Copanele's collection of trophies and experiences

[Copanele]

 No. 213 - Phantom Breaker: Omnia

 

Platinum Name - Omnia Master 

Hardest Trophy - Never Forget  play the game on 14th September OR clear Waka's Story. My game crashed when I finished Waka's Story so I switched the date in the console.

Difficulty - 3/10

Event Difficulty - 2/10

 

I'll keep this brief so I won't bore anyone more than is required:

 

GRAPHICS - Boring low quality Moe stuff where every girl has the same dumb look and same "EEEH?" reaction. Made me be more interested in the male cast because they were different enough. 2/10

SOUNDTRACK - Unimaginative, stuff that I listened everywhere else. 3/10 stop ripping off UMVC3 you bastards/

GAMEPLAY -  all you need to know. Some matches do require the occasional L2 press once you have a full bar. 5/10 let's say my fighting game fingers were stimulated abit

STORY--Come on you know I haven't read that

TROPHIES - do x0000 amount of moves. Easy stuff, thank you Turbo Controller for auto skipping dialogue for me. 3/10 that's what every other fighting game does.

PERSONAL IMPRESSION - 2/10 get this crap out of here

 

Conclusion: I want one solid reason why should I normally pick this game over other games. It's unimaginative, it's boring as sin, it randomly breaks from a gameplay perspective (attacks go through enemies even if they shouldn't)....the entire game is centered on mashing.

My recommendation - do not play this game, you have better things to do.

 

THE GOOD:

• sometimes the soundtrack can be good
• sometimes when you hit the right buttons you get cool shit

THE BAD:

• Every other fighting game is more interesting than this

RECOMMENDATION - anything else.

[Yuber6969]

6 hours ago, Copanele said:

 No. 213 - Phantom Breaker: Omnia

 

 

 

Congrats! The game sounds as shitty as I thought it would be, but I'm still planning to play it for the announcer.

[Yuber6969]

16 hours ago, Copanele said:

 No. 212 - DNF Duel

 

DNF Duel will suffer the same fate as Granblue Fantasy Versus.

 

Congrats! Your review actually made me pretty interested in the game until I got to this sentence lol. Will probably still play it at some point.

[Copanele]

6 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

 

Congrats! Your review actually made me pretty interested in the game until I got to this sentence lol. Will probably still play it at some point.

Thanks! Nah unlike GBVS i would say DNF Duel is still worth a check. I meant that the game will fall into obscurity. 

 

10 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

 

Congrats! The game sounds as shitty as I thought it would be, but I'm still planning to play it for the announcer.

Hah the novelty of that announcer wore off mid-fight for me ?

[Copanele]

WARNING! This post will contain lite Darksider story spoilers!

At least it's not a fighting game this time  

 

 No. 214 - Darksiders Warmaster Edition

 

Platinum Name - BFA 

Hardest Trophy - Aerial Predator  Kill 160 enemies while on the Angelic Beast - because of the stupid aiming in this game

Difficulty - 3/10

 

At long last, a good Action/Hack&Slash game!

Action/H&S games are probably my favorite genre in the videogame realm. The 3D games where your proud main character is a warrior/swordsman/vampiress/Deus Vult ,goes through hordes of enemies and uses their souls/life essence to level up his/her moveset. The games where your proficiency and execution is rewarded instantly: The better you are at pressing the buttons, the more efficient you'll be, compared to RPGs where it focuses on your statistics and your relationships with other NPCs(probably).

 

I have played quite a few of these games back in the day (ranging from the classic Bloodrayne, God of War, Devil May Cry) to the more obscure ones that few heard of, such as Knights of the Temple or Enclave. Out of these, my favorite franchises are Devil May Cry and God of War, which I believe they are at the top of this specific genre and they evolved beautifully with each iteration. Yes technically God of War isn't a H&S anymore but heck you still have the absurd combat. Meanwhile DMC elevated this genre to almost perfection, with DMC5 being probably the best H&S game I have ever played.

 

Unfortunately...this genre doesn't have too many amazing entries. In fact, most of the H&S games are mediocre or good at best, which is truly a shame. In fact, in the latest years, the only truly amazing H&S that wasn't DMC or GoW was probably Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. I played Dante's Inferno but it felt like a bootleg God of War (not a bad game, just I've seen that before), Bayonetta could have been amazing if not for the stupid inclusion of bullet hell/wonky camera/mash-cause-it-will-work/gameplay that has no business in a H&S game,  and Castlevania Lords of Shadows....yeah ok that game was only a hack. So honestly my mood regarding this genre kinda soured ? it kinda sucks to love a genre where only some of the entries are truly exceptional (that or I am a picky bastard).

Also haven't played Ninja Gaiden yet, yes I know I'll take full responsibility  my fault there

 

After playing Darksiders however...I felt relieved. There's still hope out there!

Another one small tidbit of information, because I feel excited about writing a game now, so you'll have to bear with me  I think that in order for a H&S game to be successful, it must fulfill these conditions:

• Primary combat must always be melee (it IS called HACK&SLASH after all)
• You level up/buy skills, not stat points
• You must have a lot of flashy moves at your disposal, for each situation
• Enemies must be varied and challenging, however they must NOT have attacks that screw your momentum (e.g. not like DMC4 enemies that autoattack you). That includes boss battles.
• Compelling characters, because they will stick with you for the duration of the game
• Simple yet effective story
• Sick soundtrack

Of course, this is a list of what I think it's most important  I am glad to say that Darksiders 1 kinda checks them all and it even excels in some areas.

ONTO THE GAME NOW, RUIN!

 

As mentioned by the super lengthy intro, Darksiders is an Action Hack&Slash game where you control one of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, War. It is foretold that once the seven seals break, the horns of the Apocalypse will sound and the horsemen will descend upon the earth to battle with the forces of Heaven, Hell and Mankind.

Obviously, the horns are called (else why would you play this?) and War appears, slaying everything in his path with the sole purpose of being the employee of the month. Except...both angels are demons are confused, since the Seventh and last Seal has not been broken. War, apparently breaking the Apocalypse rules, is depowered and punished by the entity responsible to keep balance between the realms, The Charred Council. Severally weakened and "slightly" pissed off, War's job is now to find out who broke the rules of war (heh) and started the Apocalypse before the allotted time.

 

I think the biggest surprise I had with this game was the premise. I did not expect it to be so goddamn good. Normally, even in DMC and GoW(The Greek Saga) games, the story is pretty simple - kill x and figure shit out. It's the characters that drive the plot forward and make the games interesting from a narrative standpoint. Here however, the actual mystery of WHO DID IT? is what kept me interested, I always wanted to go back to more Darksiders and figure out what's going on. It's not a complex story by any means, the final reveal even made me go "...oh, makes sense", but the entire build up of slowly building up the puzzle while also not taking itself too seriously made it for a very fun ride.

 

But of course, the game is also driven by its characters and oh boy these are quite the characters! First off is the main man, War, voiced by none other than the great Liam O'Brien (Akihiko English VA in Persona, Grimoire Weiss in NieR). He perfectly encapsulates the serious and efficient protagonist who you should never ever mess with.

War is truly an embodiment of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, a true neutral character, he does his job and punishes those who try to mess up with him. However he is not a mindless brute, given by his various choices and questionings during the story.

His design also reminds me of Arthas the Lich King from Warcraft 3/WoW, so he definitely looks like a certified badass  

 

Seriously, WHY would anyone want to mess around with this guy?

 

War isn't alone in his quest for justice. Since he "technically" screwed up, the Council assign him a jailer called The Watcher who is also voiced by Mark Hamill of all people. Obviously this Watcher sounds like the Joker, so it was pretty funny to slay monsters while Mark Hamill hissing in my ear, almost saying "Bats" instead of War. You also encounter the demonic merchant Vulgrim who will trade you abilities in exchange for souls (game's currency), you will have periodical fights with the last forces of Heaven led by Uriel and try to bring up as many demonic hearts to Samael, an imprisoned demon who challenged the leadership of the main demon antagonist. They are quite well written and all of them are central to the plot, no character is left behind.

 

Now to get to the actually fun part - THE GAMEPLAY. 

What truly grasped my attention in Darksiders is the gameplay, or rather the way War controls and fights. For example, in Devil May Cry, everything is about style, finesse, how Wacky Wohoo Pizza time can Dante get with his enemies while also spitting one liners. In God of War, everything is about brutality, your aim is to maim, how many limbs per second can Kratos tear, because he is an angry bald man with a quest for vengeance and ZUUS. The way both Dante and Kratos fight in their respective franchises is a mirror of their personalities.

 

In Darksiders, War is all about efficiency. He is War personified, a Horseman who dealt with fights for millennias. There's no wasted movements, no flips and dips, no gory heads ripped (unless an enemy REALLY pisses him off), he's precise and deadly. His combat moveset isn't too flashy, but man it's super effective, especially the moments when the game throws hordes of enemies at you. Your main weapon of choice is the Chaoseater, a huge sword that increases in efficiency the more you use it. You have the textbook 4 hits combo, a launcher, an air combo, a "Stinger" (you thrust your sword into the enemies), an attack that hits the enemies behind you and...that's kinda it. Yet none of the moves feels useless, there's a move for every situation.

The game also features a lock-on mechanic, if you wish to focus on one enemy. Other than being helpful with bosses...not sure why this was implemented  because locking on a particular enemy will only hinder your ability to deal with crowds.

The Chaoseater isn't the only thing War can use however. You can also buy a Scythe as a support weapon which helps you deal with bigger crowds and reap additional souls from them. You also receive a gauntlet which is useful for powerful punches. You also get upgraded with various little tools, ranging from a throwing disc/shuriken to a grappling hook, an actual gun and ...a portal gun. Yeah, War really has quite a great arsenal at his disposal.

When a sword doesn't quite cut it...you can even use pieces of environment, such as benches, trash cans and cars.

 

Hey, if it works, it works!

 

The game is not all about hacking and slashing, War needs to fight with his brain too from time to time. The puzzles in this game are actually well thought, but also simple enough as to not detract from the actual flow of the game. Too many times the games in this genre make the mistake to put some stupid ass puzzle that makes you groan and ask when can you get to the next fighting segment (the dice puzzle from DMC4 for those who know). In Darksiders the puzzles feel like a nice break from the mayhem, especially when you get your hands on the Voidwalker, which really makes you thank Lord Gaben for creating Portal  

 

Now, there's not to say that the game is perfect. Probably the weaker point of the game are the enemies...they are really easy to beat. Even on Apocalyptic difficulty, the enemies drop like flies before your might. This might be also because of my personal experience with the genre, but I never had a serious challenge in the entire game, especially given how overpowered War can get.

Also with 2 exceptions, all the bosses are basically puzzle fights, where you have to figure out the weak spot and abuse it. Not major defects, but it could have improved the game.

 

The actual headache of the game is collecting every shit available. This is linked to the trophy list, where you basically have to max out War and get all the collectibles. Collectibles that aren't easily trackable, since the game doesn't tell you which collectibles you've missed and on which maps. You do get an item later in the game that shows you an unpicked collectible on the map you are currently on, BUT you still have to travel on every map and squint at the screen in the search for that stupid chest that you've missed during your playthrough. The whole backtracking was a legit pain in the ass and I can't say I actually enjoyed it, especially since some maps are really complex and roundabout-y (is that a word?) Damn, those Wrath cores were a goddamn pain to get. Would it kill them to put an actual collectible map in the game?

 

But overall, this has been an amazing game. Probably it was because I am also missing good games from the genre, but Darksiders is a really great experience. 

Really looking forward to the second entry in the series, although I heard that the collectible hunt is even worse there  Joy!

 

THE GOOD:

• Hack&Slash done right
• War is an amazing protagonist
• Voice acting is top quality
• Efficient gameplay, that doesn't waste your time
• The game feels unique enough in the seas of GoW/DMC copies
• You can throw cars at demons

THE BAD:

• Not really that difficult
• Great boss design, not that great gameplay design
• The damn collectibles were a pain in the ass

RECOMMENDATION - DEVIL MAY CRY HD COLLECTION  Especially the first one, I felt that Darksiders had more in common with DMC than GoW. Especially that sweet Stinger and launcher attack  

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Honor_Hand]

9 hours ago, Copanele said:

I have played quite a few of these games back in the day (ranging from the classic Bloodrayne, God of War, Devil May Cry) to the more obscure ones that few heard of, such as Knights of the Temple or Enclave.

 

Well damn, you know about Enclave? I thought I was one of the few living beings left that had played that one too, lol. Talk about one heck of an obscure cult classic there. Haven't heard that name in ages, lmao. I had a blast playing it on my PC years ago. Not like it was the most competent hack n' slash of its time, but damn was it fun. Its fantasy setting was super formulaic, too, and had like zero originality, but holy hell did it click well and was fun to play for hours on end. You might be happy to hear about this, but I just learned that an HD remake WILL be coming to consoles soon. Here, check this out:

 

- https://www.psu.com/news/enclave-hd-is-now-bringing-classic-rpg-antics-to-ps4-in-summer-2022/

- https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10003459

- https://www.ziggurat.games/game/enclave

 

Looks like it's running somewhat late in its release, but hey, pretty cool.

 

As for the Darksiders write-up here, it was a good read. It seems like you had a blast playing with War in his quest. I remember trying out the demo for this one a long time ago on my PS3 and it never quite sit well with me. I don't quite remember why. I remember trying it out because people said it was like a mix between God of War and Zelda, of all things. Well, it really didn't feel like any of those two in the demo I tried, and ultimately, I just forgot about it. Your glowing review of the game here, though, has sort of rekindled my interest in it a little.

 

[Copanele]

4 hours ago, Honor_Hand said:

 

Well damn, you know about Enclave? I thought I was one of the few living beings left that had played that one too, lol. Talk about one heck of an obscure cult classic there. Haven't heard that name in ages, lmao. I had a blast playing it on my PC years ago. Not like it was the most competent hack n' slash of its time, but damn was it fun. Its fantasy setting was super formulaic, too, and had like zero originality, but holy hell did it click well and was fun to play for hours on end. You might be happy to hear about this, but I just learned that an HD remake WILL be coming to consoles soon. Here, check this out:

 

- https://www.psu.com/news/enclave-hd-is-now-bringing-classic-rpg-antics-to-ps4-in-summer-2022/

- https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10003459

- https://www.ziggurat.games/game/enclave

 

Looks like it's running somewhat late in its release, but hey, pretty cool.

Yoo, another Enclave player  Yeah I played that stupid game quite a few times but just like you, I can't believe there's ANOTHER person who has played it  

I am DEFINITELY looking forward to a remake!

I have no idea why this game worked, but all I can remember is that the gameplay was mad satisfying.

4 hours ago, Honor_Hand said:

As for the Darksiders write-up here, it was a good read. It seems like you had a blast playing with War in his quest. I remember trying out the demo for this one a long time ago on my PS3 and it never quite sit well with me. I don't quite remember why. I remember trying it out because people said it was like a mix between God of War and Zelda, of all things. Well, it really didn't feel like any of those two in the demo I tried, and ultimately, I just forgot about it. Your glowing review of the game here, though, has sort of rekindled my interest in it a little.

 

I think it's because of the very first level, it feels kinda generic/ Zelda metal, the game's prologue doesn't impress that much.

But once you get depowered (shockingly), it...actually starts to get better. It has a bit of a slow build-up but once it gets going then DAMN.

That oooorrrr. it might be a purely subjective view and the game actually sucks ass but I can't see it because I love being a Warcraft Beyblade in this game ?

[maxfighter23___]

On 15-1-2023 at 10:54 AM, Copanele said:

WARNING! This post will contain lite Darksider story spoilers!

At least it's not a fighting game this time  

 

 No. 214 - Darksiders Warmaster Edition

 

Platinum Name - BFA 

Hardest Trophy - Aerial Predator  Kill 160 enemies while on the Angelic Beast - because of the stupid aiming in this game

Difficulty - 3/10

 

At long last, a good Action/Hack&Slash game!

Action/H&S games are probably my favorite genre in the videogame realm. The 3D games where your proud main character is a warrior/swordsman/vampiress/Deus Vult ,goes through hordes of enemies and uses their souls/life essence to level up his/her moveset. The games where your proficiency and execution is rewarded instantly: The better you are at pressing the buttons, the more efficient you'll be, compared to RPGs where it focuses on your statistics and your relationships with other NPCs(probably).

 

I have played quite a few of these games back in the day (ranging from the classic Bloodrayne, God of War, Devil May Cry) to the more obscure ones that few heard of, such as Knights of the Temple or Enclave. Out of these, my favorite franchises are Devil May Cry and God of War, which I believe they are at the top of this specific genre and they evolved beautifully with each iteration. Yes technically God of War isn't a H&S anymore but heck you still have the absurd combat. Meanwhile DMC elevated this genre to almost perfection, with DMC5 being probably the best H&S game I have ever played.

 

Unfortunately...this genre doesn't have too many amazing entries. In fact, most of the H&S games are mediocre or good at best, which is truly a shame. In fact, in the latest years, the only truly amazing H&S that wasn't DMC or GoW was probably Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. I played Dante's Inferno but it felt like a bootleg God of War (not a bad game, just I've seen that before), Bayonetta could have been amazing if not for the stupid inclusion of bullet hell/wonky camera/mash-cause-it-will-work/gameplay that has no business in a H&S game,  and Castlevania Lords of Shadows....yeah ok that game was only a hack. So honestly my mood regarding this genre kinda soured ? it kinda sucks to love a genre where only some of the entries are truly exceptional (that or I am a picky bastard).

Also haven't played Ninja Gaiden yet, yes I know I'll take full responsibility  my fault there

 

After playing Darksiders however...I felt relieved. There's still hope out there!

Another one small tidbit of information, because I feel excited about writing a game now, so you'll have to bear with me  I think that in order for a H&S game to be successful, it must fulfill these conditions:

• Primary combat must always be melee (it IS called HACK&SLASH after all)
• You level up/buy skills, not stat points
• You must have a lot of flashy moves at your disposal, for each situation
• Enemies must be varied and challenging, however they must NOT have attacks that screw your momentum (e.g. not like DMC4 enemies that autoattack you). That includes boss battles.
• Compelling characters, because they will stick with you for the duration of the game
• Simple yet effective story
• Sick soundtrack

Of course, this is a list of what I think it's most important  I am glad to say that Darksiders 1 kinda checks them all and it even excels in some areas.

ONTO THE GAME NOW, RUIN!

 

As mentioned by the super lengthy intro, Darksiders is an Action Hack&Slash game where you control one of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, War. It is foretold that once the seven seals break, the horns of the Apocalypse will sound and the horsemen will descend upon the earth to battle with the forces of Heaven, Hell and Mankind.

Obviously, the horns are called (else why would you play this?) and War appears, slaying everything in his path with the sole purpose of being the employee of the month. Except...both angels are demons are confused, since the Seventh and last Seal has not been broken. War, apparently breaking the Apocalypse rules, is depowered and punished by the entity responsible to keep balance between the realms, The Charred Council. Severally weakened and "slightly" pissed off, War's job is now to find out who broke the rules of war (heh) and started the Apocalypse before the allotted time.

 

I think the biggest surprise I had with this game was the premise. I did not expect it to be so goddamn good. Normally, even in DMC and GoW(The Greek Saga) games, the story is pretty simple - kill x and figure shit out. It's the characters that drive the plot forward and make the games interesting from a narrative standpoint. Here however, the actual mystery of WHO DID IT? is what kept me interested, I always wanted to go back to more Darksiders and figure out what's going on. It's not a complex story by any means, the final reveal even made me go "...oh, makes sense", but the entire build up of slowly building up the puzzle while also not taking itself too seriously made it for a very fun ride.

 

But of course, the game is also driven by its characters and oh boy these are quite the characters! First off is the main man, War, voiced by none other than the great Liam O'Brien (Akihiko English VA in Persona, Grimoire Weiss in NieR). He perfectly encapsulates the serious and efficient protagonist who you should never ever mess with.

War is truly an embodiment of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, a true neutral character, he does his job and punishes those who try to mess up with him. However he is not a mindless brute, given by his various choices and questionings during the story.

His design also reminds me of Arthas the Lich King from Warcraft 3/WoW, so he definitely looks like a certified badass  

 

Seriously, WHY would anyone want to mess around with this guy?

 

War isn't alone in his quest for justice. Since he "technically" screwed up, the Council assign him a jailer called The Watcher who is also voiced by Mark Hamill of all people. Obviously this Watcher sounds like the Joker, so it was pretty funny to slay monsters while Mark Hamill hissing in my ear, almost saying "Bats" instead of War. You also encounter the demonic merchant Vulgrim who will trade you abilities in exchange for souls (game's currency), you will have periodical fights with the last forces of Heaven led by Uriel and try to bring up as many demonic hearts to Samael, an imprisoned demon who challenged the leadership of the main demon antagonist. They are quite well written and all of them are central to the plot, no character is left behind.

 

Now to get to the actually fun part - THE GAMEPLAY. 

What truly grasped my attention in Darksiders is the gameplay, or rather the way War controls and fights. For example, in Devil May Cry, everything is about style, finesse, how Wacky Wohoo Pizza time can Dante get with his enemies while also spitting one liners. In God of War, everything is about brutality, your aim is to maim, how many limbs per second can Kratos tear, because he is an angry bald man with a quest for vengeance and ZUUS. The way both Dante and Kratos fight in their respective franchises is a mirror of their personalities.

 

In Darksiders, War is all about efficiency. He is War personified, a Horseman who dealt with fights for millennias. There's no wasted movements, no flips and dips, no gory heads ripped (unless an enemy REALLY pisses him off), he's precise and deadly. His combat moveset isn't too flashy, but man it's super effective, especially the moments when the game throws hordes of enemies at you. Your main weapon of choice is the Chaoseater, a huge sword that increases in efficiency the more you use it. You have the textbook 4 hits combo, a launcher, an air combo, a "Stinger" (you thrust your sword into the enemies), an attack that hits the enemies behind you and...that's kinda it. Yet none of the moves feels useless, there's a move for every situation.

The game also features a lock-on mechanic, if you wish to focus on one enemy. Other than being helpful with bosses...not sure why this was implemented  because locking on a particular enemy will only hinder your ability to deal with crowds.

The Chaoseater isn't the only thing War can use however. You can also buy a Scythe as a support weapon which helps you deal with bigger crowds and reap additional souls from them. You also receive a gauntlet which is useful for powerful punches. You also get upgraded with various little tools, ranging from a throwing disc/shuriken to a grappling hook, an actual gun and ...a portal gun. Yeah, War really has quite a great arsenal at his disposal.

When a sword doesn't quite cut it...you can even use pieces of environment, such as benches, trash cans and cars.

 

Hey, if it works, it works!

 

The game is not all about hacking and slashing, War needs to fight with his brain too from time to time. The puzzles in this game are actually well thought, but also simple enough as to not detract from the actual flow of the game. Too many times the games in this genre make the mistake to put some stupid ass puzzle that makes you groan and ask when can you get to the next fighting segment (the dice puzzle from DMC4 for those who know). In Darksiders the puzzles feel like a nice break from the mayhem, especially when you get your hands on the Voidwalker, which really makes you thank Lord Gaben for creating Portal  

 

Now, there's not to say that the game is perfect. Probably the weaker point of the game are the enemies...they are really easy to beat. Even on Apocalyptic difficulty, the enemies drop like flies before your might. This might be also because of my personal experience with the genre, but I never had a serious challenge in the entire game, especially given how overpowered War can get.

Also with 2 exceptions, all the bosses are basically puzzle fights, where you have to figure out the weak spot and abuse it. Not major defects, but it could have improved the game.

 

The actual headache of the game is collecting every shit available. This is linked to the trophy list, where you basically have to max out War and get all the collectibles. Collectibles that aren't easily trackable, since the game doesn't tell you which collectibles you've missed and on which maps. You do get an item later in the game that shows you an unpicked collectible on the map you are currently on, BUT you still have to travel on every map and squint at the screen in the search for that stupid chest that you've missed during your playthrough. The whole backtracking was a legit pain in the ass and I can't say I actually enjoyed it, especially since some maps are really complex and roundabout-y (is that a word?) Damn, those Wrath cores were a goddamn pain to get. Would it kill them to put an actual collectible map in the game?

 

But overall, this has been an amazing game. Probably it was because I am also missing good games from the genre, but Darksiders is a really great experience. 

Really looking forward to the second entry in the series, although I heard that the collectible hunt is even worse there  Joy!

 

THE GOOD:

• Hack&Slash done right
• War is an amazing protagonist
• Voice acting is top quality
• Efficient gameplay, that doesn't waste your time
• The game feels unique enough in the seas of GoW/DMC copies
• You can throw cars at demons

THE BAD:

• Not really that difficult
• Great boss design, not that great gameplay design
• The damn collectibles were a pain in the ass

RECOMMENDATION - DEVIL MAY CRY HD COLLECTION  Especially the first one, I felt that Darksiders had more in common with DMC than GoW. Especially that sweet Stinger and launcher attack  

 

i got the whole saga from devil may cry 1 until 5 congrats with your darksiders platinum trophie and reaching that amount of platinum trophies is very nice good luck with the rest of your games 

[Yuber6969]

Congrats! I thought the combat in the old GoW games was amazing, but the puzzles turned me off from the series. I'm glad to read that Darksiders doesn't have that issue (at least not as much; I'd rather zero puzzles lol). Gonna wishlist this one

[Copanele]

14 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

Congrats! I thought the combat in the old GoW games was amazing, but the puzzles turned me off from the series. I'm glad to read that Darksiders doesn't have that issue (at least not as much; I'd rather zero puzzles lol). Gonna wishlist this one

Oh, Darksiders has quite a few puzzles. The difference is that they are GOOD puzzles (no spike floor type of puzzles)

[Copanele]

 No. 215 - Street Fighter x Tekken

Platinum Name: Zenith 

Hardest Trophy: Mission Specialist  complete all 20 missions in Mission Mode

Difficulty: 6/10

Event Difficulty: 6/10

 

Ah, Street Fighter x Tekken...one of the games created during Capcom's "Dark Age", when every game had characters/endings locked behind DLC, everything was shitty multiplayer (RE6) and the policies of the company were...well the same as Ubisoft's policies nowadays, really  Lots of games with very interesting ideas/concepts but severely shackled behind corporate greed.

Ok I'll stop because I am not one to discuss company politics ? I am here for games only.

 

OK so...Street Fighter x Tekken is a crossover between Street Fighter and Tekken characters (pretend that you are shocked by this revelation for a moment). Half of the roster are our most beloved Street Fighter 4 characters...and Rufus for some reason, while the other half consists of beloved Tekken characters. No stinkers on their part, wow! You can pick a team of 2 characters of your choosing and duke it out in a 2v2 tag match.

 

I kinda postponed this game indefinitely because...well the game is grindy as hell. Luckily, @Yuber6969 also had the idea to go at least for the online trophies and convinced me to start this game. What followed was 90% mindless grind and 10% actual fun. I've played this game quite a bit back on my PC days (don't ask how I got my hands on it ☠️) so I already knew the mechanics of this game. Getting the platinum however was a different matter altogether + replaying the game 10 years later severely changed my perspective about this game  

 

The summary of the plot, since that's the simplest part of the game - a mysterious alien box called "Pandora" fell in Antarctica. The box promises to fulfill any wish to whoever gets to it, so our characters team up and fight to get to the box before the others. Of course, being an alien box, this will be equivalent of a "deal with the devil", as in be careful what you wish for.

Simple premise that is as good a reason as any to beat each other to death. Each character's motives are pretty selfish and stupid, except Sagat/Dhalsim who are pretty much the best characters in the game story wise. All they want is to rescue some children who disappeared when the box showed up.

The only constant in the SF universe is Sagat being the best character lorewise  

 

In terms of cinematics, SFxT really lures you into a false sense of security. The presentation is top notch, mad effects, crazy crossovers, Ryu vs Kazuya, "Honest Eyes" by Black Tide...the intro slaps hard (link here if you are curious). You would be expected to be hit by the most ambitious fighting game ever made in the history of fighting games. 

But then you start the actual game and...uh...why are the characters look like a slightly washed down version of Street Fighter 4? Or ok, maybe not SF characters, but at least the Tekken ones look juust abit off.

 

A weird choice of models...or maybe it's me losing my eyesight from too many fighting games

 

Anyway, since this is a PS3 games = you never know when the servers will be shut down, I went into online mode with Yuber immediately. And this is where I rediscovered my "love" for Capcom Peer2Peerness: I could connect pretty much every time in Ranked, with 2-3 disconnections here and there. However, trying to find him via Arcade Fight requests (I was playing Arcade Mode, he was searching for me in Ranked) proved impossible. I assumed it's because I am from Romania and he is from Canada...except I could connect with someone from Brazil of all places! 

The shock of a still existing playerbase aside...we just had to accept that Online is RNG based so I pulled my second PS3 and grinded out most of the Arcade Requests, the other fights being against a crazy german Hugo player who...I think cursed me in german? I don't speak that language so whatever.

The game also asked for 500 online matches so those were done with a turbo controller (again, thanks Yuber for nonstop checking the connection  ).

 

Once the online was finished and the crisis averted, I went into the challenging part of the game, because I was already bored out of my mind - Trial mode and Mission mode. The Trials part was mad easy, you had to do 300 trials only. Every character's first 8 trials are VERY easy and since there's 50+ characters in the game (i bought the DLC but even without the DLC there's still more than enough characters), trials mode was done super fast.

However Mission Mode was a different beast altogether. You have a total of 20 missions where you had to win against a buffed up AI under certain conditions - use only normal attacks, use only special attacks, win via timeout etc. Mission mode was an actual test of skill and it really is the single hardest challenge in the game, especially with mission M13 - win via timeout, M19 - defeat Akuma and Ogre who have infinite meter and M20 - survival mode against the entire roster of the game. These 3 missions took way more tries than I'd like to admit  but honestly the game also gives you the russian grappler Zangief, who is probably the best character in the game when you have to deal with the AI. Equipping him with a special input gem will enable you to do the most damaging moves in the game at a press of a button.

 

Now, you might wonder what is a special input gem. Allow me to introduce the most stupid mechanic that could have been added in a fighting game - Fighting Gems! Fighting gems are little "perks" that will improve your stats for a short amount of time and they can activate once per round as soon as certain conditions are met - hit an opponent 5 times to get 10% damage increase.

These gems can make the difference between winning and losing and so you should really plan out your loadout before going into a fight.

However...all the gems that you get are pretty crappy. The ACTUALLY GOOD STUFF is locked behind paywalls. Want that sweet buff that will pulverize enemies? you better buy Gem Pack 35 DLC boy ?

It's one incredibly stupid practice and I am glad that it never caught on, because Fighting Games should always be a test of skill, not wallet. For platinum purposes, you are absolutely not required to get any of the extra stupid gems, in fact you aren't required to buy ANY DLC...but you still will be spammed by Dan who "kindly recommends you to go to the store and buy gems" whenever you lose to an overpowered AI.

 

Dan WILL make sure to be the most annoying character in the game...and he's not even playable

 

Well, with all being said, Mission mode was actually fun. The gameplay isn't really that bad...as long as you play as a Street Fighter character (the game was made by Capcom so Tekken characters were pretty much mocked in this game). But then I had to get to the actual grind of the game....the true reason why this game is sitting at a 1.45% rarity. I will copy paste from the list directly: 

 

	A Very Special Gift Connect with 500 Special Moves.	13th Jan 2023 10:35:22 AM	34.60% UNCOMMON
	Blink Of An Eye Connect with 500 EX Special Moves.	16th Jan 2023 11:53:20 PM	7.96% VERY RARE
	Time For Some Fireworks! Connect with 500 Launchers.	17th Jan 2023 11:21:31 AM	13.40% RARE
	Anything Goes Activate Cross Assault 500 times.	18th Jan 2023 4:55:54 PM	1.83% ULTRA RARE
	An Unknown Power Activate Pandora 500 times.	17th Jan 2023 11:54:51 AM	2.06% ULTRA RARE
	The Trump Card Connect with 500 Super Arts.	16th Jan 2023 11:29:58 AM	4.04% ULTRA RARE
	Two Minds, Fighting As One Connect with 500 Cross Arts.	19th Jan 2023 5:05:30 PM	2.28% ULTRA RARE
	Maelstrom Of Combos Connect with 100 Quick Combos.	13th Jan 2023 2:14:05 PM	9.71% VERY RARE
	A Glimmering Light Activate your Assist Gems 100 times.	13th Jan 2023 12:59:16 PM	4.32% ULTRA RARE
	Let's Heat Things Up! Activate your Boost Gems 100 times.	12th Jan 2023 6:51:48 PM	45.82% UNCOMMON
	Sturm und Drang Finish a round with Cross Assault 300 times.	18th Jan 2023 2:06:53 PM	1.79% ULTRA RARE
	Power Consumes All Finish a round with Pandora 300 times.	16th Jan 2023 12:13:32 PM	2.17% ULTRA RARE
	A Splendid Conclusion Finish a round with a Super Art 300 times.	17th Jan 2023 3:41:44 PM	2.49% ULTRA RARE
	The Cross Revolution Finish a round with a Cross Art 300 times.	19th Jan 2023 3:16:32 PM	2.06% ULTRA RARE
	A Perfect Victory! Win a round without getting hit 100 times.	13th Jan 2023 3:11:14 PM	4.19% ULTRA RARE

 

 

 

This was HELL! I know, I did games with worse grinding (looking at you Street Fighter 5 you piece of--), BUT DEAR GOD THIS WAS STILL PAIN! What's worse is that some of these stupid things DO NOT STACK! If you want for instance to grind for both Pandora activations AND super arts finishes, TOUGH LUCK AMIGO! It will only count towards Pandora activations, NOT super art finishes.

With the power of a turbo controller, dead times at work and lots of stupid videos (thanks Asmongold, never expected I will enjoy your videos), I managed to power through this and get that stupid platinum oh my god never again.

 

Overall...Street Fighter x Tekken would have been an ok game if it didn't have stupid design flaws. Whenever I actually had to play it, it felt ok. However, the severe dumb down of the Tekken characters (Tekken fans are still pissed), the gem system, the abysmal "heh you have the characters already but you gotta pay to unlock heh" and the stupid grind really prevents me from actually having a good time with this game.

Also online sucks.

 

P.S. Thanks @Yuber6969 once again for getting me into this game, I would've never finished it otherwise. We are now even, with Art of Fighting ?

 

THE GOOD:

• The trailer is pretty sick ngl
• If you are a fan of crossovers, this game is pretty ok
• It actually has a rather solid gameplay...at least for one side of the roster
• The playerbase is still active...shocking enough

THE BAD:

• More than half of the game is locked behind DLC
• The Gem System should be nuked out of existence, never to be mentioned again
• Why play as a Tekken character with fancy moveset when haha Sagat goes Tiger Shot spam?
• G R I N D
• Online works only if you sacrifice a goat to the Capcom overlords

RECOMMENDATION - Tekken 7 Namco did their own version of Street Fighter by adding Akuma as a guest in this game. I think it was one of the best decisions ever because 1. It shows that Namco is way better than Capcom at crossovers and 2. Tekken fans will forever be pissed at Akuma going haha fireball goes brrr in their punchy kicky game. He's mad cheap and I love it!

Bless Acoomer ?

 

 

[Copanele]

 No. 216 - Kill la Kill: IF

 

Platinum Name: Don't Lose Your Way 

Hardest Trophy: One Nation Under The Cloth  S Rank in all story missions

Difficulty: 4/10

 

Oh dear how do I even write about this...

Kill la Kill IF is an ArcSys Arena fighting game that is based on the show with the same name. Here, Ryuko Matoi enrolls in a highschool controlled by the student council, as she tries to find the murderer of her father. She does that by equipping an incredibly revealing outfit and battles the Student Council president who also wears a revealing outfit, by using a pair of scissor blades.

 

Yep...that's the plot alright. 

The game follows the anime pretty closely from what I understood...but I got bored halfway through the first cutscene, so I skipped. I did have a few warnings, that the game might suck ass, but what I encountered was wildly different, especially since I read the plot AFTER I finished the game.

 

I've played some stupid games in my life but my God nothing was as hilariously stupid as this game. From the first match I had to control an angry long haired thick eyebrowed bikini girl while she slayed her enemies (and friends???) with magical cloth cutting swords. Then I had to fend off a ...suit invasion. Yeah, actual suits that you wear, they invaded earth. Then I fought my own mother who is a rainbow devil. Then a huge baby. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THIS GAME?

Next I switch to the protagonist who is fighting all of the above + the eyebrows girl. She yells about friendship and parents and how to love your suit ... uhuh, yeah I think I will take Honor_Hand's word for granted when he said this is an utterly nonsensical IP ? 

 

But what about the gameplay you might ask? Well, it's a crazy mess. You control your character in a 3D environment and you have multiple actions - dashing, close range attacks, long range attacks, charge attacks that break guards. If you fill a special meter bar, you can do one super duper cinematic attack that takes a chunk of the enemy's life...between 3% and...25% ? What? 

Anyway, instead of using the super duper attack, you can instead start a Bloody Valor. Bloody Valor starts a crazy game of Rock-Paper-Scissors with the enemy. Win 3 times and you get a super power up. With this super power up you can activate the ability to blast the clothes off your enemies. I swear, this is the most dumb mechanic I've ever seen in a fighting game?

 

The most interesting part of this is the roster. I had a look at the originals in the anime and obviously, Arcsys did a fantastic job with putting the characters in the game. Besides Ryuko and Satsuki (the ladies on the cover), we have other weirdos who I will just describe because my god their names: A dude who is in a golem suit and gets powerful by whipping himself, another dude who likes to pose and throw data bytes at people, a girl who has a subwoofer on her hat and shoots pink lasers, Satsuki's mom who is a big badonkers lady with rainbow hair and OHOHOHO laugh, another shrimp who throws umbrellas and dolls at people... an entire menagerie of idiots. 

Among them however, it's the best girl of the game, probably the anime and one of the best in fighting games surprisingly - Mako Mankanshoku (I ain't writing that again).

 

Mako was my ray of sunshine in this abyss of idiocy.

Mako is also the most idiot character of them all.

 

...I should probably watch the anime as well, because what the hell!

 

So this girl is the best friend/sidekick of Ryuko and she is the embodiment of Chaos. She is a constant 4th wall breaker and most of the time it's a wonder how she is still alive. This is reflected in her gameplay as well, where she throws random punches, kicks, explosive croquettes(????) and summons the power of her mother and rambling to power herself up. I've never seen a character like this before (except probably Deadpool in MvC3, where he can beat you with your own life bar). And I swear, she alone saves the entire game.

 

Because besides that, you will need severe medication to deal with this game. There is no lock-on button, which means that the camera goes insanely bonkers. One time it's focused on you then it does an 180 , it focuses on the opponent, does another 270 and it focuses on ...the ground I think. The controls are mad obtuse and most of the time you will have NO idea what you are doing. And god forbid you fight more than one character, because the lack of a lock on system means that you will switch around 4 targets per second and you will pray that you will hit the intended target.

However, WHEN IT WORKS...the game can look beautiful, that much I won't deny.

 

 

In terms of platinum, just like the game itself, most of the times you will have no idea what you are doing. S ranking the story missions seem to be the hardest trophy in the game, because even if you do a perfect run (fast kill, tons of combos, 0 damage taken), you somewhat still get A rank instead of S. There's also Survival mode, defeat Covers (the suits that I've been mentioning) and even Ranked and Player matches, with servers as dead as my pride after playing this thing.

 

And now here comes the kicker...

Do I think this game is an utter piece of garbage? YES

Did I enjoy it? OH HELL YES!

 

I think the best way to describe Kill la Kill IF is "Guilty Pleasure". Really I have no idea why I liked this game, by all accounts I should hate it. But ...it's so random...so stupid...so flashy...so fleshy? ... that I couldn't help but get enthralled by it. Yes, it's recycled plastic in terms of fighting game quality, but damn if it didn't hit good. Plus I paid $2 on it, it was MASSIVELY DISCOUNTED so I really have 0 regrets with it.

 

Not sure if I can recommend it though...unless you enjoy anime, know the universe or just want something to reset your brain. I did enjoy it though! Way more than Street Fighter x Tekken at least ?

Ok that's the last stupid thing that I will write here. Catch you all later!

 

THE GOOD:

• It's an insane game
• It looks good - Arcsys did a great job
• The cast is so wild you simply can't help but be mesmerized
• The soundtrack is actually fire

THE BAD:

• You will have NO IDEA what's going on 80% of the time
• God have mercy the lock on button should have been implemented
• Once you win at rock paper scissors you are pretty much unbeatable
• I haven't watched the anime and I think I should have

Recommendation - Kill la Kill the Anime  I...can't in good conscience recommend a similar game, unless you want to get high as a kite and play Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm and laugh whenever Sakura appears on screen. So...just watch the anime instead. Or not. Or simply ignore this entire post  

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Slava]

55 minutes ago, Copanele said:

Besides Ryuko and Satsuki (the ladies on the cover), we have other weirdos who I will just describe because my god their names: A dude who is in a golem suit and gets powerful by whipping himself, another dude who likes to pose and throw data bytes at people, a girl who has a subwoofer on her hat and shoots pink lasers, Satsuki's mom who is a big badonkers lady with rainbow hair and OHOHOHO laugh, another shrimp who throws umbrellas and dolls at people... an entire menagerie of idiots. 

Among them however, it's the best girl of the game, probably the anime and one of the best in fighting games surprisingly - Mako Mankanshoku (I ain't writing that again).

 

So this girl is the best friend/sidekick of Ryuko and she is the embodiment of Chaos. She is a constant 4th wall breaker and most of the time it's a wonder how she is still alive. This is reflected in her gameplay as well, where she throws random punches, kicks, explosive croquettes(????) and summons the power of her mother and rambling to power herself up. I've never seen a character like this before (except probably Deadpool in MvC3, where he can beat you with your own life bar). And I swear, she alone saves the entire game.

 

Thank you, Japan. And please, never change. That's all I have to say about what I just read.

 

56 minutes ago, Copanele said:

Recommendation - Kill la Kill the Anime

 

It's been on my watch list forever, but I have yet to see it. Good reminder ?.

 

Studio Trigger is pretty big now. And AFAIK, Kill La Kill was one of the titles that put them on the map. I've heard about this anime's unique style, inventive animation, and overall craziness. 

[Yuber6969]

On 20/01/2023 at 3:36 AM, Copanele said:

 No. 215 - Street Fighter x Tekken

 

 

Man, the online for this was annoying. I don't understand how we could never match in arcade mode, but I was able to match with someone in Germany. Thanks again for the boost.

 

I was excited to go back to this game (played it like 10 years ago before I was a trophy hunter) but after reading your review, I'm dreading it lol. That grind looks abysmal. Also, surprised you Yubered the story. ?

 

15 hours ago, Copanele said:

 No. 216 - Kill la Kill: IF

 

 

I really felt like this game had potential, but the controls were so bad IMO. Like you said, the lack of a lock-on button was very frustrating when dealing with multiple targets.

 

Congrats on both plats!

[Puppeter04]

20 hours ago, Copanele said:

 No. 216 - Kill la Kill: IF

 

 

 

I think the best way to describe Kill la Kill IF is "Guilty Pleasure". Really I have no idea why I liked this game, by all accounts I should hate it. But ...it's so random...so stupid...so flashy...so fleshy ... that I couldn't help but get enthralled by it. Yes, it's recycled plastic in terms of fighting game quality, but damn if it didn't hit good. Plus I paid $2 on it, it was MASSIVELY DISCOUNTED so I really have 0 regrets with it.

 

 

 

First of all, congrats! Second, I played it on PC cause smashing buttons on PC just hits different and as a weeb and simple woman, I see boobs, I click, but the short campaign and literally zero depth made it a "meh" game even tho I loved the anime. And indeed, its recycled plastic ? but I'm so glad to hear that you only paid 2$.

 

The only thing worth my time was the final boss and I don't even know why

 

 

anyway... MEN! DO! KOTE!

[Copanele]

5 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

 

Man, the online for this was annoying. I don't understand how we could never match in arcade mode, but I was able to match with someone in Germany. Thanks again for the boost.

 

I was excited to go back to this game (played it like 10 years ago before I was a trophy hunter) but after reading your review, I'm dreading it lol. That grind looks abysmal. Also, surprised you Yubered the story.

Yeah for some reason the story caught me  or at least for SOME characters (screw Zangief and Rufus lol)

5 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

 

I really felt like this game had potential, but the controls were so bad IMO. Like you said, the lack of a lock-on button was very frustrating when dealing with multiple targets.

 

Congrats on both plats!

I just buckled up and pressed random buttons. Found it interesting that holding Right on the left stick + square yielded the best combos. It didn't make sense at all but heck, nothing did  

 

42 minutes ago, Puppeter04 said:

 

 

First of all, congrats! Second, I played it on PC cause smashing buttons on PC just hits different and as a weeb and simple woman, I see boobs, I click, but the short campaign and literally zero depth made it a "meh" game even tho I loved the anime. And indeed, its recycled plastic but I'm so glad to hear that you only paid 2$.

 

The only thing worth my time was the final boss and I don't even know why

I can relate to that sentiment ?

But really I think one of the best parts for me was Ryuko's voice actress. Somehow that woman had such an unique voice, rough and "imma fuck you up" in Japanese form, especially when I used her ranged super attack, she charged her shit harder than Goku charging kamehamehas!

 

But yeah I would have been really annoyed had I paid more than $2 on this. Really zero depth and no learning curve (despite the character curves)

42 minutes ago, Puppeter04 said:

 

anyway... MEN! DO! KOTE!

That was one of the weirdest opponents i ever faced in the game. I either slammed him or got slammed by him  

[Copanele]

No. 56 - Chaos Code (PS3)

Hardest Trophy - Survivor  - win 50 matches in a row

Difficulty - 6/10

 

I reviewed the PS4 version of this game New Signs of Catastrophe quite a while ago and I absolutely loved it. It was one great fighting game that almost nobody heard of.

The PS3 version was also available, but I didn't bother too much with it, since it was a "prototype" version of the full PS4 release. But since apparently this was the only game I needed in order to complete the Project Platinum: Arcsys Fighters, I thought "what the hell, let's replay this one". 

And as expected, I loved it just as much. 

 

The PS3 version is missing some characters and notable features like online mode and mission mode. Yet, the gameplay is still as crazy and as exciting, being a mix between king of fighters and guilty gear. This time I actually checked the plot (take that @Yuber6969! ) and it was pretty interesting. Basically everyone is hunting the McGuffin of the game, the Chaos Code, which promises unlimited power, but only the actual antagonist/boss of the game figures out what it is (something about multiverse theory). Every character is interesting in its own right, except Hikaru who sucks ass as a protagonist.

The cast of Chaos Code, Hikaru being the main goofball in the center

 

The hardest trophy of this game is the Survivor trophy, where you need to defeat 50 enemies in a row. The Survivor gauntlet is way more unforgiving in this version of the game, mainly because of the cheating AI.

The gauntlet can be split into chunks of 10 battles - battle 1-5 are pretty easy, the enemy being a punching bag. Battles 6-7-8 is where the AI starts to be a real nuisance. Battle 9 is where you have to pray to god you don't face a broken ass character like Hermes(a bountiful scientist woman who controls the elements) and battle 10 is always a boss battle, either Kudlak-Sin(the final boss of the arcade mode) and Celia II (a crazy gothic loli robot), who are pretty easy to deal with. Stage 50 however is Kudlak in super boss form and he's probably one of the cheapest assholes in a fighting game ever. All he does is run away from you and spam projectiles, defeating him requiring quite a bit of luck. I did reach floor 50 2 times only to lose to his bullshit.

The rest of the 13-14 times that I lost were because of Hermes. Seriously, what's with fighting games and cheap AI? 

 

She is Hermes and will be the bane of your existence in Survival mode; Kudlak is the final boss and will also be the major pain in the ass.

 

Overall, if you played this game on PS4 and liked it, you'll also enjoy the PS3 Version + it has some nice UR trophies  . But since this is a "beta release" of a niche fighting game, it's probably best if you skip this one. I couldn't, because I had to be done with Arcsys fighters  and I love Chaos Code too.

P.S. Rui is still the best character in the game design wise ? for obvious reasons. 

 

THE GOOD:

• combat's quite good
• love the soundtrack
• the character themselves are well designed
• Rui  
• Celia II will save your skin in Survivor mode

THE BAD:

• There's no reason to play this game compared to the full PS4 version

 

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Honor_Hand]

Awesome work completing yet another ArcSys game, Copanele. Way to go! =D

Have both of these Chaos Code games (I think...may need to double-check on that...) and yeah, they look like fire. I remember seeing some gameplay the other time and it looked sick. Not sure which version I'll tackle first but I'm sure they're both going to be awesome. ^^

 

Although, which version would you say is more challenging out of the two? I see they both have that dreaded Survival Mode clear. My guess is that this PS3 is harder, but who knows, maybe they're both the same in that regard.

 

On 25/1/2023 at 4:15 AM, Copanele said:

P.S. Rui is still the best character in the game design wise  for obvious reasons. 

 

 

 

 

 

Makoto...Is that you? O.O

 

[Copanele]

4 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

Awesome work completing yet another ArcSys game, Copanele. Way to go! =D

Have both of these Chaos Code games (I think...may need to double-check on that...) and yeah, they look like fire. I remember seeing some gameplay the other time and it looked sick. Not sure which version I'll tackle first but I'm sure they're both going to be awesome. ^^

 

Although, which version would you say is more challenging out of the two? I see they both have that dreaded Survival Mode clear. My guess is that this PS3 is harder, but who knows, maybe they're both the same in that regard.

Personally I'd say that PS3 is way more challenging, despite PS4 one having more stuff to do in it (a Mission mode with various tasks). Dying at stage 28 in a 30 survival matches is pretty ok, but dying at stage 50 out of 50...hurts abit more  

Also on PS4 Survival mode, I felt that only fights 27-28-29-30 were tough. On PS3 every fight can go wrong randomly.

4 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

 

Makoto...Is that you? O.O

 

Oh Makoto is in danger to be removed from "best girl slot" in this thread  

I really need to create a gif, because if you think Rui looks good...wait until you see her idle animation ?

[Copanele]

 No. 217 - Dead or School

 

Adding a bit of diversity with a non-fighting game  

 

Dead or School is...a very interesting game, in more than one way ? I got this game as a recommendation from @AihaLoveleaf (and his 5 star review) and I decided to fire it up since I wanted something braindead silly as a break from the punchy-kicky that has plagued my January this year. What I got was a jam packed 2D action/Hack&Slash with an actually catchy story and bountiful characters (as all anime based games should be ?)

 

Onto the premise - mankind was overrun with mutated zombies, so their only solution was to hide underground, under the Tokyo Subways. 78 years after the outbreak, a teenage girl named Hisako is entrusted a schoolgirl uniform by her grandmother (a survivor of the outbreak). With this new Armor that gives 0 protection and 999 bounciness, Hisako has one dream - to get rid of the zombies, allow humanity to return to the surface and go...to...school.

Goddamnit Japan, your obsession with schools is unhealthy. Eh, whatever lets me shoot more zombos.

 

Despite being a teenage girl, Hisako is a very capable fighter, able to slice and dice her way through hordes of enemies. She can double jump, use all kinds of weaponries and can tank hits that would be fatal for a normal human (the desire for school is really strong). All of this action happens in the subway stations of Tokyo, Hisako going from station to station, liberating them and unfolding the mystery behind the outbreak. 

This mystery has a pretty decent anime-like build up. You slowly discover that there's more than meets the katana and the plot doesn't lose momentum. Hisako is also helped by a wide array of characters that she either encounters or rescues on her travel. Unfortunately most of them are largely useless, they only act as support characters or "friends" and do not help Hisako in any way gameplay wise. Either way, they add a bit of color to the bleak zombie environment.

 

 

Yurika is one of the few NPCs central to the plot. Also she has some interesting subquests ?

 

The selling point of the game is the gameplay however. Dead or School is at its core a 2D Action/Hack&Slash with light Metroidvania and platforming influences. You go from room to room, clearing zombies, solving various puzzles which involves a ton of jumping and collect loot, the sweet loot, which is done really well in this game.

Hisako can use 3 types of weapons: Melee weapons (katana swords, broadswords, chainsaws, buzzsaws, a guitar), machine guns (assault rifles, flamethrowers, laser guns) and launchers (grenade launchers, RPGs, particle cannons). You can improve them at various save points or augment them with parts that you find across the world, which offer bonuses like life, stamina, critical rate, critical damage, explosion on hit etc. The save points also have a rudimentary shop that sell you random loot that resets at certain points, however I found that the loot dropped from enemies is vastly superior to the garbage offered by the store.

You can improve the weapons even further with the in-game skill tree : Whenever Hisako levels up from killing zombies ,you are given 1 skill point that you can allocate in the skill tree, which will improve one of your 3 weapon types.

You must pick wisely which course you want to apply

(or don't - Yurika can reset your skill tree free of charge)

 

One final point is when Hisako gets damaged too much - her school uniform explodes (obviously) and she is left only in her shirt, which acts like a sort of "Devil trigger" - her offense and defense capabilities increase, however she is also usually one hit away from death. This special state can also be modified with augments for weapons, which only increase Hisako's destructive capabilities.

Devil Trigger effect, featuring Hisako from Devil May Cry series

 

It is recommended you improve your weapons at any point, because oh boy do the enemies hit HARD. The first 2 levels are pretty much a joke, but starting from level 3 the enemies can easily demolish you, if you play on Normal at least. The rooms get more and more diverse and you really must be on your toes when it comes to delivering damage. Every level has a Boss battle at the end, which are usually the best fights in the game. They are tough, they are challenging and they have sick soundtrack that gets your anime blood pumping.

 

Expect a ton of explosions from every side of the map

 

The game also features various platforming sections ...and those are hit or miss. Hisako's physics defying feats (and I mean jumping in this case) allow you to "cheat" , grabbing ledges that you should've missed normally. However some platforming sections can be infuriating because the game can have a mind of its own at times. One of the most annoying parts of the game is when you have to traverse some sewer water by travelling on debris which sinks after a period of time. That stupid jump-on-garbage section took me more tries than expected and it was one of the few moments where I got pissed at the game for being dumb. Of course, I am not a genius in platforming either  so that didn't help much.

 

In terms of trophies, the game is pretty straightforward - collect everything and solve every sidequest. Nothing is really missable since you can return to previous areas at any point and the grindy trophies (kill enemies with x weapons, gain x amount of money etc) can be easily done during your playthrough. Just like Ender Lilies, I am surprised that the game has such a high completion rate on PSNP, given that it's not the most EZPZ of the games out there (especially considering the final levels where it's gauntlet after gauntlet after platforming after gauntlet). But well, Hisako is a good enough character to worth the investment.  

 

But overall, this has been a nice investment. Got the game at a discount, which I also recommend to the people interested. Not a groundbreaking game by any means, but it's fun and can go ballistic at any point. 

It still didn't convince me to go to school though  miss me with that knowledge stuff, had enough for a lifetime.

 

THE GOOD:

• anime ?
• super strong gameplay
• fun looting system
• soundtrack is actually fire
• story ain't too bad either
• there's something fun about killing hordes of enemies and getting their weapons to kill even more enemies

THE BAD:

• I am not missing the highschool life
• platforming sections can be a headache at times
• Hisako ain't the brightest girl out there

Recommendation - Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knight   a pure Metroidvania where your weapons are your summons. This one I recommend big time(don't be fooled by the completion rate either, game's difficult  )

 

[Copanele]

 No. 218 - Wildcat Gun Machine

 

Platinum Name - Wild-Plat Gun Machine 

Hardest Trophy - Nosraep, True Form of the Beast  - defeat the final boss

Difficulty - 4/10

 

Wildcat Gun Machine! Say that 3 times in front of a toilet and you'll get the toilet paper blessing!

Did that sound random? Well that's in tone with the game, because Wildcat Gun Machine is a purely random game, starting from the title itself! How did they choose that name? The same way the shirts have those random tags on them:

 

Ok, funny pics aside, WGM is a isometric twin-stick shooter/bullet hell where you control the main protagonist, a white hair girl with a passion for cats (I think). I'll name her Wildcat by default, the game doesn't bother to mention what's her name. Actually the game doesn't bother to tell you anything - what are you doing, what's your purpose, who are the fleshy disgusting monsters that are shooting at you, nothing! It has the story complexity and depth of a Tetris game (if only it had the quality gameplay...)

 

You aren't even given a tutorial - although in fact, you don't need one. You shoot with R2, interact with X, move with left stick and aim with right stick and that is all you will need, for starters. Later on you will unlock a dash move and a grenade throw but that's way too much tech already  With that info in mind, you proceed through the various set dungeons, kill all the fleshy monsters and try to get to the 2 minibosses of each level before finally tackling the main boss level. Again, keeping it super simple.

 

One of the highlights of the game is the artstyle - not going to lie, game looks good. Wildcat is in a cute chibi form, bouncing around. The monsters are actually disturbing and grotesque who would definitely fit in a space horror movie. The guns that you use are also pretty colorful and lively. However I felt that the game never reached that "mayhem" point that is always fun in twin stick shooters, no matter how many monsters appear, you never feel that you are truly tearing through them, like a DOOM game would do.

 

Wildcat is cute; the monsters, not so much

 

As a twin-stick shooter protagonist, you have a wide array of weapons at your disposal. The first one is a pistol who has infinite ammo but is weak and slow. Then there is the various machine guns, assault rifles, gauss cannons, laser snipers and such, who use limited ammo, ammo which can be refilled either at your checkpoint station or via picking up various ammo crates found in the levels. Later on you unlock a grenade also, with various properties (regular, incendiary, gravity and cluster).

You also unlock the GUN MACHINE mode, where you can become invincible for 6-7 seconds after filling up an orange bar above your health bar, by killing monsters of course. While the Gun Machine mode is fun, you have no warning when you'll get out of that mode, so you really must shoot from a relative safe space so you won't find yourself in the middle of the enemy fire.

 

But probably the most important mechanic of this game is the Dash. By pressing L1 you can do a short Dash that makes you invincible for the entire duration. This Dash has a cooldown, but if you press Dash at the finish of your previous one, you dash again, prolonging your invincibility. 

...I ended up spamming L1 while shooting like crazy. That's how you finish 99% of the game  by dashing and shooting nonstop.

 

In the eventuality that you die, you can use cats to respawn. Yes, you heard that right, your lives are represented by white spectral cats. Maybe THAT'S why the game is called Wildcat, maybe I am a cat shaman with a laser gun.

...Yeah I have no clue why I use cats to respawn but sure. If you run out of cats, you lose a bit of your skeleton coins (again, why is that your currency idk, I didn't make the game) and all the rooms will reset. However if you run back to your checkpoint station you can replenish your cats...thus making this entire mechanic completely useless.

 

The Gun Machine mode really is a lifesaver depending on situations

 

The gameplay, while fun initially, gets old really quickly. There's no explanation why you're shooting...whatever you're shooting, you just shoot. From the entire set of weaponry, only...5-6 of them are actually decent, the rest can be thrown in the trash. The game itself gets super repetitive and soon your main target is to not fall asleep while pew pew ing the fleshies.

 

The bosses are a major disappointment. Most bosses could be bypassed by just spamming dash around them and pelting them with bullets. Or you could sit in a corner of the screen, outside its range and just pelt him with your ammo. The bosses are particularly dumb in this instance and they serve only as a mild roadblock.

A big exception is the final boss - he's VERY tough. But he is not simply buffed with HP and attacks, no, the main gimmick of this fight is that you lose al of your equipment and is given a pea shooter who switches the projectiles between light and dark. The Boss spits balls of various white/black color, so what you have to do is shift between realms to avoid damage.

I have to say that I hate when games depower you at the end and just give you some sort of random ass weapon that ain't even as good as your normal ones. Depowering should be done at the beginning of a story, not at the end. What was the point of me struggling to get all the good weapons if I just end up losing them at the end??

And just when you beat him up...you get the game logo and that's , the end. No NG+, no possibility to use my money won after the last fight. What was even the purpose then  

 

The platinum is a slog. You'll definitely not be able to get all the money required for the weapons, so you will have to win ->die ->restart at checkpoint - cash in and continue over and over again. The weapons cost quite a bit so you will spend some time in one place farming for weapons you will never ever use. And since there is no way to level select, better abuse that cloud save.

 

Anyway, this game is repetitive and makes little to no sense. It's best if you avoid this game altogether, There's so many better games out there.

 

THE GOOD:

• Wildcat can be cute
• The shooting feels good

THE BAD

• Why am I even shooting here?
• WHAT am I even shooting here?
• 0 story
• repetitive gameplay
• 0 motivation to play

Recommendation: Curse of the Dead Gods a way better isometric roguelike

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Copanele

[FreshFromThaDeli]

I'll stick to Dead Ops Arcade for my bullet hell game fix ?

[Yuber6969]

Congrats!

 

On 25/01/2023 at 3:15 AM, Copanele said:

No. 55 - Chaos Code (PS3)

 

 

I already found 30 (was it 30?) very difficult in the PS4 version. Big respect for doing 50.

 

Also I fully agree: Hermes and especially Rui are insanely hot.

 

On 30/01/2023 at 4:38 AM, Copanele said:

 No. 217 - Dead or School

 

 

I'm planning to play this one soon too. Between yours and @AihaLoveleaf's review, the plot seems so stupid yet I really want to see it for some reason lol. Mainly excited for the gameplay though; gives me Mega Man Zero vibes.

 

On 03/02/2023 at 6:48 PM, Copanele said:

 No. 218 - Wildcat Gun Machine

 

 

What the fuck did I just read?

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Yuber6969

[Copanele]

On 2/4/2023 at 11:18 AM, FreshFromThaDeli said:

I'll stick to Dead Ops Arcade for my bullet hell game fix

I'll stick to fighting against Ryu hadoken spammers for my bullet hell game fix ?

Bullet Hell games really ain't for me

 

2 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

Congrats!

 

 

I already found 30 (was it 30?) very difficult in the PS4 version. Big respect for doing 50.

 

Also I fully agree: Hermes and especially Rui are insanely hot.

Big thanks. Yeah I hope this game gets resurrected, because damn there's some fine girl characters in this game ?

2 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

 

I'm planning to play this one soon too. Between yours and @AihaLoveleaf's review, the plot seems so stupid yet I really want to see it for some reason lol. Mainly excited for the gameplay though; gives me Mega Man Zero vibes.

YOU HAVE TO!
The plot is dumb but like, it's not "man what is this crap" kind of plot, it's the kind of silly plot that works  

Thoroughly recommending it. Both you and Honor need to get to it ASAP  

2 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

 

What the fuck did I just read?

 

I WISH I WAS JOKING IN THAT REVIEW.

It's one of my more serious reviews, THAT'S HOW THE GAME IS ?

[AihaLoveleaf]

On 1/30/2023 at 3:38 AM, Copanele said:

 No. 217 - Dead or School

Glad you ended up enjoying it. Anybody receptive to weeby games that is seeing this review should put Dead or School on their wishlist. It scratches the itch for looting action, and the plot is surprisingly decent, which makes sense when you realize the source material is a manga that is rather grim in nature.