Author - Ripper71

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos Review (PS4)

2015/08/09

Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

When I was asked if I wanted to review Onechanbara Z2: Chaos, a game about scantily-clad women killing zombies, I was wondering if they had designed this game just for me and if our Editor-in-Chief really needed to ask if I wanted to play. That probably sounds sexist at face value but one of my favorite and most overlooked games of recent years when it comes to zombiefests is Lollipop Chainsaw. While its characters were wearing little costumes and wielding big weapons it didn’t take long to realize that it was a satire about female characters in video games and they made sure to back it up with nice graphics and great game mechanics. It was with these hopes of similar results that I went into Onechanbara Z2: Chaos.

Description:
Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is the latest iteration in the Onechanbara series featuring the world’s sexiest zombie slayers. With two sets of buxom vampire sisters at the player’s disposal, over a dozen stages of high-octane real-time swordplay await, each characterized by the hordes of zombies infesting the land and the over-the-top methods our heroes employ to kill them. Fight off the invasion in gruesome detail, sending limbs and blood flying every which way through a variety of physical attacks and acrobatic maneuvers, occasionally transforming into a demon for short bursts of added power and speed at the cost of life energy. Each of the four members of the so-called “bikini zombie squad” has her own unique abilities, and skillful play is rewarded with orbs that can be exchanged for upgraded weapons and outfits.

Features:
– Zombie-Slaying Action has Never Looked So Good! The bikini samurai squad of Onechanbara return armed with a plethora of new moves and new Dare Drive or Xtasy demonic transformations for short bursts of intense power.

– Four Lovely Ladies, Four Unique Playing Styles. Each of the playable ladies has her own unique weapons and abilities, and players may tag-team among them on the fly or even perform team combos.

– Tons of Customization and Replay Options. In addition to the series’ most involved storyline to date, Mission Mode provides specific challenges to complete, while skilled gameplay will unlock Yellow Orbs which can be exchanged for new gear and outfits to help earn a top spot in the online leaderboards.

– A Suave, Stylish Soundtrack Supported by Dual-Language Voice-Acting. In addition to the funkiest, catchiest and most outlandish soundtrack the franchise has ever known, players may also choose whether to enjoy the gameplay experience with the original Japanese voices or – for the first time in series history – a full English dub.

Hands On:
First things first, this game is satire from the way characters are dressed to the reason they are dressed that way. The characters are designed to be over-the-top just like the comvat moves and combos and, except when reading about the characters or watching cutscenes, their outfits and exaggerated body images play no part in the game to the point you forget about them until you unlock new costume parts through achievements. The amount of cool, weird, and campy clothing and accessories you can get is pretty staggering. You can even put Voltron style armor pieces on the characters to show just how silly they are trying to be and how little they are trying to reflect true standards and ideals (just like Lollipop Chainsaw where you got to dress her as Ash from the Evil Dead movies).

Now that the buxom elephant in the room has been addressed, the question comes up about gameplay. Is Onechanbara Z2: Chaos a solid game disguised as a sexy romp? Yes, thank goodness for that but the short answer is yes – it is a ton of campy fun. There are multiple combos that can be unlocked – both simply and more complex to pull off. The moves are very gratifying to perform and their action-packed results are equally awesome to watch. What’s even cooler is that the actual effects of your combat moves get more epic as your increase your experience. For example, you might do a dash attack that simply knocks an enemy down at the beginning part of the game. However, if you keep upgrading the dash attack you will find that when it strikes that the enemy doesn’t fall down but instead flies across the screen and splats on a wall slowly, giblets slowly sliding down its surface. You feel truly satisfied when you build up an attack and look forward to seeing what it will do next.

There are four characters that you play and are interchangeable at the touch of a button. This means you really have four life bars to work with at any given time and four styles of attacks. This can be crucial when you have enemies that might be more vulnerable to one kind of attack or even only vulnerable to one type (I’m looking at you bastard Mud Men!). So this brings in strategy as well as random mindless hack and slash. You may work on crowd control playing one character, switch to another to deal with specialty monsters then settle on your favorite type of character fighting style for a boss all in the same fight. This kind of planning and forethought that is required really elevates the game from a zombie chopfest to a solid, replayable fighter with lots of strategy. My only complaint about this specialization is that sometimes the timing on a combo has to be so absolutely precise to take an enemy out that it can take a REALLY long time to finally get it to work. A compliment about the controls though would have to be the use of the PS4 controller touchpad which I had quite honestly forgotten about. During some boss battles you are directed to swipe in different directions on the pad which gives a little extra tactile fun to playing (once I figured out it wanted me to use the touch pad instead of the directional sticks).

You can collect coins to buy potions, weapons, and movement upgrades as well as outfits throughout the game. Always keeping a near full health bar through health potions is an important key to survival. You don’t get enough money to unlock all you want, at least not of the first play through so you need to be selective, I found myself just upgrading the weapons on two of the characters, ones that had very different fighting styles so that I could adjust as needed during boss fights or large crowd control. Each character gets three weapons as well (melee, mid range, longer range) so upgrading all of them is that much more difficult. Once again though upgrades look satisfying as well as performing better.

If unlocking more items and getting more combos isn’t reason enough to replay the game, then there is also the fact that you get graded throughout each chapter and unlock achievements which are then compared on an online leader board as well as triggering PS4 achievements. Also, there are different levels of difficulty and challenges besides the main player campaign. This game has legs without even mentioning there are different environments set around the world and if you have favorites you can just replay them if you want.

Last Thoughts:
Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is a great zombie fighting strategy game disguised as a sexist, mindless slash and hack. The dialogue and outfits are meant to be tongue-in-cheek while the action is solid, up-scaling and at times plain unforgiving. If you can get around half of the characters being dressed like lingerie models Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is everything a great fighting game should be.

G-Project G-Tube Bluetooth Speaker Review

2015/07/31

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

In terms of sheer sound quality, my iPad 2 has served me well over the years. However, it can’t cover half the distance across our room and barely across our bed – it just doesn’t have the volumne. This may not be so bad when playing video games or movies with tons of explosions but if anyone talks quietly playing anything on it their words are completely lost. As a result I am always looking at little portable speakers with good sound clarity in case I want to stream a music app but excellent sound levels and battery life in case I am watching a series poolside. Enter: the G-Project G-Tube Bluetooth capsule speaker.

Features:
BIG SOUND, SMALL PACKAGE – G-TUBE’s sound is delivered through stereo 1.25” speaker drivers, pumping out surprisingly powerful sound for its small size. Now if you’re shopping around for small speakers in this class, everyone is going to tell you that theirs has “great sound for its size”… and while you can’t hear G-TUBE virtually, we can tell you that the same engineers and designers that have unleashed the best reviewed line of outdoor speakers in history, put all their brain and ear power into making sure G-TUBE lives up to the G-Project reputation.

SPLASH PROOF, BUILT TOUGH – IPX5-rated water resistance (a fancy way of saying it’s designed to withstand water splashing from all angles) makes G-TUBE the perfect companion to take to the ocean, lake, pool or shower. Built with a rugged housing structure, wrapped in a full steel grill with protective elastomer on the ends and center to protect it from everyday use and abuse.

PORTABLE PERFORMANCE – G-TUBE has a built-in rechargeable battery for up to six hours of play time. It’s easy to charge – just plug it into any USB phone charger or computer. G-TUBE also has a convenient metal loop so you can use a carabiner or lanyard to hang it from a tree branch, bag or backpack.

HEADPHONES OUT – Plug your headphones into G-TUBE’s headphone jack to stream music wirelessly and keep your phone safe in your bag or backpack.

ALWAYS IN CONTROL – Playback and volume buttons let you quickly adjust the volume or skip back to listen to your favorite song again so you can leave fragile phones or tablets stored safely in your pocket or bag.

Hands On:
To start off testing the little speaker, I went with playing a video game on our television set while also streaming the television show Strike Back on the iPad 2. Whispers to duck were followed by great blasts through the speaker, all completely clear and audible. I found myself watching the iPad 2 and pausing the game even though I was streaming an episode I had already seen. The sound quality was so nice that it overpowered my multi-tasking desires. After a few hours I went back to gaming, forgetting to turn the speaker off.

Following a six hour gaming marathon, I went to listen to some music in the pool only to discover the speaker was still turned on. No problem, it turned out to have plenty of energy left with over 6 hours of playtime and another 6 hours turned on. Blutooth pairing was quick and easy with my smartphone. I put the speaker by the pool and listened to music occasionally, reaching over and adjusting the volume or skipping a track. The area for line in, line out, and charging all screw shut with a waterproof seal to add protection to the inside of the G-Tube and to better survive the waves made as people cannon balled into the pool. Splashes weren’t a worry and the sound carried crystal clear whether playing some heavier bass or songs where clear notes made the music. G-Tube is not designed for block rockin’ beats, mind you, it is a careful balance between size and sound and performs this balancing act exceptionally.

The last couple of tests were of its line-in and line-out functions, so I ran a line-in from the iPad 2 and then my computer – both giving great quality sound as if they were designed to go together and professionally hardwired instead of simple audio jacks. The final test was the one I was most excited for since it really opened up possibilities. I connected my smartphone to the speak via Bluetooth and then put on a pair of headphones. The phone went onto a table and then into a bag on a table. In both cases, the situation provided stable, great connections. The sound was just like I was plugged into the phone instead of the speaker and I walked around the house listening to it on headphone with no reception issues. The great thing about this speaker is that if you are going someplace where your phone can be damaged, you can seal it up in an all weather proof bag but still listen to music on it through the speaker hanging off a clip or a bit of a pocketful in your pants. If something damaging happens you would have to replace the G-Tube which is built for durability rather than you pocket computer/phone which costs a lot more and is far more vital.

Final Thoughts:
I see the G-Tube not only being great for around the house and listening in place of the underwhelming speakers on the iPad 2 but I also see this being used heavily in travel by me so that I can listen to my music while keeping my phone safely stowed. I could even see pairing it up with other speakers with line-in and line-out so that an even fuller sound experience could be had. Whether on the go or just improving your device’s sound, the G-Project G-tube is a great choice for your audio needs.

Batman: Arkham Knight Review (Xbox One)

2015/07/13

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Reviews, Xbox One News, Xbox One Review

There’s an old saying: Be yourself, unless you can be Batman, then be Batman. The Arkham series of Batman video games have only gotten better as it has progressed, with both and gameplay and storylines being simply outstanding. Then came delays on Batman: Arkham Knight and concerns being voiced about the state of the game. Unfortunately, once it was released, the PC version was so bad that if Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment had the chance they would bury all the copies in the desert hole vacated by all those E.T. the Extraterrestrial Atari game cartridges. The port is so bad that refunds were issued and, let’s face it, that is not done easily on digital distribution platforms. At the same time, everyone was stating how good the PlayStation 4 version of the game was and that it is a perfect chapter in the Arkham series. So… what about the Xbox One version? In the shuffle, most folks didn’t seem to know much of anything at all about it. Well, we here at Gamingshogun.com have the goods on the Xbox One version in our review of Batman: Arkham Knight!

Hands On:

Our friends at IGN did a very comprehensive graphics comparison between Batman: Arkham Knight on both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms. I could try all day to describe the differences, but here is a nice little video clip they put together to show the differences (Do our work for us, IGN!).

Having watched it many times now, I can tell there are slight differences between the two but they are ever so slight. With the minor exceptions regarding some lighting effects, there isn’t much difference. So, no matter what was your game console of choice, you can pick the game up without fear as you will have a gorgeous game to play.

With that out of the way, we can get down to the nuts and bolts of the game and whether it is a waste of your money on any system besides the PC. If you liked the other games in the series, you should like this one. All the game mechanics synonymous with the series, such as the “detective mode” and launching off of buildings to glide through the streets are still in play, most with slight enhancements. Just as in previous games, the buttons multitask so hitting a series of them might be necessary to perform a task but the combos are kept simple so that you aren’t fumbling with them while trying to figure out the next place to grapple or the direction you need to move for a combo attack. If you played the other games as I did, the combos and controls felt like second natur. If you haven’t played the other games, they are still fairly easy to pick up with the controller layout reference being just a couple button pushes away. Also, there are hints that pop up on the screen while playing and during loading screens as friendly reminders.

The biggest change in gameplay is, without a doubt, the addition of the Batmobile – which, technically, is more than just a Batmobile as it also changes into the Bat Tank. Please note that is not the official name for it but that is what the street thugs call it and when it comes on-scene, they go running like crazy. The Bat Tank does bring up an interesting point with Batman in that he doesn’t kill the street criminals but he uses a cannon to destroy drones. Not to worry though as the Bat Tank automatically tells when it is firing on people or drones and if there is a person involved it uses non-lethal rounds like a souped-up police bean bag gun. Some of the wrecks it causes with manned vehicles could be argued to be hard for a person to survive without being maimed or worse but the game gives these situations the benefit of the doubt and, in many crashes you cause, you will see the passengers and drivers crawling out of the wreck and making a run for it.

There was a lot of concern going into this game that the Batmobile might make the game too easy to play, especially with its tank mode. The developers definitely kept this in mind and the game has parts where you can’t physically use the Batmobile as well as parts where you have to do so. That being the case, there are chances to do combo fights with the Batmobile like it was another person and though those moments feel a bit overpowered. However, those moments feel really fun and satisfying and is entirely to your discretion to use them or not.

You earn points through gameplay and mission completions which can upgrade not just your skills but your Batmobile’s skills as well with Lucious and Alfred sending Batman additional upgrades as the game calls for it. Feel free to save up some points in case you find a challenge mission particularly hard and want to feed some points into skills that help it but mostly the points feed into your favorite playstyle. Love launching off the buildings and gliding long distances? There’s a skill for that! Prefer traveling by Batmobile? Then you can concentrate your points on that – just remember there are times when the Batmobile isn’t available for mission, so try not to put ALL your points into it!

There are a ton of side missions and the game really plays up the sandbox style where you can concentrate on the main mission or spend hours just running around breaking up mobs. You can easily get days, if not weeks, of playtime out of this game and most of the side missions feel like they serve a purpose more than just helping you level and get skill points.

Last but not least let’s talk about the storyline without giving too much away. The game draws upon the entirety of the Batman universe, picking and choosing how to use the best moments with the best characters and watching some of my favorite comic book moments play out in moving scenes with exceptional voice acting. I consider myself a Batman fan but by no means an expert yet I still recognized key moments in his lore play out throughout the game in a seamless manner. It was surprising how well they could be stitched up into one encompassing tale, even using pseudo flashbacks that Batman knew about but had not witnessed.

I forgot to mention all the different skins for Batman, the Batmobile, and pretty much every character that helps you in the game. So many skins to get!

Last Call:
There is so much to Batman: Arkham Knight that I will still be working on the side missions for some time to come. I am already planning on picking up the Season Pass because I can’t wait to see and play more of the story. It feels weird to say this but I feel grateful to be able to play such a diverse and amazing game and even with the port failure of the PC version, I would gladly and quickly pre-order another installment on a next-gen console if they decided to make one, I simply don’t want it to end!

[easyreview title=”Batman: Arkham Knight (Xbox One) Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Review (PS4)

2015/06/28

Ripper71

News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Screenshot

There’s just something about anime and big swords that just go great together. I think maybe even more so for anime video games, because there is something particularly satisfying about being the one who is swinging those big swords. Jumping ridiculously high in the air, coming down is a helicopter flurry of blades and following it up by knocking your enemy out of the park is totally my cup of sencha. Honestly, it was those games that got me into anime such as Bleach, Black Butler, and Death Note thought it was the likes of Akira and Ghost on the Shell that got me to accept that my 8-bit Final Fantasy was gonna be anime. Basically, the point I am getting at it there is a lot of anime in many forms and video games are some of its best, those who don’t accept it are missing out on great games like Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition.

Hands On:
For those of you who can count to 5 and seem a bit confused because you thought you heard of a Devil May Cry 4 back about seven years ago – don’t worry, you would be correct and this is not supposed to be a new number/iteration in the series. This is the suped-up, next-gen special edition with updated graphics, three new playable characters, and a brutal Legendary Dark Knight mode. My suggestion with that last feature would be to play through once on a lower difficulty mode because you will want the health stars and golden life orbs to survive this brutal trip.

The game has a high replay factor since you can play as Dante, Lady, Trish, and Vergil. Each character has their own styles and strengths which makes playing through the same level still interesting depending on who you are controlling. Lady is not primarily a melee fighter, so keep your distance – especially since she is human so harder to heal and keep alive. Trish has plenty of tricks but you need to keep her in close and be aware of her directions. Vergil is a melee beast but easier to master if you give Dante a playthrough first. Dante is well rounded and if you get overwhelmed and start button mashing, you might still survive with him where the other three require more finesse. If memorizing long button combinations is too hard for you, there is an auto mode which requires only remembering how many times to hit a button and when to pause, almost like Morse code fighting.

If the different difficulty levels and different character choices still aren’t enough reason for you to play through again each level is also graded on speed, style and finding hidden objects. Since finding hidden things and speed seldom work together and style is somewhere in between it can take multiple runs to get the highest score you can in each subject and several runs to get the highest score possible overall. Then you do it for each character.

Replays might seem kinda long if you couldn’t skip the cutscenes but you can. This is also nice for those who don’t care about story and focus on the fighting because they can jump right along. I think players should watch the cutscenes, at least the first time, otherwise they are missing out on the overall experience. The cutscenes in Dante’s story are pretty long but very well developed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some people rewatch them on purpose. The cutscenes from other storylines seem fairly dependent on Dante’s, so I would recommend playing through first on him again.

Last Shot:
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition is everything players wanted in a revamp: updated graphics, more playable characters, and an extra difficulty level all wrapped up in a replay-encouraging game. This makes me dream of all kinds of reboots I would like to see done right, with upgraded graphics and characters we always dreamed of getting our hands on. It’s not very often that a revamp exceeds our hopes.

[easyreview title=”Devil May Cry Special Edition Review 4 Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

The 2015 Amazing Las Vegas Comic Convention Photo Gallery

2015/06/28

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos

This was the third year for the Amazing Las Vegas Comic Convention and the guests and fun just keep getting better and better. Comic book legends such as George Perez, Kevin Eastman, Steve McNiven, and Rob Liefeld were mixing it up with stars like John Barrowman, Chris Casamassa, Chad Rook, and Tom Fleecs all through the convention. The panels were exceptional and still personal in size as you could make eye contact with Tyler Mane or had Greg Capullo lean over you with a mic to answer questions with John Romita Jr. There was no substitute for the experience that Jim Shooter had to share though the most fun panel was probably put on by Realmcast where I learned I freeze up on trivia but everyone got a prize who showed up (they really had to lob my question to me and one girl won a prize for returning from the restroom). The comic prices weren’t just great but amazing living up to the convention’s name and places like Maximum Comics even had carnival games from spin the wheel to Plinko! to toss the turd in the toilet.

The only drawback was that the ALVCC exclusive comics were priced out of the average visitor’s budget – especially considering they could get a regular comic book AND get it signed for about half the price. I really wanted a Boba Fett cover but wound up buying a comic for a buck and getting it signed for free.

Other than that one little issue, this is a terrific con where you can see big names in comics and media up close and personal for a great price.

Photo Gallery

Warface Review (PC)

2015/06/18

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

I recently lost a couple of my favorite, long-running free-to-play games on the PC:, Battlefield Heroes, which was cartoonish but loaded with customization, and Battlefield Play-For-Free, which had the quality of a Battlefield game with F2P micro-transaction economy. Both were great in that they allowed players to be competitive without spending money – those titles became just a bit more fun if you did. This left a hole in my gaming life that I have been plugging F2P games into with varying success. The question I came across recently was would Warface be the perfect fit?

In co-op mode, play the part of a Rifleman, Sniper, Engineer or Medic, and master the unique skills of each class to help your team to victory. Daily new missions mean you’ll always have a fresh challenge to face and new rewards to unlock – regardless of whether you tackle Regular, Skilled or Hardcore campaigns. Versus matches see teams of up to eight players battling it out in stacks of competitive modes. Jump into “Team Deathmatch”, “Free for All”, “Plant the Bomb”, “Storm”, “Destruction” or “Capture”, and switch your soldier class at any moment to maximize your contribution to the cause.

Features:

Enjoy a constant flow of new weapons, maps and more!
Tackle new missions in diverse war zones every single day
Brace yourself for explosive Co-op and Versus action
Work as a team and master four unique soldier classes
Crytek’s CRYENGINE tech draws you deep into the heat of battle
Pick your side and fight as the forces of Blackwood or Warface
Play completely free of charge – never pay a penny
Expect the best – Crytek’s trademark quality meets free-to-play gaming

Hands On:

If you are like me, the above description and features sound spot-on for a solid F2P. If you haven’t really understood why people play free-to-play games in the first place – well, there are a bunch of different reasons, top of them for me is the fact that you get a constantly rotating player base that evolves with the game. No one is in there saying this game sucks and what a waste of money it is. Players are playing it because it is a fit for them or they just don’t play it at all. Since it didn’t cost them anything, they don’t feel an obligation to get their money’s worth out of it. For the most part, F2P games are also far less elitist because gamers understand these are all access games and the game didn’t cost them anything unless they chose to enhance their play. It’s about the fun of the game. One of the nice things about Warface is that at a certain level players are classified as “professionals” at the game so they have their own lobbies and games preventing the dreaded level 45 thumping level 1 noobs and chasing them off. Not that there would probably be a problem with that too much in the first place, there really generally is a sense of community play in F2P games and Warface fosters this in a few ways.

One way is that to get to certain locations on game maps requires teamwork, boosting up one player then getting pulled up yourself. Not only does this give the players high ground advantage but they also get a point bonus for working together. Another way Warface enhances comradery is in the simplest but sometimes most overlooked solution: medics and ammo packs. It’s amazing how few people will complain if the bottom player on their team hasn’t gotten a single kill but has revived or healed them several times in the fight. Side Note: I think Warface’s medic class could use some tweaking as it is a bit too time consuming to save a fallen teammate, but I can see erring on the side of caution with this as speeding it up too much could make a team invincible!

The final and most important deciding factor on whether or not a F2P game should be played is whether it can remain free to play. Some call themselves F2P because there is no initial buy-in but when it comes down to it you have to pay to win. Being a guru of the F2P genre, nothing makes me angrier than a free-to-play, pay-to-win game. I don’t mind investing money into a free-to-play, quite the contrary as I understand that this is the only way to keep up support for a game and make updates and play expansions viable. Plus, if they make the game more fun that’s terrific. Also, there are players with more money than time and if they want to pay to unlock things that other players will unlock over time or even just speed up the unlocks with boosts more power to them. As long another player can pay their dues with time and get as much out of the game as the deep-pocketed, great!

Warface is great with all this. I played a while as a rookie with no unlockables and only codes given away on Twitter and had a great time. Then, I played at the professional level with a bunch of unlockables, playing against other pros and watching some well oiled and beautifully brutal action. I probably went to the professional level a little too soon in play, which is a risk for pay to rank players but I still didn’t feel out of my element and I got kills through skills even if I hadn’t perfected the special moves like the slide and slaughter (that might not be its actual name but it sure should be!).

The game’s map sizes, so far, are pretty small. While some have decent sniper roosts, they are mostly based on concealment rather than distance. There are maps with shipping containers where they enemy is always visible then there are some of the more advanced maps with actual concealment. Personally I would like to see more large maps in play but that is a personal taste, maps are voted on at the end of a round and it is very possible that I just never really got any large ones. The Co-Op maps are good size and a lot of fun, loaded with enough enemies for all to get some kills.

Lastly, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the graphics. Thanks to using the CryEngine as its game engine, it can give you the graphic quality you expect from a AAA game while still being F2P which is a pretty decent accomplishment in itself.

Last Shot:

Warface is one of the best F2P games I have seen in a while and is definitely worth a play in your valuable free time. It is truly free-to-play as they claim and, if you have the time, you can be just as competitive if not more so than someone with more money than time. It has a good community and game mechanics that promote continued goodwill among players. Warface is about playing first person shooter when you have the time and having a blast – isn’t that what all games should really be about?

[easyreview title=”Warface F2P Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

Zen Pinball 2 Portal Table Review (PSN)

2015/05/31

Ripper71

News, PlayStation 3 News, PlayStation 3 Review, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

I always get excited when there is a new Zen Studios pinball table up for review. I only own a handful of the dozens available on the consoles but they get regular play in our household and addictive “one more game” fever sweeps through quickly. So when the new Portal table got released and the review came along it was really a rhetorical question on whether I was up to reviewing it.

Hands On:
First off besides always doing an excellent job with theming, Zen Studios is the standard for video pinball for one major reason: physics. They have done the most spot on perfect reproduction of actual ball, flipper and bumper physics that can be found. I go to actual physical arcades to play pinball regularly and so you develop a feel and instinct of how everything should work so that you can feel a soft flipper or notice a weak bumper quickly, the nice thing about video pinball is no wear and tear on the machine, perfect play every time.

Another nice thing about video pinball is where you can cross into the fantasy realm of play by having characters from the game come out onto the table and perform actions and interact with each other in a way that wouldn’t be possible on a real world machine. In this case portals are made, laser beams are fired and general Portal fun and sarcasm is aplenty on the table. Most of it involves mini-games but you can always expect some love/hate when you lose your ball.

Now down to the actual play of the table since this is where people usually decide their favorites even more than theming. It’s a short table with a medium play speed. It has a fast short top tier and a short basement with a medium to slow play depending on control and luck. Skill shots are challenging but doable, multiball is really fun and the mini games are varied and entertaining. The table is good for a decent player, might be a bit hard for a beginner.

Last Call:
You don’t have to be a fan of Portal or even know much the game to enjoy this table – though, if you are a fan, there is a lot to love here. Once again, the Portal pinball table for Zen Pinball a very solid offering from Zen Studios packing a lot of variety and fun into it. My only complaint about this table is that I wish they had more than one table in the set – it is done so well that fans will be wishing for more.

[easyreview title=”Zen Pinball Portal Table Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Arcania: The Complete Tale Review (PS4)

2015/05/31

Ripper71

Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

When Arcania: Gothic 4 came out in November of 2010, it was a pretty busy time in my life. I felt I had to review the game, not to just play it but also immerse myself in it as both a stress relief and escape. Everything I had seen alluded to it being a great RPG game with a lot of sandbox play and, thankfully, it lived up to the hype. The only issues that really came up at the time were bugs that I reported would probably be fixed in a patch or two. Now, a little over 4 years later, I am back in that world with Arcania: The Complete Story which bundles the first game and its expansion, giving them some next-gen polish in one experience.

Story:
Without giving too much away, in the first game you are a sheep herder turned warrior when you go down a road of vengeance and discover your honor. There’s more to it than that but I like to keep things spoiler-free! In the sequel, you are older, wiser and trying to prevent the title Fall of Setarrif from happening. There is A LOT more to it than that – but finding out the rest on your own is the best part.

Hands On:
Even though I had played all the quests in the first game four years ago – with its new beauty and classic fun, I was once again immersed in the world, contently playing in no time. I remembered a few of the confusing quests that slowed me down the first time and I even remembered where most of the enemies would be and how best to kill them – a sign of how much of an impact the game made on me 4 1/2 years ago! The game looked amazing on my PlayStation 4 and the hours started to fly by.

The game involves the classic RPG tropes of leveling, improving gear, and mastering skills based on your play style. This means you can put everything into strength type attributes if you are a warrior at heart, dexterity if you like to play a hunter, or magicks and mana if you like to play a mage. Personally, I liked being a warrior with a “Jack of All Trades” style putting time into both melee, range, and magic abilities. It makes it handy to soften up an enemy and slow them down at a distance before clashing weapons up close.

I did begin to notice something a bit strange that had me frowning: The bugs were still there – and I’m not talking about the poisonous flies! I would be fighting something, dodge an attack, put some distance between us and suddenly it would appear in the air behind me. I would go to loot a corpse by the shoreline and slide into the water and get stuck there. Or, even worse, I would be moving along a cliff line and suddenly I was floating along the rocks, then floating down over the edge and falling to my death. They were all-too-familiar bugs that had come with the game when I played it around its release date and all these years later they were all still there. It didn’t stop me from playing, mind you, but I found myself saving every couple of minutes in case I encountered a bug that would kill me and set me back 20 minutes to an hour (I had to take a break after the first hour setback – too frustrating). I’m left to wonder if they started from a buggy, earlier version of the game when updating graphics or if they were never fixed?

Jumping straight into playing the expansion pack Arcania: The Fall of Setarrif, the game starts you at level 28 and you choose a specialty of warrior, hunter or mage with most of the points pre-assigned in the important elements of that class, while leaving you a few to place where you choose. This system worked nicely into my “Jack of All Trades” playstyle again. The first game had a lot of dialogue to setup locations and the situation, the second game assumes you played the first and jumps right in with you as the champion and trouble brewing. It was nice since if you played the first, even if it had been years ago, it is easy to play. With the second game, the developers seemed to take into account that the players wanted a bit more variety, so they added more diverse areas than appeared in the first game. Fall of Setarrif also didn’t seem to suffer quite so much from repetition of enemies as the first game – however, that might just be because I didn’t notice it as much as I didn’t play through it for review twice like the other game. Most likely it is because it is an expansion so it has less time and locations to fill with content. The expansion definitely brings up a question of whether or not the first game would have been better, maybe less buggy even, if it hadn’t been so ambitious in size and time!

Arcania was a pretty long playthrough if you stuck just to the main story and didn’t wander off exploring, the expansion is probably at least 8 hours if you stick to just the story which in both cases I advise against. This game is an fairly open world to explore for a reason, it really adds to the experience to take it all in, do side quests, and find hidden treasures. Even with marathon playtimes you can get days if not weeks out of this game pack!

Last Call:
Aracnia: The Complete Tale is a fun game to play and a great world to explore. It has some great graphics, interesting stories, and rewarding gameplay. It also has its bugs and they are pretty decent ones – but, if you have patience for them and save often, the rewards seem to be worth the aggravations.

[easyreview title=”Arcania: The Complete Tale Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3″ ]

Magicka: Wizard Wars Review (PC)

2015/05/03

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

The hottest PVP Arena game out there right now is League Of Legends and I have to confess I don’t like it that much. It is not very friendly to new players. Everyone gets wound up playing it and there is a ton of aggression thrown towards new players just learning the ropes. I like PVP but I also like it to be fun! Enter Magicka: Wizard Wars, a solid PVP arena game that has the fun of the now defunct Battlefield Heroes.

Description:
Magicka: Wizard Wars is a Spellcasting Action PvP game with the humor and the dynamic realtime spell system of Magicka. Players form teams of four and blaze their way across the battlefield, combining magical elements on the fly to create hundreds of spell combinations with wildly varying effects.

Features:
– 3 Game modes: 4-on-4 team play, 1-on-1 Duel Mode, and the brand new Soul Harvest mode that allows 4-on-4 team play with base defense and NPC battles.
– Fight intense battles – Co-op spellcasting, wielding fire and dragons as your weapons.
– Show your skills in fast-paced action, dynamically choose your spells on the fly to counter your opponents’ attacks.
– Friendly fire is in full effect, staying true to the Magicka tradition of “accidentally” killing your friends.
– 100 Robes, Staves, Skins, Weapons and your Humor of choice, 100s more to come – Be the Wizard you want to be!

Hands On:
First thing that needs to be stressed right off the bat: Magicka: Wizard Wars is a true free-to-play game with money being spent only by the impatient player – or the one who wants a vanity look for fun! In many supposedly free-to-play titles, you have to invest some money to have a competitive weapon whereas in Magicka: Wizard Wars, you have to be patient enough and play enough to unlock the higher-end items. That being said if you want a robe that looks a lot like a certain Dr. Horrible’s lab, coat you can buy it. If you want a weapon that is an axe designed to look like a guitar and has a special ability to let you tweak out a riff that will beat up the enemy with sound waves, that’s an option too. Through playing you can earn in-game currency and over time purchase most things you would want or you can spend a little real world money and look like Enchanter Tim from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The idea is to look unique and fit your personal geekdom. The item descriptions alone get you buying them.

In the game you get an imp which is near useless unless you get really creative strategy wise. It really comes down to being a vanity pet for the most part that will try to help you but you can expect it to die a horrible and quick death. That being said unlocking the Razer one and purchasing the Guy Fawkes imp that did nothing better than your other ones but leave a more interesting corpse is really a lot of fun.

The gameplay clearly has an emphasis on fun factor as well a huge combinations of spells, wards, shields, and attacks at your disposal. All game modes have a PVP focus with standard game styles such as dueling and team versus team – though soul harvest goes for more of a League of Legends style of play. The soul harvest map is huge and full of NPCs so you can harvest their souls instead of the other player’s if you choose. Harvesting souls causes the shields and defenses of the enemy base to fail allowing base assault which is the only way to win. Fighting larger, tougher NPCs can result in multiple souls dropping so it can be advantageous to team up on a big baddie, just watch your backs for the enemy to come and PK you and take the souls for themselves. You can constantly switch up your attacks with more attacks unlocking as you go as well as more armor and weapons allowing your gameplay to constantly evolve. The replayability of the game is huge and addicting. Unlike in Ghostbusters, crossing the streams is a good thing, giving a more powerful attacks. However, watch out as if you accidentally start hitting your teammates they will die and curse your name, friendly fire is always on!

Last Call:
Magicka: Wizard Wars is a game for players who like PVP arena play but don’t like screaming, angry pre-teens griefing them the whole time. It lends itself to an ever-evolving play style filled with humor and general fun. There is a lot of “LOL” slang typed in the chats and just as many healing spells cast on fellow team members as there are attack spells on the other team. Magicka: Wizard Wars has comradery mixed with a sense of humor so lacking in most PVP arena games that it not only feels refreshing but welcoming. You can expect to see me playing regularly for a long time to come.

[easyreview title=”Magicka: Wizard Wars Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Wizard World Las Vegas 2015 Gallery #wizardworld

2015/04/29

Ripper71

Geek News, News

I’ve been to a lot, and I mean A LOT of conventions but none have had panels quite as fun as I got to sit through at first year of Wizard World Las Vegas. The weekend started with a celebrity meet and greet for the press at “The High Roller” observation wheel where the stars were a little subdued, even going as far as to step off on their own to start to get to know each other since some were fresh to the tour and others were veterans. Adrenaline junkie and former Green Power Ranger, Jason David Frank, and Boondock Saints star, Sean Patrick Flanery, were good examples as they said a few words then spent most of the greet time off to the side quietly talking about crazy jumps Frank had taken over the years. Frank really made up for it by being one of the last people to leave the mixer afterwards but it did leave a bit of wonder as to how much interaction there would be during the con.

The floor interactions were mixed, most of the celebrities were behind large outlines on the floor that were not to be crossed unless you had a voucher for an autograph. The great mix of comic and tattoo artists were a whole different story – inviting and engaging just about everyone who passed their booth. It really seemed like maybe this was really just a comic and tattoo convention with only a few exceptions such as Jason David Frank and cosplayers such as Jessica Merizan.

Then the panels kicked in. If you ever make it to Wizard World convention, you HAVE to hit the panels. Sometimes at conventions, the panels seem like a boring waste of time – time that could be better spent on the floor. This convention was the polar opposite. Great comic writers such as Michael Golden gave some of the best writing tips for any medium I have ever heard – his cures for writer’s block were simple yet terrific! James Marsters challenged the audience to try to shock or embarrass him while at the same time making sure not to offend parents with kids. His behind the scene stories were riveting. Subdued Sean Patrick Flanery became a madman as he and David Della Rocco hit their stage as living embodiments of Jay and Silent Bob with Rocco occasionally giving one word answers and just looking cool and comfortable while Flanery would get excited, engaging and ramble off terrific stories. Flanery even called out a girl sitting at the back of the room charging her phone in the wall and had her sit in the front while throwing her a tshirt.

Cassandra Peters was her elegant self as she talked and joked about her career, making a fine point that she still loves Halloween and Knott’s Scary Farm (things also very dear to us at GamingShogun). Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose were a the perfect WWE panel as they told stories from behind the scenes as well as feeding the die-hard wrestling fans in the room great doses of the characters that have made them so famous.

The talk of the convention though had to be the panel by Michael Rooker. Holy crap – he had more energy and just almost electrifying presence than I think anyone had anywhere all weekend. He took no time jumping off the stage, running through the crowd having them as him questions or make requests then flying onto the next person. The cameramen couldn’t keep up with him, just trying to follow him with your eyes almost made you dizzy as he flew around giving hugs and fast quipping. Every joke or comment was perfectly timed and hilarious and the crowd ate it up from the moment he jumped off the stage to the second he rolled back onto it and to his feet leaving everyone reeling. I started the conventions heading to the mixer in an elevator with Rooker and he was fun and unabashedly joking then, it was just a preview of the amazing time he gave the audience at his panel and at home watching on ConTV.

I highly recommend Wizard World Las Vegas and can’t wait until it hits bright, shining city once again. Attendees would be best served by putting a little time aside for the floor, planning out ahead of time which artists you want to meet and concentrate on hitting as many panels as possible. They overlap so it isn’t a bad idea to make a schedule before hand so you don’t wind up missing any. My only true regrets of the weekend were not being able to catch more of the panels and hearing that Bruce Campbell canceled his appearance. At least I know he didn’t make it because he was working on Evil Dead goodness!