So recently I’ve been extremely busy with making my game, as it’s due to be released on the 18th of November. These are scary times for me, but in the interim, I managed to fit in some playtime of Driveclub for the PS4. To read the review, head on over to GamrReview at my link below:
A lot of people don’t like the review and the score I gave it, but I stand by everything I wrote. At the end of the day, Driveclub was not a good game for me, despite how excited I was to play it since it was first announced in 2013.
Regardless, I’ll be posting some updates soon on where to find my game online,
Entwined takes simplicity in graphics to a whole new level, with some objects in the world being barely recognisable compared to what you would expect. This doesn’t detract from the games aesthetics in anyway though, with the whole game looking sharp, precise and abstract.
Having recently purchased a PS4, I decided that I needed to see some of the games that were available for it. Looking around on the PSN Store I found Entwined, a game I recall seeing at the E3 press conference just a few months ago. The game has a similar mechanic not unlike my own where players control two characters on screen at once ensuring that they’re pushed to the limits in getting the hang of controlling two independent characters. The game was only £6.49, and cross compatible on PS3, PS Vita and PS4, so I decided to take the plunge, as I recall the game was made by a bunch of University students that I can’t help but feel aren’t too dis-similar to myself, and at the end of the day, £6.49 for me is nothing, but that could make the world of difference to the team over at Pixelopus.
Levels are varied but keep the same gameplay mechanics as well as similar patterns to avoid/collect in the gates. This leads to a game that feels very repetitive after spending only 15 minutes with it, meaning some players may have difficulty seeing Entwined through to the end.
The game entails taking control of both a orange fish and a blue bird, both of which could be considered opposites in the sense of one is underwater, the other is in the sky, one is orange, with its opposing colour being blue. You control both the fish and the bird by moving the analogue sticks on the controller around the screen, each analogue stick corresponds to a character, the left is the fish, the right in the bird. Both characters have their own portion of the screen by which they’re meant to collect orbs and go through “gates” in the correct order to get their own meters up (found at the top of the screen). Once both characters have their respective meters up, they’ll then be able to attempt to combine into one being. I say attempt, as you’ll need to fly through a few more gates in order to successfully combine the character, failure to do so will result in continuing to replay the level until you get the meters full again.
The Fish and Bird are all that is used in Entwined, which is fantastic given that it constantly hammers on the subject of opposites coming together to make a truly unique and fantastic combination.
There are two game modes to play in Entwined: Story and Challenge. Story encompasses playing through many different themed levels, without much story to actually go on. Every stage starts and finishes in exactly the same way, with no narration or any cinematics to actually point you in a direction by which to then make the story up for yourself. This isn’t a bad thing per-se, but means that the story isn’t actually a story at all, and is more of a campaign than an actual narrative. The challenge mode is more akin to something you’d find on a mobile phone, with the same levels that you played on story coming back, but this time endless and score based rather than the amount you fill your meter up by. I found this mode extremely hard, with your characters only being allowed 3 mistakes before its game over and you have to start the challenge again. It’s good for a challenge (I suppose the mode does what it says on the tin), but isn’t so great that I’d spend hours trying to do the same level over and over again.
Each level is never ending, so Entwined could be likened to a mobile game, but where its mechanics may be simple, its graphics and art are certainly a step beyond what mobile can do at the moment. The art style has a vision, and as much as the geometry of characters and the environment look abstract in its uses of squares and circles to create objects, it all looks so polished and so post-processing heavy that you know this couldn’t be done on anything weaker than a dedicated games console.
The Dragon is what your fish and bird will become at the end of every levels, allowing you to fly around collecting both orange and bus orbs until you’ve filled your meter at the top of the screen. Once this is done you’ll be able to draw a pattern with your wings, which then finishes the level. It’s creative, I’ll give the game that, but feels a bit pointless in the grand scheme of things.
The music and sound track were absolutely fantastic, with notes carefully being played as you progress through gates. Missing gates or orbs will result in the soundtrack glitching for a second, which is brilliant for portraying the mistake you just made. Each environment had it’s own sound and aesthetic, meaning that you never really got bored as you explored these new environments, something which sounds crazy considering how basic some of the geometry looks.
All in all, I enjoyed my time with Entwined. I’m not sure if it’s completely great value for £6.49 considering how little gameplay there is and how often levels/assets are reused, but I can’t help but support my fellow indie developers, especially ones that managed to get up on the E3 stage last year and show off their creation to the world with such confidence it made me jealous and more motivated to pursue my own games design. By all means purchase Entwined when it’s on sale for £3 or below, but be warned if you spend more, it feels like a mobile game through and through.
God of War Ascension is Kratos’ second outing on the PS3, with similar graphics and scope to God of War 3, but set before the first game in the series. Is Ascension the crescendo the PS3 needed to finish a generation of consoles?
Having played every other God of War game from the PS2 up, I couldn’t pass on God of War: Ascension. The main story may have ended in God of War 3, but I was more than happy to play Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta to learn more about Kratos’ past, and why he has so much anger and hatred in his heart. Ascension was meant to be a extravagant look into Kratos’ past, before the time he sets out to kill Ares in the first game of the series, instead, I was left wishing this game never existed.
Kratos is back, looking as haggard and detailed as before. God of War games really push the Playstation hardware to the limit, making gorgeous landscapes and stunningly violent gameplay a beauty to behold.
The game starts out with Kratos’ locked up, after a cutscene tells us about the sisters of fate, who uphold any mortals or gods who make oaths that are broken. Kratos manages to escape from his chains, and starts out on taking on one of the sisters that was beating him whilst chained. This all takes place on the back of a titan, so the visuals certainly impress so early in the game. This start piece is one of the only points in the game where you’ll have a straight bit of story telling, as the rest of the game jumps back in the past and future time and time again.
Upgrades will be found throughout the duration of the campaign, with Kratos getting stronger and your arsenal of attacks increasing with each new additional item found. These items and upgrades are also related to the story, so when you learn that Kratos gained the item in the past, he miraculously has it for use in the future. It all felt a bit contrived and not at all natural like I was expecting, but the developers wanted to tell a story, and they stuck by it until the end.
Scenery can be breath taking at times, with landscapes that stretch as far as the eye can see. Santa Monica studios didn’t lose their knack for rending gigantic beasts either, with enemies as tall as skyscrapers trying to crush Kratos, anyone would think you’re nothing but an ant compared to hulking size of the gods.
The game is comprised of the same gameplay and mechanics of all previous titles in the series, with fights taking place on epic set pieces, which then turns into some puzzle sections, and finally climaxes in a big boss fight with gruesome consequences. This can all get repetitive, especially if like me, you’ve played 5 games of this so far, and don’t need to see the same sequences play out over and over. The one mechanic that Santa Monica studios unveiled to keep this game refreshing and new was the time travel object, that allows you to change an objects physical shape by altering it back to a previous state in which it used to be. This means that statues can be rebuilt or destroyed at your whim, but it doesn’t add much to the game other than a bit of spectacle at times.
Puzzles are boring and occasionally confusing when the answer cannot be seen after 5 minutes of wondering around. At times, the puzzles would feel more like you were breaking/hacking the game to get past constraints rather than actually coming up with the correct solution for the given circumstance. There were platforming sections that would be spaced out too far to the point that if you did make it you felt like you were glitching through the geometry. The times between fighting weren’t to be enjoyed.
You’ll encounter the three sisters many times throughout the main campaign, with each member carrying a unique trait and personality. These personalities are only skin deep though, as the characters you encounter in Ascension are only there for one reason: the be killed and to further Kratos’ narrative.
Ascension was easily one of the buggiest games I’ve ever played. Period. I would have instances where all sections of levels wouldn’t appear, and throughout the whole campaign I was victim to a terrible audio problem, where sound effects were 1-2 seconds delayed, with my music also skipping and jumping once every few minutes. It made for a terrible experience, with myself getting angrier and more frustrated at each glitch that would occur. There were times that I would do quick time events perfectly, but where Kratos had fallen through a hole to the next level, I had instead died as the game didn’t realise it had to load the next section and instead just killed me. It was so buggy that at the end of the game when cutscenes were happening, all audio and speech was spoken at the same time, with the camera just zooming in and out on a Kratos that I could control, something that clearly wasn’t meant to be happening for a ending.
The bugs and general story of God of War Ascension were abysmal, making for a terribly inconsistent and annoying game. I barely understand what happened with the story, but that may have been more because of the bugs and audio problems than the story telling itself. What I will say about Ascension though is: it makes me ashamed to call myself a God of War fan. Every God of War game up to Ascension was breathtaking; they all had fantastic stories, all delved deeper and deeper into the insanity that made Kratos who he is, and all bought something new to the table. Ascension confuses itself by trying to refine the same things that came before it, and fails spectacularly. If you enjoyed my previous reviews of God of War games, and enjoyed them yourselves at one point, stay away from Ascension. It was a story not worth telling, and will only bring sadness and despair.
This pic doesn’t say much about Ghost of Sparta, only that it’ll include Kratos and… fire?
Note: The following will not include screenshots of gameplay due to the PS Vita’s inability to take pics of PSP games. If you wish to see screenshots or gameplay, by all means Google Ghost of Sparta.
Earlier in the year I bought both the original God of War PSP titles on the PSN sale, something that I felt was a huge bargain for only £2.87 each. I wrote a piece here about my feelings and experience with it. (I apologise for it’s length, during this year of writing I feel I’ve gotten better at writing, something I feel a comparison to this article would show easily.) This is the second game, one that I finally re-downloaded and played whilst I was on the bus and any spare moments I had around the house.
Ghost of Sparta starts out with Kratos, on his throne as the God of War (chronologically, this game takes place after God of War 1), getting flashbacks of his life as a child, sparing with his brother Deimos. Deciding he can’t put up with the visions no more, he decides to travel to the temple of Poseidon to find the origins of his nightmarish flashbacks and hopefully, settle them once and for all. He sets sail with his spartan men towards this temple, only to be ambushed (as is always the case) by a massive sea monster. Taking control of Kratos, you’re taken through some tutorials on how to fight, and all of the other essentials required in playing the rest of the game. It’s unoriginal at this point in the series, but still a spectacle to behold, and one that makes you feel like a badass for taking on gigantic sea monsters at the beginning of the game.
The controls are the same as they’ve ever been: left analogue stick to move around, X to jump, Square to slash quick, Triangle to heavy attack, and circle to grab, making this a similar ordeal to other games. There’s nothing new to add, the only difference is the items you eventually collect whilst exploring Ghost of Sparta’s world. These range from items that freeze other enemies (Horn of Boreas) to items that electrocute enemies, which has been done in previous games, but under different names and weapons. Quick Time Events (QTE’s) are back for finishing off enemies big and small, and can sometimes cause frustration, but are otherwise fairly simple to overcome. One day we’ll find a way to make QTE’s become a thing of history, but today is not that day.
Level design is fantastic, ranging from the oceans of Poseidon to the volcanoes of Methana, it’s all glouriously rendered and lovingly crafted. Levels are linear by design, which is fine in a God of War game as its not the place you’re looking for free roaming action. The game makes sure you get enough space to fight enemies, and breaks up enemy encounters with puzzles at good, regular intervals. People may complain about the puzzle elements, but it’s needed to maintain the pacing of the game, otherwise fight after fight would get boring and tedious by the end of the 5 hour game.
The story of Ghost of Sparta flesh’s out the God of War universe without being essential to the main story. It’s good in showing why Kratos is so angry at the God’s, and helps to also shine light on his past with regards to his immediate family, where as Chains of Olympus concentrated on his daughter in the afterlife. You get to meet Kratos’ mother, who almost tells him who his father is, whilst also learning more about other greek Gods such as Thanatos, the God of Death. You don’t see any main God’s here, that’s left for the main story, but that’s ok as the cast of Ghost of Sparta is more than adequate to fill the plot out.
Graphically, this is one of the most artistically realised God of War games to have come out of previous generation hardware (so all games except God of War 3). At times I was genuinely surprised to find I wasn’t playing a PS Vita game, as the views and graphics are spectacular for a PSP game, something I rarely say for old games made for old platforms. Hair and cloth physics play a part in making enemies and Kratos come to life, with fire effects and water making levels look gorgeous on the Vita’s 5 inch screen (and I’m sure, the PSP’s 3.5inch screen).
There are a few niggles I have with Ghost of Sparta’s gameplay, namely the developers insistence on using enemies that can freeze Kratos in the same room as normal, fast enemies. It seems the developers done this to add a challenge to some of the fights you encounter, but it just comes across as frustrating and unpassable to the end user. I like to think I’m skilled when it comes to games like this, but I would die over and over in these instances, making the game a frustration multiple times.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Ghost of Sparta, and would suggest that if anyone has a PSP, this is a game that they must own to show off the potential of the PSP or PS Vita. It’s a full console game that makes no compromises, despite the fact it’s made for a portable console, and that my readers, is an achievement in itself.
Before you get into any game, you need to select the title you’d like to play. This screenshot may look like you get 3 games for the price of 1, but you instead get 2 full games and a “film” of all the cutscenes from 358/2 days.
Kingdom Hearts was released back in 2002, to critical acclaim. Finally, a game where one of the biggest developers of the time (Squaresoft) joined up with one of the biggest entertainers in the world (Disney). It became a hit success, and multiple spin-offs came a plenty for every platform on the market. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix is the latest release from Square Enix, grouping many of the titles into one blu-ray disc, many of the titles for the first time outside of Japan. I got the collectors edition for £28, a fantastic deal for the amount of content on board, and considering I never got the chance to play the original, it’s a great start.
After a few scenes in which the game asks you a few questions to get you started (Do you prefer the sword, wand, or the shield?), Kingdom Hearts starts you off on a island, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. You play as a guy with brown hair named Sora, a 13/14 year old teen who lives with friends and family, but dreams of adventuring off the island one day along with his closest friends, Riku and Kairi. Eventually this dream of his comes true when suddenly, darkness invades the island and sucks it up, separating the trio and leaving Sora alone in a new, unfamiliar world called Traverse Town. Whilst all of this is happening with Sora, cut-scenes ensure you know whats happening with Goofy and Donald in their world, and it just so happens that King Mickey has gone missing, and his only advice is to find the key-bearer. Goofy and Donald’s first port of call is Traverse Town, and so starts our epic adventure.
Fighting was certainly original for the time, blending action and RPG gameplay into one. Whilst no longer original (RPG elements are in every game nowadays), the action is certainly involving, allowing you to be a part of the fight, and not just a passive observer.
Graphics have dramatically improved since the original, with characters and worlds looking sharp from any angle. There are some levels where you may notice it’s an old game, for example wonderland has a lot of flat, 2D textures that stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the objects you encounter, but overall the graphics are sharp and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a modern game.
The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, with tunes that’ll stick with me for the rest of my life. For those of you that watched me play this on my livestream, you’ll have noticed me humming most of the tunes by the end of the levels, showing how much they had engrained in my memory. What adds to this soundtrack though, is the fact all of the songs were all remastered using a Orchestra, so fidelity is astounding. This is one soundtrack I will certainly be buying and listening too at the gym in the coming years. (If it ever becomes available)
Once you’ve finished Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix, there’s still more here to keep you entertained. Kingdom Hearts re:chain of memories is a port of the 2004 GBA game, remade using the PS2, and re-released in HD on the PS3. It incorporates a 20+ hour story where you use cards to control your character, anything from slicing with your keysword, to summoning magic, all requires cards. It’s a neat mechanic that was introduced due to the GBA’s graphic limitations, but works surprisingly well rendered in 3D on the same graphics engine as the original game.
Each world is lovingly rendered, with Disney character’s personality accurately represented on screen. It’s made me miss spending time playing through this game, and I can’t wait to play KIngdom Hearts 2.
The final piece of this wonderful package is Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days, the Nintendo DS game. This isn’t the full game though, and is instead all of the cinematics rendered in HD and can be viewed in one sitting. It’s a nice way to sum up all the events of what happened between Kingdom Hearts 1, and Kingdom Hearts 2, for all those players who maybe never owned a Nintendo DS, or a GBA.
The only gripes I have with this HD Remix is some of the gameplay. Being a remastering of a 11 year old game, I understand I can’t expect everything to be fixed, but there are some parts that really stick out in our modern gaming environment. Take for example, the games lack of any direction, it hurts for a first time player like myself, and is reminiscent of a time long since gone. This could of been fixed by some simple text boxes to make sure you’re going in the right direction, or even a hints system. I had many times where I was running in circles, exploring every room of a given world, just to realise I had to initiate a sequence to move on. There was no dialogue or help to tell me this had to be done, which led to frustration and anger. Maybe I’ve just been spoilt by todays gaming mechanics and tutorials, but they’re there for a reason.
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix is a fantastic buy for fans of the series and newbies alike. If you’ve never played the games like myself, you’ll get a lot of enjoyment from getting the complete experience in HD. For £28, the limited edition version (with art book) is a fantastic collection of games at a great price point. You’re bound to get at least 50 hours+ of enjoyment from this, just make sure you don’t get too hooked, we’ve got a while to wait for Kingdom Hearts 2 HD or even 3.
4/5
P.S. I made a quick look of the game, which can be found below:
Gravity Rush started off as a somewhat interest of mine. I’ve always been into Anime, and the style of Gravity Rush certainly helped in my decision to play it. What I didn’t know was how attached I would become to the quirky little world and it’s inhabitants, and most importantly, the clever mechanic of controlling gravity itself.
You begin the game as with a lot of games in this generation: you awake not knowing who you are or where you came from. You’re definitely a blonde girl called Kat, and you’re definitely in a strange city. Walking around you discover a cat, which allows you to manipulate gravity. For a start it was pretty straightforward and not too interesting. Where the charm and strengths are shown though is in the city, and the imagining of the whole world.
The city is fantastic, in fact, the whole world of Gravity Rush is fantastic. Landscapes and vistas are gorgeously rendered on the PS Vita’s hardware, allowing each section of this floating city to have it’s own personality. The game is split up into these sections, and as you progress through the story you unlock each new area, and a slight new direction of Kats past.
Floating around the city is a fantastic time waster
I say a slight new direction, as that’s all it is, even by the end of the game you haven’t learnt much more about Kat, you merely get a few “nudges” as to what/who she could be. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it means there could be potential sequels, I just feel they could have dived into Kat’s character a bit more, rather than Kat being the typical hero.
Gravity Mechanics are what make this game extremely enjoyable. I spent hours just gliding around cities trying to find hidden gems. They have a certain charm, ensuring you’re not bored of a location despite how long you may have to spend there. Each location has challenge side quests, along with many characters to talk to. It all helps to make you a master at the gravity physics, and allows you to get a better feeling of the world and it’s inhabitants.
Inhabitants go about their daily life, occasionally you can talk to them
Pros:
Very unique and ambitious ideas
Fantastic graphics
Engaging gameplay
Good story with twists and turns
Cons:
No definitive “end”
So all in all, I’d hugely recommend people play this game if you have a Vita. It started development as a PS3 title, which shines through when taking into consideration how long and engaging the game actually is. Considering it’s free and included in the Playstation Plus at the moment, you really have no reason not to play it.
