Archview #34: State of Emergency

  Viva la revolution.

 Played on: PS2
 State of Emergency, even though it has the Rockstar Games logo, was developed by VIS, but many suckers bought it thinking it came from GTA III's daddy. This led many to disappointment, not me though, not back then at least. In this arcadey action game you play as 1 of 5 identical(Minus the appearance) characters, taking part of Freedom a rebel group that fights for... freedom against the evil corporation known as... The Corporation. Yeah, the game's sense of humor is similar to that of GTA.
 There are two different modes, Chaos and Revolution. Chaos is a very arcade-like mode, with focus on points, while Revolution has a bit of story as you free the city from the Corporation by taking missions from NPCs. In both modes you have the same 4 medium sized areas, but they are not too different from each other, nor memorable in the least. Stages are filled with running citizens, it is a state of emergency after all, that do nothing but run and the Corporation enforcers. There are also many pieces of furniture that can be used as weapons, such as benches, and on Chaos Mode, there are a multitude of weapon spawn points through each stage.

 Of those two modes, Chaos is the most fun, you can pick from: Kaos(Start with three minutes, killing enforcers or time pick ups gives you extra time), fixed 3 minutes, fixed 5 minutes, Last Clone Standing(Hundreds of harmless clones run amok the stage and you must off them), Timed Last Clone Standing and Unlimited time. In this mode, every now and then small missions will pop up, like "Destroy X building" or "Kill X NPC" which grant you even more points, and certain events like "Murderous citizens" or "Corporation Riot Control Squad" will pop up, it's a very frantic and arcadey mode. It's no surprise that this is the mode highlighted whenever you boot up the game, as it's the most fun.
 Revolution Mode on the other hand... There are about 50 missions per stage, but they are very repetitive. Most of them consist of escort missions or protection missions. Both kind can get very frustrating, as you are usually to protect an unarmed ally, few times do NPCs give you weapons(And there are no weapon spawn points in this mode) agains many armed enemies. There's also the fact that some missions, specially the "Follow" missions tend to get bugged. If you have to follow an enforcer NPC and there's a fight close by, there's a high chance they will get involved, die, and the game will say "You killed X before he bla bla" when you did nothing wrong! Needless to say, many missions feel like a matter of luck whether you succeed or not.

 Even worse, the controls are passable at best. Y'see, there's no real targeting. You can strafe by holding L1 or R1 or aim to the sides by holding R2 or L2, but it's not precise, there's no targeting reticule, no feedback of where your shots are going to go. Even worse, to hit a downed enemy you must press Punch or Kick while being above them, but sometimes you'll hit the air. And sometimes, when fighting a mob, your character might, out of the blue, start hitting a downed corpse as you get hit. Even worse, every now and then the camera will do a 180 turn when you least need it to. It's a rare ocurrance, but it happens.
 The presentation is also bad, but supposedly, it was a budget game. Regardless, characters models are very simple, NPCs rarely have more textures than their faces. On the bright side, thanks to it, there can be hundreds of NPCs on screen, still, every now and then there is slowdown. The few voiceacting there is is but serviceable, and the music is quite forgettable. As for unlockables, nothing much, 3 out of the 5 characters and most of the submodes in Chaos Mode must be unlocked.
 State of Emergency is not a good game, but it's not too bad either. Chaos Mode can actually be kinda fun, when the controls are not messing with you.
 5 out of 10

Progress Report 6/17/2013

 Status:

 Rival Schools: I'm playing through the Arcade Mode, getting both good and bad endings for all characters. I love the story mode and how they made it. So far, Batsu, Hinata, Kyosuke, Hyo, Raizo, Sakura, Akira(Helmetless), Hayato and Daigo done. Also, I played the evolution disc for kicks and finished it with Batsu, not that it matters.

 State of Emergency: I'm halfway through revolution mode, gonna do the third stage in a few minutes. I will probably finish this one this week

 Justice League Heroes: Well, I might have to replay it later, since I'm playing it co-op with my sister, it means we are skipping cutscenes and paying no attention to other stuff. I know the characters are talking, we make fun of what they say, but I'm not paying attention to the delivery nor anything! It also means that it could take a while before I finish it...

 Next gamez: SMT: Devil Survivor 2, I swear I'm gonna finish you one of these days! I'll play The Legend of Dragoon after I'm done with either Rival Schools or State of Emergency.

First Archimpressions: Tekken Revolution

 I'm so doing this.

 First things first, the Theme Song is amazing, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeKGVpMJnI, you're welcome. Second of all, what is Tekken Revolution? A free to play online game.
 The first question that popped into my mind, as I saw the trailer, was "Why do I want this if I have Tag 2?". After playing it, the same question remains. Almost 90% of the assets are from TTT2, even the menus look familiar. Character models are almost the same, I've seen some sort of cell-shading on screenshots, but I guess you need an HD TV to notice them( I could see some very thin lines, I think, but you have to search for them). I think Asuka actually has a different face.... Anyways, stages look the same as TTT2, but they have new lightin effects, not enough to feel different though.
 So, what's the difference between this game and TTT2? You only have 6 characters(At the moment) to pick, and some are unlockable by amassing points. The tag and bound mechanics are gone, instead, there are new unblockable and special moves, and they look fantastic. I only played Lars, and most of them are older existing moves, but they have some amazing FX that makes them look powerful and pretty. Are the new mechanics better? As a matter of fact, I like them, they make the game more approachable, due to their usefulness(Plus, characters with alternate stances are nowhere to be seen, dunno if Kazuya kept the Demon transformation, guess I oughta check!) plus, the effects are pure eye candy.
 Negatives? You enhance your character. So that will give unfair advantages to higher level players. Also, you can't play as much as you want. Arcade mode is governed by Arcade coins, up to 2 of them, and you get a new one every hour. Player matches consume Tickets, and they too refresh every now and then(And you get new ones by clearin arcade mode). And you there's no offline Multiplayer, plus, you can't play offline, not even Arcade mode.
 So, first impressions? I like the new special moves. I like the new lighting effects, makes the game a whole lot more colorful. I don't like the online requirement and the limitation on play time.

Archview #33: Bushido Blade 2

 There's nothing like this out there.

 Bushido Blade 2 is a fighting game that prides itself on it's uniqueness. You take the role of a swords-man, and must duel your opponent in a 1 on 1 match, where each blow may be your last. Y'seen, this game has no life bars of any sort, it tries to go for a more realistic approach, slash or stab a vital part and the match is over. Other limbs may sustain damage too, if arms get hurt your attack speed decreases and you lose access to sub weapons, if legs get hurt, you will run slower.
 Surprisingly, the game takes place in modern times(Or what was modern at the time), so don't be surprised if certain bonus characters use guns, or if a stage is set in a parking lot. Regardless, the game tells of two clans that have been at odds since ancients times. There are no clear good guys or bad guys, it's just the Shainto wanting to retrieve the sword that was taken from them and end the Narukagami clan, and the Narukagami just want to crush the Shainto once and for all..

 Characters may pick from 6 weapons, with each clan having a unique pole weapon(Yari for the Shainto and Naginata for the Narukagami). Each weapon can be held in three different stances, which you switch by pressing the square button. Stance provide different movesets and ranges, so you may switch your stance to battle your opponent's stance more effectively. X and Circle are the two different attacks, press them with the direction pad and you may use different moves, depending on the weapon and moveset. Every character has a weapon the specialize in, with which they have a couple of extra unique moves.
 Characters can also jump and crouch, and you may throw dirt in order to throw the enemy off balance. There's also a unique special sub-weapon for each character, ranging from deadly sword throws to slightly damaging shurikens. There's no real defense in the game, instead, you deflect slashes with slashes. If you parry an attack with the opposing attack(Press O to counter the enemies X or vice versa) and you'll execute a perfect defense, which throws the enemy off balance, use the same time of attack and you'll block the attack but get thrown off balance.

 Stages are very large, and using the free run button, you can freely move around. Some stages feature elevations that can be climbed, though some also feature huge gaps, fall into them and it means death. There are no time limits, and the game feels very metodical, you can't throw moves around willy nilly, as any opening could mean death, few games manage to make you feel this tense so easily. There's a first person mode too, but it's almost unplayable, so it's better left as a curiosity.
 As for modes, there's the Story mode, you pick a character from one of the two schools and proceed through a number of stages. You must defeat a certain number of generic ninjas and then one of the playable characters from the opposing school. Here you will get to play as two other characters from the same school, win their stage without dying, and they become selectable on all modes. There's Versus and Training modes too, but most interestingy, Group Battle. In Group Battle you play as a school versus the other one, with bamboo swords. Instead of death, you score points. You can also unlock Slash Mode, where you must face off against 100 opponents.

 Graphics are good, characters look a bit too blocky, but not too bad. The designs however are a bit hit or miss, some characters look quite silly or boring, few actually look decent. The animation is quite good too, but until you get the hang of the movelist, they may seem a bit stiff, heck, the game feels a bit stiff until you get into it's slower paced groove. There's almost no music, at all, and the voice acting is all over the place. Some are really bad, and the rest are passable at best, the dialogue is not too bad, luckily.
 It's not the prettiest game, the character designs are ugly, and it can become a very slow game, but it's the only game of it's kind(well, it and it's sequel), and it excels at what it does.
9 out of 10

First Archimpressions: Rival Schools

 This game is awesome. Seriously, what more can I say?

 This game. Jesus. THIS. GAME. For starters, I love the physics, characters feel heavier than in other fighting games, it's hard to explain, but if you play it you'll notice. Another thing, it's incredibly fast and flui, even the recovery techniques add to the speedy feel, as characters place their hands on the floor, before touching it, and recover from the fall. Even neater, pick two characters from the same school, and you get chapter introductions. Even more neat, there seems to be two "Roads" depending on which partner you picked! Serves just right, as there are two endings per characters.
 It has to be mentioned, the game is hard, even on the easiest settings... until you learn how to play. There's a dodge mechanic, learn to use it. The CPU will block most of your attacks, but time the Dodge right when they use an special move, and you'll get right behind them, with an extra energy bar! Learn to abuse it and you'll outcheap the CPU.
 So far I got the good ending on both Arcade and Evolution discs with Batsu, but Evolution doesn't save the endings you get, so I'll just settle with the bad ones. Hey, they don't even have audio and getting the good ending requires some special measures which aren't necesarilly so easy.
 Almost forgot, the art. There are a 100 art pieces, 50 per disc, and they are shown while the game loads, they are awesome, even if they are in japanese. The art style of the game is also fantastic, the character designs have a very unique style, with big hands and expresive faces. The translation is not as fantastic. You can tell that characters sometimes speak way more than what the subs would have you believe, and if you recognize the japanese words, you can tell took some liberties.
 ONCE I WAKE UP, BUSHIDO BLADE 2 REVIEW, EGADS!

"First" Archimpressions: State of Emergency

 My kind of game.

 This game is amazing. Kinda. Maybe. Maybe not. So, this game is VERY arcadey, specially Chaos mode. Revolution, which is the mode I'm gonna tackle first, feels like GTA on a smaller scale. Certain NPCs give you missions, you complete them, rinse and repeat. The protection missions are a pain in the... they get really hard, as they are relentless. Still, I feel as if that's not the meat of the game.... oh no, that would be Chaos.
 Chaos mode has no story, just different modes. Time Attack(3,5,10 minute variations), Last Clone Standin and unlimited time. In this mode, there are no real missions, but objectives, and weapons spawn on various points throughout the map. This mode is much more fun, but I feel it might be a tad more time consuming(Even though there are a lot of missions in Revolution mode), which is why I left it for later.
 Oh well, first Impressions? I like it a lot.

Archview #32: Robotech: Battlecry

 I tried to draw a Veritech, I really did. But the only image I had, the cover, had it obstructured by the beam rifle. So I gave up. Sorry.

 Robotech: Battlecry is a third person shooter made by the people who would develop the western Earth Defense Force game. Based on the Anime-ish series(Robotech is a mixture of three different anime series, true story) in which you are put in the shoes of Jack Archer, a character created for the game, as he takes on the Zentraedi forces, giant aliens that want to conquer the earth. How would Jack, the giant killer(He actually says this in game), face off against giant enemies? The Veritech. Veritechs are vehicles that can turn into three different modes: Fighter, an airplane, Battloid, takes up on a humanoid shape and Guardian, which is, basically, an airplane with arms and legs.
 If Jack is to survive the game, he will have to make the most of all three forms. The Fighter is the speediest form, and has acces to missles, decoys and barrel rolls. The Barrloid is the slowest and less manuverable of the bunch, but it can shoot missiles with it's machinegun and use a sniper mode. The Guardian  can actually stay on place, which the Fighter can't, and has access to missiles, albeit weaker than the fighter's. All three forms have their uses, and you'll find yourself switching through them as you fight, you will need to. You'll also need to keep an eye out for your rifle, while ammunition(Both missiles and lasers) are unlimited, both are governed by a gauge, so you can't go trigger happy.

 The game is no walk in the park, thankfully you can change the difficulty settings whenever you want. The game starts off easy enough, but later, the enemies get more agressive and smarter. There are 5 chapters with many missions for you to tackle, and the objectives are pretty diverse. Sometimes you may need to hold off a bunch of enemies, protect allies, slaughter all your enemies, carry stuff from one point to another, or just get to the end of the level, so variety is never an issue. The controls will take some time to take used to, boosting while shooting lasers and missiles will never feel truly comfortable, but you'll learn to make do.
 Not only is the game pretty lenghty, there are many unlockables. You can unlock other head models, which actually affect your stats and paint schemes, both original and from the anime series. There's also a multiplayer versus mode with unlockable stages, while little more than a divertion, it has some exclusive units that can only be used in that mode. Finally, there are interviews with the cast from the anime dub, also unlockable, they did go the extra mile.

 Graphics consist on very simple cell shaded forms, but they are incredibly colorful and detailed. The 2-D explotions, while on screenshots they may look awful, in gameplay, they fit the game fantastically. The music is good, nothing too impressive, but the voice acting feels a bit overdone. Every now and then, the game will have some exposition hand-drawn scenes narrated by Jack, these can get quite boring. Sadly, there are audio bugs everywhere, sometimes the audio may skip, sometimes the portraits will get stuck on the screen and the such, they are actually quite common, a put a slight damper on an otherwise neat presentation.

 All in all, Robotech Battlecry is a good game. It's hard, and the audio bugs are impossible to ignore, but there are plenty of extras to keep players interested.
 7.5 out of 10.