Gallery: Yakuza Kiwami

Anno 1880 (BETA)

I’d never played any of the Anno series, so when I saw an open BETA for the upcoming Anno 1880, I decided to give it a spin. It’s a city building game set during a period of early industrialisation. It’s an historical fantasy, of sorts, in which you play as the leader of a newly established, island based colony.

There were two modes available in this BETA – a story based campaign, and a customisable Sandbox. Because I was new to the series I began with the campaign, which not only has its own story and characters, but also serves as a series of tutorials. Only the first chapter of the campaign was available, but it taught me enough to get me started in the Sandbox.

And it’s the Sandbox mode of Anno 1880 where I’d expect most players to spend the majority of their time. There are three pre-set difficulty modes and a player custom option. I played on the default Normal settings across a couple of games. I’d have liked to explore the higher difficulties and custom settings more, but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time before the BETA came to a close.

You begin your colony with simple farmers and a small selection of buildings. By expanding your population and meeting the various ‘needs’ of your people, you’ll unlock new buildings and new population types which, in turn, also have their own distinct needs to serve.

Farms are replaced by brick houses. Dirt paths become paved. As your colony continually expands, you’ll see it grow from a small farming community into an industrial giant. Of course, all of this expansion costs cash, and although you begin the game with a healthy reserve, it’s important for your colony to become profitable and self sufficient.

Cash is primarily obtained via taxes, but I believe tourism also plays a role. I say ‘believe’ because I’m really not sure. Either I missed something obvious in my limited time with the BETA, or there’s no detailed breakdown of the financial aspects of your game.

And those are details I really wanted to know – how much tax per citizen type? Can we reduce or increase the tax rate per type? How much income from tourism? And most importantly – how much through trade?

You’re not alone in the Sandbox of Anno 1880, as other AI controlled colonies are established on nearby islands. There’s a very basic ‘diplomacy’ system in which you can arrange trade deals, establishing sea based routes between your islands.

Setting up trade routes is easy, but there’s no detailed feedback on how profitable a route may be – at least, I couldn’t find anything. Like I said, I had limited time with this BETA so it’s possible I missed something, but I found it strange that I couldn’t find any detailed breakdown of my income.

Despite that, I had a lot of fun building up my colony, using the blueprint mode to perfectly plan my city streets. It’s not just about building houses, pubs, schools and churches though, but the gathering of resources and the manufacture of goods. Every good has a use, either to serve the needs of your people, or to support the production of other goods.

It’s an addictive cycle of production and expansion and there’s a great deal of satisfaction to be had in watching your colony grow. But your island may not have every resource you need, and that’s when it’s time to explore the map and find a new, uninhabited island with those resources and establish another colony to capitalise on them.

Unless, of course, one of your AI rivals beats you to it, which is where I guess the ‘War’ diplomatic option comes into play, but unfortunately I didn’t have the time to explore this feature. From what I saw though, it’s a pretty basic system just like the diplomacy, trade and financial systems. But are they all too basic for a game of this type?

Once again, it’s important to note that I only had limited time to explore this BETA, but I was surprised by how rudimentary certain gameplay systems appeared, most particularly the financial aspects. I guess the real question is if this BETA convinced me to purchase the game? No, not at release, but it’s something I might pick up on sale in the future. It’s certainly one I’ll keep an eye on.

Now Playing: Yakuza Kiwami

Yakuza Kiwami AKA Everyone You Like Dies is a remake of the original Yakuza game, first released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005. They’ve essentially rebuilt the entire game using the Yakuza Zero engine which I would say is both a good and a bad thing. Good, in the sense that Kiwami is instantly familiar to those who played Zero, but bad in the sense that it’s a little too familiar.

I didn’t play the original Yakuza, so I can’t compare it to this remake. I’m reviewing Kiwami as someone who has only played Zero, and compared to Zero . . . Don’t get me wrong, Kiwami is a good game, but jumping into it from Zero makes it a tricky one to judge. If you’ve played Zero then it’s important to lower your expectations because this is, let’s not forget – a remake of a game released in 2005.

 

Compared to Zero, Kiwami is far shorter and has far less content to explore. And what side content it does offer is almost entirely recycled from Zero. The main story is very enjoyable and the primary reason any fan of Zero will want to play through Kiwami. It continues the story of Kiryu as he finds himself at the heart of another power struggle within the Tojo Clan. Fans of Majima will be happy to know he also makes a return, although he isn’t playable in Kiwami and he doesn’t play much of a role within the core story.

Like Zero, Kiwami is structured into story chapters, each with its own main missions and side missions (substories) to unlock as you progress. The substories in Kiwami aren’t anywhere near as fun, varied or interesting as those in Zero, but there’s still some good stuff to find and they’re worth working your way through. In terms of other side content, Kiwami is far more limited than Zero with no ‘business’ type content to manage.

 

Visually, Kiwami looks great but once again, that’s because it mostly recycles everything from Zero. Combat is pretty much identical – only more limited because you’re now restricted to one character rather than two – the only new addition being a somewhat pointless ‘health regeneration’ state for certain ‘boss’ characters.

This can be interrupted by a heat attack, but it feels like an unnecessary addition that only serves to tediously prolong fights. The combat system also suffers from the same little issues that annoyed me in Zero – the wonky lock on and enemies who can stun lock you from behind.

One thing I’d say Kiwami does do better than Zero is how much easier it is to unlock your combat skills. Rather than cash, you unlock skills by spending experience you earn in battle and you can unlock the majority of your skills pretty early on. It was a smart move, because it would have been pretty irritating having to slowly relearn all of your moves from Zero.

 

Something I wasn’t overly fond of though was the ‘Majima Everywhere’ mechanic. The idea is that Majima will pop up as you explore to challenge you to a fight and defeating him will increase his ‘rank’, allowing you to unlock new skills.

It’s pretty funny during the early stages of the game as he pops up in strange and unexpected ways, but towards the end of the game I was getting kind of sick of him – as I was wrapping up some substories before beginning the final mission, Majima popped up three times in a row as I tried to travel from one location to another. It was pretty damn annoying.

I don’t really have much more to say about Kiwami. If I were to sum it up I’d say it’s good, but not as good as Zero. But considering it’s a remake of a game released in 2005, that’s not exactly a surprise. I’d recommend playing Zero first, and if you like the characters and story, then pick up Kiwami if you’re curious to see how the story continues.

7/10

Battlefield V: Firestorm

Firestorm is the new Battle Royale mode for Battlefield V. I don’t really have much interest in the BR genre, but seeing as I already owned BFV, I thought I’d give it a spin. It’s currently playable solo or in 4 man squads. You’re dropped onto an island with 63 other players in an ever shrinking play area as the titular firestom closes in.

You begin with only a knife and must scavenge weapons, ammunition, armour and supplies to survive. In a Battlefield twist, vehicles – including tanks – can also be acquired, although these aren’t as useful as they might seem.

In the solo mode, you can’t drive and shoot at the same time. Anti-tank weapons are also very easy to obtain. I only played Firestorm in the solo mode, so my experience will be based entirely upon that, and if anything, climbing into a tank in solo just makes you a bigger target.

The map is very large but not all of it is accessible from the beginning of a match. The initial ‘safe’ play area will be randomised every game, but it doesn’t cover the entire map which, given the smaller player count compared to some other BR games, is probably a good idea.

 

The map looks great with a decent variety of locations and terrain although, like some others have noted, there’s no particularly memorable landmarks. Like the ordinary BFV maps, the Firestorm map has a degree of destructibility. And like the other BFV maps, it’s this destructibility that keeps matches feeling fresh and exciting as the terrain is shaped by the players and their actions.

Matches in Firestorm are short and punchy, rarely lasting more than 15 minutes, even if you reach the final 2. The firestorm adjusts to each match, pushing players into an ever decreasing safe zone as their numbers fall. And the firestorm looks great as it creeps across the landscape – an inescapable wave of death.

The first 3 minutes or so of a match are by far the most deadly and will see nearly half of the contenders killed. The question is, do you drop early in a more populated area to try to obtain better quality gear or, do you wait and drop somewhere more remote, with less gear to collect but less chance of catching an early bullet?

 

I guess you could say that’s the risk versus reward nature of Battle Royale, but given the way gear in Firestorm is distributed, that’s not entirely true. I’ve dropped into more ‘hot’ areas such as military bases and fought other players to discover only a basic cache of equipment. And yet, at other times I’ve dropped to a remote, singular farmhouse and discovered a treasure trove of weapons and supplies.

So here’s a pro tip – don’t bother dropping early or targeting more populated areas thinking you’ll find better stuff. From what I’ve seen, gear is distributed almost entirely randomly, so you’re better off avoiding that early death race because you won’t necessarily be any better equipped even if you do manage to survive it.

And that’s the thing about Battle Royale – to win, you only need 1 kill. The last kill. Avoiding other players and trying to survive without fighting is actually the best strategy. Fighting other players when you don’t have to only does four things, and only one of these is positive.

The positive is this – if you win, you’ve narrowed the field of competition. The negatives are – if you lose, you’re dead. Even if you win, you’ve expended some of your precious resources such as ammunition or armour. Oh, and you may also be revealing your location to any other players nearby who will hurry in and finish you off quite easily if you took any damage.

 

So yeah, avoiding other players and only fighting when you absolutely must isn’t just a valid tactic to survive, it’s actually a far more efficient strategy. Like I said, you only need 1 kill to win. I guess the real question now is – do I like it? Well, I’d say Firestom has pretty much confirmed what I already felt about the BR genre – I kind of half like the concept and half hate it.

I’ve talked before about the balance between skill and luck in games, and how whilst luck will always be a factor, it should never feel like the defining factor. Battle Royale, by nature, is a very luck leaning genre. You might drop onto the island and only find a pistol and some med kits, whilst the guy who dropped nearby found assault rifles, rockets and heavy armour.

Sure, that randomised element is a big part of the appeal of BR, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating when you get killed purely because you couldn’t find anything useful in the first minute or so. Fortunately, it’s pretty quick and easy to jump straight into another match – Firestorm seems to load in and out far more quickly than the regular MP.

No, it’s not the randomised gear that’s the real issue with the luck/skill balance of Firestorm – it’s the armour mechanic. Every player begins with a level 1 armour slot which, when equipped with an armour plate, will boost your health by 50. You can then find level 2 (100 extra health) and level 3 (150) armour on the map.

 

Why do I think this is a bad thing? Well, it’s because it’s not really ‘armour’ it’s just a health boost, and at level 3 you now have double the standard health. This essentially turns players equipped with level 3 armour into something of a bullet sponge – it takes double the number of shots to kill them, as they need to kill you.

 

That’s a pretty significant advantage, and why armour is by far the most important piece of gear within the game. That’s not to say you can’t win without it – but the advantages it provides can’t be denied. I’ve lost fights simply because my opponent had level 3 armour and I didn’t. But I’ve also won fights I probably should have lost simply because I was lucky enough to find level 3 and they hadn’t.

I don’t really mind the randomised gear in the sense that you just have to work with what you can find – I can see the appeal of that. But the armour system just doesn’t feel very fair. I really think Firestorm would be better without it because it crosses that line between luck and skill too far. I shouldn’t have double the health of other players just because I got lucky on my drop.

Overall, I’ve had some fun playing Firestorm but I’m not sure it has the legs for long term appeal. The loot system is pretty terrible as gear spills out of downed players and becomes a nightmare to sort through. The armour system is something I just don’t like. And honestly, after only a week or so, I’m already going back to the regular MP. I’ve not given up on the mode, and it’s something I’ll probably drop into now and then, but I’d still rather have more maps and new locations in the core game.