Gaming – The Wandering NPCs

If you’ve ever been to Disneyland (which you no doubt have if you’re a human who has lived on Earth between 1955 and right now), then you’ve also probably become acquainted with the ‘classic’ rides featured in the parks which, despite their inherent lack of impressive features or technology, draw in abhorrently long queues of people. Based on older Disney properties like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and Snow White, these attractions remain as popular as ever due to an attribute rarely seen in any entertainment medium: Timelessness.

And it’s this elusive quality that has me so utterly enthralled in the world of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Yes, I know I’m late to the party). With the storied series being something of a cultural phenomenon in Japan, I was exposed to all its quirky and cute oddness on our trip earlier this year, with every other shop being packed with merchandise and props. And while I’ve had a passing familiarity with the series for a few years now, I’m ashamed to admit this is my first time actually playing one of the games. But, my dudes, I cannot express the purest joy I now feel having given it a go.

And now the weird Disneyland tangent at the beginning comes into play, as, during my first ten hours or so with Dragon Quest XI, I felt this feeling of snuggly warmth which I hadn’t really experienced in games prior to this. And then it struck me. Dragon Quest XI is an old Disneyland ride. Now, this may sound like the ramblings of a wannabe journalist grasping for an analogy, which it is, but I feel like the similarities are abundant between the two entertainment forms. Both share a distinctly vintage approach to design and storytelling, for one. They are slow and somewhat meandering, but this only serves to strengthen the fairytale-like nature of it all.

Moreover, neither the game nor the attractions concern themselves with satiating one’s lust for excitement, only the natural fondness for comfort and good vibes shared by (hopefully) most people. You’ll not find any ridiculously imposing boss fights or arduous grinding via random encounters in DQ XI. Instead, you’ll find yourself wrapped in a cosy digital blanket of ostentatiously crafted towns, open fields, and breezy combat encounters. And, like most other JRPGs, the gratification of leveling up a party member gives your brain a pleasant tingly feeling, which I hope is an intentional sensation drawn out by developer Square Enix and not some undiagnosed medical condition.

Anyways, speaking of towns, this game has a whole lot of them. And each one is as delightfully charismatic in design and in populace as the last. For example, a village which you’ll encounter fairly early in the story is called Hotto. This locale sits at the base of an inky black volcano, and its architecture is distinctly Eastern, with ornate, pagoda-like structures housing the town’s amenities.

The hot springs/ sauna facilities are a zen-inducing treat to saunter through, but it’s the inhabitants that really set this place apart from the more traditional fantasy towns you’ll have visited thus far on your journey. Speaking exclusively in haiku, the townsfolk address you in such a way that’ll have you at once impressed by the game’s remarkable localisation, and also concerned for the mental health of the Hottonians.

Just to bang on about the towns a tad more, the smaller details are bewildering. Things like bowls of food and table arrangements are both perfectly logical and visually brilliant, which appeases nitpicking arsebiscuits such as myself quite nicely. If you’d like to hear a more in-depth discussion on the topic of the game’s wonderful towns, feel free to check out Kotaku’s delightfully odd critique on the game.

Now to dispense with all the technical jibber-jabber which I find far less interesting. The turn-based combat is fairly standard for a game of this type but does give you the option to run around the battlefield in between turns, which may soothe the more fidgety player. Additionally, the pep system is intriguing in that it dispels the common issue in JRPGs of being repeatedly having your balls battered by higher-level foes. Essentially, if a party member takes consecutive hits, they’ll enter a state where they go full Blue Man Group and dish out extra damage and such. This can also allow for special attacks accompanied by flashy animations reminiscent of powering up sequences in Dragon Ball.

Speaking of party members, the game hosts a wonderful cast of endearing characters with wildly different backgrounds, designs, and combat techniques. The absolute highlight for me so far has been Veronica, the sassy, pint-sized magician who gives you more shit than a rabbit with irritable bowel syndrome. But while Veronica is a near-constant delight, not every companion with which you fight can match the same level of brilliance. I’m now referring to Erik, an ex-thief who just blindly follows you about during the game’s opening hours spouting some poor dialogue made all the worse by a dodgy voice acting performance, with his accent bouncing from English to Italian American and neither sounding quite right.

On the technical side of things, the game boasts some bright and crisp visuals powered by the Unreal Engine 4. Having tried out the recent Switch port of the game, I have to say the PS4 Pro seems to be the way to go for clearer, sharper textures and models (shocking, I know), but it’s a handsome package on every platform. The soundtrack is also strong and weirdly nostalgic considering I’ve never played a game in the series prior to this, but the bubbly, bouncing tunes just feel like slipping into a divinely cushy sonic onesie (No, not that Sonic, you degenerates). So yes, both your eyes and ears will swell with delight when this game’s grand vistas and chirpy tunes are at their best.

In summary, Dragon Quest XI is bloody lovely. It’s relaxing, enchanting and visually distinct, all without succumbing to the many pitfalls of the genre this series has helped to define over the decades. I’d recommend playing it in the evening with your +5 ‘Snug’ slippers equipped and either body-warmth buffing mug of hot chocolate or a +3 ‘Tipsy’ glass of wine equipped as your primary weapon. Eye-rolling jokes aside, I’d advise anyone who sees the appeal in the idea of a gaming bedtime story to try this series. Especially because it’s a bit of a pain in the arse trekking all the way to Disneyland just to bask in that warm, nostalgic glow before hitting the hay when, instead, you could just be popping in Dragon Quest XI.

Gaming

5 Guilty Pleasure Games

Sep 11, 2019Sep 12, 2019 Matthew

There are circumstances in which one might enjoy something which has received negative or mixed critical reception. For example, I adored last year’s Alita: Battle Angel in spite of its critics citing some funky pacing and clunky dialogue. I, for one, eat that shit up because the film is essentially live-action anime done right. Alternatively, there are those times when I find myself having fun despite knowing full well the media product with which I am engaging is a flaming pile of dog shit. Here are five such cases (in no particular order)…

1. Dead by Daylight

This is probably the most frustrating case on this list because the concept has so much dang potential. If only the game had been executed with even a semblance of technical competence. A-symmetrical multiplayer offerings seem to be on the rise after a false start with Evolve, as the new Resident Evil: Project Resistance, as well as the new Predator: Hunting Grounds game, are both encroaching release.

With four players tasked with surviving the attacks of a fifth player filling the role of killer, the setup is hugely promising. Where the game falls down, though, is in the game itself. There’s very little the survivors can do other than fix generators, which requires only the holding of the right bumper, with the occasional tapping of the left bumper. This is referred to as a skill check, but it’s actually just a quick-time event (AKA prostate cancer if it was a game mechanic).

Not to mention, it’s also strikingly ugly with PS1-level textures and hideous character models limping around the map. But, despite all this, I’ve had a tremendous amount of fun over the past couple of week playing it with my friends, as, with the right person playing as the killer, the matches change from slogging through tedious objectives into a tense game of cat and mouse, or rather
mice.

With no means of attacking the killer, every encounter and defeat you suffer at the hands of your common enemy will make your bumhole clench with all its might. The experience is also helped along by the deeply customisable perk
system, which allows you to tailor your chosen survivor or killer to your play style. Brilliant stuff, if you can look past the stodgy gameplay and wonky
presentation.

2. Worms Battlegrounds

You may read the title of this entry and think to yourself, but Worms is a decent little series which accomplishes everything it sets out to do, is it not? And to that I retort, how do you fuck up Worms? Well, you can start by releasing a technically functional port. Instead, Worms Battlegrounds for the PS4 is a laggy, dated, awkwardly controlling, seemingly low-effort affair.

However, it is undeniably a hilarious experience with friends, as you attempt to kill each other ion the most strategically creative ways impossible. Exploding sheep, holy hand grenades and kamikaze punches round out a roster of unwieldy weaponry.

Furthermore, with the matches being as short as ten minutes, the many deaths of your loyal legion of wriggly soldiers are more amusing than frustrating, as you can always try something different next match. Plus, my friend once lost his blob with the game because he fired a homing rocket, which proceeded to turn around and hit him directly in the face, which may be the funniest shit I’ve ever seen.

3. Dead Island

Essentially the Jersey Shore of video games, Dead Island is easily the trashiest game I’ve played in my twenty years upon this mudball. Its tacky presentation, loathsome characters, clunky combat, and dreadful narrative throughline should
make this an objectively painful experience. But it’s not. And that’s thanks to a couple of things, one of which is co-op. tearing around the zombie-infested resort island with some friends, stomping skulls in and wading through pools filled with body parts and beach balls is wonderfully cathartic, and salvages what would otherwise be a miserable solo experience.

Although, there is one missing feature which makes this game the one I like the least on this list. For some reason, the devs included a frankly beautiful mode in which your fists defy the physics engine and send zombies flying with every
punch, but this is inaccessible in co-op. I don’t think a greater sin has ever been committed, as this could’ve made the game genuinely worth its often dirt-cheap asking price. But, as it stands, you’ll still probably get a few hours of laughs out of this one, as long as you don’t take any of it remotely seriously.

4. No Man’s Sky

As perhaps the greatest disappointment in the gaming industry, No Man’s Sky holds a special place on this list; Not least because it has since forged its own path and become one of this generation’s greatest recovery stories (We’re still waiting on that from Microsoft lmao). With updated technical aspects, new traversal and economical systems and a whole heap of quality of life changes, No Man’s Sky is now an okay game worth a little bit of your time and money.

But, much to my shame, I actually liked this game at launch when it was just a simulation of trillions of empty planetoids with fuck all to do on them. The
aesthetics, the soundtrack, and general atmosphere had me glued to the screen for about fifteen hours, before I realised I was just hopping from one rock to the next, collecting fuel and booting randomly generated animals up the arse.

I’ve gone back and played it a fair amount since, and it’s safe to say that, if you like space exploration fiction and pastel colours, No Man’s Sky is a far easier recommendation now than it ever was back in 2016.

5. The Order 1886

Dem graphics doe. This ostensibly summarises my entire opinion on Ready at Dawn’s ludicrously lavish The Order 1886. Even with its complete lack of mechanical depth, meaningful engagement from the player and abruptly short campaign, I still can’t help but find this game impressive as all heck.
A cover-based third-person shooter set against the backdrop of a smoky, gothic Victorian London complete with werewolves and a whole Nikola Tesla, The Order presents a heart-achingly realised and visually distinct world.

Where it falls flat for many is its brain-dead gameplay and absence of content. Had it featured co-op, a well-done horde mode or even just a longer story, The Order 1886 could’ve been the start of a successful franchise, albeit with basic
foundations that prioritise form over all else. But, as it stands, 1886 remains a sadly missed opportunity many simply skipped over. But, having actually
enjoyed my time with the game, I wouldn’t say no to a belated PS4 Pro patch with 4K and HDR support, please and thank you xoxo.

Gaming

Games of Endless Enjoyment

Sep 5, 2019Sep 6, 2019 Kaylee

As a certified woman, I love Animal Crossing, but not just because of the bright colours and the cutesy characters (although that does help) but also the category it fits into. I’m not quite sure the name of the category but to generalise is games which have no end goal.
Having nothing to work towards makes the game more fun in my opinion. You’re not pressured to do anything, no time limits and no restrictions. You can just run around and do nothing and it won’t matter since nothing is consequential.

They’re easy to jump in and out, so when you forget about it for a while and come back there’s no confusion of where you are out what you’re doing, and even if there is, like say you played Minecraft one time three months ago. You turn on the game and you’re stuck in a mine. It really doesn’t matter. You could continue further, you could turn around and find your bearings. There’s nothing in control and it’s so liberating. Exiting quickly is always easy too, you can’t get stuck in a level trying to defeat a boss for half an hour (Okumura boss fight I’m looking at you) when you need to leave for work in 10 minutes and everything is a disaster and you’ve wasted the last 2 hours because you forgot to save. Not talking from experience of course.

Another thing about these games is that they fill in a void for people in their late teens/early adulthood. As the economy is destroyed by baby boomers it’s harder to imagine a good life, so in animal crossing when you pay off a home loan or even your whole mortgage, it gives you a sense of accomplishment that seems unrealistic in real life. It also makes you feel like you have friends who love to spend time with you and also this super cute my melody backpack, which could never happen for real.

They keep you creative. Plenty of times during childhood I’ve felt like I’ve been forced to fit into a box, but with endless possibilities, there’s no box to fit in, your imagination can go wild. Games like Minecraft and Happy Home Designer give you the freedom to make things how you want (with limited supplies of course) even if they’re super weird and time-consuming.

An honourable mention would also be Persona 5. Yes there is a story and Morgana constantly makes you sleep, but there are small sections between palaces where you can just go out and increase social ranks (AKA go on a date with Ryuji, let a girl dream) and just do random semi-open world things like go fishing (Because every game needs fishing, apparently).

Gaming

Destiny 2, and the Satisfaction in Statistics

Aug 30, 2019Aug 30, 2019 Matthew

Leveling up. Getting that new piece of powerful gear. Unlocking a new section of the map. Video games are a medium uniquely suited to a particular sort of satisfaction which, while seemingly very boring, is very adept at creating a time vacuum. Let’s look at some examples, my dudes…

As the title suggests, Destiny 2 and games of a similar ilk (Diablo, Borderlands, The Division, not Anthem etc.) are prime examples of this systemic absorption of your attention. And yet, it creates this gloriously addictive feedback loop in the simplest possible manner, with a number. The light level of the first game and the power level of the second essentially act as a summary of your dedication to acquiring dat juicy loot, be it weapons or armour pieces.

This not only facilitates build diversity but also the most important aspect of the series. Fashion. Let’s be real my gamer brethren, no one actually plays Destiny for the various stat bonuses and unique abilities that come with each piece of exotic armour, apart from fuckin’ nerds that is. But us Chad gamers spend hours tuning our look to be as cool and as ostentatious as is humanly possible. And for this, power level serves as a means of making your freshest garments feel even more exceptional.

Furthermore, legendary designer Koji Igarashi’s latest romp, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, offers this same kind of power fantasy, but it’s complemented by an exploration system that makes it feel both daunting and wholesomely rewarding to uncover every hidden passage and mark every key location you come across. The game is very good at prodding your squishy brain and making you want to continue your adventure by showing you its spider’s web of blue tiles, representing the gloriously interwoven map.

Further compounding this encouragement to push on is the subtle but effective inclusion of a percentage which tells you how much of the sprawling map you’ve charted. Well done Igarashi-san, you are a masterful game designer and you have earned a biscuit from me should we ever meet.

And finally, we come to a game which I have somehow never mentioned on this blog, Persona 5 (AKA objectively the greatest game ever made and you can fight me to the death if you think otherwise). The Persona series has always boasted some stylish ass UI, but P5 takes the cake in respect of showing you just how far you’ve come over your 100-hour journey. The little musical notes that drift and dance above characters with whom you’ve just shared a meaningful reaction, as well as the utterly ingenious star diagram that effectively conveys all of your social stats solidify P5 as a masterclass in how to deliver information to the player with style.

Moreover, in terms of statistics-based mechanics that incite an emotional reaction, there’s nothing quite like studying your little anime arse off in the run-up to exams, only to tip over into the next level of knowledge the day before it all kicks off and you’re met with questions covering the most obscure topics possible. Similarly, in the other half of the game, which sees the player scouring intricate dungeons looking for a scrap, the post-battle graphics pop and weave across the screen in perfect harmony with the God-tier soundtrack, making you feel as though you’ve become stronger, even if it’s just by an increment.

So yeah, numbers are nerdy for the most part, but they’re a vital component of video games, and it should be applauded when developers use them in just the right way, to get your dopamine flowing and your fingers itching for another hit of XP. That’s pretty much the only conclusion I can draw from this semi-coherent ramble, so thank you for reading if you’ve gotten this far. Hopefully next week, I will actually manage to get my post out on time.

Gaming

Don’t Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Aug 15, 2019Aug 15, 2019 Matthew

Towards the twilight of the seventh console generation, open-world games were becoming more and more ubiquitous. Their design evolved only in increments, and their content became more and more bloated with meaningless fluff (See pretty much any Ubisoft open-world game from the past ten years). So, I was befuddled when I recently got the urge to return to an open-world game which seemingly offered very little to distinguish itself at the time of its release. And now, as unlikely as it seems, I would adore a sequel to this underappreciated gem of a title.

United Front’s Sleeping Dogs released in 2012 to strong critical praise and sold fairly well, despite Square Enix declaring it a “failure” due to their obscene expectations. The game takes place entirely within, from what I can gather, a faithful recreation of Hong Kong, and pits the player as Wei Shen, an undercover cop attempting to infiltrate the Triads and take them down from the inside.

Narratively, the game ticks all the right boxes and wears it’s Hong Kong cinema inspirations on its decorative tattoo sleeve. All the questionable motivations and double-crossing of films like Internal Affairs serve as a dangling carrot for the player to actually complete main missions and see the story through to its end. And although protagonist Wei Shen can be an abrasive twat, particularly toward his superiors in the police, Will Yun Lee injects enough charisma into the character to power through said twatiness.

Now, why did I reinstall the game’s 2014 PS4 repackage or ‘Definitive Edition‘? Well, I’ve been playing a lot of more recent open-world games like Metro Exodus and The Sinking City which, while enjoyable in their own right, try to disguise their more game-y elements at every opportunity. Immersion is the name of the game this generation it seems, and that means unintrusive UI, and making the player feel like they’re stumbling upon discoveries, rather than simply following an old-fashioned waypoint. However, Sleeping Dogs serves as a complete antithesis to this design philosophy for me, with a refreshingly old-school approach that sees the player thread through a specific set of activities and missions that demonstrate the game’s various systems.

Much like the PS2-era Grand Theft Auto games or Saints Row 2, Sleeping Dogs is chock-full of objective markers and side activities for you to complete at your own pace. Or you could simply sack that all off and run around the streets of Hong Kong in your undies drop-kicking pedestrians and eating copious amounts of dumplings. The choice is yours.

And that’s something that I feel has been lost in recent open-world ventures. Player expression in games like Horizon, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry essentially amounts to what weapons you want to use, or which tower to climb first. Sleeping Dogs, on the other hand, leaves you to explore and muck about at your own pace, while making sure you always have more substantial stuff to do when you’re ready to rumble. The result is a world that is unabashedly video game-y, embracing all the cliches that come with the territory of the genre.

However, it’s no less ‘immersive’ than its more recent contemporaries for a couple of reasons. For one, the number of side objectives and distractions littering the map is dangerous for obsessive cretins like me who need to 100% every district of the map. It’s just a shame that most of these optional tasks are fairly monotonous (Aside from the side quest that lets you date virtual Emma Stone which is my personal ultimate ambition), but that’s all the more reason why this game needs a sequel to iron out the many obvious kinks.

Although, one quality of life feature the game boasts does somewhat remedy the tedium of getting tangled up in these mediocre distractions, and that is the quick-select waypoint-selector thingy (I don’t know if this has an official name but that’ll do for now). With a quick click of the right stick, the player can cycle between waypoints directing them to proper missions, as well as highlight any side activities in the near vicinity. Weirdly enough, I can’t recall this system being used elsewhere, but it’s a brilliant bit of design and makes deciding your course of action way easier than trawling through markers on the map like a fuckin’ normie, am I right fellas?

Ah, but the nifty conveniences don’t stop there, as there are a load of vehicle stations dotted around the streets of Hong Kong, making it easy to retrieve your ride without making you stop and question the black magic involved in vehicle teleportation.

Just to dump even more praise on the game, the melee combat is leagues better than pretty much every other open-world game of its era with exception to the Batman: Arkham games. Taking a similar approach to said franchise, Sleeping Dogs’ combat revolves around bouncing around between enemies performing some crunchy combos while performing the occasional counter.

Unfortunately, though, I’m not a fan of the game’s counter system, which punishes the player a tad too harshly in my opinion. Like many games from that period, Sleeping Dogs has enemies telegraph their attacks so that you can react quickly and deal a counterblow, but if you misjudge this window of time and hit the button early, Wei is locked into an animation where he hunkers down and can be hit multiple times. This feels frustrating in that it takes control away momentarily to show you that you did a bad thing, like a dog having its nose rubbed into its own shit.

This does become less of an irritation as the game progresses though, as you’ll adapt to the timing and learn new moves that turn Wei Shen into a ferocious master of martial arts. Also assisting in the power fantasy are the environmental kills, which see Wei inflicting cruelty on his foes in some dazzlingly creative ways. Faces are shredded by AC fans, spleens are ruptured by shutters, and whole ass bodies are thrust into dumpsters. It really is great fun and absolutely the highlight of a strong melee system.

Shooting, on the other hand, is less satisfying. I’m a bit of a stickler for shooting feel, and while Sleeping Dogs‘ shooting isn’t bad by any means, it’s far from exemplary. Pistols and SMGs are wildly inaccurate even from medium ranges, and there’s a general lack of impact from most of the virtual firearms. What saves this aspect of the game from total mediocrity, however, is the implementation of parkour-like movement, allowing Wei to Max Payne his way through foes in slow-mo, diving over cover to either pop their little heads, or disarming them to fight hand-to-hand.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been playing the PS4 Definitive Edition, and this may not be true of the game’s original PS3, Xbox 360 and PC releases, but I’ve encountered a plethora of technical errors, both minor and significant, so I’ll list some of them here as a bit of a warning:

The vehicle camera is pretty horrible, particularly when reversing, which often causes you to pinball around, bumping into objects and pedestrians. This can be especially irksome since you’re often punished during missions for causing collisions and property damage.
NPCs consistently spazz out, thus causing some objectives to be difficult to complete (e.g. the game’s mind-numbingly dull tailing missions become even more tedious as the NPC drivers crash into each other, making the subject’s ‘suspicion’ meter climb).
More general stuff, like framerate dips, a couple of instances of crashing, button input delays or simply a complete lack of registration (particularly in menus) and one instance of the game actually becoming unplayable, as Wei’s phone camera (a key mechanic in both main and side content) became unusable, thus forcing both a reinstall and starting of a new save to rectify the bug.

Granted, many of these issues are unacceptable for a game with a large publisher behind it, as well as it being a current-gen update of the base game that claims to be the ‘definitive’ version. However, this may be the time to mention that the game’s development was tumultuous to put it lightly. Switching publishers, protagonists, and seeing several reworks, it’s a miracle that the game even released at all. Hence the lack of information on the game’s technical history and even which engine it uses (many forum users declare it to be Square’s own Luminous Engine, but this isn’t listed in the game’s wiki).

Despite this, Sleeping Dogs certainly can be a handsome game when it wants to be. Environmental weather effects like lashing rain and hazy mist sell the sub-tropical climate of Hong Kong. Moreover, locations like North Point (the game’s starting area) and the interior of shops and clubs are dense with smaller details. A visual highlight can be seen in the story mission Club Bam Bam, which sees Wei beating henchmen to a pulp with a large fish (No, I didn’t mistype that) in a seedy nightclub, garish fluorescent lights painting the scene like a Nicolas Winding Refn film. Although, the thought of United Front being set to work on a sequel in a more capable engine could render some jaw-dropping results.

As it stands, Sleeping Dogs’ technical shortcomings can’t overshadow the fact that every fiber of this game’s being is thoroughly entrenched in the distinct sonic and aesthetic associations carried by the cultural sprawl that is Hong Kong. And while I’ve never visited the Pearl of the Orient myself (which I intend to rectify at some point), it’s plain to see just how steeped in vibrant heritage the city is just by wandering around Sleeping Dogs’ wonderfully crafted map. Plus, the wide variety of radio stations allow me to weave through traffic, popping wheelies in my undies while blasting Tchaikovsky, which is a joy that few other games can give me.

So, while Sleeping Dogs is bolstered by robust melee combat, and an intriguing tale of corruption, where its strength lies is in its sense of place and presentation. Whereas in other open-world games like Saints Row the city in the game takes place is a mere backdrop to frame the carnage, Sleeping Dogs puts its meticulous recreation of Hong Kong front and center. Yes, current examples of the genre are more immersive and all that jazz, but Sleeping Dogs provides a simple pleasure in that just observing and engaging with its world is a gratifying experience

So, to conclude this meandering critique thing, Sleeping Dogs should not be forgotten, and a sequel would be lovely too. Even in a market utterly saturated with cookie-cutter open-world releases, United Front delivered upon their unique vision, taking a standard dish and reinvigorating it with a distinct Eastern flavour. And while I’m grateful that Square Enix helped assure this game saw the light of day, their track record gives me little hope that we’ll ever get a proper sequel. But, there is a silver lining; one that’s completely off its nut and perhaps unpalatable to some, but a silver lining all the same. Sega’s glorious Yakuza series shares just enough similarities with Sleeping Dogs for me to recommend it here.

Yes, it’s set in Japan rather than China, and its structure is less of a traditional open world and more of an open amusement park in the guise of a seedy city, but if you’ve found yourself craving a dark, twisted crime narrative set in the underbelly in one of Asia’s other famous locations, here’s your game. Or, if you liked Sleeping Dogs for no other reason than it being fun to kick lots of men in the face and sing karaoke, Yakuza more than has you covered with its blistering combat and quirky side activities. And, with Sega’s recent remasters of the first two entries in the long-running series, as well as the excellent prequel story Yakuza 0, you have no excuse not to at least dip your toes into the wacky waters of Toshihiro Nagoshi’s opus.

Gaming

DOOM: The Original Trilogy in 2019

Aug 1, 2019Aug 1, 2019 Matthew

Twenty-six years ago, id Software rejuvenated PC gaming and sent the FPS genre skyrocketing with the seminal DOOM. The very next year, its sequel refined the formula of ripping and tearing demonic nasties to crimson ribbons with expert precision. And then, silence. A decade passed with only the admittedly excellent DOOM 64 to satiate fans in between releases. And when DOOM 3 finally saw the light of day, it was met with a polarised response from fans, many of which derided it for its drastic departure from the franchise’s roots. But, now that Bethesda has just blessed us with shiny new ports of each of these classic titles, making them available on every major platform, how do they hold up in a contemporary context? And furthermore, what can the upcoming DOOM Eternal learn from its badass forefathers? I’d wager a fair amount.

DOOM
What can I even say at this point about this titan of the genre? After id invented the FPS genre the previous year, DOOM was their opportunity to refine every aspect introduced in Wolfenstein 3D. More complex weapon and enemy models, larger, more intertwining level designs, and an absolute jam of a soundtrack solidified DOOM as the true king of the shooter. Even in 2019, DOOM serves to demonstrate how shiny graphics and lavishly detailed scripted sequences can’t hold a candle to the elegant simplicity of circle-strafing around a horde of varied demons, putting each one down in a strategic dance of selection and brutal execution. And yeah, that does sound like a load of pretentious wank, but if a game from 1993 can still force me to think on my toes and treat each combat encounter like a little, ultra-violent puzzle, then I think it deserves some major props.

Also compounding the puzzle game nature of DOOM are the maze-like levels which you’ll need to scour in order to find the exit and grant yourself access to it. And while this can lead to occasional frustration for a baby-brained dingus such as myself, it’s nonetheless a wonderful relief to reach that final door.
This labyrinthine level design also adds to the game’s rather short playtime. While a new player may take around an hour to finish each of the game’s four ‘episodes’ respectively, those who wish to find every hidden room and kill every last demon will find themselves thoroughly exploring each stage for at least six hours or so (A figure which Call of Duty still hasn’t been able to outdo).
But, with a game as old as this, it’s expected to falter in some areas which were untrod ground until the genre had seen more releases and iterations. For example, if you die, which you probably will many times unless you pick a low difficulty, you’ll lose all of your weapons, armour, and ammunition when you respawn at the beginning of the stage. This is the single most irritating quirk of the game and is far more prominent on consoles where quicksaves are hardly a simple process.
Another way in which playing on the frankly incorrect platform puts a damper on the fun is with weapon switching, which is clunky and inefficient on anything other than the PC.

Speaking of weapons, an issue which has plagued almost every game in the venerable series began here, with weapons that become utterly redundant as the game progresses. Sure, the pistol is essential in the game’s first couple of stages, but its viability dissipates when the player acquires the rapid-firing chaingun. Thankfully, ammo isn’t as common as in later entries, meaning you still have to be selective with which weapons you’re using for standard encounters.

And one final critique which I feel somewhat harsh leveling against the game considering it was one of the first of its genre is he aiming. Like many of its contemporaries, DOOM only allows for horizontal aiming, meaning enemies who are situated above the player can still be taken down with your magical elevating bullets, but doing so can be very cumbersome in more cramped and complicated environments.
But, other than these fairly minor complaints, DOOM remains a hallmark of the genre in 2019, with genuinely gratifying weapons, clever level design and one metallic bop after another filling the player’s grateful earholes. And since the game isn’t as atmospheric as I’m sure it once was with its pixel-coated textures

DOOM 2: Hell on Earth
DOOM 2 is a tricky game to talk about independently in that it serves more as an extension of the original DOOM, rather than offering any kind of substantial innovation. Although, that’s not to say there aren’t any notable upgrades which make it a worthy successor. For example, the variety in locations is greatly expanded, with the ‘Hell on Earth’ segments towards the game’s conclusion serving as a nice change of scenery. Granted, the colour scheme can become rather drab at points, but the game certainly feels more expansive than the OG title.

Moreover, I would sign a marriage certificate for the super shotgun in a heartbeat. This God-tier boomstick. But what about some new chumps to use it on? Well, DOOM 2‘s biggest upgrade, in my opinion, was its addition of a bevy of new enemy types, all of whom (aside from the chaingun dudes) are great fun to fight and tear to pieces. The Mancubus, Arachnotron, Archvile, Revenant, and Pain Elemental have all become series staples and got their start in this game. However, there are instances where DOOM 2 just throws you in a pit with dozens of the fuckers, meaning even my darling super shotgun struggles to keep the player standing.

Another distinguishing feature of DOOM 2 when comparing it to the first game is structure. DOOM 2 abandons the episodic format adopted by the first game and instead presents the player with thirty-two missions chocked full of secrets, enemies and unique gimmicks. All of this adds up to make DOOM 2 almost double the length of its predecessor, though this doesn’t mean all of the content on offer is as well thought out and paced as the first game. Still, DOOM 2 makes for an excellent combat challenge and is absolutely worthy of the name, and the more mellow, atmospheric beats make for another legendary soundtrack that is wholly distinct.

DOOM 3
One benefit of the series taking so damn long to release a third entry is that id was able to skip the awkward transition shooters saw while moving into the era of 3D graphics. Rather than presenting us with the signature flat lighting, boxy models and muddy textures of the early 2000s, id instead delivered a starkly beautiful game lathered in dynamic lights and crisp texture-work, thus giving the game a thick, pervasive atmosphere. The PS4 Pro port of the game, while far from a current-gen game visually, holds up remarkably well to close scrutiny. I’d recommend Digital Foundry’s meticulous analysis if you’re interested in the game’s impressive visual feature set.

But enough with all that pansy shit, what’s this one like to play with the benefit of hindsight? Well, unsurprisingly id‘s penchant for crunchy, punchy weapons is present and correct, even if things have slowed down considerably. The shotgun, in particular, has a great sense of feedback and remains my go-to for any close encounters. The plasma rifle is another highlight, demonstrating the game’s advanced lighting engine as it paints the corridors in cool blue flashes.

However, where DOOM 3 disappointed most fans was its low movement speed and generally sluggish pacing. Where the previous games saw the player fulfill the role of a pissed off quarterback charging through hordes of hellspawn, DOOM 3 is a more methodical game where ammo management and cautious exploration take precedent. But while this may have aggravated players in 2004, the slow pace of DOOM 3 is now more refreshing than anything, with every other entry in the franchise (including the current reboot series) being ludicrously fast in both narrative delivery and gameplay pacing.

DOOM Eternal
To sum things up, the upcoming DOOM Eternal can learn a couple of things from each of its ancestors. Firstly, DOOM 2 taught us that combat loses its rhythm when the player is simply chucked in with endless hordes of demons. Instead, a healthy number of foes should be placed carefully not to overwhelm the player, but to keep them thinking.
DOOM 3 is emblematic of something I’ve noticed in some of the trailers for Eternal and of which I’m an advocate. Varying the pacing is essential in order to keep the player from becoming numb to the constant barrage of combat. While absolutely no one wants DOOM Eternal to be bogged down with lengthy cutscenes or dialogue segments, the odd break from ripping and/ or tearing may just be what the witch doctor ordered when it comes to keeping a healthy balance of narrative and gameplay. DOOM 3 may have gone too far the other way in a few instances, but it undeniably establishes a more fleshed out world than the first two games, which is something the 2016 DOOM began to set up brilliantly.

Ultimately, the original DOOM trilogy holds up phenomenally in the current year, despite a few wrinkles holding the first two games back from perfection. And while DOOM 3 may be less effective as a technological showcase these days, it’s still worth a playthrough just to turn its gruesome menagerie of demons into a thick red paste. Thus, I’m giving the DOOM trilogy a collective four stars.

Gaming, Travel

Akihabara Vol.2 – A Gamer’s Paradise

Jul 25, 2019Jul 25, 2019 Kaylee

I love arcades. I always have. I go to Butlins with my family every year and you will find me in the arcades wasting my parents’ (or on more recent occasions my own) hard-earned money trying to win a Princess Anna plushie that I know the machine will not let me have. Fortunately for me, (but not my bank account) Japan was full of arcades, but the best were obviously in Akihabara, a self-proclaimed gamer’s paradise, as it had all the things I could ever dream of.

Most arcades started with claw machines on the first few floors. However, unlike Butlins, they actually housed not only Princess Anna merch but also other things I would actually want to spend my money on such as Morgana and Kizuna AI plushies.

Similarly to other arcades, they are borderline impossible to win but somehow you would always see someone who had won and it was never me. I came close several times but the staff seem to notice and move your prize into a ‘more helpful’ position which really makes it ten times harder and you end up wasting so much more money.

Capsule machines in the arcades were also something I enjoyed. They were scattered around every floor and had a wide range of prizes. Obviously, my first pick were Attack on Titan keyrings because who doesn’t want a chibi Levi on their keys. The only problem is that the odds are rather low. The capsule balls are so large that there are probably only one of each prize in the small machines so the chances of actually getting something you want are smaller than you would imagine. However, the adrenaline rush is still there and you still get a prize at the end of it so who cares if you accidentally spend thousands of yen trying to get a Levi and never succeeding?

Further up, above the claw machines, there were floors filled with rhythm games, a personal favourite of mine. As a child, I played Taiko no Tatsujin on Nintendo DS which has recently been released on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. The game is basically just a large taiko drum and you have to hit the correct part of the drum (or controller) at the correct time to earn points and keep a combo going.

The Taiko machines were definitely where we spent the most money in the arcades because it’s just so addicting. Depending on where you are the price and number of plays varied and we found the perfect mid-point in Akihabara. What added to the already perfect setup was that we had four songs we constantly played, so with the two songs per 200 yen, we would play two times and feel fulfilled. In fact, we played so often that we actually got blisters on our hands from the drumsticks. We were just that dedicated to perfecting Guren no Yumiya for Levi.

On these floors were also sometimes Mario Kart machines. I thought it was pretty pointless paying for it because I have Mario Kart at home but, according to Matthew, it’s supposedly different. I disagree, the only difference I noticed was coincidentally you could play as Don-chan from Taiko no Tatsujin. However, something I did enjoy about it was the face filter photos which followed your kart around.

On one occasion we stumbled upon the smoking floor which was totally alien to us. It was full of real gambling machines like horse racing and slot machines and I’m not about that life. We made the most of it, though, by playing Poyo Poyo Tetris which I had never heard of. Obviously, I was a natural as I was playing for quite a while before the game decided I was too good and for some reason just ended my game.

All in all, I would rate Akihabara arcades a 4 out of 5 because, although they are the best arcades I’ve ever been to, I really can’t get my head around the idea of smoking indoors? It’s such a health and fire hazard; I just don’t get it. Also unhappy with not achieving plushie Kizuna AI booty as the staff don’t understand that I want it, and so move it to a more difficult position.

Gaming

The Sinking City – Review

Jul 4, 2019Jul 4, 2019 Matthew

There is something which I must confess before we proceed with this review. I am an idiot man. I have never really indulged in the puzzle game genre besides numerous playthroughs of my darling Portal and its not-quite-as-sublime sequel. I’ve also only played one of Frogwares’ previous releases in 2014’s Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments, for which my patience grew thin and I stopped playing early on.

So, with my video game idiocy thoroughly laid out, I can now tell you that I have been adoring most aspects of Frogwares’ recent release The Sinking City, an open-world mystery adventure game which cherry picks many supernatural elements from the Lovecraftian Mythos. It’s a release with a whole host of rough edges and questionable design decisions, but also a game with genuine ambition and some brilliant atmospheric and narrative direction. But, more than that, it’s a game that’s made me feel smart and baffled in equal measure, much like a slightly incompetent detective. And while I’ve only experienced 10 or so hours of this presumably quite lengthy title, I have to say that the critical lashing which this game has received from some outlets seems, for the moment, to be somewhat unjustified. Allow me to explain.

Playing as private eye and gruff human male video game protagonist Charles Reed, the player comes to the flooded hellscape that is Oakmont, Massachusetts in order to investigate its outbreak of madness and cases of outsiders being drawn into its murky depths for some mysterious, likely Eldrich horror-related, reasons. Beyond this, I don’t want to disclose much more for fear of ruining what has, so far, proven to be a thoroughly engaging narrative full of fishy twists and turns. However, I will say that, while Reed is fairly generic, he has more character in his left pinky than the protagonist of last year’s Call of Cthulhu, whose name I would Google if not for the fear of falling asleep at my keyboard after being exposed to his boring, beardy face for more than half a second.

So let’s just change gears and break down the title’s mechanical makeup, which is unfortunately where it sees its most significant pitfalls. You’ll spend most of your time in The Sinking City navigating the labyrinthine network of sodden streets and stagnant waterways that makes up Oakmont in order to find locations of interest and subsequently scouring their every surface for objects and clues which will eventually amass to reveal the bigger picture. And while the game may frame its structure as being very player-driven, you’re given the general area in which to look for each of these locations, with the player’s only real input being the placement of the marker on the in-game map. Despite this only being a fraction more involving than being led around by the nose by pre-set quest markers, it remains emblematic of the developers’ intent to make the player feel more intelligent than a lobotomised chimpanzee with a controller, which is more than I can say for most recent “triple-A” releases. You gain a real understanding of the game’s geography by exploring (and, unfortunately, doing a lot of backtracking through) each of Oakmont’s regions and key locations.

Also, on detective work, some of the puzzle segments are limp in their execution to the point where it’s hard to figure out how someone could get it wrong. For example, a central puzzle mechanic in the game involves the player being able to see disparate events from the past that have occurred leading up to a crime, which they must piece together in the correct sequence in order to understand how particular altercations went down. However, these events often start with someone entering a building, subsequently committing a crime, and then making their escape. Thus, the only questions the game asks the player to answer in these sections are “How do doors work?” and “Did the man die before or after he was shot?”. Not the most compelling detective-work. Thankfully, the other ways in which the game asks you to investigate and research crimes are more demanding and thus fulfilling.

In respect of control, land movement is serviceable if a bit rigid, contrasting with the slippery and imprecise boat handling which is only slightly remedied by the presence of some generous anchor points which allow the player to hop out quickly to continue exploring on-foot. However, the most mechanically egregious traversal system the game chucks at you is the fucking diving suit. This drove me up the proverbial wall, with its sluggish, thumping steps making Reed feel less like an ace detective racing towards the truth and more like a fat, semi-aquatic infant with stunted limbs. Not to mention, the combat in these mercifully brief segments is significantly more floaty than its terrestrial counterpart.

Which brings us neatly onto the combat, which is fine, but not without its own irritations. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve only experienced 10 hours of what the game has to offer, so things like weapon and enemy variety are bound to expand as the runtime goes on, but what I’ve played so far has been fairly standard third-person shooting for the most part. Thankfully, it’s not cover-based so it’s not the worst, but two things pervade what could’ve been a very enjoyable part of the game. Firstly, the game’s most common enemy type is a chore to fight, with their erratic movement, spindly bodies and tendency to side-step your shots quickly and without warning. Secondly, the guns behave and sound like they’re made by Nerf, resulting in your shots feeling about as impactful as literally anything from that last season of Game of Thrones (I know, low-hanging fruit and all that). Additionally, the game tries to make ammo and other combat resources seem scarce early on, but don’t fret, the crafting ingredients required to make such things can be found spilling out of every chest, drawer and rubbish bin in town.

Graphically, the game is hamstrung by some technical issues such as framerate dips, texture pop-in, and buggy NPC animations, but there are certainly highlights that reach beyond the visual mediocrity typically associated with a mid-tier release like this. For starters, the general art design for Oakmont and its multiple, mostly distinct regions is fantastic. There’s an admirable level of environmental detail on display that gives the world a tangible quality games of this ilk struggle to achieve. Moreover, certain character models are surprisingly well-done, with Reed, in particular, looking remarkably lifelike aside from his stiff facial animations.

Furthermore, there are myriad little graphical details which consolidate the game’s oppressive and moody atmosphere, such as the teeny specular highlights that line Reed’s array of stock detective jackets when it rains, and streetlamps which struggle to spit out their warm haze amid the desaturated mist of Oakmont’s more affluent neighborhoods. And of course, it couldn’t be a Lovecraftian piece of media without those pesky hallucinations, which I think are handled quite well here. Flashing images and distorted projections of spooky dudes doing spooky things permeate the screen when the player’s sanity meter is being affected. So, while it’s no Eternal Darkness making you think your console has gone beddy-byes, these audio-visual elements can nonetheless be spine-chillingly twisted.

However, one technical issue which I never expected, and which may well be unique to my personal experience, is that the game makes my console sound like a busy day at Heathrow, with the constant high-pitched whirring of the system’s fan being abnormally distracting in volume. So, this may be something to keep in mind if you don’t have a pair of noise-canceling headphones handy.

To wrap this rather bloated critique up, I like The Sinking City thus far. Quite a bit more than I thought I would, actually. The game’s potent mixture of exploration, investigation and slightly wonky combat make for an experience that’s wholly unique in the current landscape. While it’s true that the game could end up taking a wrong turn and ending up on the corner of Shit Game St. and Repetitive Quests Ave. (you’ll get it if you play the game, I promise), so far it’s only encouraged me to delve deeper into its warped narrative and definitely stinky world. So, if you’re a fan of the genre, Lovecraft’s unique fiction or just Fish Food ice cream, Frogwares’ creation is more than worth your time.

Category: Gaming

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Akihabara Vol.2 – A Gamer’s Paradise

The Sinking City – Review