Latest Entries »

Ubisoft CEO says Horizon, Breath of the Wild “borrowed” gameplay from them

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment
March 15, 2018

If you’ve played Ubisoft games over the past decade, you’ve probably noticed a lot of parallels between their titles. From how the player character gets around to how a map is opened up, there are usually striking similarities to be found between franchises whether playing Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed, The Crew or a Tom Clancy title. It’s like an artist who paints in a particular style, or a writer that relies on certain narrative structure. This isn’t to say Ubisoft doesn’t break from their own mold at times (Child of Light, the Rayman series), but most times you can almost tell just by seeing a little bit of gameplay what’s an Ubisoft game.

And like any other art form, games can inspire people, and lest we forget, that can include other game developers. In an interview in the most recent EDGE magazine (issue #311), Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot talked about how two of the year’s most acclaimed games—Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild—seemed to utilize several gameplay mechanics that Ubisoft popularized.

“It’s interesting, because The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took a lot of things that existed in Far Cry and other Ubisoft games, but did them perfectly,” Guillemot said. “I think the most important thing is not the systems as they are, it’s how they can be perfected; how they can give the player the best experience possible.

“The same system can be in two games, and not be seen as the same thing. The job, really, is to make sure that you have a certain number of possibilities and that you are able to combine them in such a way that provides a great experience. When systems are similar, it’s because developers have not been able to take full advantage of what those systems could bring.

“When a system is really good at providing fun, the team knows that that will work—and at the end of the day what counts is the experience. But we are taking more and more time on our games so that they are very different from one another. That has always been the objective. But if you look at many of the games that are being launched—even the last Sony game, Horizon: Zero Dawn—again, they took some of the same systems that we have. Because, in the industry, we always look at other games and other publishers. A game is very complex, so it helps us to provide a good experience.”

Of course, Ubisoft did the same thing themselves recently with Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which saw many of its game mechanics inspired by 2K’s XCOM series. Much like how Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn made Ubisoft’s bread-and-butter gameplay their own, though, Ubisoft did the same by adding their own touches to differentiate and even improve on certain systems. So, it should come as no surprise really that someone took inspiration from another game and made it their own; arguably improving on things that weren’t perfect, as Guillemot insinuates. After all, this has been going on in games for a long time, even leading to the rise of certain genres, and permeating how we, as gamers, describe them. Metroidvania anyone?

Before he was finished, Guillemot also commented on Ubisoft’s recent shift towards more multiplayer driven experiences, adapting to changing times, and trying to show there’s more to them than just climbing towers in open-worlds.

“It’s the kind of game that is more and more in demand from players. As a company, we have to adapt to this evolution in demand,” explained Guillemot. “So it’s a question of generation: some people have been playing linear adventures, and they tend to want to continue to play that kind of game, even if they’re starting to open to other types of games.

“For each revolution or disruption, there are steps where you are in the middle and the new thing is not yet very interesting. The first people that try the game might say ‘It’s good, but it’s not as good as I expected’ and sometimes they don’t want to try it again.

“But after a while you improve the quality of this new experience, and you arrive at a level where the new people who try it love it. It always takes time to change mentalities. For us, we had no choice but to introduce the types of product that most of the customers, most of the players, wanted.”

Ubisoft will be getting back to their open-world roots a bit before the year is over, however, with the latest Assassin’s Creed set to release on October 27th, and dip their toes back in familiar waters next year with Far Cry 5’s planned release for February 27th, 2018.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

NHL 18 review

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

Anyone who knows me knows I love hockey. My team is the New York Rangers, and it’s never a question that whenever a new NHL game releases, I will do my best to take them to multiple Stanley Cup Championships (especially as the real life team’s window to do so seems to be closing fast). But just like there’s a lot changing in the NHL this year—what with an entirely new franchise in Vegas—there’s a lot changing in NHL 18 as well. NHL 18 goes far beyond its real-life counterpart in regard to changes for the better, though, in what is likely the NHL series’ most complete entry in years. And, maybe, this was a great opportunity for me to change some, too.

One of the staples of the NHL series is Franchise mode, where you can control every facet of a team for virtual decades. Since there is a new team (the Las Vegas Golden Knights) being added to the league this year, NHL 18 offers players a chance to re-create the expansion draft—a fantasy style draft where the new franchise picks one unprotected player from every other franchise in the league—and assemble the team from scratch. Of course, the Golden Knights now make the NHL unbalanced with 31 teams, so there’s also an option where you create your own new team from the ground-up and place them almost anywhere in North America. This was the road I would go down.

I decided to go with Seattle, which in hindsight was immediately a mistake. I forgot that the Vegas Knights would go in the Pacific division on the west coast. My Seattle franchise, as deserving as that city is for a hockey team, would be forced into the Central, leading to a lot of long road trips (maybe next year I’ll go to Kansas City instead). But my bed was made and I chose a team moniker: the Sea Dogs, keeping up with the alliteration most of the city’s sports franchises have had with the Seahawks, Sounders, and Sonics, plus the nautical theme that the Mariners also fall into. I named our mascot Snoop C. Dawg, choosing from far too few options in regards to what our mascot actually could look like, and then proceeded to choose the sickliest shade of green and yellow for their uniforms—another Seattle sports tradition.

I could then mold my home arena and my player uniforms from a variety of preset options available to me. I could tweak everything from the goal posts on the ice to what logos would appear on each of our jerseys, making sure to coat everything from top to bottom in the radioactive green and yellow of my Sea Dogs. Much like the handful of head and body types I could choose from for Snoop C. Dawg, the options for team logos felt limited as well, but I settled on a crazed-looking Viking, a sailor’s wheel, and a dog with floppy ears. It was a weird and new sensation after playing under the familiar banners that adorn Madison Square Garden for so many years, but I was loving the fact that I had created my very own team, and felt a piece of ownership with them that I had never experienced as one of the throngs of Rangerstown citizens.

From there, I went into my own expansion draft and had to choose players from each and every team. I had to hit salary cap and position requirements, and took a few chances; it was an exhilarating experience and added a new level of enjoyment to Franchise mode I hadn’t experienced really in years. One caveat, though, was several players had expiring contracts, and even if I chose them, they could decide to leave my team, and this happened in the case of two players—most notably Kevin Shattenkirk.

Shattenkirk was supposed to be one of my top defensemen, and when it came time to negotiate a new contract, I offered him exactly what he was asking for, no questions asked. I was shocked then when Shattenkirk turned it down, asking for more money. It was an interesting turn of logic, as NHL has been trying (and succeeding in many ways this year) to improve its feedback when making deals as a team’s General Manager. When I would go to make trades later on, I’d get specific feedback from teams saying which pieces of the deal they did or did not like (we like Cam Ward, but need more value around him to take on that contract), which really helped the trade process. Here, however, Shattenkirk—and later other free agents who turned down fair offers—failed to offer specifics.

It was great that there was this dialogue here, and I got the sense that if this were real life, Shattenkirk wouldn’t want to go to an expansion franchise either (in reality, he’s a New York Ranger now and we are happy to have him). But if it all came down to a matter of money, how much more did he want? I offered him $200k more than his initial asking price—not enough. I offered $500k more than his initial price—still not enough. I get he wants more money, but there’s no clear barometer of what makes a player happy. It’s a problem common in a lot of EA Sports games, actually, when it comes to the off-the-field part of running your franchise.

Whereas in other sports games, like MLB The Show, when you negotiate in the off-season with players, you can see a happiness meter corresponding to the player’s thoughts on a deal as you put it together in real time. In NHL, you’re stuck going back and forth, never really knowing what to do when a player decides he’s going to hold out like this. That meter might be less realistic, but it helps keep the negotiation process from being a chore. In the end, Shattenkirk signed with the Carolina Hurricanes for two years less than he was asking for from me, and for one million more a year than what he wanted from me. He never even mentioned the years were an issue. Fine—the Sea Dogs don’t need you anyway.

After the entry draft, signing other free agents, and getting through the pre-season, it was time to finally begin playing with my Franchise. For the most part, much of the rest of this stays the same from here on out. You try to win games, and hopefully a Cup, in an attempt to keep your owner happy; you adjust concession and ticket prices to maximize profitability; you make trades and sign free agents and make line adjustments as you see fit; you send scouts around the world in preparation for next year’s draft. And it’s all just as fun as last year.

When your team takes the ice, the presentation continues to be impressive. I made sure to choose a city and mascot Doc Emrick recorded lines for, and so it sounds incredibly natural to hear him talk about the Seattle Sea Dogs with Eddie Olczyk and Ray Ferraro. The arena fills with fans in the disgusting looking green and yellow, but they’re thrilled to be there. Sometimes there’s a few audio misfires, like when Eddie or Doc start talking about team history. Um, the Sea Dogs are officially a month old. What history? Or Doc would talk about a record-setting string of sellouts. Sure, Doc, we’ve had three home games at this point, but I guess it’s a record.

The game’s visual presentation is still the NBC graphics you see on TV, but it’s also funny when the NBC “Wednesday Night Rivalry” package starts. We’re a month old; we don’t have any rivalries yet in the NHL. The UI at least has seen an upgrade, and not just the in-game menus. The main game menu now allows you to pin your favorite modes to the title screen when the game starts up for easy access, or you can turn the page to the dozens of other modes now available in NHL 18 this year.

Another staple of the NHL series is Be a Pro. Here you create a player from scratch and then either have them work their way up as a teen through Canada and, hopefully earning their way to being drafted by an NHL team, or get picked to your favorite team immediately. I personally want nothing more than to play for the New York Rangers, so I made sure that’s where I ended up.

There have been two minor additions to Be a Pro mode that should make fans very happy, the first being that your player can now request a trade. Should you work your way up to being drafted by an NHL team, there’s a really low percentage chance that your favorite team will take you. Requesting a trade means that if all you care about is playing for your hometown boys, this will ensure you get the full experience of working your way up and getting the reward you desperately desire.

The other is that Be a Pro mode does a better job of judging your talent now. The past couple of years, I would have a blistering stat line for the Rangers in the preseason, with multiple points a game and doing everything my coaches asked of me, only to start the season back in the AHL because my overall rating wasn’t high enough. It was so frustrating that often times I’d give up on the mode shortly after, but that wasn’t the case this year. Even though I’d argue my stats were slightly worse than previous years, with only 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in seven preseason games, I was promptly placed on the Rangers’ third-line. In real life, this might not happen—but it’s a video game and I think EA Canada at least recognized here that a little more leniency was warranted (and welcome).

The one thing I think Be a Pro mode lacks is simply more customization options. Actually, I think this carries over to NHL 18 in general, going back to the mascot and team logo choices in Franchise, and the same for EASHL as well. Personalized goalie helmets, increased details and options for existing equipment, and more are necessary across all these modes where you want to put personal touches on everything. As is, it feels like a lot of the options from last year carried over with no real additions on this front.

As great as Franchise and Be a Pro mode are shaping up, before you take the ice in any mode in NHL 18, I recommend even dedicated players take a look at the new tutorial mode that is narrated by Ray Ferraro and Coach Tom Renney of Team Canada. There are a few new tricks EA Canada put into NHL 18 that Tutorial Mode will give in-depth explanations on, and it offers a great place to practice all these new on-ice gameplay additions crammed into NHL 18—including all the new dekes at your disposal.

Stick physics was a huge focus for gameplay this year, and it shows. In the advanced tutorials, you can practice some insane dekes that the most skilled players—like Sidney Crosby, cover athlete Connor McDavid, or Auston Matthews—can make whenever the opportunity arises. Some of the controls are a bit convoluted, making practicing with the tutorial mode telling you what do a welcome addition, and it’s extremely satisfying when you finally score by lifting and bouncing the puck off your stick, dragging the puck wide and sliding it past an out of position goalie, or my personal favorite—the “Marek Malik” as I like to call it—shooting the puck between your own legs. There’s still the on-ice trainer as well, but in the heat of the moment, you’re typically not going to look to that to pull off a toe drag or other fancy move. So, this was a nice touch.

More intuitive stick improvements have also been made on the defensive side of the puck. Tapping the right bumper once again allows players to poke check the puck with their stick; it’s a move that remains a tad overpowered, especially online, as players love just poking their opponents until the puck pops off the stick (only occasionally paying the price with a tripper penalty). To help give a more realistic sense of hockey, though, you can now hold the right bumper after a poke check to control your hockey stick with the right joystick, much like you would while on offense to pull off those crazy dekes I just talked about. Controlling the stick on defense allows your defenders to expand their wingspan, take away more passing lanes, and overall be a gnarlier nuisance on the ice. Be careful, though, as it’s also easier to get the whistle for tripping if you start swinging the stick around like a madman. As someone who appreciates good defense, though, this is a huge addition to the on-ice gameplay.

Once you learn all these crazy new moves in Tutorial, going into Franchise, Be a Pro, or one of the more sim-heavy modes NHL is known for isn’t exactly a place where you can readily test them out against competition. That’s part of what makes the biggest new mode NHL 18 introduces all the more fun. NHL Threes blends the simulation gameplay we typically associate with the NHL franchise with more arcade-driven fare from the past like Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey or NHL Hitz.

NHL Threes takes the excitement of NHL overtime 3-on-3 hockey and completely turns it on its head. The rinks are smaller, the announcer sounds like a brother of the guy from NBA Jam, and nothing is illegal except tripping and slashing. The action does not stop in NHL Threes until the period ends or the game ends. Penalties lead to automatic penalty shots; goals give the puck to the team that was scored on; and major hits are encouraged as you watch pummeled players slide all the way down the ice after massive hits. The extra ice space also lets you get creative with how you try to score on the poor unsuspecting goalie.

Every NHL team is represented in Threes, and you can even play as a cavalcade of NHL mascots if you so choose. It’s extra embarrassing when Stinger, the Columbus Blue Jackets mascot, is the one who dekes you out of your skates and goes top shelf for the score. To add to the arcade nature of the game, there are also different rules. You can set the game for standard three NHL periods. Or, you can set the winning conditions to a certain number of goals, winning by two, or you can turn on the Moneypuck, which are special pucks that inflate/deflate the score depending on their color. Golden Moneypucks are worth two or even three goals; ice blue Moneypucks will reward you team a goal, but also steal one, two, or three goals from your opponent. The game can change in an instant when a Moneypuck is involved.

As fun and as zany as this mode is—especially being such a departure from the typical NHL experience—there’s also a deep circuit mode. You’re tasked with taking the lowly Fridge Raiders, a minor league team with an overall 60 rating, and beating every pro team and their minor league affiliates across four circuits that will take you across every major locale in the North American hockey world. You can set the difficulty to very easy if you so choose, but higher difficulties also give better chances to earn better players to add to the Fridge Raiders, and new arenas and jerseys for online play. NHL Threes could’ve been an entire standalone game in its own right, and here it is as the best new mode to come to the NHL series in a long time.

Speaking of online play, NHL 18’s seems steady in its pre-launch state. I played several online versus, HUT, and EASHL games, and experienced no issues. Of course, there never seemed to be more than a few hundred folks online at a given time—whether it was those who preordered the game or were using EA Access—but our experience combined with the franchise’s online stability historically, I have no reason to believe it won’t be able to handle the load at launch.

And, of course, this leads us into NHL 18’s online suite of modes. The NHL series offers more options to play with your friends than any other sports game out there, allowing a free mixing of local and online players across all their modes. NHL Threes’ online play is great if you and a couple of friends are looking for an arcade experience. Meanwhile, HUT has gone the Madden route and merged with Draft Champions. Unlike Madden, however, Draft Champions is not behind any sort of level wall, and can be accessed right from the start. You can still try to draft the ultimate team of hockey players over 12 rounds and from an assortment of classes to take on the AI, or try to run the gauntlet of one-on-one games against online human players. HUT has also seen a UI shift, partially brought upon by the Draft Champions merge, that I personally feel is now the best of the EA Sports games. It’s clean and gets you right into whatever action you’re looking for as quickly as possible, whether again playing solo or against other players. Even HUT Sets are easier to access and navigate this year it felt like.

Finally, the biggest and most accessible change came on the EASHL front. You and your buddies can still all join a team together and go online to try to bring your team to glory in online seasons similar to those seen in HUT. However, the difficulty of trying to get six people together is now gone. 6-on-6 hockey is still there, of course, but taking some inspiration from NHL Threes, EASHL now has a 3-on-3 mode, too, but with regular hockey rules. This means less people need to make a commitment to keep your respective EASHL team moving forward, but also changes the gameplay drastically with more open ice to make plays, and more pressure on each player not to screw up.

NHL 18 continues to be EA Sports’ most consistently great series. Some minor annoyances from previous years continue to crop up, but new modes, new gameplay, and new features within series staples like Franchise and Be a Pro will have you sharpening your skates long into the winter. Now, all we need to do is talk to Gary Bettman about how we’re going to make the Seattle Sea Dogs a reality.

Publisher: EA Sports • Developer: EA Canada • ESRB: E10+ – Everyone 10 and up • Release Date: 09.15.17
9.0
NHL 18 is a nice step forward for the NHL series. New modes and options like NHL Threes, 3-on-3 hockey in EASHL, or creating the 32nd franchise in the NHL are fun additions that give the series a serious shot in the arm. Some minor issues from previous games continue to crop up, and I wish the customization options were deeper, but overall NHL 18 is a must have for any hockey fan.
The Good NHL Threes is the arcade mode the franchise has been dying for; expanding the league in Franchise is a ton of fun.
The Bad I’d like more customization options for the creation features, and there still needs to be some work done with the game’s logic.
The Ugly Just look at the screenshot of my Seattle Sea Dogs mascot again.
NHL 18 is available on Xbox One and PS4. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox One. Review code was provided by EA Sports for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Fighting Red Necks and Priests in South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Filed under: Video — Leave a comment
September 8, 2017

I had a chance to play a new demo of South Park: The Fractured But Whole from Ubisoft, Ubisoft San Francisco, and South Park Digital Studios. Here, we fight some priests and red necks. Check it out. South Park: The Fractured But Whole will be available October 17 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Madden NFL 18 New MUT Squads

Filed under: Video — Leave a comment

I had a chance to check out the new MUT Squads mode in Madden NFL 18, which adds 3-versus-3 gameplay and co-op gameplay back to the franchise for the first time in years. Madden NFL 18 is out now.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Getting Drafted in NBA Live 18

Filed under: Video — Leave a comment

I had a chance to play “The Rise”, the new prologue in EA Sports’ The One mode in NBA Live 18. NBA Live 18 will drop on September 15th for Xbox One and PS4.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Shutting Down the Opposition in NHL 18’s NHL Threes

Filed under: Video — Leave a comment

I had a chance to play some of NHL 18‘s new Threes mode early and dominated the competition. Check out the new arcade-like mode below. NHL 18 will be available from EA Canada and EA Sports on September 15th.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment

Assassin’s Creed Origins Gladiatorial Arena video

Filed under: Video — Leave a comment

I had a chance to at E3 2017 to take on one of the new features in Assassin’s Creed Origins–The Gladiator Arena. After two waves of enemies I then got to take on a hulking brute called The Slaver. In this video you can see some of the new combat in the game. Enjoy.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Knack II review

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

When Knack II was announced at PSX 2016, I admit that I was probably one of the loudest groans in the auditorium. Knack had left a bad taste in many people’s mouths, coming across more as a tech demo for the newly-launched PS4 than an action game any of us wanted to play—and definitely didn’t feel worthy of a sequel. Yet here I am, ready to eat my words, because Knack II has made me a believer. It’s not without issues, but for the most part, it’s a fun romp for gamers of all ages.

Knack II takes place three years after the original game. It kicks off in medias res, with the capital city of New Haven being attacked by giant killer robots, and our plucky protagonist Knack needing to again save the day. Just before Knack takes on the biggest of all the robots, we flashback to six months prior to find out how we got to that point, facing off against foes old and new as we start an adventure that will take us across a variety of locales in Knack’s world.

It needs to be said that the self-contained plot here is an improvement over the first game’s story. It’s twists, turns, and bombastic moments—although somewhat predictable—elicited a Saturday morning cartoon vibe at times that I enjoyed. If there should ever be a third Knack game, this is a direction the series might want to lean into more, considering our colorful hero and his perceived target audience. Even with help from God of War writer Marianne Krawczyk, however, a lot of the characters in Knack’s universe still feel very one note, especially the titular hero.

In the first Knack, the goblin boss, Gundahar, called Knack a tool—and in many ways, that single line of dialogue was telling of many of the problems Knack still has now as a hero. Previously, Knack was always being bossed around by Dr. Vargas (his creator), and although the good doctor has thankfully taken more of a backseat this go around, his assistant, Lucas, has taken up the role of barking orders, telling our hero exactly what to do and when to do it. This depicts a feeling of subservience that isn’t fun to play. I understand that Knack isn’t exactly Kratos when it comes to backstory, but him having a bit more say in the adventure—and feeling like he’s on the same level as the characters around him (it is his game after all)—would go a long way to making our protagonist a more likeable hero that people would want to play as.

Of course, I also understand that Knack II is first and foremost an action-platformer and is primarily gameplay driven. In that regard, Knack II is light years ahead of its predecessor, and would stand on its own as an impressive action game even without the first Knack to compare it to. One of the biggest—and most important—changes comes in the form of Knack’s original gimmick: the ability to change his size.

In the first game, Knack would constantly be forced down into “small Knack” size, typically around the size of a child with a diminutive health bar to match. Almost every level started with Knack at this size, and it was often frustrating to go through all the work of building him up only to be broken down again at every story beat. In Knack II, Knack usually starts around “normal Knack” size, somewhere in the five to six foot range, and many new gameplay mechanics branch out from this single decision. As a side note, we can tell exactly how big he is with the new size counter next to Knack’s health bar, which initially seems like a minor addition but really adds a nice sense of scope to things.

This starting size allows Knack to control like most action game heroes. Knack now has elaborate punching and kicking combos that weren’t present in the first game; he can parry projectile attacks, or just block in general; he has new moves like block-breaking strong punches, stunning boomerang attacks, a gap-closing hookshot, and even a “secret technique” that looks a whole lot like a short-range hadouken. We’ll forgive Knack for borrowing some of these moves from other franchises, because it adds so much in terms of both how you attack enemies and the variety of said enemies the game can throw at you. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.

There is still a use for “small Knack,” though, and with a tap of the R1 button, Knack can shrink almost instantaneously. There are many obstacles and hidden paths in Knack’s world that only a smaller-sized Knack can navigate. With another tap of R1, Knack can use the magical abilities that allow him to control relics (the particles that make up his body) to call those pieces back, so he can return to whatever size he was before. Even when Knack grows to his giant sizes—he maxes out at 32 feet tall—he can still instantly shrink to just under three feet when he needs to. This was a critical gameplay component the original Knack lacked, and it offers chances to explore an otherwise linear world while still showing off the game’s powerful particle effects.

Even with all this, there’s still a lot more gameplay variety to Knack II. There’s a new experience meter, which you can spend your accumulated experience on four different branches of a RPG-inspired skill tree where Knack can upgrade his speed, power, and other stats. There are tank-driving levels, plane-piloting segments, platforming puzzles, puzzles based on Knack’s weight, and quicktime events. All of those except for the last one were a ton of fun. The QTEs were used too heavily, especially when Knack would learn new moves and they would weirdly happen before tutorials. They were also too frequently used as level transitions, but understandably tried to give a more cinematic flair to some of the action that Knack wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.

And if you’re looking for replayability, Knack II has it in spades. Sure, there are 100 new secret chests to find, much like the first game, but there are also 143 different secondary challenges across the campaign—like beating a level in a certain amount of time or smashing all of a particular kind of crate to earn bonus points (those bonus points are great for trying to get the best online high score for each level). There is also a time trial mode with online leaderboards for speed runs, and an arena mode where you can fight wave after wave of enemies. Knack II even added drop-in, drop-out co-op where a second player can take control of a blue-tinted clone of Knack, and the difficulty scales appropriately when there are two players versus only one.

It may seem like I just rattled off a bunch of stuff there—and I sort of did—but the point is that in the four years between Knack and Knack II, Sony’s Japan Studio obviously took a lot of time to look at what people wanted from an action game, and what many of their contemporaries were doing, and tried to accommodate that. I believe they not only succeeded, but also far exceeded expectations, not only putting their own entertaining twist on familiar things, but actually turning Knack into a viable action franchise that could be fun for the whole family.

Knack II doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but it is a very solid, very sturdy wheel if you’re looking for an action fix—while with its predecessor, many of us were tempted to throw out the entire cart. Whereas the first Knack often had me asking myself “when will it ever end,” Knack II held my attention throughout, and I was happy to play it all the way through. The story and universe of Knack could still use some work (and some much-needed fleshing out), but the gameplay has come so far from its predecessor that I won’t be groaning the next time I hear that Knack is back.

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment • Developer: SIE Japan Studio • ESRB: E10+ – Everyone 10 and up • Release Date: 09.05.17
8.0
Knack II fixes many of the problems of its predecessor, delivering a fun action-platformer worthy of giving this series a second chance. The story is still a bit bare-boned, but the gameplay alone will be enough to keep you going until you see the end credits.
The Good A large variety of gameplay and Knack’s expanded moveset allows you to tackle bad guys in a plethora of ways.
The Bad Too many QTEs; all of the characters in terms of their personalities, especially Knack, still feel very one-dimensional.
The Ugly I feel like there’s been some retconning between Knack games that none of us were made aware of.
Knack II is a PS4 exclusive. A retail copy was provided by Sony for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle review

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

There is no more ubiquitous character in video games than Nintendo’s mascot, Mario. He’s raced go-karts, he’s played baseball and soccer, he’s taught kids how to type, and yes, there’s that whole saving the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser a couple dozen times, too. So, the thought of Mario doing something new once again isn’t really that new at all. When it was revealed that his latest activity would be teaming up with Ubisoft’s anti-mascot the Rabbids in a tactical-RPG, however, I admit that seemed as random as the Rabbids themselves. But as is often the case, Mario can do no wrong, and with the Rabbids wreaking their usual brand of havoc, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle sees each group of characters play well off the strengths of the other to deliver one of the most fun tactical RPGs you’re likely to play.

The game begins in the real world, where a genius girl has invented a device called the SupaMerge. Just by looking at two items through a pair of fancy goggles, she can merge their molecules together into something useful, like looking at a flower and a lamp to produce a plant whose flowers are actual lightbulbs. The device is littered with bugs, though, and after packing it in after another night of troubleshooting, the girl goes to bed. It’s at this moment, riding in their iconic time-traveling washing machine, that the Rabbids randomly appear, and instantly start wreaking havoc in the girl’s workshop. It’s not long before one finds the SupaMerge, merges with it himself, and then can’t stop looking around at everything around him, including various Mario Bros. memorabilia. Soon, the Rabbids and their washing machine are catapulted into the Mushroom Kingdom, where the panicked Rabbid with the goggles (later dubbed Spawny) continues to merge things he shouldn’t—leaving Mario and friends having to team up with several Rabbids dressed in familiar Mario gear to try to restore a semblance of order.

There are two major parts to Mario + Rabbids gameplay: world exploration and battles. Each of the game’s four worlds is broken down into eight chapters, with a ninth if you count the boss at the end of each one. It may not sound like a lot of worlds, but the number actually works out pretty well in terms of providing legitimate length to the game (considering my first playthough pushed the 20-hour mark), and falls in with the Mario theme of eight stages per level. During most chapters, there will be sections of the world ravaged in some way by Spawny’s goggles that will require some puzzle solving in order to progress. Usually these consisted of having to press switches to move massive sections of the world, or place pipes to try to build a way forward, but the puzzles fit well in the vein of the Mario series and offered a nice break from the one to three battles in each chapter.

Battles break down in a way very similar to what you might see in a game series like XCOM, and you can see them coming as the camera shifts from a more cinematic one during exploration to a more tactical-driven isometric cam. Mario and two allies will take the field and be given one of four tasks: escort a fourth, unarmed character to a safe zone; get one of their own teammates to a safe zone; kill all enemies; or kill a certain number of enemies. I could’ve used a little more variety in my mission objectives, but there was enough to keep things from being monotonous at least.

Each character is able to move a certain number of spaces per turn, and can actually tackle enemies during this phase, or jump off of teammates to move farther than normal on the battlefield. However you move, or wherever you land, it’s recommended that you take cover, with shield icons representing how much protection your characters actually have at the moment (since cover can also be destroyed by enemy or friendly fire). You can then activate one offensive attack and one power per character; what’s impressive about this is many powers and attacks will have special effects when they crit, and if you smartly set your team up, you can stack these for some truly chaotic effects.

In one instance, I fired Rabbid Luigi’s Bworb weapon (it’s an energy orb projectile thing) and set an enemy on fire. This enemy then proceeded to run all over the battlefield until his behind cooled off, but while doing so, triggered Mario’s Hero Sight power (basically, Overwatch in XCOM, which allows players to shoot enemies that cross the player’s line of sight, even when it’s not that character’s turn). That attack’s crit caused bounce—which launched the enemy high into the air—and then activated Peach’s Royal Gaze—her version of Hero Sight/Overwatch—and she shotgunned the enemy and froze them. Let’s just say that particular enemy didn’t know what hit them, and was no longer a threat.

Once completed, each battle is given a grade based on how many characters of yours were knocked out and how many turns it took you to beat the battle. Better outcomes in battle leads to greater rewards upon successfully completing each chapter, with the team then being bestowed with coins to purchase new weapons and XP in order to power up some surprisingly deep skill trees of each character.

Speaking of characters, though, one of my few issues with the game is that there are only eight characters total here, you can only choose three at a time, and you don’t even get the last character for your party until only a couple of stages before the game actually comes to an end. You also must always have Mario in your party, and there must always be at least one Rabbid. This was all really limiting on the strategy front because, particularly towards the end of the game, I felt I was being forced to put out a team that wasn’t necessarily my best. It might be a way to create artificial challenge, and I get the hesitation to allow Mario to be put on the bench, but the characters should then really have been better balanced, or should have offered up some greater variety between their abilities.

I think the general lack of powers for each character, no matter how strong your characters might get, was also a bit of a limiting factor. Each character only gets two weapons and two powers, and although they can earn stronger versions of everything as the game progresses, I would really have loved it had each character had more abilities they could learn instead of just powering up what they already had. It would offer more strategic nuance—especially when you’re so limited on how you can create your team—as well as give you something more tangible to work towards, considering you’ll at least have the base version for everything unlocked for each character by world two.

The set-up is clearly there for a classic adventure fitting of both these franchises. The story finds a way to incorporate the humor of the Rabbids, yet still deliver an adventure worthy of Mario. When it came to gameplay, admittedly Mario + Rabbids had to strike a difficult balance. Typically, Mario and Rabbids games are easy to pick up and play for gamers of all ages—tactical RPGs, however, are usually far more involved, and boast an intricate set of rules that only grow more so as the game progresses. Marrying these two concepts would not be easy, and unsurprisingly, Ubisoft erred on the side of accessibility over complexity. This isn’t to say Mario + Rabbids is a pushover if you’re looking for intense strategy sessions. It’s quite the opposite actually, especially in the game’s later stages, and you’ll be tempted at times to turn on the game’s easy mode (which gives your characters a 50% health boost). Still, I felt like the game only scratched the surface of some concepts, not willing to dig too deeply for fear of isolating certain audiences. If anything, my complaints for wanting more from these systems only hammers home the fact that there is a solid core strategy game here, which I would love to see evolve and grow stronger in the future.

It also needs to be said that Mario + Rabbids offers up some fantastic replayability. There are dozens of collectibles to be found, many of which can only be acquired by returning to worlds previously visited after your guide throughout the adventure—the detached user-interface for Spawny’s goggles named Beep-0—powers up after each boss battle. Each world also gains an additional 10 challenge battles when you beat it, and there’s an extra four challenges to be found in the game’s central hub of Peach’s Castle, too. There’s also Amiibo support, but not nearly as much as in many other Nintendo games; only Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi amiibos are necessary here and using them once will net each character an extra weapon and that’s it.

Finally, there’s also a 2-player local co-op campaign separate from the main story to be tackled. Here, players can each choose two characters, and must work together by taking turns to overcome the heightened challenge thrown at them. Careful teamwork is required here, because it’s very easy for each player to try to do their own thing, only to be ambushed by enemies and see your game end in a quick and humiliating defeat.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a game that none of us knew we wanted, but should be happy is here. It again shows that you can stick Mario into any multitude of situations and he’ll deliver a high-quality experience that everyone can enjoy. As a tactical RPG, Mario + Rabbids does leave a little bit to be desired in terms of depth of gameplay, but overall provides a fun experience that will have you racking your brain as you try to overcome the scenarios before you—and belly-laughing at the hijinx Mario’s unlikely new sidekicks, the Rabbids, bring to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Publisher: Ubisoft • Developer: Ubisoft Paris/Milan • ESRB: E10+ – Everyone 10 and up • Release Date: 08.29.17
8.5
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle may not be the deepest tactical RPG, but it delivers a solid all-around experience that takes advantage of the strengths of both Mario and the Rabbids—making for one of the most surprisingly enjoyable game experiences you’re likely to have this year.
The Good An odd team-up on paper turns into one of the better tactical RPG experiences out there.
The Bad I wish that some of the great ideas here had been given a little more depth.
The Ugly The constant fight against the want to turn on easy mode when facing off against some late-game bosses.
Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Review code was provided by Ubisoft for the benefit of this review. EGM reviews games on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 5.0 being average.
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

WWE 2K18 doesn’t look like main event material yet

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

Last year was considered to be a down year for 2K’s annual WWE wrestling franchise. You’ve got to break a few eggs to make an omelet, though, and many of us hoped that last year’s game would at least lay the groundwork for a better product in the years to come. To help support that train of thought, some of us were invited up to 2K’s Novato, CA, headquarters last month to talk with WWE 2K Executive Producer Mark Little about the changes that were coming to the series—and almost everything sounded like what we wanted to hear. So, when it came time for WWE 2K’s annual first hands-on preview event on the eve of SummerSlam, my hopes were unsurprisingly high. After spending an hour with the game this past weekend, I can honestly say that, in some ways, WWE 2K18 looks to deliver on the promises made to us last month—but in others, the series still has a ways to go.

The build we played on PlayStation 4 Pros was admittedly limited in scope: it only featured 10 male wrestlers in TJP, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, Neville, John Cena, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, Baron Corbin, and AJ Styles, with three match types in 6-man Elimination Chamber, 10-man Royal Rumble, and the standard one-on-one normal match. I began with a standard one-on-one match to get back into the rhythm of a WWE game, and almost right from the get-go, the visuals as a whole seemed much improved over last year’s game.

Entrances have visuals and choreography so real you almost can’t tell the difference between the game and real life. Bobby Roode’s entrance in particular was—for lack of a better word—glorious. Things in the ring were just as impressive. How wrestlers move in the squared-circle does a great job of mimicking how they would on TV, with the way their bodies reacted to hits—both during and after a strike—being as realistic as we’ve seen yet. Downed wrestlers crawl into better positions for follow-up strikes on the bottom turnbuckle, or roll to a perfect place on the mat whenever you climbed to the top rope for a special move. It was the most realistic we’ve seen WWE 2K possibly look ever. Clearly, rebuilding the game’s engine from scratch, and not having to focus on making an Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, has helped free up the necessary resources to get this game looking as good as it does. That isn’t to say there weren’t a few issues, however.

While there have definitely been improvements, there were also still a lot of old bugs cropping up. Weird clipping against the ropes; wrestlers somehow missing moves on one another when right next to each other, or vice versa in getting hit with phantom strikes when they shouldn’t have. And, although many of the character models looked phenomenal, some were just a bit off—like Neville with his dead eyes.

The commentary, which had also seen a marked improvement (for the most part) with the new team of Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves, also had its issues. In my one-on-one normal match, Cole made a comment about this being a No-DQ match when it wasn’t. There were also clear delays between comments sometimes, with Graves or Saxton giving a follow-up unnaturally late after Cole’s call.

The other match types had issues as well. Although climbing to the top of an Elimination Chamber cell (and then flying off said top) was impressive, that match saw some tremendous slowdown from frame rate drops when all six wrestlers were in the match. In fact, until there was only three opponents left, the match felt like we were playing in slow motion most of the time. I questioned Mark Little about this directly at the event, and he assured us the team was aware of the issue, and that it would be worked out by the game’s launch, I still can’t help but be concerned, though, and promise you the first match I play will be a 6-man Elimination Chamber to see if the frame rate drops still persists.

The Royal Rumble similarly saw some slow down as the ring filled up. I’m also concerned over the new elimination mechanics in the Royal Rumble; although it definitely offers a more realistic take on one of WWE’s most iconic match types, there’s a new element of randomness that mimics the chaotic nature of the match well, but which didn’t feel as fun to actually play. A wrestler with low health now can more easily be eliminated with a strong Irish Whip or clothesline, and will be instantly thrown out of the ring. While playing, if felt like there wasn’t an exact science to when a wrestler was vulnerable in this state and more likely to be easily eliminated. There’s also the new button-mashing mechanic, where you and your opponent must mash the same button in a tug-of-war type scenario to try to eliminate/avoid elimination when in that predicament against the ropes. When this popped up, at least then you felt like you had greater control over your elimination chances.

There really wasn’t much else to the demo beyond what I’ve covered here. There was no customization for us to try out just yet, we couldn’t make our own matches, and we didn’t see any of the new Career mode. WWE 2K18 does look better at this stage from a visual standpoint for sure, but there were still enough bugs and glitches to give cause for concern considering how close we are now to the game’s launch. Hopefully, there’s enough time left to polish the game so it reaches its fullest potential—because it doesn’t seem to be there just yet.

WWE 2K18 will be available on Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on October 17.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Comment