Review #628: Yakuza 6 - The Song of Life

 The Tojo should know better...

 This is it. This is Kiryu Kazuma's final chapter in the long-running Yakuza/Ryu ga Gotoku series. For the first time in the series since the first game, they dove right in with a new numbered entry, as opposed to testing the new engine with a spin-off. It was a gamble, and opinions are varied, but if you ask me, they knocked it straight out of the park.

 After Yakuza 5 the police needed a scapegoat and Kiryu fit the bill, and while he could've gotten away scott-free... he decided to do the time, pay for his crimes as the Dragon of Dojima and start again with his name clean, as not to bring more tragedy to Haruka. The 3 years go by and Kiryu is free only to find out that Haruka is in a coma and she's had a baby, the father unknown. And thus begins Kiryu's final attempt at escaping from sins past. It's a poignant story, although, sadly, a lot of mainstays didn't make it in. Majima, Saejima and Daigo are handwaved away into prison, only to be seen at the start and at the very end of the story. The Florist, the one guy who could've solved the plot in 10 seconds flat isn't even mentioned once, and Master Komaki is nowhere to be seen. Long-time allies Kazuki and Yuya are absent as well, Yuya making the briefest of appearances. Disappointing, for a last entry, definitely, but the new cast of characters is phenomenal and very well fleshed out. We get to meet all the villains and supporting cast early on, learning about them and what drives them throughout the story, Someya being a particular standout. We've had evil antagonists before, both misguided and nonredeemable, but this entry features some of the nastiest, slimiest serpents to ever cross Kiryu, which makes it a very satisfying tale to bring to conclusion. Characters aside, the game has a very solemn and melancholic feeling about it: Yuya and Kazuki were bought out of Kamurocho, since the business wasn't going so well, Kiryu doing the time only to awaken to a comatose Haruka, Akiyama being forced to close down business... it's a sad, tragic tale, and it's SO good, even the sidequests having a tinge of sadness about them, from the couple that is trying to remain together to the point of faking switching bodies, to Kazuma befriending a bunch of bar-regulars and creating bonds with them.

 Where most fans take issue is with the lack of content when compared to previous entries. Honestly? It's to be expected. Yakuza 5 and 0 were the culminations of years upon years of adding on top of each game. This is a completely new engine, so the Ryu Ga Gotoku team had to start from scratch. And, even despite it being a new engine, we get a second town, as per usual, in the form of Onomichi. Combat and explorations feels heavier, since Kiryu now moves in a very weighty way, and, in my opinion, feels great. It's not perfect, though, Kiryu can be a slippery bastard at times, as any other character running on modern physics-based engines, like Nathan Drake. And there are bugs, sometimes random encounters ended as if I had run away because... I crossed some sort of invisible boundary? I dunno, it made no sense, but it happened a few times. Running is no longer a free action, now it's tied to a stamina gauge and the X button, so a few times I accidentally triggered conversations, such as trying to dash as soon as I got out of a cab. The engine definitely needs tweaks, but these few shortcomings didn't prevent me from having a blast with the new game.

 As far as exploration goes, thanks to the new graphics Kamurocho feels HUGE, and running around is a joy. There's a hidden stamina meter that gauges how long Kiryu can dash, and while it can be upgraded to a point that it barely hinders you, I wish it wasn't there. Random Encounters and buildings have been fully integrated into the open world of Kamurocho, you see thugs walking around with those Red exclamation points on top of their heads? Just run towards them and BAM! fight started. Want to enter any building? Go right in, no loading times stand between you and their insides. The new engine makes it so that Kiryu's body interacts with anything it touches, so you can dash around breaking around private property. Getting to run around a restaurant, while breaking every furniture not in use by NPCs while the remain so poise is hilarious. Phone Booths are a thing of the past, you can save your game at any time. Plus, you can carry as many items as you want(Although each type has a limit), however, you can no longer carry weapons in your inventory, so after combat ends Kiryu will just drop any weapon he stole from an enemy.

 As stated before, a lot of the side activities have been lost. That said, Karaoke is back, and so is the Hostess bar, Darts are here and accounted for and, lastly, Mahjong and Batting are both still here. On the other hand, Bowling, Gambling, Pool, UFO Catchers and the underground arena have been axed completely. But we get a few new fun additions to make up for that. There are the Clan Creator battles, a Tower Defense-esque mode in which you call upon thugs and heroes(Such as Kiryu himself or even Date!) to defeat various enemy gangs, which has no right to be as fun as it is. There's also a first-person gallery-shooting sub-aquatic hunting game that's also pretty fun to play. There's also a Baseball simulator-esque mode that I didn't even try since I really didn't care about it. To top it all off we get complete Arcade games: Super Hang-on, Outrun, Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone. What? They are ancient you say? There's also Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown(the customization items are gone though) and Puyo Puyo. I've longed for a physical release of Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, and this is as good as it gets. As if it couldn't get any better, you can access the multiplayer components of Virtua Fighter 5 and Puyo Puyo from the game's main menu, talk about a treat! There's also a cringy, but enjoyable thanks to the brilliant localization, web-cam chat minigame. It really is growing!

 The final element is combat. The basics remain the same: Circle is a Grab, Square and Triangle are your basic attacks, X is a dodge, R1 targets the enemy and L1 blocks. Kiryu's combo string has been changed, but what makes the combat feel different is that now everything feels heavier, which makes blow extra satisfying. On the other hand, it also means that bodies fall around like ragdolls, which can have some unintentionally funny side effects. The Heat actions have been reduced considerably, but the game wants you to use the new mechanic, Extreme Heat. Heat is no longer a gauge, but orbs(up to six of them), and you can either spend them on Heat actions... or use them to enter Extreme Heat for a short while, which makes you stronger and gives you nastier looking combos. Ending a boss fight with one of the finishers you can pull when mashing Square under Extreme Heat felt AMAZING.

 Leveling up has been tweaked as well, now you gain five different types of experience points, which you can then spend on either skills or your basic stats, such as health or attack power. Earning the combat experience points(Red, Blue and Yellow) is fairly easy, but the Green and Purple experience points are a bit of a pain to earn, so you'll have to rely on food.... or get some Rare characters, via code, for the Clan Creator and spam the latter fights to earn money and then spend it on Rizap's drinks. Whatever flies your way, honestly.

 I don't know if I can make it any clearer, but I absolutely loved Yakuza 6 - The Song of Life. It has a few rough edges here and there, but the final product is top-notch. Combat feels fantastic, and I bet that it's only gonna get better as they build up on this on future Shin Ryu Ga Gotoku games. I just can't wait to see what Sega will do with this new engine. On the other hand, Yakuza 6 gives Kiryu his well-earned closure, even if it may not be as happy as the one he deserves.
 9.5 out of 10

Review #627: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

 I've always dreamt about a game based on Roald Dahl's writings. But not like this. Not like this!

 I could try to be ambiguous and mysterious about the game's quality before getting on with the review... but is it really gonna fool anybody? The game's a mess. It's the bottom of the barrel as far as licensed videogames on the PS2 go, it's what you've got left after you're done scraping what's left inside the barrel.

 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is meant to be a tie-in of the movie with the same name, but it kinda isn't. This Willy Wonka looks a bit like Johnny Depp's version, but besides two unlockable trailers there's nothing tying this game with the movie. Regardless, the game haphazardly follows the story of the eccentric Willy Wonka, who hides a golden ticket inside five different chocolate bars and whoever gets a ticket gets invited to his factory, under the promise of a prize. Charlie is one of the winners, and alongside four other kids he gets to visit inside Willy's factory, a place both whimsical and dangerous. The game does a poor job at retelling the story, each chapter is prefaced with a lackluster narration alongside some spectacular 2-D art. Hilariously, the 2-D art doesn't match the in-game graphics, however, by the same token, the in-game art direction was brilliant as well, pretty minimalistic and cartoonish... and it works well. Animations are choppy, but hey, it looks great in pictures!

 Because there was no correct way of translating the source material, except, maybe an adventure game such as the Telltale series or even Monkey Island, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the PS2 is a puzzle game. As Charlie you must find Oompa-Loompas and guide them to operate various machines in order to progress. As you go through the game you'll also get access to different candies, such as one that lets you fly, one that encases you in a giant candy sphere and a bouncing gum that let's you jump higher. On paper, there's promise to the set-up, but everything is very sloppy. What little combat there is is a mess, you have to hold down the square button for Charlie to lock on-to an enemy before firing a jawbreaker, but enemies have unnecessarily long invulnerability periods. Luckily, death is but a slap on the wrist, and enemies are so dumb you can just shoot from afar.

 One of the biggest issues is how unresponsive the game is. BE prepared to having to position yourself correctly before the order to work fires off your Oompa-Loompas. And, sometimes, they love to get stuck while following your or on the way to their jobs. Movement, which includes a lot of jumping, feels very choppy and the camera likes to get stuck around objects. Regardless, nothing feels quite 'right', the entire game is janky and, sadly, very, very boring. Puzzles aren't hard to solve, although sometimes it isn't very clear just what the hell the game wants you to do. R2 can sometimes solve this, since it's a hint on what to do.

 The good news? The hand-drawn art is beautiful and the in-game graphics are a delight that capture how the world of Roald Dahl looks, plus, I think the game's premise, on paper, is great. The bad news? The execution is terrible, the entire game feels as if it was developed on a 3 dollar and one lollipop budget.
 2.0 out of 10

Review #626: Yakuza 3

 Just give Kazuma a break already!

 Kiryu just can't leave the Yakuza business behind, can he? With a new generation of consoles hitting the market it was only time before Ryu Ga Gotoku would make the jump into the HD generation. And it did... with a spin-off that never left Japan, but the following year Ryu Ga Gotoku would hit the scene. You'd expect Sega to cut back a bit in order to start a new, but the Yakuza team managed to make Yakuza 3 the biggest and largest Yakuza yet.

 The game opens up one year after Yakuza 2 and Daigo Dojima, the sixth chairman of the Tojo family, getting shot. And then we're taken back in time to right after Yakuza 2 ended before Kaoru is unceremoniously removed from the story to pursue a career in America. Screw that noise! Kaoru and Kiryu were the best and I'll never forgive Sega for that. That aside, the new story has Kiryu and Haruka moving to Okinawa to start up an orphanage and move away from Yakuza business. But it's never easy to leave crime behind, and soon he becomes embroiled in Tojo affairs again, just by trying to protect his new home and his kids. While we had some pretty complex villains in Nishiki and Ryuji before, Yakuza 3 has some of the evilest and most ruthless villains we've seen yet! And, on the flip side, also has some of the most endearing characters yet in the form of the Okinawan Yakuza. The first act of the game is very slow paced, which I appreciated for the build up, having Kiryu taking care of his children as well as dealing with the local Yakuza. But it's not long before Yakuza earns the respect of the Ryudo family, beloved Okinawan Yakuza that just might bite more than they can chew when they come across Tokyo's worst. Yakuza 2 is often considered to have the best plot, but I disagree, I completely adored Yakuza 3's script, I love how we get to see Kiryu acting like a foster parent and having to manually partake in such menial tasks as calling the kids for a family meeting since someone stole money, or having to chide them into doing their homeworks! It's not for everyone, but it does wonders to develop Kiryu and sell you on him as a parent. On the other hand, Yakuza has always been a very Japanese franchise, so expect to come across a few... questionably affairs, such as Michiru, a cartoony transvestite that chases Kiryu because rape is funny, something which was thankfully axed from the PS4 port, as well a bit of unintentional sexism, such as everyone trying to pair up to kids just because the kid likes the girl, even though the girl is clearly uninterested. On the other hand, they have a brilliant portrayal of a gay(or maybe bi) character. It's a different culture, you either take it or leave it.

 The game continues the tradition Yakuza 2 started of building on top of what came before. If you ever played a Yakuza game before, well, it's pretty much exactly the same: You are thrust into the small city of Kamurocho, which you're free to explore as you follow the story or invest your time solving sidequests. I expected the amount of sidequests to be lower than Yakuza 2, since it was a new engine, but there's about a 100 of them, so have fun. It took me almost 30 hours to beat the game, 10 more than Yakuza 2, and I spent a ton of them delving into these, from chasing the nefarious dine-and-dasher to solving a crime-mystery right out of Phoenix Wright's notebook, pointing included. Exploring the city feels better than ever, fixed camera angles are a thing of the past, with the camera firmly stuck behind Kiryu's back, and his running speed is quite fast. You can also swap items from any Telephone Booth out there, which is a godsend, no longer having to trek back to a Hideout because you need to make space in your inventory. As per usual, there's a secondary area besides Kamurocho, this time being Okinawa, a pleasant rural town that offers a golf course and its own set of Lockers.

 Joining the Batting, Mahjong, Shogi and Golfing from Yakuza 2, now we've also got a new Arcade game: A sidescroller shooter, Golf, Darts, Fishing, and best of all: Karaoke. The Karaoke minigame is so good and so much fun that it will be returning in future games! On the other hand, a lot of the more Japanesy activities, such as Hostess clubs, were removed(According to Sega, due to time constraints) which... are no skin off my back, I never cared too much about them(Even though I appreciated them being there, since it made Kamurocho more authentic) so their loss didn't sting too much. Dating hostess has been hilariously simplified into them just asking Kazuma to take them out on a date out of the blue. Ridiculous, but at least their sidequests were kept in.

 Combat is easily the best it's ever been, offering more options than ever before. The basics are the same as before, Weak attack, Strong attack, Grab, Dodge and blocking, as well as a Heat gauge that builds up as you dole out damage which can be spent on powerful finishers... if you fulfill the right conditions. Leveling up is now divided into four different categories, and while a lot of the things you'll be unlocking you already unlocked in the previous game... there are also a ton of new additions. You can hasten the speed of Kazuma's combos, you can get a second Strong attack after your weak combo string, a TON of new Heat specials. There are so many options now that combat feels great, the new engine allows for more interactions with weapons, so stray blows might send tins or cans flying around, and the new graphics makes everything very crunchy. On the other hand, this is the hardest Yakuza yet, but by the time you've got a well developed Kazuma you'll be wrecking faces left and right.

 There are two new additions worth talking about, since they'll be returning in Yakuza 4: Chases and Inspirations. Inspirations come in the way of observing silly people doing silly things and hitting all the QTEs. The QTEs are easy enough, but afterwards you have to pick from three choices in order to earn a new move... and it's not always obvious which is the right choice, so you might have to trigger the scene again until you get it right, which can be a bit annoying. Chases are a new mechanic in which you must hold R2 to dash and try to tackle a your target to decrease their stamina.... before you run out of yours. Sometimes you'll be doing the escaping, in which case you'll just have to run around until they run out of stamina. Chases felt tacky at first, but they grew on me, and by the end of the game I was genuinely enjoying them.

 I was ready to hate Yakuza 3. It's the one nobody talks about and the one that came before number 4, the one that brought the paradigm shift of multiple playable characters. But the slow-paced beginning captured me, and then I fell in love with the new supporting cast. I mean, Ryuji was cool, but the new main villain is a ruthless son of a gun that has his own traumas, and as much as I loved Kaoru and Kiryu, Rikiya is the best bro anyone could ask for. And the more I played it the more I realized just how great the combat felt and by the end of the game I couldn't help but notice just how great the side content was. Yakuza 3 is the best Yakuza 3, although I think 4 is even better. But we won't find out, since I'm skipping straight to number 6! Y'know, since I already played 4 back in 2011 and 5 never got a physical release.
9.0 out of 10

The DLC Report: Travis Strikes Back - DLC #1 : Black Dandelion

 Shinobu's back, yo!

 It sucks, don't buy it unless you got it for free.

 Let me explain. Travis Strikes Back, the game, is worth every penny. This DLC is not. For $4 all you get is a new visual-novel scenario and Shinobu as a playable character.

 I love Shinobu, alright? Her new outfit is a bit on the skimpy side, but I think the black and yellow scheme fits her well, and the scarf is badass. Her 3 exclusive skills are fairly fun too, and she has new dialogue throughout the game. Her old voice actress reprises her role, for the very few lines she gets to spew. But there's no more content, it's just a character and one that you can't even use on a new game, as she becomes playable upon finishing the main game. As for her stats, she shares Travis' stat growth. In this game characters are pretty similar, and combat doesn't have much depth outside the four Skills... which run on a shared pool, so she's basically a glorified skin for Travis. That's all she is... and she can't even be played on the last level.

 As for the visual-novel style scenario, it's a 6-chapter long backstory to Badman and why he wants Travis' head. All six chapters together are probably as long as Travis' first chapter. I'll admit that I enjoyed his backstory a lot, I did, but... it's too short for the price.

 It pains me to say it, but this DLC simply isn't worth it. Travis Strikes Back was pretty good by itself, and this DLC adds nothing of worth(Well, that's a bit mean considering how much I liked Badman's scenario, but it was too short!). It'd be a different story if it added a new game, but for that we'll have to wait until DLC #2...
3.5 out of 10

Review #625: Assassin's Creed Rogue

 If everything is permitted... then nobody is safe.

 'Alright, guys, we are Ubisoft, and what do we want?' 'MONEY!' 'Exactly! So, we've Unity comin' up, but let's be honest, most people are still clinging to their PS3. Downgrading Unity is impossible. But we want that sweet, sweet PS3/X360 money' 'I know! Let's grab Assassin's Creed 4, reskin it and call it a day!' 'GIVE THIS MAN A RAISE!'. That's how it went inside Ubisoft's HQ, and how Assassin's Creed Rogue was born. It was Ubisoft dialing in it and it was bound to be a flop, however, Ubisoft forgot about one thing... Assassin's Creed IV was amazing and thus a reskin of said game was, by proxy, gonna be amazing as well.

 The story follows Shay Patrick Cormac(You don't get any more Irish than that) an assassin under the care of Achilees, the very same Achilees from Assassins Creed III, years before Connor was born. It's a tale of how Shay grows dissatisfied with how the Assassins do things and join the Templars. Well... how should I tackle this? I think the premise had a lot of value. Comics have done a great job at portraying a grey and gray morality when it comes to Assassins and Templars. What the game shows, however, is the Templars being as evil as always and the Assassins just being dumb, this is a case of dumb VS evil and not evil vs eviler or grey vs grey, which, I think is a missed opportunity to add more nuance to the lore. On the other hand, it's fun getting to see how the Assassins were exterminated before Connor's time and why Achilees grew so bitter, the game does a nice job at developing Achilees and we even get to see Haytham again, King of all that is swag. The modern-day segments are still around, but much less intrusive than before, a plus in my humble opinion, but you play as 'Numbskull', another tester, inside Abstergo Entertainment and we are introduced to another Abstergo Templar big-wig, but it's nothing worth writing about.

 The game is Assassins Creed 4. There's a huge focus in sailing and ship to ship combat, which is as amazing as always, there are very few cities, instead opting for smaller areas on beaches. There's a single large city in the game, New York, which is rather small, and then you get two different maps that are meant to be navigated by ship. Combat remains exactly the same, square to attack, circle to counter and X to break defense, every enemy requiring a different strategy(Nothing too complicated, you'll learn which character models requires to be countered and which one requires you to break their defense), etc etc. I cannot stress this enough, this is, for all intents and purposes, Assassins's Creed IV. They even went for 'Assassin turned Templar' to justify why you're pretty much playing as any other assassin you've already played as. Heck, even if you adored Assassin's Creed IV I'd suggest taking a break before undertaking Rogue, as it's pretty much identical in all the ways that matter.

 Developers claimed that the game is larger than AC4, and I'm willing to believe that. The main story is extremely short, it could probably be beaten in little more than 4 hours... but this is Assassin's Creed, so there's a LOT of side content to find and do... which I did. There's 200 Memory fragments spread throughout, over 100 chests, a TON of viewpoints to sync with(one per city), there are over 20 Templar Crosses that unlock a costume, 7 Native Statues that unlock the Ultimate Armor(It's great!), about 14 Viking Swords(Which unlocks a sword and a costume) not to mention all the upgrades you can craft by hunting animals on land and under the sea. The Abstergo sections have 20 different computer puzzles to solve as well as a few collectibles, all of which add tidbits to the Templar lore and even a bit into what's happening with the modern day battle against the Assassins.... if you are a completionist you've got your work cut out for you.

 But maybe collecting stuff isn't something you find appealing, fair enough, there are other ventures you can pursue. You've cities that need to be freed from Assassin-allied gangs as well as preventing assassinations! The latter were one of my favorite activities since you are actively foiling Assassin interference, you have to locate their target and then use Eagle Vision to spot the Assassins before they can murder him or her. It's a blast and makes so much sense in-context. If you're feeling nostalgic for Assassin's Creed 2 you've also got properties to renovate for a constant influx of money. There's another new addition, which sadly I felt detracted from the game: Stalkers. As a Templar you'll be targeted by Assassins, which means that 'Stalkers' will try to ambush you. You'll get a pink  glare on the screen to warn you, and then you are supposed to activate Eagle Vision and try to find it before it attacks you. Stalkers were way too frequent to be any fun, eventually I stopped caring and just reacted to their attacks.

 For an AC4 reskin I gotta admit that the game had some of the most beautiful natural environments in the series, exploring the world of Assassin's Creed Rogue is truly a pleasure. It's a shame that it's a bit... glitchy. Costumes are weird, for instance, the game had me wearing the Templar outfit WAY before I was supposed to. Another time I wore the Whaler outfit to hunt a Whale and then... the game reset me to Shay's Assassin robes. There were a few jumps that just didn't work some times and others did, for no apparent reason. But, being Assassin's Creed, it's probably to be expected that it'll have a few bugs here and there, nothing game breaking thankfully.

 It's true, Assassin's Creed Rogue was made on the cheap. But it's also true that it borrows from one of the best games in the franchise, and even though it's a clone, the core of the game is fantastic. The new elements that it brings to the table, namely the story, are great and while I would've preferred a more nuanced approach, Shay is one of the most interesting protagonists we've had so far, and that's saying a lot when he has to share a bit of screen time with Haytham! Call it lazy, call it cheap, call it a clone., because it is. But it's also one of the most fun.
 9.0 out of 10

Review #624: Yakuza 2

 The Dragon of Dojima soars again.

 Yakuza was great despite its glaring flaws. Yakuza 2 takes everything that worked about the previous game, polishes the combat and makes everything bigger, badder and better, turning it into one of the PS2's most unsung games.

 You still play as Kiryu Kazuma, however, he is more of a passenger in the game's plot this time around... which is for the better, as Kiryu is supposed to be a power fantasy, a badass titan with a heart of gold that's ready to punch through any goon that stands in his way. After the first game, the new head of the Tojo family is fumbling his job and is eventually murdered by the Omi family, what follows is Kiryu getting embroiled in the Tojo affairs once again. He will cross paths with Sayama, a female cop tasked with protecting him, a chance she takes in order to discover just how the Tojo are involved with her disappeared parents, and Goda Ryuji, the Dragon of Goda, a man with tall ambitions which include conquering the Tojo. I wouldn't call the story better than the one in the first game, because it isn't, but I found it to be much better written. Sayama, Ryuji as well as the rest of the new characters, like Kawara, are more and better developed than the cast from the first game, which leads to more poignant scenes and making you empathize more with the cast. I also found Kazuma taking a more Mad Max role in the story a very interesting way to tell the story... but one that makes sense for the character. He is a gentle giant helping everyone he comes across, he is supposed to eternally stand for justice and honor, he is a character that won't grow or change, but dammit, he will help everyone around him accomplish their goals or change their hearts.

 The brunt of the game remains pretty much the same as it was in Yakuza 1, being a story-driven beat'em up set in the open streets of Kamurcho, as you leisurely progress through the story or invest your time on sidequests. And boy oh boy, are there even more sidequests this time around! Joining Kamurcho are two new districts, smaller in size but with a decent amount of sidequests and side activities each. Sadly, you're stuck into whichever district the chapter you're playing demands, but once you hit chapter 16 you're free to visit any district at your leisure, provided you can pay the Taxi fare! Since this game only adds to the activities from the previous game, the cities of Kamurocho, Sotenbori and Shinseicho feel very alive, full of colorful characters and sidequests just begging to be found. I recommend cruising around the cities every time you start a new chapter, so that you may come across them, and, at worst, you'll partake in some random encounters with thugs, and level up, or find keys for the 60+ lockers. If you are into wasting time, joining the batting cages, cranes and slots from Yakuza 1 we get Mahjong, Shogi, Bowling, Golfing and even a silly, but surprisingly fun, first person sword-and-slingshot fighting mini game!

 Combat remains pretty much the same, but polished to a sheen. There are more uses for your Heat gauge, thanks to new abilities such as Heat Counters and powerful Heat actions against gun-tooting thugs, plus, now you can increase your maximum amount of stored heat by watching videos at Sotenbori's video booths! The biggest change of all is that now you can hit different directions mid-combo from the get-go, making combat feel much smoother and not forcing you to hit empty air once you began your string. It's still not perfect, but now I didn't feel like the game was unfair... although it makes up for that by having thugs being even more aggressive, so you'll have to learn how to better manage multiple opponents in a fight. Boss battles now come with Quick Time Events, but, surprisingly, I didn't hate them too much, probably because they are so exciting and don't wear out their welcome. It's not like God of War where even normal mooks might've required QTEs, these are relegated to big, tough bosses.

 Yakuza 2 is fantastic. It's a long, beefy game with a ton of content, optional and mandatory. The main story is lengthy, but not boring, and should keep you busy for a while. The combat is simple, but satisfying thanks to how visceral it is. Returning players might be a bit peeved having to unlock many abilities that they already unlocked in the first game, but getting to see how the whole story pans out is worth it, and getting Kiryu to tip-top shape again and curb-stomp every fool is worth it. Well, onward to Yakuza 3 it is!
 8.5 out of 10

Review #623: Obscure

 Yep, this is one of the PS2's most obscure titles.

 So, you pop in the disc, go through the introductions, start the game and... Sum 41's 'Still Waiting' starts as you are introduced to the students you'll be playing as. Feeling a mixture of bemusement and interest, I soldiered on and got rewarded with one of the PS2's most unknown and engaging Survival Horror games. It's no Silent Hill, but it's pretty darn great.

 The game pits you as any of five students stuck at Leafmore High. As a matter of fact, the game offers a fantastic prologue that reminded me of Silent Hill's introduction, very neat. The dialogue is terrible and the story is very cookie-cutter... but that's exactly the style they were going for, trying to ape movies such as 'Scream' and 'The Faculty', and they aced it. On the other hand, the game knows how to keep the atmosphere tense, with both ominous choirs and fleshy monsters hiding in the darkness. One of the game's novelties, at the time, was its co-op element. The entire game can be played with two players, or just you and a CPU ally... or just you, if you feel so inclined. Each character has a perk that helps in various ways. Kenny can sprint, which sounds really useful, but if you are going to play as a duo that means leaving your partner behind! Josh can tell if there are items waiting to be found in the area, Ashley is good at healing and can guide you to your next objective, Ashley deals more damage and has a special double attack(Which makes her the best character in the game!).

The abilities aren't game-breaking, just offering a bit of help with how you tackle the game. I managed with a team of Josh and Ashley just fine. And there's a reason as to why abilities aren't mandatory... anyone can die. You read that right, your playable characters can die, and it's not a game over until all five students bite the dust, so you can ostensibly make it to the end with just one character left. It's a pretty neat mechanic that added a lot of tension to the game, I forced myself to restart just because I wouldn't allow anyone to die. Plus, you can use characters as extra health, the game allows you to fast travel back to 'Gathering Spots', where you can swap characters if someone isn't carrying their weight. I played the entire game with the AI and it's... serviceable. At times, when I breaking windows with my bat, the AI would shoot a second later with the gun wasting bullets, which wasn't very nice, and it seems like the CPU isn't fond of 'boosting', a mechanic used to weaken enemies, so I had keep at it... but the game is entirely playable like this, just give them a gun and let them provide back up, ammo is pretty plentiful.

 The entire game is set in Leafmore High, and as you progress through the story you'll gain  keys to access other areas, so there might be a bit of backtracking involved every now and then, nothing that Resident Evil aficionados aren't used to by now. For a first in Survival Horror puzzles make sense. Got a scribbled paper? Break a window and examine it under the light. A padlock is blocking your way? Get some pliers and bust it open.

 Combat in the game is a bit janky, if you're going to use melee weapons it seems like there's no way to avoid incoming damage. The game is pretty generous with bullets, even if it doesn't seem so, so eventually I just stuck to using a gun while my CPU ally would use a melee weapon, although by the latter parts of the game I had as both sporting guns. And you'd better, since evading enemies is pretty much impossible.. A big part of the game is 'boosting', magically making your flashlight brighter, thus weakening enemies. It overheats, so you can't do it all the time. This could mean the difference between three bullets and a single one, so it ends up being a big part of your fights. You can tape guns(and shotguns) together with flashlights, but you might want to wait, since tape runs out and you can't disassemble your creating, so don't go trigger happy with sticking everything together, might want to save the better flashlights for the stronger weapons. Healing items are sparse, but I had over 10 in excess by the end of the game. What is lacking, however, are Saving Discs, used to save the game, so think very carefully before you use one. Item management is done in real time, so if you want to heal or change weapons... well, hopefully you learnt how to navigate the menus by then. You can even toggle the CPU's weapon on the fly pressing down on the directional pad. Am I a fan of real-time item management? No... but I think it kinda works in this game's favor in order to make things even more frantic and dire, since losing a playable character is a very real possibility.

  The game lasts a solid 5-6 hours, and upon completion you unlock a new game+ with bonus weapons and alternate costumes for the characters that survived your first playthrough. Obscure was wonderful, I loved every minute of it. Sure, it's not as deep as Silent Hill, or as tight as Resident Evil, but it offers a neat twist on the formula with the 'anyone-can-die' mechanic, in addition to how well they pulled off the Highschool setting and the whole 90s campy horror flick vibe. Obscure is every bit worth tracking before its price goes even higher.
 8.5 out of 10