Phil Villarreal's Blog, page 129
August 29, 2017
"ARK: Survival Evolved" Review
An MMORPG that's part "Monster Hunter" and part "H1Z1," "ARK: Survival Evolved" sets you in a realm crawling with dinosaurs. Your task is to respect the behemoth creatures as you scramble to patch together enough resources to see another minute.
You can play cautiously and craftily, conserving items, health and cover to strategically build up your attack and defense capabilities until it's time to strike -- taking down and taming the beasts to help you make the big score. Or you can just charge your naked beginning hero in toward the first brachiosaurus you see and start punching its leg until it either dies or stomps you to death.
With nearly 14 square miles of land to roam and sixty species of dinos to encounter, the adventures you find will be largely of your own creation. No preset narrative gets in your way or guides you toward pre-destined goals.
After several months in early access, the game's rough edges have been smoothed out. It's now in the form that developers Studio Wildcard have long been touting, and the level of polish is staggering.
To endure, you must observe and respect the intricate ecosystem that surrounds you. No walkthrough or online guide will help you much. The range of your success is determined by your insight, adaptability and imagination. The game hands out successes in direct relation to the amount of care and work you're willing to channel into it.
Those who are looking for a linear, hand-holding experience may find themselves lost, but anyone with a thirst for wild, "Jurassic Park" by way of "Choose Your Own Adventure" experiences will eat this game up like a velociraptor does a downed triceratops.
Publisher provided review code.
"Resident Evil: Revelations" Review
Back in 2012, "Resident Evil: Revelations" came out of nowhere -- on the 3DS, of all places -- to set the wayward franchise on the right track. What ended up as little more than a one-off on the system set the stage for a more grounded, horror-minded emphasis in the series' mainline entries and spinoffs.
A short-order PS3 port and 2015 sequel on current-gen systems continued the momentum, and now here we have an HD remaster of the original on the PS4 and Xbox One.
It's expected that the game looks and plays far better than it did in earlier versions. Scraped away is any sign of the game's origin on Nintendo's dual screen handheld, and the result is something that matches modern "Resident Evil" games in form and stature. Previously released DLC, also expected, buffs up the package nicely.
Set between the fourth and fifth numbered entries in the series, the game stars stalwarts Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, who spearhead an effort to sniff out a conspiracy involving corporate and government efforts to mask the greed-driven spread of mutated viruses that have caused havoc in most of the stories in the series. What the plot lacks in coherence it makes up for in set pieces and surprising twists.
While the remake is less than essential if you've played through it in previous releases, the fresh coat of paint makes it worthwhile for completionists, as well as those who never got around to it in previous iterations.
Publisher provided review code.
A short-order PS3 port and 2015 sequel on current-gen systems continued the momentum, and now here we have an HD remaster of the original on the PS4 and Xbox One.
It's expected that the game looks and plays far better than it did in earlier versions. Scraped away is any sign of the game's origin on Nintendo's dual screen handheld, and the result is something that matches modern "Resident Evil" games in form and stature. Previously released DLC, also expected, buffs up the package nicely.
Set between the fourth and fifth numbered entries in the series, the game stars stalwarts Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, who spearhead an effort to sniff out a conspiracy involving corporate and government efforts to mask the greed-driven spread of mutated viruses that have caused havoc in most of the stories in the series. What the plot lacks in coherence it makes up for in set pieces and surprising twists.
While the remake is less than essential if you've played through it in previous releases, the fresh coat of paint makes it worthwhile for completionists, as well as those who never got around to it in previous iterations.
Publisher provided review code.
August 28, 2017
"Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder" Review
Six years and a console generation ago, "Rock of Ages" rolled onto the scene and gave indie game lovers a laugh before disappearing over the horizon. Few thought they'd ever see a sequel, but the development team ACE Team is back with a follow-up that matches the absurd humor and addictive gameplay of the original.
Once again, you engage in anachronistic "Civilization"-style battles pitting various empires from various eras against one another in the form of real-time strategy battles involving rolling giant boulders down hills.
You and your opponent -- the game offers multiplayer as well as a solo campaign -- take turns breaking down and setting up your defenses, then steering your angry, tumbling rock along the way toward oblivion. The goal is to keep your rock as intact as possible as you pick up a head of steam to charge into the enemy's gate.
You navigate a balancing act between defense and attack as you trudge through battles of attrition, hoping to strike the enemy's gate with just enough juice to end the round before your opponent puts you under.
Between-rounds cut scenes are as entertaining as the boulder-rolling and defense-setting. There's something inherently funny about watching pompous historical figures talk smack to one another. Will the gaming world demand a "Rock of Ages 3?" Not likely. But nor was this sequel invited, and it is all the more welcome for the rock-ous way it manages to charge through the gates.
Publisher provided review code.
Once again, you engage in anachronistic "Civilization"-style battles pitting various empires from various eras against one another in the form of real-time strategy battles involving rolling giant boulders down hills.
You and your opponent -- the game offers multiplayer as well as a solo campaign -- take turns breaking down and setting up your defenses, then steering your angry, tumbling rock along the way toward oblivion. The goal is to keep your rock as intact as possible as you pick up a head of steam to charge into the enemy's gate.
You navigate a balancing act between defense and attack as you trudge through battles of attrition, hoping to strike the enemy's gate with just enough juice to end the round before your opponent puts you under.
Between-rounds cut scenes are as entertaining as the boulder-rolling and defense-setting. There's something inherently funny about watching pompous historical figures talk smack to one another. Will the gaming world demand a "Rock of Ages 3?" Not likely. But nor was this sequel invited, and it is all the more welcome for the rock-ous way it manages to charge through the gates.
Publisher provided review code.
"Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle" Review
Nintendo is mighty stingy at lending its main mascot to other publishers, so when a third-party Mario game pops up it's always worth a look. "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle" offers a fresh take on the Mushroom Kingdom squad, being so bold as to hand Mario and company firearms.
True, the guns are goofy-looking blasters rather than cap-busting nines, but it's still eyebrow raising to watch the cartoonish heroes scamper behind cover to line up headshots.
Taking cues from the "XCOM" reboot and its sequel, Ubisoft's bizarre mash-up largely succeeds where the likes of Nintendo's similar effort, "Code Name: S.T.E.A.M." stumbled. With an accessible interface -- thanks much in part to an isometric view reminiscent of "Super Mario 3D World," the gameplay manages to simplify a complex, high learning curve genre for the masses. Noobs will be able to pick it up and grasp the mechanics, while there is enough depth and disparate objectives to challenge experienced gamers.
With more than 250 weapons and a slew of characters from both genres participating -- complete with the trademark, out-there Rabbids style of humor -- "Kingdom Battle" is a joyous, intense slugfest that excels as much as the strategy front as it does in narrative thrust. Bite-sized missions make the game play just as well in quick-hit portable mode as it does when you're at home, glued to your couch for marathon sessions on your TV.
The lack of online multiplayer -- at least there's couch co-op -- is disappointing but expected. With the Switch's online system still in its beginning stages, there was little upside for Ubisoft to take it online. That thankless task is best left to Nintendo's first party obsessions, such as "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" and "Splatoon 2."
With an enthralling campaign and savage gameplay lining every step of the way, "Kingdom Battle" is a welcome introduction for a non-vehicle riding Mario to Nintendo's newest system. Sure, when "Super Mario Odyssey" drops in a couple months this game will be little more than an afterthought, but until then this is peak Switch Mario.
Publisher provided review code.
August 25, 2017
"Leap!" Review
For my written review, click here.
August 22, 2017
Book Report: "The Hound of the Baskervilles"
I see this as the original Scooby-Doo story. You have a supernatural threat who scares people into inaction for monetary reasons, and an end-of-story off-comes-the-mask event that shows how someone who was seemingly innocent was the ringleader for the terror.
The writing is good but the logical leaps are annoying. Sherlock makes assumptions based on probability, and if one of his 60/40 guesses were wrong he would have nothing. You have to go in with a willingness to just accept that whatever Sherlock guesses will always be right, and that the mystery will be impossible to solve unless you happen to be him, because the author doesn't give you any information that Sherlock can observe, leaving you stranded and feeling like a Watson-like moron until Sherlock rolls up and solves everything easily with his string of guesses.
Still a fun and interesting book despite its annoyances. The Dancing Man short story at the end is a nice touch.
August 21, 2017
"Yakuza Kiwami" Review
Hot on the heels of the 1980s-set "Yakuza 0" comes yet another prequel to Sega's somber gangland saga, which melds open world combat missions with social and leisure activities. The new game, set in 1995, tracking the next stage of the career of Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist in "Yakuza 0," in his continued rise to prominence.
This time out, you are tasked to protect an orphan while tracking down $10 billion yen in missing cash. The game amounts to a remake of the little-played original "Yakuza," gussied up with an HD makeover, with new plot elements sprinkled among a bushel of previously unreleased content.
As you traverse the city, you advance your skills by racking up experience points by completing various activities. There are also standard minigames, such as parlor arcade diversions and the ever-popular rhythm-based karaoke minigame you can use to seep into the culture and blow off steam in between missions.
Although some of the old seams in the structure of the decades-old game continue to show. "Yakuza: Kiwami" feels like a fresh enough experience to justify the rerelease. Although the games that followed were fuller-featured explorations into the mythos, there's something refreshing about exploring the series' roots in a package blessed with the smooth trappings of modern systems, including short load times, graphical polish and technical polish.
Firmly entrenched as an eclectic niche attraction, "Yakuza" games refuse to fade into the background. This has been an impressive year for the franchise, which shows no sign of slowing. The new release is more than enough to whet the appetite for the next full-blown sequel.
Publisher provided review code.
This time out, you are tasked to protect an orphan while tracking down $10 billion yen in missing cash. The game amounts to a remake of the little-played original "Yakuza," gussied up with an HD makeover, with new plot elements sprinkled among a bushel of previously unreleased content.
As you traverse the city, you advance your skills by racking up experience points by completing various activities. There are also standard minigames, such as parlor arcade diversions and the ever-popular rhythm-based karaoke minigame you can use to seep into the culture and blow off steam in between missions.
Although some of the old seams in the structure of the decades-old game continue to show. "Yakuza: Kiwami" feels like a fresh enough experience to justify the rerelease. Although the games that followed were fuller-featured explorations into the mythos, there's something refreshing about exploring the series' roots in a package blessed with the smooth trappings of modern systems, including short load times, graphical polish and technical polish.
Firmly entrenched as an eclectic niche attraction, "Yakuza" games refuse to fade into the background. This has been an impressive year for the franchise, which shows no sign of slowing. The new release is more than enough to whet the appetite for the next full-blown sequel.
Publisher provided review code.
August 18, 2017
"The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor" Review
From the "just crazy enough to work" department comes "The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor," which blends rhythm game sensibilities with "Puzzle Quest" style RPG battles.
You lead your glam squad of dancing medieval knights, mages and sorcerers through face-offs with villains by scrolling from one party member to the next, setting off attacks by tapping face buttons in time with onscreen prompts. The truly adventurous can dust off their music game guitars to change up the control inputs.
Catchy grooves and a compelling gameplay loop give you reason to power through the story. You may have played several games that the play style reminds you of, but the end product is an amalgam of features that becomes something unprecedented in gamedom.
A steady stream of DLC packs have trickled out shortly after initial release, freshening up and expanding the content repertoire. The more of "The Metronomicon" you see, the more joyfully absurd it gets. The best way to handle it is to feel the flow and bust some moves to its sick beats.
Publisher provided review code.
"Sonic Mania" Review
It's been a long while since Sonic the Hedgehog could hold his blue spiked head high, but the retro throwback "Sonic Mania" manages to move the hero forward by taking a giant leap back in time.
Paying loving tribute to the Blue Blur's most beloved adventures in the Sega Genesis era, the game captures Sonic's sense of speed, applying it gracefully to creative, precisely calibrated levels that allow you to let the hero rip through with minimal guidance or precise maneuvers.
3D bonus levels maintain Sonic's sense of speed, setting you loose amid a frantic free-for-all. Unlockables and hidden bonuses abound, giving you reason to come back and replay levels to master their intricacies.
Couch co-op adds a dimension to the fun, with rubber-banding that places priority on the faster of the two players, making it easy for an experienced player to carry along someone who is just along for the ride.
Despite the emphasis on old school charms, "Sonic Mania" does just enough to move the franchise forward. It's easy to envision this as the launch of a new direction for the series. Now that Sonic has finally gotten out of his own way, the pathway to glory is as free and clear as the wide-open fields of Green Hill Zone.
Publisher provided review code.
"Logan Lucky" Review
For my full review, click here.
