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(Micro)Review: Nier: Automata [PlayStation 4]

Developer: PlatinumGames
Publisher: Square Enix
Rated: M for Mature
Released: March 7, 2017
Completed: February 3, 2018

Nier: Automata is one of the most original RPGs to come along in some time.  The story is a philosophical exploration of human nature.  That's nothing new for science fiction, or even video games, but it's well-told, in spite of some occasionally suspect voice acting that sounds like a cheaply dubbed anime flick.  What's most impressive is how PlatinumGames, makers of the spectacular Bayonetta series and the underrated Vanquish, changes things up throughout the adventure.  One minute it's a third person hack & slash action game, the next a top-down bullet hell shooter, before switching to a unique twin-stick shooter for its hacking interface.  The game also features at least 26 different endings - one for every letter of the U.S. alphabet - ensuring that there is plenty for players to discover. 

In fact, to see the game's full story, you'll want to play through it three times, but don't worry - each playthrough is different, and played from the perspective of a different character.  It all comes together in the end, even if it does start to drag ever so slightly.  The post-apocalyptic world is a bit drab, but the different gameplay mechanics, solid RPG elements and character customization, and engaging story will keep you playing.  It's a genre-busting ride that's well worth taking.

Nier: Automata was completed on a PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

 

(Micro)Review: What Remains of Edith Finch [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Giant Sparrow
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Rated: T for Teen
Released: April 25, 2017 (Digital)
Completed: December 10, 2017

A touching and powerful walking simulator from the people who made The Unfinished Swan.  The story of the Finch clan, and their varied tragic demises, is captivating.  Each family member gets their own gameplay segment that's handled in their own unique style, which keeps the experience fresh throughout.  The only real downside is there's not enough exploration and interaction with the beautiful, eccentric Finch family home, and no incentive to go back unless you just want to experience the story again.  There are also some framerate issues, but given the slow-paced nature of the game, that shouldn't be an issue for all but the nitpickiest of players.

What Remains of Edith Finch was completed on a PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

 

 

Review: Prey [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Rated: M for Mature
Released: May 5, 2017
Completed: November 26, 2017

System Shock 2 is one of the greatest video games of all-time.  That's become a well acknowledged fact over the course of the last decade.  It melds first-person gameplay with deep RPG mechanics, gives the player almost unparalleled freedom, and crafts a brilliant story in an atmospheric, often frightening environment, making it one of the most emergent gameplay experiences even 18 years after release.

I hated Prey, the long-awaited 3D Realms shooter that was released on the Xbox 360 and PC in 2006.  Like the even longer-awaited Duke Nukem Forever, it was a massive letdown, and quite frankly, it made me physically ill to play.  It gave me headaches, and I associate my time spent playing it with physical discomfort.

As a result, I almost passed on Prey this year, thinking it was a sequel to the latter.  In reality, the two games share nothing except their name, and Prey 2017 is not only a love-letter to System Shock 2, it may as well be System Shock 3.  It incorporates so many elements of what made SS2 such a great game, including the first-person gameplay, player autonomy, and a beautifully realized space station that bears plenty of resemblance to Shock's Von Braun.

Drill deeper, and the similarities become even more apparent.  Both games feature a nearly identical inventory system, workable stealth mechanics that make sneaking around and avoiding encounters a (mostly) viable way to play, a competent combat system for when things get hairy, an RPG-like upgrade system, and even psionic powers in addition to conventional weapons.  There's even several AIs whose allegiances may or may not be aligned with yours, a brilliant plot twist, and a device in the game called the Looking Glass, named lovingly after the studio that developed System Shock 2 and would rebrand themselves as Irrational Games for the Bioshock franchise.

Yes, Prey is the closest thing we have to a true System Shock sequel until Nightdive Studios finishes their work on the real thing in god-knows-when.  It's just a shame that all the people who jumped on the System Shock bandwagon and have been clamoring for a sequel have completely overlooked Prey.

Prey isn't a game for everyone.  It's not going to satisfy the Call of Duty gamer who expects any game in a first-person perspective to be all about shooting things.  It has the pace of a good horror movie, keeping you on edge, waiting for the next scare.  You'll stand at the entrance to a hallway, debating internally about whether you're ready to see what's on the other end.

After the first of several twists, you'll explore the space station Talos I, which has been infested by an alien lifeform known as the Typhon.  Their gelatinous black appearance, telekinetic powers, and resilience make them intimidating foes - even the small mimics, which can take the shape of anything.  As you wander the station, trying to unravel the mystery and escape with your life, you'll constantly feel a sense of paranoia that every piece of scenery could be a mimic, while encounters with larger Typhon will leave you scrambling for cover, desperately trying to recover health while you chip away at theirs.  Nothing in Prey is what it seems, and your safety is not assured.  The game does a wonderful job of empowering the player, and giving them the tools to survive, but leaves it up to them as to how best to do so.

Prey is all about player freedom.  There are no less than eight different skill trees - three basic human trees, three based on the Typhon's powers, and one each for your suit and your special visor, which allow you to swap chipsets in and out for added benefits.  There are so many options for every scenario, be it combat or navigating the station.  The game's most unique weapon, the GLOO gun, fires a sticky substance than can be used to incapacitate enemies or reach parts of the environment you might not otherwise be able to.  It can snuff out fires, temporarily stop electrical current from arcing, or just act as stepping stones as you carefully jump up a non-functional gravity shaft to reach a new area.

You can unlock hacking and repair skills to bypass security locks and access new data or caches of supplies.  You can increase your effectiveness with standard firearms or more exotic tech if you prefer to face your enemies head-on, or focus on stealth to avoid detection and take out enemies silently.  You can strategically carry and place turrets to conserve precious ammunition, or you can beat the Typhon at their own game by using neuromods to give yourself telekinetic abilities to rival theirs - at the expense of those same turrets detecting you as an enemy.  There's a crafting system that lets you create ammo, health kits, weapons, upgrade mods, and unique items required to progress the story, provided you have the necessary materials - not unlike System Shock 2's chemical compounds.  You can tackle a variety of side missions, locate deceased or surviving crew members, or focus solely on the story missions.  Everything you do is completely up to you.

All throughout my experience - 35 hours in all - I felt like I was playing a new System Shock, and I loved just about every second of it.  I loved that I felt frail, even towards the end of the game.  I avoided encounters with larger, more dangerous Typhon enemies because I was low on health kits or ammo.  I loved that the enemies always felt like they were a threat.  I loved that I was still scared by a mimic revealing itself even after the 100th time it happened.  I loved getting my hands on every neuromod, getting one step closer to that next upgrade I coveted.  I loved exploring the space station.  I loved uncovering more and more of the story, which never felt cliche or predictable to me. 

Just about the only things I didn't love were the late-game "one more thing" missions.  You know those missions.  When you think you've completed your objective, but the game tells you, "Oh sorry, this door is locked, go find the keycard."  This resulted in a lot of backtracking, which comes with a fair share of loading time as you transition between areas, but overall it's not a major issue.

There's a touch of jankiness here and there as well, a few bugs that make the physics go wonky, but nothing game-breaking and no crashes, which is impressive given how persistent the world is.  Areas that you have previously explored will still be littered with dead Typhon organs, GLOO, and debris.  The game runs at a locked 30 FPS, which is perfectly fine because this is not an action shooter.  It's a thinking-man's shooter-RPG hybrid, just like System Shock 2 or Deus Ex. 

Graphically, it's not the greatest looking game.  The overall world detail is impressive, but things like signs in the environment are often low quality textures, and there are a lot of reused elements.  It's not a bad looking title either, however.  The station itself is fascinating to explore, and it uses a surprisingly warm and rich color palette in places like the main lobby or executive offices.  There are also moments where you'll step outside the station and into the vastness of space, where the sense of scale is truly remarkable.  It made me wish for a Prey VR Experience, just so the scale wasn't confined to the rectangle of my television screen. 

Prey also delivers on sound.  The Typhon have a very distinctive white noise-like sound that signals their appearance and often raised hairs on my neck.  The largest of the creatures, the Nightmare, unleashes a terrifying, ear-piercing scream and when you hear it, you'd better be prepared or you'd better start running until it stops hunting you because it's one tough cookie.  The deafening blast of your shotgun sells the power of the weapon.  Even some of the more incidental sound effects are satisfying, like the sound of unlocked upgrades. 

More importantly, the voice acting is generally superb, as it must be for such a story driven game.  Morgan and his brother Alex are both standouts, though there's an NPC here or there who falls well short of the benchmark.

If not for my friend, I may have skipped Prey because I mistakenly assumed it was related to that OTHER Prey.  That would have been a real tragedy, given that it has much more in common with one of my favorite games ever.  He's never even played System Shock 2, and he still loved Prey, but I think those who've been waiting for a true successor have finally had their prayers answered.  Bioshock was a great game, but it was much more of a standard shooter than a true hybrid experience.  Prey feels like a game out of time - a lovingly crafted homage or fan-made sequel with a great story and deep gameplay.  There's no question it's one of my favorite games of 2017.

Prey was completed on a standard PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

Review: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Machinegames
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Rated: M for Mature
Released: October 27, 2017
Completed: October 29, 2017

It's a sad time we live in when a video game about fighting against Nazis who have taken over the United States is labeled "SJW propaganda."  Fact: Wolfenstein, as a series, has always been about fighting Nazis.  Fact: Wolfenstein II started production and development long before Donald Trump became the current U.S. president.  Fact: The United States fought against Nazis and their ideology in the 1940s.  You cannot call yourself a "patriotic American" and simultaneously support a group of people that America fought against.  It would be the same as saying you love America, but support ISIS. 

Look, I'm sorry if you're a racist piece of shit and a game where you shoot other racist pieces of shit offends your delicate sensibilities, but for those of us with basic human decency, Wolfenstein II is a fun, action-packed revenge fantasy with a stronger emphasis on storytelling than you usually see in first-person shooters.

That's not to say it doesn't stumble with it narrative.  Wolfenstein II can't quite decide whether it wants to be a serious political statement, a character drama, or a silly action game.  One moment, you'll witness a poignant, emotionally charged scene with a young BJ Blaskowicz and his racist father, the next a character's mechanical hand with a mind of its own punches its owner in the face like a slapstick comedy.  For every impassioned speech about Americans uniting and fighting back against the evil that has overtaken their country, there's a moment where a pregnant character rips off her clothes and shoots a bunch of Nazis, letting their blood soak her naked body.  There were moments where Wolfenstein II genuinely moved me and gave me a sense of patriotism, followed by moments where I just said, "What the fuck?"

When it works, Wolfenstein's narrative is one of its best strengths.  There's no denying it breaks up the action, giving the game a much slower pace than previous entries with long cutscenes, but I enjoyed the bulk of it.  The voice acting is stellar, particularly Brian Bloom as the series protagonist William "BJ" Blaskowicz and Debra Wilson as resistance leader Grace Walker.  Wilson, who spent several years on MadTV, brings both a gravitas to her role and a much more natural comedic instinct than some of the game's more forced moments of levity. 

But then there are moments where the suspension of disbelief is just too much, even for a series where you once fought Adolf Hitler in a mechanized suit and legions of Nazi zombies.  The game's most pivotal moment - and those who've completed it know exactly what I'm talking about - could have been a shocking twist, along the lines of Metal Gear Solid 2's infamous bait and switch, but instead it went with a hackneyed, completely implausible science fiction cop out that just left me rolling my eyes.  It's ludicrous, even for a game where you travel to Venus to steal Nazi codes, and worse, it comes right on the heels of arguably the game's most powerful moment.

But enough about the story.  What is a shooter without good gameplay?  Wolfenstein II delivers a thoroughly capable game.  Ditching the previous incarnation for id Tech 6 - the same engine that DOOM 2016 runs on - Wolfenstein II moves along at a brisk pace and looks stunning.  On a base PS4, the framerate will occasionally drop a bit, but only the snobbiest of framerate-snobs will notice or care, especially when there are bullets flying all around you.

The New Colossus is a hard game.  You will die frequently, and it can be a little frustrating at times in some of the more protracted battles.  For a guy who has always been portrayed as a badass one man army, BJ is surprisingly frail.  Bullets chew through your health and armor quickly.  Both are plentiful in the environments, and you'll need every last one of them.  For this outing, Machinegames has thoughtfully included the ability to pick up health and armor restoratives simply by running over them, but it doesn't always work, forcing you to still spend an inordinate amount of time staring at the ground and mashing the interact button. 

Also new this time around is the ability to dual wield any two guns in your inventory.  BJ can't lug around the game's heavy artillery one-handed, but you can mix and match your favorite weapons - though the shotgun/assault rifle combo is basically the game's version of Easy Mode once you obtain both.  It's a little unwieldy to swap weapons during the hectic gameplay, but it feels great when you're blasting Nazis left and right.

Returning from Wolfenstein: The New Order is the game's perk system, which is ever so slightly more useful but still feels like a "me too" inclusion, and the shoehorned stealth mechanics.  I didn't particularly care for either in TNO, and I still don't like them in this game.  The stealth mechanics are flat out broken thanks to eagle-eyed and hawk-eared Nazis who seem to be able to spot you the instant you take out any other patrolman or commander, which defeats the whole purpose of the system in the first place.  Like in the last game, commanders have the ability to call in a practically endless supply of reinforcements once they've been alerted, but the instant you kill one of them in an area, the others seem to be automatically alerted to your presence and you end up in an unavoidable gunfight against wave after wave of soldiers. 

Ultimately, Wolfenstein II doesn't do anything special with its gameplay.  It's pretty standard fare for shooters.  Like the story, the gameplay sometimes feels at odds with itself, straddling the line between realism and frenetic twitch shooting.  It doesn't have the finesse or the constant forward momentum of DOOM, and the way your health dwindles so quickly may be true to series' roots, but it also strips away the "I am unstoppable" feeling of The New Order.

The biggest misstep is the missed opportunity to show more of Nazified America.  Too many levels feel more like generic military bunkers that could be anywhere in the world.  There's little to signify that this is taking place in a recognizable American city, save the one highlight mission in New Orleans that was shown off in all the trailers. 

That said, the id Tech 6 engine sure makes the rubble look pretty.  Wolfenstein II is easily one of the best looking games on a console right now.  The New Orleans level is again a standout, as is the shootout inside a courtroom midway through where the destructible environments are really shown off as wood splinters and vanishes under heavy fire.  The character animation is excellent as well, achieving a rare level of realism with top-notch facial expressions.

Similarly, the audio package is mostly fantastic.  That is, until the end credits when you are subjected to what many have named "the worst end credits song in anything ever."  It's a cover of Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" and it is somehow, unfathomably worse than the original.  I didn't think such a thing was possible, but well, there it is, as Jeff Goldblum once said.

Taking everything into consideration, I still thought Wolfenstein II was an excellent game.  It's not Game of the Year material, but it's Top Ten List material at least.  Shooter fans may have a hard time coming to grips with the lengthy story breaking up the flow of the action, and I can appreciate that, but I felt the exposition was welcome.  It's nice to see BJ as more than a jarhead, and there were some truly emotionally affecting scenes, as well as some that made me laugh out loud in spite of their crudeness.  The shooty bits are still more than competent.  They just don't break the mold, and the cheap deaths and hyper-aware enemies will coax groans and cursing out of aggravation.  Still, it's a game where you shoot Nazis in bunches, and as I've often said, there is no more enjoyable group of people to kill than Nazis.  As Bethesda's own Pete Hines said when asked about poking the hornets nest with the game's marketing, which made no bones about mocking alt-right slogans, "well maybe a little bit, but the hornets nest is full of Nazis so fuck those guys."

And if you think that's SJW propaganda, fuck you too, snowflake.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was completed on a standard PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

Review: The Evil Within 2 [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Tango Gameworks
Publisher: Bethesda
Rated: M for Mature
Released: October 13, 2017
Completed: October 24, 2017

I was so excited for The Evil Within 2 prior to its release.  The first game had its share of problems - specifically, it was plagued with bugs even years and several patches after release - but was an exciting thrillride with some unforgettable setpieces.  Being chased down a hallway by a sadistic madman with a chainsaw, limping towards a doorway as spinning blades close in, threatening to shred your character to pieces was a harrowing experience.  Sliding down a blood-soaked chute, dodging blades, to be dumped into a pool of blood and offal, or a hair-raising battle in a crematorium with a spider-like ghost woman whose blood-curdling scream will haunt you even after you're done playing... There were so many memorable moments.

The Evil Within 2 has none of that.

Instead of fixing the problems with the first game and refining it to be a truly next-gen, first-rate horror experience, Tango Gameworks has basically turned The Evil Within into a generic pseudo-stealth open world game, akin to The Last of Us, Tomb Raider, and countless others, but with none of their flair.  Worse yet, it's still a buggy mess that crashed multiple times.

This time out, the original game's director (and the father of Resident Evil) Shinji Mikami stepped aside and turned the reigns over to John Johanas, who directed the first game's DLC chapters.  Mikami retains a producer credit, but it's clear from the onset this is Johanas' game.  The first game felt very much like a Japanese survival horror game, and even paid homage to Mikami's baby with a reenactment of the famous over-the-shoulder zombie reveal.  The Evil Within 2 feels decidedly more Westernized.  It's clear the changes were made to make the game appeal to an American audience, and the game is worse off for it.

Johanas has touted that they wanted to focus more on psychological horror for the sequel, moving away from the body and gore horror of the first game.  In and of itself, there's nothing wrong with that.  Silent Hill 2 is widely considered to be the greatest survival horror game of all-time because of its deep psychological themes.  The Evil Within 2 tries to explore a lot of the same themes, but it stumbles and fails to do so in any meaningful, resonant way.  The story is convoluted and feels more science fiction than horror most of the time, almost completely lacking scares, and the game world feels more like a generic military setting.

This time around, Detective Sebastian Castellanos is riddled with guilt over the tragic death of his daughter Lilly.  He blames himself for failing to rescue her from a house fire and like so many sequelized protagonists before him, has sunk into self-pity and alcoholism.  That is, until a face from his past reels him back into the STEM system - the machine capable of connecting multiple minds together and entering a host's psyche.  This time, an entire city has been designed within STEM, and surprise, surprise, Sebastian's daughter is not only alive, she's the key to it all!  Yep, seems she was kidnapped because her mind is so powerful or something, I don't know... It's so ridiculous and predictable, but the real problem is how that changes the psychology that motivates Sebastian.

In Silent Hill 2, James Sunderland's guilt stemmed from inside.  By externalizing it and making Lilly Castellanos' death an unfortunate, tragic event, it lacks the emotional punch and the guilt becomes completely null and void almost immediately when it's revealed that she's still alive.  Trust me, that's not a spoiler.  You're told very early on that Lilly is alive and well, but Sebastian still sees visions of his presumed failure - a failure that is, ultimately, meaningless and doesn't justify his internal torment at all.

But enough about the armchair psychology behind the story, let's talk about the gameplay.  Basically, it's any open world stealthy survival game you've ever played.  There's waist-high cover everywhere, you can set traps for enemies, resources are scarce, and every other cliche.  Even a mediocre story can be overcome with engaging gameplay, but there is absolutely nothing here that hasn't been done before and been done better.  It's mostly serviceable, but nearly every aspect feels inferior to other games in the genre.

Take the stealth aspects, for example.  For starters, Sebastian moves unbearably slow at all times - walking, sneaking, or even running.  You can improve your speed while sneaking using green gel you'll collect, but at first it's almost a waste of time to even try.  The enemies, which are generic zombified men and women, move about erratically and always seem to spin around just in time to catch you sneaking up behind them.  Lucky for you, they lose track of you the instant you run into a couple of bushes, even if they watch you do so.  This creates a frustrating and boring gameplay loop where you'll kill a zombie, run and hide for a few seconds until they return to their set patrols, then repeat the process a half a dozen times until an area is clear.  You can attempt to skirt around the enemies entirely, but Sebastian also has the stamina of a 350 pound man and can only jog for about five seconds before upgrading, and you can't upgrade without killing enemies to get their green gel.  See the conundrum? 

Some enemies even seem to follow you, always appearing in the same area you're in even though they haven't technically spotted you yet.  This is especially noticeable later in the game, when one-time bosses join the ranks of the generic recurring enemies and always seem to be patrolling the exact street you're on. 

Should you choose to engage enemies more directly, you do have some options, including standard fare pistols, shotguns, and a crossbow with different kinds of bolts.  You can use the environment to your advantage, as you'd expect from a game of this type, but even the combat is problematic.  The camera is pulled in far too close while aiming, often obscuring whatever it is you're trying to aim at.  Sebastian's hands also shake until you've upgraded your skills, resulting in a lot of your precious bullets landing in nearby walls or just barely missing a headshot you were sure you had lined up. 

On a positive note, the upgrade system does actually feel useful and the new skills you learn are tangibly felt.  Having to unlock the ability to smash enemies with a bottle to escape their grasp, even though the bottles are already in your inventory, is a little silly but it's just par for the course.  I can let some things slide because that's just the nature of video games.  The game also features a crafting system, and it works well enough too.  Like the original, the one thing the sequel still does really well is keep you just on the cusp of running out of supplies where crafting even one bullet could save your life. 

But for every one thing the game succeeds at, there are two more things that are annoying or borderline bad game design.

Early on, the antagonist appears to be an eccentric character with a flair for artistic murder.  He has some kind of special camera that can freeze his victims in its flash, damning them to relive the moment of their death in an endless loop.  Sounds cool, right?  I was behind it at first.  Then you fight him and discover he's not the REAL bad guy; someone who was never mentioned previously is.  The first whole half of the game is spent chasing down the artist, and then there's a clumsy bait and switch and you go chasing off after another villain who, incidentally, is far less interesting. 

Union, the city where the game takes place, is just as uninteresting as the characters.  It's cool that you can explore many of the houses and buildings to find items, but it all feels so cut-and-paste open world game design.  There's nothing memorable about it whatsoever, unlike the original game's locales.  Even when they were aping Resident Evil, the first Evil Within had some fantastic environments, but the sequel is bland by comparison.  Worse yet, but moving to a more open, non-linear world, the narrative pacing is completely thrown off while you wander around, scrounging for supplies and completing sidequests.  With a narrative as unfocused and uneven as this, being able to stray from the story makes it even harder to stay invested.

I even though the graphics were a step back.  Gone is the ill-conceived widescreen setting (though you can turn it on in the options), and the framerate is definitely more consistent than the original, but I couldn't help but feeling it looked worse than PS3 games like Uncharted 2 or The Last of Us.  The lighting doesn't look as good or as moody, the environments are decent enough in terms of texture work, but nothing stands out.  There's not a single area from the entire game that I recall vividly, unlike the examples from the first that I mentioned earlier.

The best part of the presentation is the audio.  The voice acting is a little all over the map, but the sound effects and music are superb.  If nothing else, the audio is incredibly immersive and does a great job putting you in the center of the environments.  

The Evil Within 2 is hands down the biggest disappointment of the year.  With a release right before Halloween, I was so anxious to dive back into STEM and see how Tango Gameworks improved upon their fun but flawed first attempt.  Unfortunately, this game feels like a complete step backwards in every way.  There's nothing particularly good about any aspect of its design, though there's nothing completely broken either.  At best, the entirety of the game is purely average, and it even dips below that low bar on occasion.  The best part of the entire game were the callbacks to the original.  Overall, it left me feeling an emptiness within.

The Evil Within 2 was completed on a standard PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

 

Review: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Rated: T for Teen
Released: 22 August 2017
Completed: 22 August 2017

Yes, astute reader(s), you read that correctly - I bought and completed a game in the same day.

These kinds of games are among my favorite experiences in modern gaming - the cinematic action-platformer.  Tomb Raider, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Uncharted are all cut from the same cloth.  They all feature breathtaking visuals, heart-pounding action, death defying jumps, great characters, and a vast world to explore.  Uncharted has always been a tad more linear in that last regard, but The Lost Legacy dips its toes into the open-world pool with mostly positive results.

Originally conceived as downloadable content for the spectacular Uncharted 4, the decision was made to turn The Lost Legacy into a fully fledged budget priced retail release.  It's easy to be a little cynical about it being a cash-grab, since even the $30 price tag is more expensive than most DLC, and it doesn't offer much beyond the six to eight hour adventure, but as a physical collector, I was more than happy to pick it up and jump back into the world of treasure hunting.

The Lost Legacy is something of a stepping stone for the future of the franchise.  Now that Nathan Drake has settled down and retired, Sony needs to find a way to keep their cash cow of a franchise alive.  Luckily, Naughty Dog already laid the groundwork with a slew of excellent characters.  I have no doubt we'll see Nate's progeny get into her own adventures, with mom, dad, and Uncle Sam showing up to offer helpful advice, but for this outing they've chosen one of the franchise's most beloved secondary characters, the sarcastic and vivacious Chloe Frazer.

Joining her on a quest for the fabled Tusk of Ganesh, a religious Indian relic, is Nadine Ross, originally introduced as the leader of a para-military force in the fourth game who was more villain than hero for most of it.  Chloe and Nadine have a somewhat sketchy partnership, and in predictable fashion it will be tested to the breaking point. 

Every game needs a good villain of course, and this time around it's Asav, the leader of an insurgency who plans to use the tusk to ignite a revolution.  Every Uncharted villain is basically Rene Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark, who waits for the heroes to find the treasure then swoops in and takes it, so you can pretty much guess how things play out here.  That said, every Uncharted villain is also a dastardly son of a bitch whom you can't wait to see get their comeuppance, and Asav is no exception to either rule. 

The meat of the game is no different from any other Uncharted experience.  You'll run, you'll jump, you'll climb handily marked walls, swing from ropes, and murder a bunch of faceless dudes.  Yes, with Nathan Drake retired, Chloe now has her eyes on his mantle of World's Most Prolific Serial Killer.  Like the other games in the series, you can sneak about stealthily to a point, or just go all Rambo and shoot everyone.  The combat, while solid as ever, has always been my least favorite part of the franchise, but it's by no means bad.  I just prefer all the high flying adventure and acrobatics.

The one major difference for this outing is the inclusion of some very basic non-linear, open-world quests.  The central area of the game world acts as a hub where you're able to undertake optional quests, similar to the challenge tombs in the recent Tomb Raiders.  They're short and feature some of the most well-designed puzzles the series has seen to date - particularly one that involves creating shadow pictures - but there's little reward for completing them all save a PlayStation trophy.

Still, it's nice to see the game incorporate the open-world elements that made the Tomb Raider reboot and Horizon so addictive.  Hopefully future Uncharted installments will expand on this mechanic, offering players more to do with more palpable rewards for doing it.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Uncharted: The Lost Legacy excels when it comes to graphics, sound, and presentation.  This is a supremely gorgeous game.  The character models are highly detailed and the animation is realistic and fluid, but the environments are the real star.  This is one of those games where you'll just stop and stare at the beautiful vistas, panning the camera around just to see how the lighting changes the view. 

Voice actresses Claudia Black and Laura Bailey reprise their roles as Chloe and Nadine, and they do a superb job.  Chloe, in particular, is given some much needed character backstory and Black really gets to display her emotional range beyond the sarcastic quips and stand-offish bad-ass attitude we're used to from her character.  There are a few other old friends who show up as well, though I won't spoil the surprise (even if it barely qualifies as a surprise).

While the young Cassie Drake is the obvious choice to take over the reigns as the series protagonist, I'd love to see more of Chloe and Nadine's adventures in the future as well.  The Lost Legacy is still a glorified DLC package, and it doesn't break the mold.  Anyone who's played any previous Uncharted game will know exactly what's in store.  The beauty of these games, at least for me, is that their characters are so endearing and the adventures so thrilling that they never get stale.  The prospect of an open-world Uncharted game seems likely, which could breathe a little new life into the series for those who need it.  Regardless of what happens in the future, fans of Uncharted surely won't want to miss this short chapter.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy was completed on a PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

Review: Firewatch [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Campo Santo
Publisher: Limited Run Games (Physical)
Released: 16 December 2016
Completed: 1 August 2017

Yeah, I know I’m behind on my reviews. Nobody reads these anyway.

Firewatch is another in the growing number of games best described as walking simulators.  They’re games that are more about the narrative journey than the gameplay, often following a linear path with little more than a handful of simple obstacles in order to keep the player focused on its story.  As such, these games sink or swim based largely on the strength of that story.  Maybe that’s a bad analogy for a game with “fire” in the title, but the point is Firewatch is a pretty solid walking simulator with a pretty touching story of friendship.

When the game begins, you’re greeted with some simple text screens that define the background between the main character Henry and his love.  How you meet, the type of dog you adopt, and how he handles certain situations are all chosen by the player, and judging by the verbiage used, I was sure this game was going to wreck me emotionally by its end.  Happily, that wasn’t the case.  Firewatch does deal with some sad themes, but it’s not the type of game that manipulates your emotions every step of the way to try and bring tears to your eyes.

After Henry’s wife is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at a young age and is put into a care facility, he escapes his problems by taking a job as a lookout at Shoshone National Forest.  He quickly develops a rapport with his boss, Delilah, who he converses with via walkie talkie, but what type of rapport is left up to the player.  Henry can be evasive and cold, or can choose to open up to Delilah and form a strong bond, allowing the player to sort of infuse their own personality into their avatar.

Early on in Henry’s tenure, he encounters a group of drunken teenage girls setting off fireworks.  After confronting them, strange and somewhat creepy events start to occur on subsequent nights.  Henry’s lookout tower is vandalized, he finds a tent that has been ransacked with a threatening letter, and Delilah reports the two teenage girls have gone missing.

Firewatch is very much a mystery, but at its core it's more about the bond that forms between Henry and Delilah.  They both have secrets and things they're running from.  Over the course of the summer, they become something of a support system for one another, despite never meeting face-to-face for the entirety of the game.  The story pacing is absolutely first rate, and the mystery is intriguing enough that you can't wait to see what happens next. 

There's not much to the gameplay.  It's pretty much walk from place to place and do a thing.  It's quite linear.  You can explore the forest and dawdle if you please, but there isn't much to see except a bunch of supply boxes that are generally filled with useless garbage like books and pinecones.  There is no combat, and only light puzzle solving.  Like most walking simulators, it's more about telling the player a story and the gameplay is simply the means to an end. 

One thing I did appreciate was the old school feel of the gameplay.  There are no nav points or giant arrows telling you where to go or how to get there.  Instead, players are forced to frequently check their map and find their own route.  This may get tiresome for some players, but as someone weened on games that didn't help the player out at all I appreciated it, and it helps increase the immersion and realism.

Graphically, Firewatch is objectively an attractive game, but subjectively the art style didn't do much for me.  The environmental graphics are decent enough, but the characters all have an exaggerated CG movie look, akin to Team Fortress 2 or Pixar's The Incredibles.  To be fair, you rarely see any other characters or yourself, but it's just not really my style.

What is exceptional are the voice performances.  Rich Sommer and Cissy Jones - Henry and Delilah, respectively - have a great and very natural chemistry together, which is absolutely necessary for a game so reliant on dialogue.  The script is equally excellent, giving the actors great material to work with and, blessedly, a very natural use of swear words.  Henry and Delilah both swear, but it doesn't feel forced like so many games that try too hard to be mature do.  Given their situation, their panicked cursing comes across as natural as the more intimate moments where they open up to one another (if you choose to open up).

Late in the game, the story takes a somewhat unexpected twist that left some players and critics a little sour, but personally I had no problem with it.  I felt it fit the overall theme of a game where every character runs from their problems.

One thing I can agree with the critics on are the game's technical problems.  On PS4, the framerate consistently hitches, freezing for a second then lurching back into action.  It's extremely frequent and absolutely drags down the experience.  I'm not a "60 FPS or Bust" kind of guy, but a game that constantly, albeit briefly, stops completely is a bridge too far. 

I feel like I repeat this phrase all the time, but how much you enjoy Firewatch depends entirely on what you expect from a video game.  There's no challenge, there's very little to do, but if you enjoy getting wrapped up in a good story, you'll still get your money's worth.  The obnoxious technical issues, and my own personal feelings towards the graphics notwithstanding, it's an excellent mystery adventure anchored by spectacular voice acting.

Firewatch was completed on a PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

Review: Oxenfree [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Limited Run Games
Rated: T for Teen
Released: 27 January 2017
Completed: 30 July 2017

 

 

Let's just get this out of the way right now: Oxenfree is one of the most captivating games I've played in years.  I don't care how you play it - PC, PS4, Xbox One, iOS - just make sure you do.  A supernatural thriller on the surface, Oxenfree's realistic portrayal of interpersonal relationships between its believable characters give it a depth of feeling that is rarely matched in the medium. 

As gaming continues to evolve, we see more and more games that are driven more by the narrative than by challenging the player's skill and reflexes.  I think of these more as experiences than games, and in many cases they're impossible to lose, instead branching off into alternate plot paths rather than greeting the player with an immersion-breaking "GAME OVER" screen.  That's Oxenfree.  It doesn't seek to challenge you.  Its puzzles are simplistic.  There are no action sequences.  It's about creating a connection with the player and the characters, and it outclasses damn near any game I've ever played.

The setup is simple: a group of friends heads to an island that is home to a decommissioned military base for an evening of fun of reminiscence.  The protagonist, Alex, brings her new step-brother Jonas along for the fun, but she's still reeling from the death of her biological brother, Michael.  Along with Ren, the group's resident stoner, Nona, and the abrasive Clarissa, Michael's ex-girlfriend, the group ends up encountering a number of supernatural phenomena on the island after Alex uses her radio to tune into a frequency that opens a rift in time.  It's up to Alex and her friends to solve the mystery, rescue each other, and escape the island.

As a synopsis, it sounds like a Scooby Doo episode, but in execution the game is all about our choices, our actions, and our words and how they impact those around us.  The supernatural elements are window dressing, even though they still play an integral role in the events, used as a framework for a deeply moving, emotionally haunting story about how we deal with tragedy.  Do we rely on our friends and family more, or push them away and retreat inwards?  How do the ghosts of the past, in this case both literal and figurative, affect you and how do you move on? 

As someone who's experienced more than his fair share of personal tragedies, Oxenfree spoke directly to my heart.  The conversations I had with my friends as Alex stemmed from a very real place.  I wasn't trying to play a certain way or pick the options I thought would get me the best ending.  I responded to each question or statement as I would if faced with them in real life.  Sometimes I was defensive and hurt by the implications, others I was remorseful and apologetic, and still others I just felt like cracking a wise-ass remark.  I felt a deeper connection with Alex as my digital avatar than any protagonist I've ever played.

The characters are so well-written and expertly acted by the voice cast, I felt as though I'd known them for years.  In many ways, they're archetypal characters: Ren is the goofball everybody loves, Nona is the kinda weird one, and Clarissa is the obnoxious girl you just want to fight with.  Jonas was the only character who lacked a distinct personality trait, which seems by design since a big portion of the game's story revolves around getting to know him and the others' acceptance of him. 

Dialogue is driven by a very natural and clever word-balloon model.  As you explore the gorgeous water-color environments, word bubbles appear above your head with approximations of your response.  On rare occasions, the tone may not be what you were expecting by the phrasing, but generally you can respond in a positive, negative, or indifferent manner.  What you say will affect your relationships with other characters, and thus the story's resolution.  What I found most remarkable is how the game's character development subtly changed my feelings towards particular friends.  Early on, it's easy to hate Clarissa, who verbally assaults Alex at every opportunity, but as more of her backstory was revealed through flashback sequences I began to feel differently.  I realized she was hurting from Michael's death just as much as Alex, but in a very different way, and suddenly I didn't hate her anymore. 

As far as gameplay goes, there's not much to talk about.  There are some simple puzzles, mostly based around Alex's radio, and there are a few collectibles late in the game, but mostly it's walking around the island, triggering the next story beat and conversing with your friends.  And you know what?  I'm perfectly fine with that.

For one thing, the world you'll explore, though not large, is exquisitely beautiful.  Every backdrop looks like it was hand-painted.  The geometry is oftentimes simple, such as triangular trees, but the use of color, light, and shading gives the game a stunning visual presentation that's all its own.

For another, I could listen to these kids talk all day.  This isn't forced hipster dialogue.  The conversations all feel genuine, sometimes heart-achingly so.  The only minor gripe I have is that sometimes dialogue is interrupted by other dialogue when you select your response, but that's an extremely minor complaint that in no way lessens my love for this game. 

The music is even fantastic, featuring a largely electronic, eerie score that suits the visuals and the story.  It's very reminiscent of Vangelis' iconic Blade Runner score, and his signature synth sound in general, which means it's equal parts cold, mechanical, and beautiful.

Now comes the hard part... I will concede, objectively, there are a few problems.  The game's visuals may be amazing, but the frame rate drops consistently in some areas.  It's not a very visually taxing game for the PlayStation 4 hardware, so it's obviously a question of optimization, and it's hard to blame a small studio for not churning out a perfect game, but it should be noted.

I also experienced one glitch that forced a restart, wherein my companion simply refused to follow me and ended up stuck off-screen, leaving me unable to progress to the game's final area.  This required quitting back to the menu, and experiencing the game's most glaring flaw: the loading times.

Oxenfree has some long load times.  It kills me to say anything negative about a game I love so much, but no amount of subjectivity can overcome the dullness of staring at a loading screen for what seems like an eternity.  Transitioning between areas means you'll be seeing this screen every time, but in the interest of defending the game like a fanboy, at least there are no deaths that force additional loading screens on you.

Ultimately, I don't care.  I can overlook the minor quibbles and focus on what's really important, and that is that Oxenfree is a masterpiece of storytelling and one of the most affecting games I've had the pleasure of experiencing.  To think I almost passed on the Limited Run Games physical release because I wasn't quite familiar with it until I watched PushingUpRoses review it on YouTube and found myself struck by the art style.  How much it touches you will depend on your own real life experiences, and how in touch with your emotions you are, but to say it left a mark on me that will linger for a long, long time is an understatement.

Oxenfree was completed on a PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

Review: Metro 2033 Redux [PlayStation 4]

Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Rated: M for Mature
Released: 26 August 2014
Completed: 23 July 2017

 

 

When it first launched, Metro 2033 was the benchmark game of its time.  People judged the strength of their PC rigs by how many frames per second they could run the game at with max settings.  While it saw a respectable port to the Xbox 360, it still couldn't hold a candle to the PC version.  When the new generation of more powerful systems came along, it quickly became one of the prime candidates for the trend of remastered rereleases.

Developer 4A did more than just port the game, however.  Metro Redux was even released separately on the PC, bringing with it numerous changes.  It's still the same core game - a post-apocalyptic fight for survival against mutated creatures and other bands of humans - but some of the levels have been changed, the visuals and lighting has been tweaked, controls have been revamped, and there are additional difficulty modes that allow players more freedom to enjoy the game in their preferred style.  Purists may decry some of the changes, most notably the toned-down difficulty and the brighter environments, but it definitely makes the game more accessible without sacrificing much of the harsh atmosphere and excellent storytelling.

Based on the book of the same name, Metro 2033 tells the story of Artyom, a soldier living in the underground Metro stations of Moscow after the surface has been decimated by nuclear fallout.  Not only do you have to contend with the harsh Russian climate and radiation, but packs of mutated monstrosities roam the land and infest the tunnels.  It paints a bleak picture, populated with some unique and memorable characters, and moody, dangerous environments.  The story borrows more than a little from I Am Legend, but that doesn't necessarily detract from the game.  As far as survival stories go, that's a pretty good template.

In its original incarnation, survival was the name of the game.  The same could be said of any video game, but the original Metro 2033's unforgiving difficulty and scarcity of supplies really proved it wasn't fooling around.  "Survival" wasn't just a buzzword for the back of the box.  While it did offer non-violent and stealth options for dispatching enemies, the slightest alert meant a large scale gunfight and, likely, reloading your most recent save. 

The difficulty has definitely been toned down in Redux.  Early on, I didn't notice much of a difference, but as the game progressed supplies never became an issue.  Even on Hardcore mode, I was rarely at a loss for ammunition, and by the end of the game I had more than enough military grade bullets to lay waste to my enemies.  As in the original version, these double as the game's currency, but they seemed far more plentiful than I remembered.  That's not to say the game is a cakewalk.  Bullets can still do massive damage, and some larger enemies can still kill you in one or two hits, but overall I found the game much easier and fair. 

One of the more unique mechanics of the gameplay is the need for gas masks and filters.  Anytime Artyom is exposed to the surface air, he needs to put on a mask and change the filters as he explores.  This adds an element of tension as you sprint from place to place, hoping your filter doesn't run out and you start slowly suffocating.  Once again, however, I found that filters were rarely, if ever, an issue in Redux, resulting in a less dire overall feel.

The game also offers the new Spartan mode, inspired by the sequel Metro: Last Light (also on the disc), which features a much more run and gun style of play, with even less emphasis on supply management.  It definitely changes the dynamic of the game, which is interesting, but it also strips it of what makes it unique in most respects, revealing in a capable, but more generic, first-person shooter.

The power of the modern consoles is put to good use on the remaster.  Many of the game's environments are still extremely dark and cluttered with debris, but they still look excellent.  The game's lighting effects are still pretty spectacular.  The character models are slightly improved as well.  Just as impressive are the game's outdoor environments where the snowy Russian landscape looks as harsh and dangerous as the crumbling tunnels below.  The draw distance is impressive in these outdoor areas.  There are lot of little details that make Metro's presentation standout as well.  Your gas mask fogs and condensation beads on the inside the longer you wear it, and it will crack (and potentially break) if worn in combat.

The audio is something of a mixed bag.  The voice-acting is hokey, with obviously forced Russian accents, and children who sound like adult actors are playing them.  The music is mostly atmospheric mood pieces, but there's one particular song that you'll find on nearly every single radio that will get stuck in your head and may drive you crazy.  On the other hand, the sound effects are top notch.  The howls and growls of the Dark Ones, crisp gunshot effects, and environmental sounds are all immersive and bring the game to life.

Control has been revamped as well, matching that of its sequel, though to be honest I don't really remember the control in the original version enough to compare it.  Some people have compared the new setup to Call of Duty, so I'll just go with that.  All I know is that it works well, so I can't complain.

What I can complain about, however, is the seemingly random distribution of hit points to certain enemies.  Even with the more manageable difficulty, there was one section of the game where you face off against hulking, brutish mutants that was a fun-sink.  I'd kill one with two shotgun blasts, only to have the next one take six from the same range and a handful of pistol rounds before going down.  Of course, the enemies are strong enough to kill you in one hit, so I spent a great deal of time reloading saves and facing the same enemies over and over until I finally cheesed my way through it, leading the beast on a merry chase where I could predictably get a few shots at it without fear of retaliation. 

And while I'm not sure it's a complaint, I was puzzled by the game's morality system.  Not because it's complex or obtuse, but because I didn't even realize it was a thing.  The game makes no effort to tell you that your actions can influence the ending.  These can include everything from killing rival groups of survivors, to giving military ammo to starving citizens of the Metro.  I appreciate that the game doesn't display a big giant prompt a la BioShock that says "BE GOOD PRESS X" or "BE BAD PRESS Y" but seeing as how it has a direct effect on which ending you receive, it would have been nice if I'd been made aware of it.

Compared to other contemporaries such as STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl or Fallout 3, Metro 2033 is a much more straightforward shooter.  It's heavy on atmosphere, and it arguably succeeds better than its competitors in that regard.  Fans of the original version have had mixed reactions about the changes to the Redux version, but I applaud 4A Games for offering more options for players of all skill levels to experience the world they've crafted.  Add to that the fact that the disc comes with the equally revamped sequel, Last Light, and that's a lot of value for a game that can be had for under $20 these days. 

Metro 2033 Redux was completed on PlayStation 4 with no cheats.

Review: Little Nightmares [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Tarsier Studios
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Rated: T for Teen
Released: 28 April 2017
Completed: 8 May 2017

 

 

What scared you when you were a child?  Were you afraid of the dark?  Being alone?  Guys with really long, grabby arms?  Grotesquely obese people who eat children?  If you answered "yes" to any of those things, boy have I got the game for you!

Little Nightmares is a strange game to review.  It's easy enough to categorize as an artistically stunning and grim but mechanically simple puzzle-platformer, not dissimilar from indie darlings like Limbo or Inside, but therein lies the problem.  How do I rank a game that is about as simple as they come, nearly completely devoid of challenge, yet a masterwork of artistic direction? 

As a game, there's very little that's special about Little Nightmares.  You run, you jump, you solve extremely simple puzzles and avoid enemies.  Even the final boss is a complete pushover.  The most difficulty you're likely to encounter is when you mistime a jump or your character - a little girl in a raincoat named Six - doesn't grab onto a ledge you want her to grab.  Yet, through the game's short three hour playtime, I was positively transfixed by the haunting world she inhabits. 

Have you ever seen a Wes Anderson movie?  You know those scenes where he pans between rooms as if the front of the building had been sheared off?  Little Nightmares is like that.  It's vaguely reminiscent of Sony's stylish, and criminally underrated, Puppeteer on the PS3 with an aesthetic that makes you feel like you're watching a living diorama.  It's absolutely marvelous to behold.  It's dark, but not necessarily for lack of light.  I mean it's unsettling, off-putting.  It makes you feel vaguely uneasy, and sometimes you're not quite sure why.  The world rocks slowly, like a ship on water (which, you'll come to find out, it is), and the scenery looms over Six like she's been shrunk. 

The other inhabitants of the world, a blind janitor with eerily long arms, two slovenly butchers, an array of morbidly obese passengers, and a mysterious woman in Geisha garb, are all richly detailed caricatures of humanity and they all leave a lasting impression.  Little Nightmares isn't a game about blood and gore, and it's not going to shock you to your core, but it made me ponder why its imagery affected me.  It truly captures that real-but-not-real feeling of nightmares, where even familiar and once-comforting things take on sinister qualities.

There's little story to speak of.  Perhaps someone has managed to chisel out some sort of allegorical meaning in it, but with no dialogue and very little to go on, I took the game at face value and still enjoyed it pretty thoroughly.  As an artistic statement, it's practically without equal and you should play it for that fact alone.

As a game, it's less than spectacular.  It's perfectly functional, mind you.  The controls are (mostly) responsive, the way forward is clear, there are some minor collectibles if you're into that sort of thing, and it's all well and truly playable - it's just nothing you haven't played a million times before.  The puzzles barely fulfill the definition of the word, but they're serviceable I suppose.  Six lacks any kind of defense from the grotesques stalking her, but unless you have never played a video game before, evading them is generally a snap.  If you are caught, it's game over, but despite numerous reviews bemoaning the loading time, I never found it intolerable.  There are a few twitchy moments where you have to run for your life, and they're exciting enough, but truthfully the part I had the hardest time with was simply grabbing a ledge after running across a bar, past the bloated arms of cannibalistic cruise passengers.  Six simply would not grab the damn thing unless I was in a very specific spot, forcing me to run across the bar over and over again.

Graphically, it goes without saying that Little Nightmares is a stunner.  One need only look at the screenshots to see how amazing it looks, but add in the fluid, often exaggerated animations and the whole game has a cartoonish, surreal quality to it.  The sense of scale is what truly sells the feeling of being helpless in the horrific world.  Six seems so tiny relative to everything else around her, and the effect is brilliant.

The sound is a little less impressive, simply because there's so little of it.  Music is scarce, though effective when used.  There's not much in the way of voices, apart from guttural grunts and hums.  It's mostly all footsteps and clanging noises, that sort of thing.  It works, but it's not going to win any awards.

Control is generally fine.  Six doesn't have a lot of abilities beyond running, jumping, and climbing so there's not a whole lot that can go wrong.  Occasionally I thought the control was slightly cumbersome when I had to combine multiple functions to run and jump off a ledge and grab something in mid-air, but apart from the aforementioned bar sequence, Six generally did what I asked of her unless I flubbed the button presses. 

The charm of Little Nightmares is solely in its artistic direction, not the gameplay.  It's so short and simplistic it almost feels like a proof of concept or a pitch for a more complete game.  For what it's worth, I'd pay for more.  It's hard to give it a glowing recommendation because it is, ultimately, still a game and there's nothing special about that aspect.  If, however, you believe games are art, as I do, you'd be a fool to miss out on this little exhibit. 

Little Nightmares was completed on a PlayStation 4 with no cheats.