Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@mookysam It's a curse. Especially since I've always thoroughly enjoyed your reviews, and have found them very witty, personal and insightful. It's difficult to remain optimistic but, even on my darkest days, I'd say that putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) demonstrates that you've got something you wanna say, so it'd be a shame not to say it. If you've clicked "post" once, you can do it again!

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@Ralizah Who'd have thunk that DOOM, of all games, would trigger such a detailed discussion about social interaction and the human condition!

You're right, of course, but the broader experiences that only come with age and eventual maturity definitely help provide more context and possibility for empathy (in those who are capable or indeed, want to be capable; there are always outliers and, without wanting to pry, I'm sorry to read that your relationship with your father can be a hostile one as a result). And hey, every individual life is different. You can find folks who've had alarmingly similar experiences, but the resulting impact might've been wildly divergent, or you find people from polar opposite cultures and upbringings pairing up. The day they manage to account for and bottle whatever it is that makes us tick, well... I don't think they ever could. After all, to be human is to be a contradictory, unpredictable mess!

Don't worry about the index. I have the second post of the topic; I'd be more than happy to work with you in expanding it, or splitting it in half, to share the load. Just let me know!

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round (PS4) - Don't have too much time to play PS4 these days, so I finally bit for this since I casually enjoyed the past DOA games as something to quickly drop in & out of, so I've goofed around with it enough the past few weekends to have some thoughts on it.

This title looks totally serious.

Gameplay:

• It's a 3D fighter with a generally fast paced combat flow centering on a rock, paper, scissors mechanic (strikes beat grapples, grapples beat blocks, and blocks beat strikes) and combo juggling your opponent into oblivion (while it is possible to counter strikes at the right moment, which is useful in higher calibur play if you can get to grips with it, in general if someone gets locked into a combo prepare for around half of their total health to take a hit before really getting a chance to retaliate).
• Otherwise the stages are highly interactive and will either have electrified boundaries (or even floors!) or have the ability for combatants to be knocked off a ledge or through a wall (and even through a weak floor!) into a different area accuring damage during impacts on the way down (some stages have a set number of drops, while a few actually infinitely loop between 2 or 3 areas). Maybe not the best for competitive play (though I'm sure there are options to shut it off), but as someone who just plays for casual fun I never tire of the spectacle (one of my favorites is a stage that starts off on the top of a skyscraper with some steel beams on one of the corners, and the first time someone gets knocked into the corner the beams fall down, and the second time the fighter falls off into a traffic accident caused by the beams, bouncing off of an exploding semi). There are usually some other interactive elements as well, such as objects (like glaciers, tables, etc.) that are breakable, certain grapples will be different up against a wall, and getting into water will temporarily wet the combatants' clothes.
• In terms of content on offer it has a Story mode (a couple hours long campaign that puts you in the shoes of most characters, each usually has 3 fights, interspersed with cutscenes), Arcade (with 7 difficulty options, you'll face a set number of randomized foes), Survival (kind of an endless mode I suppose), and of course the standard Free Play & Training modes (including a mode where you can practice going through each character's combo pool). Most modes have Tag Team variants (which is pretty self explanatory) & online play. It even has a Spectator mode where you can view fights you've saved or watch endless CPU bouts with a (pretty barebones) photo mode so you can capture that special moment.
  
• It has a pretty full roster that features nearly every character that has appeared in the series thus far, newcomers Rig, Mila, Phase 4 (a Kasumi clone), Nyotengu, Honoka, & Marie Rose, further Ninja Garden crossover with Rachael & Momiji joining the fray, Virtua Fighter guests Akira, Jacky, Sarah, & Pai, and even King of Fighter's Mai Shiranui (although a pretty natural fit, she's one of only two DLC characters not part of the core game).
• Of course alt costumes have long been a core part of DOA's appeal, and the game doesn't short change on that front. Each character starts out with 2 costumes unlocked, and have anywhere from around 5 - 12 to unlock, with a couple usually being pallet swaps (the female fighters tend to have more costumes). They are unlocked in consecutive order each time you clear arcade mode with a fighter (as far as I can tell this can all be done so on the easiest difficulty, though I can't say definitively as I'm most definitely not going clear it a dozen times with each character). Outside of that it has an absolutely obscene amount of DLC costumes (some of the female fighters have dozens, & I mean costume counts that get into the 50's when combined with what they have in the base game). They are usually sold for $2-$3 a pop, or bundled together in $20-$30 groupings (the game itself at this point is $40, so even two bundles at this point will likely cost more than the game itself, and again it has over a dozen different bundles, so you do the math). Of course this is all purely cosmetic, so if you feel the need to buy absolutely everything rather than the occasional outfit for your favorite few characters maybe that's more on you (some people absolutely lambasted KT for the total cost of all the DLC). Full disclosure, I caved and bought a couple of bundles of crossover licensed costumes (including the Senran Kagura set), as the licenses are starting to run out and are being delisted from the store (the game came out in 2015, and a few sets were delisted earlier this year, while one of the sets I bought was delisted just a few days after the fact). The vast majority are original though (or from other KT owned franchises like Dynasty Warriors) so shouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. Another thing to note is that some of the DLC costumes get battle damage & break apart (they are noted by a red star on the selection screen).
• I should also mention about the DLC costumes is that when you buy the game you'll be prompted to download a few dozen free "costume catalogs" as well. You don't have to download them, but they contain the data for the DLC costumes so you'll need them installed to see them online (if your opponent is using one) or buy the DLC yourself. Also, I forgot to mention before that each character usually has 2 or 3 random DLC costumes unlocked from the getgo along with their default 2 base game costumes (I guess as a taste of what you'd get with the full set), so that's another reason to download these. I figured I should mention it though as I've seen some confusion online from those who've purchased DLC that isn't showing up (it's because they forgot to DL the corresponding catalog beforehand).

Visual/Audio:

• It was originally a PS360 title, so nothing cutting edge, but it looks really clean & performs really well on PS4. The fighter models themselves still look really appealing if I say so myself. Stages look crisp and range from futuristic labs/military instillations, colorful natural venues & tropical resorts, neon infused metropolises, dingy urban back lots & more.
  
  Didn't really get a good overall shot of a stage, so here's Ninja Gaiden's Ryu Hayabusa doing a bit of self promotion while fighting Virtua Fighter's Akira.
• DOA has always been known for specific "details" of it's character models, and DOA5: Last Round goes all out on options in that regard. To get the elephant out of the room first, yes, there are 4 different options in regards to the series' staple jiggle physics. It's set to "Natural" by default (with minimal movement), however they can also be set to "DOA" (classic eggagerated physics), "LR" (I'm assuming exclusive to Last Round, gives the female fighters completely bonkers DOA Extreme levels of mobility), or you can even turn them off completely. "DOA" & "LR" modes even include bonus jiggle mapped to the DS4's gyro function. Outside of that, there are options to turn on sweat & dirty appearances if fights last awhile or a character gets knocked to the ground.
• I wouldn't say it has standout music, but what it has fits the theme of the game. Has kind of a rockish sound in the menus, and a soft ballad type number that plays during the story mode credits.

Story:

• Believe it or not the DOA series does have an overarching narrative, though historically it's hit the same beats as typical fighter fare, with the mysterious organization known as DOATEC trying to learn the secrets of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan in an effort to create super soldiers, and naturally they throw regular martial arts tournaments as part of their plans. Historically the story outcome was determined by which character you cleared arcade mode with (with only a few being considered canon ends, I assume), however that changes here...
• You see, DOA5 is the first numbered entry in the series to feature a dedicated story mode with cutscenes and a set path (the first was Dimensions on 3DS, which cumulated the intended narratives of DOA 1 - 4 into one). At the end of DOA 4 Helena Douglas (the heiress of DOATEC's founder) destroyed the company from within (with the help of a certain ninja clan) after finding out the plans of the shadowy forces within, and here in 5, while building a newly reformed DOATEC she discovers the previous shadow forces have simply moved elsewhere continuing their work & she recruits the help of the Mugen Tenshin clan to shut them down once & for all (naturally throwing a martial arts tournament to cover her tracks in bringing them together). It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done (though the end boss is a b**** as it can shapeshift into different characters at will, changing it's moveset).
  
  Ninja Gaiden's Ryu Hayabusa is (a playable fighter) heavily involved in the story as an ally of the Mugen Tenshin fighters (Kasumi, Ayane, & Hayate), and in fact the entirety DOA series (including the volleyball games) is canon with the modern Ninja Gaiden trilogy.
• It should also be noted that DOA5 takes place after a 2 year time skip since 4, as a means of aging up Ayane, Kasumi and a few other female fighters to avoid criticism from western circles in regards to the sexualization angle (the two heroines were 16 & 17 previously, so now 18 & 19).

Conclusion:

• It's not some GotY juggernaut, or even a fighter I plan on playing seriously, but I find it to be very fun comfort food when I want to jump in & out of something.
  

@RR529 Nice impressions on Dead or Alive 5: Last Round!

The only game I've played semi-seriously was the 3DS entry, which was a lot of fun, but man, that story mode was pure, unadulterated nonsense. Also, cranking up the 3D slider tanked the framerate. Still, it's easily my favorite fighting game on that system, and, from what I've played of it, I'd say there's a strong argument to be made for Dead or Alive 5 Plus being one of the better fighting games on the Vita. Pity the series seems to have bypassed the Switch entirely.

lmao

It's too bad Sony went full puritan a couple of years back. It'd be hilarious to see what fanservice game devs would have done with the Dualsense controller.

@RR529 I put quite a bit of time into DOA5 when the free version hit PS3. I don't play it competitively, but DOA has always been a fun pick up n' play fighting game for me.

Since I'm a fighting game freak, I should probably write a review for one here if I decide which one to tackle.

@RR529 Late to the party, but just wanted to praise your Dead or Alive 5 write-up. I'm no fighting game aficionado, not by a long shot, but I've dabbled (as I'm sure we all have) and a friend is a Street Fighter fan, so it's cool to read about one of the genre's alternate choices. Like you, I often play for spectacle, and I love a good interactive stage (the Injustice games have some doozies). The appeal of the crossover characters also sounds pretty broad, which is cool. I enjoyed reading your thoughts! Thanks!

Just playing through the Game Of Thrones Telltale game (PS3!) on my PS5. It's an easy plat and I never got the chance to play it... it is one of the most boring experiences I've ever had. I keep zoning out and having to restart scenes. I'm never going to get through this!

@TheIdleCritic I've always found that a Telltale game lives or dies by the player's love for the licence in question. I kinda liked Tales of the Borderlands but found quite a lot of it forgettable, even between episodes, because I hadn't (and still haven't) played any other Borderlands games... and yet, I was absolutely enthralled by both seasons of their Batman story, because I'm a huge bat-fan.

That was my long-winded way of asking whether you like Game of Thrones, by the way!

@TheIdleCritic Funny. I could use almost those exact words to describe my reaction to the A Game of Thrones novel. Never ended up getting more than 150 pages in. Life is too short.

@RogerRoger Yes... and no! I've only ever seen 2 episodes of GoT. The first was muted as my friend was watching it with headphones on, and I was next to him doing something else. The second was the one with the White Walkers. And at the end the main one held his arms up and all the dead people got up. That was cool. I actually really enjoyed it... but not enough to make me want to watch the rest of the show.

@Ralizah I hear it's extremely dense.

@TheIdleCritic You've seen more of it than I have! Sorry to hear that the Telltale Game isn't swaying you any further than the White Walkers episode did, though.

Do you usually like choice-based walking simulators? Have you played other Telltale games?

Around this time last year, I talked to myself (first of many signs of madness) about the state of Star Wars: Battlefront II, having just platinumed it. Coincidentally, I've managed to start another January by completing another EA game from a galaxy far, far away. One more of these in twelve months' time, and I might've sparked a new holiday tradition.

Welcome to Star Wars: Squadrons.

Oh, you mean the quick multiplayer money-maker? In which EA took the Starfighter Assault mode from Battlefront II, enabled VR and tried to call it a "new" game?

That's what I thought, yes. And I was wrong. On the surface, things do look a little barebones, but Squadrons is actually a pretty comprehensive offering. The limitations of making it all playable in VR have trimmed the fat, but not in any noticeable way (especially when you consider that the game was a kinda budget release, costing £35 at launch). It boasts a six-hour, fifteen-mission campaign, and its gameplay is a substantial, totally unique take on starfighter piloting; it's nowhere near as "arcade-y" as the mass appeal approach Battlefront II was forced to take.

But you and VR don't get along. Why even bother playing it, if you can't truly experience it?

Because it works well without, although it's clearly not ideal. There's a double-tap command to unlock your pilot's head and move your gaze around your cockpit with the right analogue stick. It's cool but cumbersome, and would be unnecessary when wearing a headset.

The locked perspective when playing on a television does make the dogfighting a little more difficult than I suspect it was designed to be. I opted to see the campaign through on Pilot (a.k.a. easy; there's a Story Mode beneath that, and then your standard medium and hard options, too) and thought that my extensive history with Battlefront II and other Star Wars space shooters would see me right, but I still ended up a ball of flame on a semi-regular basis. I'd imagine being able to turn your head and look to port and starboard would make tracking targets a comparative breeze.

Sounds like multiplayer against VR-equipped foes could be trouble.

Could be, yeah. I dabbled with the multiplayer modes last night, but only with human wingmates against the A.I. (you're forced to play this way until you reach Level 5, most likely to prevent early slaughter and keep you from rage-quitting). As a TV player coming straight from the campaign, I did okay, but my skills were definitely mid-table. My early K/D ratio remains staunchly singular.

I'm not sure how much multiplayer I'll play anyway. The matchmaking process and multiple loading screens dragged on foreeeeeever. Plays fine once you're in, but I didn't find many thrills that I hadn't already squeezed from the game's single player modes.

Wait, what? The game was marketed with a heavy focus on multiplayer! Doesn't all that undermine its entire reason for existing in the first place?

Nope. Like I said, its campaign is short, but it's also surprisingly sweet.

Do tell.

You customise two pilots; one Imperial, one Rebel. The story constantly shifts you between both, showing the same microcosm of galactic conflict from its opposing sides.

This ultimately means that you win twice. There's no cop-out defection nonsense here; both of your pilots remain loyal to the end, and therefore both sides end up achieving victory in the game's final two missions (because you're the star of these wars, no matter what). It's a clever bit of writing, allowing for a one-two punch of fulfilment and accomplishment without having to make an either / or choice. After all, you have to want to be successful, no matter who you're controlling.

Um... yeah, that's great an' all, but aren't the Empire, y'know... space Nazis?

Most are, yes, but that doesn't mean all are.

With four wingmates and at least two commander characters on either side (not counting fan-pleasing cameos from the likes of Wedge Antilles and Hera Syndulla) there are a lot of fresh faces and, as you'd expect, not all of them can be memorable. There are a few, however, that achieve real depth, and most of them are soldiers of the Empire.

The best is unquestionably Varko Grey. He's the veteran captain of Titan Squadron (the elite TIE-flying group you join) and starred in the game's promotional CG short film. As you chat to him between assignments, he reveals an early life spent as a police officer, swamped by freewheeling corruption on his homeworld. When the Empire rocked up and decimated the drug dealers, he saw them as the only way to maintain law and order amidst the chaos, and signed up. He's aware that Imperial methods are tough to reconcile, and struggles with his morality daily, but his sense of honour won't allow him to abandon the sacrifice of his fallen comrades. For him, Stormtroopers and Star Destroyers are a temporary means to an end, and he dreams of a quiet retirement in a peaceful galaxy.

He's also the first openly gay male Star Wars character in something other than a book.

Why does that matter?

It shouldn't, but it does. It's handled in a way that speaks to the maturity of the game's script; he isn't some token stereotype or goofy sidekick. He's an unmitigated badass with emotional complexity who just happens to make an unforced, offhand comment about having a husband.

For a fictional product produced in such divided times, Squadrons has been written in a remarkably balanced and three-dimensional way.

You're spending a lot of time discussing a six-hour story.

Sorry. It just caught me off-guard, s'all. I expected it to be nothing more than window dressing, a brief bit of context to justify repetitive pew-pew takedowns and barrel rolls, but I ended up getting really invested. I think the character customisation and constant first-person view helped ram home the immersion (and again, I'd imagine that this feeling would be even more potent in VR).

Don't worry. If you're just showing up for this kinda spectacle...

...then you won't be disappointed.

It goes without saying that everything's authentically Star Wars, as well. Modern gaming standards wouldn't allow for anything less, and developers EA Motive had already worked on Battlefront II, so there's a little bit of understandable asset-pinching (which perhaps led to some of the incorrect assumptions many had about Squadrons when it was first revealed). I might not have been wearing a VR headset, but I sure as heck wore headphones, because the sound design is beautiful.

And good music, right?

Right. Although I'm a bit upset with the soundtrack's commercial release, as it omits the new arrangements of classic themes heard throughout. What's left is nice an' all, but comes across as slightly generic bombast. There's nothing hummable.

That's weird. It can't be a rights issue, surely? John Williams isn't that litigious.

Even if those arrangements were included, I'd still rank the game's original score lower than what was composed for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. That's the gold standard.

But it's evocative enough to be a pleasant accompaniment to the action, as well as provide ambience to the hangar bays and customisation menus. It's in the latter that I'd braced myself for a microtransaction headache; you can immediately see two separate in-game currency types on the title screen.

Ah, of course. This is an EA game, after all... go on then, how bad are they?

Not bad at all. By virtue of being non-existent.

[falls off chair]

Yep, there was my second surprise. Everything is unlocked via gameplay. The two separate currencies demarcate ability "upgrades" and cosmetic flourish, meaning you don't have to choose between giving yourself a gameplay edge and looking swish whilst doing so. Some of the paint jobs are locked to starfighter class, but other decorations (external and internal) are universal.

[returns from floor] Is that a Funko Pop?!

Yes, I believe it is.

Moving swiftly on, why'd you put "upgrades" in quote marks back there?

Because from what I can tell, none of the unlockable abilities make universal improvements. You might be able to make your shields stronger, for example, but you'd sacrifice speed and manoeuvrability in the process. It's a smart way to allow for individual tailoring of the experience without handing an extra advantage to those who are already good enough at the game. Battlefront II fell into that particular Sarlacc Pit, and it can make matches frustrating if you're eternally mid-tier (like me). As I said, I've yet to fly head-to-head with a human, but I get the impression it'll at least feel fair when they blast me to smithereens.

Providing I've picked the right ride, of course. Each of the four classes (Fighter, Bomber, Interceptor and Support) come with distinctive quirks. You absolutely need to pick the right tool for the right job; assaulting a capital ship in a flimsy little A-Wing is never gonna fly. It's yet another mechanic that pulls the gameplay needle away from "arcade" and closer to "simulation".

So, that's that, then? It being a budget release and whatnot.

Funnily enough, EA Motive did say that they wouldn't be adding any new ships or modes... right before they then added new ships and modes.

LOL.

They don't bring much to the table, mind. It's been done more for fanservice reasons more than anything else, I'd wager, because it's not like they've been reverse-engineered into the campaign, so they're hardly essential. The Rebels get a B-Wing, which has a funky gyroscopic cockpit feature, and the Imps take delivery of Grand Admiral Thrawn's lethal TIE Defender. I had some fun mucking about with them in a practice arena, and the Empire definitely got the better deal.

I'm guessing that's the last of it, though. I'm struggling to think what other era-specific starfighters they could possibly add, and what their point would be.

Well, we got there in the end. How much did you pay, by the way?

Twenty large units of my nation's coinage.

As somebody who isn't gonna experience the VR, and as somebody who isn't gonna spend much time in the multiplayer, is that a lot?

Hmm. It's probably the top limit of what I'd recommend spending. I think £35 at launch was an honest price, especially for those eager to be a Star Wars pilot in VR, but it's already been reduced and will only ever get cheaper. Even if you're a casual fan who wants to play it on a television screen, there's enough quality and content here to justify a purchase.

I can see myself replaying the campaign, and soon. There are also some low-level multiplayer trophies I'm gonna aim for. Wish me luck!

"Punch it!"

Okay, back in your box with you.

@RogerRoger Nice. First review of 2021!

The game sounds interesting. Probably something I'd wait for VR tech before playing, because I think I'd be constantly distracted by the sense that I was 'missed out on' an integral part of the experience (even if that feeling is irrational), but it's good to hear the game works out well on a TV setup as well.

Also cool to hear about the nuanced characterization, split-perspective gameplay (playing as the baddies has never bothered me, really; I'm of the belief that, even in morally clear-cut scenarios, there's some value to seeing both sides of a story), lack of microtransactions (it really seems like EA has strived to make mostly non-exploitative Star Wars games, based on what I've heard about them), and strong campaign in general.

You mention simulation-y aspects to it... how complex are the controls? I assume it's more Star Fox than Microsoft Flight Simulator, at the end of the day?

Good work as always. The socratic format particularly works well with your more conversational style of writing.

@RogerRoger I played through every season of The Walking Dead, dabbled in The Wolf Among Us, played the first episode of Tales From The Borderlands but it didn't do it for me at all. I want to play the Batman one, but whenever I try to download it, it ends in an error.

I've also played games like Syberia, so I've liked them in the past. I just found the pacing and writing in the Telltale GoT to be boring. Didn't grip me at all. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

@Ralizah Thank you! Yeah, this style definitely represents my inner novelist, screaming to be let out in order to write dialogue. I find it ridiculously easy, compared to more formal pieces.

Here's my confession: the reason I don't get along with VR is because I'm scared of how effective it'd be. If it truly is this magical, all-encompassing immersion, then I'd play something like Squadrons and never wanna return to boring ol' reality. It's why I don't have any vices; I have to shut myself off from them entirely, because I struggle with an addictive personality.

I'm certain it'd be a fantastic experience in VR. Definitely wait, if you can.

The controls are somewhat intuitive (most of my initial fumbles were the fault of my extensive muscle memory developed in Battlefront II and the Starfighter games). Left analogue stick controls thrust and roll, right controls pitch and yaw. The simulation feel comes more from the extensive range of details you're given to control; you must constantly balance power between engines, shields and weapons, and will also need to direct shield energy fore and / or aft when attacking capital ships. You're also expected to command your wingmates most of the time. To achieve all this, there are "press and hold" pop-up menus aplenty, none of which pause the game. When you consider the dozens of unique abilities spread between the four class roles, you're rarely given a chance to relax in the campaign.

(I'm finding multiplayer a little more comfortable, as you can pick your class, so I've spent all my upgrade currency on my favourite and can stick with it.)

Despite all that (or perhaps because of it), combat feels quite sluggish at times, probably because it would be in reality. It all looks zippy in a movie, but the scale of space and practicality of adaptable gameplay constants means you'll rarely find yourself panicking as everything blurs around you. Ultimately, it sits in a weird DMZ between "arcade" and "full sim" but, the more I play, the more it works.

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@TheIdleCritic If it helps, I think Telltale re-released their Batman games on disc, and I mean actually on disc (rather than as an empty box with a download code inside, like they used to). Might circumvent your error code issue, if Sony can't help you solve it?

@RogerRoger Great review. And don’t worry — the people who say they don’t talk to themselves are actually the crazy ones. 😉

As for SW Squadrons, I think it sounds really good. I could never get myself into flight simulators though. This despite one of my historical fascinations being airplanes and airborne combat. I tried one of the Star Wars airship games back on PS2 or PS3 (I forget the exact title) and struggled to enjoy it, despite being a SW fanboy.

Glad you got along well with it though! Do you think this will motivate you to play games like Ace Combat?

The last first person space shooter I've played was Colony Wars on the PS1, lol. I'll defo be getting this game should I ever pick up VR tech.

@TheIdleCritic

I love TTG games, played all of them several times, I think the stories and characters are great. The best are the Batman ones, classic adventure games. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

@Th3solution Good to hear... although I wonder, did your inner monologue tell you that...?!

Thank you; glad you enjoyed reading! Yeah, there's something about powered flight which holds a universal appeal for many, I reckon. Spent many a day wandering around various RAF museums, despite having little desire to actually take something out for a spin; that's why we have games, to live vicariously. As a result, I have Ace Combat: Assault Horizon on PS3, and have enjoyed many of the Star Wars dogfighters released over the years (as well as a couple from other franchises, too).

But they don't come as naturally to me as other genres. I'm not sure my experience with Squadrons will get me buying Ace Combat 7 sooner than would inevitably happen; as always, the strength of the licence is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here.

***

@Ralizah That's one I never got around to. We did have a demo of Descent on PC, long before I got into console gaming. That was pretty good; ever tried it?

As and when, you'll have to let me know how Squadrons fares in VR.

Wizorb

Platform: PC

Completion Status: 8 hours; achieved the true ending

When people think about the classic "bouncing balls off a paddle to destroy bricks" genre, their minds often pretty quickly jump to Atari arcade classic Breakout, but my go-to game in this genre has always been the more elaborate NES version of the game, called Arkanoid. Arkanoid greatly improved on the original Breakout with a rudimentary story, basic enemies, alternative brick types (generally, some bricks were harder to destroy than others, which led to differing strategies when it came to clearing them off the screen), and power-ups for your paddle and/or ball (most of these power-ups had a risk/reward factor to them: the multiball, for example, put three balls on the screen at once, which was devastatingly powerful if you were quick enough to keep juggling all three, although there was often the risk of losing all three balls because your attention was split between three fast moving objects). I'd not seen much in the way of notable elaborations of the concept until Wizorb, which apparently originally released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2011. Descriptions of the game online promise a crossover between Breakout-style gameplay and role-playing elements, which is enticing: anyone who has ever played the NDS/PSP classic Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, for example, knows how that game utilized rudimentary RPG mechanics and progression structures to radically evolve the match-3 gameplay of casual puzzle games like Bejeweled. Did it succeed at refreshing and evolving the genre for a newer, savvier generation of gamers?

...kinda.

In Wizorb, you play as Cyrus, a wizard who has arrived in the Kingdom of Gorudo to help stop the onslaught of the Demon King's forces of evil. You do this by... erm... bouncing a ball and destroying blocks. OK, so it's not the most story-driven experience in the world. Your case of operations, as it were, is Tarot Village, which has been decimated by the war. The player will venture out from this town to various lengthy chapters, which are 12 stages long and always capped off by a boss battle at the end. When you complete a given chapter, you can return to Tarot Village and use the funds you've accumulated through the various levels (gold drops from many of the blocks you destroy in the chapters, and you gain bonus gold at the end of levels when you play well) to help the devastated townsfolk rebuild their village. All of the villagers you help will reward you with an item of some sort as thanks, and certain villagers will re-open shops that you can use to buy items to help you in the game's often challenging levels.

The chapters themselves might be a bit too long. I love the gameplay, but spending 40+ minutes on twelve levels can be a bit taxing on anyone's patience, given the simplicity of the gameplay. If you struggle to keep your eye on the ball, you'll also frequently see yourself staring at a game over screen of sorts once you run out of lives in the middle of a chapter (particularly in the brutal final chapters). It is, at least, the most involved game of its type. In addition to the usual ball-bouncing gameplay, you can use MP to cast fireballs that help you destroy blocks faster, and even summon gusts of wind the alter the direction of the ball. Levels themselves can have secret exits, which you'll need to find when revisiting chapters if you want to get the best ending. Multiple levels also have switches that, when activated, allow access to secret rooms that house shops, bonus stages, etc.

Unfortunately, there's a dearth of content after you beat the game, as Wizorb doesn't appear to have any unlockable gameplay modes, and even the town-building aspect is shallow as hell. The plot itself is so rudimentary that I didn't get any real sense of satisfaction out of seeing it to the end, either. Wizorb is fun, but it also feels a bit half-baked in ways that inspired some level of disappointment in me.

Control-wise, on PC, you can opt to use keys on your keyboard or your mouse to control the paddle. And, here's the thing: the mouse is wildly faster, to the point where it's often too fast. While it's much easier to keep up with a wildly fast ball, it's also easier to get carried away and overshoot your mark most of the time. Nevertheless, it's the way I chose to play, as it added a fun skill component to the moment-to-moment gameplay.

Presentation-wise, Wizorb is a bit of a slouch on the musical side, but the pixel art is vibrant and detailed enough to be easy on the eyes.

Wizorb is a fun variation on the Arkanoid concept, with more elaborate enemies, power-ups to collect, decent bosses, and, most importantly, a fairly lengthy campaign with replayable levels and rudimentary town-building elements. In terms of how it shakes up and/or evolves the existing game design of its genre, however, it's more Pokemon Pinball than it is Puzzle Quest: the fundamental approach to how the game is played is still almost identical. As someone who played countless hours of Arkanoid on the NES as a child, I relished the opportunity to re-experience this style of gameplay, but it does nothing to reinvent the wheel, and would benefit dramatically from post-game challenges or even a randomized play mode, as there's precious little reason to return to it once the game is over with.

I've decided I'm going to start rating modern and semi-modern games. Wizorb scores a solid 6/10 in my book.

@RogerRoger

I'd never heard of Descent, but it looks pretty cool. Kinda like a standard corridor-heavy FPS from the mid-90s, but in a gunship of sorts. Interesting approach! I've added it to my steam wishlist.

@Ralizah One down, twenty-nine to go!

Honestly, I don't think I'd ever have thought "Hey, let's make Breakout, but with a story!" even if it was my job to come up with new game ideas, so both Arkanoid and Wizorb are news to me. You say that it took you eight hours to see everything the game had to offer, but then complain that some levels dragged on too long; never a good sign when something so short outstays its welcome, but then I suppose that speaks to the simplicity of the core mechanic.

I really like the personal spin you put on this. Didn't some of your older reviews end with a score out of ten, or am I misremembering? It'll be interesting to see how you assign them going forward; the above definitely reads like a six, but I found myself struggling to find fitting numbers for my Sonic musings.

And yeah, would love to read what you make of Descent. I might even revisit it myself.