PlayStation State of Play September 24th - They're getting there slowly!

PlayStation's answer to Nintendo [Sony ©, Image Source: PlayStation Blog]

Sony announced last week that a new State of Play live stream was planned for Tuesday 24^th of September, giving gaming fans something to get excited about for the final week of September. The hype train only escalated when Naughty Dog (developers of PlayStation hits Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Uncharted and The Last of Us) revealed teaser image across various social media channels, that new information would be revealed during State of Play about the long awaited sequel The Last of Us Part 2.

• For those who aren’t aware, earlier this year Sony began its own series of live streams called State of Play where they unveil new games launching on the platform as well as updates to already unveiled games. The format is almost identical to the well-established Nintendo Direct live steams happening for a number of years.

While the streams have had a very mixed reaction since their conception, this latest has garnered significantly more attention having had The Last of Us Part 2 make an appearance. The rest of the stream had a semi-lukewarm response with most of the smaller announcements being rather outshined. However, we are nothing if not committed so, since the stream is a couple of days old at this point we’ll be going over everything that was revealed/announced during the latest State of Play

You can watch the Sate of Play in its entirety over at the PlayStation YouTube channel here à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FekB7shVUC8

 

HUMANITY –Developed by Enhance and THA Ltd. – Coming 2020

When the PlayStation Instagram account announced the stream, they used this little video showing a huge crowd of faceless people jumping off a wall and forming the numbers spelling out the date. I don’t think anyone expected that the little people in that video was actually a tease at a new game. The first thing shown is this new puzzle game (?) called HUMANITY; a game whereby the objective appears to be directing these huge crowds of tiny faceless people to a goal through different means and mechanics. It gives me similar vibes to Lemmings from back in the day, but it seems to be showing off a similar thing to when Sony first unveiled the PS4 by showing how many objects could be on screen without frame rate lag.

Verdict: All in all, not a horrible looking game. Probably have a very niche appeal or fly completely under the radar. Depending on amount of levels, I shan’t see it being too expensive either.

 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Developed by Infinity Ward – Releasing 25th October2019

Now, I’ll be the first to admit it (and I have done in a previous review) but I don’t like Call of Duty or Battlefield or other game series of that ilk. If I’m going to spend however many hours shooting guns, then there had better be some kind of gimmick or it at least be funny. From what I know of this year’s Call of Duty title, it’s essentially a remake of the old Modern Warfare title from 2007. It’ll still have all the usual stuff you expect from a Call of Duty title i.e. big guns, explosions and other such noise. This trailer however seems to show off a heavy emphasis on story. Correct me if I’m wrong but single player campaigns or at least a compelling narrative have always been on the back burner for Call of Duty, so it’s surprising to see this be such a focal point this time around. Once the trailer had finished, I said something I thought I’d never say in my life… “The new Call of Duty actually looks pretty good.” Scary times indeed.

Verdict: Obviously this is a well-established franchise, anyone who likes CoD will probably get this game so nothing I say will change that. But I must admit, even I’m looking at it with a little curiosity this time around. Who knows, maybe I’ll get it… on sale of course.

 

Wattam – Developed by Funomena and Annapurna Interactive – Coming December 2020

… I… am so indescribably confused by this game… I can only hazard a guess as to what on earth the purpose is in this game. According to the announcer, it’s made by the same people behind Katamari Damacy which is one of those series I really didn’t think people even remembered. It’s incredibly bright and colourful and weird as hell; I’m pretty sure I saw a sentient toilet with a face going around picking up piles of poo and throwing them into its bowl… Oh Japan!

Verdict: Seriously, I’m more confused than anything else surrounding this game. Like its predecessor I probably won’t be playing it when it releases but I can see this being a fun little series for one of the hundreds of YouTube gaming channels to play. I however, will pass.

 

Arise: A Simple Story – Developed by Piccolo, Published by Techland – Coming Soon

Now THIS is definitely the most intriguing of all the newer small game shown off here. It gives off a vibe akin to Journey and Limbo or Inside; it doesn’t have huge cut scenes or lines of text, only what you can see on screen. How much this will occur in game is yet to be seen, I also like the art style and the platforming that was shown off. I’m reserved however as it isn’t definitively shown how what was contextual and what was gameplay.

Verdict: Definitely interested! I don’t know if it’s a game that will be bought day one but depending on what else is shown off up to the release, I may just pick it up sale or no sale.

 

L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files – Developed by Rockstar Games– Available now!

Most surprising here is that the infamous L.A. Noire is getting a VR versions. It’s unclear yet as to wither or not this will be a VR version of the whole game or new cases remade in PSVR or just a few of the cases from the main game. Despite it being something of a cult classic and being on multiple platforms, I haven’t played the original L.A. Noire before as it never really intrigued me which is surprising as I love detective games and crime solving games.

Verdict: I do love my PSVR, I play it whenever I get chance and I have a good library of games on my account. I’ve enjoyed previous puzzle games in VR and price depending, I may enjoy this. Again, I’d like to know what it involves in terms of content; are we doing the same cases from the main game in VR? Are we playing brand new cases? Is it a full on VR re-release? All the questions, no answers.

 

PlayStation VR Sizzle Reel

So they stuck to VR for the next bit and showed off a bunch of VR titles on the way, so we’ll just rattle through them and see what they have on offer.

• Gorn (Winter 2019): I’ve seen clips of this all over YouTube and other apps. It looks like complete unbridled lunacy in VR and I couldn’t be more excited for it. This will be one to look out for if you just want to have pure dumb fun in VR.
• Espire 1: VR Operative (September 2019): So I think I’ve seen this one before, I’m really not sure. However it looks like fun; kind of a Blood & Truth meets Sci-Fi thriller in VR. You get to shoot things, climb things and be sneaky so what’s not to love. And it’s releasing in this month (there’s only a few days left of it too so that means very soon).
• Stardust Odyssey (Winter 2019): Not totally sure on this one. You’re in space and you shoot stuff as far as I can tell. It seems rather trippy with how the ships controls look but this seems like one of those PSVR titles they should make a demo for first.
• After the Fall (2020): There’s guns, zombie mutant looking things, spooky dark rooms and strange weapons. I’m intrigued. Although I was intrigued by The Persistence and that let me down, so I’d like a demo please.
• Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash! (Autumn 2019): … I don’t even know with this one. The title alone is bizarre enough as it is and I’m not clear as to what the gameplay is either. Is it like a Just Dance in VR situation? Apparently this is a revival or sorts for an old franchise but I can honestly say I’ve never heard of it.

Verdict: It’s great to see Sony committing to the PSVR. I really enjoy mine despite its technical issues and I hope that when the PS5 releases, we’ll still be able to use our current headsets and games.

 

MediEvil: Short-Lived Demo – Other Ocean Emeryville – Available now until 6th October

I think it was inevitable that they would release something like this for MediEvil Remake. When they remade Spyro and Crash, those were the kind of games that nearly everyone had played and didn’t need a demo in order to know they’d like the remakes. MediEvil however didn’t have such a cult appeal so this probably needed a bit more of a sales pitch for the remake. It looks like they’re doing that thing with demos these days where you have incentive to play it because it carries over an exclusive item to the main game, this time being Dan’s Helmet. Wither or not this helmet is going to make you stronger of simply be a cosmetic item is yet to be seen.

Verdict: I was already kind of sold on this game. I have some memories of it as a child because my dad would play it all the time and he enjoyed it (from what I can remember). Now I’m a bit older and a bit more adept at games, maybe I’ll enjoy it too.

 

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI – Developed by Firaxis Games and 2K – Releasing 22nd November 2019

I’m pretty sure this is a port of an already existing game, the big announcement here is that it’s now coming to console (or PS4 at least). It’s adding the expansions too for a price, but you’ll get “Nubia + Khmer and Indonesia CIV & Scenario Packs” for free. I have no idea what that means unfortunately as this is a series I’ve never even had a passing glance at; it’s just really not for me this genre of game. Not that it’s a bad series or genre, just not for me.

Verdict: I’m happy for any fans of the Civilization games out there if they’ve been pining for the series on consoles, it looks like it’ll be a very well made port with plenty to offer those who may be buying it again. I’ll pass though thanks.

 

Death Stranding Limited Edition PS4 Pro Bundle – Kojima Productions – Releasing 8th November 2019

I was kind of glad they didn’t show another lengthy trailer for this game, I don’t think I could take another nearly 10 minute video of some kind of story that makes no sense yet. Don’t misunderstand though; I’m definitely intrigued by Death Stranding. The only reason I’m not foaming at the mouth for the game however is I don’t have the best track record with Kojima games in the past (i.e. the Metal Gear series). I could never get into those and while this obviously isn’t going to be the same thing, I’m still hesitant. However as I said, this isn’t a trailer as its showing off a new PS4 Pro bundle which, if you’ve already got a PS4 then you probably won’t be picking this up. Any new comers out there may want it though, if they’re excited for the game too

Verdict:  A good friend who I know is excited for this game has promised to let me know what he thinks when he plays it though. So I’ll be relying on him to tell me what the actual game is like. I’ve already got a PS4 though so I’ll pass on this limited edition print. Looks cool though.

 

Afterparty – Developed by Night School Studio – Releasing 29th October 2019

It says something when the basic premise of this game is “Outdrink Satan to escape hell” and my firth thought was “This sounds like the kind of thing that would happen to my girlfriend”. I’m not sure if this is also a port of an already existing game or something entirely new but I will say I’m intrigued; the story is unique enough and it strikes me as one of those ‘sting of mini games’ kind of things. Whereby you only progress when you win at each mini game. The two characters seem engaging enough too and the concept that you have to out drink demons of hell just sounds like it can only be funny.

Verdict: Interested. As I said, the premise is unique and as ironic as it sounds, it could be a fun game to play with friends when you have a few drinks. Just not too many though; I can’t even outdrink the missus, never mind Satan!

 

PS Plus titles for October revealed – Available 2nd October for Plus subscribers

Oh dear… things were going so well for PS Plus. I covered this month’s game previously here, in that article I talked about the rollercoaster ride that is the PS Plus free games each month for 2019. I’m saddened to say that in one respect, Sony dropped the ball massively here (no pun intended). I can’t speak for all player of course but who the hell wants a sports title as a free game for the month? It’s October, the month of Halloween; at least give us something scary, not MLB the Show 19! I’m English, I don’t even like baseball or watch it or anything. Sports games while they sell stupid well are a niche, made for those who will buy each yearly iteration of a game because that’s basically all they play. Oh yeah, the other game is revealed too as The Last of Us Remastered. Now that’s good, practically everyone who owns a PS4 probably already has it but it’s still a quality title for subscribers in case they didn’t play it on PS3.

Verdict:  It became a running joke for a while back on the podcast whenever the PS Plus games were revealed that I’d already have them or had no interest in them. This month is both of those things. I’ll claim The Last of Us Remastered and trade in my disc copy, but I will not be claiming MLB the Show 19 because I can confidently say I will NEVER play it.

 

The Last of Us Part 2 – Developed by Naughty Dog – Releasing 21st February 2020!

Holy shit, the moment we have all been waiting for! Everyone who saw this had high hopes that this news dump would have a release date and they didn’t disappoint! After a decently length trailer giving us even more story hints and beats, more gore and an intense looking encounter with the ever terrifying clickers, they went and gave us a release date. February 21^st 2020 we will FINALLY get our hands on the next title from Naughty Dog and I cannot wait! UK readers may want to direct their attention to the GAME website as pre-orders have gone live and there are a few different editions you can get obviously. Also Joel is back! I’m definitely invested in Ellie and her story but I loved Joel as a character in the first game and I’m glad he isn’t getting too side lined in the sequel.

Verdict: Obviously this is a must have! I don’t know if I will be pre-ordering it but I’ll be buying it on or around release day because it’s The Last of Us Part 2, anyone who has played the first will be foaming at the mouth for this game. Those who haven’t can play it in October anyway so you can see for yourself why people love it so much. Roll on 2020!

 

As I said at the top of this post (you may have to scroll back because this is a big one), the PlayStation State of Play livestreams have had a rather bumpy start since they started but I feel like they’re slowly starting to get it. It helped that they had some Last of Us news to show, that undoubtedly brought some attention to this stream, but they wisely saved that until last in order to show off the rest of the stuff first. I don’t doubt that fans would have stuck around for the whole stream had they opened with Last of Us, but I also don’t doubt that many would have simply switched off had that been the case. All in all, not a bad State of Play. They’re still finding their feet in this sort of thing so we can only wait for the next one to see what they have next.

Catherine: Full Body (PS4) Review - Full bodied in name and nature

The girls of Vincent's affections! Catherine, Rin and Katherine [Sega, Atlus©, Image Source: GameSpot]



Like the wine analogy it’s named after, Catherine: Full Body is a game that’s aged well since its original 2011 release. Back again after 8 years, this current gen remaster not only brings some needed quality of life improvements but also a whole new story line and some drastic changes to the existing plots the game had. It is by no means a perfect game, I’d argue that if you didn’t like the original game then this version won’t go far to change your mind. But if you were a fan or are at the least bit curious, then Catherine: Full Body is very much the way to play this game.

Admittedly I can’t quite list all the quality of life improvements made in this rerelease, only a couple. I haven’t played the original since its release and even then, I was focused more on getting through the challenging levels than noticing any game mechanics. They’re more so the kind of things that you wouldn’t really notice unless they were pointed out to you (as it happened with me). First and foremost is the whole new difficulty setting, Safety mode. The biggest complaint that most people had with the original game is just how difficult its puzzles were, even on Easy mode! The developers must have taken this on board when remastering the game as Safety mode is, and I mean no exaggeration, really frigin safe. The game still gives a challenge; enemies can still hurt you, bit monsters can still kill you instantly and you can still fall off blocks. The difference however is that when any of this happens, you’ll simply go back in the games “Undo” system. You literally cannot die or lose on safety mode.

Keeping on Safety mode, the blocks don’t fall from the bottom of the tower either removing the biggest incentive for you to move your ass. Trap blocks come in all shapes and sizes like spikes, black holes and ice but on Safety mode, they’re all covered over and act as normal blocks with all risk removed entirely. If you’re feeling particularly lazy or are just completely in the game for the story, you can essentially skip the puzzle sections altogether with the “Auto Play” feature. Activate it and your character will just climb his merry self to the top of the tower. It seems like I’m giving the new mode flack but in all honesty, I thought it was a great way to play if you really struggled to get through the normal game. Not to say that everyone should play Safety mode; if you were good back when it came out or are interested in the challenge then by all means keep on Easy mode or higher. But for those out there who like some reasonable puzzles along with our story, then this new feature is great.

I should really talk about the basic game for anyone who hasn’t heard of this game before! So it’s essentially a puzzled based story game; the story is tailored to how you play and the choices you make during the day. During the night you have nightmares that involve climbing towers made of blocks. You’ll push, pull, hang off of and climb up a variety of blocks to reach the top. This side of the game is pretty far removed from how you make your choices however; you won’t suddenly get a bad ending or the opposite ending because you misjudged a gap and fell to your death. Whenever you’re awake you make decisions that affect the story as well as in-between puzzle levels when you’ll be asked questions about… your real life experiences with relationships… It’s very invested in the whole love life thing!

So, let’s look at the story and characters. You’ll play as Vincent Brookes; he has an unspecified job and spends most nights drinking with his friends in the Stray Sheep (your hub throughout most of the game). He’s been in a “serious” relationship with Katherine for about 5 years and she’s starting to talk about “the next step”. Like a stereotypical guy, Vincent isn’t too keen to get married and have kids (who can blame him really). So while he whines away his troubles to his friend and drinks through the night, he wakes up to find he’s accidently cheated on Katherine with some younger blonde girl who happens to also be named Catherine. The ensuing drama is almost identical to the original release with slight story alterations due to the new girl on the block!  Don’t worry, her name is just Rin. She arrives in typical anime fashion; landing right on top of Vincent with his face in her crotch (Oh Japan!). She’s got no memory though, so Vincent is keeping an eye on her until she remembers. Now this sounds vague as hell, that’s because I really don’t want to go into any story spoilers because that’s this games biggest draw; giving anything away makes it seem pointless to play the game. Twists and turns lose all intrigue and the motivation to carry on is lost when you know what’s around the corner and believe me, some of this shit you will NOT see coming.

Coming right around to a verdict, it’s a very straight forward kind of finisher though. If you have played Catherine before then you’ll already know if you like it or not; if you do then you could do worse than picking up this version to experience the new pieces and story. If it wasn’t for you then this rerelease is unlikely to sway you. However to those that haven’t experienced this game before, then it’s one I’d definitely recommend for its great story and unique gameplay and puzzles. Catherine: Full Body is the definitive way to experience this game.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS) Review - The definitive version to play?

A motley crew ready to slay some goo! [Square Enix ©, Image Source: Humble Bundle]

As any of my previous experience with writing has proved, it’s actually a lot harder to write about something in a review format when you absolutely love the product (Hence why I’m slowly putting off my Astro Bot: Rescue Mission review). I’ve probably just massively given away my opinions on Dragon Quest 8 already with that opener, but bear with me for a moment while I try to gather up everything I have to say on this game because not all of it is great. Full disclosure, I haven’t played the original PS2 version to completion so when I talk about the original version, these opinions are founded on the things I have read online by those who have played it far more than I have. Also to preface things before we go on, I started playing this game on a more casual basis earlier in the year and only sat down to commit to finishing it in the last month.

I suppose the first thing I should mention is how it was relatively easy to carry on after such a long hiatus! Many an RPG player can tell you how often times when you leave in the middle of a game such as this, you can’t quite catch back up to where you were when you return or at least not as easily. But it’s something of a testament to the game, its storytelling and the characters involved that I remembered almost exactly what I was doing the last time I played (the break was only to play other things that released).

I thoroughly loved the story of this game, even if I thought as numerous times the game was going to end a good 10-20 hours before it did. For instance defeating Dhoulmagus seemed very END worthy I thought until things carried on. Then after kicking Marcello’s ass I thought we were winding down pretty soon. Nope. Again though, not really a complaint more of a commentary on how and when we usually expect a decent story to end, but Dragon Quest 8 decided it wanted to tell a much more grandiose and in depth story and I was fully along for the ride. When the story eventually did wrap up, I was very satisfied with how it all came together. Upon further research I found out about the other endings the game held including two that could only be accessed after completing a section of the post-game. After doing so and experiencing one of these ending, I have to say that I easily prefer the original ending the game came with for the sheer excitement and sense of adventure that it gave that resonated with the rest of the game. Not to say that the other endings (let’s call them the “Ring” endings to avoid spoilers) where bad, but compared to the original endings, the “Ring” endings changed a major element of the story’s end but didn’t give them enough of a payoff afterwards. In fact, one of the “Ring” endings that I looked up on YouTube had a better payoff than the other which annoyed me most as I never would have thought the story to end that way; apart from one instance in the game that is entirely miss able nothing else leads you to think the story could go that way.

But I digress, let’s move onto the gameplay itself. Apparently the gameplay mechanics are similar among other Dragon Quest games so if you’ve played another game in the main series then you shouldn’t have any issues. I however was a newcomer to the mainline titles, having only completed the spin-offs Dragon Quest Builders (Fantastic game) and Dragon Quest Heroes (Shit game), it was very jarring for me when I went into battle for the first time after stocking up on healing items to find that those items were in my ‘Bag’ and not on my character. So I quickly learned that Dragon Quest ascribes to the old school style of RPG where you need to organise a characters items individually whether that’s equipment or usable items. This way of playing is likely to be difficult to understand if you’re new to RPGs, but anyone who has played a few RPGs before will get used to it pretty easily. Once you get a good few levels under your belt and invest the skill points in the right areas, healing items will become less and less useful as you’ll get healing spells that don’t cost that much MP (Magic Points) to use.

The main party consists of four characters; the Hero, Yangus, Jessica and Angelo. Each filling in a sort of classic RPG roles like Warrior, Tank, Black Mage and White Mage respectively. Your player character will get a good mix of both physical and magical skills so you can play them however you wish. Yangus has next to no magic abilities, his strengths lie with his attack skills but he can learn one ability that can be a real life saver (no pun intended) whereby he’ll “sacrifice” himself in order to revive the rest of the party if they’re downed. I say “sacrifice” because the moment you do that and he dies, you can simply order Angelo to revive him next turn, the only caveat as he’ll have no MP left to use magic or skills. Moving on to Jessica, she is the dedicated magic user, she can use physical attacks too but they do practically no damage. Her speciality is her magic which she uses mostly as an offensive attack but has some useful buffing magic. If you level up her… “Sex Appeal”, she’ll gain a passive ability that has the chance to stop monsters from using a turn as they become… *cough*enthralled by her “fine form” (This game is Japanese don’t forget). And lastly is Angelo, who for my run at least was my primary healer/buffer character. He has several useful physical skills but as I focused my Hero and Yangus on their strength, he became the guy who’d heal, revive and buff stats throughout the battle.

All in all, a good balance of playable characters I thought and how the game originally released back on the PS2. However the 3DS remaster boasts two additional party members; one that is gained through the story and another that you have to earn through a Pokémon style monster arena. The former is Red; those who’ve played before will know Red as the female bandit character you encounter near Pickham. You’ll encounter her again in Pirate’s Cove later in the game and in this version she will decide to join your party on your journey. The other character is Morrie, the red and green curator and champion of the Monster Arena also found near Pickham. He isn’t so easily gained however as you have to complete his monster arena challenges all the way to S rank where you’ll face Morrie in the final fight. Defeat him and he’ll also accompany you on your adventure. Now, you may notice that except for the finale, they won’t have much of an impact on the story and even then they only make brief appearances during the stories close. Other players online have expressed that they use the two new characters in place of Jessica and Angelo for their playthroughs however, I didn’t use them apart from visiting a grinding spot; not to say that the characters were bad or unusable, just that I had grown so accustomed to the original team and devised a strategy that worked well for me even through to the final encounter. My point here is that the new additions are well received in a general sense but I personally didn’t experience it.

I’ll mention briefly the post-game stuff. After beating the story you’ll unlock a new area and an additional bit of story in order to unlock the “Ring” endings mentioned earlier. The Dragovian trials, as the sequence is called, can range from being very short or very long depending on how much you wish to invest into it. Myself, I only up until the story part ended and the trial part began. From what I can gather, the only reason to carry on after this is to simply keep beating harder and harder bosses, which is fine if you’re into that kind of grind but I took what I had and ran with it.

So I need to wrap things up. Honestly, if the old RPG mood takes you and you want something with a good level of challenge and a good story, you could do worse than to check out Dragon Quest 8. It’s an older title now but with the 3DS port, it’s never been easier to play it whenever you want to. The new additions from the PS2 version are only really noticeable when they’re pointed out otherwise you might miss them. Regardless of that, it’s a good way to spend 60 hours and speaking as someone who used this as their introduction to the main series, I will definitely be visiting more titles in the Dragon Quest series. You might feel the same after finishing this game.