with melee counter or invincible indefinitely, Metroid fights with invincibility states, the digger bot with a few repeating patterns with a small window of vulnerability and the Metroid Queen having long attack patterns with invincibility state made everything feel tedious like it's wasting my time. If it weren't for the True Boss fight with Proteus Ridley at the very end of the game, I would've been pretty angry about how the game ended because the fight against the Metroid Queen was long and boring. I liked the fight against Proteus Ridley in terms of presentation, from its familiar and exciting music to the fast-paced combat that didn't involve invincibility states. In all honesty, the actual fight itself wasn't spectacular as it's pretty easy to learn his pattern after a few tries and he becomes really easy. So while I'm glad they finally made another 2D Metroid and having enjoyed it, it was honestly the least memorable 2D Metroid game in the series.
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