My first experience with the Nintendo Switch.

 

By Sam Coles:

Nintendo since the N64 have had a rather steady decline with sales and direction with their hardware and games, especially during the Wii era where decided not to compete anymore. The Wii U was the final nail for Nintendo’s crucifixion where it sold abysmally, but it was a proof of concept for their next console. The Nintendo Switch was met with meh reception when it was first announced in early 2017, but when it finally released it was a resounding success and slowly became the best-selling video game device for Nintendo.

Fast forward to 2021 I want to give my first thoughts of the portable system; I was kindly gifted one for a sponsorship on Instagram from the lovely folks at Bristol PC Repairs. I’m going to go over how the console feels to hold, control and my overall user experience. I have been sent various games to try out from the lovely folks at 2K Games, Koch Media, Voidpoint and Techland. So, thank you very much to them, and let’s get into this.

Let’s start off with the design of the console, I was gifted the Lite model of the Switch and I have to say I was sceptical about the design of it. However, when I finally picked the device up and held it in my hands it felt wonderful, the feel of the Switch Lite feels so natural where it is nice and light but doesn’t feel too light. It feels like a premium portable device, and it is a joy to play for hours. Coupled with that it has a decent set of speakers, if you crank up the volume to the max it has a decent amount of bass on the speakers especially when playing first person shooters. The screen is also fantastic with its vibrant and crystal-clear display, games look beautiful on the system and are very clear to see even for those with compromised sight.

Now let’s get onto the games I tested out for the little yellow portable, I tested out a few different genres from first person shooters (a lot of them), platformers and strategy games. Let’s start off with first person shooters, as it was the genre, I have spent the most time with as I have been given lots of FPS games to play.

I tested out several shooters Call of Juarez: Gunsliger, Bioshock 1,2 and Infinite and Borderlands 1,2 and The Pre-sequel (still a stupid name Gearbox). I played Borderlands first which I had some trepidation of how FPS games would handle, but those worries and fears were quickly quashed as Borderlands performs and controls really well. Yes they did crank up the auto aiming system up a bit to compensate for the control scheme, but this system works really well and it is more or less like I am playing it on the PS4 although at 30 fps instead of 60 which is not a deal breaker.

Bioshock was the next game on the list to test out, which was mostly good Infinite was the game I wanted to test the most as that game really pushed the Xbox 360 and PS3 to their limits back in 2013. Fortunately the game runs smoothly on the Nintendo Switch, but I don’t think they got the memo of upscaling the resolution of the user interface as it is very small and hard to read on the Switch Lite in some places. Despite that oversight with the U.I resolution everything else is fine, it’s Bioshock but on the go.

Enough the first person shooters, let’s move on to something that doesn’t involve redecorating the room with someone’s brain matter. Super Mario Odyssey is one of the main reasons I wanted a Nintendo Switch, and it is amazing. The game really pops out of the screen, with its beautiful and vibrant visuals coupled with the smooth framerate.

In terms of graphics across the board I am impressed, especially with the third party games. I was fully expecting the visuals to be compromised in a big way with the third party offering, however if you are playing on a smaller screen you really don’t notice the corners that were cut to squeeze these massive and expansive games on the little machine. Games look beautiful, from the deep depths of Rapture, the post apocalyptic wastelands of Pandora to the dusty roads of Texas as you gun down your latest bounty. All the games look fantastic, and I am genuinely impressed with the visual fidelity.

Overall I am really pleased with the Switch and my first experiences with it, it is the perfect companion console. It’s great to sit back and relax all cosied in the corner of your living room playing triple A experiences, as well as lying in bed on Sunday mornings do the same said thing. Great console and I can’t wait to have more experiences with it!

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger Switch Review - Time to saddle up!

By Sam Coles:

The Western genre seems to be somewhat of a rarity in video games, but this is mostly due to Rockstar Games scaring everyone in the industry away from making them with their Red Dead games. However there is a underrated series made by Techland, yes that Techland who are more known for Dead Island and their latest franchise Dying Light. However I would say their more noteworthy titles were the Call of Juarez series, great first person shooters set in the old west. Recently I was gifted a Nintendo Switch via a sponsorship, as well as some game codes which happen to feature Call of Juarez: Gunslinger.

This game was originally released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 exclusively digital in 2013, which is probably the reason why it didn’t sell well that and it was released in the middle of the summer of that year. Anyway I am taking a look at the Nintendo Switch edition, which I was really surprised how well this game handles as I was worried how first person shooters would handle all together, but I am really impressed. Let’s get into more details.

The game starts off in the year 1910 where we see an old cowboy ride into town, where he is nearly hit by a car showing the civilised age taking over the old west. He stumbles into a Saloon as he is almost immediately recognised, as he is a legendary bounty hunter named Silas Greaves. The customers of the bar offer to buy him a drink in exchange for some of his tales as a bounty hunter, so each chapter is recollected by him. This is part of the narrative I like as it uses the unreliable narrator trope, this works really well as it bleeds into the gameplay where random objects suddenly appear, or he remembers the enemies differently. It makes for an entertaining plot because it never really breaks the flow of gameplay, and relies on environmental storytelling. 

The gameplay like the first two games is a first person shooter, and yes I said last two games as we don’t count The Cartel as that game is on par with being buried alive but I digress. Anyway it is a first person shooter that leans more towards arcade fun instead of scripted events, it feels more old school although it does use a regenerating health system. Each level is short and sweet and you are rewarded for gunning down enemies as quickly as you can, as your combo will build if you maintain your momentum. I like this as it keeps the pace fast, and honestly it never really breaks its pace.

The shooting feels fantastic in this game, the guns feel powerful where I almost have to hip thrust with every pull of the trigger especially the shotguns. Unlike the other Call of Juarez games Gunslinger plays like a competent shooter, the controls are snappy and tight as well as movement being fluid as you dash through each encounter. I was somewhat worried how first person shooters would handle on the Switch due to the tiny nubs that call themselves analogue sticks, but fortunately they feel great and go toe to toe with standard console controllers.

You earn skill points through out your adventure, these are split into three different skill trees which are tied to revolvers, rifles and shotguns. These are very useful from the practicality of reloading revolvers in a speedy fashion, to the more absurd of duel wielding sawn-off shotguns. They all cater to the playstyle that you want to take, if you want to have more of a methodical and sniper approach you can do that or in my case it was more chaotic as I ran around like a madman with two shotguns in my hands.

Visually this game holds up extremely well, this mostly stems from its cell shaded art style with its bright and colourful aesthetic. There are beautiful and wide open canyons and valleys you will traverse through, as you gun down anything that looks at you funny. The feedback visually from enemies is fantastic too, you get a real sense of weight as you gun down bandits as you see blood fly everywhere and paint the walls where it is coupled with a sickening squelching sound. Performance wise the game ran at a pretty consistent 30 frames per second, which it didn’t maintain its framerate in its initial release on the Xbox 360 which would stutter as soon as things would start exploding.

Overall Call of Juarez Gunslinger is a perfect fit for the Nintendo Switch, with its fast paced and bitesize action. If you are looking for a great FPS game on the go then this game is for you! 

 

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.