Monday Impressions: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a new twist in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Ever since It's official reveal even before Konami decided to pass the project over to Platinum Games, I was excited. An action game set in the Metal Gear Solid world with Raiden once again in the spotlight. I gave the public demo a try on my Xbox 360 and quickly noticed that this is will be one hell of a stress reliever.

The demo released is the same demo included in the Zone of Enders HD Collection. It's a good 20-30 minutes of your time. Once you run the demo, you see the menu screen with Raiden in great detail rotating every once in awhile showing a different angle of his pose. I don't really care much about game menus, but this one was impressive. Once I pressed start, I only had two options: Story or Options. I quickly started Story which only showed three modes: easy, normal, and hard, with hard the only option unavailable. I went with normal and I was then given the choice to try the tutorial.

With it being my first time, I tried it out. The tutorial stage has the VR mission look seen in past Metal Gear games that gave a bit of nostalgia. Object like floating cubes, barrels, and even watermelons are found in the stage to practice your cutting skills. We all know Revengeance's biggest feature is blade mode - Holding down the left trigger activates blade mode, which then allows you to slice the target in front of you in any angle you want by either using the right stick or the attack buttons. Just like the first gameplay demo showcasing the cutting feature, I went up to the watermelons all neatly placed on the tables, and started slicing them into small pieces like a pro. It was weirdly satisfying and I was actually now eager to test this blade on actual enemies.

After the tutorial ended, you are given a short cutscene. A small briefing was given as we see Raiden heading to his destination via a small bomber-like plane. The graphics look amazing and after Raiden lands on the beach, we were given control. I was still craving for more slicing, so every tree, barrel and rock I  saw on that beach was cut into pieces. Once I had nothing else to cut, I moved forward and encountered my first batch of enemies.  With the light attack and heavy attack buttons, I hacked away and just after the combo finishes, I enter Blade Mode and finish them off, seeing the human cyborgs getting sliced up in slow motion. Once you slice him enough, you are given the option to press X which let's Raiden consume the enemy cyborg's electrolytes. These cyborg juices replenishes Raiden's life.

After the first batch, you move forward and the game informs you that you can go behind an enemy and kill them from above or behind by simply pressing X when told to do so. That is pretty much the stealth portion of the game which I hope doesn't force players to sometimes play in the shadows to move forward. We had too much of the stealth approach in MGS, I wanted blood, or rather, those electrolytes. Once your done assassinating, you enter this open area filled with different avenues to approach each enemy. You can tell already that they are giving the players the choice on how to engage. There's an augment mode which can be used by pressing the up on the D-pad. It highlights enemies and other points of interest in the area, a way to scout what you're getting into. Sneaking isn't a big portion of the gameplay, it looks like it's just there when you want to use it. I was able to go behind a guy and assassinate, but after that, I just went on the main road and alerted everybody in the area.

The famous alert sound from MGS with the exclamation point above the enemy's head return in Revengeance and I quickly find myself going against a couple of cyborg soldiers and two of those Gekko's that first appeared in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot. During the fight, the game teaches me about parry, which is pretty much the only means of defense. I had no roll, and it felt like I had to just stand my ground and parry any attack coming my way. I kept going in their face, deflecting anything they throw at me, while activating Blade Mode to finish each one off.

After I had cleared the area, a report pops up showing how well I performed giving me my stats and rank for that fight. Hopefully that won't happen in every encounter, but I do enjoying seeing how well I did. Instead of moving forward, I decided to look around since I noticed how big this area was. With the right trigger, holding it down lets Raiden sprint and make him react to certain environments making him jump ledges, and climb boxes smoothly. While exploring, there were crates that have consumable items for Raiden to pick up like healing items and even grenades and rocket launchers that can be used if equipped, Metal Gear Solid style. Rockets do damage, and grenades seem to stun enemies like the Gekko's, but it's quite hard to use them effectively in a fight. It was unusual to see Raiden use these equipment, but hopefully they come out useful in the full game because I simply ignored using them.

I then enter the next room and a cutscene occurs. Raiden is welcomed with a chainsaw that barely touches his jaw. The chainsaw slices up the corridor forcing it to collapse. Now in the streets, Raiden gets acquainted with IF Prototype LQ84i, a beast-like AI machine with a chainsaw as it's tail tasked to kill him.  This is obviously a boss fight and it was fairly easy thanks to the parry system. After he takes a few hits, he jumps on a high ledge and calls for reinforcements. I slice them all up and the beast-like machine comes down for another go. Rinse and repeat.

After beating the AI, that was sadly the end of the demo. I wanted more! The fights were exhilarating. Blade mode was a lot of fun and the music played once a fight starts the mood right especially during the boss fight. I was worried they would change it up a bit to give the game its own identity, but no, It looks and feels like a Metal Gear Solid game (which I was hoping for) but with a good twist. The UI, the cutscenes, they even included the codec making Raiden call his teammates to do some small talk. Staying true to the Metal Gear Solid world, while providing a satisfying combat system, makes this a game I'll most likely get when it hits shelves this week.

You can check out Migoy's impressions in the video below.

Monday Impressions: Metro 2033

Last weekend I revisited a game that has been on my Steam list for months. A game I played when I first got it but lost all interested in continue not because of how bad the game was, but because how I I lost my save file thanks to by hard disk dying on me. Playing it again reminded me on how much I was missing out, and that the upcoming sequel, Metro: Last Light, is slowly becoming one of my most anticipated games of 2013. 

Metro 2033 Publisher: THQ Developer: 4A Games Platforms: Xbox 360, PC Release Date: March 16, 2010

I wasn't able to finish the game in one weekend, but I did manage to reach where I left off.  You play as Artyom, one of the survivors living in Moscow's underground metro since the surface is now deemed unlivable thanks to the nuclear war. Your station is being overrun by mutant attacks and is getting worse every minute, so your tasked to travel to Polis (another station/town) to see if you can find some aid.

This is what I'd like to call a survival horror FPS. It has a good mix of stealth and horror in the gameplay that you mostly see yourself in narrow corridors and very dark areas with only your flashlight as a light source. The shooting is nothing to brag about, but the environment and the atmosphere is something else. As you travel through the Metro,you experience nothing but death and signs of what life was before the bombs started dropping. It's a very interesting and eerie setting, which requires you to tread very carefully because all of the dangers in the game is out to kill you.

In my time with Metro 2033(roughly 5 hours so far), I had to worry about mutants, traps, ghosts, nazi soldiers, and radiation found above and sometimes below the metro. It's a very dangerous place and It's not an easy game at all even on normal difficulty. Don't shy away because of its difficulty, the game just requires a bit of patience instead of the usual "shoot first, think later" mentality we find in most FPS games. You can still do that, but the cost is greater. The graphics are a bit inconsistent in quality since you see impressive stages but bad character models, and voice acting that could make you cringe. And I'm almost positive that every child you find in the metro was voiced by one person.   Metro 2033 also has one of the most hilarious rag doll effects I've ever seen. How mutants go ragdoll when they die during a sprint always give me a good chuckle, which helps break the tension.

The need to conserve is one of the reason's I appreciate the game's gameplay. If I can kill someone silently with a throwing knife, I'll take it. If I see myself against a pack of mutant dogs I'll make use of the shotgun and wait for them to come close instead of spraying bullets everywhere (they can be quick). This is the FPS I highly prefer than the normal brainless FPS gameplay we find in game's like Call of Duty. Metro 2033 is still on rails, moving from area after area, but the stages are huge that it requires a bit of exploration in hopes to find more supplies like ammo or gas mask filters. The story is still a big question mark because so far it's just me trying to survive my journey, while meeting other survivors along the way.

If you love FPS games and want to play a game that strays away from the norm, I highly suggest you give this game a shot. Thanks to the creepy atmosphere and amazing post-apocalyptic setting,  I definitely eager to see this game through and most likely buy the sequel Metro: Last Light when it comes out this year.

Metro 2033 launch trailer

Monday Impressions: Path of Exile Open Beta

I'm a huge Diablo 2 fan, I've played that game countless times with different characters because I just loved the character building. Naturally, Diablo 3 was a no brainer for me to get last yea but it did not scratch that Diablo 2 itch. A great game in its own right, but not the sequel we were expecting. Then there comes Path of Exile, a Free-To-Play Action RPG that comes out of nowhere and has become the answer to satisfy hardcore Diablo fans. It's now on open beta and I'm loving every minute of it. 

Is it a Diablo clone? Not even close. Grinding Gear Games threw in a couple of unique features and game mechanics to set it apart from all the other action RPG's out there while retaining the addictive nature we love out of games like this.

There's a lot of new concepts in this game that it actually takes time to get your bearings. Like for the example the passive skill tree. I've spent a good amount of time with this game already and I still feel like I'm nowhere close to understanding what each node in the tree does, and the possibilities of builds for each class is quite a hand full. You need to take your time with Path of Exile, plan it out, when you get an idea on what build or gear you would like to work on, the addiction takes over.

Path of Exile has three acts in total(third act was just implemented for Open beta) and has a good amount of content for a Free-To-Play title. Visually, the game doesn't look appealing at all at this point. The enviroment is bleak, the atmosphere is dark, and the character models is nothing compared to games like Torchlight 2 or Diablo 3, but don't let that shy yourself away from this game, it's the gameplay that you should be looking at among everything else.

You have complete freedom in developing your Path of Exile character. Not only does the massive passive skill tree provides a good amount of viable builds for each of the six classes in the game, the skills you have and of course the gear you wear can all be fixed to your liking.

Skills in the game come in a form of skill gems. In order to use that specific skill gem, you will need to attach it in the right color slot in your gear in order to use it. That alone gives all classes the ability to use any skill in the game. This is a game mechanic hardly seen in games and is very similar to the materia system in Final Fantasy 7 if you guys recall that amazing game.

There's so much to talk about in this game that it's hard to put everything in one post. The ability to upgrade normal items into a random rare, the ladder system, the potion system, the simple pvp, and a barter system that replaced currency (trade an item for another, even with NPCs). What I noticed after playing Path of Exile during closed beta and seeing the improvements done when the open beta started is that Grinding Gear Games is definitely on the right track in creating an addicting Action RPG that would make players play for hours and hours on end. This reminded me very well in my Diablo 2 days and that I want games like these to feel like; Picking a build, leveling him up while going through three difficulty levels, and climbing up the leaderboards  for a bit of competition. Then, start over again with something completely different. The gameplay is deep enough that the replay value is high enough for players to stay invested in this game for years to come.

Should I try it?

You definitely should if you appreciate games like Torchlight and more importantly, Diablo 2. The developers goal with this game is to provide a deep character progression and a unique experience for the hardcore players in this genre. Don't expect a compelling story, don't expect a visually stunning video game, expect this to be an action RPG that would draw you in with its complex game mechanics and well designed gameplay. If you like hunting for the best gear the game has to offer for your character and if you want a game that is easily replayable over and over, this will do the trick. It's free to play so there's nothing to lose really. I urge you guys to give it a try, you will not be disappointed. The game is just in Open Beta and I can't wait for the further improvements and additions they will make in the coming months. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to work on my next Ranger character.

You can create your Path of Exile account by clicking on this link. Once your registering, you can start downloading the game client.

Monday Impressions: DmC Devil May Cry

Now we've all heard about how this isn't a true Devil May Cry game or how Capcom made a mistake of outsourcing the development to Ninja Theory and how the new Dante looks like an emo mess. But answer me this, can you truly say that you agree with those statements? Is a game more about cosmetics than substance?

Developer: Ninja Theory Publisher: Capcom Release Date: January 15, 2013

This new iteration of Devil May Cry is a full on reboot of the series. Be that as it may, not a whole lot has changed. Dante may not be 80's pizza eating Ninja Turtles cool but is still the type of demon slaying badass as he was only a bit younger. He may have an emo look but Ninja Theory's portrayal of the new Dante is far from it. He's more of a bad mouthed angsty teen with a heart of gold.

The game runs on the Unreal Engine which still runs the curse of texture popping and frame drops. Still, the game looks great. The real world looks dull and grey as it should be since man-kind has been dumbed down by the bad guys while Limbo looks like a twisted version of it. Parts of buildings and roads burst out, floating in mid-air. Unknown black smudges that sometimes try to claw at you creep on the sides and corners of everything. I'd say Ninja Theory pulled off the exact kind of hell-on-Earth look that they were going for. Color tones are clear and prominent in every level. The real world is usually a dark grey and sometimes blue while Limbo is the exact opposite with bright vibrant colors.

What really hooked me on to this game was the combat. I love me some action games and I'm usually a fan of making your own combos. The older DMC games tickled my fancy and Bayonetta's combat system is one of the reasons why I love that game. The combat system in this new game is actually easier than previous DMCs. You can literally combo anything into anything. A one button launch is always ok in my book and switching between weapons are done by simple holding either the L2/LT or R2/RT buttons. Once you get newer weapons, you can switch to them on the fly via the D-pad. What I don't like about the combat is a lack of a controllable lock-on mechanic. You could me hitting one enemy but end up yanking or latching onto the wrong one mid battle which could mess up your style rank if you're going for that kind of stuff.

While all this talk about stylish combat is done against the regular goons, boss fights are another story. Boss fights are more about the visual aspect rather than combat finesse. Find the pattern, do damage, rinse and repeat. They do look hella fancy though and I'm sure some of them offer a better challenge on the higher difficulties.

Is it worth a try?

I have to admit, I wasn't negative about the visual changes that they made but I was still a bit skeptical about the gameplay itself as I was worried that it might fall to the modern game curse that it's all flash and no fun. After getting a taste of the combat when I tried the public demo, it convinced me that DmC Devil May Cry was going to be my first game purchase of 2013. I even ended up pre-ordering the game even though I wasn't really sold on the DLC bonuses that came with it. Though I have to say that I am diggin' the look of the Osiris bone skin and I do appreciate the orb magnet and the three free upgrade points.

I'll do a full playthrough of DmC Devil May Cry on a harder difficulty once I beat the game for the first time so that I have all the weapons and powers-ups. Had issues when I tried to upload videos of it the first time around, hopefully my second attempt will push through.

Monday Impressions: Dead Space 3 Demo

 

Last week, Xbox 360 players who signed up for the early access of the Dead Space 3 demo got an email that included a redeemable code that allows you to download the demo. I was one of those lucky few that got the mail. As I waited for the download to finish, I was praying that this demo would remove all the doubts I had with the game. But sadly, it just remained the same.

The demo was really all about showcasing all the changes done for the third game. The drop-in. drop-out co-op, the very deep weapon customization, and the new setting. You can't really get a grip about the story in the content given so people worried about spoilers, you won't get any. in fact, this demo is actually the content shown during last year's E3, so nothing new for people have seen it. This is all about getting the feel of the changes.

The new Bench system

The bench system now allows weapon crafting and it's just amazing, it allows you to make any weapon you want. Want a plasma cutter that shoots nails as an alternative? Or a machine gun that can also push back anything in front of you? There are eight ways to customize your weapon, so the combinations felt endless. I spend more time on the bench than in the playable demo because I was having fun being all creative with my weapon designs. After finalizing your weapon, you can even sent the blueprint of that weapon to a friend, or store it just in case you decide to build it again in the future.

With this new weapon customization, they got rid of currency in the game. Resources is now what's needed to survive and you can literally find it everywhere in the game. Instead of buying items and equipment from the store, you head over to the bench and create weapon parts and healing items using the resources you picked up along the way. It turned out interesting because you are placed in a position to carefully manage where to use your resources. Should I create upgrades for my weapons? make more parts? Or use them to make healing items. It brings more thought as you hit the bench since some items require certain resources that are also required in weapon upgrades.

After going crazy over at the bench, I finally went on with the demo. At first glance I noticed how amazing the game looked. During the demo, there are a couple of amazing views of this snowy graveyard. Visceral Games definitely did a good job with the game's location and background visuals. This was the first time I stood there and enjoyed the scenery in a Dead Space game, but maybe because this is the first time they constructed large-scale areas. I wasn't digging the whole snowy environment at first, but experiencing it first-hand made me think this could work. It gave me a Lost Planet vibe, which is actually a good thing.

Dead Space heading the wrong direction

The way you control Isaac/Carver is the same as previous games with two additions - The cover system, and rolling in any direction. The rolling is not a problem, but the cover system is just bad. How do you do it? Just press the aim button when you are behind cover. It's no sticky cover system, thank god, it's simply you ducking, and if you press the aim button again, you stand up just a bit to shoot. You get introduced with this feature when you encounter your first batch of human thugs shooting at you. It's a cover system I can work without really. I don't see any difference if I decide to strafe from out of cover then into cover. It's not like this is the first time a Dead Space game included enemies that shoot at you.

I played the demo twice: First alone, then co-op for the second run. Playing alone, you get the usual conversations with characters seen in previous games, while playing co-op, you get additional banter between Isaac and Carver. But we all know about the change in dialogue thanks to the many trailers reminding us of it. What surprised me was, alone or with a friend, the amount of tension is about the same. No change in gameplay, with co-op you just have someone tagging along. With all the big necromorphs, gun fights with soldiers, and co-op mode, it felt like a whole different game.

The audio, which is a big factor in games like these feel a bit lacking. The heavy snow effects and constant action overwhelms any audio that tries to give that scary atmosphere. I didn't get the same effect when I first tried out the first two games. Hopefully as you go farther into the game, they give you the good old creepy scenarios forcing you to enter in order to progress. There will definitely be areas like that, but the big question is - Did the scary elements of Dead Space 3 go way down? It feels that way from what I experienced.

Will you be getting the full game?

When I finished the demo, I had no urge whatsoever to put down a pre-order. I was more worried than ever. Dead Space 3 feels like a game that I'll regret buying on day 1. Yes, this is just a demo, but it gave me a good picture of what I'm getting into. I want a survival horror that requires me to take it slow, save your bullets, and play smart. I don't think I'll be getting that here. You most probably will get a great co-op experience, but that's not what I'm after in this franchise. If this is the direction they plan on taking moving forward, the future of Dead Space doesn't look good.

The Demo comes out tomorrow, January 22.