The weapon wielding fighting game franchise has returned. Soul Calibur 6, is the latest entry in a fan favorite franchise. Developed and published by Bandai Namco and produced by the internal team Project Soul, Soul Calibur 6 delivers a fighting experience like no other. Released on October 19, 2018 , Soul Calibur 6 is determined to reignite the flame of the fighters’ soul.
GRAPHICS: 2/2
If there is anything that Bandai Namco has locked down over the years creating fighting games, it is visuals. Soulcalibur 6 looks incredibly amazing. The greatest display of it’s visual prowess is undeniably found within the super powerful character creation. Allowing the creation of iconic characters from all walks of life. This much power could be terrifying but in this case it’s amazing. The possibilities are endless and every single asset used looks just as high quality as the original characters in the game. Frame-rates are incredibly smooth and consistent and load times are nearly non-existent. Even the terrible idea to use visual novel style cutscenes to move the story along, look fantastic. Soulcalibur 6 is magnificent to look at in action.
STORY: 2/2
How does a long standing franchise with a plot involving a war between good and evil keep things fresh? Simple, reboot. Soulcalibur 6 has easily one of the best reboot concepts since Mortal Kombat 9. (Remember that reboot, it was amazing.) Soul Calibur 6 brings fans back to the roots of the story. Much like Bandai Namco’s other super series, Tekken, the story of Soul Calibur is experience through the eyes of every playable character in the game. Each character experiences a different perspective of this world threatening plot. Unlike past games in the series, however, it appears the development team decided to make every story official canon. This makes some of the endings a little lack luster on their own but, as part of the bigger picture, every piece of the puzzle fits perfectly.
AUDIO: 1/2
The music composed for this game is stellar. It does an incredible job of boosting adrenaline with its heavy orchestration. Every stage has a theme song that plays to the uniqueness of the stage. These subtle design choices are amazing and the menu sounds are just present enough to be interesting. Where Soul Calibur 6 continues to excel is in character creation. Even the voices available to the created hero feel exciting and fresh in a weird way. Maybe these are the normal grunts and theres nothing special about them at all but for whatever reason in this game they felt great.
GAMEPLAY: 1/2
Much like it’s spiritual brother, Tekken, Soul Calibur 6 is a very technical game. With a roster of nearly 30 characters, before including created characters, there’s a gameplay style for every gamer. The return of Critical Edge, the one button super move, was extremely welcomed. As was the brand new introduction of Reversal Edge, a new type of guard that can lead to auto blocking any attack. Guard Impact and Soul Charge also returned making some classic mechanics feel fresh and updated. There wasn’t anything groundbreaking or incredibly surprising but the gameplay was always fluid and smooth.
FUN: 2/2
Fighting games are one of the last standing same room multiplayer experiences left in gaming. A good fighting game can be hours of fun for a group of gamers. A great fighting game offers months of fun for a single player and groups of gamers. Soul Calibur 6 is absolutely on the high side of great fighting games. Even if everything else about this game was sub par, the freedom of the character creation is outrageous. Individual story lines for every character adds hours of semi-adventurous fun. Seriously, A quick Google search will show how much fun people are having playing Soul Calibur 6.
Although the previous entry wasn’t a disaster for the series, it was not without its flaws. And those flaws were strongly addressed with the release of Soul Calibur 6. Load times minimized, graphics still top notch, character creation returned and made even better, it’s really amazing. Most notable of all is the slight reboot to the story. Long time fans will find the story has been rebooted and become much cleaner and interesting. Overall better told. Soul Calibur 6 is a must have for any fighting game fan and a great recommendation for anyone else.
Every year gamers from all around the globe collect themselves for the, debatably, biggest event in gaming, E3. It comes once a year and usually brings amazing surprises and gifts for the family. Just looking back, there have been many times lives have been changed over announcements made at E3. E3 2018 was no different. Although lacking in surprises because on the internet, no not that internet this internet, it still kept its promise to deliver a great gaming expo experience.
However, every year some people think they’re too good for E3. Some people get the invitation to the party and throw it away. Sure some people forget but in this case, it’s super unlikely. So I’m going to take this opportunity to call out a few people who were missing. And I’m going to rate them on how willing I am to forgive them.
Rocksteady (Batman Arkham Series)
One of the most beloved studios by comic book fans is undeniably Rocksteady, home of the best Batman games ever made. I don’t like Batman, so I’m a little more upset they didn’t show up than I normally would be. Reason? Well, there are way too many rumors that their next project is either a Superman game or a Justice League game. I love Superman. I like Justice League. Is this making sense yet? Good. BI will give them a pass though because they addressed hey didn’t feel ready to show their next project off yet. I can appreciate waiting for some high-quality masterpiece.
Status: Forgiven.
THQ Nordic (Darksiders Series, Biomutant, Metro Series)
I always knew Soccer had the largest following in the world of sports. Yet still, I was shocked beyond belief when I saw that these guys were giving up their invitation to E3 to watch the World Cup! Really, that’s a thing that happened. These guys just made an announcement in which almost their entire stable of games was delayed. Biomutant, Darksiders 3, and Metro Exodus all delayed and all we get is a release date for one of them? But as hurt as I am, you gentlemen and women have lives. Enjoy the World Cup, I secretly hope your favorite teams lose. Kidding best of luck.
Status: Forgiven
Tekken X Street Fighter (Namco Bandai)
I don’t even know where to start with this one. I am a huge fan of the Tekken series but not so much of Street Fighter. Regardless I love the characters and stories from both universes. So when the two crossover games were announced I was 100% sold. Even got the collector’s edition of Street Fighter X Tekken. That was the street fighter version and I enjoyed it but not as much as I love Tekken. And yet here we are. My support was for naught. I still anxiously await the Tekken version of this crossover spectacular we were promised. I have hopes it’s still around the corner considering the addition of Akuma and other Capcom and SNK characters in Tekken 7. With Soul Calibur 6 around the corner, however, it might be a while.
Status: Forgiven
Borderlands 3 (Gearbox)
This is the reason Rage 2 exist. I love what Rage 2 looks like it’s going to be. Being brutally honest though, Borderlands 3 is what fans of that type of game are really waiting for. It was one of the games in the same Walmart Canada leak that outed Rage 2. So maybe it’s real and good old Randy was just annoyed that his surprise was ruined. I totally understand his perspective. I hate when people ruin my surprises too. If that’s what happening Randy, I feel your pain and I’m hoping, after the time passes, the official reveal will be out of this world. I have zero doubts it won’t be. I remember reading Game Informer when the first Borderlands was announced. Bring me back to that first high. I need it.
Status: Forgiven
Mortal Kombat 11 (Netherrealm)
Returning to the fighting game world there is a big question for the gruesome champions of parent offending fighting games. The last Mortal Kombat game was released a few years back and while Injustice 2 has been an amazing filler, we need gore. What appeared to be the last batch of DLC came to Injustice 2 a few months back so what have you guys been doing. I expect much more from one of my favorite development studios of all time. Much more dammit! You teased it, Boon!
Status: Forgiven
Sony’s 11 Other Studios
I think that one is pretty obvious. The reality is that Sony is most likely moving their major presentation to PSX. I mean why wouldn’t they. At thins went they cater to the fans and investors and make it all about them. So it makes we didn’t hear much about them but in all honesty the way the cycles are right now we won’t hear from them for a while. I’m sure Guerrilla Games, London, Japan, Polyphony, Bend, Foster, San Diego, Pixel Opus, and Project siren have something fancy coming our way. Just wait and see. I’m all still not entirely sure if Media Molecule’s Dreams was or wasn’t on display. So it might be 10 studios missing.
If you were paying attention you’ll notice all of these absences have been forgiven. These people who make our favorite games are just that, People. At the end of it all, they need a break. They need some time to enjoy the things they enjoy (hopefully video games) and escape from work. I appreciate all the Hardworking individuals in the industry keeping it alive. As much I want to indulge in all these fascinating ideas, I want you to indulge in life. Thanks.
P.S. Miss the next one and you’re not getting another f*cking invite. Bye Bye.
Undeniably one of the most popular and memorable anime/manga of all time, Dragon Ball Z makes its way once again to the video game space. This time is a bit different though. Dragon Ball FighterZ is a 2.5D fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Since its release on January 26, 2018, on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Dragon Ball FighterZ has already garnered mass attention from both the casual and professional gaming communities. Can the fresh new coat of paint be enough to sway those who disliked the previous Dragon Ball Z games into paying for this one? Let’s find out.
GRAPHICS: 2/2
The fast-paced action is made incredibly beautiful to appreciate because of the wonderful art style. In most instances, the game feels like an episode of the anime being controlled by the player. By keeping the combat locked to a 2-dimensional plane, a lot more attention was paid to the background scenery that of course has its own thing happening. There is almost nothing negative that can be said about the decision to use a more cell shaded look. It allows for the game to look stunning and fun while also keeping the cost of development very controlled. At any given point the vibrancy of the game design really pops the colors into your memory. With an art design like this, there really is no way for this game to not look amazing. Cutscenes in the storyline make the visual work a little less interesting. However, that is not due to graphics but more so due to poor cut scene design. There is no reason at all that can justify why there isn’t an Autoplay option, instead, gamers will have to get comfortable tapping the X button a whole lot.
STORY: 1/2
The storyline for Dragon Ball FighterZ plays out across three chapters: the Super Warriors Arc, the Super Villain Arc, and the Android 21 Arc, each of which follows the story from the perspectives of Goku, Frieza, and Android 18 respectively. Each chapter holds critical information regarding what is going on in this all too generic story. Clones of all the best fighters in the world are popping up all over the place and some weird radiation is making all the real fighters weak. The cause of frustration is obviously the Red Ribbon Army and more directly connected is Android 21. Where the plotline falls short is in moving beyond the elementary level explanation of what’s going on and why the player should care. A lot of opportunities seem to be left unexplored throughout the adventure, many of which could have added some necessary depth to the mission. The timeline suggests that Dragon Ball FighterZ takes place sometime between the “Future Trunks” and “Universe Survival” arcs of Dragon Ball Super, which could explain the difficulty in writing an overly in-depth story. Much of the same issues faced most of the Dragon Ball Z animated films. Is the story bad? No. Is it good? Debatable. Is it up to par with what should be expected from a Dragon Ball Z arc? Probably not.
AUDIO: 1/2
Sound design is a critical component of any game to really make players feel completely immersed the world. It is even more important when dealing with a licensed property that has to live up to the expectations of devoted fans. Dragon Ball FighterZ does a great job of capturing the fundamental sounds like the noise for charging Ki, the sounds of rock shattering all around the battlefield, and of course the iconic battle screams. Where the audio really drops the ball is in every area that had to be created from scratch. Menu sounds are outright annoying and painful to withstand. There are way too many “beeps” that can be very distracting, so much so that playing on mute until fights began seemed like the only solution to the problem. The voice acting in English was almost completely spot on. Again, however, that incredible voice acting is interrupted by the awful mechanic used to progress the storyline. Overall the audio isn’t terrible, but it’s just a grey area in the complete package.
GAMEPLAY: 2/2
Welcome back to the iconic PlayStation 2 days of old. Dragon Ball FighterZ plays almost exactly like the original Budokai trilogy a lot of fans grew up on: three face buttons for varying attack strengths and one face button for energy blast. It’s a very entry level fighting mechanic that makes the game incredibly easy for newcomers to fighting games to enjoy. That does not take away that the combo system is just in-depth enough for serious fighting game aficionados to dive deep in to master the gameplay. The action is really fast paced so no matches ever drag on too long and the adoption of MVC style 3v3 makes things all the more interesting. Building up the dream team, whether it be a standard Z Warriors construct or maybe a little more villainy, allows for an additional layer of strategy to come into play during every match. The story mode gameplay mechanic is one of the most interesting aspects of the game and borrows heavily from the franchise’s past. Much like DBZ: Budokai 2 on the PS2, the story mode is played out as a board game in which the player’s avatar moves from space to space to challenge different fighters and make a clear path to fighting a boss battle. Each time the player moves there’s a possibility that other enemies on the board may become stronger. Also taking into account the movement limit, this adds an additional layer of unique strategy to break up the fighting a little bit.
FUN: 2/2
The high paced action makes this an easy contender for most fun game of the year and it’s only February. Couple that with the nostalgia of being a true Dragon Ball Z fan and there are very few people in the world who wouldn’t find this game fun. The simple nature of the control scheme, as mentioned before, makes it a very exhilarating party game where newcomers and veterans can still enjoy every battle, win or lose. Although winning is way more fun of course. When playing alone, the story mode provides a unique navigation system that provides the player with plenty of control over how they would like to tackle every chapter. Ignoring the menu sound annoyance, which may not even affect everyone, there is nothing major to complain about for this game. Unless we take in to account the less than stellar delivery of an original story. Still, even the poor storyline does not take a major toll on how much fun this game actually is.
Licensed games are always a major risk. Licensed games for properties that already have a ridiculous amount of games on the market are an even bigger risk. Who knows which direction the DBZ franchise will go next, hopefully an open world Infamous/Batman style game, but for now Dragon Ball FighterZ is delivering on all fronts. It’s tugging on the roots of nostalgia, pushing into the competitive game scene, and introducing a new generation to some of the most iconic characters of our time. Dragon Ball FighterZ is an absolute must play for any fan of fighting games or the DBZ franchise itself.
After what seems like years of waiting it is finally here! Made by Illfonics, Friday the 13th The Game is an asymmetrical third-person survival game. You can try and survive as a camper (AKA victims) or cause pandemonium and rip everyone apart as the man himself, Jason Vorhees. The developer got the majority of its funds from Kickstarter and had the backing of original F13th director Sean S. Cunningham (and horror icons like Cain Hodder and Tom Savini). What can I say? Most big time horror fans couldn’t wait to get their hands on this.
GRAPHICS: 1/2
How does it look? Pretty damn good! I initially thought that this was going to look much better, but they were just okay. I was disappointed in the in game characters reaction faces. They just seemed very cartoon-like. Sometimes you get caught in a weird camera angle or a killing scene and start seeing some clipping and glitching. But overall the permformance is quite smooth. Plus, the Jason skins look pretty ‘on-point’ for the most part.
STORY: 0/2*
So during development we (the consumers) were told that there would be a some single player campaign. Now that game is out, there’s only multiplayer… for now. There isn’t really any story to the actual game. It relies more on the nostalgia of the movie series, and that’s not a bad thing. I know for me, being able to stalk and murder someone as Jason was the selling point. I have Dead by Daylight and even with the Halloween DLC being so awesome… JASON IS THE MAN! Sorry Mr. Carpenter, I still love you though. But developers say we will be getting some single player stuff so with hope, we wait.
AUDIO: 2/2
No complaints here! From the screaming or screeching of the victims, the hacking and slashing sounds during the kills to the music and the way it’s used is just absolutely perfect. That signature Jason ‘leitmotif’ sound is used when Jason is close to you and it just happens so abruptly you almost forget you’re in a game and freak out that Jason is right behind you! The “terror” music is also used not just for sounds but also as a notification that someone in your group is being attacked. For me at least hearing those things put me on edge, making it easy to get lost in the game.
GAMEPLAY: 1/2
So this game is actually quite easy to pick up and play! Pretty standard controller layout is shown during loading screens (which can take some time). Some of the game mechanics like Jason’s “shift” ability can be kinda hard to control around obstacles. I mentioned before some of the camera angles are really rough especially when in the cabins. The biggest flaw was trying to play this when it was released for consoles and NOT GETTING TO PLAY! I would like to lower the score for that, but since its release the devs have been working hard to fix this issue. They even released some free skins as a thank you for the patience of their customers. Classy move guys!
FUN: 2/2
Despite the bugs and server problems this game is just so awesome to play. Maybe I’m just a fan boy of the subject matter [edtior’s note: he is], but getting to murder as Jason is breathtaking. I found myself getting so excited and giggling like a schoolgirl when I finally grabbed that damn teenager and ripped their head off! Even when you are one of the victims getting killed is just too much fun. The music gave great atmosphere and I was just engulfed when playing. Once I got onto a good server with awesome people I was able to play game after game, and these aren’t the shortest game sessions. They are short sessions if the randomly selected Jason is bad at it.
So many people have been waiting for this game and I have to say yes it delivers! It’s not a perfect game by any means. Friday the 13th is buggy and has server problems but it’s all worth it once you get that first kill. The gamer in me loves it for being a fun and sometimes frustrating game but the horror fan in me has the hugest boner for it!
