Strategy Guide Reviews

A Strategy Guide for your Strategy Guides

Hyrule Warriors Mini-Review

By Leave a Comment

hyrulewarriors3Hyrule Warriors is one of the most fun games I’ve ever played, and it’s probably the most fun Legend of Zelda game I’ve ever played. As much as I absolutely love the Zelda games, sometimes you just want to madly rush the enemies and swing the Master Sword blindly. Hyrule Warriors lets you live that experience in this weird mash-up between Dynasty Warriors and Legend of Zelda.

The mash-up is so crazy, it works.

I brought Hyrule Warriors to my Extra Life team, and playing a bit of it convinced two of them to buy it. Unfortunately, only of them has a Wii U, so it’s doubtful both will make the purchase.

So why Hyrule Warriors? Well, do you like hack-n-slash? Do you like having crazy, fanservice-inspired fun?

Hyrule Warriors may not be the Wii U Legend of Zelda game we need or even the game we deserve, but it’s the one we have. It’s not perfect, and it’s nothing like any typical Zelda game before it, but it’s hard to deny that it’s fun. It’s also full of fanservice, which makes it even more fun. And sometimes, all you want to do is have silly fun.

I have never played a Dynasty Warriors game, but I have played my fair share of Legend of Zelda games. Tecmo Koei heavily emphasized that Hyrule Warriors was most definitely not a Zelda game, but a Dynasty Warriors game first and foremost. It just happens to have a Zelda skin slapped on it, a story that mashes up the stories from several popular Zelda games, environments from the Zelda games, and collectibles from the games. Gameplay is 100% Dynasty Warriors, meaning that it is hack-n-slash action with a bit of real-time strategy mixed in.

Now the real-time strategy is not anything close to your traditional RTS games. Don’t think this is comparable to Civilization or Age of Empires, either.

As each mission starts, Link and friends start in their Allied Base, and they will try to take over keeps across the map to gain the advantage across swarms of enemies. The enemies will also keep spawning at outposts, so it’s smart (and often necessary) for Link to take over the outposts as well. To take over a keep or outpost, all the player has to do is defeat the Outpost Captain or the Keep Boss. The keep/outpost color will change depending on which side has control. However, just because a post or a keep are under Hyrulian control does not mean this is permanent. The enemy will constantly try to take back control, and if they get out of hand, they can take over the Allied Base, which means instant defeat.

Hyrule Warriors is hardly Game of the Year material, but it doesn’t make it any less fun or worthwhile to play. This almost beats out Diablo 3 as my go-to game for hack-n-slash fun. For those who own a Wii U, this is a must-have. Read my full review at Action Trip for more info.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments Mini-Review

By Leave a Comment

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments_20140929130410

I saw about 15 minutes of Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments at E3 because I was late to my appointment (story of my life the whole show). I missed a good portion of the presentation, so I left rather unimpressed and I didn’t feel comfortable writing about it with my E3 wrap-ups. For whatever reason, when the press release for the game came across my desk, I asked for a review copy. I am unbelievably glad I did.

I am a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s complete collection numerous times when I was younger, and without a doubt, I can say that this game if the closest I’ll ever get to experiencing a Sherlock Holmes story myself.

Here are some snippets from my full review over on Action Trip:

Through each case, Holmes will have to interrogate witnesses, observe them to press the appropriate questions, and search every nook and cranny for clues that the Scotland Yard and local police might have overlooked. Sometimes Holmes will have to research clues in his archive, perform chemical experiments to learn more about a clue, or use his faithful hound Toby to track down scents all while he explores every possible location and lead. Many of these tasks require the player to participate in little puzzle solving mini-games and interrogation QTEs. The good news is, if you fail an interrogation QTE, the game will let you try again. While one may think, so then what’s the point of even trying if you don’t have a real fail state? It’s really about the sense of accomplishment, and the same can be said for the mini-games. All mini-games can be skipped, but it’s harder to follow Holmes’ investigation if you skip certain ones.

…

When Holmes has gathered enough clues, he can tie the clues together to form deductions, and from there, he can link the deductions to solve the case. It’s the player’s job to accurately form and interpret the deductions. The first case is extremely simple and straightforward. As you progress, the cases get far more complex and very, very gray, making it harder and harder to pinpoint the culprit and their motive. In fact, after the first case, multiple conclusions are available, and they all can make sense depending on how few or many clues you find.

Picking a certain conclusion does not guarantee that you’ve selected the right one. Not only that, but once you have confirmed you’re ready to accuse someone, you have two moral options to choose from: convict or absolve. Convict is exactly how it sounds, but if you absolve, you sympathize with the killer and offer to help them. What you decide, both in conclusion and moral choice, affects what happens to Holmes in the end. Will he be trusted by the Yard? Will he patch things with his brother Mycroft? Will he be tormented forever by convicting the wrong culprit or by absolving the correct criminal? There is a reason why he’s always reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment in his carriage rides (a/k/a loading screens).

I was not entirely pleased with the fact that you could change your conclusion after watching it, because that takes you out of any realism there could be. However, that aside, the game was still enjoyable enough that it’s one of my games of the year. I cannot recommend it enough.

inFamous: First Light Mini-Review

By Leave a Comment

Photo Mode is fun!

Photo Mode is fun!

It’s well documented that I’m a super-fan when it comes to the inFamous series, and I absolutely adored inFamous: Second Son. So yes, I was incredibly excited for inFamous: First Light DLC, especially since it starred Fetch, as her neon powers were my absolute favorite of the game. Then the glorious day came at the end of August, and I was left less than fulfilled. The story behind the game is fairly good, and inFamous: Second Son fans will undoubtedly enjoy it.

That said, it is very sad how much the DLC directly copycats the gameplay of Second Son in ways that feel forced and completely strip the vibrancy Seattle had in Second Son. Here’s a snippet of my review from Action Trip:

With any inFamous game, you expect it to follow a very specific formula that the games have pretty much followed from day one: the conduit’s powers will grow over time and each new power can be upgraded, there will be optional mini-games to complete in order to clear out a section of town, and the lead conduit will talk on his or her cell phone a lot. I expected this with Fetch’s story, but I did not expect the mini-games to be so copycat of Second Son. For example, Delsin has the option of destroying hidden security cameras that the DUP have all over Seattle, and likewise, Fetch can take down flying police drones that Shane uses to keep his eye on Seattle and Fetch. In addition, the tagging mini-game has returned, only Fetch uses her neon powers to create the graffiti instead of stencils and spraypaint.

Early on in the game, Fetch releases a megaton of neon gas from one of Seattle’s largest signs, so now pockets of the gas—called lumens—are scattered all over the city. This is what she uses to upgrade her abilities, just like Cole and Delsin used blast shards. Releasing this neon gas also created little hubbles of gas, and if Fetch dashes through them, she gets a speed boost for a short period of time. Naturally these are a perfect fit for racing mini-games, getting away from the police and DUPs, etc. etc. However, what’s odd is how no one in Seattle reacts to these blobs of gas. One would think that seeing a bubble of pink neon gas would elicit a little reaction from the NPCs, especially since neon gas is deadly to breathe.

I gave it a 6/10, as the story is great for fans, but there’s nothing about the story or the gameplay that is striking enough to bring in newcomers to the series. I really expected a lot out of Sucker Punch for this one, and maybe my expectations were too high. However, I’ve played shorter DLC that was far better and more meaningful than this one attempted to be.

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition Mini-Review

By Leave a Comment

Sorry, you’re going to hear/read a bit more Diablo III awesomeness from me. I was tasked with reviewing the Ultimate Evil Edition of Diablo III, which released ten days ago, bringing the greatness of D3 to the new gen consoles. Since one member of our D3 team doesn’t have a PS4 yet, I didn’t import my Demon Hunter from our game. Instead, I reviewed the game with a member of the new class, the Crusader. It took a long time for me to like the Crusader, but once I hit a few skills that freed up my Crusader’s strategies, I was all in.

Like the Barbarian class, the Crusader class is very slow to amp up, but once the class hits its stride, it’s hard to not fall in love with it. The Crusader is more than just powerful; the class is more versatile than any other class I’ve tried in Diablo III. With the Crusader, you can opt to get in your opponents’ faces like a Barbarian or a Monk, or you can adjust the skills for long distance attacks like a Demon Hunter or Wizard. My personal favorite of these was the ability to throw and bounce the shield between enemies. I was Captain America-ing it all over the place.

Aside from the Crusader, there were far more differences between Diablo 3 and the Ultimate Evil Edition than I was prepared for. The difficulty levels were changed, there’s a new Adventure Mode that’s perfect for level grinding and short bursts of play, and the enemies generation was also changed to make even the lowest difficulty setting a bit more difficult. I really liked how it all changed, especially the new Nemesis system, where mini-bosses who kill your friends will invade your game.

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition (English)_20140822214251

 

And yes, I loved pretty much everything about Act V, the actual expansion part of Diablo III.

As far as Act V goes, it was delightful to play in a different area for once after replaying New Tristram, Caldeum, and Bastion’s Keep more times than I’d like to count. Story-wise, two things made me smirk:

  1. the wrap-up of the companions’ stories, particularly Kormac’s feelings for Eirena; and
  2. how the story opened the door for a Diablo IV, because seriously, there’s going to be a Diablo IV.

Usually, finite wrap-ups of a story with pretty little bows irk me to no end, but for some reason, this time, I found it all rather sweet. These particular stories are over, and it’s time to close the door on them and make way for new ones.

The Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition is one of those that has something for everybody. It’s great for those who haven’t experienced D3 before, it’s great for those who have, and it’s great to play with other people. I rarely play games over again, but I’ve replayed D3 more times than I care to count. I’m not even sure why other than I have so much fun slaying demons.

Please read my full review at Action Trip, and feel free to laugh at me for my high score too, as I strongly stand by it. I really found nothing wrong with the game, and I can’t stop playing it. Only reason why I didn’t give it a 10/10 was because the story is okay, but it’s nothing mind-blowing. The little side quests with the companions improved the story quite a bit, and kept it from being the same dull thing over and over. At least that’s how I felt from the first time playing. May need to ask me again after I’ve played it a few more times.

Road Not Taken Mini-Review (PS4)

By Leave a Comment

roadnottaken2This summer has been about the puzzle games, or at least it has for me. This month’s PlayStation Plus update included a new indie PS4 game I never heard a bit of marketing for before, Road Not Taken. It’s a free game (for me), so why not?

I had no idea what to expect, really, and it was a pleasant surprise albeit a bit more frustrating than The Swapper.

Players take on the role of a new ranger assigned to a town actively employing child slave labor. The town thrives on collecting berries out in the woods for its chief industry, and who better to pick these berries than young children? Problem is, the town is also subject to blizzards and wild animals, so sometimes (all the time) not all of the children return from a day of berry picking. As the town ranger, it is the player’s job to retrieve the lost children and return them to their parents.

The children are retrieved via, you guessed it, puzzle solving!

The woods of doom are set up in a grid with almost Zelda-esque dungeon qualities. Each grid has a set of items, sometimes including children and/or parents, and each grid has at least another doorway to another grid. Most of these areas require the ranger to pair up items together to open the doorway. For example, one doorway may require bunching three fir trees together and another may require coaxing five deer to stand together and not move. The ranger can pick up items to move them, but every step while carrying an item zaps energy from the ranger, which is needed to stay alive. As such, it’s pertinent that the ranger try to throw the items instead of carrying them. The items can only be thrown in the direction that the ranger is holding them on the grid, and they will only land when they hit something (or are burned in a campfire).

You save children (or the minimum required) for 15 years, you can retire in glory. Expect to fail a lot, and don’t get attached to anything you find. It won’t be with you when you come back, as you return as a new ranger.

One of the more charming aspects to the game is the fact that the ranger is encouraged to talk to and make friends with everyone in the town. The ranger can even get married. It only makes it suck that much harder when that damn raccoon you accidentally pissed off kills you, and you lose all of those relationships.

I really liked Road Not Taken, but I wouldn’t have purchased it at its current price. If it goes down $5, then I recommend those who do not have PS+ to pick it up either on PS4 or Steam.

Top Posts & Pages