Now Playing: Valkyria Chronicles 4

I rather enjoyed the original Valkyria Chronicles, so when Valkyria Chronicles 4 went on sale recently, I decided to give it a spin. But I feel like I could copy and paste my entire review of the original Valkyria Chronicles and most of what I’d written there would still apply here. Because Valkyria Chronicles 4 is, more or less, the same game.

If you’re expecting VC4 to be a radical overhaul of the original game, then you’ll be disappointed. I’m not just talking about the core gameplay, but the way the game is presented and the way you progress. VC4 is set during the same conflict as the original game, but focuses upon a new squad on a new mission.

Once again, the missions unlock via the pages of a ‘story book’, each accompanied by animated scenes. Like the original, you can sometimes feel like you’re spending more time watching the animated scenes than you are playing the missions, and the game gets off to a slow start with some rather easy and dull operations.

But, like the original, the missions do become more complex and interesting as you progress – as does the story. Once you start getting to know your squad, you really do become invested in their mission and want to see it through to the end.

 

As in VC, each mission begins with a briefing and a map overview in which to position your squad. You have a set number of command points per turn in which to move and attack, after which the enemy turn begins. It’s the same mix of strategy and puzzle that made the original so fun to play. Because like the original, obtaining the best grade on a mission is based on turns taken, so it’s all about figuring out the most optimal way to complete your objectives.

As you progress through the missions you’ll earn money and experience that, just like in the original, you can use to level up your squad classes, learn new orders and purchase upgrades for your weapons and equipment. There are ‘squad stories’ to unlock which are smaller, more character focused missions. And, as you’d expect, a range of skirmish maps to test your skills.

That’s not to say that VC4 doesn’t have any new tricks up its sleeve. In fact, most of my criticisms of the original game appear to have been addressed. You can now replay missions as you progress and overall, the mission ranking system is far more generous in VC4 than the original.

 

Too often in the original you’d rely entirely upon the scout class if you wanted to obtain an A rank on an operation. This came as a detriment to the other classes, some of which you’d rarely – if ever – use in a mission. But because VC4 is more generous with its rankings in terms of turns taken, you now have more freedom and flexibility to approach your objectives in a variety of ways.

This is helped by another new addition to the game – squad commands – in which a ‘leader’ character can order two other squad members to follow and support them in battle, without any loss of their individual action points. Another welcome new addition is the APC, which can transport your squad across the map – once again, without the loss of their individual action points.

Some may dislike how much easier it is to obtain A ranks in VC4 compared to the original, but I prefer these changes because I don’t feel quite so restricted in how I want to approach each operation. I’m not relying entirely upon a single class. I get to plan out more elaborate strategies, not only to complete the operation in as few turns as possible, but also to destroy as many enemy units as I can.

Like the original, VC4, at its heart, is a puzzle game. But whereas in VC there was often only one solution to completing a puzzle with the best rank, in VC4 there are multiple solutions. VC4 also introduces a new class – the grenadier. Equipped for either anti-tank or anti-infantry, the grenadier will be an important part of your strategy. The only negative I have for the grenadier class is that it’s kind of rendered the lancer class almost entirely redundant.

 

Another new addition is that of ‘ship orders’ which you can use to reveal hidden enemy units or call down artillery strikes, although these aren’t as useful as they seem and you probably won’t rely upon them much during your operations – at least, I didn’t feel I needed them. Oh, and they also reduced the command point cost of vehicles from 2 to 1, so you don’t feel so restricted with how much you can use your tanks or the APC.

As far as gameplay goes, I’d say VC4 improves upon the formula of the original. It doesn’t make sweeping changes, just small tweaks and additions to create a more flexible and creative system for the player to explore. And I think most fans will be happy with that. It’s an improved version of the original game – no more, no less.

But if there is one thing I’d say I preferred in the original, it’s the characters and story. That’s not to say I didn’t like the story and characters of VC4 – because I did. But overall, I’d say I enjoyed and was more engaged by those in the original game.

If you’ve never played VC then you can just as easily start with VC4, but it might be worth playing the original first so you can appreciate the changes. But if you’ve already played VC and you enjoyed it, then VC4 is an easy recommendation to make. Just be aware that what you’re getting isn’t any kind of radical overhaul. It’s the same game with a new story, characters and some welcome quality of life gameplay improvements. And sometimes, that’s all a sequel really needs.

7/10

Gallery: Three Kingdoms

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a prequel to a sequel. It’s what you might call a ‘prelude’ episode to Life Is Strange 2. It was released for free last year, but I only got around to playing it recently. That may seem strange, considering I was a big fan of the original Life Is Strange, but the truth is, as much as I enjoyed Life Is Strange, it was one of those games I didn’t feel really needed a sequel.

That said, I’m glad they haven’t tried to simply continue with the story and characters of the original, but with a new story and new characters. The problem is, from what I’ve seen of Life Is Strange 2, I’m just not that interested in that new story or characters, and that’s probably why it’s taken me so long to try out this free episode.

 

You play as Chris, a young boy living with his father. Chris loves superheroes and likes to play as the titular ‘Capitan Spirit’, his OC – DO NOT STEAL. The episode takes place one snowy morning and is set not only within the ‘real’ world, but within Chris’ imagination. If you were ever a kid who liked to play imaginary games then there’s a somewhat warm, nostalgic quality to it that the developers were clearly keen to capitalise on.

You’re limited to exploring Chris’ house and yard, and the episode will only take a couple of hours to complete, even if you take your time. You’re given a set of ‘missions’ to complete which involve exploring the environment and solving simple puzzles. As you progress you’ll learn more about Chris, his father and their situation.

 

I don’t want to spoil any of the story here, but I did enjoy that aspect of it. There are moments when it’s not exactly subtle, but it does a good job at slowly revealing aspects of Chris and his father’s life and their relationship. Some of the ‘choices’ you make in this episode are supposed to carry over into Life Is Strange 2, but I doubt they will have any great impact.

I don’t really have much more to say about Captain Spirit. It’s a short, but fun little experience which tugs at the nostalgia strings and because it’s free, there’s really no reason not to check it out. I guess the real question is – does it make me want to give Life Is Strange 2 a go? Well, I’d say I’m a little more interested now than I was before, but I think I’ll still wait for all of the episodes to be released . . . and maybe a sale.

Now Watching: Captain Marvel

I didn’t go into Captain Marvel with very high expectations. I don’t typically enjoy the ‘origin’ style Marvel movies, usually ranking them on a scale of ‘it’s okay, I guess’ to ‘meh, whatever’. But I actually really enjoyed Captain Marvel and I’d say it’s one of, if not the best ‘origin’ movie so far.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have any problems. The opening act is a little muddled, suffering from an information overload. It takes a little time for the film to find its feet. Following a shaky opening, it’s when Captain Marvel finds herself grounded on Earth that the film also begins to feel grounded.

 

Seeing Captain Marvel interacting with human characters like a digitally de-aged Nick Fury rather than a bunch of po-faced, weirdo aliens, injects some much needed life and personality into the plot. And we get to see Captain Marvel begin to grow as a character as she discovers more about her past.

I’m not really a fan of the ‘amnesic hero’ character – see my Ghost in the Shell review – because it’s usually used as a poor excuse for a blank and uninteresting character. Thankfully, they seemed to remember that just because Captain Marvel can’t recall her past, doesn’t mean she has no personality of her own.

And it’s when she’s on Earth that we get to see that personality shine through. Which is pretty important when origin movies like this really live and die on how engaging the protagonist is. Too often they forget that the hero has to be at the core of the story.

It would have been very easy for Captain Marvel to become consumed with its own plot and world building, focusing more on those than the character. But fortunately, it keeps Captain Marvel front and centre, smartly weaving her personal journey with the central plot. One cannot exist without the other – another thing Captain Marvel gets right compared to other origin films, which so often disconnect the hero’s journey from the plot.

The action, often a weak point of Marvel films, is fast, fun and tightly shot, without too much CGI bullshit. There’s a couple of ‘full body’ CGI moments, but thankfully that’s only used sparingly and where it must, unlike the absolute garbage that was the final fight in Black Panther. A few jokes fall flat, as they sometimes do in these Marvel films, but Captain Marvel gets the balance mostly right, knowing when to be silly and serious in just the right amounts.

Overall, once Captain Marvel finds its feet it keeps running to the end, delivering a well paced and very enjoyable origin story for a character that I now hope to see more of in the future. Recommended.

7/10

Now Playing: Three Kingdoms

The Total War series has always operated on a cycle of ‘revolution’ and ‘evolution’. The original Shogun was a ‘revolution’ game, whereas Medieval was an ‘evolution’ – a refined expansion, building and expanding upon the foundation of its preceding title. It’s a pattern you can see repeated throughout the entire series – Rome 1 (revo) & Medieval 2 (evo), Empire & Napoleon, Shogun 2 & Fall of the Samurai, Rome 2 & Attila and most recently Warhammer 1 & Warhammer 2.

I think it’s the reason why I still enjoy this series so much – because whilst the core concept of Total War remains the same, the surrounding mechanics are regularly reinvented and redefined. And Total War: Three Kingdoms, the first historical ‘revolution’ game since Rome 2, really does redefine the series moving forward.

I said prior to its release that Three Kingdoms would struggle to match the Warhammer games in terms of battles, which is why it was so important for Creative Assembly to overhaul the campaign aspect of the game. And that’s exactly what they’ve done, delivering what is easily the most engaging and enjoyable campaign experience yet.

This is predominately down to the massively expanded diplomatic system. It’s not just the range and variety of options that’s impressive, but that the AI also engages with these new options in ways that feel sensible and appropriate. And these diplomatic exchanges can fundamentally change the direction and focus of your campaign in a single turn.

 

At the time of writing I’ve completed three campaigns, and I’m currently stuck into my fourth with over 120 hours played. Whilst Three Kingdoms may lack the variety of Warhammer in terms of factions and units, it excels at campaign variety. Every campaign has played out very differently and in ways I didn’t expect. More so than any previous Total War, campaigns in Three Kingdoms feel like personal, self-contained stories.

And this feeling is enhanced by the focus on individual characters. Characters are at the heart of everything in Three Kingdoms. You’re not just building armies of units, but armies of characters and their retinues. Characters are members of your family, of your court, they act as your governors, as your spies, as your ruling council issuing missions, and can even be sent on various assignments within your empire.

Every character, even if they lack unique art, is unique in terms of name, class and traits. And by ‘class’ I’m not just talking about ‘Champion’ or ‘Commander’ – I’m talking about the ‘profession’ or ‘sub-class’ such as ‘trader’ or ‘tax collector’, which then provides additional unique character effects. You can equip each character with different weapons, armour, mounts and accessories to further boost their stats or provide unit, army or even faction wide boosts.

And Three Kingdoms really is a game all about stacking stats and boosts, be it on characters or in your economy. There’s no single way to boost replenishment or reduce corruption – instead, it’s all about stacking minor boosts. This also applies to your income. Every region can generate three types of income – peasantry, commerce and industry.

 

The building system of Three Kingdoms is similar in style to that in Thrones of Britannia, but expanded and far more refined. It’s all about maximising the output of every region be it food, trade or industry. Various buildings in various combinations (including ones which provide boosts to adjacent regions) can be constructed to make the most of every resource.

Governors can then be assigned to key regions to further boost particular outputs, as can characters on assignment – everything from reduced building cost, to increased replenishment, to a 50% or more increase in income. If, like me, you really enjoy trying to maximise the output of each and every region, you can easily lose yourself in the Three Kingdoms economy management system.

The campaign map in Three Kingdoms is vast and gorgeous with a fantastic level of detail. There are five turns per year, each with its own seasonal effects. The campaign, depending upon your setting, also transitions slowly from day to night. There are also unique audio effects depending upon which part of the map you’re zoomed into.

Battle maps in Three Kingdoms work more like they did in the original Rome than the more recent Warhammer games. Every land battle map is essentially a zoomed in tile of the campaign map. City maps also reflect the city level and like Rome, buildings constructed on the campaign map are also visually represented on the battle map. The minor resource settlements each have their own unique map type – mine, port or farm, for example – but these can still feel quite different to fight upon depending upon the campaign terrain (which also changes the appearance of the corresponding battle map) or the season, or the weather.

 

And, like the campaign, the battle maps are gorgeous, particularly with the ‘Romance’ graphical option enabled. Three Kingdoms is one of, if not the best looking Total War game in the series. The map lighting, something of a weakness in the Warhammer games, is fantastic here. Terrain quality is great, and the units are all highly detailed.

No, the units in Three Kingdoms aren’t as exciting as lizards riding dinosaurs shooting laser beams, but the quality of the models is still pretty high. My only criticism of the unit models in Three Kingdoms is that some of the main character models don’t appear as polished as others.

Another criticism would be unit animations when engaged in combat. There is a matched ‘kill’ system in place, but overall, it behaves more like the Warhammer system, only not as polished in terms of animation. It’s not uncommon to see men in a unit swiping at the air nowhere near an enemy, or even facing the wrong way. So this is one area where Three Kingdoms could certainly use some polish and improvement.

The good news though is that like Warhammer, the units feel incredibly responsive in battle. Because they’re not constantly trying to sync individual animations, there’s a very nice fluidity to unit vs unit combat. Cavalry in Three Kingdoms is also incredibly satisfying to use. In fact, it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had using cavalry in a Total War game.

 

So at the zoomed in, animation level, Three Kingdoms can look a little wonky, but when zoomed out and managing the battlefield as a whole, it’s hugely enjoyable and engaging. Like Shogun 2, there’s a heavy emphasis on unit counters with the reworked ‘braced’, ‘range block’ and ‘charge reflect’ mechanics. Archers can demolish unshielded units, but with the right Character skill boost or unit formation, you can negate range damage almost entirely.

And tier 3 cavalry can be destroyed by even tier 1 peasant spear men if they’re properly braced for an incoming charge. Whilst the battles in Three Kingdoms may lack the spectacle of the magic and monsters of Warhammer, I’d say they’re just as much fun to play. Knowing when to charge, when to brace, when to adopt formations or when to drop various character skills can all be key to winning or losing a battle.

And that’s without even taking the new duel system into consideration. Duels add another tactical layer to a battle. Choosing the right duel at the right time can be key. There are times when you may need to enter a duel you know you can’t win, but it might be necessary to lock down a dangerous character and keep them out of the wider battle for as long as you can.

Returning to the campaign, let’s talk about the new spying system. In Three Kingdoms, you can send out your characters to spy on other factions. Initially, your characters will simply scout the enemy territory, revealing it to you. But they can also be hired by that faction and that’s when you can start using spy actions.

 

If you want your spies to be hired then it’s important not to just send out level 1, generic characters, because it’s unlikely the AI will want to recruit them. I’ve had the most luck with the spy system by sending out characters at level 3 or 4 with an accessory or two. Once in the enemy court your spy will feed you useful information such as the faction income, the number of regions they control and how many armies they’re fielding.

In court, your spy can manipulate various things such as the satisfaction of other characters, turning them against their own master and making it far easier to recruit them should you capture them in battle. Spies can also be assigned to an army, unlocking even more options, including the option to stage a military revolt, disbanding the entire army – although this does expose your spy and return them and their retinue to you.

In my most recent campaign this action proved invaluable as one of my armies was cornered by two enemy forces. Fortunately, one of these contained my spy who triggered a revolt. What was previously an unwinnable 2v1 situation, had now shifted in my favour. Spies can also be assigned as the administrator to a city, unlocking even more options such as opening the gates prior to a siege, or even surrendering the city to you without a fight.

And let’s not forget that spies can also be adopted into another faction’s family, unlocking the option of assassinating enemy family members and triggering a civil war. Overall, the new spy system is a great addition to the game, but there aspects to it that could use improvement.

 

Spies can be utilised in very powerful ways – but this also relies heavily on RNG – such as my situation with the 2 enemy armies. It was only luck that sent the army with my spy in to my border. And in my other campaigns, although I’ve used spies in court or in armies, I’ve never managed to get one assigned as a governor or adopted into a family. There is a luck based element to the spy system which can make it feel a little unrewarding, especially if your spy doesn’t even get hired.

It’s also a ‘long game’ type of system. It’s important to get spies out early into the factions you feel may pose the most threat long term – even factions you may be on friendly terms with initially. And whilst this long term planning can really pay off, it does result in a lack of any immediate reward or satisfaction from using it. It takes a lot of time and luck to get your spies into a position where they can really hurt your enemy.

In a previous post talking about unit progression in Three Kingdoms, I highlighted concerns about how units are unlocked and not always utilised during a campaign. With more hours played, I’m pleased to say that my opinion has shifted somewhat, as my third campaign saw far more of the higher tier units on the battlefield. I still think some of the reform units need to be rebalanced, and maybe the way unit experience works – such as retaining all, or at least some, of their experience when ‘retraining’ them to a higher tier.

Campaign and Battle AI in Three Kingdoms is some of the best we’ve seen in a Total War game. And by ‘best’ I mean consistently competent. One improvement I’d like to see though is AI unit formation use, as these can be very useful – such as advancing in turtle formation to block incoming arrows – but, aside from the loose formation, the AI rarely seems to use them. AI army composition could also use some work.

 

Music in Three Kingdoms is great in both battle and campaign. The UI looks lovely and all the unique character art is fantastic – we just need more of it. The range of factions is also really good, although some factions do get more interesting (and useful) mechanics and unique units/buildings than others.

Okay, I think it’s time to wrap this up. Overall, Three Kingdoms is another fantastic entry in the Total War series. Blending elements of the Warhammer fantasy games into a historical setting may not be to everyone’s taste but it’s created a unique and engaging mix that even after 120 hours of play, I’ve still not grown tired of.

That’s not to say the game is perfect – there are lots of little areas that can be improved, expanded, refined or polished. We need more unique characters, art and accessories. We need more competition in the southern regions of the map – perhaps another faction or two. The spy system could use some tweaks, unit balancing could use some tweaks, as could certain aspects of the UI – finding marriage prospects through the diplomacy menu can be a bit of a nightmare as there’s no ‘quick deal’ option for it.

But for all its little flaws, Three Kingdoms is truly a ‘revolution’ title in this long running series and there’s a lot more they can build upon using this existing foundation, not only in terms of DLC but also in future Total War games.

8/10

E3 Special 2019

Another year, another E3 I almost forgot was happening. But who can blame me? Sony couldn’t even be bothered to turn up, and EA decided to scrap their conference in favour of a Nintendo Direct style presentation. But hey, we still had Microsoft, Ubisoft and the absolutely awful PC Gaming Show to enjoy.

EA Play is what they called it, but there wasn’t much to see. I would have been interested in the new Battlefield V content if they hadn’t already released the trailer a week or so ago. But we did get our first look at Jedi: Fallen Order which looks . . . okay, I guess? I mean, it looks like a typical, modern, third person action adventure game.

The demo wasn’t particularly impressive in terms of level design, but I’m going to assume they were showcasing an early, tutorial style area. The combat looked decent, but the lack of lightsaber dismemberment was a little silly. Even the old Outcast games didn’t shy away from the odd severed arm.

Microsoft were up next with an actual conference on a stage with the obligatory ‘applause’ messages flashing up on the screen for the audience. I’m not sure we were supposed to see those at home. The Outer Worlds looks interesting in terms of setting and story, but also looks janky as f**k in terms of gameplay. Bleeding Edge, a 4v4 multiplayer game was revealed and promptly forgotten by everyone.

Ori 2 had a gorgeous trailer, but won’t be releasing until next year. A Blair Witch game? What year is this again? Cyberpunk 2077 had a new CG trailer with a reveal that stole the show. Hopefully they’ll release some actual gameplay footage in a week or so, like they did last year.

What else? Dying Light 2 might be cool, if they can improve upon the original. We had another CG trailer for Elden Ring, the next FromSoftware game. CG trailers were a big thing this year and actual gameplay was rather thin on the ground. The Microsoft show concluded with the announcement of a new console release towards the end of 2020 and the new Halo as a launch title. I’m struggling to get excited.

Bethesda did their expected self-deprecating jokes about the absolute shit show that was Fallout 76. Sorry, Bethesda, but it’s not charming any more – it’s time to get your shit in order. Deathloop is a new game by Arkane that looks interesting . . . based on the CG trailer, at least. I guess I’m sort of excited for the new DOOM. I’m not so excited to be able to stream it to a smart phone attached to a game pad, though.

The PC Gaming Show was the only one I watched live and kind of wish I hadn’t. I actually gave up half way and just spun through the rest of the stream later. The PC Gaming Show AKA Where The F**k is Bannerlord . . . but there was no Bannerlord.

There was Evil Genius 2 and Bloodlines 2, though. You’d think I’d be excited about Bloodlines 2 but I’m keeping my expectations low. The name alone isn’t enough to sell it to me and the gameplay they’ve shown still looks pretty rough.

Oh, and who can forget about the reveal that Shenmue 3 is now a (timed?) Epic Store exclusive. I kind of saw this coming, considering what happened to Metro: Exodus – same publishers, same bullshit. I’ve already written about my dislike for the Epic Store and how it operates so I’ll try to keep this short: F**K EPIC.

I don’t remember anything else about the Ubisoft conference other than Watch_Dogs 3. Ignoring the rather hysterical ‘post-Brexit dystopian London’ nonsense, the game looks pretty interesting but I do have my concerns about the ‘play as any NPC’ mechanic. The idea is that you can ‘recruit’ any random NPC – each with their own unique skills – and switch between them as you please.

The demo where they showed this mechanic was neat, but obviously scripted. I don’t think the game will be anywhere near as ‘organic’ as they’re promising in terms of how the story / missions evolve. I also have concerns about the game lacking any central protagonist. If every ‘character’ you play as is a totally disposable NPC, then why would you care?

My notes for the Square Enix video were just ‘eh, whatever’ so I guess I wasn’t very excited by anything I saw. Devolver Digital did another violent and weird video which is the only reason people watch it. They’re certainly not watching for the games, although Carrion looks cool and My Friend Pedro got a release date.

And finally we have Nintendo, who I think everyone will agree ‘won’ E3 2019, but it wasn’t exactly a high bar to clear. They really just had to step over it and try not to stumble. Oh shit, son, is that a Panzer Dragoon remake? No More Heroes 3? Astral Chain? Breath of the Wild 2? It might be time to dust off my Switch! But no Bayonetta 3? You were so close, Nintendo. So close.