Dragon Ball: Xenoverse Review

 

The Dragon Ball universe, what is there to say when everything has already been said about this game? It is probably, if not the most well known anime to hit the American market and have a outstanding fan base. With well known games such as Dragonball Z: Budokai 3 and Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. But how long ago have those games actually been out for and how long have we have been waiting for the next great Dragon Ball game which we can all love and enjoy again? We're all dying to have out questions answered with regards to this title. Could this really be the Dragon Ball game we've all been waiting for? Could Namco give this series a senzu bean and revive this title back to the heights of the PS2 era. Will everything this game has to offer bring the us one of the best in the series. With a new story that is different then the normal Dragon Ball rehash we normally get and a player-created character this could very well be the best Dragon Ball game to date. Now the real question you have to be asking... Is it?
 
No matter how good a Dragon Ball game was, none of them were played professionally. No game in the series has been able to require the following of other fighting games such as Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, but Dragon Ball fans would love to see this change. Will this DBVX finally push into the main stream as a professional fighter? Who knows right now but from the looks of it. It does have a lot of promise. 

The Story

When it comes to the story of any Dragon Ball game it is pretty obvious what you are getting into. If anything you are pretty much replaying the episodes in order and exactly what happened (With the exception of the moves the order you use them in). This time though something very intresting and refreshing is happening in the Dragon Ball series putting everything you have known in the universe upside down. 

In Dragon Ball Xenoverse the story revolves around two demons from the future, Towa & Mira. Who are taking key events in the Dragon Ball series and manipulating them for worse. When all seems hopeless, The son of Vegeta (God I hope that isn't a spoiler anymore) Trunks summons Shernon and asks for a savior that can help restore everything and remove the mistakes the two demons have caused, thus creating a much needed balance to the natural timeline. This savior. Is you and your created character!

Your character will have to help important characters in the series over large epic events and battles, in which would prevent Towa and Mira from corrupting characters and destroying the natural order of time. One of the more refreshing things about the story of Xenoverse is that if you ever though of a "what if" situation, and what it would do to the timeline it is in the game. We as the "hero" get to see what would transpire in the show or manga or past shows if those events really did happen. Being able to see what would of happened if Goku's Full Nelson didn't work on Raditz and Piccolo hit only hit Goku with the Special Beam Cannon. The idea of seeing what would happen is very satisfying. Or witness what would happen if Freeza outlasted Goku in the final battle, with you interfering and helping make things right teaming up with the main man and turning the tides with a satisfying outcome.

There are moments in the Story though will come off as confusing and not fully fleshed out. The Trunks you are talk to and come across is of course the Trunks from the future. Yet we are told that the story takes place in the "Age 850". Yes I was confused at first and this may throw a few others off who haven't played the Online Dragon Ball Game. (I, Myself had to read up on it) Trunks now is a time traveler and that the universe in the Online Dragon Ball game is canon due to the presences of Mira. From what I have gathered reading up on everything I could. Trunks traveled to this time to help the Supreme Kai of time, who we know very little about. As I recall it would be the first time in any game, manga, or anime that she is introduced.

One small thing I dislike though is the game does skim through battles that I would’ve like to take part in. The Android Saga (non-Future Trunks timeline) was skipped over along with the Majin Vegeta fight.

 The Graphics

The graphics of Dragon Ball Xenoverse is very close to Raging Blast or Battle of Z. Whichever you played or prefer to compare with. The colors and scenery makes the environment pop making you want to visit all areas of the map. Seeing the painful expressions on your face as your body takes hits and bruises makes the visual expect of the game even more awesome. All this makes the game feel closer to the actually anime than any other game that represents the Dragon Ball Universe to date.

With that said though, The environments can either make or break when it comes to intense battles. You’re placed in somewhat grand environments, but you still feel restricted when it comes to flight & being able to destroy objects in your path. Which like any and all Dragon Ball games to date really limit you and has been a problem in this series.

Game Play

The game play is like the other Dragon Ball games when it comes to the fighting with punch, kick, ascend and descend, and along with a guard button. There are some new elements though that makes the past Dragon Ball games seem old and simple. When fighting, you will notices a few things that are very pleasant on the eyes. First the characters are more fluid when it comes to there movement. The movement also seems more realistic. Of course realistic as realistic can get in a anime. Finally the combat does feel that much more energetic.

Flight in this game is defiantly leaves a sore taste in my mouth and could as well leave a sore taste in your mouth as well. As all Dragon Ball games in the past. You are limited to were you can go and what you can do. Sadly though compared to the past Dragon Ball games it seems you are limited even more so. Which is very sad because unlike the show, it feels like you are just fighting in one place and only changing when the story moves on. Also another thing that is a slight problem is you can really do a lot of stuff with the environment. You can't; no matter how hard you try smash your opponent into the mountains right next to you. So that feeling of epicness could really die down when it comes to what you want to do in combat.

Creating your own character in the game defiantly adds to the game. Choosing between Saiyan, Majin, Earthling, Namekian or as a member of Frieza’s race is an enjoyable feature in the game, and each race as well as being the male or female has different stats. For instance.  Earthling is the Jack of All trades, master if none. The Saiyan race has high attack, low Hp. The Namekain race has High Health, and better health regen, The Majin race has the best defense but lowest speed and the Friezaclan as the best speed but low attack. Overall though it just depends on what you want to be. As the stats to me really didn't play into the game as much as I wanted to felt it needed to. Just seemed that everyone was the same. Nothing to noticeable in my eyes, again that may just be me though.

People may have a issue that you have to purchase a skill to make your Saiyan character go Super Saiyan, but you can over come this easily by repeating missions and doing the Parallel Quests which can stack up money and experience pretty easily. You can even train under certain protagonist & antagonist from the series that will teach you their iconic techniques.

The main hub of the story is in Toki Toki City and it where the time Patrol and Supreme Kai of Time resides. Toki Toki City is where you can enter both Online and Offline Parallel Quests, it is also a place you can upgrade your character with new items, skills, weapons, capsules and even costumes to use in battle. Players can also take part in the World Tournament Mode & Versus Mode. When it comes to squaring off against friends or the computer in a match outside of the story, you are able to add up to 3 fighters to battle it out

One of the biggest issues I have with this game is that the stage you fight on repairs itself even after a mountain is smashed. For some reason even on a Next Gen Console this happens and that just makes me scratch. If you watch the show or read the manga you don;t see the ground and mountain magically grow back or reform when it is smashed into oblivion. There is also a bug I ran across where my allies that were "suppose" to be helping me just flew around and chasing each other and playing tag with one another as I was smashing buttons and pummeling my opponent. Even with that said though this game does have it's hard parts which of course are the bosses that can sometimes make you want to smash your controller, or you get so angry you actually turn into a Saiyan!

Final Verdict!

The Final Verdict for Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a Thumbs Up! For all the problems I came across in the game, it is ten times better than what we got in Battle of Z. So I can say without a doubt that if you are a Dragon Ball Z, or just a Dragon Ball fan in general you must get this game!

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The Order: 1886 Review

 

Cold Hard Truth 

Basic guidelines of what I experienced

-Took me 7 hours 30 minutes, exploring as well (the game is linear).

- The gameplay is fundamentally good, but doesn't do anything new. Some of the weapons are pretty fun.

- I really enjoyed the story, atmosphere and characters, although not a classic. The voice acting is exceptional

- IMO the game is not worth the full asking price as there is not enough content but it is certainly worth your time when it reaches a reasonable price IMO.

- Very good graphics, but black borders are never a good thing.

- Source of how I got it: Redbox!

The Order 1886... Worth Playing?

The Order: 1886 is a single-player third-person shooter video game developed by Ready at Dawn and SCE Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment which was announced at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo event and was released exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on February 20, 2015.

Upon release, The Order: 1886 received mixed reviews from critics, with praise particularly directed to the game's production value, graphics and technical achievements, while receiving strong criticism regarding the game's length, story, gameplay, replay value and the player's involvement in the game.

Current Rankings from top reviewers: Gamespot: 5/10, Metacritic: 65%, Giant Bomb: 2/5

Is all that true? Even before the game was released this game was getting bashed hard. Hell I will even admit I had my fun poking at this game, especially when the dev of the company got pissed off and refused to answer any and all questions about the length of the game. So yes I guess I was kind of the problem when it comes to spreading the hate before the game comes out. The main reason I say this though is one question popped in my head right before I starting playing it and then right after. Why. As a collective mind (internet) we go on a riot somewhat when it comes to gaming. One little spark and caused a wild fire and the fact is that little to no one has played it, or anyone of note. 

I have seen the youtube playthrough before even playing this game and yes I admit it was kind of short but watching a game and playing a game are two different things. The enjoyment factor is completely different. Even more so if it is a person you follow or watch all the time.

In any case. Is The Order 1886 deserving of all the hate hype? Or is it actually worth playing, or atleast trying? My quick verdict. The game as a while is definitely; Without a doubt worth renting at the moment and buying when the game hits around 30 or so dollars (or if you can get it used).

The reasoning for this quite simple. The Order 1886 to me is by far the best looking game on the Playstation 4 at the moment, and making it one of the few titles that made the "visual leap" that fans of consoles have been waiting for since released of the current gen systems. So this game for me is the the very sort list of "Next-Gen Graphics" when it comes to games.

Ready at Dawn was so efficient at making the game cut scenes and gameplay seamless sometime it was difficult to tell which parts of the games were actually interactive.

Although with that said, this game has one major flaw and it is becoming a habit in gaming. The Order is rift with quick time events! (QTEs) Something the developer seemed to think we needed to keep us engaged in what was going on. Personally I rather of just watched a cinematic. 

The Meat and Potatos! 

First and foremost this game will turn a lot of people off just for one reason.... The game so no co-op or online multplayer of any kind. So if you wanted to play this game with your friend. The best you can do is sit on the same couch and watch one another play the game and give hints and tips.

Also I know most of you want to know this little fact over anything else I write or that you read. The game is indeed short. It took me a little over seven hours to complete and I started playing right after I got home from work (8am) and I played until about 3ish or so PM (eastern time of course) and I was nearly done with the game. So if you like longer types of games. This game is not for you at all, and yes those black bars you see in all the reviewers and trailers and whatnot are in the game are going to be there for the entire experience.

 I admit at first the letterbox style (Black bars) was very annoying. I hated, almost returned it right away. To me it didn't feel right. I wanted more of the screen, I wanted the game to use my whole t.v and not feel like I was playing a Playstation one game that can't adjust to my t.v. It felt frustrating. The one one question popped into my mind... WHY? WHY, WHY, WHY! Why give up and quarter of the screen to black nothingness! The worse part is this game is beautiful.

Of course with that said and common explanation can be brought it, because of the games graphics they used the bars as a quick fix to make the game run more smoothly. After all, The Order 1886 is one of the best looking games I have seen in a good long time, if not it is the best (In my eyes). Perhaps the game was indeed to much for the Playstation to handle and as the result of those black lines; The game resolution is 1920x800 instead of 1920x1080.

I am pretty sure whatever the case is, we will never know as Ready at Dawn will keep the reasoning underwraps; or they may just stick on what they said before. Its for a more cinematic approach. In retrospect it does make sense. Because of the wider aspect ratio, my vision was often stretched, making it difficult for me to focus on anything that wasn't right in front of me. And while I dislike the black bars after the first few hours I kind of forgot they existed.

Now we get to the issue of game length. This issue comes for the idea of what a game is worth. Would you rather be playing a five hour game for so much money that is engaging, entertaining and overall fun, or would you rather play X amount of dollars for a 40-50 hour game that is more boring in some parts, more grindy, yes with more stuff to do but at a slower more spread out pace. In the end it really matters on YOU. Personally I had my doubts about how much I would enjoy this game and one of the reasons was because of the length. To be honest though this game for me puts to rest that notion. I would play this game over a few longer games any day of the week! Although with that said. There is NO REAL REASON TO REPLAY THIS GAME AFTER IT IS COMPLETED! Considering the game is in fact full price (Buying the game new) that is a major deal breaker!

As I said before there is no multiplayer mode to further engage the player, it lacks a character development system and is a very... VERY linear experience! You want a idea of how linear it is. Think of a hallway, a straight hallway. Your object is to go from point A to point B. Yes you may have some objects or whatnot to climb over to work around, giving to false sense of exploration. But in the end it is still.. a straight line.  The Order 1886 will funnel you down that hallway, down a certain path with cut scenes and set pieces of break it up a little bit.

Of course what The Order lacks in exploration, and character development it makes up in atmosphere, game play and setting. If you enjoy games that you can beat in one session, have a good time in and not struggle with where to go, or how to do something then this game will be right up your alley!

Hand of Fate Review

Once in a blue moon a game comes along that completely dazzles you and blows you away, and that's what this little known game does. Hand of Fate coming from a kickstarter background, and all it is; is a collectable card game which has heavy roguelike elements, with some combat (in third person) which kind of hinting towards Dungeons and Dragons. It sounds like it wouldn't work right? Well oddly enough, it works very well.

With all these ideas and elements in this game. It's not easy, actually it is pretty difficult to describe Hand of Fate in a way that would make sense to others. How the game works is that there are two decks of cards, one made up of just weapons and armor that you can draw (with luck) to aid you in combat, and then you have the other deck which is made up of encounters which could be good or bad. All of these cards are placed on the table for you to explore. As you progress through the game you will unlock more cards both to aid or hurt you. So early one what you have in your deck is unimportant, but later one when it is needed you can tailor your deck more in your favor to help you later on in the game which will make encounters that you face a bit more easier.

Image the layout of the cards as a grid. The placement of the cards are in a random, yet per-determined layout. Each turn you can move to one card across or next from you; undiscovered cards will be face down and revealed and unlocked when you move onto them. The encounter cards that I spoke of earlier can range from simple combat with one enemy to a complex combat with multiple enemies, or if you are lucky the cards can be more into your favor with just a random event encounter such as a goblin who gives you free stuff, a maze which if you complete you get supplies. Just take note that each time you die, even if you get the same layout all cards will be in a different location so two runs will never be the same. So as you would image getting a good run of encounter cards could be the the success or failure on later stages and even more so when you start playing the endless mode which is very addictive. More often that not you will hit a sting of unavoidable combat encounters, and purely bad luck that will leave you in very sticky situations.

 

The thing that will make you keep coming back is the roguelike elements. Quite a few times I wanted to rage quit and more then a few times I did rage quit simply because the luck wasn't in my favor or I made a stupid mistake, but the though that I was in line for a good run made me turn the game back on or replay the stage I just lost made me want to jump right back on the saddle again and ride the luck pony. The game is all about dice rolls, so in case you were wondering you can get the strongest weapon in your deck within the first few turns but that doesn't make the game any easier, well maybe just slightly easier when it comes to comeback. Also nothing is better than picking out a few success and highly success cards which continues to gives you that boost to continue on. Everything you get is based on dice rolls. Which you see by selecting one of the four cards that can be either a success or a failure, High Success or High Failure. So if you are use to D&D this type of luck is not much different then rolling a perfect D20 to take out a unbeatable foe.

With multiple paths you can make through many dungeons, it would make sense to seek out the exit or final boss as quickly as you can as you can quickly run out of food. Oh yeah I forgot to mention. There is food in this game which is used on every movement. Yes you can buy food and earn it by random encounters but you can die to starvation so that is the reasoning you would want to find the exit and the dungeon leader as quickly as you can. With that said that the addition of tokens that could grant you extra cards could offer you an incentive for exploring and taking that risk as a reward. Tokens are earned from certain encounters if you complete them in a certain way, and will grant cards to that you would have unlocked so you can place them in your deck. The more tokens you receive and have, the better chances of getting stronger equipment, which is another small piece of bait that will make you keeping coming back from more.

Whenever you begin a combat encounter you enter a third person arena where melee combat is very similar to games like Batman (Arkham series), albeit a bit less smooth. The combat is serviceable at best and the AI enemies you fight are never up to much on their own. Multiple enemies can be a slight problem though as they fill the screen and attack you all directions, plus with enemies who have range can be a tad bit annoying. Even more so when you are underequipped, but the real challenges almost always is the final boss fight at the end of each story dungeon.

Strangely you are in 3rd person when you go into any type of ship, which personally feels slightly out of place and unnecessary and also when you enter a trap event. The Maze/Trap events I spoke of before you see your character in a area filled with traps such as spikes, dart traps, wall mounted flame throwers to avoid. The camera can be a problem when it comes to the trap themselves, as the frame rate could drop and make the game very unplayable at times and frustrating thus making the third person section quite unwelcoming. So, there is a patch needed to make combat and any and all third person sections improved and more playable. 

Framerate and load times issues are not the only bugs that you can come across. (I haven't tested on the PC, but the PS4), There is a audio bug where all sounds cuts in and out and it is rather annoying when it does. Usually happens during combat and doesn't kick back in until one or two board moves. I also experienced a game error where my save was wiped. So everything I earned (which wasn't much at the time due to me just starting the game) was gone. Lastly sometimes the game will randomly freeze up which could lead to a corrupted save.

Another little problem is that the combat encounters could become a bit stall and boring as the environments that you battle in could be rehashed over and over again. Same with the enemies. You have four types of enemies that you will be mainly be against. Humans, Lizards, Skeletons, and Rats. Sometimes you will be against mages, lava giants and minotaurs all which you have to unlock. The only thing that will keep you on your toes here is that everything could be mixed and matched up so you can go up against skeletons and humans in the same encounter. Lastly boss fights could be rehashed as normal encounters you could go up against a boss that you previous beaten.

Beyond those problems which only one is game breaking and like the game its based on luck if you get it. (How fitting right) Each little gripe could be easily overlooked as Hand of Fate presents a genre that is newer and fresh and could be explored. The game feels like nothing I have played before and it was exhilarating to discover what lies next in the next adventure. Unexpected encounters, brilliantly written situations and the ability to use your imagination to see the situations that are explained on screen makes the game enjoyable to play and not just for the D&D fans but casual fans as well.

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