All this week the Humble Store is have a Square Enix sale with up to 75% off some great games. The Game of the Year Edition of Tomb Raider 2013 for $7.49 along with some of the other Tomb Raider Titles, Final Fantasy VII and VIII for $5.99, Final Fantasy III for $7.99 and many others. Head on over the The Humble Bundle Store to check out the full list of games.
Source: Humble Store
Blue Estate is a rail shooter brought to us by the minds over at HeSaw. From what I can tell, it's their first venture into game design, so don't feel bad if you haven't heard of the company before now. It was released June 25, 2014 on PS4 and on Xbox One seemingly in the future. Also, it's a game adaptation of a graphic novel by the same name, written by Viktor Kalvachev and Kosta Yanev.
The first thing I notice about the game is a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer that pops up before the game begins, which basically sets the tone for the game - spoiler: it's not all that serious of a game. After a quick gyroscope orientation, you're treated to a screen with a - very well animated, admittedly - scantily-clad lady on a stripper pole. Again, sets the tone for the rest of the game.
The story doesn't appear to be much of a priority. Once you get past a second tongue-in-cheek disclaimer, it introduces us to our narrator, Roy Devine, Jr. who is a private investigator in Los Angeles. The storytelling feels like an attempt at an old Dick Tracy movie, if Dick Tracy was a nerdy fat kid. After some wandering narration which sets up the story, it's time to begin.
We are introduced to Tony Luciano, one of our actual protagonists. Being the son of the West Coast Cosa Nostra mob boss Don Luciano, Tony was somewhat of a loose cannon. We are told that he was the manager of a strip joint, and his best stripper goes missing (the same stripper from the opening screen), so he goes to the competing club nearby, owned by another pair of mob bosses, and the shooting begins.
If you've ever played a rail shooter before, you've played them all. Like House of the Dead and Time Crisis before it, Blue Estate plays much the same way. You move through well-crafted set pieces, blowing off faces (and nuts, as this game includes 'Nutshots' in addition to the standard headshot) as you aim to finish the level. The game doesn't appear to add anything exceedingly new to the genre, though the touchbar on the Dual Shock 4 gives another form of interaction, and is used to melee in small quick time events.
One of the things that stand out is the art. The art direction is crisp, exciting and the backdrops that you are blowing through look real and have depth. Also, from what I've seen, it's mostly destructible. Bullets do real damage to your surroundings, so the cover you were standing behind can suddenly disappear, but you can do the same to the enemy's cover as well. Shooting people in the face with a shotgun will send them flying, which is quite satisfying indeed.
The other thing that stands out is the writing. While the story doesn't seem very good, the banter during missions seems to work. As you're blowing away enemies, the protagonist spouts tacky one liners, some of which actually made me giggle a few times. If they took away any semblance of true story, the one liners could carry the game almost entirely, I feel.
That is where my praise ends, unfortunately. The controls and handling feel very spotty. You're only really using 4 buttons, but they give you no way to reassign the controls so the normal shooter controller layout (The right trigger shoot, and the left trigger recenters your gyroscope instead of zooming) feels awkward. Further, you're constantly moving your controller around since the aiming is controlled by the controller's gyroscope. In theory this sounds fantastic, but I found it wasn't quite as sensitive as I would've liked it to be. One of the first things I like to do with FPS games is to adjust the joystick sensitivity to make it more responsive. Not having that capability felt quite frustrating, considering you're trying to make precise shots at times. Having to go from one corner of the screen to the exact opposite side in fractions of seconds frustrated me immensely. If we had a way to turn up the sensitivity of the gyroscope - or turn it off entirely - I would be alright with that, but unfortunately they didn't give us that option. I have also been informed that it does not have Playstation Move capability, so you're stuck with the controller gyroscope. As it stands, it feels like an easy way to get carpel tunnel even faster than otherwise.
My verdict: the spotty controls coupled with the bland story make this almost painful to play through. I played on the easiest difficulty, so I'm sure my gripes would be much worse if I had tried it at a higher difficulty. I'd rather then go to the arcade and play a true rail shooter. No amount of witty banter or beautiful backdrops can save this game in my eyes.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 505 Games. Released as an Xbox Live Arcade title in August of 2013 and later on the PC, and PlayStation Network in September of 2013. Brothers will have you engaged in the determination of how far two sons are willing to go to save someone they love. When their father falls deathly ill his sons are tasked with retrieving healing water to save him.
The music is composed by Gustaf Grefberg. Each track complements the game play very well as well as conveys the feelings of each the brothers for each other and what is happening around them. The graphics are amazing using the Unreal Engine 3 shows off water effects, dynamic lighting, and breath taking scenery.
Along the way you meet some interesting characters that will need your help and in return will also help you to your own goal. Each brother has their own strengths and weaknesses to solve each obstacle they face together. The older brother is stronger is used for pulling heavy levers and lifting the younger brother to higher places. The younger brother being the smaller of the two is able to fit in between metal bars.
It may seen that Brothers is a cooperative game for two players, but it is not; it was designed to be played with only one controller. The right analog stick and trigger are used to controller the younger and the same is true for the right and the older brother. It does take some time getting used to controlling both brothers at the same time.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is not a very long game, but its unique game play and engaging story will have you glued to the seat until the end credits. This a must buy just to experience the great game. Available on Xbox Live, PC with keyboard and controller, and PlayStation Network.
Source: Brothers Starbreeze Studios Steam
Hey, folks. Delbert's my name and gaming's my....well, game. That didn't flow as well as I would've liked, but I needed an introduction since I didn't like how this felt without one. So, a bit of background on your new resident gamer. I've been playing games since I was too young to know my age. The first game I remember playing is Pokemon Blue, and I grew up fighting Metroids on SNES. At the moment, I own every Playstation (PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4, with two PSPs and PS Vitas) with a Wii, a 3DS and a DS. I can't say I'm an expert on games - I doubt anyone can claim that - but what I can say is I enjoy a large variety of games and have no problem giving a genre I don't like a try. So, that's enough about me for now - I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to talk about myself later - so onto what you came here for, the review of A Link Between Worlds!
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, released November 22, 2013, is a sequel to the hit 1992 Zelda classic, A Link to the Past. It is the second in the Zelda series to be released on the 3DS, behind the critically acclaimed Ocarina of Time 3D.
Set six generations after the events of A Link to the Past, ALBW follows the series 'veteran' Link in his quest to save two worlds. It starts humbly enough, with this incarnation of Link being an apprentice to a blacksmith. We are introduced to the standard top-down gameplay that has been a staple of many Zelda games for years, and soon we are introduced to the main villain of the story.
Yuga (Spoilers In Link-through URL)
Yuga is a mysterious man with the ability to transform people into paintings. After some exposition on him, we eventually chase him into another world: Lorule, a broken mirror of Hyrule, and the other world hinted at in the title of the game. Without getting into details, we eventually have to find the Triforce - a returning staple of the series - and defeat the villain, which leads to more exposition that gives backstory than the rest of the game up until that point.
The writing of the game was spectacular. There was very little information given into the story until that last cutscene, but the game didn't suffer for it. Indeed, the game was better than ever since the gameplay wasn't bogged down by hours of dialog. All the necessary info comes in small snippets over the course of the game, and wraps up nicely with the ending scene.
Speaking of gameplay, the combat is roughly the same as every other Zelda game. The B button controls your sword skills - hammering it gives a consistent set of strikes, holding it down charges up your spin attack - with A being your interaction button, the X and Y buttons act as your 'gadget' buttons (The X isn't available until mid-game, but due to that your interaction with the puzzles get more interesting after that), and the R trigger controlling your shield blocks. The L trigger acts as your dash, but that also requires a short sidequest that you could easily finish the game without doing. You are eventually able to switch between gadgets on the fly while moving - it's faster to use the pause function to do it, but if you're in a hurry (or know what gadgets you need next and have it set up properly) you can easily switch in the spaces between rooms and be ready for the next spot.
One big gameplay element comes early on in the game. Your first true meeting with Yuga makes it clear that you're not prepared for a true showdown quite yet. However, it introduces the merging addition to your repertoire. It gives Link the ability to merge with walls to move past obstacles. A few of the dungeon bosses are made simplistic with cunning use of this ability, though it must be used sparingly because it drains your stamina meter, which is also used to power your gadgets - yes, no more need to farm for arrows or bombs here either!
Ravio (Spoilers As Above)
A major shift in the gameplay is Ravio, a merchant that discovers us passed out in the road early in the story. He takes us back to our house and soon sets up shop in our bedroom. He's noteworthy because he acts as your open ticket to the dungeons. In most instances of this series, the path you take is linear. You start with one dungeon, get an item that opens the rest of the dungeon, then use that bit to get to the next dungeon, et cetera. In ALBW, you can rent every gadget in the game from nearly the beginning, removing the linearity of the game - barring a couple big turning points, such as the trip into Lorule. There are still some blocks to true open world (such as needing to enter the Zora's Domain in order to start swimming) but those sidequests are very simple to find and complete.
Another big change from previous entries is the lack of rupee cap. As readers may know, previous games capped your wallet at certain points, only opening up once you purchase new wallet upgrades. In ALBW, the only limit you have is the amount of patience you have to cap it. At the end of the game, it tells you how many rupees and deaths you had, which is a neat way to measure your progress. With all the in-game purchases, I never kept more than 2,000 rupees, so I never had an issue with the 9999 rupee cap built into the game.
One of my favorite portions of the game, however, is the magnificent soundtrack. The series has always had a powerful soundtrack, but the full orchestral arrangement for every song you hear in this game is a real treat. Furthermore, the attention to detail is clear when you merge with a wall and the soundtrack gains a tinny quality when you do so - almost as if it's losing the depth it had before. It took some shifting for me to notice it first, but when I did, it added even more depth to an already enjoyable experience.
I would definitely recommend this game to everyone who loves this series. The soundtrack is one of the strongest in the series, and the changed gameplay elements work well to refresh a series that some believe has stagnated after over 30 years of games. This game proves that the series still has life and knows how to innovate, and hopefully they continue to do so over the next 30 years - hopefully starting with the next entry, coming to the Wii U sometime next year.
