28 Apr 2021

LTTP: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order [Xbox]

by | posted in: Reviews | 0

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was quite the journey and one that I was glad to wrap up. I heard Respawn Entertainment’s first maiden voyage into the Star Wars franchise was a little rocky so I purposely held off, and held off, and held off until it made its way onto the Xbox Game Pass via EA Play and then it became one of the first games I launched on my Xbox Series X. It took quite the journey to get to that point, but a bit more dawdling, and a next-gen patch later, I finally began making my way through it.

The first impressions were generally positive, but it just looked a little off in spots. I found the Cal Kestis’ animations — particularly his running animation — a bit odd in spots. It wasn’t as polished as I expected considering the studio. However, if anything distinctly Star Wars was involved, it was top notch and among the best in the business. It was like they invested all their time and energy into getting the Star Wars parts right. Lightsabers, lasers, and all the fine details on all the characters were so convincing.

I was much less convinced by the decision to give Fallen Order the Dark Souls and/or Metroidvania treatments. I don’t mind that style of game for Star Wars, but I didn’t find the exploration rewarding. I enjoyed the more punishing take on combat; it grounded everyone from Stormtrooper to giant spider. They felt formidable and gave me an appreciation for what the Jedi can and cannot do in ways the films never did. Stormtroopers aren’t just fodder. They can inflict serious damage if you’re not careful and it’s far more rewarding to treat them like fodder once Cal Kestis and I mastered our respective abilities.

I don’t know why anyone would choose to play this game on any other graphical setting other than performance mode. The performance mode isn’t a perfect 60 FPS on the Xbox Series X, but it’s still lightyears more enjoyable than the quality mode at 30 FPS. Even before Respawn patched the game to lift the resolution to 1440p60, I chose to stick with performance mode. Timing windows for lightsaber attack combos and parrying were significantly easier to pull off with the increase in framerate.

Doing and seeing Star Wars things was enough for me to keep playing Fallen Order, but even that started to lose steam towards the end. I didn’t care for the story; I enjoyed specific moments, but I found there was not enough material to warrant the game’s length. Having said that, I felt they rushed the events towards the end. The integration of Nightsister Merrin to the crew was the shining example of that. She was wisecracking and integrated with Cal and the crew in what felt like a half hour compared to the weeks of relationship building that occurred organically with the other characters.

Forgettable story beats and the open ended nature of the game resulted in an uneven momentum. Hopping back and forth between a handful of planets looking for clues for a McGuffin that I just didn’t find interesting in the slightest just made a large bulk of this game feel longer than it needed to be. The pay off will stay with me though. The final fight, the retrieval of the artifact, and the happy ending will be forgotten with time, but the encounter with Darth Vader? That will stay with me. It was the most convincing demonstration of his power for me. The movies have spectacular scenes, but the game really highlights the gulf in power between everyone and him.

And that’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in a nutshell. It has high highs, some lows, but a lot of busywork bogging it down. I’m not convinced that this was what Respawn intended. In fact, I’m convinced that a sequel in their hands could be something very special. This was a decent attempt by them, now let’s hope they get another try.

 

Verdict:
It was okay

 

Ratings Guide

8 Feb 2020

Game of the Year 2019

by | posted in: Editorials & Features | 0

I know it’s later than usual and there are fewer “parts” but 2019 was a weird gaming year for me.

Most Disappointing Game 

Winner: The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds started strong. I enjoyed just about everything on that first planet. However, the more I played, the less enthused I was with pushing further. The visual style, dialog, quests, and combat all began to grate on me. It was a tighter and more compact take on Bethesda-style RPGs like Fallout but it was still one of those games and I think I’m officially exhausted by that style of game. 

Most Surprising Game

Winner: Ring Fit Adventure

That weird reveal trailer sold me on the idea of Ring Fit Adventure. I wanted it but I didn’t want to rush out and buy it for $100 just yet. I bided my time until a sale popped up and I pulled the trigger on what turned out to be my favorite fitness game. But it wasn’t just my favorite: my fiancée has been enjoying the hell out of it as well. She didn’t take to Wii Fit U but Ring Fit Adventure has her playing 5 out 7 days in a week.

Best Old Game

Winner: Red Dead Redemption 2 [X1] 

Red Dead Redemption 2 requires a commitment to the bit. The bit? Being a cowboy. You have to love being a cowboy and that doesn’t mean just cherry picking the shootouts and horseback riding. Red Dead Redemption 2 asks people to commit to the life of a cowboy including the mundane and hardships. I was willing to commit and I loved a vast majority of it. It’s one of the best games I played this year. It might be one of the best of the generation. 

Top 4 Games of 2020 

Winner: Apex Legends

  1. Ring Fit Adventure 
  2. Untitled Goose Game 
  3. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening 

Apex Legends is game of the year for 2019. According to PlayStation’s year end wrap up, I played over 400 hours of it. Completed 3 battle passes and I see no sign of slowing down in 2020. It clicked with me like Overwatch but without the need for a large cohesive unit. I effectively staved off the desire to get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare because of Apex Legends’ hold on me. It took a while, but Respawn Entertainment made a battle royale game that suited me.  

You would think all that time playing Apex Legends meant I didn’t have time to play other games but that wasn’t the case. A mixture of misfires and the desire to play older games resulted in a year where I didn’t have enough for a top 10 let alone I don’t even have enough for a top 5! 

Ring Fit Adventure was sneaky good courtesy of Nintendo’s ability to make just about anything fun. Gamifying exercise isn’t new but executing it this well is. It’s the best game of that genre to date and one that I can see myself “playing” for many years to come. 

Untitled Goose Game snuck in and won me over with its mischievous stealth puzzles. House House successfully created a charming stealth action game while minimizing the punishing frustrations of the genre. 

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was a solid Zelda title that was marred by technical performance issues. It’s a damn shame but I pushed passed it towards the end and ultimately enjoyed my time with it.  

Here’s to 2020!

There are many, many gaps including Resident Evil 2, Control, and The Outer Wilds but that was my 2019. I hope to address those omissions in 2020.

15 Apr 2019

Apex Legends Review

by | posted in: Reviews | 0

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S Battlegrounds looked intriguing albeit too janky for my liking. 

Fortnite didn’t tickle my fancy either. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII’s Blackout caught my attention but didn’t manage to hold it beyond 3 matches. 

It turns out I was waiting for Respawn Entertainment and their take on the battle royale genre. Apparently, I wanted classes, teamwork, polish, and mobility options. And now that I have all those things in Apex Legends, I cannot put it down.  

It’s the first free to play non-mobile game that I sank both time and money into. I didn’t need the battle pass and what it offered but I felt obligated to pay for the excellent game they hot dropped onto the world.  

Call of Duty: Black Ops III introduced Specialists with abilities reminiscent of other hero shooters like Overwatch. These Specialist abilities were impactful but they didn’t turn the tide of battle like Overwatch’s. Apex Legends’ calls their heroes Legends but they’re essentially Specialists. Certain abilities like Lifeline’s healing bot or Caustic’s debilitating gas traps were useful in specific scenarios but they couldn’t guarantee a win. The same could be said with the Ultimate abilities which will require a bit of an adjustment period for anyone who’s used to Overwatch’s bangers. 

The level of polish and refinement on various aspects of the battle royale experience made Apex Legends very comfortable to play. I wasn’t awkwardly fiddling with menus to manage inventory or equipment. I felt everything was just a simple press away and the entire experience felt frictionless.  

The game wasn’t much of a looker on PC let alone a PlayStation 4 Pro. Performance was also generally sufficient with only the occasional dip below 60 FPS. I wanted better on both fronts but battle royales require a lot of horsepower and that these consoles just aren’t up to snuff. 

Polish, class abilities, and proficient technical chops can only get you so far, so what did Apex Legends do to get its hooks into me? The feel. It feels good to play and it that’s very important. I like the engagement distances in Apex Legends. This game plays at my kind of range. Most firefights take place in the mid to close range with the occasional long range affair to keep people on their toes.  

The brilliant “ping” system enabled a rudimentary but crucial communication between teammates. I feel like it should be in every multiplayer game from here on out because it’s so easy and effective to highlight enemies, suggest destinations and highlight loot. Voice communication is still superior but it is also greatly enhanced with the inclusion of the ping system.   

Apex Legends will likely end up being my most played game this year. Part of it is the battle royale hooks, but I feel a lot of it is the quality fundamentals. I have no idea how they will fare against Fortnite or other games in the genre but I’m firmly behind Respawn’s take on it.  

Ratings Guide

Verdict: 
I love it 

25 Jan 2017

Game of the Year 2016 Day 3 of 3

by | posted in: Editorials & Features | 0

2016 was a hell of a year for games. Long awaited games like The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy XV finally made their debuts. First person shooters received a massive jolt in the arm with the fantastic Doom and invigorating Overwatch. Even long running franchises showed that their respective fourth iterations can be amazing. It was a good year, indeed.

Best Old Game of 2016

Winner: Picross 3D

I had finagle a way to acknowledge the majesty that is Picross 3D. Picross is fine but blow it out into 3D dimensions was a mind expanding moment for me. I wanted to buy Picross 3D Round 2 but seeing how it was $40+ CAD and I didn’t even play the original, I went on Amazon.ca and bought a cart. It’s charming, weird and addictive to boot. The difficulty curve is a bit erratic at times but I feel it’s been fair. I’m playing for the perfect run so I restart any time I make a mistake and chip off the wrong piece.

While I’m technically not done with this game, I feel it’s easily one of the best games I’ve played this year.

 

Best Game of 2016

Winner: Overwatch

It’s my most played game the year but that alone doesn’t warrant the number one spot. It’s also incredibly well designed from top to bottom with its unbelievable ability to entice me into trying new things. Blizzard managed to get me to play a ranked Competitive mode and even convinced me to use online voice chat with strangers on the internet which in itself is a small miracle. 

With a timeless aesthetic and strong free support including seasonal events, costumes, characters and maps, I see myself coming back to Overwatch over and over again.

Runner-ups:

2. Doom – It invokes the Doom games of the past but doesn’t use it as a crutch. The campaign was so tightly designed with systems feeding off other systems, music, story and gorgeous fluid visuals designed for the sole purpose of making me feel like a total badass. 

3. TitanFall 2 – Likely the most complete package of 2016 with both a surprisingly great campaign that invokes Super Mario Galaxy and a multiplayer mode that I thought was a write off after the less than stellar Tech Test. Respawn Entertainment will be supporting the game with free content as well which is a trend that I would love to see continue.

4. The Last Guardian – I love Trico. I wish I could have one as a pet. I don’t own a pet but my patience with Trico is highlighting the fact that I do have the mentality to be a decent owner. All I need is to pet them regularly right?

5. Uncharted 4 – The perfect ending to the adventures of Nathan Drake. If there was a single game that made me feel old and reflect on what I was doing with my life, it was this.

6. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past – Some of the most depressing stories ever told in an JRPG were found in this epic. You can say it was needlessly long at times and they could have trimmed the fat but the long winding journey was essential to create attachment to characters.

7. Inside – It may not have been as impactful as Limbo but Playdead still knows how to unsettle people with the simple gestures and actions.

8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided– Iffy performance in the hub world didn’t prevent me from rummaging through other people’s personal belongings, read their e-mails and hack their wall safes. It’s more of Human Revolution than I expected but more of a good thing isn’t bad. 

9. The Division – End game issues stopped my brother and I from returning to The Division but for a very brief couple of months, The Division’s loot driven brand of third person shooting kept my brother and I coming back everyday to do our “dailies”.

10. Gears of War 4 – It’s been years since Gears of War 3 – both in-game and out of it. Creating a likeable cast of new comers isn’t easy but The Coalition managed to package them and the classic Gears of War formula into a game that still plays in 2016. I look forward to the “dark middle” chapter and hope they’ve learned to run around like normal people by then.

1 2 3