Category: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly)


Halo Wars 2 review

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February 20, 2017

For me, Age of Empires on PC was my gateway into the world of real-time strategy games. Then, just a couple of years later, Command & Conquer on the N64 almost did the exact opposite, making me recoil from the genre. It wasn’t the games themselves, but the method in which I played them. Although I became more engrossed in consoles over the years, the RTS genre always held a special place in my heart from those early PC days, but I could never find one that captured what made the genre great on a console. So, when I needed a fix, it would end up leading to a rare PC purchase for me. Then, in 2009, fittingly enough the studio that made Age of Empires figured it out with Halo Wars. It wasn’t just marrying one of my favorite shooter series to the genre, but they had figured out a way to make it control almost as well as on a PC. Ensemble Studios may now be gone, but Halo Wars lives on, and another stellar RTS developer in Creative Assembly has picked up the ball and run with the series in spectacular fashion in Halo Wars 2.

When last we saw the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire, they had immersed themselves in cryosleep, beaten, battered, and with heavy losses after emerging victorious in a grueling battle with both the Covenant and the Flood. Now, 28 years later (up to date now with the Halo timeline), the crew is woken up when the Spirit of Fire drifts within range of an Ark, and picks up a UNSC distress signal coming from its surface. Commander Cutter quickly dispatches a team, and everyone is shocked as all they find is a young AI named Isabel. She quickly gets the Spirit of Fire crew up to date on the last 28 years, and reveals a new enemy in The Banished, a Brute-led force so powerful they were able to splinter off and earn their freedom from the Covenant.

On the surface, Creative Assembly has only really made minor tweaks to the basic gameplay of the original Halo Wars, but that in and of itself is an accomplishment. It’s not easy to make an RTS game work on consoles, but maintaining a lot of the same controls—like using the A-button to sweep over and collect units, or double-tapping a bumper to select all the units—I never once felt hampered when commanding my UNSC or Banished armies in both campaign and multiplayer. One major addition was particularly handy, though.

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A feature long available on PC RTS games—and noticeably absent from the original Halo Wars—was the ability to assign units to groups so you could bounce back and forth easily between teams fighting on multiple fronts. Now, you can create four separate groups on the D-Pad by holding a direction and a bumper, making army management a lot simpler. It may not be as much as the 10 groups you can create on a keyboard, but it’s a start, and can go a long way to your enjoyment of the game—in particular when the campaign sets up several missions where fighting along multiple fronts is the necessary way to go if you are to achieve victory on harder difficulties.

The other major addition is how much more in-depth Creative Assembly has gone with the upgrade trees and units you can make. Following the story, the Banished won’t have many familiar Covenant faces like the Jackals, because they wouldn’t make sense (no spoilers!). A variety of different Elites, however, help fill in myriad roles of units like these that didn’t carry over from the first game. And this works on both sides of the war, with one example being retrofitted Cyclops replacing the Cobra tanks—the UNSC’s anti-vehicle units for the original Halo Wars.

One of Halo Wars 2’s best features, however, is how the campaign not only fits perfectly into the Halo universe with a tremendous story, but teaches you all about these new mechanics and units as you play. You’ll experience them all as the narrative unfolds, prepping you before you take the plunge into the multiplayer modes. There’s also some surprising replayability with four different difficulties (all also available in 2-player co-op), high scores, and the optional and bonus objectives, which is how you actually unlock skulls this time around instead of searching for them tucked away in corners of the battlefield.

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The campaign, however, is also where one of the biggest flaws with the game crops up: its length. A full playthrough on normal only clocks in at about 6-8 hours (depending on if and how often you fail a mission), and only consists of 12 missions—one of which is really a 5-minute tutorial. Looking back, this is three chapters shorter than the original game. While the length doesn’t detract from the great story, and it’s nice the campaign goes to such lengths to teach you about all the units and lower the bar of entry for those potentially new to the RTS genre like mentioned above, I also got the feeling that I was never about to truly cut loose until the very last mission.

That’s because right up until the end, I felt the game was still giving me tutorials and holding my hand for a bit too long, keeping certain units back behind a curtain—and when everything was finally at my disposal, the game was over. Limiting players with certain scenarios and stipulations is good some of the time in an RTS campaign, but doing it nearly every mission can get a bit stifling, and prevented me from learning as much on my own. Really, experimentation in an RTS is sometimes part of the fun.

I was also surprised that there were a couple of moments in the campaign where some precipitous frame rate drops occurred (in particular, many of them happened in Mission 7). There really weren’t any other technical issues to speak of in my time with the game, and these could’ve just been the occasional pre-launch hiccup which can easily be patched on day one—but it’s definitely something to keep an eye out for.

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While playing an RTS game in single-player is all well and good, as I alluded to before, it’s really just the appetizer before diving into the multiplayer. Halo Wars 2 really shines here if you’re any sort of an RTS fan. The multiplayer suite is larger than before, featuring new modes like Strongholds, where players are given infinite resources while racing to build the biggest army first while trying to control the most bases. The team with the most bases at the end—or the one that can wipe out their opponents—wins. It’s a nice complement to Team Deathmatch and Domination if you’re looking for something more casual and less centered on the all-important resource management of other RTS modes.

The shining jewel, though, is the brand new card-based Blitz mode. Yes, it’s really an easy way to add microtransactions to yet another game, but it is entirely unnecessary to spend any extra money. You can earn cards by playing the game’s other modes (including campaign), and by leveling up your overall rank. There are also daily and weekly challenges across all modes that can reward you with special cards, too.

The idea in Blitz is that every player has a 12-card deck, and can even customize 18 total decks if they want (three for each of the six starting commanders in the game). Each commander has special cards only they can wield, and really add some unique elements to each deck. When you play Blitz, you draw a four-card hand and can only call units onto the field by playing cards, which you do by collecting resources like in any other RTS game. If playing against others, it takes on a Domination-like feel, with each player or team vying for control of three different points. If you play against AI, Blitz turns into a wave-based survival mode.

Halo Wars 2 Campaign Deadly Skirmish

I hate to admit it, because it seems like so many games are trying to add trading card game elements somehow now, but Blitz was probably my favorite of the multiplayer modes. Each match was fast (8-10 minutes), deck building is easy, and there’s still the strategy element you’d expect from something featured in an RTS game. Knowing where and when to play cards is vital. And, since you will always have a limited amount of units, knowing when to break someone off from your main groups to go collect more resources is critical to being ready for the inevitable conflicts. My only complaint about the mode is it only features one map, but with no match ever playing the same—even when using the same deck—it’s really a minor annoyance at worst. Also, it should be mentioned that I noticed no problems with Halo Wars 2 servers, but these were pre-launch conditions only populated by devs and a few dozen other members of the press. Once the game is released into the wild, it could be an entirely different ballgame, so that’s also something else to keep an eye out for.

As a fan of the original Halo Wars and RTS titles in general, I almost couldn’t be happier with Halo Wars 2. It continues the story of some of my favorite characters in the expanded Halo universe in a fitting and fun way, while giving me the competitive, strategic gameplay I expect and crave from a game of this genre. I wish the campaign would’ve given me a bit more length and freedom in a lot of scenarios, but other than that, Halo Wars once again shows the right way to do real-time strategy experiences on a console.

Publisher: Microsoft Studios • Developer: 343 Industries/Creative Assembly • ESRB: T – Teen • Release Date: 02.21.17
9.0
Halo Wars 2 does a fantastic job building on the foundation laid out by the original game. New modes and new characters highlight what is a fun return to the Halo universe, even if the campaign is shorter than I’d prefer.
The Good Deeper upgrade trees, being able to assign units to groups, and Blitz mode are all fantastic additions to this stellar continuation of the first game.
The Bad The campaign is on the short side, and the occasional lag.
The Ugly The stream of expletives that one dude screamed on headset when I stole his Grizzly tank with my Spartan Alice in Blitz mode.
Halo Wars 2 is available on Xbox One and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox One. Review code was provided by Microsoft for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
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Divide review

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One of the benefits of attending gaming conventions is that, sometimes, tucked away behind the AAA-behemoths always on display, you come across games that you’ve never heard of but which might pique your interest. That was the case at last year’s PlayStation Experience when I came across Divide. The folks from Exploding Tuba were trying to take a classic twin-stick shooter control scheme and marry it to an isometric adventure combined with a heavy sci-fi narrative element. Unfortunately, beyond the narrative aspirations they had, not much else really goes right with Divide.

In Divide you play as David, a single father who lost his wife in a lab accident at her work. Some time after her passing, you’re contacted by one of her old co-workers, Alton. He tells you all may not be as it seems, and gives you a briefcase. After playing at home with your daughter, you crack the case open to find a pair of special contact lenses that let you see the world in an entirely new light. Hidden documents, concealed buttons, and more all become visible to David, who realizes his very home was a testing ground for his deceased wife. Also in the case is a strange orb that explodes upon touching it, knocking David out. When he comes to, the world he knows is gone. In its place is a nightmarish future where the corporation that his wife worked for now rules. David now must find a way back to his own time—and his daughter.

The narrative is the lone bright spot for Divide. The dystopian world David wakes up in feels like it’s been inspired by the very best sci-fi one might read or see in a movie. They’re all familiar themes—corporations taking over the world, technology gone wrong or misused by malicious people, and a man out of time—but Divide does a nice job of using dialogue and context clues to give you reasons to care about the characters you meet, even despite the at times cringe-worthy voice acting.

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But that’s it. After you have the plot laid out before you, getting David just from point A to point B becomes one of the worst gaming slogs I’ve had to wade through for a review in a long time. A large part of this has to do with the level design. Besides its monotonous aesthetic of white walls and holographic monitors everywhere, the pathways David must cross feel like a M.C. Escher painting in terms of how convoluted they are. Walkways that needlessly weave over and under each other not only take away from the futuristic theme thanks to their blatant inefficiency, but also serve as a constant thorn in your side due to the fixed isometric camera preventing you from seeing obstacles that might bar your path.

This fact is only compounded when the game requires you to backtrack. Navigation in Divide is a flat-out nightmare; never before have I begged so badly for more linearity. The map given to you is barely legible, providing no sense of direction or location. And, with no objective markers and almost no real landmarks to speak of, you’ll feel like Divide was actually intended as a walking-in-circles simulator instead of a sci-fi adventure.

When combat is introduced, it’s just another layer of ineptitude placed onto this cake of failure. David can use his special lenses to see menus and control panels not otherwise visible in the world, while sneaking up on the patrolling security robots—who grow to become more and more of a nuisance as the game goes on—will sometimes reveal a shut-off switch that can render them inert without having to fire a shot. The issues with all of this is that David can’t pull up his lenses while running, which is particularly a pain as you try to escape when things inevitably go awry, and you can only shoot his gun with the lenses activated, making overall combat maneuverability in already small spaces a constant nuisance.

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The worst part about needing to activate your lenses to pull up your gun, though, is the fact that your laser sight is blue. Can you guess what the primary color is for most of the overlays that appear in the world when the lenses are on? A red laser sight would’ve stood out against the blue and white backdrops and not made aiming impossible. Considering how long it then takes your gun to charge up before each shot—which is why hacking security drones is actually preferred—there’s nothing like missing a charged up shot just barely because aiming is overly difficult. Not to mention, in a game with twin-stick mechanics, the reason why you can usually shoot quickly in those games is because bullets often act like tracers, allowing for easier correction. Having one blast every 30 seconds, not so much. I appreciate that Exploding Tuba wanted to try something different with a mechanic that hasn’t changed much over the years, but this was not the way to go.

Divide doesn’t just let players down from a design standpoint, though. From a technical point of view, it’s also a complete mess. David would get stuck on walls and furniture all the time, and I came out of several conversations with NPCs completely unable to move. As well, the game lacks a manual save system, but auto-saves infrequently—so when you have to reload after encountering one of these instant game-ending glitches, you’ll usually be losing anywhere between 10-15 minutes of progress.

Oh, but it doesn’t end there. It’s bad enough that this game doesn’t offer manual save points or frequent autosaves; my data also became corrupted somehow. Twice. There are four autosave slots if you try to manually load your game from the title screen, and all of them were unable to load. The only thing I can think of that happened in between those two playthroughs was the game was patched between them. I was told the first patch was specifically to fix this issue, which is even more mind-boggling that the game launched with such a major problem in the first place. How it happened again, I have no idea, but part of the reason this review took so long was I had to restart from the beginning and drag David’s sorry ass through time twice more before just marathoning through until the end. Nothing is more frustrating to me when playing a game than lost save data. Nothing.

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Divide should be renamed “disaster,” because that’s what this game is. From a technical and gameplay standpoint, there are few worse experiences that come to mind. The developers would’ve been better off taking the story—which, again, was the lone bright spot—turning it into a 90-page movie script, and selling that off to Hollywood. As a game, this is as bad as it gets.

Publisher: Exploding Tuba Studios • Developer: Exploding Tuba Studios • ESRB: T – Teen • Release Date: 01.31.17
2.0
I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen such a mess of a game. There’s a decent story here, but it’s buried under so much technical and design shortcomings that it’s not worth your time digging to try to find it.
The Good There’s a decent sci-fi story buried underneath everything here.
The Bad Awful level design, bugs everywhere, bad voice acting, and a repetitive aesthetic that gets boring quickly.
The Ugly That I ever thought this might’ve been good after PSX 2016.
Divide is a PS4 exclusive. Review code was provided by Exploding Tuba Studios for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
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Double Dragon IV review

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Few games are more of a prime example of the late arcade/height of the NES-era than Double Dragon. In a time where beat ‘em ups were establishing themselves as one of the kings of the coin-op machines, the original Double Dragon debuted in arcades in 1987 (a full year before being ported to the NES) and it immediately became a co-op sensation. Later chapters only cemented the adoration for brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee, and it was a staple for many young fans of the genre—myself included. So, with the 30th anniversary of the original Double Dragon being celebrated this year, Arc System Works decided to finally continue the original story, picking up after Double Dragon II: The Revenge—Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone took place between the original two games—and deliver unto us a true 8-bit successor in Double Dragon IV.

The world has gone to hell after the events of the last game as nuclear war has decimated everything. Might makes right amongst the survivors of this post-apocalyptic wasteland, and so the benevolent Lee brothers have been traveling across the country trying to open up new dojos (it’s all about those franchising rights!) in an attempt to teach people to better defend themselves. Unfortunately, on a trip to the ruins of San Francisco, some familiar ne’er-do-wells ambush Billy and Jimmy. Oh, and Marion does her best Princess Peach impersonation and has been kidnapped—again.

So, much like many games of the late 1980s, the story serves as little more than window dressing as a concept and an excuse to get you and a friend to team up and take on hordes of thugs both familiar and new to long-time fans of the series. It’s definitely not the selling point here, and that’s fine considering how much this game is clearly trying to channel the originals.

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The audio/visual aspects are also ripped right from the 80s. There are sprites that sometimes just use palette swaps to signify an increase in difficulty between enemies. The Lee brothers look like they’re whipping three-linked sausages around instead of throwing righteous fists. Simple, spring-like noises sound off with each jump across perilous pits, and the classic main theme song returns. In other words, Double Dragon IV’s artistic style at least is a direct throwback to the NES versions of the first two Double Dragon games for those of us around back then, and probably serves as a shock to the system for those who weren’t. I believe it to be entirely inoffensive, and even a tad refreshing in a way, even if all you’ve ever known is polygons, dynamic lighting effects, and orchestral scores.

This return to a bygone era can also be felt in the game design. Platforms aren’t placed in impossible positions, but are difficult enough where if you don’t time your jumps just perfectly, you’ll fall to your doom and lose a precious life—of which are in short supply. Disappearing platforms, rotating blocks, spike traps, and conveyor belts (oh, those damn conveyor belts!) litter the late stages of the game. There are also the enemies who love to crowd around your fallen body. Although this can lead to a particularly efficient uppercut or rising knee if you time it right on your pop-up, it can also lead to numbers that simply overwhelm you and see the enemy thugs beating you right back to the ground, or repeatedly whittling down your health bar with devastating combos. Familiar special moves from the original games like spin kicks, throws, and MMA knees to the face are also here to help if you can pull them off.

For some, this all may prove even more frustrating than for others. Playing the fittingly local only co-op with a younger friend of mine named Jeromy—the 2-player “A” version of the co-op campaign mode specifically that removes the friendly fire of the 2-player “B” campaign mode because Jeromy cannot be trusted—highlighted how big a difference a single gaming generation between two people can be. I’ve been with Double Dragon since the beginning; he came on board with Super Double Dragon, a game made specifically for the SNES and not arcades, which is not considered canon. His frustrations with Double Dragon IV were obvious from the second we started.

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It was then that I realized that in many ways Double Dragon IV was like a time capsule in game design seeing the light of day for the first time in almost 30 years. For me, it was mostly fun to see old-school mechanics revisited, and I laughed at what Jeromy saw as design shortcomings—which I recognized as sometimes just conscious decisions made with high difficulty and the technological limitations of the time in mind. It was as if the original Double Dragon had again emerged to steal lives on my NES, or my quarters in the arcade. Only those who could master the limited controls of the 80s were worthy to progress pass the game’s first few levels, and this was on clear display here. I found it charming; he found it maddening.

Not everything about old-school game design should be found to be charming, though. A classic shortcoming of side-scrolling beat ‘em up combat remains perfectly intact here in the form of poor hit detection. Trying to line up on the same plane as an enemy and failing (and then them hitting you somehow from the same position), or your foes being a mere pixel or two out of range of one of your punches leading to you getting clobbered with a nunchuck, led to some teeth grinding on my part, too, for sure, and I would’ve loved even the slightest improvement here.

And where Double Dragon IV excels at showing us a glimpse at gaming’s past, it also clearly limits its audience. Like Jeromy, anyone under a certain age won’t have the quaint, nostalgic memories to take the edge off the game’s classic quarter-munching gameplay and inherent flaws. This isn’t necessarily a knock against the game, but it does make it very niche, confining its potential reach to an ever-shrinking demographic.

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Arc System Works did at least try to rectify this it seems with a poorly advertised fact that by pressing the “Options” button on the main menu you can pull up a mission select option and instantly start with full credits and lives at the most recent chapter you finished. In this sense, some of the difficulty and tension is removed as the fear of having to start the entire game over is absent, but then you run into the unfortunate by-product of what turns out to be an extremely short game—one whose 12 missions total should take less than an hour to finish.

A dash of some much-needed replayability is introduced once you beat the game by allowing you to play as other characters besides the Lee brothers (such as Roper, Williams, and Linda), but this isn’t much if the original experience didn’t appeal to you. There’s also a two-player versus mode with over a dozen optional characters to play as, and a Tower mode where you must keep clearing floors of enemies to climb the tower, which you can challenge once beating the campaign. Both are even more tiresome than the campaign itself, however, unless you consider yourself a Double Dragon maniac.

Double Dragon IV is a throwback in both the best and worst ways. It limits its audience by appealing to an extreme niche section of hardcore fans, eschewing modern game design for aesthetics and mechanics that are relics from a seemingly ancient era and could alienate many gamers. If you can look past the retro sprites, and are old enough to remember when games like this dominated the arcade and NES landscape despite their intense difficulty, the nostalgia factor might be enough to carry you through this fitting follow-up to the original games in the series. If you can’t, then fighting for right with the might of the dragon likely isn’t for you and you should pass on Double Dragon IV.

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Publisher: Arc System Works • Developer: Arc System Works • ESRB: T – Teen • Release Date: 01.30.17
6.0
Double Dragon IV is a sequel that came about three decades too late. While it’s a great follow-up to the games from the 8-bit era, it also unintentionally shines a light on the shortcomings of the time—which only the most diehard of fans will be able to overlook.
The Good A true 8-bit era follow-up to the original Double Dragon series in every sense.
The Bad The game is almost too accurate to its NES and arcade inspiration, with punishing platforming and overwhelming enemy numbers that will irritate all but the most diehard of Double Dragon fans.
The Ugly All these years later and Marion is still getting gut-punched before being carted away.
Double Dragon IV is available on PS4 and PC. Primary version reviewed was for PS4. Review code was provided by Arc System Works for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
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Resident Evil 7 review

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Even though it is looked at as the father of the “survival horror” genre, the only thing scary about Resident Evil in recent years is how much it had unabashedly transformed into just another action series—as if it had been infected with the video game equivalent of one of Umbrella’s viruses. Resident Evil 5 and 6 in particular are guilty of this. They may have had many of our favorite characters, but the sense of suspense and tension was completely gone. Recognizing this, the minds now in charge of the series made a conscious effort to get back to what made Resident Evil the gaming icon it is, and I can attest that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is easily the best game the series has seen in years—if not ever.

Resident Evil 7 begins with a new hero to the series—a man by the name of Ethan Winters—getting a mysterious message from his wife, Mia, who has been missing for three years. Instructed to come find her in the fictional city of Dulvey, Louisiana, Ethan makes a beeline for the address he’s given, where he comes upon a derelict plantation home belonging to the Baker family. As Ethan begins to explore the property, though, he’ll find a lot more is going on down in Dulvey than anyone realizes.

Isolation. Darkness. Disbelief. Insurmountable odds. I was bombarded with all of these elements almost right from the get-go in Resident Evil 7 as it set a tone that would carry the entire way throughout this adventure. A large part of this has to do with the fact that the game features a first-person camera view for the first time. Much in the way that Resident Evil 4 was lauded for giving us a more traditional over-the-shoulder third-person camera as compared to early games in the series, this decision again changes the entire dynamic of how you experience a Resident Evil game. It left me feeling incredibly tense with each step I took through the Baker residence, as the creepiness of the setting—with mutilated dolls, rotting meat, and bugs everywhere—was always right in my face.

Some of these feelings come directly from the aesthetics of the game. The muted earth tones of the massive Baker plantation just scream of rot and decay, while each building on the property—of which there are several and they are large—still have a clear theme around them. Barns, greenhouses, and guest homes all have secrets, and will require careful exploration if you are to find them all. That is, if you’re brave enough to go looking, considering you never know what lurks behind each and every locked door.

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The only thing crisper than the visuals is the audio design. While the dialogue definitely isn’t the best, occasionally reeking of B-movie level inspiration, the voice actors do a great job with it—especially with the southern drawls of the Baker family. The sounds of a storm battering the buildings, unseen enemies crawling within the walls, the heavy breathing of Ethan after a fight, and even the crunch of his shoes as he slowly tries to move around undetected only add a level of detail that cranks the immersion up even further.

Another element that helps drive home the horror atmosphere was the fact that the story isn’t afraid to work at a slow boil in the beginning. I didn’t meet my first NPC until around 30 minutes into the game, didn’t get my first weapon/meet my first enemy until almost an hour in, and didn’t finally face off against my first true BOW until almost two hours in. This established a mood that had me jumping at my own shadow, and shouting at the TV when the jump scares the original games were known for finally came into full effect with the horrifying Baker family. This is where Resident Evil 7 may shine brightest: it walks a fine line between Eastern horror elements (mood, atmosphere, tension) with more Western ones (gore, grossness, jump-scares) to give an experience reminiscent of those early games in the series, and that sent chills down my spine.

This sort of pacing also made it so I couldn’t stop playing. Once the questions started piling up around the Baker family—even if some of the answers were a tad predictable as they relate to previous games in the series—I couldn’t put my controller down, and this is another mark of a great horror game. As much as I wanted to crap my pants not knowing what was lurking just down the hall, I needed to solve the mystery, no matter the cost. Sometimes answers would come from an intense boss fight in cramped quarters, while other times it would be a brilliantly concocted puzzle offering a reprieve to the tension I often felt while exploring. The only downside to all this is that the game’s replayability takes a serious knock once you know how it will all end, even with the hard “Madhouse” difficulty unlocking after your first completion of the game.

The slow build of the narrative also had the added bonus of giving tremendous weight to the biggest moments when they did happen. Seeing this game’s first BOW was a truly terrifying revelation, and instead of Capcom sending a shooting gallery worth of enemies at me after that, or giving me a machine gun right from the onset, they made it a punishing encounter that would also set the tone for the game’s combat.

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Ethan is not the trained hero that Leon, Chris, or other early Resident Evil protagonists have become for the series, and many times when encountering an enemy of any sort, keeping your wits about you and managing your ammunition becomes paramount. Scrounging for scattered bullets, taking careful aim, relying on melee weapons, or even running away are all viable strategies when the ammo runs out and your foes keeps coming. Ethan can’t just spin kick a foe to the ground and curb stomp them into submission; in fact, without upgrades, he won’t survive more than a couple hits against most enemies, turning every confrontation into a truly stressful moment as you fight to survive.

Speaking of upgrades, now is a good time to mention my one real complaint about Resident Evil 7, and that comes with the game’s inventory system. Managing inventory has been a chore in Resident Evil for as long as I can remember, but this game might take the cake. Ethan can’t carry a lot, which makes sense as we’ve established. You can find bigger backpacks hidden over the course of the game that adds four new slots to your inventory page, but my real issue is that collectible coins, photographs showing treasure locations, and critical items like keys and keycards all take up the exact same amount of space as ammunition and your guns. There are a lot of different keys to the Baker residence, and while you can go and store things in linked ammo crates, never knowing just which key you’ll need means you might end up struggling to juggle everything like I did. This was originally an issue that was fixed in Resident Evil 4 where the series finally had items taking up a logical amount of room in your inventory based on size/shape. I don’t know why Resident Evil 7 is going backwards in progress with something already fixed three games ago, but I spent way too much time in my inventory as it became quite the chore to manage it all.

One last interesting wrinkle for Resident Evil 7 is that if you’re playing on PlayStation 4, you’ll have a chance to play the game in VR if you own a PlayStation VR headset. Simply turn the VR support on in the menu screen’s options, and suddenly you’ll be dropped right into Ethan’s shoes. While I didn’t give the entire game a virtual reality playthrough, I do admit in the couple hours I did play with the headset on, it’s probably one of the best representations of VR we’ve gotten thus far.

Exploring the Baker plantation in VR is even more frightening than doing it normally. And, with the story playing out entirely the same in and out of VR, even knowing what was coming I still got chills just being immersed in that atmosphere. My only hope is that, in the future, we get the option to aim our guns with the right stick instead of having to move our heads, and that we get a full body representation of Ethan instead of floating hands. Otherwise, this is a nice added bonus for PS VR owners, but definitely not necessary in order to enjoy this game.

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Resident Evil 7 might be the first must-own game of 2017. If you’re a fan of survival horror, then you’ll recognize the tremendous return to form this was for Capcom’s legendary series, and be equally thrilled and terrified by the atmosphere and level of immersion this experience provides. The narrative is driven by a pair of underdogs in Ethan and Mia Winters that you can’t help but root for, and the mystery of the Baker plantation will keep you pushing on well after your voice has gone hoarse from screaming so much at your TV. Resident Evil is back—and I don’t think it gets better than this.

Publisher: Capcom • Developer: Capcom • ESRB: M – Mature • Release Date: 01.24.17
9.5
This is easily the best Resident Evil game in years. It masterfully blends Eastern and Western horror sensibilities into a truly terrifying package that also harkens back to the series’ roots.
The Good A brilliantly crafted rabbit hole that constantly pulls you deeper no matter how scared you get.
The Bad Oh that pesky inventory management.
The Ugly The constant stream of swears that came out of my mouth after every jump-scare.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for PS4. A review copy was provided by Capcom for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
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Rise & Shine review

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Rise & Shine is one of those games that almost slipped under my radar, but I’m glad it didn’t. Releasing in early-mid January is a risk sometimes, as gamers are usually still working on their holiday hauls, and reviewers like myself take the typically slow time of the year to catch up on our mountainous backlogs. Luckily for me, though, I actually eliminated my backlog early this year, and had to go searching for something else to play—leading me to this enjoyable little action-platformer.

Rise & Shine takes place on the world of Gamearth. Here, many of the great video game characters we’ve come to know and love over the years live in peace, and maintain the safety of the planet’s less-famous denizens. When the hyper-violent armies of planet Nexgen decide it’s time to invade, the forces of Gamearth are no match. Thus, a new hero must rise, and the magical gun Shine—which bestows infinite respawns—must be taken up by a new champion. In this case, it’s a young boy named Rise. Now, Rise and Shine must travel across Gamearth looking for the means to stop Nexgen’s invasion and save their world.

RiseShineCrashedShip1160

While the story of Rise & Shine is pretty straightforward no matter how you look at it—kill all the bad guys, save the world—where it excels is in its unique setting, which allows the writing to both poke fun at and celebrate gaming. Rise complaining about how much it hurts each time he dies and respawns, the king’s throne being made of SNES consoles, and even the stereotypical leader of the Nexgen army offer some fun tongue-in-cheek humor that makes you want to keep pushing forward.

And there will be times you need that something to keep pushing forward, because Rise & Shine’s gameplay can be punishing. Although there are a fair amount of puzzles that bar your progress forward, none are as testing of your patience as the moments when your screen will fill with enemies and you’re forced to duck behind cover and pray. Being a child, Rise has very limited health, and will often fall after only a direct hit or two—whereas the force he is facing can fill the screen with projectiles almost like a bullet hell. It requires some trial and error before patterns become evident, and even then, Shine’s limited ammo before having to reload (you have infinite bullets, but you start with only being able to have 10 in the chamber at a time) can come back to bite you at the worst times. I personally didn’t mind that it harkens back in many ways to the early days of gaming, but the degree of difficulty will surely be an acquired taste for some.

At the very least, you’ll always look good while dying. One of Rise & Shine’s most impressive aspects is definitely its colorful, cartoony art style that pops off the screen, featuring comic book panel-style cutscenes tying everything together. The cute, rounded features of all the characters give it the aesthetic of a Saturday morning cartoon aimed at younger audiences. The stark contrast against the blood and gore from killing enemies or being killed, and the dark undertone of a planetary invasion, then made this design choice all the more striking.

RiseShineFirstLevel1160

I only wish the game’s mechanics had grabbed me as forcefully as the art style did. Whether you find the gameplay difficult or not, it quickly tends to become rather one dimensional either way. Using the right stick to aim and right trigger to fire worked well enough within the parameters of an action-platformer—even one as punishing as this—but Shine only gets a couple of forced upgrades over the course of the game to go along with optional clip upgrades. These upgrades—an electric bullet to power terminals in puzzles, guided bullets to hit buttons down narrow passageways, and a grenade launcher to arc shots over barricades—are extremely situational in most cases. Sure, the electric bullets can also be effective against robots, but I found myself defaulting back to my original bullets most of the time. And, with no real powers in regards to Rise, dodging and shooting the same handful of enemies became tiresome after awhile, especially when failing in those trial-and-error shooting scenarios.

Rise & Shine also has the unfortunate distinction of being another Indie game that just feels like it ends abruptly. Three hours into the game, it felt like the bottom fell out, and that I was only scratching the surface of what Gamearth had to offer. It also made certain sections of the adventure, like the barrage of mini-games on “NPC Island,” feel all the more random and out of place. Sure, it could be going back to that overarching commentary on games of this ilk in general, but it didn’t change the fact that because of the compact nature of the game, elements like this felt like they came out of left field.

Even with these rough edges, though, I found I enjoyed most of my time with Rise & Shine. I would’ve loved a longer, more thorough visit to Gamearth, but its strong writing, attractive art style, and solid—if not shallow—gameplay were more than enough to keep me going until I had turned Rise into a hero worthy of carrying Shine. Now, excuse me as I try to go figure out how to build my own throne out of SNES consoles.

RiseShineFirstBoss1160

Publisher: Adult Swim Games • Developer: Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team • ESRB: M – Mature • Release Date: 01.13.17
7.0
Rise & Shine isn’t the deepest action-platformer you’ll ever play, but the tongue-in-cheek nods to the gaming industry at large, along with its stunning art style, will push you to the finish line even when the gameplay starts to let you down.
The Good Visually arresting and smartly written.
The Bad Mechanics wear thin after some time; ending feels abrupt.
The Ugly I think I died less in Dark Souls.
Rise & Shine is available on Xbox One and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox One. Review code was provided by Adult Swim Games for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
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Top 10 Switch Games I’ve Played Thus Far

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Although the Nintendo Switch is only going to have five games released on launch day, it’ll have over 50 games impressively come out during the system’s initial launch window. I had a chance to go hands-on with over a dozen of these launch window games—including the five coming on day one—and put together a list of the ten best titles you should be looking forward to in the early days of Nintendo’s newest home console.

12Switch

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 3, 2017		 1-2 Switch
It wouldn’t be a Nintendo console launch anymore it seems without a fun collection of minigames available to show off the system’s potential, and hopefully draw the entire family into the Big N’s warm embrace. 1-2 Switch features a handful of games that take full advantage of the Joy-Con’s variety of motion sensors while bringing out your competitive nature. One game requires you to listen for the sound of a ball smacking a paddle and to keep up with the rhythm in table tennis—minus the table. For all you wannabe cowboys out there, having to quick draw your Joy-Con and press the trigger in an old-fashioned duel at high noon might be more your speed. And the first game to fully take advantage of the HD Rumble, one minigame requires you to move your Joy-Con around and determine how many marbles are inside it—and, unbelievably, the sensors make it feel like there are actually marbles inside your controller. The most interesting thing about all these minigames is that they implore players to look away from their TVs and instead look at each other, livening up the play space and again driving home the potential portability of the fun the Switch has to offer.

ARMS

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Spring 2017		 ARMS
Another new IP being introduced during the Switch’s launch window, the ARMS demo we played touted five different fighters, with a variety of titular appendages that you could snap into place, potentially providing a greater advantage on the battlefield. Each player requires a pair of Joy-Cons, with each representing a player’s left and right arm respectively. By turning the Joy-Cons you can move or block, and by punching forward you can send your spring-loaded arms forward at incredible speeds. You can even throw hooks by twisting your arms mid-attack, or throw your opponents off by punching both arms at the same time. Each armament touts different positives and negatives in terms of how powerful they are, and how many times they can potentially hit. The Trident, for example, shoots three finger projectiles out, while the BIG wrecking ball arms are slower but can do a ton of damage. Similar to many fighting games out there, each player has a lifebar, and each avatar also has their natural advantages and disadvantages in terms of health, speed, blocking, and other parameters you’d expect from a game such as this. Meanwhile, ARMS touts multiple ways to play: single-player versus the computer, local versus, and also online versus. Whether or not there’s an accompanying story to go along with ARMS is yet to be seen, but at the very least, if you can snag a second set of Joy-Cons, ARMS could be another game to potentially get the party started on the Switch.

FASTRACINGRMX

Developer: Shin’en Multimedia
Publisher: Shin’en Multimedia
Release Date: March/April 2017		 FAST RMX
FAST Racing NEO took the gaming world by storm by harkening back to the futuristic racing of games like F-Zero, and was a rare surprise hit on the Wii U. So, it was with great glee that I found that the original game is being ported over to the Switch with more tracks, more cars, and more modes than the original. Once again, players will hop into the cockpit of a futuristic, super-stylized, hovering race pod and will have to change the colors of their jet streams mid-race in order to get the biggest and best boosts possible if they want to exceed speeds of 1000 miles per hour. Impressively, you can play the entire game with only a single Joy-Con by turning it sideways, or use the Switch Pro Controller if you so choose. In another rarity, FAST RMX touts four-player local split-screen as long as you have enough controllers. There’s also 8-player online versus, and taking advantage of the Switch’s ability to connect with other consoles locally, even touts 8-player local multiplayer if everyone has their own Switch. If you missed FAST Racing NEO the first time around, this remix is a perfect time to test your racing mettle.

LoZBotW

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 3, 2017		 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
There was easily no other game that excited us more about the Switch than the newest chapter in one of gaming’s greatest franchises. After having played demos on both systems, I can attest that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks better and plays smoother on the Switch over its Wii U counterpart. Playing with the Joy-Cons inserted into the “puppy dog” dock felt amazingly comfortable, and it wasn’t long before I was off trying to figure out the secret behind Calamity Ganon in the largest Hyrule yet. The map was absolutely massive, but I couldn’t wait to explore every single inch. Of course, the demo was quickly cut short after only 20 minutes, but I found everything to be easier in the Switch version, from managing my inventory to combat, and I believe again it’s in large part to the Switch controller being far more comfortable than the Wii U tablet. Of course, if I so chose, I could also snap the Joycons to the side of the Switch console and take it on the road. There’s a small loss of quality there—the 900p visuals becomes 720p on the console’s 6.5-inch screen—but the fact I could be flying across the country and playing a Zelda game makes up for that in spades.

MK8DX

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: April 28, 2017		 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Besides getting an obvious bump in visual fidelity on the Switch console, this latest version of everyone’s favorite kart racer is filled to the brim with content. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is easily the definitive edition of this game. All previous DLC characters are unlocked from the get-go, along with a couple of new ones added to this version. New tracks are also included, again upping the content and replayability should you have played the original the first time around. The most telling addition, however, comes on the multiplayer side. Yes, like many of the other games on this list, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe touts a variety of local and online multiplayer options all depending on how many Switches and Joy-Cons you have available. You can even play 2-player split-screen locally with just a pair of Joy-Cons, with each player turning them sideways like NES controllers. But the biggest multiplayer addition is the inclusion of old-school balloon-popping battles in classic arenas that were noticeably absent from the launch of the original Mario Kart 8. With all these additions and new features, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is almost an entirely new game, and a must have for fans of the series.

Snipperclips

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 2017		 Snipperclips — Cut It Out, Together!
Lengthy title that should be shortened to just Snipperclips aside, this is another new IP that shows off the flexibility and creativity games on the Switch can potentially afford developers and players. This two-player game gives each player a single Joy-Con turned sideways, and sees them take control of living pieces of construction paper. By cutting your partner—and them cutting you—into a variety of different shapes, you must create the tools needed to solve puzzles of ever-increasing difficulty. No matter if you’re popping balloons, putting a basketball through a hoop, bringing a pencil over to a sharpener, or just matching shapes given to you, Snipperclips – Cut It Out, Together! will test your ability to collaborate (and maybe your patience) as you attempt to overcome all the challenges in your way.

SonicMania

Developer: Headcannon/PagodaWest
Publisher: SEGA
Release Date: Spring 2017		 Sonic Mania
One of the big things seemingly keeping the industry afloat at times is its regular reliance on nostalgia. When that nostalgia hits home, it’s hard to deny the impact it can have on a particular fanbase. Of course, when that same nostalgia leads to disappointment, the impact it has can be felt even more harshly in the other direction. Few franchises have seen both sides of this effect as clearly as Sonic the Hedgehog, with most recent entries falling on the unfortunate side of the nostalgia effect. It’s no wonder then that SEGA is turning an eye back to the beginning—to Sonic’s clearly-defined roots—and bringing the blue blur back home with Sonic Mania. A combination of the original Sonic the Hedgehog and an entirely new adventure, Sonic Mania combines the 16-bit breakneck speed that Sonic blasted onto the scene with with new worlds, harder levels, bigger bosses, and even the inclusion of his buddies Tails and Knucles this time around. While Sonic Mania is the only non-exclusive title to make this list, it needs to be mentioned that being able to play the game with only a single Joy-Con controller might feel the most similar to how it did when we were children as opposed to the larger, bulkier controllers of the PS4 or Xbox One. Considering Sonic only ever needed a couple of buttons, even the single Joy-Con might be overkill to some. To the rest of us, it is an extra tool in SEGA’s efforts to re-hone in on Sonic’s core, and bring his fans back to happier times.

Splatoon2

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Summer 2017		 Splatoon 2
Disappointment over the fact this wasn’t named Spla2oon aside, Splatoon 2 is doing everything you could hope for from any and every sequel. Aside from supporting both Joy-Con and Pro Controller play, and offering up local 8-player multiplayer if you have enough Switches, Splatoon 2 is coming at us bigger and better in every way imaginable. Just like in real life, two years time has passed in the world of Splatoon, and with it Squid-kid style has changed—along with their weaponry. New devices like the twin pistols allow for more accurate painting, and new modes, maps, and more are promised to bring the experience as a whole to a new level. I played a pair of classic turf war matches during our brief time with the game, and the core of bright colors and easy to pick-up gameplay remain centered on the Wii U’s biggest surprise franchise. We can’t wait to paint the town red (and blue, and green, and yellow, and pink) all over again this summer.

SuperBombermanR

Developer: HexaDrive
Publisher: Konami
Release Date: March 3, 2017		 Super Bomberman R
During the ending montage of Thursday night’s press conference where Nintendo really showed off the Switch for the first time, there were two things that I noticed. First was the confirmation of NBA 2K18, coupled with the earlier announcement of FIFA showing a clear sign of Nintendo finally supporting sports games again. But completely unrelated, and even more exciting for most of us, was the brief image of a familiar explosives expert who we hadn’t really seen in quite some time. The original Bomberman back in the day was one of those perfect little arcade-inspired adventures that flourished on the original NES. Over the years, the lore of Bomberman and his enemies was expanded upon, and he’s become a cult-classic for those of us who can’t get enough of his brand of demolition and destruction. Thus, Super Bomberman R was an extremely pleasant surprise that fantastically captures the essence of what makes Bomberman great, while giving us tough puzzles, persistent enemies, and just enough friendly fire to keep us on our toes when playing couch co-op. Another game that utilizes a single Joy-Con controller held sideways, Super Bomberman R is a great throwback for fleshing out the Switch’s launch-day lineup.

USF2

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: TBD 2017		 Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers
Another retro surprise, Capcom is giving fans what could end up being the final revision of Street Fighter II in the game’s over 25-year lifespan. Featuring two new (to the game) characters in Evil Ryu and Violent Ken, the roster of that fighting game classic is finally considered complete now alongside original additions like Cammy and T. Hawk. The game plays exactly the same, as you would expect if you caught the title the first time around, and features Pro Controller support, unsurprisingly. Besides the two new characters (that channel aspects of Akuma in different ways), the game can be played in two different visual modes. The first mimics the 16-bit sprites of the SNES days, while the other uses the new art UDON provided for the game’s HD Remix release, giving every character a gorgeous coat of anime-style paint that just leaps off the screen. As great as the game looks, the real question now is if it could join the professional fighting game circuit—and how long before we see Ultra Street Fighter II alongside Street Fighter V at tournaments like EVO.
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Finalists announced for 20th annual D.I.C.E. Awards

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January 15, 2017

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences announced their nominees for the 20th annual D.I.C.E. (design, innovate, communicate, entertain) awards yesterday. The D.I.C.E. Awards annually celebrate the biggest gaming moments of the year, and this year is no different with 56 different titles getting at least one nod.

Leading the way is Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End with 10 nominations, followed closely behind by indie darling Inside with nine. This year also marks the addition of two new categories: Immersive Reality Game of the Year and Immersive Reality Technical Achievement Award. Both of these are meant to shine a light on the emerging VR/AR platforms that took center stage in many gaming conversations over the course of 2016. This brings the total categories for the show up to 24. All other categories and nominations can be seen below.

Nominees and winners in each award category are determined by the Academy’s peer panels. These panels—one for each category—are comprised of the game industry’s most experienced and talented men and women, and who are experts in their chosen fields. Winners are determined as part of a confidential voting process, with every panel member getting a vote for Game of the Year along with their field of expertise, and the results of this voting process is kept top secret until the night of the show.

“On behalf of the Academy’s Board of Directors and its 33,000+ membership, I’d like to congratulate all the nominees,” said Mike Fischer, President of the AIAS. “For the past 20 years, the Academy has made the core of its mission to honor and celebrate the highest achievements in game making. We look forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary milestone, and look forward to celebrating many more years to come!”

Along with all the awards, legendary game director Todd Howard will also be honored as the 22nd member inducted into the AIAS’s Hall of Fame on the night of the show.

This year’s show will be streamed in its entirety live from The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, via live.interactive.org starting at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET on Thursday, February 23rd. It was also announced that this year’s show would be hosted by Kinda Funny co-founder Greg Miller, and Nerdist News host Jessica Chobot. Here now is the list of nominees at this year’s show.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ANIMATION

  • Inside
  • The Last Guardian
  • Overwatch
  • Street Fighter V
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

  • Battlefield 1
  • Firewatch
  • Inside
  • The Last Guardian
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHARACTER

  • Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – Nick Reyes
  • Firewatch – Delilah
  • Firewatch – Henry
  • The Last Guardian – Trico
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Nathan Drake

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSITION

  • Abzu
  • Battlefield 1
  • DOOM
  • The Last Guardian
  • Titanfall 2

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND DESIGN 

  • Battlefield 1
  • Inside
  • The Last Guardian
  • Quantum Break
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN STORY

  • Firewatch
  • Inside
  • Oxenfree
  • That Dragon, Cancer
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

  • Battlefield 1
  • No Man’s Sky
  • Overwatch
  • Titanfall 2
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

ACTION GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Battlefield 1
  • DOOM
  • Gears of War 4
  • Overwatch
  • Titanfall 2

ADVENTURE GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Firewatch
  • Inside
  • King’s Quest: The Complete Collection
  • The Last Guardian
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

FAMILY GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Dragon Quest Builders
  • LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  • Ratchet & Clank
  • Rock Band Rivals
  • Super Mario Maker 3DS

FIGHTING GAME OF THE YEAR

  • EA Sports UFC 2
  • Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-
  • Killer Instinct: Season 3
  • Pokken Tournament
  • Street Fighter V

RACING GAME OF THE YEAR 

  • Driveclub VR
  • Forza Horizon 3

ROLE-PLAYING/MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Dark Souls III
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  • Hyper Light Drifter
  • Tom Clancy’s The Division
  • World of Warcraft: Legion

SPORTS GAME OF THE YEAR

  • FIFA 17
  • Madden NFL 17
  • MLB The Show 16
  • NBA 2K17
  • Steep

STRATEGY/SIMULATION GAME OF THE YEAR

  • The Banner Saga 2
  • Deus Ex GO
  • Fire Emblem Fates
  • Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
  • XCOM 2

D.I.C.E. SPRITE AWARD

  • 1979 Revolution: Black Friday
  • Firewatch
  • Inside
  • Superhot
  • That Dragon, Cancer

HANDHELD GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Dragon Quest Builders
  • Fire Emblem Fates
  • Kirby: Planet Robobot
  • Pokemon Sun & Moon
  • Severed

MOBILE GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Clash Royale
  • Crashlands
  • Gardenscapes – New Acres
  • Pokemon GO
  • Reigns

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ONLINE GAMEPLAY

  • Battlefield 1
  • Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
  • Overwatch
  • Titanfall 2
  • Tom Clancy’s The Division

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN GAME DESIGN

  • I Expect You To Die
  • Inside
  • Overwatch
  • Owlboy
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN GAME DIRECTION

  • 1979 Revolution: Black Friday
  • Battlefield 1
  • Inside
  • The Last Guardian
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Battlefield 1
  • Inside
  • Overwatch
  • Pokemon GO
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
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19th Annual IGF Award nominees announced

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The finalists for the 19th Annual Independent Games Festival have been announced and 30 different titles are up for awards this year.

Leading the pack is Virginia with four nominations out of the seven panel-chosen, software-related categories, including the Nuovo Award for innovation. Hot on its heels are Hyper Light Drifter, Inside, and Event[0] with three noms each. Nominations in all categories can be seen below.

Besides the seven software awards, there is also an Audience Award that is left open to the public (voting will begin by the end of January), and a new award this year called the ALT.CTRL.GDC Award. This new award is being given to the most creative and unique controllers that some developers have created to go along with their games. All awards besides the Audience Award are judged by a group of 340 judges, who looked at over 650 entries this year. After paring down the entries, expert juries comprised of members of the gaming industry are then formed specializing in distinct disciplines for each category and they choose the winners.

It was also announced that this year’s show would be hosted by Nina Freeman, level designer for Fullbright’s Tacoma, and a Nuovo-award winning creator in her own right for her game Cibele.

The IGF Awards will precede the GDC Awards on March 1, 2017, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Here now is the list of awards and nominees at this year’s show.

BEST STUDENT GAME

  • Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
  • Lily, Colors of Santa Luz
  • Un Pas Fragile
  • FAR: Lone Sails
  • Frog Climbers
  • Bamboo Heart

EXCELLENCE IN AUDIO

  • The Flame in the Flood
  • GoNNER
  • Virginia
  • Hyper Light Drifter
  • Everything
  • Inside

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN

  • Imbroglio
  • Ultimate Chicken Horse
  • Duskers
  • Overcooked
  • Event[0]
  • Quadrilateral Cowboy

EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE

  • Ladykiller in a Bind
  • 1979 Revolution: Black Friday
  • Virginia
  • Orwell
  • Event[0]
  • One Night Stand

EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ART

  • The Flame in the Flood
  • Inside
  • Virginia
  • Old Man’s Journey
  • Hyper Light Drifter
  • She Remembered Caterpillars

NUOVO AWARD (INNOVATION)

  • Islands: Non-Places
  • Close
  • Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
  • Oἶκοςpiel, Book I
  • Everything
  • Virginia
  • Mu Cartographer
  • Lieve Oma

SEUMAS MCNALLY GRAND PRIZE

  • Inside
  • Stardew Valley
  • Quadrilateral Cowboy
  • Event[0]
  • Hyper Light Drifter
  • Overcooked
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Nominees for 17th Annual GDC Awards Revealed

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Yesterday, organizers for the 17th annual GDC Awards announced their nominations in 10 categories recognizing the top games, studios, and developers from around the industry.

Leading the way is my personal pick for Game of the Year, Playdead’s sophomore effort Inside with six noms, including GDC’s Game of the Year. Blizzard’s Overwatch and indie Campo Santo’s Firewatch (no relation) come up next with nods in five categories, also including Game of the Year. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (four nominations) and Dishonored 2 (two nominations) round out the Game of the Year field. Nominations in all categories can be seen below.

It was also announced that the legendary Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine Productions, would be returning to host the show this year. This will be Tim’s sixth time hosting the show, continuing a pattern of him hosting every other year since 2007.

The GDC Awards are determined each year by the International Choice Awards Network, an invitation-only organization started by the folks behind GDC, and which is comprised of leading game creators from all parts of the industry. Any video game released via any medium within the calendar year of 2016 was eligible for this year’s awards. All ICAN members can nominate games, and when combined with the votes of a 22-member awards advisory board, lead to the nominations and winners in each category.

The GDC Awards will be held on March 1, 2017, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, starting at 6:30 PM PT. Here now is the full list of nominees at this year’s show.

BEST AUDIO 

  • Battlefield 1
  • Thumper
  • DOOM
  • Inside
  • Overwatch

BEST DEBUT

  • Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter)
  • Campo Santo (Firewatch)
  • ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley)
  • Drool (Thumper)
  • Night School Studio (Oxenfree)

BEST DESIGN

  • Overwatch
  • Dishonored 2
  • The Witness
  • Inside
  • DOOM

BEST MOBILE/HANDHELD GAME

  • Super Mario Run
  • Clash Royale
  • Pokémon GO
  • Reigns
  • Pokémon Sun/Moon

INNOVATION AWARD

  • The Witness
  • Inside
  • No Man’s Sky
  • Firewatch
  • Pokémon GO

BEST NARRATIVE

  • The Last Guardian
  • Oxenfree
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
  • Inside
  • Firewatch

BEST TECHNOLOGY 

  • Battlefield 1
  • No Man’s Sky
  • Overwatch
  • DOOM
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

BEST VISUAL ART

  • Firewatch
  • The Last Guardian
  • Overwatch
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
  • Inside

BEST VR/AR GAME

  • Rez Infinite
  • Superhot VR
  • Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives
  • Pokémon GO
  • Fantastic Contraption

GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
  • Overwatch
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Batman: The Telltale Series review

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

It’s extremely difficult to appease Batman fans, and I’m admitting right from the get go that I count myself amongst the most hardcore of them. It’s almost tradition now for every new version of The Dark Knight to suffer some backlash—especially from those of us who are as obsessed with Batman as he is with fighting crime. Fans of Bill Finger and Bob Kane’s original gun-wielding, rooftop leaping lunatic from the late ‘30s and early ‘40s hated Adam West’s camp-filled romps in the ‘60s. Those fans in turn disliked when the comics crafted a noir vibe and turned back towards some of Finger/Kane’s roots in the ‘70s with Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ take on the character. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, and Tim Burton’s film version of the Caped Crusader in the 80s all had their haters, too. So, when it finally came time for me to play Batman: The Telltale Series, I was both excited and worried about what the latest take on Batman might bring to us, knowing it would be extremely difficult for me—even though I’d like to think of myself as a more open-minded fan—to come away satisfied.

Batman: The Telltale Series is best described as a transitional adventure between “Year One” and “Year Two”. What this equates to in Batman’s history for those unfamiliar with comic book parlance is that he’s taken his lumps in that first year of crime fighting, and just now is starting to come into his own as “The Batman.” It’s also when the supervillains start to show up; classic foes like Catwoman, Penguin, Two-Face, and the Joker all make their presences felt by the end of the game, along with the traditional mobsters that Batman had to deal with in his early days. The bulk of the game’s narrative, however, centers on Bruce Wayne needing to clear his family name after a new bad guy reveals that Thomas Wayne (Bruce’s father) wasn’t the philanthropist that Gotham necessarily saw him as.

Being a Telltale game, the narrative does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of one’s enjoyment of the product—or lack thereof. And right from the start, this was a decision that started to turn my opinion sour. With writers running out of ideas now that Batman is wrapping up his eighth decade of print, the idea of questioning his origins and casting doubt on the sanctity of his purpose has been done countless times in recent years of the comics. The easiest way to do this is to attack Bruce’s parents, and I have always taken issue with this.

One of Batman’s greatest appeals is his mission; his obsession is one that we as fans mirror back onto him. He makes a vow on his parents’ graves to wage an unending war on all criminals as a child, and the fact he follows through on it and lets it dictate his life is twisted and unhealthy, but in an odd way also very pure. It’s a child lashing out against a cruel and unjust world for the love and security that was ripped away from him in a random act of violence. When you remove this, you simply have a maniac in a mask. Yes, that’s what Batman really is at his core, but you greatly lessen his appeal when you strip away one of his founding dimensions, and undo a lot of the great work that those came before had laid out. Simply put, if something isn’t broke, stop trying to fix it.

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And I understand the appeal of wanting to do it. Attacking Bruce’s family also attacks his money source—Batman’s true greatest superpower. His inherited wealth has always been Bruce’s deus ex machina, allowing him to get out of more situations than I could count no matter the era. It’s like putting Superman under a red sun; it’s a classic comic book gimmick to take our hero out of his comfort zone. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. But when your powers are so closely tied to your origin like Batman’s are, it’s more apt to blow up in your face.

One thing Telltale did do a fantastic job of, though, was trying to pay homage to a lot of great Batman media over the years. The font in the title graphic evokes memories of Batman: The Animated Series, and the superb voice acting from this cast is on par with the legendary voices from that groundbreaking series. Although still well within the parameters of Telltale’s signature cel-shaded art-style, Two-Face’s design is largely based on that seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and Penguin’s feels more akin to what we’ve been given on FOX’s Gotham. And, several gameplay elements like Detective Mode—more on that in a bit—borrow from Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games. One other element that Telltale touched on from the Batman: Arkham series is taking a previously-established comic book canon character and trying to pass them off as a new villain. The worst of it, though, is this character was never a Batman villain to begin with.

This leads us to the main villain of the story, a new character dubbed Lady Arkham, which I will try to refer to as vaguely as possible to avoid giving away her true identity. Even with my distaste for the Thomas Wayne bashing, the first two episodes of Batman: The Telltale Series were actually quite compelling. When Lady Arkham reveals her true self in episode three, the series takes a marked turn for the worse. I don’t know if it comes from Batman’s license holders at Warner Brothers, or if there’s just a general fear of introducing new villains into the Batman universe outside of the comics, but the disappointment at the revelation of Lady Arkham was even worse than when we all realized within the first 15-minutes of playing Arkham Knight that our foe was Jason Todd. At least, at that point, he was a villain in the comics.

Lady Arkham’s true identity was always a close ally of Batman/Bruce Wayne, and twisting her like this felt like it was just cheap shock value for us hardcore fans who never suspected her because of our familiarity with the character. If Telltale had created an entirely new character with Lady Arkham, keeping her network seemingly as powerful as Batman’s and as long-standing as Bruce Wayne’s—but minus the preconceived notions from her true identity’s long history in Bat-media—I think she and her Children of Arkham could’ve been a welcome addition to the Rogues Gallery (in the same way Talon and the Court of Owls was a few years ago, and Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assassins was in the ‘70s). As is, she feels like a throwaway character used simply to establish Telltale’s new universe while not wasting any of the classic villains, thus weakening the entire story arc as a whole.

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The series also takes a turn for the worse on the technical side of things starting around her reveal. Telltale’s game engine continues to show its age, and does so markedly as this series progresses. The first couple of episodes are mostly glitch-free, but by the time we reach episode five, the choppy cutscenes, dropped audio lines, and general lag after decisions are made make finishing the game almost a chore. I understand that Telltale prides itself on its products coming out on every playable device imaginable. At some point, however, the studio needs to take some of this licensing money and invest back into tech that is optimized for modern consoles, and stop giving us this lowest common denominator garbage.

From a gameplay perspective, the bulk of the game remains around Telltale’s iconic choose-your-own-adventure multiple-choice scenes that change character interactions and dialogue depending on the decisions you make. Some additions we haven’t seen before in a Telltale game, and some that are even exclusive to Batman: The Telltale Series, were included here, though.

Detective mode, the special lenses that paint the world in a blue hue and allows Batman to recreate crime scenes, makes an appearance here. Similar to the Batman: Arkham games, examining clues will help Batman figure out what exactly happened in and around a crime scene, and piecing things together properly will help him decide what to do next on a case. Telltale also smartly allows you to link clues together this way to make it feel more like you’re actually solving the puzzle yourself. You also use Detective mode before certain ambushes, allowing Batman to plan out how he wants to clear a room before starting the quicktime button-mashing fest that helps him to defeat thugs unscathed. It’s just different enough from the Arkham games, but it still feels very much like you’re Batman while using it, and was a pleasant surprise.

Unlike a lot of other Batman projects, this game also does a great job of balancing life as Bruce Wayne and Batman. Whereas the Bruce Wayne parts of most movies, TV shows, and even comics can lean towards the mundane, the sequences here were just as intense and action packed as those where you’re dressed as Batman. Sometimes, they were even more difficult, since you don’t want to give away your secret identity. I loved the idea of there being branching paths, and you can even choose to confront certain individuals as either Batman or Bruce Wayne, which results in the dialogue obviously changing drastically. I only wish there were more of these choices as well as more Detective mode sequences, with it feeling like there was only maybe one per episode of either of them.

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Batman: The Telltale Series had a lot of potential. There were some clever ideas, and some nice tribute Easter eggs to Bat-media of the past. Unfortunately, they aren’t enough to overcome aging, glitch-ridden technology and some weak narrative decisions in a narrative-centric experience. Therefore, it’s now time for me to try to find some Bat-Telltale repellant and see if I can’t get this game off of my bat-addled brain.

Publisher: Telltale Games • Developer: Telltale Games • ESRB: M – Mature • Release Date: 12.13.16
6.0
The bigger a Batman fan you are, the less you’re likely to enjoy Telltale’s take on The Dark Knight. Combined with the obvious age Telltale’s engine is showing, this simply isn’t their best effort.
The Good Weaves elements from so many different Batman iterations over the years into one cohesive product.
The Bad Cheap plotline twists will leave some fans unhappy. Telltale’s engine is really starting to show its age.
The Ugly Selina Kyle’s apartment. I can’t stand a messy woman.
Batman: The Telltale Series is available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Xbox 360, and PS3. Primary version reviewed was for PS4. Review code was provided by Telltale Games for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
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