Grand Theft Auto V (Pre-Load)

 

It’s going to be a long day.

Now Playing: Otogi

Otogi: Myth of Demons is a third person action game released on the original X-Box in 2003. I didn’t realise it until the logo appeared on the screen, but Otogi was developed by From Software – the studio behind the ‘Souls’ series and the recently released Bloodborne. And there are certainly shades of the Souls games present in Otogi.

Set in a bleak, yet beautiful world, Otogi features an undead (sort of) hero on a quest to unite four ‘essences’ and restore the ‘Seal’ – a mystical barrier that separates the world of man from the realm of demons. The Seal has been broken and the world has fallen into darkness and ruin, overrun by demons of various shapes and sizes.

Otogi has a ‘Japanese myth’ type style to its world and it’s a shame the limitations of the original X-Box can’t quite capture its intended glory. The maps are nicely sized but some, particularly those set in exterior environments, are rather bland, empty and dull to look at.

Although Otogi shares certain themes with the Souls games in terms of story and tone, when it comes to combat, it actually feels far more like a Platinum game. Otogi is a fast paced action game based around a system of magic and various weapon types. Wielding a bladed weapon – you’ll unlock a selection as you progress – you have light and heavy attacks which can be strung together into powerful combos – including smashing foes into the ground or even through scenery.

In terms of movement, you can perform a teleportation style dash which can be combined with both heavy and light attacks for fast moving strikes. You also have a double jump, which you’ll be using a lot. Because many of the demons you’ll be fighting in Otogi can fly, so the majority of the combat is actually aerial in nature.

And it’s certainly fun, leaping majestically into the air and zipping from one foe to the next, stringing together your combo and destroying several demons before you even hit the ground. I was instantly reminded of Metal Gear Rising in terms of its combat, especially when you take the destructible scenery into account as you slice trees, pillars and even small buildings to pieces with your sword. It’s an interesting mix, this bleak world with fluid, fast paced combat.

There are nearly 30 levels to play through, which sounds like a lot, but there’s quite a bit of cut and paste between them and quality wise, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. I would have preferred fewer levels but more unique/diverse ones because, whilst some are excellent, others just feel like filler and are a bit tedious to grind through. At the end of each level you’re scored on a graded scale by the usual things – enemies killed, time taken, scenery destroyed etc. You’ll earn money which you can use to buy different upgrade items (for say, attack or defence) plus new weapons or magic attacks.

Oh right, magic. Magic is the other component to Otogi’s combat. Initially it feels rather useless, but you soon realise it depends heavily upon what type of magic you’re wielding and which enemy types you face. Both magic and demons belong to one of four types, and if you use the correct magic type against its opposite demon type you can double your damage against them.

Each level is fairly similar in terms of structure – enter the environment, kill X number of demons or a particularly large demon. As a result, if you play for a long period things can get a bit repetitive, but thankfully, the levels don’t overstay their welcome – you can clear each of them in anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes. You can also replay them at any time to try to improve upon your score or earn extra gold.

The combat system, ultimately, isn’t that in depth and mostly relies on two or three repetitive patterns of attack. You’ll soon figure out a simple yet effective light and heavy combo which you’ll use to take down one foe after another – rinse and repeat. It’s pretty basic and surprisingly easy. But though the combat isn’t all that fantastic, the variety of enemies is pretty good, offering a neat selection of demon types both large and small – at least visually. It’s just a shame that they don’t require any varied tactics or strategy to kill.

One major issue with the combat, however, is the camera and the rather wonky lock-on system (although you won’t really need to use the lock-on that often unless you need to target a magic attack). But yeah, the camera can be a nightmare at times, especially when so much of the combat takes place in mid-air. It can be rather tricky to orient yourself and dash between enemies to continue your combo because of the camera, which gets a little frustrating. It’s very easy to lose your bearings as the camera swings wildly in the wrong direction and you’re no longer sure which way you’re facing.

Graphically, Otogi holds up okay, aside from the rather poor looking exteriors. But it has an aesthetic style to it that’s still quite pleasant, matched with a nice, appropriately haunting soundtrack. In terms of challenge, Otogi feels rather inconsistent. Some levels can be a real breeze but the next suddenly spikes. That said, it often felt I was more challenged by the wonky camera and targeting system than by the demons I was fighting.

If you’ve ever wondered what a combination of From Software style and Platinum Games combat might look like, Otogi is a pretty neat example. It remains an interesting and quite unique little title and one fans of either of those developers might want to check out.

6/10

Gaming Update

After finishing up Assassin’s Creed 4 and my second Attila campaign, I realised I didn’t really have anything new to play. But I didn’t want to jump straight into a third campaign, not with another content patch on the way.

I think I’ve said it before, but there’s not a lot coming out this year I’m really interested in. There’s The Witcher 3, of course – probably the game I’m most excited about. There’s also Grand Theft Auto 5 – if it doesn’t keep getting delayed. Oh, and the new Batman game, I guess, although I’m in no hurry for it. And…uh, yeah.

The Homeworld Remastered bundle is appealing, but I’m not sure I’ll like the changes they’ve made to Homeworld 1. And hell, if I really want to play Homeworld again, I’ve still got them all on my shelf, including Cataclysm which isn’t even included in the package.

I’d like to play Life is Strange and the Telltale Game of Thrones, but I’m not really fond of the episodic release format, so I think I’ll just wait until all the parts are out so I can play them through in one go. Back during the winter sale I was considering getting Dark Souls 2, but then I heard about an upcoming new edition with all the DLC and graphical upgrades/fixes. I might as well just wait for that.

So in the meantime, I figured I’d play some older titles on my consoles. I’ll be kicking off these retro reviews with two from the original X-Box – Otogi and Panzer Dragoon Orta. Once they’re done, I might play through some more X-Box titles, or maybe I’ll switch to something on Dreamcast or GameCube. I’ve certainly got plenty to keep me busy.

Now Playing: Black Flag

Another year, another Assassin’s Creed. Or two. Or three. How many will release this year? Was it two last year? On the same day? I’ve had mixed feelings about the AC franchise for a while now, as equally interested in the series as I am sick of the bloody thing.

So what keeps me coming back? Primarily, it’s the historical angle – periods not generally explored by this medium. If there’s one thing I can’t really fault in any of the AC games I’ve played, it’s the fantastic attention to detail of its settings.

The last AC game I played was 3. But as much as I liked the setting, the actual gameplay of AC3 was bloody dull, combined with a bland protagonist and story. It did introduce some very cool ship combat mechanics though, which someone fortunately realised the potential of and built an entire game around. 

Which leads us onto Black Flag. It’s as much a pirate game as it is an AC game. Although the Assassins vs Templars stuff is a significant part of the core story, the majority of the content is built around playing pirate, and aside from a few irritating stealth/tailing sections (nowhere near as annoying or frequent as in AC3 though) it’s far more of an action game with a focus on naval combat.

There are assassination side jobs you can choose to undertake, but the actual ‘assassin’ part of Black Flag feels barely there. Which was a good call, given the setting. Because unlike AC3, Black Flag handles its setting far more effectively when it comes to incorporating it into the story and gameplay.

Which sounds a little weird, because Black Flag also doesn’t really deviate from the AC formula. Or what you might call the ‘Ubisoft game template’ if you’ve also played Far Cry 3/4 or Watch_Dogs.

You have a world map, split into different areas. In each area you can climb a ‘high point’ to unlock the local map, revealing side content and collectibles. You have core story based missions in addition to various side activities. You also have an upgrade/crafting element – in this case for your ship, gear and pirate hideout.

And once again, a lot of this stuff is mostly filler and not very interesting. Upgrading the pirate hideout is just a money sink, as are many of the cosmetic ship options. The only upgrade components worth investing in are the ship combat upgrades, although all you really need is the upgraded mortars if you want to cheese some tougher fights. You can hunt animals to craft gear upgrades (extra pistols/ammo etc), but when it’s quicker to simply buy the items you need, it seems a little pointless.

What else? You’ve got stuff like the whale hunting which is a neat diversion the first couple of times, but then you’ll be tired of it. You can also dive sunken wrecks which is fun a few times, I guess. Oh, and there’s an entire ‘fleet’ mini-game thing where you can send ships you’ve captured on trade/combat missions. It’s Black Flag’s version of the ‘assassin’s guild’ missions of previous AC titles. But the rewards aren’t really worth the time it takes to bother with. It’s an irritatingly fiddly system which you’ll soon forget about. If it had actually tied into the core game in some way – such as engaging in fleet battles alongside your own ships, I might have cared to invest more time into it.

Collectibles. Lots of collectibles! I really wish they’d do something like in Arkham Asylum/City, where the collectibles actually required you to solve some kind of puzzle to collect and it tied into the story in some way. Hell, even Watch_Dogs incorporated unique collectible based missions such as the Serial Killer clues. But, as in previous AC titles, you just unlock the map revealing the locations of the collectibles and then you run about and pick them up. It’s a pointless time sink that puts even the hardiest OCD to the test. I think I lost patience around the 68% mark.

Disappointingly, this even extends to the treasure ‘maps’ you can find, all of which have the map coordinates printed on them! Why not make them a challenge to find? Or split them into multiple scraps which the player has to piece together? Or give us riddles to solve? Or something? Anything!

Oh dear, I’m starting to rant and I don’t want to give the impression I didn’t like Black Flag. Because I do! In fact, it’s probably the best AC I’ve played since AC2! And that’s the weird thing about it. It shares many of the same problems as AC3. The free running aspect is fine, although once again, it can go a bit wonky at times. The combat is the same slow and easy counter-based system which makes fighting a tedious breeze. Oh, and the side content is mostly pointless, repetitive filler. 

So why is Black Flag so much better than AC3? Well, as I said, it’s mostly because despite sharing the same template, it doesn’t quite feel like an AC game. It also makes far better use of its historical setting in terms of its core missions. It also, somewhat surprisingly, gives the player a lot of freedom to explore the map very early on.

And it’s about pirates! It’s a game where you play as a pirate doing pirate related things – sailing the ocean listening to your crew sing, fighting and boarding ships, attacking forts, raiding plantations, avoiding the authorities, exploring desert islands and sunken wrecks for treasure! Playing pirate is cool, and Black Flag captures that feeling well. It succeeds because it embraces its setting and theme and uses it to complement its gameplay in a way AC3 never did.

But it also succeeds in the way it handles its character and story, which are both far more engaging than in AC3 (although it does get a little muddled towards the end and feels a bit rushed). This even extends to the ‘real world’ segments, which were nicely placed throughout the game and I actually enjoyed a lot. Hell, I wish I could work at Abstergo Entertainment.

So let’s talk performance. Black Flag looks fantastic on its highest settings, but performance wise it’s wildly inconsistent. When I first ran the game, I was struggling to hit 60FPS, so I began to lower various settings until I got the game running smoothly. However, it all looked a bit rough around the edges, so I decided to continue tweaking until I found a happy balance.

To cut a long story short, I ended up just switching everything back to maximum and playing the game at 30FPS. It wasn’t ideal, but it sure looked pretty! But here’s where things get weird. The next time I started the game, on the same bloody settings, I got a smooth 60FPS (in the same location – I tested it). Great! But then, the next time I played, it dropped to 30. Since then, it seems to fluctuate between 40-60, occasionally locking at 30 for no apparent reason. I really don’t know what’s up with it. Like I said, it’s wildly inconsistent. It sure looks nice, though.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Black Flag far more than I was irritated/frustrated by it. Although it suffers from many of the same issues as AC3 due to its adherence to the AC ‘template’ it manages to wrangle free of them thanks to its story, characters and enjoyable, diverse and interesting missions. But it still feels like there’s an even better game buried in here though, one which is struggling to escape what has become a very tired formula.

That said, Black Flag is a solid, enjoyable title, and certainly the best AC title I’ve played since AC2. Even if you’re not a fan of the series, I’d recommend it simply as a pirate game. Yo ho ho!

7/10

Populous

Following my Wizard of Wor post, I thought I’d do something similar and talk about another important game from my childhood. That game is Populous.

Populous was the first ‘God’ game and was originally released in 1989 on the Amiga, but later ported to various systems, including the Sega Mega Drive. I came across the title in my local video rental store. I’m not sure of the exact year but I know it was around the time of the original Mortal Kombat console release – 1993.

Mortal Kombat was the game everyone was talking about and wanted to play. One way or another, I convinced my parents to rent the title for me. But after only a few short hours I was already rather bored of it. The ‘shock’ value of the title (at least at the time) wore off fast, and I didn’t really care for the combat. So I took the game back to the video store to swap it for something else.

On the shelf was a battered cardboard Sega Genesis box, which was a little weird to see in the UK. (On a fun little side note, when I first got my Mega Drive it came with a UK Sonic the Hedgehog box, but a Japanese game cartridge). The game on the shelf was, of course, Populous. I decided to give it a try.

In Populous you play a God. You have an isometric view of the world and using the ‘mana’ generated by your followers, you get to do all kinds of cool things like raise and lower the land, trigger earthquakes and explode volcanoes. Your goal is to lead your followers to victory against rival tribes and their own Gods, who can hit your own followers with similar destructive powers.

I got pretty hooked on the title. In fact, it’s probably the game that got me into strategy in general. Although regarded as a ‘God’ game, it’s a game with a lot of warfare as you create enough land for your tribe to advance, building castles and unleashing deadly knights. If it wasn’t for Populous, I probably wouldn’t be playing Attila right now.

For the next year or so, I had Populous on a semi-permanent rental. It’s not like anyone else wanted the game in its battered old Genesis box, not when games like Mortal Kombat were out there and people were talking about the upcoming PlayStation. But I loved it. And when the video store I’d been renting it from was going to clear out all of its old games ready for the PS release, I was able to convince the owner to sell it to me, I think for about 7 quid.

And I still have it today, preserved in its battered box with its £2.50 rental sticker on the cover. And yes, it still works. They sure don’t make hardware like they used to. Populous remains an addictive and enjoyable game, even today. Playing God isn’t really something that stops being fun.

Now Playing: Attila

I’ve already written a lot about Attila, so I’ll try to keep this short. Total War: Attila, in many ways, is the game we wanted Rome 2 to be. But it’s also the game Rome 2 could never be. This is because Attila builds heavily upon Rome 2, expanding and refining its mechanics, but also addressing many of the problems with those mechanics.

Rome 2, although improved since release, is still a game plagued by various design issues – features such as the political system which simply isn’t very interesting or in-depth. Attila doesn’t simply discard this flawed system, however. It builds upon it, combining it with the return of the family tree feature and creating what is the most interesting and engaging family/faction politics of a Total War title yet.

As I said, Attila feels like the game we wanted Rome 2 to be, but without the mistakes and missteps of Rome 2 to fix, develop, expand and refine, it wouldn’t be half as good as it is. To be frank, without the f**k up of Rome 2, we wouldn’t have Attila – which, having sunk more than 80 hours into the title already, I now regard as one of the best in the series.

 

But Attila is more than just a refinement of Rome 2 and to describe it as such, I think does it a great disservice. It’s a game very much with its own identity, and another reason why it stands apart from Rome 2. As I’ve said in my previous posts, Attila is a game of survival and it plays very differently compared to previous entries in the series. Obviously, it shares the common setting of the old Rome 1 Barbarian Invasion expansion, but that title never quite captured this period to such a great degree.

I’ve always felt some of the best titles in the Total War series are ones which focus their mechanics and style around a particular period or theme. Fall of the Samurai, for example, had this wonderful theme of traditional style versus modernisation. It captured the style and tone of the period perfectly, not only in terms of art or sound, but in gameplay mechanics.

Attila, set during the decline of the Roman Empire and the onset of the Dark Ages, also benefits from a focus on a particular theme – survival. Playing as either the Western or Eastern Roman Empires offers very different challenges, yet each share a common goal – simply to survive. To survive the onslaught of hostile migrating barbarian tribes, of the advancing Hunnic hordes, of rebellions and outbreaks of disease. Oh, and climate change.

This is a world where everyone is fighting to survive, to escape the rapidly spreading cold to seek fertile land and safety. It’s a world where crumbling Empires are desperately clinging onto what they still possess. In short, it’s a perfect setting for a Total War game, one which plays very differently, one with a lot of character and its something Attila captures brilliantly through its style, tone, sound and mechanics. It’s this character and focus I felt Rome 2 lacked, which is perhaps why I could never grow particularly invested in my campaigns.

 

Attila offers more than simply playing as empires struggling to survive, however. Although the factions are somewhat limited on release (expect DLC) they do offer a great variety of styles of play. As I said, even the two Roman factions offer very different experiences. Then you have the migratory factions, each with their own strengths and weakness as well as the more traditional ‘expand and conquer’ factions. In terms of styles of play, Attila offers a small, but surprisingly diverse roster of factions.

So let’s talk performance. In over 80 hours of play I’ve had no crashes and seen practically zero bugs. I do think performance optimisations are needed, but it’s certainly solid enough already and can only really be improved upon. It’s one of the most stable and polished TW releases yet, at least in my experience.

In terms of AI, Attila may just be the best yet. It’s solid and remarkably consistent in both Campaign and Battles. It’s use of units, especially cavalry (flanking, threading through gaps in your lines, and using hit and run charges), is the best it’s ever been. It also handles the new fatigue system quite well, cycling units in and out of combat where necessary.

An experienced player will always find ways to exploit it, but the Attila AI has some neat tricks up its sleeves and is remarkably hard to fool. I was always impressed when it pulled its General out of a fight to keep him safe, or diverted cavalry to counter my own and protect its flank. There are still a few pathfinding issues here and there in relation to some settlements and it can sometimes get confused by the new barricade feature but overall, it’s quite impressive.

On the campaign side, it’s far more aggressive than in Rome 2, and will attack with multiple coordinated stacks. You won’t see many ‘small’ battles in Attila. The AI will hit you hard and in numbers. A few of the diplomatic issues carry over from Rome 2, but on the whole, it works fine. And with the political/family system, you have the most in-depth Total War campaign game yet.

Graphically, the game looks great. Its darker style may not be to everyone’s tastes, but it fits well with the the overall tone of the period. The new fire mechanics are a fantastic addition and hard to imagine playing without. It’s clear that the feedback and criticisms of Rome 2 were taken into account for Attila. It feels like a game aimed squarely at the hardcore fans. As a result, I’m not sure I’d recommend it to a beginner because they’d probably find even the tutorial prologue campaign a struggle.

 

Attila is an unforgiving game, and an inexperienced player may just get smashed by the AI and frustrated, even on Normal settings. But after Rome 2, a game which felt far too streamlined and easy for new players, it feels like this approach was necessary to win back the veteran fans. For me, at least, they’ve succeeded.

But is it perfect? Well, no. As far as criticisms go, aside from improvements to performance, I’d say the biggest issue Attila has is one of balance. It’s a game that really does feel like it needs balance adjustments in terms of units and campaign economy. The new unit ‘tier’ system is something I like, but unit stats feel a little off, with some units rendered effectively useless and others seriously overpowered.

This is something that can obviously be tweaked through mods or patches, but as I said in my Rome 2 review, I can’t review what may happen in the future. Right now, certain elements of Attila don’t balance well in either battles or campaign.

Another issue is the lack of diversity between certain barbarian factions, especially the (currently) non-playable factions, such as those in Britain. Once again, this is an issue that will be improved over time through mods or DLC, but when one such faction DLC releases barely a week following release, it is a bit irritating that these factions weren’t more fleshed out on launch.

I was tempted to give Attila a 9, but I do feel it’s being held back by these issues at the time of writing. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend playing Attila as it is right now. Over time, it should only get better. It’s the game we wanted Rome 2 to be and more. It’s unforgiving but fair. It also has one of the best soundtracks in the series.

Overall, Total War: Attila is a fantastic return to form for the series following the bitter disappointment of Rome 2. It’s the game we wanted it to be, yet could never be. And despite the age of the series, Attila, with its focus on survival, is remarkably refreshing, offering a new twist on an old formula. Recommended.

8/10