Seneste anmeldelser af Aya

Personally wanted to do a partial rewrite of this review since I seem to have discovered the Unbalanced Trinity of online gaming and despite SoulCalibur VI being one such game in that trinity, I feel like it's still worth getting while it's on sale, if only because it's the only fighting game of its kind.

Unlike most fighting games, SoulCalibur is focused around the usage of weapons as toted by the Steam store page. What this means is that you'll see things like giant swords going up against the likes of katanas, daggers, scythes and all sorts of things that really make fights in the game more interesting. As a result, your attacks will range from horizontal and vertical swings and sometimes a swift kick between a sword swing's frames. Additionally, the typical attack combo in SoulCalibur is usually pretty short, which in turn allows the game to have a significantly lower skill requirement than most fighters, which I personally find is what makes SoulCalibur a fun experience.

My main complaint is that the community seems to think that it's somehow okay for a base game character to be nerfed to the point where they might as well not be in the game because it allows the developers to sell a DLC character that fulfills a similar archetype. That same community seems to also agree that an overpowered character is somehow acceptable as long as they are female and not DLC, since porn addicts will gravitate towards her, and who has time to work for your wins when your pants are halfway down your legs? I already know what to expect from SC7 as a result of this. In fact, my concerns for SCVII more or less mirror my concerns for Killing Floor 3, actually. Unrelated game, but same insanity from the community.

The main reason why SoulCalibur has developed its fanbase: You can play as yourself. Since the third game, the main attraction of the franchise was the Character Creation system and in the case of VI, there's an entire whole mode where it's all about you (see below section of the review). In regards to the character creation itself, there's quite a lot that is given to you though fans of IV might notice that there's less character creation parts.

Sure, it's nice to be able to stick patterns onto certain colors and also attach stickers onto your body, though because my prior experience with the franchise stems from SoulCalibur IV on the Xbox 360, i actually think i'd rather have more character parts and have less features than the other way around. However, just looking at the #CreateASoul hashtag on social media shows that you can still do a lot of crazy things with the creation mode. Additionally, SoulCalibur VI marks the first time in the franchise where you will get to use guest character fighting styles such as Geralt and 2B. It is likely that the future season pass characters will follow suit.


If you're familiar with SoulCalibur II, then you might remember the Weapon Master mode, which was SCII's story mode, taking the player along various story tidbits with singleplayer botmatches to break up the walls of text. The Libra of Soul mode is something similar along those lines, although the quests provided can now randomly show up in between story missions. Also, you play as yourself so no more "your avatar is represented by the main characters of the game". Instead, Libra of Soul will have you start off with a race and weapon of choice, though you will get one of every fighting style's starting weapon as well as the ability to customize your character after the first mission. Dunno what else to say here tbh.


Another story mode of SoulCalibur VI, although following the tale of the main characters rather than yourself. Taking place after the events of the original Soul Edge on Japanese arcades, SoulCalibur VI is effectively a reboot of the series so as to incorporate characters that were introduced in later games such as Raphael and Talim from SC2, Zasalamel from SC3 and some newcomers in the form of Gruuhh** and Azwel. While some may be fans of it, i feel like it's a significant step down from SCIII's Tales of Souls and honestly, the story mode where you take center stage is a heckton more interesting.

**How the actual ♥♥♥♥ do you pronounce ø?


I dunno what to say here, since it's 2023 now, and my original review had praised how easy it is to run the game at PS4 quality graphics. If my un-Linuxed Steam Machine can run this at 900p60 on Medium Settings, I'm pretty sure you can run this on a Steam Deck with Windows installed on it on high settings. Not too sure about resolution however.


Maybe it's because I've played too much Killing Floor 2 and Mount&Blade that I think there aren't too many issues with the game's netcode but I can see where people are coming from when they disagree with connection stability. There are peak times on when to play the game and rather than the quality of my connection, I'm more concerned about the game's community sending the kind of message they send to the development team regarding future iterations of the franchise. I genuinely wanna know if there are other fighting games where it's somehow okay to nerf characters to pressure DLC purchases, or for a character to be completely busted because porn addiction is somehow a factor for game balance.


Alcoholism aside, SoulCalibur VI is probably the greatest dressup game that has graced the current generation of systems while also providing a solid fighting game experience for both newcomers and veterans of the franchise. I think these types of games are far better enjoyed if you have some IRL friends, roommates or spouse to play local multiplayer with especially when it comes to custom characters. Until someone decides that they want to profit from the problems that this game has, my final verdict's gonna be "wait for a sale if a competitor doesn't show up"

Before i get to the actual review, let me get the following things out of the way. Yes, I am aware of the multiple complaints about the PS4 version, as well as the negative reception the game has received in Japan. Considering that Japan is known for their pathological hatred towards PC gaming, I question our ability to share the same sentiment displayed by the Japanese and western PS4 audience. With that said, i'll probably end up pointing out some issues worth nitpicking about and in spite of the aforementioned inability to complain, i was able to unironically enjoy New Gundam Breaker, at least in terms of first impressions

Probably best for me to keep quiet about this part but while i'm not exactly a fan of the whole "high school visual novel" buggery, i do like the idea of playing with plastic robots and having them blow $#!+ up. My ability to pay attention to the visual novel aspect of the game is sporadic at best, though with the usage of Gunpla taking center stage allows you to create some rather silly part combinations. Whether or not you can get away with it is likely dependent on your ability to not die. One thing i will warn you about is that this game has a very in-depth customization system, meaning that there will be a greatly disproportionate amount of time spent mech building vs actually playing the game (now that i think about it, that describes literally every game with a sufficiently detailed character creator or similar mechanic)


Not too sure how i feel about having to stand still to use a jetpack, though the game's movement feels ehh... good enough. While definitely not what i call ideal, you can still do some decently quick maneuvers with the regular movement boost and if using certain weapons, shield-bash at your desired direction (with lock-on turned off). Swords, axes lasers and automatic weapons are fun enough to use to keep you playing the game, though I dunno how i feel about torso/leg/head mounted ranged weapons being cooldown-based rather than ammo-based. Shoulder cannons and leg-mounted missile launchers aside, the melee attacks associated with your limbs are definitely a spectacle to enjoy. Unfortunately, beating the ever-loving $#!+€ out of your adversariescan be a bit impractical at times, but doesn't stop me from trying. (I dunno, i just can't help but prefer a more aggressive approach even if it kills me)

Part 1 of the graphical portion of the game will look at how well the game runs, and considering that I have a GTX 1060 3GB with a bit of a CPU bottleneck, I'd say it looks pretty damn good on an average of High settings (most settings at high, a few things on Ultra and Shadows on Medium). The game's environments provide a large amount of detail for what you can expect out of a 1080p60 experience. Really don't know what I should say, really.

Part 2 of the game's graphics is going to focus on what one can expect from an entry-level gaming machine. In my case, it's an Alienware Alpha R2 with the i3 6100T and R9 M470x. Going off of personal tests, this is somewhere between a PS4 and Xbox One in terms of game performance, though I don't quite have a clear answer about Unreal Engine 4's disposition towards the rather old GCN2 architecture as my personal tests have been inconsistent between games.

In the case of New Gundam Breaker specifically, the visuals still hold up pretty well on Medium settings, though for all intents and purposes, the goal of this particular section was not to achieve a smooth 60fps, but to stay above 29FPS for the majority of my personal testing. On the second mission of the singleplayer game, my secondary PC was able to do exactly that. Sure, an entry level gaming PC may not be the most ideal way to play New Gundam Breaker, though should still otherwise be a better experience than the PlayStation 4 version.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1523009741

Yes, i am fully aware that this game was not well recieved in Japan or on the PS4 with its western release, but in spite of the drama happening on the Steam Community Hub on top of its negative reception on consoles, I was still able to have a lot of fun with the game and what it had to offer. You also have to take into consideration that since we are on the PC, this is the first piece of exposure to video games based on the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise since the PlayStation 2's Federation vs Zeon DX, so even if it's objectively the worst Gundam Breaker game, the most important thing is that the first Gundam game on PC needs to be fun as all hell, which I personally find to be the case and if you can avoid all the drama that's inherent with the Japanese PC scene, you'll enjoy it a hell of a lot more than I am.

The most I can say at this point is to drop all expectations for a discount, buy the game ASAP and milk out as much enjoyment as humanly possible, because whiners have already ruined it. (I'm still giving a thumbs up because i did enjoy the hell out of the first 2 point something hours I played so far)

I'd be lying if i said that the notion of having Gundam Breaker on Steam wasn't the main reason I bought this game because well... this game is made by the people behind Gundam Breaker 3, though I am getting a pretty good first impression of the game.

Graphics-wise, I don't know what to say about it, since anime visuals tend to use lower-fidelity assets but I wouldn't necessarily say the visuals are bad. In fact, I actually like the in-game models a lot more than the character stills.

I have also gone through the first 3 singleplayer missions within an hour, though i dunno if the story's a good way to prepare you for playing with real people since the AI is pretty blatant with its aimbotting. Other than that though, I found that the characters control really damn well and for a Japanese developer's first PC game, the keyboard and mouse controls are nothing short of exceptional.

As for the actual multiplayer itself, while I haven't even touched it yet, there is already a Discord server organizing matches, so you should be able to find people to play against.

https://discord.gg/bTmS7dJ

But with me having already seen my fair share of disappointments in the Japanese PC scene, I will have to ultimately give this game a thumbs up because even if the aforementioned Discord server didn't exist, I would still recommend buying the game to convince Ilinx to continue bringing their games to PC because much more likely than not, this game will decide if we even get a Gundam Breaker game on PC at all.

P.S. I have never watched Black Clover like... at all. I just heard about this game's announcement, decided to do some research on who the developer is and what they have done in the past, and decided that their continued PC support is worth me buying this game.

9/17/18 EDIT:

Even though New Gundam Breaker's release date was announced literally a day after I bought this game, said announcement isn't an invitation to ignore the Black Clover game because i do mean what i say when i actually had good first impressions of the game.

Broke my "No Platinum, no buy" rule with this game. Don't regret it in the slightest.

Aanyways, what I think about the game in bullet points

+A pretty solid turn-based strategy experience, focusing on point-based deployment and trying to get the most out of your 2000 point cost out of your available units for the mission. Only real complaint is the questionable usefulness of Blood Claws, though they can still do some pretty solid damage when combined with Rhinos. After all, aren't the Space Wolves about getting up close and personal?
+Individual missions can get pretty lengthy, though I find in a pretty good way since you're considering things like reaction arcs, countering the enemy's LoS, vehicle hull and minimizing your friendly death toll.
+Fairly easy to learn, but can also be pretty complex if you want to maximize all your movements and actions when you've got two action points and a certain amount of movement tiles, which can lead to some pretty deadly maneuvers with even the most basic units
-Barely any graphics settings at all
-Assault cannon sounds are underwhelming
-Needs more Brian Dobson. Even that one chess game could hire him.
-While it is one of the better 40K games i've played, it is far from the type of game that will write the standards as to what a post-THQ 40K game should be.

Bought this game multiple times (albeit as Steam gifts) to say that Bandai Namco Studios should continue their PC support. Guess i'm still gonna do exactly that because the game's still being actively supported to the point where it has a second Season Pass.

It is worth noting that the creators of Tekken are also the creators of Tales of, SoulCalibur, Gundam Extreme VS, God Eater, Ace Combat, IDOLM@STER and Taiko no Tatsujin.

Okay, maybe it might not be best to call it that, though at first glance, it certainly gives off that impression of being a reverse XCOM, since you play as what can best be described as a copyright-neutral version of the Alien Queen: The Matriarch.

As the Matriarch, your goal is to sneak into a massive drill/corporate office and generally murder everything in sight... stealthily of course, because as we all know, bug-like aliens without any sort of firearm are pretty vulnerable to bullets. As in (die in one hit) sort of vulnerable. Fortunately, you have a lot of special abilities that can level the playing field!


Due to the high lethality in this game, you're gonna approach the humans stealthily, with your basic grunts utilizing vents to avoid enemy patrols while also eating the corpses you leave behind to collect biomass. At the first mission, it's really only used to create more grunts, though you are encouraged to not throw them into suicidal situations as you get penalized through fewer upgrade points that are introduced in the second mission (at that point, you unlock the full extent of what the alien arsenal has to offer

The grunt, while not having sort of upgrades, still provides a level of utility since it can crawl through vents as I have previously mentioned. Not only are they a hiding spot, but they also allow you to teleport to connected vents, which can prove quite effective when bypassing (and possibly murdering) enemy patrols, and dead people means more biomass. More biomass means evolutions (Goliath/Disruptor/Stalker).

The Goliath as the name implies, is a pretty big guy, being able to take TWO bullets to the face instead of one. From my personal experience, he seems to be a pretty decent pick if you're expecting to be put into a situation where you absolutely have to tank damage, and has the ability to increase his armor at the expense of the current turn's attack action. He also deals additional damage, which can prove handy when attempting to one-shot the tougher security guards.

The Disrupter is your ranged unit, and while their spit has a two-turn cooldown, is still a very important aspect as they still have a longer range than the security guard's vision cone, so you can probably expect to use him a lot in larger rooms where you have that level of maneuverability.

And finally, the Stalker. Essentially a stronger version of the Grunt, he can still crawl through vents and ignore armor with his melee attack. He can also be upgraded to deal backstab damage, which i'm expecting to be extremely useful in the later levels (Have only played through the first two missions, tutorial excluded)

Well... Okay, i say finally, but one ability that's shared with all the aliens is the Group attack, where you queue up multiple attack actions on the same unit, and press a big red button to overwhelm that health sponge before he can shoot back at you.

The execution is well... I really only have two complaints about Attack of the Earthlings: the game's length. Those complaints are...

As soon as you finish the first mission, you get a mission select screen which reveals the full length of the game: 7 missions. I dunno how such a thing would be implemented, though I can't help but think there needs to be some form of procedural generation so that if you DO replay older missions, you're never gonna see the same layout as you did the first time you played it. Onto the second complaint

During the game's cutscenes where you're not looking through an overhead perspective, it seems kind of odd to do textboxes instead of voiced dialogue. So far, i've only seen generic workers in these scenes and I think it'd be good to have the devs do the voice actors since well... you don't need famous voice actors to do your regular joe shmoe.

There's very few bad things I can say about this game since it does the whole "alien perspective" thing very well and for the bad things I can say about the game... It isn't exactly worth a thumbs down, but it is worth putting yourself on a discount waitlist such as IsThereAnyDeal or just simply adding the game to your Wishlist in preparations for the Steam CHRISTMAS SALE.

Huh. Guess i'm buying the next Mortal Kombat.

Otherwise known as:

The Yakuza 6 PC Petition
The Valkyria Chronicles 4 PC Petition
The A Certain Magical Virtual On PC Petition
The Fist of the North Star PC Petition

If any of those games I mentioned to you have any interest to you, then I present to you a choice: Buy this game regardless of your opinion towards Puyo Puyo or accept that Sega of Japan will never develop another PC game ever again.

If you grew up with Commander Keen and hate Bethesda's newest E3 announcement, this game is for you.

Original review text is as followed below, and forgot to disclose that I got this game from an EVGA promo from 2016.

Everything that i already like about the first game can be summarized with my previous Rad Rodgers review, and as far as I'm concerned, Rad Rodgers is like the unofficial sequel to id Software's Commander Keen series.

http://sp.zhabite.com/id/flashn00b/recommended/353580/

Because this is an updated version of 3D Realm's original 2016 release of Rad Rodgers: World One, I think it's best that I summarize the new things that I like and don't like

Graphics

From my understanding, they've definitely did a good job with the game's optimization. I've noticed an increase in texture resolution along with a higher quality default preset, so for those who felt like the performance could leave more to be desired, it might be worth dusting off the game again

Gameplay

Dunno what to say about this section, since a lot of things that i liked about the original 3D Realms release also applies to this game. Beyond that though, the Excalibat is a welcome addition to the game and it's definitely a good treat for those who have been following Slipgate Studios since their first game: Rise of the Triad. Beyond that, it's also a pretty fun way to deal with an invincibility powerup. The only complaint I have is that the weapon could've had its own theme.

Another addition to the THQ Nordic version of Rad Rodgers is the pogo stick bonus levels, another welcome homage, although this time to Commander Keen, though the more i try to replay those pogo sections, the more I wish the pogo was part of the main game.

DOS era platforming and rose tinted spectacles aside, the one thing that i've noticed since my return to this game is that the Pixelverse sections have gotten increasingly frustrating. (most noticable one for me is the final puzzle in Level 5). Reducing your health upon failing these puzzles is one thing, though i dunno if i agree with being able to die to them.

BUGS

The most important one I've seen is that if you've already made fair amount of progress in the original game, you might find yourself unable to backtrack past Level 5.

Other (plus for minor positive tidbits, minus for minor gripes)
+ Two words: Andrew Hulshult
- Soundtrack should be made available on Steam, Amazon and/or BandCamp.

tl;dr
+ Definitely one of the better 2D platformers I've played since... a really long time
+ Also the closest thing to a new Commander Keen game we'll ever have due to Bethesda rebooting Keen as a mobile game
+ The guy who did the Brutal Doom v20 soundtrack did this game's OST
- Pixelverse is more frustrating than i remembered it to be

While i get that Pinball isn't for everyone, I would personally advocate that this game needs to exist due to real life pinball being a particularly expensive hobby, and for all intents and purposes, a digital game would likely do a much better job at preserving its history than to constantly wax and maintain that $2000+ investment. For those who want to get into Pinball, I think this game is well worth looking into, especially since a lot of the machines featured have long since halted production (in the case of Gottlieb, the company actually went under back in 1996)

I admit that i'm not exactly an expert of the game myself, though as far as the actual in-game physics go, i was still able to get a lot of enjoyment from what i've seen of Season Two (though i think a part of that has to do with my exposure to Microsoft Pinball Arcade from the late 90s). Physics aside, the graphics are... pretty damn good, i guess? It's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pinball, what is there for me to say about it?* Asides from one complaint i have which is the glow-in-the-dark balls creating a graphical artifact in Haunted House.

Other than that though, the only non-graphical complaint i really have is Farsight's participation in the Steam sale and their previous lack thereof. Perhaps 2018 will have more seasons be discounted? (We only got Seasons 2 and 5 discounted during 2017's christmas sale).

tl;dr: for most people, this is probably as close to the real thing that most people can get due to pinball's declining popularity, and even if you still want to play the real thing, you're likely only going to be able to play like one or two of the in-game tables IRL unless you live in Las Vegas or Osaka.

If you've any interest in the game of pinball, I would personally recommend adding Season 2 to your isthereanydeal waitlist

*Edit: Apparently, Farsight's process of digitizing the table actually involves disassembling the real life tables, photographing the props, flippers and bumpers and recreating them as a 3d model. Probably explains the detail in the game.