Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z is ruined. RUINED.

 Why would you do this!?

 I'm not the biggest Dragon Ball fan, but I've always had a soft spot for the games. One of the in particular, I loved, Dragon Ball Z: Legends, released for the PS1 and the Saturn, only in Japan. Dragon Ball Z: Legends had you play in a team of 3 against other 3 characters, or you could handicap yourself if you so wished it. The game had a fairly short, but fun, story mode, but after you were done with it, you had Multiplayer which was unbelievably fun. Even though dozens of Dragon Ball Z games have been released since, none has played even remotely similar to it.
 It's 2014, the latest DBZ games have been awful to say the least. Ultimate Tenkaichi, while it looks very nice, it basically plays itself and Dragon Ball Z Kinect is... it's a Kinect game, need I say more? Ever since Battle of Z had been announced, I've been hyped for it, it sounded very similar to Legends, and after playing the demo, I was looking forwards to it. It was different, but it shared some elements, and the gameplay was actually fun. Dragon Ball Z fans cried foul, though, they just couldn't stand no in-game transformations, but I couldn't care less, due to limitations(probably), Legends didn't have in-game transformations and it was awesome. Regardless, I was gonna buy this game at release. Was.
 So what has killed this game for me? For starters, Pre-Order DLC. And the worst kind, every retailer gets a different DLC, so you are gonna have to choose between the awful Naruto costume(A fairly inoffensive piece of DLC, which is the right kind of Pre-Order DLC, if you really must absolutely have it because your Publisher is a F***ing D****e.), Super Saiyan Bardock and Super Vegeto. Super Saiyan Bardock doesn't bother me nearly as much as Super Vegeto, 'cause y'see, Super Vegeto is a fairly vital part of the story. In the anime, Vegeto goes Super Saiyan to continue his battle with Buu, but in the manga, Vegeto is in his base state for a mere ONE panel, that is to say that Super Vegeto is a much bigger part of the story than Vegeto. And he is pre-order DLC. REALLY?.
 But DLC bullsh!t is not a deal breaker(Unless you pull a Capcom). Y'know what is? No offline multiplayer. In the words of the angriest nerd that you'll ever meet, what where they thinking?! Even worse, it seems that the only offline mode will be Story Mode. Who was in charge of this game? You do know that gaming evolves and changes formats, right? Alongside this transformations, SERVERS DIE, which means that at some point in time, a huge part of this game will be dead and unplayable. The game has no shelf life what so ever.
 Taking all of this into account, Battle of Z is no longer a day-1 buy for me, but a it's a day-it-costs-20-or-less buy. This game looked promising, heck, it's probably a good game at it's best, but it's a game with a death sentence.

Now Playing: Kingdoms of Amalur - Reckoning

 So far, pretty nice.

 Since I finished Two Worlds 2 a couple of days ago, it was time to start a new game. I didn't have much to choose from, but I figured KoA was long overdue. I've played little past getting out of the Mines, meaning I would still be playing the demo if this was the demo(Which it's not), but I figured it's time for my initial impressions. The game is pretty sweet. Combat is smooth and fast-paced, feels really good and the art-style is fantastic, reminiscent of the Warcraft Series. As for cons, not a single one but a few nitpickety things, like the avaiable faces for character creation being a bit ugly or not being able to sell stolen goods to common NPCs.

Review #87: Saint Seiya - Brave Soldiers

 I hate myself for liking it. I do.

 First things first: This game is a rip off. Most of the content on the disc comes from the previous game on the PS3(And according to some people, a lot of assets were from the PS2 version, but I can't really attest to that). Animations, camera angles and stages? Loads from the previous game. I dare say that it's the same models but with a shiny new coat of cell-shading. Special attacks, down to the same camera angles come from the previous game. Even better, the game boasts 50 characters, but most of them are clones with one or two different attacks(Two Sagas, Two Kanons, FIVE Seiyas, Four Shiryus, Four Hyogas, Three Shuns, Three Ikkis, Two Shuras, Two Camus(Camuae?)). To add insult to the injury, ALL of the DLC is already on the disc, and what's the DLC? Another Shion, Odin Seiya(Who was DLC on the previous game and, by all means, should've been on this game for free), Leo Ikki and Virgo Shun, kinda odd how all the other bronze Saints get their armors but them, huh?. Even better, only Seiya gets his God cloth(That's why there's Five Seiyas). Then there's costumes that range from alternate colorations to un-clothed versions which, by the way, WERE ALREADY ON THE PREVIOUS GAME. What's more, the gameplay is more-or-less taken straight from the older game, but adapted to make it more "fighty". This game was made on the cheap, but with the object of reaping as much money as possible.
 Luckily, that's the worst part of the game, and with it out of the way, let's go on. Saint Seiya - Brave Soldiers is a fighting game based on the popular franchise by the same name. The game's main attraction is the Story Mode which follows the story from the Sanctuary Arc to the Hades Arc, skipping the anime-only(filler) Asgard saga(Still, they will charge you for Odin Seiya). The story mode is told entirely through dialogue between character cut-outs, with the occasional frame from the anime every now and then, it's kind of lame but to be fair, it's fully voiced. Also, a little neat thingie, that only people who are familiar with the manga will notice, when characters deliver some of their important lines, a black bubbly text bubble with white text will appear, like on Kurumada's manga. The problem with this mode, is that it feels artificially lengthened by forcing you to fight an opponent twice or thrice. Many a times, it would go as follows: Dialogue, then fight two rounds against your opponent, more dialogue, two more rounds. Sometimes your opponent will gain some boost(Like 10% boost to their attack power), but it does little to make it feel different. Story Mode quickly becomes a drag because of this, it could've and should've  been streamlined a bit more, maybe making each fight last only one round?

 After you are done with the Story Mode, you have Battle Mode. Battle Mode has your usual Versus and Training modes, plus Galaxian Wars(Tournament) and Survival. Versus has a couple of "sub-modes", like "first strike wins" or whoever throws down the opponent three times first wins, they are not very fun, but they are there. Galaxian Wars gets a special mention due to their fidelity to the source material, you have an announcer(with individual quotes for each Saint, but shared between versions of each Saint) and after each combo, a "Power gauger" gauges the damage inflicted, just like on the show, nice little detail. Lastly, there's a Feature called Orb. By clearing challenges in the Story Mode, you unlock Orbs(That must be bought with points earned on every mode) that you can equip to customize your character, but they can only be used in one of the sub-modes in battle mode, so it feels very under-used, optional and like a bit of an after thought, or the developers trying to add some kind of depth?
 As for the fighting itself, there's not a whole lot to it. You get a weak and strong attack that can be linked together for 5-6 hit combos, a jump that doubles as dash if you press it twice and two special attacks. The game takes place on 3D arenas in which you can freely move about, this also means that blocking is done by pressing a button. There's three gauges involved, the life bars at the top, and the Cosmo and 7th Sense gauges. 7th Sense is charged by receiving and dealing damage, and activating it granst you a power boost for a short while. Cosmo is charged by damaging your opponent or charging it with a button, Cosmo is used to use your special attacks, home in towards your opponent, unleash one of two burst attacks(weak/strong attack+Cosmo button), teleport behind your opponent if you press R1 as soon as you are hit or unleash you Ultimate Big Bang Attack. It may sound a bit overwhelming, and there are more buttons involved than expected, it's easy to get the hang of it.

 Gameplay is pretty shallow, but it's not too bad. Personally, I found that basic attacks deal to little damage while special attacks deal too much damage. Fighting games based on anime rarely have balance as one of their priorities and it shows, some characters, like Shaka, have special attacks that are way too situational as to rely on them consistently, then you have someone like Ikki who's Phoenix Flight is good in every kind of situation and can hit airborne enemies with ease.
 The game's strongest suit are the graphics by far. The are shiny and look fantastic, armors are colorful and bright, they are a joy to look at, and the characters themselves are fairly faithful to their anime counterparts. The Cosmo beams and special FX for attacks look amazing as well, there's color EVERYWHERE. Stages are a bit blander, specially the ones that return from the older game, seems they didn't get the same updated treatment the models got. Music, on the other hand, is generic and bland, guess music from the show was too expensive to get, and we know just how little money Namco spent on this game. Voice acting is Japanese only and it's pretty decent, even if they use the new voice-cast, and while most of the cast is pretty alright, Seiya's voice doesn't really fit him).

 I've criticized this game plenty. I reckon it's a rip-off of epic proportions. But despite everything, it is a fun game. I had fun with it, heck, I am having fun with it still. So what's my veredict? If you are a Saint Seiya fan, get it but don't pay a dime to unlock stuff on your disc. For people that don't like the show, don't bother, it's a shallow game whose biggest strength is just how beautiful it looks.
 8.0 out of 10.

Now Playing: Two Worlds 2

 Because I've been wanting to play a Western RPG for a change.

 So... I character creation is awful. It actually has a fair amount of options, but they are all so ugly. And the torso-to-arms proportions seem a bit off. Matters not, create a character I did, and then.... awful framerate, even if lips were correctly synced, the drops make them out of sync. Then came the introductory sequence in which you break out of the prison, it was a tad too long, too long without action, too long without earning experience even when you finally got to kill enemies... it lasted for a bit too long. Still, after the introduction was out of the way... the game was so clunky. Menus are bad. Animations are awful(The attacks look so hilariously bad). Voice acting, specially for the main character, is bad. Armors, on the other hand, look pretty neat. And despite it all, it's a bit fun.
 I just spent two hours questing and exploring(Until I defeated every enemy I could beat and only the so-strong-that-they-can-off-me-in-two-blows remained and finally started the first chapter. I'm not impressed, but I'm having a bit of fun.

Review #86: Castlevania - Lament of Innocence

 This is Castlevania in 3D done right.

 Castlevania doesn't have the best track record when it comes to going 3D. "3Dvanias" are often divisive, some people like them, some people hate them. Castlevania 64 is either a pretty decent attempt at bringing the series to the third dimension or a really bad game. Castlevania Lords of Shadows is either a great game or a God of Warrior clone that is Castlevania in name only. Good news, Castlevania Lament of Innocence(LoI) is not only a great game, but a great transition to 3D for the series.
 The game would take place at the start of the Castlevania timeline. Leon Belmont's beloved is taken away by Walter, an evil vampire count. Leon rushes to her aide and comes across Rinaldo, a man that lives on the outskirts of the castle and lends him the Alchemy Whip, a weapon capable of damaging vampires and related demons. The story is nothing special, but it gets the job done... the writing is really bad though. Dialogue falls under the "so bad it's good" category, so at least it's not a total train wreck.

 Lament of Innocence is an adventure game that borrows most of it's elements from the "Metroidvania" branch of Castlevania games. Your goal is clear from the very beginning, defeat the five monsters that guard the five orbs that are needed to open the path to Walter's throne. The Castle is divided in six major areas, and you can tackle the initial five in any order. As with any Metroidvania worth it's salt, there's a huge map to explore, and some areas are not readily open for Leon, so he might need to find items in other zones in order to open them up. Luckily, most backtracking is completely optional if you wanto 100% the map and get every item, still, the game could've used some sort of warp system to make it more palatable.
 Combat is very straight forward: Square performs a weak, but fast, swing of the whip, while triangle performs a stronger and slower attack. There's a fair amount of combos that you can perform, and as you defeat enemies you'll earn new ones, don't be mistaken though as there is no leveling up system, you just earn new moves every now and then. Leon also has access to all the classic sub-weapons, the Axe, the Knife, the Holy Water, the Cross and the Crystal, which consume hearts that are obtained from breakables. Each of the five orbs, plus two hidden ones, alter how sub weapons behave, so there's a huge amount of different sub-weapon attacks. Rounding up his arsenal, Leon's enchanted gauntlet can absorb MP by blocking enemies magic attacks, and can then use MP to activate Relics that bestow many different abilities. So far so good, but for some reason they decided to make menus work in real time. You can't pause and use items or equip items, instead, you have to use the right analog stick to navigate menus, using healing items during boss battles can be very annoying.

 

 Graphics are top notch, the game runs at a silky smooth 60 fps and looks beautiful. There's plenty of different enemies and they all look very nice, the castle itself is very dark, as it should be, but each area has it's own distinct theme. There are a couple of corridors that look very samey and seem to hold no purpose, but I guess that this being Metroidvania 'n all, it's expected for them to be in the game. Music is downright phenomenal, Castlevania is a series that never disappoints when it comes to music. Lastly, voice acting is... it's actually pretty decent considering the awful lines that they must deliver.
 Lament of Innocence lasts a solid 6 hours, and that's what it took me to 100% it, every item and hidden boss found and defeated, but, finishing the game unlocks plenty of extras: Crazy Mode(A harder game), All Skills(Get all skills from the start), Joachim(An alternate character that plays NOTHING like Leon), Pumpkin(A character that shares only the basic moveset with Leon, he gets his own exclusive sub weapons and playing as him actually feels different) and a couple of others. Suffice to say, what it lacks in length it makes up in extras.

 I never had a problem with Lords of Shadows, what's more, I actually loved it. But after playing Lament of Innocence I can understand why fans disliked Lords of Shadows, while in LoI you get to explore a giant castle, like most Metroidvanias, you get to fight classic enemies(Mermen, the floating Eyes, the Doppleganger, Golem, Succubus, Skeletons, Blood Skeletons, the zombies... I can go on),  LoS has NOTHING tying it to Castlevania besides the Belmonts and the name. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is a game that I can recommend both to fans of Castlevania and people looking for a decent action-adventure game.
 8.0 out of 10.

Now Playing: Bravely Default Demo

 Oldschool goodness.

 The demo just came out in North America, which meant that I could finally take a stab at this highly hyped game. So far? I like it. the beginning of the game was a tad annoying as I had to go back to the Inn after every fight, but eventually it got better. I got money, bought spells and items and it was swift sailing. Graphics are infinitely cute, even if some of the super-deformed characters are a bit oversexualized.
 Gameplay is very oldschool, in a good way, and you can speed up the combat which is arguably really useful. I just fought the first boss and it was a bit hard, I liked it.
 This game is very promising. Very.

Now Playing: Castlevania - Lament of Innocence

 This game is really good.

 I remember this game having received mediocre reviews, I also remember liking it quite a bit. I spent a little bit over an hour on it, got my first orb!, and so far I'm impressed. It's really good, people say that Castlevania can't go 3D, and they often cite 64vania and LoS(Which I actually liked). Castlevania: LoS is how you do Castlevania in 3D. All the classic enemies are here, all the classic weapons are here and it's moderately challenging. So not only is it a good Castlevania game, it's also a friggin' good game by itself.

 I heart this game so much, can't wait to play more of it.