No More Heroes III is a very Japanese hack and slash game by Grasshopper Manufacture recently released on Nintendo Switch.

The premise is based around over-the-top assassin Travis Touchdown who must save the world from aliens by completing ranked matches against the evil alien’s cronies until he can take on the boss man… uh boss alien himself.

And that’s pretty much it.

The game tries to go for a very strong retro vibe with many deliberately pixelated components and aspects, some sub menus, action instructions and UI options, however these aren’t quaint or cute.

I found them more jarring than anything else as some of the action instructions are difficult to make out and I wasn’t gently reminded of all the possible nostalgia that can come with the retro art style.

Although next to the actual graphics of the game; in world, character models and everything else not slapped over with the retro style, the pixelated parts are pleasing to the eyes.

It’s one thing to make an artistic choice and another to hide the poor graphics behind beloved and nostalgic art style.

The character models and environments are low res, poorly designed and quite chunky.

I can’t be sure if this too was an art style direction or lack of funding, but I did not find it appealing. Nintendo Switch is not known for its graphic capabilities but that doesn’t mean games have to look this bad.

On a slightly more positive note, the soundtrack is neither impressive nor offensive. It didn’t intrude on the experience, but it didn’t necessarily enhance the experience either.

The gameplay has several aspects.

Combat missions, side missions and ‘open world’ exploration.

Neither the side missions nor the open world exploration is particularly fun or engaging. Side mission can involve going around picking up pieces of garbage while the open world exploration is just a method to find these dull side missions and maybe try to break up the combat missions.

That said I feel I would have been perfectly happy to only partake in the combat missions without the tedious driving between venues.

I found I was more interested in getting to a combat scenario than participating in anything else in the game.

The game has many odd and bizarre quirks including breaking the fourth wall.

I personally can be very on board with this direction in games however it does take some ability to implement the immensely whacky but still maintain some semblance of direction and sense to allow the player to enjoy the bizarre humour and strange features the game offers without feeling put off or underwhelmed.

Sadly, No More Heroes III does not achieve this delicate balance. I appreciate what the developers may have been going for but alas they did not quite execute the idea very well.

No More Heroes III is a typical JRPG game, but this alone is not enough to make its execution or lack there of acceptable. The only experience the provides a satisfactory and engaging game is the combat.

It provides some much-needed depth the rest of the game is lacking. It has your basic light and heavy attack but does allow for few other well implemented aspects that make kills quite satisfying and requires some level of attention as your weapon needs to be charged up during combat, so monitoring this gives the player a good reason to pay a little bit more attention and plan out their attacks.

There are extra moves that can provide a brief tactical advantage and different enemies also require different approaches.

There are some sections where you take on a Gundam like robot in a battle however these segments, while moderately fun wasn’t as well developed as the hack and slash segment.

All in all, No More Heroes III is a hack and slash game that does the hack and slash aspect quite well while missing the bar on most other aspects.

It tries at wild and whacky but here too falls short of pulling this style game off. It may fuel some nostalgia for some out there that played its predecessor but probably replaying its predecessors is the better option.

The post No More Heroes III (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

I’ll admit I had different very expectations going into this title. It’s a cinematic visual novel as per its own description.

Route 59 Games takes graphic novels in a new direction with releases on PC and Nintendo Switch. While they say never judge a book by its cover and all that, I was initially interested in this game merely from reading the title.

As I am a fan of both coffee and the macabre, I was intrigued to further investigate this bizarrely named creation.  While few things these days are aptly named, I was pleasantly surprised that this visualized novel was well encompassed by the title.

It features a strange coffee shop set in Melbourne’s back alleys that is run by a necromancer that hosts the recently departed.

The general themes of this creation are that around death, acceptance and human emotion flavoured with a bit of humour and supernatural elements.

The rather unique concept of café in Melbourne that servers as both an actual café and halfway house for recently deceased before moving on is bizarre enough in its own right to, at the very least, provide enough intrigue to investigate further.

Necrobarista, while launched as a cinematic graphic novel is also presented as a game.

This label, I would have to say, is a less apt description. It certainly has loading screens and some segments allowing the audience to walk around the scene but on completion I feel uncomfortable using the term ‘played’.

There are other small aspects that provide some level of interaction, such as moving the scene along or effectively turning the page. Necrobarista does also have ‘key word’ interactions that allows the audience to get that little bit more information or a snide comment or remark on the given interactions between characters or topics of conversation.

This great concept is implemented in such a manner that it is not overbearing but simply there and can be ignored or accessed at your leisure. This design feature interlaces artfully with the written dialogue and provides some level of interaction with the story.

I did find myself snorting into my coffee with some of the comments, admittedly some of the amusement is based on having some knowledge of Melbourne but I feel anyone could enjoy this feature equally without the background information. So, while the term game is a bit of stretch Necrobarista certainly has an interaction capacity that can also be ignored for a more cinematic experience.

Necrobarista certainly leans more into the graphic novel side of things than the cinematic side as all the dialogue is text only.

However, is it nicely supported by an adequate array of well-crafted soundtrack that never feels jarring or out of place.

Although admittedly, when playing numerous consecutive hours appears less diverse than initially identified but nevertheless works well with the chosen scenes and is spaced out well enough to avoid those annoying loops that get on your nerves pretty quickly.

One complaint is there are some segments where the dialogue is on a background that makes it impossible to read subtracting greatly from the given scene. While I enjoy the light overlay of necromancy and the running of a barista the ‘game’ focuses heavily on human interaction and human emotion, so to have sections of meaningful conversation lost to poor placement on screen is both frustrating and breaks emersion.

Thankfully this issue isn’t present for large segments of the story, that however doesn’t make them any less annoying when they do appear.

Visually the ‘game’ also leans more heavily towards the graphic novel style.

It hasn’t gone for high end graphics or style but the art style still works well with the chosen topics and direction the developers have taken for this particular story.

You may have noticed I have avoided using the term player as Necrobarista is more directed at an audience however it has a few minor sections that allow low level interaction, I’d still be hard pressed to call this a game as you more experience it than play it.

That however does not in any capacity subtract from what this title has to offer. I greatly enjoyed the setting, the art style, characters, and the universe in which this story is set.

I love stories, be it; movies, anime, novels, graphic novels, or story heavy video games and this converges on all those mediums while not strongly claiming any one in particular. I feel the biggest obstacle to enjoying this title is having the right expectations going in.

If you were looking for a game about making coffee drinking zombies, you might be disappointed but if you are looking for a uniquely presented story about death, coffee and peculiar intersecting events you won’t be disappointed at all.

The post Necrobarista (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Detective Pikachu is a cute and entertaining adventure game for the Nintendo 3DS. It is certainly not a traditional style Pokémon game but certainly one I was looking forward to experiencing. As the name implies it is about being a detective alongside your partner, Detective Pikachu (cute hat and all), to solve mysteries usually involving both people and Pokémon.

This game definitely takes to heart many point and click adventure game styles. While it has a side scrolling vibe, it does offer depth of field to the game to provide less of a 2D feeling experience. There is good selection of chapters to get through that involve exploration, collecting evidence and then using it to decipher the mystery or problem at hand… or paw. The game is set in a slightly less anime and cartoony vibe than Pokémon is known for and also incorporates Pokémon from many generations. This was refreshing, and I did appreciate this new tone in collaboration with the Pokémon universe.

The environments that each chapter was set in did manage to offer some diversity and interesting features that conveyed an amiable and welcoming feel to the game. However, in the end, these areas felt a bit small and become a bit tedious. This was due either finding new clues in the same spot or running back and forth having to recheck everything within the area as new evidence came to light.

I did also have mixed thoughts about the difficulty. In some areas it seemed way to easy while in other aspects it seemed to require some actual attention and memory skills. This certainly left me slightly confused as to the target audience. In some instances, I could forgive the simplicity of it all if it was aimed at younger children but other times I was certain that the same audience would not understand some of the dialogue and related detective work.

Though I am a huge Pokémon fan this did not blind me to some of the frustrations this game presented.

You must collect evidence to make a case. However there where several instances where I knew what to do or had the appropriate evidence but was unable to start the process as I needed to do some other useless or annoying things to trigger the option. This made me feel disinclined to continue as it was definitely a reoccurring incidence that didn’t get less annoying as time went on.

I did greatly enjoy the characters. Specifically, I loved Detective Pikachu and found the corresponding voice acting to be entertaining and well performed. He provided a light hearted and amusing aspect to both the game and the usual nature of Pikachu. He is a determined confident coffee loving character that can’t help but enjoy.

You play as is Tim Goodman, the son of a missing detective, and Tim has come to the city to find his father and ends up bumping into Detective Pikachu along the way. Turns out, Tim has a unique bond with this Pikachu in that he can understand him. This mechanic allows for some enjoyable interactions and allows for more in-depth engagement into the world of other Pokémon as you progress through the game. I found this Tim fellow to be likable but not as great a character as Detective Pikachu, I feel the most effort was focused on Detective Pikachu’s personality, not that I’m complaining.

Detective Pikachu is a charming mystery puzzle game that certainly does some fan service for Pokémon lovers. However, it does have some frustrating aspects that subtract from the experience. The story was about as interesting as any Pokémon movie, that is to say, it might take a fan to be particularly interested. It is well presented but failed to really capture me and provide that addictive factor that a good mystery should.

I would still recommend this to fans to simply experience the sassy and amusing Detective Pikachu but not so much that I feel it will bring outsiders into the franchise.

The post Detective Pikachu (3DS) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Rare have had somewhat of a checkered past. While they excelled under Nintendo back in the N64 days with the likes of Golden Eye and Banjo Kazooie, their games under Microsoft haven’t been as well received among fans.

Shaking off their recent Kinect-orientated past, Rare have finally come back with a game that has many fans intrigued with Sea of Thieves.

Sea of Thieves is unlike any game I have played before. Rare themselves have taken to calling it a Shared World Adventure Game (SWAG) which is a reasonably apt description. The basic premise of the game is to sail the seas with a small group of pirates while going on adventures.

It does certainly contain a sandbox element as it tries to provide the wide-open world of charted and uncharted islands strewn across an expanse of sea for players to explore at their leisure. The world provided, is quite a well-polished and beautiful one. It has many great aspects, from amazing water mechanics to gorgeous islands and some of the prettiest and dynamic skylines in a game.

These visually impressive elements however don’t quite make up for the small selection of engaging in game content.

There are of course things to do. Your adventures in the game are driven by undertaking missions for Trading Companies. There are currently three of these Trading Companies in the game: The Gold Hoarders, The Merchant Alliance and The Order of the Souls.

Each of these has players roaming the world, searching for either, chests, skeleton hordes or trade goods. The Gold Hoarder missions, as might imply, revolves around finding treasure. These can provide for a decent amount of fun as they can include figuring out riddles and searching for the right island and then figuring out the exact spot of X on the map. This mission set is the most rewarding, both in sense of fun and actual loot.

Facing skeleton hordes can provide some fun but I feel isn’t as rewarding as chest hunting. Destroying waves of skeletons takes time and then the end boss might not drop a very valuable skull but there are those that still quite enjoy this line of quests. The Merchant Alliance quests, however, are easily the worst. There is a lot of work and little reward. Going to random islands to capture a specific coloured pig, chicken or snake and then return to a specific Outpost, in a given time limit while trying to keep some animals alive isn’t by any means enjoyable.

The final event in game that provides opportunity to get the ever-sought-after loot is Skull Forts. These usually provide a good chance of PvP interaction. A giant skull will randomly appear over and active fort. These forts contain a fairly good haul of various treasures. To obtain the treasure however many waves of skeletons need to be defeated, the boss skeleton killed, a key retrieved and then open the locked treasure room.

The interesting part is, everyone on the map can see the beacon in the sky, meaning you will likely also need to fend off or work with other crews, who could be as sneaky and back stabbing as you plan to be. These events can provide a good spot of fun but can draw on as you fend off both waves of skeletons and players. The most recent update has seemingly helped fixed the respawn issues around this.

While these provided aspects can be entertaining the most fun in the game comes through the things that happen to you on your adventures through player interactions. Accidently beaching your ship, fending off other viscous pirates, or simply playfully trash talking crew mates is what makes the game truly enjoyable. Collecting a chicken, naming it Dobby and keeping it as the first mate to then having the crew continuously hide him around the ship and threaten to throw him overboard is the sort of mischief players can get up to that make a session memorable and terribly entertaining.

Though if you just join up with the next galleon setting sail and just plan to play the game, well it can become dull quickly. While loot is the be all end all, all it actually gains you is cosmetic changes. You can alter what you shovel looks like, get a fancier hat, a pretty sail, but all these things can be quite expensive and so the game does get quite grindy if you are serious about obtaining certain aesthetics like ship cosmetics.

Apart from other players and skull forts, players can randomly encounter the kraken. It’s sadly not as exciting as it sounds. It’s just giant tentacles poking out of the water that might impede your progress a bit and can almost be ignored. Even if you defeat one, there isn’t currently a reward for doing so.

The game is particularly lacking in AI controlled things that can kill you. The main enemy type is skeletons. These are the enemies you will be encountering wherever you go. There is some variation in types of skeletons but fundamentally they all just skeletons. Sharks can get an honorable mention as it does make exploring a sunken ship or collecting resources in floating barrels just a bit more intense.

The best thing I can say about the current state of Sea of Thieves is that it provides a great foundation to a game. Unfortunately, the state the game is currently in doesn’t build upon this foundation enough to provide what feels like a complete experience. The game feels like is has about 30% of the content it should for it to be considered a complete game.

The good news is that Rare has promised to continually build upon this game by adding free new content. The question is though whether the fanbase will stick by it long enough for this content to be released. In its current state I feel a large portion of the audience will be turned off the game.

Sea of Thieves was never going to be the sort of game that reviews particularly well. It relies on your interactions with others rather than pure interaction with the world. That said there is still plenty of fun to be had and friends to make sailing the high seas.

It also is a game that will hopefully continually improve and evolve over time to further enhance the pirating experience.

The post Sea of Thieves (Xbox One) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is another kickstarter success that obviously sequels the first, which has been made by none other than Obsidian. This isometric top down RPG continues to reminisce the old classic style RPGs that the developer is known for with Pillars II: Deadfire.

I was given a preview section of content that showcased some interesting new aspects to the series.

The combat follows that of the first in that it’s a live action strategy style combat that allows for a pause option. This can take some adjusting to but if you are fresh from the first you will pick it up fine. After some adjustment, figuring out the given party members abilities and how best to utilise them it did take the combats to a more strategic level that I found quite enjoyable with the party on hand.

I did find the rogue a bit harder to compliment the part in battle but definitely had uses outside of combat.

The combat has also been modified from that of the first game. Now there is the option to retarget certain actions if an enemy has moved away from when you originally cast it, allowing for an optimal use of actions and lessening the chance of wasting a vital command that could tip battle, especially in a tight spot. Another improvement is the AI, the party does a much better job of continuing combat if you are lacking in commands or things are moving too fast.

The storytelling and plot interactions are affected by character attributes and knowledge which I found to be greatly enjoyable and personal to my chosen character. Dialogue options felt personalised and relevant to the skills my character had. I enjoyed being able to persuade and characterize certain things due to my knowledge of a certain topic though I was lacking in general persuasion skill.

A new aspect is the ship management.

You are given a ship that can be modified and requires a full bodied able crew to manage. There does seem to be some micromanagement here but nothing too tedious, though while finding supplies is simple enough, finding the cash to purchase the supplies is the harder task. While sailing around the map ocean you are even able to fight other ships for loot. The more you battle the better you get. I did initially find the combat slightly confusing but after one or two battles I figured out the best course of action. Ships can be improved, but even if a better ship is faced in combat, apparently, an optimal strategy can still win out the day.

I am interested to experience this in more depth.

Visually the game looks pretty and is well presented. There have been improvements made, with a seemingly large focus on character models including a larger variety of modification options.

Pillars II includes an interesting array of races and classes with most being of your generic assortment RPG’s are known for with a few extras. This sequel does not seem to really expand on these, not to say it was necessary.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire while sticking to its core mechanics and game style does attempt to not just rehash the first but actually provide players with new and interesting experience. I feel this is achieved and made the game enjoyable all the more and provided a mix of things that helped break up similar experiences.

If you enjoyed the first or just isometric RPGs then by all means this sequel is looking to be a well-balanced and enjoyable game.

The post Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (PC) Preview appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

For those out of the loop, Pokémon is a RPG style game where, you the trainer, explores a region of the Pokémon universe battling and catching Pokémon to eventually complete a set of challenges created for Pokémon Trainers while thwarting whatever nefarious plans that a team of villains has cooked up.

As for most generations of Pokémon games there is always an updated re-release that provides a few new extra bits and pieces for the latest generation of Pokémon and for Sun / Moon there is now Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon.

These updated versions can sometimes feel a bit stale and just too similar to the original to pick up and actually complete another entire play through. This, however, is not the case with Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon as it not only has numerous new features, it does a decent job of implementing these well enough to provide a fresh and just as enjoyable experience.

For one, there is a different selection of Pokémon available not mention more to catch.

This alone already helps provide players with a different experience to that of the original. I honestly enjoyed rebuilding my team of Pokémon from the fresh selection provided. This bigger collection of Pokémon also extends to the Legendaries available as a combination, between Ultra Sun and Moon – every Legendary can be caught. While the original and iconic Legendaries, Solgaleo and Lunala, remain the same to maintain the spirit of a change, they now have new forms and new Z-moves to accompany them further expanding on unique experiences this version has to offer.

There are several other additions, some minor and some major. Some of the more major alterations include the expansion in the story, new characters, a new trial and just more to do later in the game. It provided enough new story content to keep me surprised at well placed intervals. There is also a few new variations to the Totem Pokémon trials which once again helped provide a fresh experience rather than a stale old one. It is all another aspect that I find as a welcome addition.

On the minor additions list, Rotom Pokedex has a small selection of new features from the Roto Loto, that can provide temporary power ups that with enough friendship gained, will enable your Pokémon to utilise the Z-Power twice in one combat.

While catching them all is always the primary objective, Ultra Sun / Moon introduces another collectibles with totem stickers. These aren’t the be all and end all but it was an enjoyable little extra collection to obtain along the way that even contributes to the primary goal.

The reward for collecting these is of course more Pokémon, specifically Totem Pokemon.

Another small extra is the Mantine mini game which allows you to traverse between some islands by surfing on a Mantine the whole way. During which you need to surf the waves while racking up points for tricks and navigating obstacles. These award you Beach Points that can be spent on Stat improvement items or a selection of moves for your Pokémon. Once again it was a pleasant surprise to play and is not essential after the first go. So, if you aren’t a fan you don’t have repeat the experience.

As far as Ultra Moon verses Ultra Sun, the key difference is the selection of Pokémon available to you. You may want to check that out prior to purchase but honestly, I wasn’t too concerned with the exclusive Pokémon anyway. I found the regular variety was well catered for and a delight to discover along the way.

One thing I did find with this version was that it provided more of an overall challenge. Where previously I could speed through with flying colours with just the starter Pokémon, with Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon I found it necessary to grind and really build a up a good Pokémon team to complete the trials and progress through the game. I found this honestly to be the most enjoyable change.

Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon is a delightful addition to the series that builds on nicely to the foundation set by the first instalment(s), Sun and Moon. This entry to the series is a vast improvement and provides a different experience from the first. I loved playing through it and actually found it overall to be a more enjoyable experience than the first. There is enough new content to keep old players entertained and I would happily recommend this fabulous instalment in the Pokémon franchise.

The post Pokémon Ultra Moon (3DS) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sims 4 is quite self-explanatory, it’s a simulator game.

Particularly one where you create characters that you pretty much assist, or more so direct, through daily life, and with god like power, can destroy or lift as your whims so desire. This franchise had been around for a while now. Each version has had numerous expansions and additions, but Sims 4 has undoubtedly copped the worst feedback from players for simple lack of content.

There have been plenty of issues and complaints as the fourth installment has been played but I’m here to give you the low down on this game as it plays on the PlayStation 4.

Many PC games don’t always translate well to console so how did this go? Well considering The Sims is not new to console with the several sims games being released on consoles as far back as the PlayStation 2, what does this version have to give us.

I remember playing the original The Sims and Sims Bustin’ Out on PlayStation 2, and despite its age I remember these games running smoothly and being overall enjoyable, from them to The Sims 3 I feel all of these had a smooth operational interface that made you feel like you were playing a console game and not a PC game on console. Sims 4 (PS4) on the other hand seems to have gone backwards in this regard. I constantly found myself toggling between several options and icons before being able to select what it is I was actually after. Even after several hours of playing, this does not become any easier to use. So toggling through everything else was a constant pain.

Another issue with The Sims 4 (PS4) is it seems to struggle from time to time to simply keep up with the actions and / or display of what is occurring on screen. Several occasions the game stuttered and took some time to catch up. The game does seem to have some difficulty running the game on the PlayStation 4 as its seems to pause and freeze momentarily on a semi-regular basis. I found this both annoying and, considering there wasn’t actually that much occurring on screen, frustrating. The simple lack of fluidity and console friendliness is sad.

Along side this are some minor bugs, such as skill bars not disappearing or completed tasks not leaving the task list. While these aren’t exactly game breaking it is still rather annoying.

Another comparison that can be made is the PS2 version incorporated a story mode where the Sim had to accomplish certain tasks and pretty much move up in the world. While the game does have goals for Sims to achieve the modes available lack the stronger motivation that the original story modes provided. Admittedly this style of game isn’t about a story, but it would have been a nice addition.

Build mode was more so enjoyable and I found it less frustrating than the Sim mode but it still lacked considerably on options and items to choose that was known to make previous entries so enjoyable. From goth themed items to polar bear rugs that made Sim dates all the more romantic, it just lacks this. It does have new items and themed items available, but only at an extra price. I found this ridiculous since older generations simply had it all included.

There are some positives, the game looks good, the mechanics of unlocking some items through in game achievements, the level of creation available for Sims and build mode are things that contribute in a positive way but don’t quite do so enough to forgive the rest.

There are plenty of little things to complain about but at the end of the day I did still sink many hours into it. Unfortunately, either the increased amount things to do or just the lack of attention to previous console installments, the game isn’t as fluent as it could be. The Sims 4 (PS4) does deliver on the well-known and addicting (though repetitive) gameplay. The console version however is less than impressive and doesn’t do anything better than predecessors and does not by any means make the game console accessible.

In the end, if you already identify with the “PC master race” then I see no reason to break that and if you don’t identify as such then maybe to just switch sides just this once.

The post The SIMS 4 (PlayStation 4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Zedtown is without doubt one of the more interesting game concepts around.

Instead of sitting back in your lounge surviving the zombie apocalypse in some videogame while planning what you would do the event of an actual one, why not give life to some of your plans.

Zedtown is exactly the place to do this. This live action game puts the player, literally you, in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. There are both the zombies and other players to be weary of. The other players form up into several factions which you and your team need to be ever vigilant for. Alongside this the game has in-game missions that, apart from simply surviving, need to be achieved. So there is plenty to run from and aim for.

Judalene Cheetham – Zombie Slayer

So how does one survive?

Well the weapon of choice is the ever-unreliable Nerf gun or equivalent foam dart gun, and for the most part you can bring any stock standard shelf bought version along, with as much ammo as you can carry. Thankfully, with zombies popping out of outlets and hidey-holes and a lot of jittery and trigger-happy players, replenishing stock isn’t too hard a task, you just have to make sure your buddies got your back, or you might just become dinner.

And this is all that stands between you and becoming a zombies next meal.

Zombies are multiplied by being tagged by a zombie player and then you head out get some fake blood and green head band and you are ready to find a meal of your very own.

The factions of which you can join do have their own themes, in this game there were three factions, Reds, the attitude heavy cowboys, the Blues, the one with nature types, and the Yellows, a steam punk collective of gadget nerds. While this was just an aesthetic it was nice to have some distinguishing factors and many players came dressed to impress for their team.

Zedtown has had several games and Last Haven was the latest instalment in the series. Though a live action game does share some aspects with some video games. It can be described as episodic as it has a premise and connected storyline to previous games. While I’m unsure if this will continue it is a nice aspect for returning players.

This particular scenario had a hunger games sort of vibe with the survivors playing off in a match with the other factions while zombies slowly infested the area. The winners obtaining a trip to the last safe haven that the rich have kept for themselves.

On the backdrop of Sydney’s very own Allianz Stadium and Cricket Ground (not including the grass area), the scene was set for players to participate in three rounds of games to see who would come out on top as worthy to join the elite in the safety of the fancy Haven Island.

The first round had players collecting flags of their own colour and those with the most at the end of the allotted time would gain advantage in the next one. This was also open to sabotage and stealing other players flags, which certainly had everyone more so on edge as different faction members bypassed one another.

Soon however the zombies become the obvious threat, and with so much chaos as super zombies emerged it certainly had both players and factions turning in unison to escape the fast and deadly zombie dubbed roller derby zombie, as not only was she un-killable she had plenty of skill and speed on her roller skates.

This super zombie along with several others had the hordes of survivors running in every direction. The chaos and disorder that ensued was very entertaining.

The game employs the use of its own Zedtown app that allows players to monitor the conversion of survivors to zombies and with roughly 1000 starting players it certainly became a tense time as those hordes of zombies slowly grew.

Zedtown is an enjoyable alternate option for game lovers and really gets the adrenalin pumping, even not being the most fit of people myself I found when cornered by some uber zombie, you learn how to run pretty quick. With a lot happening and just the excitement of playing nerf wars on such an epic scale is plenty to make me attend again, but throw in a bit of story and side of zombies, well, it makes for a memorable experience.

The post Zedtown: Last Haven – The Zombie Games Feature appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Have you ever just thought I need a first-person shooter that’s mainly online and has zombies… then you’re in luck as that’s pretty much exactly what Maximum Games was thinking when they made Dead Alliance.

You can also only play online of course if you have a paid subscription and if you don’t have this, well that really doesn’t leave much else. There are four options, Quickplay, Private Match, Single Player and Hideout, of which only the second two will be useful if you lack that subscription.

The ‘Single Player’ option is broken into two modes; Offline Bots and Solo Survival. Offline Bots, as indicated has you play both on and against a team of bots with zombies thrown in. Within this there are several generic game types; Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, Kings of the Hill and so forth. Each of these, despite the addition of zombies, did not do much for me. The bots are not very smart and playing with them is tedious all on its own then you add random zombies, and it’s a dead weight party.

The game types just lacked lustre and I lacked the will to continue.

The Solo Survival on the other hand, is even more dull. The survival mode pretty much has you run around a map between ‘Safe Bubbles’ (yes they are oddly actual bubbles) as waves of zombies come at you. Once again, this lacked both a challenge and any level of engagement. Yes, you can increase the difficulty, but this did not increase the level of fun. You just sit in a bubble and shoot or stab as zombies’ hobble towards you, if you do not head for the next safe bubble the toxic air will slowly kill you. This run and then be become a sitting duck style game, while maybe good in theory, gets old pretty quickly.

The last offline usable feature is the hideout. This simply allows you to allocate, modify and swap out weapon loadouts. The weapons are the stock standard with a few interesting ones such as the cross bow but here the execution of the weapon functionality is also disappointing and frustrating.

The online is pretty much the singly player but not with bots. Sadly, I don’t foresee as drastic improvement with actual other players. That said there is the option to simply muck around which could provide some amusement but not enough so to warrant getting the game.

The graphics are mediocre at best and lack in enthusiasm, they are just a bunch shapes and objects placed with little seeming thought as to actual layout and gameplay impact. I appreciate the attempt to capture and apocalyptic environment but there is nothing interesting or memorable about the levels provided. The colour scheme is bland and fails to provide a tense setting for the ideas portrayed.

At the end of the day there a many other games out there that can offer a very similar experience that is better polished and better thought out. Zombies is already over saturated concept at the moment but that doesn’t mean there can’t be fun had with them you just can’t find that fun in this game.

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Knack was one of the PlayStation 4’s launch titles back in 2013. While it conveyed initially interesting concepts the final outcome was less than impressive. Knack II is now on its way and well, we can just hope it finds a new direction to take this title.

Knack II is an action-adventure platformer style game that trails on from the first instalment, following the character of Knack, a sentient relic that can collect and dismantle other relics as needed, and Lucas, his human counterpart. It provides a rough explanation of previous events, enough so that playing through the first isn’t a necessary prerequisite.

The universe is an interesting one that combines fantasy and modern world concepts to give a space marine-esque feel. It is an enjoyable one that takes you to mostly interesting locations to traverse and navigate. Levels themselves are mostly linear in nature but do provide secret areas and sections to explore for a bit of diversity.

The story itself is decent and involves the run of the mill ancient race returning to cause mayhem requiring detective work and exploration that generally involves defeating numerous minions along the way to then eventually save humanity.

This premise does provide some level of interest but not an integral amount. This in combination with the lack of expression and personality of the characters involved sells it severely short.

Having little familiarity with the characters I lacked any basic prior attachment. This is not rectified in any instance as all the characters, including Knack, severely lack engaging, interesting or really any personality at all. They are all just persons involved in a thing spouting unconvincing and uninteresting dialogue.

Even the nature of the relationship between Knack and Lucas is vague and distant as they have little meaningful interaction. Is Knack a pet, friend, protector or something else. Knack seems, well, consistently helpful and slightly caring but the lack of dialogue and character interaction makes it hard to care one way or the other. I don’t even know why Knack sticks around with the implied co-main character. You never play as him and as far as I can tell, Lucas does a whole lot of nothing.

The art direction is also a tad unconventional and takes some warming up to but it grows on you. The colour schemes and general look of the game are vibrant and carry energetic tones. Graphically, given the art style, the game does an adequate job with little room to complain.

There is a decent selection of collectables and bonus level challenges that does provide and extra level of fun but not drastically so. There are bonus items that you collect to build helpful gadgets for Knack to equip but the parts randomly fill chests and so you can’t be sure when you will obtain that last piece of the gizmo.

The one tedious aspect of trying to find these secret spots is the only thing that actually makes them a “challenge” to find is the fixed camera angle. This mechanic doesn’t just cause annoyance here but also brings almost no end frustration to most aspects of the game; platforming, combat, co-op, etc.

The combat aspect, while initially involving a punch and kick action, progressively diversifies. There are upgrades to be purchased when enough relic energy has been collected and other in-Level upgrades that do make combat more interesting and engaging as the game advances.

One redeeming factor for this game is its local co-op capacity. It is not a ground-breaking co-op game but it certainly makes the whole thing a more enjoyable experience. While there aren’t specific team based traps or puzzles, having two players does make some puzzles a bit easier to get through. There are a few bonus actions and attack moves that can only be utilised in co-op mode, making it a slightly alternate experience from single player. Along with this Knack II actually does a reasonable job of including the second player in scenes and scenarios where only one Knack is needed. I found this to be a nice touch to the experience and overall did not feel like it was a tacky afterthought by developers.

The game seems aimed at a much younger audience, perhaps from the lack of complex dialog or the simplistic interactions, it does feel a game for a less mature audience. That said even for a more child oriented game I still feel it lacks a certain level of engagement. Many children orientated games employ, while simplistic character interactions, a sense of humour or silliness that, while not deep, meaningful or complex, still provokes a higher level of engagement from the audience. Sadly, Knack II lacks even this.

Knack II is an improvement on its predecessor, it brings a nicely balanced and enjoyable combat system to a different world for players to engage with however it does lack severely in personality. It may not be on my Christmas list but it does provide simple entertainment that is improved with the addition of a friend.

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