Super Mario Odyssey: My thoughts so far.

 

By Sam Coles:

Every time I boot up a 3D Mario adventure I always revert back to a small and innocent child, as it reminds me of my childhood of playing lots of Super Mario 64 on Nintendo’s titular console. So when I first booted up Super Mario Odyssey on my Nintendo Switch, those emotions came back with my eyes widened in awe as I felt like I was five years old again. I’m going to talk about my initial thoughts about the portly Italian’s globetrotting adventure. Just to preface this is not a full review as I have not finished the game yet at the time of writing.

Does Mario Odyssey divert from the standard Mario narrative formula? Of course not, it is still Princess Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser it is a Mario game I’m not expecting Socrates levels of social commentary or any at all as it is a Mario game. Although there is the strange premise that Bowser is trying to force Peach to marry him, but I will let people on Rule 34 drum up their twisted fantasies. Anyway Freudian digressions aside, the story revolves around a race of sentient hats and headwear (stay with me). Where Mario adopts one to use his power to possess his enemy’s souls, narrative wise it is silly, but it works more in favour of gameplay.

Gameplay goes back to the free form style of Super Mario 64, where you have huge hub based levels with various collectables and missions to complete. What astrological McGuffin is Mario collecting this time? Moons of course, I swear Nintendo throw a dart at an astrological chart and decide “Yep that is what Mario is collecting”. What next Suns? Oh wait they technically did that already with Shine Sprites, anyway enough digressions.

Anyway back to gameplay this time you are not in the Mushroom Kingdom, instead you are what I think is supposed to be the real world. At first I found this rather jarring, as Mario’s cartoon aesthetic mixing with realistic environments didn’t really gel with me at first. However as I played the game more and more, it slowly grew on me and it worked.

Mario’s objective in each world is to acquire Moons, these can be singular Moons in plain sight or in obscure places or they are Multi-Moons which are generally tied to a boss fight. However unlike Mario 64 you are not booted out the level to start it all over again, it takes the Banjo Kazooie approach of letting you carry on and you can retreat at your own time and pace. It keeps the gameplay flowing and I never felt the tasks at hand were ever laborious, they are all varied and kept me engaged with Mario’s slick controls.

Speaking of controls as well as the cap mechanic it feels as smooth as butter to control Mario in this game, his momentum feels natural yet quick and performing flips and triple jumps feels excellent! The platforming while using the cap in tandem feels great, especially when you perform a long jump and then use your cap as a spring board to barely make the jump. The game really encourages you to experiment with Mario’s movement, because if you faff about with the controls you can find Moons in hard to reach and obscure places.

The cap is not only to help you with your platforming endeavours, no as I said early you can possess enemies and control them. This is fantastic as it adds an extra layer of depth to the puzzle solving within the game or if you just want to destroy everything in sight. Before you ask, yes I had a lot of fun taking control of a dinosaur at the start of the game raining death and destruction on anything that got in my way.

Visually the game is absolutely stunning and it runs as smooth as a freshly oiled bike, with vibrant and colourful worlds that really pop even on my Switch Lite. The framerate is a smooth 60 frames per second, I didn’t notice any framerate drops well major ones as it would hitch but that was very rare. Mario’s character model is very detailed, you can see every stitch on his trousers, every strand of hair in his moustache and everything has been given a nice update to his appearance.

Overall I am enjoying my experience with Super Mario Odyssey so far, it is a wonderful and colourful Mario adventure that takes me back to my childhood. It is a game that I’m looking forward to finishing 100%, and it will keep me occupied!

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge Review - "Get over here" and watch this film!

Warning: Violent Images

By Sam Coles:

Video games and the film industry mix about as well as M & M’s and cottage cheese, strange analogies aside my point is film adaptations of popular video games tend to fall flat. Until now which I have to say Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge is easily one of the best animated and video game based movies, as it adapts the fighting game series perfectly. But why I hear you say, well let’s get into it!

Scorpion’s Revenge is about the titular ninja where he wants to get revenge on Sub-Zero who is a part of a rival clan, who decides to attack his village one night. Scorpion is ambushed when he is walking home with his son, but he is one step ahead and brutally dispatches his enemies where we see body parts fly all over the place. Unfortunately Sub-Zero catches up with Scorpion and takes his son hostage; as much as Scorpion tries to save him Sub-Zero kills his son by opening his windpipe with an ice shard.

He is then killed by Sub-Zero, and finds himself in the Netherrealm where he has to fight his way out. Quan Chi impressed by his efforts gives him an offer, fight in the Mortal Kombat tournament to find a key to release the banished Elder God Shinnok. If Scorpion can also get his revenge at the same time, if he is successful in his task Quan Chi promises to revive his dead wife and child.

I have to say for a film with a simple revenge set up it is extremely well voiced from the entire cast, especially Patrick Seitz who came back to voice Scorpion does a fantastic job and is quite emotional sometimes. He really brings across his rage and tortured soul, it is really convincing and somewhat frightening sometimes.

In terms of the animation it is fantastic in motion as it is done by the same studio that does most of the DC animated movies, however like those films it can be rather static when they are just standing around talking. When the fights breakout it is amazing, characters are doing impossible gymnastics across each scene, teeth are flying everywhere and blood soaks the wall. It looks great during fights scenes, but in some circumstances it looks like a static picture where the characters flap their lips here and there but it is not always the case with the abundance of fight scenes.

The violence in this film, my god the gore and violence is so respectful to the series and almost does better than the video games. Immediately you are hit with graphic violence where Scorpion slices someone’s head in half with a sword, makes their eyes pop and generally eviscerates his opponents.

They also managed to incorporate the x-ray attacks from Mortal Kombat 9 and X in this film, it goes into unflinching detail such as when Goro is tearing someone from limb by limb, or when Scorpion stabs his spear into someone’s throat. It’s great and it adds a layer of authenticity to this film, showing that the director and writers understand what Mortal Kombat is. Some of the gore and violence almost got to me; yes some scenes are very brutal and can make Mortal Kombat 11 look like a child’s play pen in comparison.

Overall Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge was a very entertaining romp through the MK universe, it has gore, blood, and a very interesting and engaging story which I have to say this is the best interpretation I have seen of Scorpion. If you are looking for a nice concise animated film then I highly recommend it, I picked this up on Blu-Ray for just over £6. Go and watch this film.

Editorial | Resident Evil 7: Reenter the survival horror, Capcom's Redemption.

 

Warning: Graphic Images

By Sam Coles:

Capcom in today’s gaming climate seem to be on top of their game, but it wasn’t that long ago when they fell from grace. In the late 2000’s and early 2010’s Capcom didn’t really know what to do with their properties, they thought everyone wanted Gears of War and Call of Duty spliced into Resident Evil. No Capcom we wanted a Resident Evil game, however around 2017 they redeemed themselves with Resident Evil 7, a return to form and a rather different direction for the series in a good way of course. With Resident Evil Village nearly out, let’s talk about Resident Evil 7 in detail.

In 2016 rumours began to circulate about a new Resident Evil, and it was set to return to its survival horror routes. However what caught people off guard and gave them some trepidation, was the fact that it was going to be first person. This rumour received some backlash as fans were not happy with the perspective change; most at the time wanted a new fix camera angle game. When E3 2016 rolled around Capcom drop the new trailer on Sony’s stage and people’s perception changed, everyone was now excited for the new direction. We wouldn’t have to wait long for the new title, as Resident Evil 7 released in January of 2017, and what we got was tense and claustrophobic.

The story took a different approach this time round as it left behind the bombast and ridiculousness of the previous games, where they got Richard Pearsey to write the story, which if that name doesn’t sound familiar he wrote F.E.A.R and Spec Ops: The Line. The narrative is more subtle and probably explains the whole creepy little girl aspect, where the F.E.A.R influences start to bleed through.

Anyway it takes place in rural America in a swampy and creepy Residence, where the enemies are not zombies but homicidal rednecks which sounds stupid but is more terrifying than you think. They are infected with a mould which takes over their minds, gives them super human healing and gives them the ability to hit as hard as a jackhammer. It’s all very creepy and terrifying, especially when Jack Baker stalks the corridors for him to disappear and comes crashing through a wall.  

Gameplay as I have already said is from a first person perspective; however despite the change of camera it still retains the feel of old school Resident Evil. You still have inventory management which you can expand throughout the game, you have to conserve ammunition for the tougher fights and you are about as fragile as a mouldy peach. It all comes together seamlessly making encounters and exploration feel claustrophobic with the first person view point, which is a great fit for the horror genre.

You do of course get your hands on weapons you have your standard fair and say it with me now pistol, shotgun and machine gun. As you progress through the game you find more exotic weapons such as flamethrowers, trigger bombs (which you will have loads at the end of the game) and a chainsaw when you have a one on one fight with Jack Baker. All these weapons sound great and feel amazing to use especially the shotgun, each hit with melee weapons is heavy and every pull of the trigger feels real as you are not adept with firearms as you are a normal person which adds to the tension.

In terms of the visuals they are fantastic, this was the debut of Capcom’s new engine simply named the RE Engine. Character models look photorealistic with full body performances, bodies get mangled and eviscerated with bloody and giblets flying everywhere. I never thought I could say this but everything looks disgusting and I can almost smell the visuals, but I mean this in a good light as that is part of the grotesque aesthetic. Overall the visuals were and still are joy to look at; Capcom would go on to use this engine in other RE games as well as other properties like Devil May Cry 5.

Resident Evil 7 was a big wakeup call for Capcom as they realised that their audience wanted a traditional survival horror, and that is what we got. It has a tense and creepy atmosphere, heart pounding combat and a graphics engine that wows me with its detail. They would go on to make Resident Evil 2 remake two years after the release of 7, as well as a remake of 3 and of course Resident Evil Village which is set to release on May of 2021. I can’t wait to see how they evolve the first person formula.

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.