Now Playing: Evil Dead Regeneration

 Ash is back in business.

Sam the Deadite is voiced by Ted Raimi, the director Sam Raimi's brother....

 I just finished the first level and first boss, and dang, it's good. They managed to get the humor just right, I haven't checked if it was made by the same dev team, but kudos. As for the gameplay, it's a bit more focused and less chaotic, we've got combos, infinite ammo and a Hulk version of Ash! You've also got Sam, the Deadite sidekick, but I just found him so I haven't seen how his puzzles work yet.

 I'm diggin' the gameplay, I am, but... is there a point to having different combos? Why would I want to use a combo over another one? There's no juggling system, and the damage-stun doesn't seem to lend itself for fancy combo-making, so I dunno. As for the unlimited ammo, I don't know if I'm gonna like that. At first I thought 'Why would I use the gun over shotgun???', but the first boss proved that it was easier to gun him down with a fast-shooting pistol than the slow-as-molasses shotgun, so maybe the different guns will have different situations so as not to make any one gun obsolete. And it was kinda cool how chainsawing the boss while he had electricity coursing through him instantly killed me, I hope the rest of the bosses have details like that.

 Last thing I wanna mention is... oh boy, we've got a budget now! This game looks TOO good for a licensed game, even facial expressions are well animated. I dunno, judging from the first level, this game looks pretty friggin' good.

Review #475: Evil Dead - A Fistful of Boomstick

 This is ma boomstick!

Yeah... the cover art isn't very good.

 The last Evil Dead movie, at the time, released at around 1992 or so, so why would it get a videogame in 2004 is beyond me, but where there is a franchise there is money to be made, so THQ was quick to bring it to the PS2 era consoles. A Fistful of Boomstick is an action-adventure game taking place after the Army of Darkness, in which you, as Ashley Williams, must stop the Deadite invasion.

 There're two modes of play Story Mode and Arcade Mode. Story Mode puts Ashley in six different zones or areas, which you must traverse as you fulfill goals from your 'To-do list'. Ash can equip two different weapons, his Chainsaw arm can be outfitted with two types of saws, a flamethrower and even a minigun, while he carries another weapon, mostly guns but a few melee weapons like swords and shovels or even dynamite. X uses your Saw-arm while Square uses your other weapon, hilariously enough, you can only target enemies when you have a gun on your left arm, but you can't aim if you are holding a sword but have the minigun equipped!

You'll be visiting the woods throughout different eras, so get used to it.

 There're various spells too, that consume energy from a green gauge, that range from making you stronger to allowing you to possess enemies or even summon Deadite dogs to aid you. You fill this green gauge by defeating enemies, and you shouldn't be too lavish with your casting since many puzzles require spells in order to proceed and if you lack the magic points, well, you gotta go around town and defeat enemies until you can cast it. Most puzzles and goals are fairly easy to figure out, but there're a couple that are impossible to figure out on your own. How was I to know that I had to throw a dynamite stick on the strip club's courtyard? Everything hinted towards me needing a key to enter through the back. how was I supposed to know that I had to throw a Dynamite stick to get out of the room I entered with Dog Possession? Absolutely nothing hinted towards that object being destructible. There were a few other poor design choices, quite a few times I had to go around the entire stages again to see if something new triggered after talking to a new NPC or what have you, which is pretty lame.

 While this is mostly a very simple action game, there're a few survival horror elements in place. Ammo for your guns is limited, but to be fair the game is fairly generous with it, and medikits are limited as well, not to mention that the game doesn't restore your health after clearing a stage or a boss. Saving can only be done by collecting save tokens or clearing a stage. It's a bit weird having these elements in the game, but they aren't intrusive nor add anything to the game.

I think the State of Emergency engine worked well for this game.

 The game is relatively short, but you unlock all six areas in Arcade Mode by beating them, Arcade Mode being a mission-mode of sorts which tasks you with doing silly, self-contained missions and aim for a high score. Yay? As for the game itself, as bland, simple and sometimes poorly designed as it is... it's kinda fun. The combat is clunky, but tearing deadites apart is fun sporadically. Still, the game's biggest draw is how true to the franchise it is... well, to Army of Darkness anyways, the humor, dialogue and setting feels very natural and faithful to it. There's time travel involved, and Ash even gets to meet his ancestors, on most games this plot device would've been meh, but here they knocked it out of the park. What I mean to say is that it actually feels like I'm playing a continuation of Evil Dead 3.

 Evil Dead - A Fistful of Boomstick is nothing to write home about but as an Evil Dead game it passes with flying colors. Even if you're not familiar with the franchise, I think the game might be entertaining since the humor, setting and Ashley Williams himself are very entertaining on their own. That said, as far as gameplay goes, it's nothing special, just your average, everyday third person shooter.
 6.5 out of 10

Now Playing: Evil Dead - A Fistful of Boomstick

 Evil Dead of Emergency.

A fistful o' shovel considering how good that weapon is.

 There were three Evil Dead games released, or at least three that really did matter, Hail to the King on PS1/Dreamcast and A Fistful of Boomstick and Regeneration on the PS2-era consoles. I was familiar with two of them, HttK which was an awful, awful survival horror game and AFoB which ran on the State of Emergency engine and thus played a bit similarly.

 I just finished the first... mission? World? Stage? Whatevs, it's pretty alright. I mean, it runs on the State of Emergency engine so there's only so much you can do. The game is a bit flat, so I hope we see stages with more verticality, although considering white men can't jump and Ash Williams seems to be no exception... I'm not too hopeful.

Review #474: Darkwatch

 Halloween begins with Halo. In the Wild West. With Vampires.

Mind yer step partner, this ride might be yer last.

 Welcome to Darkwatch, a society that hunts down the undead, also, the name of this very first person shooter set in the Wild West, albeit one that's infested by vampires and the such. Also, a game made infamous by a sex-scene that happens midway through the game, but trust me, the game is more than cheap titillation.

 You play as Jericho Cross, who's latest heist will make him a rich man... except that he happened to raid a Darkwatch train, carrying Lazarus the vampire, who thanks Jericho by siring him. Now Jericho teams up with Darkwatch in order to stop Lazarus and save himself. There's not a lot of story in the game, but it gets the job done of presenting you with a thread to connect your shootouts. The gothic art direction meshes relatively well with the western setting, albeit in their need of having fanservice, Tala's skin-tight latex suit doesn't really mesh well with the rest of the Western-styled uniforms.

You'll be raiding a few trains throughout Jericho's tale.

 If you've ever played Halo 1 you'll be right at home here. Jericho can only carry two guns with him, and you've got a miserable amount of life points, but you're aided by a regenerating blood shield that works just like Halo's shield. There's a metal-cart-jeep-thing section not unlike Halo's own vehicle sections too. Hell, you also get a naked blue ethereal chick companion to guide you! Basically, Halo in a vampire western setting. That said, Jericho has something that Master Chief doesn't: Vampire powers. Defeated enemies drop souls that can either heal you or fill your blood powers gauge, if your life is full, once you fill this gauge you can use any of your acquired powers, about 5 of them, out of a possible 10.

 Y'see, throughout the game you'll be allowed simple moral choices 'Save the civilian or feed from him/her' which will eventually grant you powers. It's a very simple system and it doesn't affect the ending in any way, what does affect it is single a moral choice 3/4ths into the game. The game is overall pretty short, and has way too many turret sections but only a couple of sunlight sections. The two stages that involve sunlight are pretty interesting, since they force you to seek shadows, lest you lose your vampire powers, including your shield! As short as the game is, you can play the entire game in co-op and it also features a versus mode, with two different types of matches!

Nothing says Vampire Slayer like a crossbow.

 Most of the game is relatively fun, although a few sections were a bit boring. Specifically a few shoot-outs that took place in very open arenas, but with few and sparse monsters. By the end of the game you'll be swarmed by enemies, which is better. The game could've done with more variety in the weapons department, but at least it's got the basics covered: Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Dual Pistols, Rocket Launcher and even a crossbow for good measure, sadly, Jericho's six-shooter is lost once he turns into a vampire.

 Darkwatch is a fun but brief first person shooter. It has a few overused tropes and a few underutilized mechanics that could've been better juggled to make for a more compelling overall game, but what's here is still pretty good. It was probably too much of a Halo clone to make much of a splash, since it put it directly in competition with that juggernaut of a franchise in its heyday, so now it's easier to appreciate it by itself.
 8.0 out of 10

Now Playing: DarkWatch

 It's high noon, and Halloween is nigh...

Welcome to a Vampire Western. We've got Cowboys VS Aliens too, all we need now is Samurai vs Cowboys.

 Alright, it's not high noon, but every good Western starts like that, right? It's the month of Halloween, also known as the best month of the year, and what a better way to start it with than with High Moon Studios' Darkwatch, a criminally forgotten FPS with vampires, cowboys and six-shooters.

 I've done the first few stages, just finished the cemetery, and it's been quite decent so far. A few of the shoot-outs were a bit on the boring side, since enemies are too slow and far too sparse for the wide-large areas, but it's otherwise pretty good. I like the art direction, although this 'Tala' chaaracter, which I came upon searching for the game's cover, is an awful, terrible character design that must've come out of a 12 year old's mind.

Month Overview: September 2017

 Tally:
Floating Runner - Quest for the 7 Crystals 3.0
X-Men - Mutant Academy 2 7.5
Stretch Panic 8.0
The Simpsons - Hit & Run 7.0
TMNT(PS2) 4.0
Psychic Force 2 8.0
Gouketuji Ichizoku 2 8.0
Devil May Cry 8.0
Devil May Cry 2 6.5
Devil May Cry 3 10
Dragon Ball Z -  Idainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu 8.0
Dragon Ball Z - Ultimate Battle 22 3.0
Seven Samurai 20XX 6.5
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate 7.5



 Thing I did this month: Finally played all PS1 Dragon Ball games. Things I regret this month: Playing all PS1 Dragon Ball games. I kid, I kid, Idainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu is pretty cool. It was a pretty decent month, I finally finished Monster Hunter 3... kinda, that game is eternal, but I got my money's worth out of it and then some. I replayed the entire PS2 DMC games, and even this soon, they still held up.

 Game of September 2017:

 Probably the greatest action game ever made. Probably. Like, what is there not to love about it? The action is phenomenal and feels great to land hits, the cutscenes are nonsensical but amazing, there're tons of possibilities with the combo system and the game is pretty lengthy. And then there's a second character that brings an entirely different set of tools into the table. DMC 3 is nothing short of amazing.

 Runner-up:

 It was tough selecting the number one spot, and it almost came to a draw between Idainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu and Stretch Panic, but I went with this one since I adored the originality and creativity.

Review #473: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate(3DS)

 What is accessibility?

I don't know whose idea was it to make the Azure Rathalos the flagship monster, but I don't agree with it

 I love Monster Hunter, I do, ever since I first played it on the Wii. Think of it as a glorified boss-rush game of sorts: You track a giant monster, you kill it and you scavenge its remains to craft yourself stronger armor and better weapons. But... since the first time I tried out Monster Hunter quite a handful of clones have come out, and I've played a bunch of them, like Toukiden, Soul Sacrifice and Gods Eater and I think there's no going back for me...

 There's a story mode in the game about a beast causing earthquakes on a nearby fishing village, but it's pretty much fluff to get you hunting monsters. What you have to do is accept quests from the Guild Girl and perform them. First things first, while there is a pretty lengthy single player component, the meat of the game is the multiplayer mode.. but the 3DS version has no online, so if you wanna hunt with people ya gotta do it offline. And you should, the game is a thousand times better when playing with people. Unlike the Wii version, you can undertake Online Missions while offline, and even take the two underlings the game gives you on this missions, but be warned, while enemies' stats in online scale according to the amount of players, they are still tougher than their offline counterparts.

Armors are incredibly detailed and badass in this game.

 Before you decide on undertaking this game be careful as it's a brutal grind. The beauty of the game is that it has you hunting very tough boss-monsters that requires the player to learn the monster's tells, patterns and behaviors. And you'll be hunting monsters dozens upon dozens of times since you want its parts to craft better armor and weapons. It feels really good to learn how to take down an enemy, maybe the Pink Rathian killed you on your first hunt, then you managed to slay it with a sliver of health left and then you're taking it down while consuming less and less health items, it feels very rewarding! And besides the satisfaction of getting better, you also get to craft stronger armor and stronger weapons, win-win.

 Well, that's what happens when the game is at its best. The truth of the matter is that you're going to be killing the same monster over and over and over again. This is why so many people sink hundreds of hours into this game, because the parts you need for your weapon or your armor just aren't dropping. It gets so bad that fans of the game call it the 'Desire sensor', the more you want a part the more likely it won't drop. And you also need to gather bugs and minerals for your equipment, and once again, there're rare drops when gathering these, and you must use pick-axes, nets and even fishing hooks to gather these, tools that randomly break. 50% of your time will be spent hunting the same monsters over and over again, 40% will be spent trying to get the mineral or bug that you need and 10% will be spent actually doing new quests. And don't even let me get started on specific drops, for instance, I mained the Dual Swords but in order to upgrade my poison pair.... I had to break a Gigginox's head with a hammer, so I had to learn an entirely different weapon in order to upgrade the weapons I was actually using. The ****???? And even then, I had to do this to have a CHANCE of getting the drop, basically, RNG for the RNG. Heck, sometimes you need to craft poison bombs to kill insects and try to get their rare drops, so now you have to gather materials, for a random chance of getting what you want, then craft traps and then kill the bugs with these and then HOPE that you get what you want.

Multi-player is the way to go with Monster Hunter.

 Another issue I had was with High Rank. Your first hunts, and the first half of the single player component, is spent in 'Low Rank', fighting easy monsters(Well, easy in comparison to what you'll be fighting in High Rank), and then you hit High Rank and... all your armor turns useless. Remember all those times you spent hunting the Rathalos? Well, you gotta do it all over again if you want an actually useful Rathalos armor that looks EXACTLY the same to your old set. At least in G Rank, the rank after High Rank, the armors look different. But not in high rank, oh no. Heck, during missions you are given free supplies, but after entering High Rank supplies will be... supplied randomly, and you'll start in a random area, which kinda sucks, since you need a map if you want to see how the area is divided. The MH community is kinda toxic so you'll be told that 'you should've memorized the areas by now', but it really, really sucks and is such an unneeded complexity.

 A lot of the fun I was having with the game was stilted as soon as I hit high rank. Having to slay the SAME monsters I had been killing, even if stronger and more aggressive, to craft identical looking armor to the one I had before was such a bummer. It doesn't help that for the longest time you'll be fighting the same exact monsters from High Rank. The first set of HR quests only give you the Purple R. Ludroth, Crimson Quropeco and the Pink Rathian, which are subspecies of the Royal Ludroth, Quropeco and Rathian, and only offer slightly different behaviors. It wasn't much fun. The second set of sub quests offered the first new monster, the Plesioth, and then a bunch of new recolors. I mean, subspecies. Finally, the third wave gave me the Zynogre, and so on... High Rank was a mood killer.

Exploiting an enemy's elemental weakness can make the hunt a whole lot easier.

 And the sad part about it is that other MH clones 'fixed' these things by being more streamlined. You don't need a map item to see how areas are connected, gathering materials doesn't require you to carry tools that randomly break, you don't need to break parts with specific weapons or damage types to obtain certain drops and the drop rate is much more lenient. Monster Hunter is needlessly complex in some aspects, which will certainly be a major plus for a certain niche.

 Also, keep in mind that the game will barely explain its mechanics to the player.  Like the stamina bar, which after a while decreases permanently unless you cook certain supplies, of course, you're not told which supplies fix this or how to make them until you actually make them. There's a bunch of capture missions that need the player to trap the enemy, but these traps have to be crafted, since they aren't readily available, and you're never told how to, you just have to try different things together. Fun. And you can't carry many traps with you, if you place the trap and the enemy runs away you're screwed, since you can't remove the trap and you can't place another one until that one breaks after seven minutes. A problem that is easily resolved in multiplayer, when every player can carry their own set of traps and each one can place one.

The Lagiacrus was the MH3's flagship monster. Never forget the original.

 Hopefully you don't think I'm over, because I'm not. The game is very tough, VERY tough. Not only can monsters get pretty brutal, you also have to contend with other factors besides your stamina meter, things like your weapon's sharpness. As you hit the enemy it will lose its edge to the point that your strikes will be deflected, so now you have to search for an opening and try to sharpen it back to shape. Healing can be hazardous too, since enemies have a sixth sense and they will go directly towards you if you try to drink a potion. It's a very brutal game, but it's quite fun whenever you get to fight a new monster, with new behaviors and attacks, and then get to craft a badass new set of armor and weapon. Single player offers you two companions in the form of Kayamba and Cha-cha, a pair of useless little critters. You can 'equip' them with dances, such as healing or buffs, but it seem like they'll never use the dance that you need. You get poisoned, so drink an antidote and seconds later they cast their antidote dance. Thanks for nothing. You'll soon learn not to really on them, but hey, at least sometimes they can act as diversions for you to chug a potion down your throat.

 Monster Hunter 3 also introduced underwater combat and... it's trash. Look, the controls are pretty cumbersome, but you can get used to them. The 3DS version has a pretty useful lock-on mechanic, so even if you don't have the analog-nub(I didn't!) you can press L to move the camera behind you or towards your enemy. It works really well, I promise, but when you add swimming and underwater combat into the mix... it gets really bad. To say that underwater monsters were my least favorite would be an understatement.

Don't rely on your Single Player minions, they are horrible.

 I'd also like to comment on how the game has worked ever since Monster Hunter on the PS2: Each Area is divided in various different, numbered areas, and are interconnected in different ways. The problem is... enemies LOVE hitting you through areas, which means sitting through TWO different loading screens, one when you get hit INTO another area and another one when you return to the fray. It's pretty annoying, and you also need to factor in that monsters love to get inside this transition zones, so it's pretty easy to be running towards a monster only to accidentally transition into another area, so having to sit through two loading screens again. And then you have to try to lure the monster out of that transition zone so that you can hit it.

 This is getting pretty lengthy, but I almost forgot to touch upon weapons. There're about a dozen different weapon types and each of them work very differently. Dual Swords are fast, and are built around Demon and Archdemon modes, in which you have to enter Demon stance, that drains your stamina constantly, and hit the enemy enough times to enter Archdemon stance. Or the Great Sword that works around charging your blows. With the long sword you have to build up a meter to unleash an special combo so that you can slowly go up the unleashed 'levels' to do more damage. Trust me, there's a ton of different ways to play, and Ultimate gives you one of each, so try them out until you find your best fit. Heck, I'd say that it's useful to learn at least to different weapons, since some weapons work better for certain monsters. But also keep in mind elemental weaknesses and strengths, unlike its clones, Elements DO matter in this game and can mean the difference between a long, tough fight or a short skirmish.

Meet Zynogre, the Japanese realese's flagship monster.

 Monster Hunter is a very fun game when it's at its best, but when it's not... I was bored outta my mind. Honestly, I'd rather play more streamlined clones, like Toukiden and Gods Eater, which give you better and more useful allies, are kinder with monster drops and gathering materials, are more streamlined when it comes to crafting what you need and even when you have to fight the tougher version of older monsters at least reward you with different looking, even if only in color, equipment. I don't regret my time spent in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, but boy, could the have trimmed a lot of the fat....
 7.5 out of 10