Games 54-57 - Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Saga - Week 100 - Nov21

aruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm is not a saga I expected to be playing in the fall of 2021. Craving an anime fix I decided to fill a major anime gap in my childhood: Naruto Shippuden. It took me five years after the final episode aired to get around to this because of how much I was feeling like it was becoming bloated and detoured from what made the show great. Even skipping the filters. So to assist my journey I played Pokemon SoulSilver. Even though it was disappointing (more on that later) there were a lot of strong moments that pulled those right Naruto strings (also more on that later), so wrapping up the series had me wanting to experience the story in game form. As a kid I played the Uzumaki Chronicles games on PS2 which were basically filler but I enjoyed them as a fan starved for content. I also played Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 by CyberConnect and what a gem this was. The fighting, animation, story - it all came together so well. And then there was that adventure mode where you could run around the Konoha. It was exceptional. So I decided to pick up their next-gen saga that covered the  entire series from the start. 

Part 1 - Naruto Arc

The original ninja storm starts in the Konoha, and oh boy do I immediately feel like the controls and camera are awkward. It feels like the games that transitioned from the D-Pad to Joystick in the 90s and considering this was CyberConnects first foray into 3D - that probably explains it. It's surprising that I feel like Ultimate Ninja 3 was much much smoother on the PS2. This was the only disappointment as moving around Konoha, a major reason fans hold the first in such high regard, is overrated. It's really dull and awkward, Naruto uses a cannon instead of just Ninja jumping to travel around the village and carry out terrible fetch quests. Not only this there's no wall running up every building? WTF. This was on Ultimate Ninja 3 on PS2... Instead you need to find specific wooden boards, essentially a ladder. 

The gameplay might have been novel and interesting in the awkward transitioning period from PS2 to PS3 but its outdated now. It has a few cool features such as fights transitioning vertically onto walls, which don't return until 4. But the fights are incredibly spammy and you'll be repeating the same jutsu over and over and over and over. Of course you play most of it as Naruto, so you'll see the same Shadow Clone ladder grab enemy and throw dozens or hundreds of times (up until you get the Rasengan I assume). There was one fight in particular against Sakura when you had to hit her with a combo while she was down several times. After the 5 attempt and seeing Naruto's jutsu for the 20th time I gave up - this game isn't for me. The game often put these dumb win conditions into story fights that weren't optional. Speaking of, maybe the biggest sin of all is the story. It's all flashbacks that don't do how great that anime is any justice. So if you were hoping for fan service and a retelling of Naruto Part 1 - look elsewhere. That's a real shame considering Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3 had a great story, great gameplay and fantastic adventure mode (with better quests from memory). The story also included all the arcs - so for the definitive experience of the original Naruto anime this is the game. In fact I'd probably play Ultimate Ninja 3 and Ninja Storm 2-4 if I wanted to play through the anime in the future. Considering how much fans love this game clearly I missed the boat. Maybe the online and splitscreen verses was where it was at but I'll never know. 

Even Sexy Jutsu is more useful than this. 

Part 2 - Pain Arc 

Well it looks like CyberConnect were listening to feedback because the second instalment feels like it improves in almost every way. Fights are superb, especially story fights with cutscenes and animations - moments from the anime are recreated as QTE that serve the core fight mechanics - failing a QTE cutscene sequence loses health and makes you retry from that sequence, succeeding gains health. If you want to play the anime as a game - this is clearly the title to do it. The open Konoha of the first game is gone, replaced by paths, full of items and people with beautiful backdrops. I didn't mind this - it made it feel more like a classic JRPG a kin to Final Fantasy 7 and the world felt much larger as a result. The backtracking however was not ideal. Running over the same areas again and again is terrible, it's not a desirable or clever back tracking as seen in Resident Evil or Final Fantasy. Why the teleport scroll wasn't available until the very end of the game beats me - they could have removed an extra 5 hours padding with it and this game would have been a much better tighter experience. I can see how this would have disappointed fans of the first game, but if it allowed CyberConnect to tighten up the rest of the game instead of improving this, good riddens. Do it right or don't do it at all. 

Most importantly, you feel like a ninja...

The story beats are fantastic, even if they lack a little bit of the details from the anime, as conservations are often altered or removed. The fights iterate on the first instalment and do an excellent job of making you feel like a Ninja in this combat arena. You can dash left or right as characters faze out of view rapidly in typical Naruto fashion, as with the first game projectiles deflect each other and when clashing with ninja kunai to kunai, a block parry will be met with a knock back, land and counter attack or dodge. It's fluid and quick, everything it needs to be as a ninja fighting game. Playing the story mode it's quite clear this is a fighting game first and foremost. The adventure mode is an amazing way to relive the story with a lot of touching moments such as the Gallant Jiraiya visiting the Amegakure - the hidden rain village to face Pain where he is betrayed by his form student. Leading up to one of the most epic moments in all of anime and a lot of peoples favourites: Naruto vs Pain and the internal struggle for the path of revenge and hatred (becoming Sauske) or mercy and forgiveness (rising above). The story feels add odds sometimes, you have these fights which epic animated cutscenes that are so smooth and makes you feel like you're playing the anime out, but it ends with a score board. As someone who wanted a pure story experience this absolutely breaks the immersion after an awesome moment such as Jiraiya fight with Pain or Itachi fight with Sauske. It would have made sense to make this flow on seamlessly I think, similar to Mortal Kombat in one smooth story experience. The score and metagame can be represented in a much more clever and subtle way such as currency or experience. 

The art is beautiful in both 2 and 3.

Part 3 - Pre-War

The first thing I noticed is that the the story is an immediate upgrade. Considering the story in the second game delivered exactly what I'd want and expect from a  high stakes high energy fighting game, it came as a huge surprise when the third game surpassed that. What better way to do this then by opening with Minato as he goes toe-to-toe with the Nine-tails. After heals a Tailed Beast Ball, he's ambushed by Tobi and they teleport outside the village. This is such a beautiful scene and strong start - taking all the spectacular (in the true scenes of the word) cutscenes from the second game and demonstrating the next evolution. Kakashi, Itachi, Rock Lee - these are my favourite characters in the anime - add Neji, Sauske, Ino, Orchimaru and you have my favourite characters to play in Part 2 so far. Now you can add Minato to that list. He's as fast as you'd expect the yellow flash to be, his dodge is literally a yellow flash and he has an ultimate jutsu that lets you tag enemies with his special kunai and get a teleporting Rasengan - so fucking cool. Following this spectacle in the hidden leaves, you cut back to The Third Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi is in full battle gear and ready to go. You jump around the village, sending titanic fireballs at the Nine-tails and calling on different clans of the village to help you. Hurt it enough and it drops its head for you to monkey pound with your staff. The final fight ends with an awesome scene of the Third calling on the entire village to combine their power and destroy the Nine-tails. Seeing the village supporting you is so stylish. Its a shame that no other cutscene one-ups this one. Boss fights are all in the typical arena and the Jinchuriki fights feel uninspired. The cutscenes though do not stop or fail on the consistency front. 60% of this game must have been cinematic and I'm not complaining. I want to live out the anime and some of the QTE cutscenes often seem better animated then the actual anime. Minato vs Obi, village vs Fox, Naruto vs Sasuke, Kakashi vs Zabuza and Five Kage vs Madara are all absolute stand outs for their animation. Especially Naruto vs. Sasuke, bonus points for overall ninjaness. Slinging fireballs while classing on the side of the wall, perfect. It even gives you a choice to fight in their current forms or as a flashback to the last fight in the Valley of the End. A really nice touch - these choices often dot the game as a hero or legend route - and represent difficulty. This was a fun addition and I always went legend. If you get enough stars in a QTE cutscene you unlock a secret moment which is typically a scene from the anime, a nice emotional touch that usually hits and feels rewarding.

The addition of mob fighting is a nice way to pace out the fights, and a fantastic way to make it feel like a JRPG. I felt this was just what the game needed in 2, so it's sad to see it's few and far between. If they removed the score after fights as previously suggested, turned this into a JRPG style adventure game and dungeon crawler, it would be such an immersive Naruto experience. If you get enough stars you unlock a secret moment which is typically a scene from the anime, a nice emotional touch that usually hits right and feels rewarding. On the flip side fighting all the Tailed Beasts show just how repetitive that combat system for Kaiju is - and the final fight was so frustratingly difficult that I had to search for a guide. The gameplay outside of this hasn't changed much outside of general improvements, but the Full Burst edition made a massive change: Substitutions' are now limited to four uses before they need to recharge. Not only does this prevent sub spam, but the technique which was always frustrating and always felt clunky to get the timing right in previous iterations is now super responsive. It might seem small but this is such an integral part of each fight that it makes the gameplay sooooo much better. 

I'll be honest, the story in general dragged on and I was happy once it was over. But this is completely representative of the plot in the later half of Naruto Shippuden and it's issues (more on that in Part 4). Minato and Kushina sealing the fox and sacrificing themselves to save Naruto and the village was a nice touch to play out. It was weird that after fighting Obito in the final sequence, Madara doesn't reinforce him like the anime but instead everyone retreats. The did this so you can play after the game in adventure mode but it felt no less jarring. The adventure mode side content is pretty terrible. No one is voice acted so instead it's: text box, fetch quest, fight, backtrack, repeat. It's just bad. My favourite side mission was using Naruto tail beast bomb in a fight to finish Konohamaru in the middle of the village, destroying it in a nuclear level explosion (before the cutscene ends and nothing happens). An example of the terrible power scaling in the anime. On the other hand the Itachi, Sasuke and Kabuto fight from Full Burst was an absolute joy. Not only is this one of the most redeeming moments of the 4th Shinobi War and Reanimation Jutsu, the animations in this multi-stage fight are absolutely phenomenal. 

 

I'll always drop a year when watching this scene. 

The game has a lot of content - in addition to adventure, story and multiplayer it also has tournament and challenges. These are variations of different fights across the anime with one hundred in total. The gameplay is just so fun it was a joy to explore the full roster and learn every characters move set, strengths and weaknesses. 

I enjoyed 3 so much I platinumed it. You could game the system and get plenty of S Ranks through OP items. 

Part 4 - 4th Shinobi War 

This is going to be a short one - because in essence, everything has been improved upon in the ultimate wrap up for the storm series. Interactive cutscenes are so good that they very often look better than the actual anime. Adventure and story mode have been separated. I whole heartedly support this. Especially considering how jarring it was at the end of Part 3 to break up the plot like that. So not only does the story feel tighter it has an interesting hub map that follows the separate ying-yang paths of Naruto and Sasuke. The map has optional side-stories - they're all great. Obito and Kakashi, Madara vs Hashirama, Naruto vs Sasuke... all these fights are absolutely superb. The final fight, one of the best in the anime is done so right with every interactive cutscene crafted to absolute perfection. The raw emotion in every punch until the brothers have nothing left is felt just as strongly. Switching between playing the two in the present or as children at the academy is such a nostalgic touch. It really captivates the heroes story, of paragon and adversary. My brother loves this scene as the climax of the anime, he really needs to play or watch this scene. 

No punches are pulled in the making of this story mode...

With the adventure mode separated, it feels like there's more content but its still fetch quests. It's clear the team focused on improving the story mode over the adventure mode. I steered clear of adventure mode mostly, I enjoyed it for what it was but it certainly had limitations as the filler of the game, it lacked voice acting and it served as a constant reminder that the series never met the potential of what a Naruto JRPG or open world game could have been. The gameplay, I just can't its so good. Limited substitution return and the gameplay feels even tighter and smoother on the PS4. Character each feel unique down to their movement and individual animations. Neji is smooth and elegant, Kakashi calculated and viable at short and long range, Shino remains at a distance letting his critters do the work. Rock Lee is exactly as you see him in his fight, doing back flips and going full 6 gates to unleash a rapid flurry of power will never get old. Now the unique playstyle and animations of each characters was already top notch in Full Burst and even Ultimate Storm 2, but with an overflowing roster, minor characters have been fleshed out. Kushina is a fry-pan wielding red headed raging demon - her Nine-tails injected into her flowing hair. Shisui the Teleporter (my favourite), flickers around his enemy following up with kenjutsu strikes in rapid succession, augmented by his fire jutsu. His ultimate ability is the ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami. Trapping his enemy in a vision of absolute annihilation "this is the difference in power between he us...". A lot of love has been given to fan favourites.  The biggest improvement without a doubt is changing support jutsu with left/right bumper, to actual characters. Now not only can you play all three characters in your roster, but you can switch them on the fly allowing for amazing moves and cancels mid-combo. It's a thing of absolute anime weabtastic beauty and really feels like the classic Storm fighting arena formula has come full circle in its ultimate form. I could see people playing this for a long time. For the first time in a fighting game I delved into multiplayer with the full intent of getting stuck into it. I think I would have followed through if the latency wasn't absolutely unbearable in Australia. Something I expected. Still, I got some fantastic fights out of it including one with Minato against his former student Kakashi. I still had the Road to Boruto DLC to play and I would have kept going but my TV died so I'll have to save it for another time. I'd really like to do a local session when my TV is repaired too. 

Yes Kakashi, the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy Collection is a great deal!

Now to round things out prepare for a rant. The biggest problem with this game is an issue that stems entirely from the anime. The story sucks, the 4th shinobi war sucks and Naruto (in the end) sucks. Let me explain. A common pitfall with many Shonen anime is power scaling. Characters scale to the point that stakes do not matter any more, and to complete the heroes journey neither do consequences - typically resorting to Deus Ex Machina (Naruto Jesus) to dig themselves out of a hole they created. The story is just boring, it's devolved into Kamehameha and Kaiju fights. These have always been a part of the series but the focus use to be about ninjas first - using deception, guile, and skill to outdo your enemy and get the upper hand. It led to some of the best underdog moments in the story such as Gaara vs Lee, Neji vs Naruto, Pain vs Naruto. There are absolutely some great ninja fights as mentioned above, but they're few and far between. Most fights are Rasengan Kurama, Train, Stronger Rasengan, Kurama, Train, Repeat. For some reason they decided Naruto needs nine-tails fox Super Saiyan mode. Why? It gets so stale and boring and predictable. We're robbed of anticipated moments such as Naruto Jesus saving Guy from the 8th Gate of Death and so many other plot holes and trivialities of a world that was so carefully crafted in the beginning. I loved the warring clans arc and was disappointed that I didn't see the origin story of Hashirama and Madara in this game. These are two characters along with their fellow clans that were done perfectly throughout the entire series. The bottom line is after the Pain arc the show just stopped being about scrolls, toads, kunai, sages and hard training - thrown to the way side in favour of god tier power ups - it wasn't about ninja anymore, it wasn't Naruto. 

The perfect Naruto game 

I try not to be someone who says "if I made a game" or "if they had done this" because I know exactly how hard, or even impossible it feels to make great games. But I feel like CyberConnect has the potential here for a Naruto open world game that every fan has dreamt of. The fight gameplay of Ultimate Ninja Storm is basically perfect, especially for bosses, characters and stronger enemies. Nothing else has made you quite feel like a ninja in combat. But if the mob fights were beefed up to be more fun and stylish, something a kin to Devil May Cry, it'd serve an open world experience much more. Meanwhile character progression would be a great way to simulate that journey of training and hardwork, reaping the jutsu of your labour through experience to be used in mob fights and arena duals. Especially if you're creating your own ninja, but it could also work if you're progressing through the story alongside Naruto. Like Shinobi Striker, CyberConnects other game I would much prefer to create my own character. But instead of a multiplayer arena, I'd like to see my own character as he embarks through this world. It could even be set during an earlier Shinobi War. The movement mechanics would absolutely have to make a return to the game. Traversing up walls and jumping in Striker is the most unique thing about it - and evolved that feeling of being a ninja in an open space like no other game. Transition that mechanic to an open world game. Finally would be building your ninja squad to overcome obstacles - both in combat and exploration. Using genjutsu, release, visual jutsu etc to unlock secrets and new areas as you return to different parts of the world would provide an addictive Metroidvania formula. Perhaps you can do so after acquiring new characters and new jutsu. CyberConnect attempted something like this with DBZ. But the Kakarot game still seemed arcadey, floaty and fetch questy. Like Shinobi Striker, it felt like it was lacking its full potential, a common sentiment I feel with CyberConnect games. One can dream and until they deliver that game Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm will be the last game in the universe I ever play. That chapter is closed. 

The traversal in Shinobi Striker was phenomenal, it's too bad the microtransaction ridden multiplayer was not..

Game 53 - Pokemon SoulSilver - Week 93 - Oct 21

 

okemon is still the best game you can play on mobile devices. Ever since I discovered you could download Emulators on your phone, its been the go-to for all my GBA and SNES needs. I even intended to play through every Final Fantasy up to 7 at one point. Chrono Trigger still calls me to this day. I've always preferred the classic Pokemon experience, 8-bit and 2D. Even though the games have barely innovated with each release over the last 25 years, the classic formula of catch, train and adventure is still great - and I still return to experience another iteration every year or two. I grew up with FireRed and Emerald, and ever since then I always default to my two favourite Gen 1 Pokemon - Gyrados and Machamp. 

I made the decision to finish all remaining 250 episodes of Naruto Shippuden and wanted a good AFK game while I did so (that last arc, oh boy does it drag on). I never played the originals so I figured I'd continue my streak of playing the remakes with Pokemon SoulSilver. I don't have much else to say about the gameplay, story or art, it's timeless. As the new kid in town you must travel and beat all the gym masters to prove yourself, stopping the nefarious Team X along the way. Nothing new here. The art - specifically the design was iconic before anyone even laid eyes on it. The designers did such a great job giving each one unique timeless character, each one a Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny, that led to a 25 year run of the most successful franchise of all time (a fact that still boggles my mind). The gameplay is a combination of unlimited Pokemon, a team of up to 6, each with a 4-move set, throw in items and it gives way to an incredibly rich and deep RPG. Even to this day I love training up my roster of Pokemon from the ground up. This time we had Dragonite, Typhlosion, Graveler, Machoke, Gyarados and... Gyarados? I couldn't pass up at the chance to catch the Red Gyarados. It has a cool little story too. Team Rockets nefarious work in the area has caused a nearby crater to flood and many Gyarados including a Red Alpha, has come to ward them off. You beat him into submission to calm him down. A classic Pokemon tale. 

The legendries are really cool and even though Lugia was an absolute bitch to catch I was glad I did. Something I didn't realise about save states in this iteration is it remembers all rolls once in a battle. WTF. Did they do this on purpose with the remake? Surely this wasn't in the original and if it was it was a coincidence right? Serves me right for save scumming I guess. Never really like Ho-Oh design though the lore is cool - the guardian of the skies will return to its perch once the Bell Tower has been rid of team rocket grunts. A nice little way to end the story. Something that makes SoulSilver and the original the best in the first four of five generations in my opinion is the ending. The original game is set in Kanto, which represents mainland Japan. Johto is another island, and once you finish up in Johto you can travel to Kanto. There's a secret legendary boss you can fight at the end of your journey once you collect all the badges - Red from the first game. Wow that must have been cool as a kid, so much better then fighting the Elite Four over and over. I'm yet to get to the end of Kanto because well, evolutions suck sometimes. The fact that you need to trade to evolve from Machoke to Machamp has always ruined my party on Emulators. I've always wanted that 4 arm Machamp with Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Lightning Punch and Dark Punch,. How cool would that be.... Well after attempting to hack the rom failed several times I gave up. But maybe I'll return to defeat Red and finish training my Pokemon SoulSilver dream team of: Dragonite, Typhlosion, Gengar, Machamp, Gyarados and Charizard.

Game 52 - Alien Isolation - Week 88 - Sep 21

lien Isolation is exactly the experience you'd expect going off the title alone. You play Amanda Ripley. The Company recruits Amanda to search for Ellen 15 years after she and the Nostromo went missing. Your hero journey brings you to Sevastopol Station, where you encounter a certain Xenomorph and uncover what happened. We all know what happens, even in Aliens set 57 years after the first movie, Ellen is told that her daughter has died of old age. Although this could full well be a lie told by the Company to manipulate her. Instead what makes it interesting is a story of survival, reminiscent of the first (and best) movie, an isolated experience with Amanda and the Alien. Sevastopol is enormous, the corporation has its own ideals and culture juxtaposed to the monolithic monopoly that is Weyland Yutani (The Company). It's a character in itself with its own caveats. The stories of the inhabitants and how they've lived, survived and perished on the station amongst the new Alien threat is a truly human story. Told through a combination of voices recorders, terminals and well... dead bodies. 

You'll see a lot of beautiful shots from Sevastopol...

Lets get one thing straight off the bat. The Xenomorph is truly terrifying in every sense of the word. I don't think there's ever been a more realised rendition or possibly ever will of that monster. Even looking at these screenshots now it gives me chills. The sound, the animation, the AI, the scripted scenes it's all perfect. It's a testament to the terrifying design by the original artist H. R. Giger, captivating the epitome of something Alien. Beyond this, the overall design is superb and I would say comes in three stages that correspond to the story overall. 

The Build-up 

After an accident in space while embarking on the Sevastopol you need to rendezvous with the crew of the Torrens (the spacecraft that brought you here). As you attempt to do so you'll wander the dimly lit halls as Amanda wonders where everyone is. Shadows move in the distances, spooking you. Eventually you get a full glimpse of them and realise they're humans, scurrying like terrified rats in the dark. After restoring power to part of the station you meet some of the more defensive inhabitants, they're best avoided. Axel Fielding is one of the first survivors you encounter and something has him spooked, a killer, not human. They agree to help each other for passage off the station. After giving her some essential lessons on survival, Axel perishes to an Alien in one of those very shafts he showed you how to use. No where is safe. Amanda panics and flees of course. Avoiding a few other survivors finds you at the medical facility. Dr. Kuhlman appears and wants to help you but you must activate something. After helping the good doctor alarms begin their siren call. As you hurry back to the Doctor a vent pops above you. I hid behind a nearby medical bed, peaking through the gaps available. A head, a tail and a body slink down from the vent. It hangs there before it drops down, extending all its limbs reveals a truly terrifying towering monster with an elongated head that towers well above any man. I shiver. It moves. I move. So begins the cat and mouse game that become your journey. 

The Xenomorph

The gameplay is reminiscent of Outlast. The Alien cannot be killed by mere civilian grade and conventional weapons. The best you can do is hide in lockers, cabinets, storage - distract the creature and move quietly through vents. The motion tracker is your best friend here, but don't get too comfortable with the machine as it can be heard if too close. Here presents why the Alien is truly terrifying, it's intelligent. It knows the layout, it stalks, looks in hiding areas, listens for breathing or any sign of life. I bought a unique proprietary Sony headset with 3D sound for this game. As you move the isolated halls you'll often hear scurrying around you. 3D sounds lets you hear above, below or beside you. The Alien is everywhere at all times. It's terrifying and so worth it. The gameplay is an addictive combination of salvage and craft. Materials can be used to craft various useful items. Pipe bombs and Molotov will both use blasting caps and ethanol; Androids don't like explosives and Aliens don't like fire - so choose wisely as you try to predict what you'll face and manage your supplies. I loved balancing the materials scavenged with the stock I have to survive encounters. Combine this with crawling through vents and you truly felt like a survivor, immersing you completely. Working Joe's are Sevastopol's answer to the Company androids. Cheap and effective for off world labour. Well a little too cheap as you'll soon find out that they malfunction and attempt to kill everything. I heard complaints about how numerous and hard these are to kill. Those people are just bad - a stun shock and a few wrench hits to the head and thing will be be spasming on the ground. The issues comes when they catch you unaware, there's an Alien nearby or both. At first it annoyed me that the two didn't fight, but it makes sense considering the Alien wouldn't sense a lifeform. The Working Joe looks at the creature as if it's an animal - asking robotically "what are you?" the code to provide that answer clearly missing from their software. Then there's the humans. I just avoided them wherever possible, only firing back in self defence when caught. Often they'd fire a few shots and draw the attention of the Alien, usually a good opportunity for a distraction. There's a few plans laid bare to trap the Alien. Unaware to you, there are a ton of oil barrels setup by the Marshal Waits, which explodes saving you from the Alien right in front of you but almost killing you. Then you attempt to lock it in part of the station and e-vac. Well Waits, a true utilitarian, sends you with the Xenomorph. So ungrateful, but you manage to get back with your thrusters. After fighting through some survivors and Joe's, just when you think you're safe, it reappears. What? How? This best describes the Alien Isolation experience. In the first movie the crew tried countless tactics to the very end and even when it was just Ellen left, it thwarted her plan to detonate the vessel, and join her when she used an escape vessel. Every time you feel like the Xenomorph has been thwarted, it returns. A relentless unstoppable killing machine, as if designed that way. A perfect recreation of the practical effects creature in the movie, made of 1s and 0s. 

The weapons all feel accurate to the world and only powerful enough to just keep the Alien at bay. The flamethrower of course feels perfect - spurting liquid fire just like you'd expect from the first movie.

Talk about a face lift...

The Ending

Henry Marlow is captain and owner of the Anesidora, and he treats you to an interesting story regarding your mother. They find the distress signal and this leads to a derelict ship on LV-426. For a fan of the series this was amazing. We get to void walk the surface of LV-426 exactly as it was in the first movie, we see the derelict from the distance, and even the Space Jockey up close. Wandering the halls of the Derelict culminates in a final scene in a room with dozens of eggs... 

As if this wasn't all bad enough we find out there are multiple Aliens. We realise this none too soon when Amanda finds herself in their Den. You better hope you have that flamethrower stocked up. Multiple Aliens wander these chitinous halls, face huggers crawl the floors, eggs dot the ground and humans have been harvested and tethered to the wall - their faces the picture of absolute shock and horror. This is the best sequence of the game. You're surrounded on all sides. Everything you've done so far has culminated in this moment. I love scavenging and inventory management games, so I was  thankfully stocked to the brim, preparing for this moment the entire game. I always love when a game requires me to use it all - instead of having a stockpile of weapons and items to take on vacation after the credits roll. You know you're against the clock here. Stealth is barely an option, especially considering your objective requires  you to activate power cells that will draw multiple Xenomorphs. But at least you know you can prepare traps. Molotoves, pipebombs, stun grenades are all your best friends. Crawling through narrow passage ways was already nerve-racking enough enough, but when you're met with several rushing face huggers it's hard not to feel a rush of panic. The pinnacle of tension in an already tense game. 

I think that best describes this game tense. You'll feel it the entire time you play, whether you're hiding in a locker holding your breath until your lungs give out, waiting for the Xenopmorph to pass. Using that precious molotov and hoping it'll be enough for now, or making a slow break for it while a foe has its head turned to avoid its line of sight. You're constantly pushed to your limits. After we're treated to a nice scene and not to the movies where Ripley finds a video of her mother, it's time to get off this death trap. The final scene has Ripley rejoin the Torrens. However in classic Alien fashion you've been joined by a guest so you space yourself and the creature with a well timed air lock release and the game ends with Ripley floating in space. 

I have one final things to say and that's how on point the presentation is. Even the basic stuff in between the lines that wasn't seen in the movies. Everything feels just as it was meant to be. The keyboards, the terminals, Ridley Scott's 80s vision of a Sci-Fi future. Throw in some absolutely superb environmental storytelling, and the game immerses you in its world of horror just as well as the movies. With a great personal story that ties into the lore nicely, it'd be a tragedy if this wasn't considered canon.

A great way to explain all the bizarre schematics found everywhere - survivors. 

Game 51 - Arkham Knight - Week 80 - Jul 21

 

atman: Arkham Knight was a polarized game - but playing it I wonder if the criticisms were largely overblown. The story, the villains, Gotham were all absolutely superb and just as good if not better than the previous two games. The gameplay is a welcome evolution of Arkham City, but it's not without its blemishes. I paid minimal attention to the controversy and criticisms of the game at release, but a few gameplay issues are the only valid complains I could see. So let's start there.

I first bought Batman Arkham: Asylum for $120 - that was nuts and the most I've ever spent on a game before - I still to this day have no idea why there was a game price bubble at the time. But it was worth every dollar to see my favourite childhood super hero (and still is to this day) come to life in a way that was so on point. The story is what you'd expect from a Batman story, a rogues gallery chiefly taking inspiration from the greats such The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke but with references to almost every great Batman comic. In Asylum, the combat created a new gameplay trend within action games never seen before. Mad Max, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and lesser known titles like Hand of Fate all adopted the gameplay to various degrees of success. The premise is simple, a button to attack, a counter, stun, dodge - leave the rest to combos and flashy animations. In Batman's case throw in some expensive gadgets and satisfying bone crunching and you have a Caped Crusader romp. It's all the more impressive that Rocksteady pioneered this gameplay style instead of adopting it, considering how perfect it is for a Batman game. He flies across the room, punches, kicks, elbows making you always feel like a badass. Beyond this is the predator mode, you use vents, gadgets and takedowns. Feeling the fear in the thugs around you as you pick them up from the darkness one by one. Lastly are the gadgets minigames, riddles, and detective games. You felt like you had donned the Cowl in every aspect. Arkham City took this an expanded it from a more Metroidvania experience into an open world. Especially with the glide and grapple hook mechanics. 

It's good to be back...

Arkham Knight has seen the final form of that vision, expanding from the small quarantined prison city of the second game to broader Gotham City. This evolution comes in the form of the Batmobile. And omg did they get this right. Press square to level the playing field - as you see Batman on his perch nose dive, cape flying up to stop his fall, a well timed Batmobile drifts around a corner as the Knight lands in the seat. It's go time. Here's the main issue of two. The tank combat. While it's fun at first my god does it get tedious. With the left trigger the Batmobile can transform into a tank mode. Enemies shoot you, you dodge there telegraphed shots, get enough hits in without getting hit and you can use a special ability. Repeat. While it's fun at first my god does it get tedious after the 100th, 500th, 1000th drone tank. Not to mention it just fundamentally doesn't feel Batman. I really wish the vehicle had more options or this gameplay was explored a little more - it feels underdeveloped. My Bat tank should have 6, 7, 8 weapons. Not 2 viable weapons. There should be more than four drone types in the entire game. Either that or reduce the sheer amount you have to fight (more on that later). 

Thankfully a lot of the Tank content is optional side-stories.

So what about when you're not in tank mode? The torque, throttle, thrusters.. it's all perfect. Drifting around the streets of Gotham in that absolute monster feels just right. If something looks like it would crumble under the bumper, it will. It feels like driving the Batmobile. The lynch and winch is a really nice addition. The turret can shoot its own grapple which gets pretty creative in puzzles, particularly when its pulling the Batmobile into hard to reach places. Controlling the Batmobile remotely to move  an elevator and allow Batman to squeeze through the shaft really makes you feel like an intellectual using his brain just as much as his fists to defeat foes. Even in combat the iconic vehicle comes into play. You can simply use rubber bullet machine guns to knock out criminals, or during combat you can knock an enemy skyward for a turret combo to blast them out of the sky. When I first experienced this my jaw dropped. It really does feel fully integrated into that Batman experience from Arkham City. That's the evolution of gameplay in a nutshell. There are many small design decisions that add up to the overall experience that make you feel like Batman. Detective mode is great, using the Batmobile as a scanner in one stand out mission to track down Barbra Gordon. Map markers are the Bat signal, when you're called by an ally like Alfred or Barbara for an important story beat - there's no MGS cutscene nor does Batman just put a finger on his ear and bluetooth piece. Instead he opens up a full holographic video to talk to the person and can walk around. A toy only this rich boy could have. 

Gotham has been expanded so traversal in general is a lot more fun. This leads to the second issue - too much filler content. The amount of side missions is insane. Go here clear this camp, defeat these Arkham mercs, disarm this bomb, disable this tower. Some of these are fun - but after a while they all blur together and you just want them to be over and done with. It should be noted that this was partially self-inflicted, most of this stuff is optional. So in this sense I think a lot of the harsh criticism was overblown. However there are a few aspects working against you here. Arkham City beckoned you to experience everything and many side-missions led to cool villain fights from the comics. Knight is largely the same but with far more fat to cut through. To get the true ending, defeat Deathstroke in a cool scene and activate the Knightfall Protocol you need to 100% the game. I would say it was worth it in the end. The gameplay is still fun - but regardless of if you skipped it or pushed through it much of it felt unnecessary and the overall experience was less tighter than Asylum and City as a result. If City was a 10/10, then Knight is a 9/10 for this reason and this reason alone. 

Why'd you do it Deathstroke, so many bloody mercs hired and locked up...

The art? It's perfect. Dark, gothic and crisp. I have no doubt this is the most realised iteration of Batman facelifted direct from the comics and the animated series, that we will ever see. But a picture paints a thousand words, so prepare below for a high wordcount. 

You can even see Arkham Asylum and Wayne Manor in the distance.

The villains of the Batman mythos is why it is the greatest super hero series of all time. A heroes story, plight, success and trophies are only as impressive as the adversary and struggle he faces. Achievement is measured by what it took to get there. The sheer rogue gallery of the Dark Knight is second to none. A dark reflection of the well of insanity that we all know we hold within us. Each villain could and has had it's own complete story at some point, what they lack in the power they certainly make up for in unpredictability. The villains are on full display here yet again. It's fun to take down the Riddler, Two-Face, Cobblepot, Firefly again. I really enjoyed the villains that don't end in fisticuffs, like Hush trying to steal Bruce Wayne's identity again breaking into Wayne Tower. They are some of the best moments for Bat fans. 

It's cool to see the Bat family here on full display. In prior games they were only referenced or in brief chats, here they show up to help you take down various villains. Nightwing has tracked down the Penguin from his turf. Robin is on the hunt for Harley. Catwoman will reluctantly help you take down Enigma. In each of these encounters you can switch between the two in a double team combo that is oh so so smooth. All the characters, ally or foe, have perfect voice acting. Many returning from the prior games and animated series - there's not a single character that hasn't been done right here. 

Riddler has taken Catwoman hostage and forces you to solve his riddles to save here. It's an interesting premise and I always love to see these two perform their reluctantly sexual song and dance together. Riddler makes an interesting third wheel. Trophies aren't very different here with the one big exception of the Batmobile. I still enjoy them enough to 100%. 

Well these are fun...

The main plot is pretty standard fair, it's the execution that made it so exceptional. We're treated to a first person scene as a police officer encountering Scarecrow, and witnessing the effects of his new toxin first hand. I love Scarecrow and this was amazing, I'm so happy to see him take the spotlight in this final iteration. The toxin has been planted all over Gotham and the inhabitants have been evacuated and inmates have been liberated from Blackgate penitentiary. If that wasn't bad enough, a group of mercenaries led by the mysterious Arkham Knight have taken over the city, working with Scarecrow.

I saw the twists coming a mile away. Of course Arkham Knight was going to be Jason Todd aka Red Hood, especially with all the re-treading of comics that lead up to the death in a family. However I did not see Deathstroke being the true mastermind of the mercenaries. While it did feel like a convenient excuse to squeeze in another villain, I'm okay with that, the more the merrier. This is Batman after all and I like Deathstroke. 

So you stop the Scarecrow and his gas cloud, before it consumes Gotham entirely. We're treated to some absolute havoc on the streets, reminding us just how far we've come to falling. Lock up all the dangerous crims in Gotham. Scarecrow reveals Batman's identity in an AWESOME end sequence that's perfect for a villain that preys on fear. What other fear does a masked hero have then to endanger his loved ones? With his identify revealed Bruce Wayne leaves the cowl behind and activates Knightfall protocol, burning Wayne Manor, the Batcave and all evidence to the ground.  

This was such an awesome secret ending and way to wrap up the Batman trilogy...

Azrael wasn't worthy of the cowl so you locked him up with the rest of the crims. 

So that's it right? A nice little run of the mill Batman story where the villains are thwarted yet again. Well not exactly. Like I said the story was all about execution. And the story went above and beyond by exploring the psyche of Bruce Wayne and what it means to be the Batman. The Joker died at the end of Arkham City and his body being cremated at the start of Arkham Knight casts away any doubt of his death being faked. Part way through the story its revealed that his blood has been mixed with a toxin that's infecting others and turning them into the Joker. This is revealed in specular fashion with Harley Quinn helping the four Jokers you had locked up escape. Lost, grieving, she wants her Mr. J back, even in spirit. You might question why there was a fifth empty cage and Robin certainly did. The old man was infected and shows no signs of being the Joker, so he helps you track and take down the others with Robin. Afterwards he and Harley promptly kill them all. There can only be one Joker he exclaims as he looks into Batman's eyes. "Oh...... you will be brilliant" he says before putting a bullet in his skull. There can only be one Joker...

The story from here takes a turn that in my opinion makes it one of the best Batman stories in the entire franchise. Your old drinking buddy starts appearing on posts, leaning against the Batmobile, in the drivers seat - commenting or sliding in a joke wherever he can. He's the best villain of the series, we all know that and it's just a ingenious way to develop that Bat and Clown relationship further. I never in a million years would have thought that killing off the Joker, would have led to him becoming a better character. At the end of Arkham City I thought his story was done, boy was I wrong. The entire story you're questioning whether he will become the Joker. He locks Robin up after he tries to convince Batman (with pretty obvious intention of force if Bruce disagrees) to lock himself up. The entire story Batman ignores the Joker, true to his character and willpower. Even when he speaks to villains her refers to them by their name, Harvey, Selina, Cobblepot, Enigma, not willing to engage and add to their delusions and alter egos. Bruce is peak human intelligence, he knows the Joker isn't real... at least for now. But that's not much different to the regular story, it gives the Joker the spotlight, exactly what he deserves to make the writing shine. The Joker Batman's head has him at his peak capacity - echoing the weight of the cowl and past mistakes like Death in Family or The Killing Joke constantly throughout the story. 

The Killing Joke is Alan Moore's greatest work, encapsulating the eternal struggle between the two perfectly. 

A death in the family - Jason Todd before his inevitable rebirth as the Red Hood. 

All this culminates in an absolutely epic conclusion. Batman about to stop Scarecrow, only just resisted becoming the new Joker. He's captured by Scarecrow and his identity has been revealed. The Scarecrow injects him with his fear toxin. But little does he know Batman is not alone. He seemingly gives into his greatest fear. After walking the line of madness for so many years, Batman is no more, but is now the Joker. In this sequence we play the Joker, driving into a den with a Batmobile decked out in Joker graffiti and the typical decor we'd expect. You shoot down the nearby cronies but this time the bullets are real. They don't get back up. The Joker hops out of the car and carries on, shotgun in tow he blasts away the Riddler, blasts away Cobblepot and blasts away Two-Face. There can only be one Clown Prince of Crime. Finally he blasts away Commissioner Gordon, with Batman gone he was the last defence against Chaos. Gotham burns. Well then something unexpected happens. The scene cuts to black over Gotham burning. Bats is that you? More black. Oh batssss. Pitch black. Triangle to activate flashlight. We're back to the scene of the Joker. His body is being cremated. "Good times". Then his grave "No that can't be my grave, small, overgrown. Oh I get it. I've been forgotten. Funny bats. But some jokes can be in bad taste". Papers dot the scenes of the Joker, forgotten. As you wander the rest of the memoriam to Joker you'll find exhibits to no one remembering the Joker. Turning around will reveal the Bat as a statue, blacking you from going back, preventing you from avoiding the fade into dust. Creepy. Moving forward shows another bat statue. Creepy. Lucky you have a shotgun. Vicky Vale mistakes Joker for the Riddler... Ouch. Let's forget about him and move on. "You think that's scary Bats?" More statues. More statues. Not enough ammo. The Bat takes the Joker. He's locked away. The key is gone. He's forgotten. Forever. 

As the scene returns to the Scarecrow, the green fades from Bruce's eyes. He injects him once again, one final dose. "I'm not afraid Crane". A well placed shot from the Redhood and Bruce chokes the Scarecrow into submission, taking a healthy does of his own medicine. He is terrified... Bats. Lots and lots of bats. Ugh, who wouldn't be. I've gone into a lot of detail for this scene but I needed to express just how epic it is for Batman. Infected with the joker, infected with a fear toxin, his willpower and strength of mind, his singular purpose is so great that he intentionally lets go, pits the fear toxin against the Joker and then uses them to cancel each other out. He defeats his own fear and compartmentalises it, the Joker, forever. Through sheer force of will. That right there is Batman. More than any other scene on any silver screen or glossed paperback panel. 

Jokers on you...

Game 50 - Castlevania - Week 76 - June 21

astlevania. It still holds up. 

I just finished the absolutely brilliant Netflix series wrapping up Season 4. The story was exactly what I wanted with the Carmilla (fem Dracula) arc coming to an end. The animation is top of its game and this is none more clearer than in the fight scenes. Issac vs. Carmilla, Alucard, Trevor & Sypha vs. Dragan and of course Trevor Belmont, Vampire Slayer vs. Death. A twist about Varney I did not see coming at all btw. Naturally these fights made me want to play a series I was always curious about. Well the anniversary edition was on discount at the time, smart move Konami, so I just had to pick it up. 

Trevor faces Death itself... what a natural and satisfying climax to wrap up the gothic saga. 

Well enough gushing about the Netflix series, what about the game? The art, the music, the gameplay. So SO GOOD. There's just something timeless about the 8-bit art and chiptune sounds tracks. Especially when it's an authentic OG. But specific to Castelvania they do a good job of making it uniquely gothic. The story is almost non-existent. You're Simon Belmont, line to a family of legendary vampire slayers. Count Dracula and his Castle has reappeared after he was slain by your ancestor a century years prior, so it's time to get to work. As you traverse the castle you'll vanquish classic monsters such as bats, skeletons, zombies, ghosts, mummies and medusa heads. 

So what about the gameplay? It's so good. Even the whip. Similar to Mario and mushrooms of the era, finding a whip improves the range of Vampire Killer - instead of a health buffer it gives you a damage buffer. A skilled player can crouch whip, jump whip and back step like something reminiscent to Street Fighter. Even now it's still fun to vaporize enemies with the whip. In addition to this Trevor has various items such as cross shuriken (boomerang), holy water that's essentially a Jesus Molotov (my favourite) or the ability to freeze time. It's fun to figure out the weaknesses and techniques for each enemies. The waiting and strike patterns, which items are best, especially for bosses. Some items just break bosses and I love that. In the Netflix series, a big part of the Belmont Clan's success at monster slayer is there study of enemies to find that classic Silver Bullet. Even dedicating an episode to the trio venturing into the abandoned hidden keep to find secrets on Dracula. So you can tell they were really faithful to the games, because that's exactly how they feel to play. The game does a great job recreating a feeling of adventure, climbing the castle to the top in a slow ascent, slaying everything evil as you go before inevitably reaching the villain. A classic fairy tale and I can see why it captivated so many of the time. 

I really would have liked to do the whole collection at once but there's just so many. I'll do 1-4 and Symphony of the Night one by one.