Amazon E-Book Giveaway!

 

Starting next week, I’m going to be running an e-book giveaway on Amazon! For five days you’ll have the opportunity to claim your FREE copy of QUEEN OF THE SEVEN SPHERES. Offer begins 04/05 and ends 08/05.

Now Playing: Panzer Dragoon: Remake

I have a lot of love for the Panzer Dragoon series which is why I was a little wary of this remake. But when I saw it go on sale recently, I figured I’d give it a shot and see how it compared to the original. Incidentally, you can read my review of the original game and the sequel here and Orta here.

This is a remake, not a remaster and that’s an important distinction to make. The developers – MegaPixel Studio – have rebuilt the original game in a modern engine, updating the visuals whilst seeking to retain the original style, spirit and gameplay.

From a visual standpoint, I’d say they did a pretty good job. The opening episode is easily the weakest if we’re judging it purely on how it captures the vibe of the original game, but I think this is somewhat due to how ‘clean’ and vibrant this remake is in comparison.

The first episode in the original Panzer Dragoon was a little visually ‘muddled’ and, as I said in my review, that’s where some of the difficulty came from. But with clean, striking and colourful visuals, the remake doesn’t suffer this issue. It does, however, end up feeling significantly easier to play as a result.

Whilst the opening episode may feel a little off, I think the rest do a pretty good job of capturing the vibe and style of the originals upon which they are based. I also think they’ve done a good job of updating the visual designs of the enemies you’ll fight. The Imperial ships in particular look very nice.

That said, I would agree that this more ‘colourful’ approach to the visuals doesn’t always quite feel right when compared to the more sombre, subdued style of the original. It’s a different kind of look, not necessarily a bad one – just different.

Of course, the most important aspect they had to get right was the gameplay and, once again, I think they’ve done a pretty good job. Not a perfect job, though, as some things feel a little off, most notably the targeting reticule which feels strangely ‘detached’ from the dragon rider as you aim.

 

And then there’s the question of content. Does this remake add anything new aside from a more ‘modern’ control scheme? The answer is – nope! There’s no new episodes or enemies. I guess, from a purist perspective, this is a good thing and maybe a potential backlash is the reason the developers avoided it – or they simply didn’t have permission.

But given that this is a remake and not a remaster, I wouldn’t have been opposed to the developers adding an original episode or two of their own design. They seem pretty passionate about the series and seem to want to do it justice and, as far as I’m concerned, any new Panzer Dragoon content is something I’d welcome.

But just as there’s nothing new, there’s also nothing old either – I’m talking about a version of the original Panzer Dragoon as an unlockable bonus. It feels like a really weird omission. Maybe they just couldn’t get permission for it? It seems odd and it would have been an excellent addition to the overall package, easily enough to knock the score up another point.

 

Because overall, although I did like playing this remake, I think I still kind of prefer the original. It’s a real shame it’s not included here. I know the developers are working on a remake of Zwei and, based on what I’ve seen here, I think they’ll do a pretty good job. But what about Saga or Orta?

Saga certainly deserves some kind of new release, remake or remaster – it doesn’t matter. It just needs to happen. Orta, on the other hand, which in my opinion was the best of the rail shooter Panzer games, really just needs a visual remaster. It still plays beautifully today and I really wouldn’t want anyone trying to ‘remake’ it in a new engine because there’s no way they’d do it better.

If you’re a Panzer Dragoon fan then I’d say this remake is certainly worth checking out, but the absence of the original game makes the package feel strangely incomplete. Hopefully the developers can look at the feedback they’ve had and do an even better job with the Zwei remake.

6/10

Gallery: Cyberpunk 2077 (Part 3)

 

Now Playing: Fates Divided (DLC)

Fates Divided is the latest DLC for Total War: Three Kingdoms. If you’ve read my previous reviews of 3K DLC you’ll know that, overall, I’ve found them rather lacklustre and often overshadowed by the free content update / patch that accompanies each release. And I really try not to factor in the free content when judging each DLC – I try to only focus on what you’re actually paying for.

In the case of Fates Divided, however, that’s a little more tricky as part of the free update (the faction overhauls) is a pretty key component. Fates Divided focuses heavily on the Yuan Shao and Cao Cao factions and without those (free) faction overhauls, it wouldn’t be quite so fun to play. The accompanying patch also overhauls and improves various aspects of campaign management, most notably the faction council, faction rank progression and the new Imperial Intrigue system.

Once again, the free update that accompanies this DLC is arguably more important than the DLC itself. Because honestly, once you pick out all of the free additions, the content that you’re actually paying for in Fates Divided isn’t particularly substantial. You get access to a new start date (200), a new faction (Liu Yan), 20 new units and . . . and that’s about it.

I do like the new start date, particularly if you begin with one of the two factions this DLC focuses upon – Yuan Shao or Cao Cao. It essentially drops you into a campaign entering the mid-phase and it’s an engaging and enjoyable point to jump off from – even though your first few turns will likely be spent retooling your existing empire to better suit your own needs.

And this is where the line between free and paid content begins to blur. I really enjoyed returning to 3K and playing this new campaign, but a big part of the reason why I enjoyed it is the free updates and overhauls that were patched alongside the DLC. You simply can’t disentangle them and judge one without the other.

And that’s what makes reviewing Fates Divided so tricky. In a way, I enjoyed this DLC far more than the others – aside from, perhaps, Mandate of Heaven. But that enjoyment wasn’t really because of what I’d paid for, but because of the improvements and overhauls the accompanying free patch rolled into the core game.

The content you’re actually buying with Fates Divided isn’t very much to get excited about and if I were to judge it purely on those terms, it’s arguably one of the worst DLCs in terms of content value. So yeah, I’m kind of stumped on how best to review / recommend this DLC.

Overall, Fates Divided doesn’t really buck the trend of the previous DLC releases – the content you’re paying for is pretty lacklustre in comparison to the accompanying free update. But when the free updates are this good, I can’t say I regret purchasing the DLC, even if it’s just to continue to support the long term development of the game.

I think if you’re a fan of 3k then it’s certainly worth picking up either now or on sale, but I really want to see the next 3K DLC step it up and really offer something far more meaningful and substantial and, for once, provide great content value for the price.

6/10

Gallery: Cyberpunk 2077 (Part 2)

 

Now Playing: Beat Saber (VR)

Beat Saber is one of – if not the most – consistently popular VR game on Steam. I’ve enjoyed various rhythm games in the past, but I wasn’t too sure if I’d like Beat Saber. It appeared to me (like a number of other VR games I’ve covered) to be a little too reliant upon community created content. But I decided recently to pick it up and give it a spin. With more than twenty hours now clocked, I figured it was time to write my review.

And I’m pleased to say that Beat Saber is an excellent rhythm game – with or without player mods. I don’t really like factoring player content into my reviews. I prefer to review what’s on offer in the base game, even if player content significantly increases the quality or value. Because in my view, no game should rely upon community content.

And the thing I like most about Beat Saber is how it offers a pretty substantial and high quality level of content within the base game. There’s a challenging and enjoyable campaign mode that takes you through the difficulty settings from easy to expert in a way that eases you into each.

There’s a primary ‘path’ you can follow to reach the end, but there’s also side objectives to complete. And the missions aren’t just about beating songs – they may require specific objectives to be met, such as a minimum or maximum level of arm movement, or a minimum combo string. It can take multiple tries to beat some of the later levels, maybe even using the practice mode to slow down tracks and learn the note patterns.

But with enough persistence, patience and practice, you’ll get through it, and what initially seemed impossible, will suddenly be achievable. It can also give you a pretty good work out. I can’t remember the last time I felt such elation at beating a difficult stage, before sinking to my knees, utterly exhausted.

The core gameplay is pretty simple – cut through coloured notes in the direction indicated upon each note. The game begins with a sedate pace, but once you hit the expert levels, you’ll be slicing through notes at a rate of 3-4 or more a second. Some tracks are so fast, with such complex note arrangements that you won’t have time to ‘read’ the upcoming notes – you’ll be relying entirely upon muscle memory. And when you enter that ‘zone’ where your body is reacting faster than your brain can comprehend, it’s a pretty sweet feeling.

Beyond the campaign, Beat Saber offers a great solo mode where you can play through all of the tracks on any difficulty and using various modifiers. There’s options to customise the colour and style of the notes and your virtual environment. The practice mode is also very handy, allowing you to speed up or slow down tracks and even load into specific sections if there’s a tricky combo you can’t quite seem to hit.

Beat Saber, like so many rhythm games before it, also has song DLC, but I don’t see myself picking any up at £1.69 per track. It might not seem like much, but it adds up fast if you want to buy several tracks, especially if you only end up playing each track a couple of times.

But the question is, why waste money on tracks when you can build your own for free in the included level editor? I’ve had a lot of fun using it, even though I can’t say my custom tracks are quite up to the standard of the official ones.

And that leads me onto player mods, and more specifically – player custom songs. Beat Saber has been out for a few years now and there are hundreds of custom songs to download. Of course, the quality of player content will vary but fortunately, there’s a pretty good curation system in place on bsaber.com to help you select your tracks.

The only issue I really have with the player content is how a lot of tracks I’ve sampled seem less concerned with building a track arrangement that flows to the rhythm of the song, and more about making it as tricky as possible. Seriously, the song almost doesn’t matter because the notes aren’t in time to the beat at all.

But still, with hundreds of free tracks to try, it’s not like you won’t find a decent amount that you’ll like. And, as I’ve said, Beat Saber doesn’t rely upon this community content. The base content alone is well worth the price. The mods and custom songs simply increase the value.

Overall, Beat Saber is a great rhythm game and definitely worth checking out if you’ve got a VR set. It’s fun and it’s simple for new players, but there’s plenty of depth and scope to improve for those who really want to test their limits. And with the included editor and custom songs, you certainly won’t be short on content.

8/10