Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (Xbox One) Thoughts

I was fortunate to be able to buy Wolfenstein: The New Order for the Xbox One on sale earlier this year and not only play it to completion but play it while streaming (thus providing plenty of video proof of my lack of prowess in these games). I had heard a decent amount of positive buzz surrounding the first game but for whatever reason it was never enough to get me to give it a try. It took a big sale (with a price of about 10 bucks) for me to take the plunge and it was worth it (despite its flaws, which I will get into shortly). I was very happy to learn of this sequel and looked forward to its release the most of the big games this fall.

I had a few issues with the first game, to be perfectly honest. A couple of major issues stood out to me at the time and I very much had them in mind in my anticipation for this game. I died far too many time due to the clumsy weapons selection wheel in the first game. The game featured dual wielding versions of each weapon and both single and dual wielded were shown on the selection wheel as separate items, leading to a cramped wheel that made picking the right choice (especially in the heat of combat) very difficult. The new game removes the dual wielding from the wheel and places it as a toggle as on the up on the D-pad. In the first game, you had to push X to pick up everything. In this new game, you automatically pick up armor and ammo, but not health or collectable items.

Like in the new Order, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus features a wide cast of characters to interact with both in game and in cutscenes. Most of the are well acted and many are quite memorable. As the game progresses you pick up more and more of them to add to your base camp. Like the first game, there are major moments that very much define this games story. The difference in this game is that it ratchets up the shock and gore and in some cases leaves you needing a moment to sort out what just happened and what it means. It is much more than one would expect from a game like this.

I found it very difficult to do well playing Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, much like the first game. I played it at the default difficulty and died very frequently. My frustration and difficulty largely stemmed from the fact that I was playing the game wrong. I am used to playing at a more deliberate pace, planning my moves and taking it slowly. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, like the first game, demands that you stay on the move always firing (preferably dual wielding) and not stopping. This game may be a marathon but each battle is a race and the faster to move through them, the more success you will have (I found that dual wielded semi automatic assault rifles to be the best fir for me in this regard). 

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus would likely be my game of the year were it not for Cuphead. The game is not perfect (no game is) but it succeeds at providing an engaging story full of interesting and memorable characters, set piece battles on on some unusual levels, and hard to comprehend at first but largely satisfying combat puzzle (at no point did I feel it was hopeless) and a high level of visual polish all in a single player only game. In this day and age that is a rare accomplishment and one that is worth celebrating.

Cuphead (Xbox One) Thoughts

My Cuphead Play Through Playlist
At long last, the day that he much anticipated Cuphead released came to pass. After being delayed from its original 2016 release time frame, the game came out in late September 2017 as my most desired game of the year. I can also say as of this point, Cuphead is also the front runner for my game of the year. This opinion comes from the amazing visuals, tight controls, and well designed bosses and levels as well as the feeling of tough but fair run and gun/bullet hell shooting game play.

It has to be said, this may be the best looking game that I have ever played. I'm not sure if that is even a hyperbolic statement at this point even though it clearly sounds like one when said out loud. The fact that every object, every character, every frame was hand drawn and digitally scanned gives an understandable reason why this game took so long to make. The little bits of scratching and film grain overlaid and the color bleeding is only further proof of the developer's commitment to the 1930's cartoon visual art style. Cuphead is a Joy to behold from start to finish.

Make no mistake, the game play in Cuphead is tough, as nails. There are no check points and no health pick ups. This game is about Trial and error, pattern memorization and reflexes, grunt and shear determination. The game features and over world from which you select levels and interact with various N.P.C.s along the way. Cuphead is mostly about fighting well designed and complex bosses. There are a hand full of run and gun stages that provide coins from which various charms and weapons can be purchased but they are few and far in between. It is necessary to change one's weapons and approach to facing the game's many challenges (a lesson I had to learn the hard way as a 3 hour boss battle with a certain dragon proved).

The game's difficulty would be too much to bear were it not for the perfect controls that Cuphead features. Once the button layout is configured to your liking (almost a requirement) the game controls as solidly as anyone could expect. You have a "Dash" and a "Parry" button (anything in the game that is pink can be parried off of) as well as buttons for "Jump", "Shoot", "Change Weapons", and a "Lock" button that plants you in place for 8 way directional shooting. There is also an "EX" button which uses meter that generates as you land hits that gives you an extra powerful attack which varies depending on which weapon you have equipped at the time.  When pressed with a full meter, this  unleashes a "Super" which is earned from completing special parrying based stages.

I very much enjoyed playing through Cuphead for the Xbox One even as it took me many tries to beat most of its bosses and levels. For me a hallmark of a worth while game is how much frustration I can bear and yet still want to play it regardless. At no point in my play through of Cuphead did I even think about quitting or giving up no matter how long it took to beat a boss. The Visuals were just too good, the controls to perfect, and there was always the sense that my dying was my fault and that just one more try could be the time I beat it. At this point Cuphead is very likely my Game of 2017.

Sonic Mania (Xbox One) Thoughts

My Sonic Mania Playlist

I have played through quite a few Sonic games in my day (mostly of the 2D variety) and although I was hopeful that Sonic Mania was going to be a good one I did not expect it to be as good as it is. The game is not perfect (as no game is) but it still stands head and shoulders above not only other recent 2D Sonic Games but above other recent non-Sonic 2D games as well.

Positives
First and foremost I have to say that this games just feels right. The running, Jumping, dashing, flying, and bouncing all feel the same way that they did ( or at least what my memory says they did) back in the 90's. This does not seem at first glance to be a big deal but after playing Sonic 4 and Sonic Generations, games that did not get the feel of Sonic right, this is huge.

Sonic Mania also gets the look of classic Sonic games right with its use of enhanced 16 bit style graphics that very much look like what a 2D sonic game would have looked like on the Sega Saturn. The Colors are bright, the sprites are crisp and the animation is a step above what one would have gotten from Sega's 16 bit console. The Sound and Music are Classic 90's as well with plenty of catchy tunes both old and new (Studiopolis is awesome).

Finally the stages in Sonic Mania are top notch. The remade levels feel like they did back in the day. It does not take long into the old levels before you notice that they are not just straight up remakes but remixed versions with added elements. The second act in a stage typically features even more changes, sometimes even a different pallet entirely. The new stages are just as good and very creative in their own right.

Negatives
Sonic Mania is not perfect. There are a few things about it that should have been removed, even if it meant not being completely faithful to the classic Sonic feel. The cheap deaths (Falling on spikes near the green pop up tops with fire underneath in Oil Ocean should not be an instant death) and Some overly difficult bosses (looking at you Metal Sonic) make the games difficulty feel uneven at times.
The biggest criticism I have to offer is the 10 Minute Time limit. The levels in this game are much bigger that they were back in the 16 bit era and the reward for seeking out the hidden areas in the nooks and crannies of each level make exploration a more vital part of the game than ever. This makes the 10 minute limit fell arbitrary and at odds with the rest of the game design.

In summery I feel like this is the Game that Sonic fans have been waiting for years (if not decades) to play. Sonic Mania does pretty much everything right and it does it with style. It makes me hope that the developers behind this make even more games 2D Sonic Games (a follow up with all new levels?) or even try their hand at making a good 3D Sonic Game (anything is possible). Perhaps even a Sonic Mania 2 that feature remixes of different old levels ( Mushroom Hill, Death Egg, ect.) as well as a few new ones. In any case I look forward to seeing what comes next.

E3 2017, some thoughts

Looking back on this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, I decided to type up a few words about a week after the fact. Overall I thought it was a good show. There were a couple of no shows that are worth mentioning, Tomb Raider 3, The Last of Us 2, Halo 6, Nintendo Switch ports Smash Brothers and Mario Maker, Xbox VR support and more third party support for Microsoft's Games anywhere program. For the most part, this year's E3 was about Games, games, and also more games.

Here is my list of the stuff I found the most interesting in no particular order.

-Original Xbox Backwards compatibility
Microsoft finally announced that Original Xbox backwards compatibility for the Xbox One. The announcement came with few details and only one confirmed game (Crimson Skies) at the press conference itself but it was later revealed that the program would not be as expansive as that of Xbox 360 compatibility and that it will arrive some time this Fall. I fully expect it to function in a similar way in that you will insert a Xbox Game disc and download a digital version of said game from Xbox live that you will need the disc as a disc check in order to play.

-Ori and the Will of the Wisps
For me, the biggest surprise of the show was the announcement of Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the sequel to my favorite game from 2015. As a sequel  to the best looking game of this console generation it was stunning, even from the short trailer that was shown. The game appears to take place immediately after the events of the first game. The trailer also seems to suggest a second playable character. It will be interesting to see if they incorporate some kind of character switching aspect to this "Metroidvania" style game. There was no release date given.

-Cup Head release date
My biggest fear coming into the show was that Cup Head, one of my more anticipated games for a couple of years now, was going to get a release window of sometime in 2018. thankfully that was not the case as it was announced to be September 29 of this year. They show a brief trailer at Microsoft's press conference ending it with the release date, which was more than enough to satisfy me. The game was supposed to come out last year but it was delayed for a year to add more traditional platforming elements to this game which was going to be a "boss Rush" game.

-Anthem
The beginning of this game's trailer made it seem like a Star Wars game set in the new Trilogy (Episodes 7,8,9) but it very quickly opened up to a larger seemingly open world. Anthem seems to be a cross between Destiny, Just Cause, and Far Cry. Visually it looks fantastic as the kind of game one would expect to see from a game for a next gen console (what ever that means nowadays). I am not sure what the game play will be like but it seemed to be exportation focused with some traversal and combat thrown in. The game also seems to switch between a first person view point in town and a third person one in the jungle areas. The game was announced for sometime 2018 (I'm thinking Holiday).

-Metro Exodus
Another Show stopper in the Microsoft press conference Metro Exodus seemed to conjure up memories of the first Killzone 2 trailer from 2005 as being perhaps too good to be real. In all probability  it was real (if highly scripted) and will likely be a 30 fps game at least on consoles. This game peeked my interest because with its prominence at the Microsoft press conference and its high visual polish, the developers of this series might finally be making a Metro game that is at least somewhat more approachable. I have the last two games via Xbox live Games with gold for the Xbox 360 but these games always seemed much too intimidating for me to give them a try. There was no release date announced.

-Xbox One X
The big enchilada, Project Scorpio was officially name the Xbox One X (or the X.B.O.X.) and was priced at the expected $499 price point. The system was also shown to be slightly smaller than the (already smaller) Xbox One S. I do not as of yet have a 4K TV so the use I would have for such a purchase would be limited. That being said I could use the reduced load times, a fast operating UI (hopefully) having all the games be rendered at least 1080p (if not benefiting from super sampling) and a smaller system with a built in power supply. If there is a good enough trade in program for my launch Xbox One I could see myself upgrading. As for what criticism there is about the price it should be pointed out that a similarly capable PC would cost at least twice as much as this console. The system is scheduled for release November 7 of this year.    

-Super Mario Odyssey
The Game I expected to be my game of the show, Super Mario Odyssey certainty did not disappoint. If anything the showing at Nintendo's E Video thingy (I really don;t know what to call them anymore) was far more over the top than I expected. for starters you use your living hat to take over other things, ranging from Goombas to bullet bills to ordinary people and even cars, with each person or thing you take control gains a Mario style mustache. If I end up getting a Nintendo Switch it will be because of this gamer. Super Mario Odyssey's release date is October 27 of this year.

-Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
What do you get when you cross Ubisoft's Rabbids with Super Mario? Apparently you get X.C.O.M., crazy right? As far as I am concerned this game is too bananas not to consider getting should I end up buying a Nintendo Switch. It is expected to be released August 29 of this year.

-Sea of Thieves
Rare's colorful pirate themed M.M.O. like game is getting more and more interesting to me each time I see it. Sea of Thieves is starting to look like a game with missions and quest and the like that normal games tend to have. It certainty is a good looking game but it is till a long way off with no release date announced.

-Wolfenstein: the New Colossus
Even after having bought the first game, Wolfenstein: the New Order on sale for $6 I have still not yet gotten around to playing it yet. seeing the trailer for the sequel however makes me want to play it more and one of these days I am sure that I will. The New Colossus is set in a post World War 2 America in which The Germans won the war and have taken over. It would seem from the trailer that the success of the first game both critically and commercially have given the game's developers license and free range to go bonkers with the sequel. The game's release date is October 27 of this year, I will make a point of playing and finishing the first game before then.

Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen, another random list of stuff from E3.

Thanking you for reading this anyway,
Gangway

Darksiders (Xbox 360) Review

Going into Darksiders for the Xbox 360 (which I played via backwards compatibility on the Xbox one) I expected (based on what I have heard all these years since its release) a Zelda clone. While the Combat system is much closer to that of a Devil May Cry style character action game and the going is rough at first, the now defunct Vigil Games indeed created a darker Zelda style game. What is more they created a good one, for the most part.

The Game opens with Armageddon, the final battle between Heaven and Hell taking place on the streets of Manhattan. Amidst the chaos War (one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse) is summoned via a meteor and you begin smashing anything in your way. Something is very wrong though. The other three horsemen (War's brothers) are not there and you quickly get blamed for the battle that wipes humanity from the face of the Earth. As punishment you are stripped of your powers and given a suicidal mission to find the ones responsible for the chaos and bringing them to justice, all the while with a handler holding your "leash".

The game starts you out with a basic over sized sword and the ability to grab large objects (such as burned out cars) and throw them at enemies. You very quickly acquire an off hand scythe style weapon from the traveling creepy shoppe keeper and a horn (which acts both as a crowd control device and a special door opener). Over time, you acquire more weapons and items often using them to defeat the boss of the dungeon where you receive them in.

Darksiders is not an open world, or even an overworld style game. Instead it is a series of hubs connected to long pathways that connect to other hubs to more pathways that end in dungeons. It is a design that can result in a fair bit of back-tracking as items you gain give you access to previously unreachable areas. There is a fast travel system that you gain access to fairly early via the local shopkeeper. Near the end of the game you gain a flaming demon horse that you ride in the more open areas (you are a horsemen, afterall).

The combat system uses a similar juggle and crowd control scheme as Devil May Cry with weapons that have advantages and disadvantages that you learn very quickly. Your Sword (which you always have equipped) is mapped to the X button while you offhand weapon is assigned to Y. The left trigger acts as your lock on or Z targeting if you will and the right trigger uses the item or ranged weapon you have equiped ( such as the horn, boomerang, pistol, and others). You also start out with a dash move that is used for evasion and positioning in battle. The Combat is quite satisfying once you get the hang of it.  Larger enemies that are near death of a B button icon appear over them that prompts you to finish them off in an over the top, somewhat God of War manner.  

The Dungeons in Darksiders are of similar nature to a standard 3D Zelda game. You move blocks, flip switches, destroy barriers (sometimes with the use of Bomb Plants) and raise platforms with the intent of either getting to a higher elevation or opening a specific door. These obstacles are simple in the early dungeons but become much more complex in later ones. Occasionally you are sealed off in an area with a series of enemies you must defeat before you can progress (much like in DMC). At the end of each dungeon you receive a skull, which acts as a heart container from Zelda, giving you an additional life bar. You can also find pieces of skull which give you a full one when four of them are collected.

Overall, Darksiders in mostly successful in pulling off a 3D Zelda style game with a more engaging combat system. Where it falls short are the platforming sequences where the sometimes clunky jumping can lead you walking right off a ledge when you thought you jumped ( you have to jump well before you reach the edge). Dashing can be problematic too as there were times that I hit dash to try to avoid an enemy attack only to not have it work, resulting in unnecessary damage. Such may be due to an attack animation of mine having to finish fully before it would allow me to dash. The story takes time to get interesting and really only gets truly engaging right near the ends as you start to learn what is really going on. Those points aside, I would say that Darksiders is a worthwhile game for anyone interested in a darker take on a 3D Zelda or fans of Devil May Cry.

Thanking you for Reading,
Gangway

April Gold: Darksiders Update

I have been playing Darksiders for the Xbox 360 via backwards compatibility about an hour a day for about a couple of weeks now and I wanted to update my thoughts on the game so far. I have also provided a link to my most current Video as of 4-24-17.

Having completed the second dungeon and acquired a few new weapons and abilities I can say the Zelda comparisons are becoming stronger all the time. There are a great deal of platforming based puzzles that simply result in getting to a higher elevations or opening a specific door. In addition to a boomerang I also now have a pistol, a power glover for breaking down Ice barriers, and the ability to slow time in specific areas to get past timing based hazards. With each new weapon I acquire I also have the ability to buy upgrades and new moves for it (ala Devil May Cry) from the creepy traveling shoppe keeper (ala Resident Evil 4)  I have received enough "heart containers" now that I have 5 health bars (unlike Zelda, Darksiders gives you a additional health bar instead of a heart).

The combat system is not as good as Devil May Cry (which I consider the gold standard at this point) as it can be rather clunky at times. It is more satisfying than most Zelda games (whose strength was never really in combat). I found that used the execute move on a enemy when the "B" shows on screen has the effect of stopping other enemy attacks on you for the duration of the animation. Like in Devil May Cry I find myself only buying and upgrading the handful of Moves I think I will use (although I have purchased some rather dubious abilities) It seems unlikely that a single play through will give you enough currency to buy and upgrade all the moves for all the weapons all the way So I am sticking with ones that are most similar to those in DMC.

Jumping is not as reliable as I would like as there were times that even though I pressed Jump my character would walk off the ledge. Jumping requires a firm pressing of the "A" button, which is quite different from DMC.

Overall my opinion of Darksiders continues to improve the more I play it. My daily videos are now reaching an hour and a half up from the half hour videos I did at the start. This fact tells me that the games starts rather poorly but gets better over time. I hope it continues to get better the more I play it

Thanking you for reading
Gangway

April Gold: Darksiders

As part of an effort to increase the usage of this Blog I have started a video series in which I play through some (or all) of a Game that is part of the Games with Gold line up for the month. This month I have started playing through Darksiders for the Xbox 360 via backwards compatibility on the Xbox One. I will probably only do one game a month this way and will choose the game based on what I find most interesting. I call this series (this Month's) Gold, in this case it is April Gold.

I first heard of Darksiders back in 2010 as basically a Zelda clone with a dark twist and some elements of a few other games thrown in. I always had some interest in trying it out but never enough buy it myself. Games with Gold has given me the opportunity to try some games like this without having to shell out money for them. I have already posted a handful of videos on my Youtube account Gangway Gamer which I will link to below.

Darksiders: April Gold 2017

My first impressions of Darksiders is that I did not see the comparisons to Zelda. I saw a much closer comparison to God of War or Devil May Cry than anything. this came from more than just the dark tone of the game, the combat system in Darksiders  is much closer to God of war in that it even features on screen button prompts to finish off enemies that are weakened. The game also seems to feature a store that allows you to buy weapon focused abilities and upgrades much like Devil May Cry.

Darksiders starts out with you, the Horseman of War, with all of your powers and strength in a brief intro sequence that ends with a confrontation with what looks to be the final boss. Something goes wrong and you lose all of your powers. War spends the rest of the game re-acquiring these powers.

You do not see the first dungeon in the game until a few hours in and only then do the comparisons to Zelda become apparent. This is when you start acquiring additional weapon and abilities as well as solving environmental puzzles. While in dungeons when such a puzzle is solved the camera will pull away to show a door opening or a path clearing with an accompanying jingle. From the first Dungeon I have acquired a Boomerang that very much functions like the one in The Legend of Zelda: the Windwaker in that it can lock onto up to 5 targets at once. After defeating the first Dungeon Boss you receive a skull which acts as a heart container extending your maximum health bar. you also find throughout the game pieces of skull where when 4 are collected for a whole skull.

I will continue playing through Darksiders daily and writing about it here occasionally. I wanted to make sure I jotted a few things down here while it was still fresh in my mind. as of this point the first 7 episodes of Darksiders: April Gold have been uploaded and the above link takes you to the playlist of them.

Thanking you for reading this,
Gangway