Everyone's favorite video game expo has come and gone once again. Tune in to the podcast so you can hear all about what made me get excited and or very upset!
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Game Time - May 2017
I played three very different games in May. I started off with the rhythm game Deemo, then moved onto everyone's favorite existentialist robot game Nier: Automata and finished with the super hero fighting game Injustice 2. 2017 is a weird year.
Deemo: The Last Recital
I love rhythm games and that's exactly what Deemo is. Somehow I found myself reading a list of what a totally random website considered the best Rhythm games of all time. To my surprise a phone game made the list, so I had to check it out. After a bit of research I found out it was coming out on the Vita as well. I played both versions, but actually prefer the phone version quite a bit.
Deemo is a touch screen only game, which is why phones have an advantage over the Vita. A line sits at the bottom of the screen as piano keys fly towards it. When the keys meet the line you need to touch them. On higher difficulties tons of notes are flying at you at a time, so the better touch functionality of my cell phone makes me prefer it. The Vita is fine, but it's a bit too big to reach all the parts of the screen at the same time. It's also not as responsive as I'd like it to be. The touch screen isn't the only difference between the two versions though.
The plot of Deemo is that a little girl wakes up and finds herself trapped in an underground area with a weird emotionless demon guy. The demon guy, Deemo is pretty good at the piano. When he plays a tree grows, so the goal is to make the tree grow so that the little girl can escape. It's weird because the songs aren't scored. The way to make the tree grow is complete a song for the first time on a difficulty, or full combo songs. As you progress the phone game has odd scenes with still images, while the Vita version has beautiful animated cutscenes. The Vita version costs $15, while the phone version is initially free, but then two dollars if you want to remove ads, and then another $10 for a while new scenario that the Vita version doesn't have. It's a cool game that I don't think many people are aware of.
Nier: Automata
Sometimes I feel like I'm one of the only people on the planet who played the original Nier. The fact that it got a sequel continues to baffle me. At first I was apprehensive, because while the original Nier was pretty rough it still holds a special place in my heart. It was kind of broken, and the combat was really rough, but it had memorable characters and tried to switch through so many genres I really liked it. It felt ambitious, which I really admired. Luckily Automata is just as ambitious, and just as weird. Yes, Automata plays a whole lot better, but it's still not anything stellar.
So what is Nier: Automata you ask? Well it's a game about Robots who are fighting machines created by aliens on earth. Aliens drove humans to the moon, but the humans created an army of androids called YORHA to take back earth. Initially you play as 2B, who is a female combat unit. You have a sick sword and you kill a lot of robots in stylish, but mashy combat. It's not anything special, but it's engaging enough to keep you invested.
The real draw to Automata is the story. The game's director Yoko Taro is very weird, and that's reflected in the game. If you're interested in stories that are very into existentialism and asking whether or not machines can learn, then this game is going to be your jam.
Injustice 2
I have a weird relationship with games made by NetherRealm Studios. As a kid I was never super in love with Mortal Kombat, but I would play it from time to time. I got back into their games around Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe on the PS3. That's what I consider to be the new era of their games. Solid fighting games with a ton of solid single player content. When it comes to cinematic fighting game stories they have yet to be outdone. The problem is that I rarely have a lot of fun fighting. That's a bummer when the fighting is basically the entire game...
The quality of Injustice 2 is ridiculous. The character models look great, especially when compared to the original game. It has a crazy amount of fan service for DC fans. If you're down for some super heroes beating the hell out of each other, then you'll probably enjoy Injustice. The story takes about four hours and lets you get a good sense of the mechanics and a handful of the characters. Outside of the story mode is where the game's true hook comes in. This time around you can open loot boxes to get sweet loot. The loot can then be equipped to your characters to give them different looks and abilities. It's an interesting concept that's turned off in competitive play, but it keeps me coming back to the game when I otherwise wouldn't.
The problem I tend to have with this studio's games is that I like them until I play against another human. I'm not the best fighting game player, but these games frustrate me like no other. I don't really know why, but I just can't grasp a lot of the systems in play. So I dominate the AI, but as soon as I play a real person I got stomped into the ground. This time around there's enough single player content that I don't feel like I need to try and take my skills online. This game is actually packed to the brim with content, and I'd actually recommend it to people who aren't looking to enter the competitive scene.
E3!
As with every year I am looking forward to E3. This year is going to be very interesting, because Nintendo has to prove that the Switch has a lot of stuff coming in the future, and Microsoft needs to sell the world on the Scorpio. Maybe Nintendo will announce their plans for the Virtual console on Switch. There are a lot of things I want to happen, but I'll just have to wait and see. I'll be back next month to tell you all about my favorite parts of the Electronic Entertainment Expo!
Deemo: The Last Recital
I love rhythm games and that's exactly what Deemo is. Somehow I found myself reading a list of what a totally random website considered the best Rhythm games of all time. To my surprise a phone game made the list, so I had to check it out. After a bit of research I found out it was coming out on the Vita as well. I played both versions, but actually prefer the phone version quite a bit.
Deemo is a touch screen only game, which is why phones have an advantage over the Vita. A line sits at the bottom of the screen as piano keys fly towards it. When the keys meet the line you need to touch them. On higher difficulties tons of notes are flying at you at a time, so the better touch functionality of my cell phone makes me prefer it. The Vita is fine, but it's a bit too big to reach all the parts of the screen at the same time. It's also not as responsive as I'd like it to be. The touch screen isn't the only difference between the two versions though.
 |
| You need to hit the notes when they reach the line on the bottom. |
The plot of Deemo is that a little girl wakes up and finds herself trapped in an underground area with a weird emotionless demon guy. The demon guy, Deemo is pretty good at the piano. When he plays a tree grows, so the goal is to make the tree grow so that the little girl can escape. It's weird because the songs aren't scored. The way to make the tree grow is complete a song for the first time on a difficulty, or full combo songs. As you progress the phone game has odd scenes with still images, while the Vita version has beautiful animated cutscenes. The Vita version costs $15, while the phone version is initially free, but then two dollars if you want to remove ads, and then another $10 for a while new scenario that the Vita version doesn't have. It's a cool game that I don't think many people are aware of.
Nier: Automata
Sometimes I feel like I'm one of the only people on the planet who played the original Nier. The fact that it got a sequel continues to baffle me. At first I was apprehensive, because while the original Nier was pretty rough it still holds a special place in my heart. It was kind of broken, and the combat was really rough, but it had memorable characters and tried to switch through so many genres I really liked it. It felt ambitious, which I really admired. Luckily Automata is just as ambitious, and just as weird. Yes, Automata plays a whole lot better, but it's still not anything stellar.
 |
| You need to kill all the machines! |
So what is Nier: Automata you ask? Well it's a game about Robots who are fighting machines created by aliens on earth. Aliens drove humans to the moon, but the humans created an army of androids called YORHA to take back earth. Initially you play as 2B, who is a female combat unit. You have a sick sword and you kill a lot of robots in stylish, but mashy combat. It's not anything special, but it's engaging enough to keep you invested.
The real draw to Automata is the story. The game's director Yoko Taro is very weird, and that's reflected in the game. If you're interested in stories that are very into existentialism and asking whether or not machines can learn, then this game is going to be your jam.
Injustice 2
I have a weird relationship with games made by NetherRealm Studios. As a kid I was never super in love with Mortal Kombat, but I would play it from time to time. I got back into their games around Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe on the PS3. That's what I consider to be the new era of their games. Solid fighting games with a ton of solid single player content. When it comes to cinematic fighting game stories they have yet to be outdone. The problem is that I rarely have a lot of fun fighting. That's a bummer when the fighting is basically the entire game...
 |
| Get ready to beat up all kinds of DC characters for the second time! |
The quality of Injustice 2 is ridiculous. The character models look great, especially when compared to the original game. It has a crazy amount of fan service for DC fans. If you're down for some super heroes beating the hell out of each other, then you'll probably enjoy Injustice. The story takes about four hours and lets you get a good sense of the mechanics and a handful of the characters. Outside of the story mode is where the game's true hook comes in. This time around you can open loot boxes to get sweet loot. The loot can then be equipped to your characters to give them different looks and abilities. It's an interesting concept that's turned off in competitive play, but it keeps me coming back to the game when I otherwise wouldn't.
The problem I tend to have with this studio's games is that I like them until I play against another human. I'm not the best fighting game player, but these games frustrate me like no other. I don't really know why, but I just can't grasp a lot of the systems in play. So I dominate the AI, but as soon as I play a real person I got stomped into the ground. This time around there's enough single player content that I don't feel like I need to try and take my skills online. This game is actually packed to the brim with content, and I'd actually recommend it to people who aren't looking to enter the competitive scene.
E3!
As with every year I am looking forward to E3. This year is going to be very interesting, because Nintendo has to prove that the Switch has a lot of stuff coming in the future, and Microsoft needs to sell the world on the Scorpio. Maybe Nintendo will announce their plans for the Virtual console on Switch. There are a lot of things I want to happen, but I'll just have to wait and see. I'll be back next month to tell you all about my favorite parts of the Electronic Entertainment Expo!
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