Editorial | The beauty of the Final Fantasy VII: Remake.

 

By Sam Coles:

People often forget how long fans have been asking for a Final Fantasy VII remake, it stems as far back to the PS3 era when Square Enix showed off that beautiful tech demo for the PS3 but said they had no intention of making it a game. Fast forward to E3 2015 they announced it on Sony’s stage, and after that complete silence until E3 2019 where it then finally released on PS4 in 2020. What we got is something special and beautiful, and truly is one of my favourite games of the PS4 era. I just want to go over the beauty of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, and what makes it special.

Let’s start off the story and don’t worry there are no spoilers, but to be honest if you are playing this game more than likely you have played the original but I digress. It starts off as normal like in the original where we see Cloud looking broody on top of a train, before jumping off and proceeding to a reactor core to blow it up.

However things take a diversion as he starts to see these weird ghostly figures, this is where you find out that this is not the same story. However it does stick to similar story beats of the original, what I like is that Final Fantasy VII Remake fleshes Cloud and Tifa’s past and relationship out more, Tifa in general has more of a personality in this game and you can’t help but love her.

Not only that they flesh out Jessie too in this game which if you are familiar with the original game, she dies at the start of the game but they keep her alive as another love interest for Cloud. It’s different as she can come across as irritating at times, but she grew on me as I progressed through the story as I got to know her more.

Now onto the gameplay which is very good, I remember when they announced that the game was going to take more of an action focus; a lot of old school fans had a bit of trepidation to say the least. However when the game came out there is more depth than you think, the combat is weighty and you feel every swing, every punch and every shot. You have to think on your toes and prioritise certain targets, because otherwise you will die. This game is rather challenging in certain segments especially with boss fights, I’m looking at you Hell House in the arena slums which took me a while to get through.

It is challenging yes, but it is extremely rewarding coupled with the intense music and sound design. The combat fuels you with excitement with the classic battle music fully orchestrated, which is another beautiful aspect of this game the music. The music has been beautifully recreated with a full orchestra, with epic battle music to the more sombre and emotional moments with beautiful piano pieces. The new version of Tifa’s theme is beautiful, and as pathetic as this sounds got me a bit emotional.

The presentation is absolutely gorgeous! Square Enix have done an excellent job with bringing Midgar into the modern era, the character models look absolutely stunning they look as they were intended, instead of looking like monstrosities where a Lego man procreated with various Playmobil figures. The world of Midgar feels more alive, with the seedy slums filled with criminals and low lives to Aerith’s calm and relaxing garden. It feels modern yet familiar, like you are putting on a nice, old and comfortable sweater as you escape the reality.

Overall I love the beauty of the Final Fantasy VII: Remake, it’s a great retelling of the classic story while adding in new aspects, the graphics are beautiful and the combat is engaging and challenging. This is a great version of the game and I can’t wait to play more of it.

Ghost of Tsushima: My thoughts so far.

 

By Sam Coles:

There are games that come and go that people let it fade into the void; however there are games that I would describe as a masterpiece and people talk about for decades. Ghost of Tsushima is one of those games that falls into the latter category; this game has captivated me with its world, story and brutal gameplay. I want to give my initial thoughts about the game, let me be clear this is not a full review as I have only played about 10 hours of the game. We clear? Good, let’s get into it.

Ghost of Tsushima takes place on the titular island during the 13^th century when the Mongols are invading parts of Asia; you play as Jin Sakai an honourable and devote samurai. He is fighting off the Mongol forces on the beaches in a massive and epic battle, however things go horrible wrong where his comrades are butchered and his uncle is captured. Jin is presumed dead as he takes two arrows in his back, but is ultimately saved and makes a speedy recovery.

What transpires is a classic tale of rebuilding his strength where he has to learn new skills, gather allies and of course rescue his uncle. What I like about the gameplay is that it ties in the narrative where Jin slowly drifts from the samurai code of honour; he gets flashbacks when he is training with his uncle where he almost retroactively scolds Jin for using cowardly tactics. The performances from the cast are excellent as well, you can play it in Japanese but the lips are not synced to the language. This is probably one of the few times I would say play in English, as the English dialogue works and is fantastic.

Gameplay wise I am enjoying it a lot, it’s an open world game and I know when you say open world these days most will respond with a resounding groan as most can be rather laborious (not naming names). However Ghost of Tsushima is a fresh take on the formula, it feels organic with its design and as corny as this sounds doesn’t feel like you are playing a game. The world is being begged to be explored every nook and cranny is visually unique, with towns, villages and general countryside that is fun to travel around. I have only used the fast travel system a handful of times, due to how fun it is to explore this world.

What I like with the exploration is that they keep the HUD minimal and make the way point organic in the way of the wind, if you swipe the touch pad on the Dualshock 4 wind will blow in the direction you have to go, I love this as you are not looking at waypoints or staring at a mini-map for the majority of the play time. This feature makes it feel like it is part of the world, and doesn’t appear to be video gamey for a lack of better terms.

Now onto the combat and this is my favourite part of the game, unlike Sucker Punch’s Infamous games the combat in Ghost of Tsushima is very challenging in places. It will get you nowhere if you just mindlessly flail your sword like a pensioner playing a Nintendo Wii, no it requires timing and precision. This isn’t Sekiro levels of hard with its combat, but it does present a steady challenge especially with the one-on-one boss fights.

You have four stances to unlock; I only have two at the time of writing but these help with different enemy types throughout battles. You will be up against a wide variety of enemies, these can range from standard swordsmen, shield bearers, spearmen, hulking brutes that take your sword strikes like butterfly kiss and the archers that can do one as they are irritating. The battles never get old as it always surprised me with how much variety there is, plus it keeps me focused and on my toes. However you can infiltrate outposts and objectives without raising an alarm, the stealth works really well coupled with the excellent sound design as you plunge a dagger into someone’s throat as you hear them gargling on their blood as they try and breath one more time.

Now onto the visuals and what can I say? The screenshots speak for themselves, the game is absolutely gorgeous and I am playing on a base PS4. The game runs well and I haven’t noticed any major framerate hitches, there are so many bright and vibrant colours coupled with the minimal HUD which lets you appreciate the visuals. The foliage says with the wind, you have beautiful golden leafed forests, bright sunny days that make the green grass standout as well as snow nights as the moonlight shines on you. It is easily one of the best looking open world games I have played, and I’m amazed it is running on nearly 8 year old hardware.

Overall I’m happy with what I have played of Ghost of Tsushima so far, it has engaging gameplay, a good story and a world that I love exploring each detail. Easily one of Sony’s best exclusives and I can’t wait to play more.  

Editorial | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Helping with depression and anxiety: A 15 year retrospective.

 

By Sam Coles:

There are times in life where situations can be rather cumbersome and laborious to put it lightly, however there are games that you can go back to over and over again to give you a sense of comfort. As the game is turning 15 years old in the year that is 2021, I thought it would be great for me to go over The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and how it helped me in my darkest times in my mid to late teens and early 20s. Let’s talk about it as it helps to get things off my chest.

When I was a child in my secondary school years I wasn’t exactly well liked nor had many friends, this was mostly due to my nerdy tendencies and introverted attitude to social life. Most of the time I was bullied due to my accent being posh and I went to a school in a less than favourable area, so I was mocked for have a well cut accent as well favouring a more intellectual approach to life. Anyway most of my days were somewhat lonely and I would hide away in books, however it was one afternoon that changed my life.

I was at a friend’s house and he was playing his PS3 and it was a fantasy game with total freedom that caught my eye, I asked him “What is that game”? His response was “Oblivion”. So after that my Dad got me the game for the PC because at the time I didn’t own a console at all, and when I got it installed on my PC which was pretty beefy for the time I was immediately enamoured with the game. I wouldn’t put serious hours into the game until I got it for Xbox 360 in 2009, when I got one for my 16^th birthday.

The game started off a bit dull as you were in a dark and damp dungeon, and I suppose that is the point when they lead you up to the big reveal of the world of Cyrodiil. What a reveal it was with the first moment you step out of the sewers, where the sun pierces through the clouds as you see an ancient ruin from another civilisation in front of you. It was at this moment that made me realise video games are more than games, they can be these living and breathing worlds where I can get away from the grim, depressing and anxiety filled reality I was experiencing at the time.

I was enraptured with this world immediately, at first I thought about doing the main quest but like most Elder Scrolls games I did a 180 and waked in the other direction. That is what made me fall in love with this game was the total freedom it offered me, where you could go to your local tavern have an ale, steal people’s property and sell it to the thieves guild or become an assassin and kill important figures within the empire. There is so much to do that it almost puts modern open world games to shame, or if you are like me just explore with no goal in mind taking in the scenery.

Speaking of scenery for a 15 year old game it still holds up surprisingly well, yeah the character models are horrifying as they look like a shrivelled baked potato. Anyway vegetable analogies aside the scenery still looks beautiful, with rolling green hills, large forests rich with vegetation and populated towns and cities with people that go about their business. That’s another aspect that I like that helped me deal with things the towns and how they go about their business, yeah it’s pretty static these days but it was very impressive for the time as each NPC has a routine and it made it feel alive.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a game that helped me with the darkest parts of my life, and to this day it is a game that I will boot up if I’m feeling down or just need a bit of nostalgia to escape the world. It’s a game that I hold very close to my heart and it made me the gamer that I am today, If you have the chance give it a go it’s widely available on PC and Xbox One/Series consoles via backwards compatibility.

My favourite games from 2020.

 

By Sam Coles:

Another year into the void known as human existence, however 2020 felt like a child throwing a temper tantrum dragging its heels with how laborious and never ending it felt but I digress. Anyway this year had some great games to keep up us occupied as we spent our time in doors more than usual, so I want to go over some of my favourites of the year. Now remember these are my personal picks, so if you disagree that is fine but be civil and if you don’t see a certain game on here I either didn’t play it or didn’t gain my interest. Got it? Good, let’s begin.

The Last of Us: Part II

Oh boy talk about starting this list off with a contentious pick as this game was met with the same amount of reception as a McDonalds meal, with painful bowel movements. Horrible analogies aside The Last of Us: Part II is actually a very good game and Naughty Dog tell a great story with lots of twists, visuals that push the PS4 to its limits and gameplay that lets you experiment with each approach. I like how the game doesn’t punish you for going loud, where I felt it did in the original but that doesn’t mean it isn’t more fun to take a stealth approach. Taking the combat in a stealthy manner is a lot of fun as the game gives you a dizzyingly amount of ways of taking down your foes. This can range with the standard switch blade, bow and arrow to the more creative and excessive such as shrapnel trip mines. Coupled with the sheer brutality with the violence and gore, it really makes for a tense scenario.

Resident Evil 3

Oh dear am I trying to get myself killed on the internet? No, but I thought I would get the more contentious picks out the way first to somewhat cushion the blow so you can put your torches and pitchforks down. Anyway after the resounding success that was the remake of Resident Evil 2 in 2019, people speculated if they were going to do the same treatment for RE 3. Then a year later we got a remake of Resident Evil 3 and it was good, I know people took issue with the more action focused direction and certain feature were cut from the original. However if you play the original it always had a more action heavy focus with its gameplay, and in terms of the cut content well remakes are not supposed to be point to point recreation from the original as it is a different interpretation. It took the core gameplay of the RE 2 remake and tightened the controls, with faster and more responsive shooting coupled with a dodge mechanic. The graphics are even better than the RE 2 remake  the RE Engine is a technical marvel where it strives to provide both high fidelity visuals and performance.

Mafia: Definitive Edition

I feel that this list going to be filled with remakes as 2020 was the year for them given current events; anyway Mafia Definitive Edition was a bit of a left field surprise. Originally released in 2002 (my god nearly 20 years) Mafia was always a game that liked but even at the time its high difficulty and archaic design put me off the game. So when they announced a remake I was immediately interested, it basically fixed most of the issues from the original. For one the presentation is something that immediately stands out, the character model in particular look amazing with full body performances making for a convincing scene. Not only that the car models look exquisite with great looking reflections, as well as excellent damage modelling. I played this all on a base Xbox One and it still looked fantastic and it ran well, unlike a certain game from a certain Polish developer who I won’t name but I digress. The combat has been tweaked to fit modern conventions, with a cover system and tight and responsive controls. Overall if you are looking for an engaging crime drama in video game form, then this is the game for you.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

A really pleasant surprise in early 2020 with this game when things were still somewhat normal, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is truly a beautiful game and is another example that cements videos games a legitimate art form. The game has a beautiful visual aesthetic, it’s like a water painting in motion coupled with the emotional musical score which I now listen to on the regular. The game is a Metroid-vania platformer where you start off weak and helpless, but over time build up abilities as you traverse the beautiful yet dangerous world. The game is not easy this game gets rather difficult in places, but the difficulty is fair.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 It was a bit of a no brainer that you would see this game on my list given my love for the series, but Yakuza Like a Dragon was a great game and fantastic change in direction for the series. The game starts off fairly normal, well as normal as it gets for a Yakuza game where you play as Ichiban who takes the fall for a murder and is put in prison for 20 years. The game starts off dark and grim but then takes a completely different turn into the absurd, as Ichi is a huge fan of Dragon Quest (he never shuts up about it), where he wants to be a hero. This is thematically appropriate as the game is now a turned based RPG instead of a brawler, when I first heard they were going in this direction I did have a bit of trepidation but now I have played it, I found it works really well. Not only that Ichiban’s personality really shines through, he is idiotic buffoonery is hilarious but at the same time he is loyal and kind to those who he loves.

Despite the year being rather oh dear 2020 was a great year for video games (mostly), lots of great titles and rebirths of classic games. Truly a great year for gaming as we had to spend more time in doors, let’s hope that 2021 will fill us with more great experiences.