Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes

Fallen Enchantress brings the city expansion mechanics from Civilization and influences it in another direction with hefty RPG elements. When a tried and tested game is taken and built upon in the correct way, it can either be worse or better than the original. In the case of Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes, it's arguably a definitive improvement on Civ.

If you don't want to create your own hero, there's a pool to select from.

This is a title that makes you want to clear you schedule for several days; just so you can play campaign after campaign. In my opinion it's a strategy masterpiece, once again proving that the smaller and more driven gaming companies are more reliable at producing top tier video games. I must admit I have an affinity for strategy games with a strong RPG components. Being able to build your own kingdom or empire from scratch is a feature that everyone enjoys.

Early on it's good to try and field a couple of armies to search the map.

Turn based strategy games are uniquely qualified to perform admirably in tandem with roleplaying games. Fallen Enchantress allows you to create your own faction by selecting perks, colors, and banners for your armies and cities. After that, you can customize your main character with weapons, stat bonuses, magical talents among other choices. With a comprehensive and satisfying list of options when beginning your campaign, your army feels like it actually belongs to you. It's what makes this game special. Instead of starting as a predetermined country or race like most strategy games, it feels pretty damn glorious to see your handmade empire conquering cities and wiping out enemies.

Autobattle is really unreliable.

After restarting several campaigns I got to grips with the general rules of play. You begin the game with your commander and a small army. From turn one it's important to explore the map to grab valuable resources and upgrades. You can also take out some of the weaker neutral armies on the map, or complete quests to gather experience and a reward. Early on the map is a very inhospitable place. There are countless dangerous enemies that will get you wiped out. At the same time it's also important to establish your city and choose a strategic approach to how you want to build it. I found that on the higher difficulties it was vital to create pioneers and create several well placed cities early on.  Although your biggest problem at the start is the gigantic lands filled with dangerous monsters, other factions will quickly get in your way and try to cut off your expansion.

There aren't that many important nodes to tap into on the map, but they are useful.

Legendary Heroes is an addictive game. Once you get rolling and attract a few heroes to your cause, it becomes a debate on whether you should play defensive and rush your research, or pump out armies to take control of the best resources to get ahead. Leveling up your basic soldiers is difficult when they die so quickly but very rewarding. It's a shame that the auto-battle feature is pretty awful, it doesn't try to keep your units alive. So even when you have a superior force, you usually have to resolve the conflicts personally to prevent losses. They don't take too long but they can get pretty boring.

Out of the many strategy games I've tried, I find Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes one of the forerunners. Up there with titles like Shogun 2 and Warband. From the frantic early game to the empowering endgame it's addictive and enjoyable. It's a shame that it lags pretty harshly between turns and lacks much needed polish. Here's hoping that the sequel steps it up a notch and brings us something for the hall of fame.

Bleach: Versus Crusade

Bleach is an anime that has made several forays into the video game arena, with a reasonable amount of success. However, some of the best Bleach titles never even make it out of Japan. After playing the disappointing Shattered Blade on the Wii, I wasn't very eager to play another game that might ruin the reputation of my favorite anime. However, after a bottle of vodka and some wine, I made the happy mistake of attempting to emulate Bleach: Versus Crusade. Surprisingly, it's actually a fun and entertaining game. With Dolphin emulator and a reasonable internet connection, it's a very quick and easy process to obtain and get it running too.

Byakuya is hard to play but rewarding.

The first thing you need to know about Versus Crusade is that it's all in Japanese. There's no English patch, so it takes a little research on Google or knowledge of the language to get started. If anything, I'm happy that I don't have to listen to Ichigo and Rukia's voice actors speaking in English. Don't let this barrier deter you; you can find menu translations all over the internet, created by avid fans.

Ichigo is pretty overpowered, but he can be beaten.

The second thing you need to know, is that instead of the 2D Tekken style battles are gone. Instead, Bleach: Versus Crusade adopts a combat style that can only be compared to the Dragonball Z: Budokai franchise. This is a very welcome change, bringing a more free-roaming approach to the action, which befits a franchise of Bleach's caliber. Being able to Shunpo around the battlefield dodging blasts of Reiatsu is deeper and more fitting than the 2D arcade style of beating eachother senseless on a single plane.

Melee attacks are the bread and butter, to build up your Bankai.

Although the story is very short, it takes place during the Hueco Mundo arc. Which means Ichigo can go Visored mode and put on his mask in battle. The plot follows canon and in between battles the dialogue is unveiled upon a simple backdrop. The lines are all voiced by the actors from the show. It's pretty basic really, and is in no way special. The only real redeeming quality of this game as a whole is that it's basically Dragonball Z Budokai's battle system with beloved Bleach characters. Albeit with a lot less content.

The dialogue is essentially quoting the Bleach manga.

As I have mentioned already, the combat is drastically better than the other Bleach titles on the market. Each arena you fight in is large enough for you to move around freely. You can chain together several flashsteps to cover distances quickly. Each character can strike in melee, landing a hit allows you to chain together several blows. There are also four special attacks that are unique to each character. For example, Ichigo can fire off small or big Getsuga Tenshou projectiles, and Ishida can use dangerous long range Quincy arrows. All characters can Bankai, which increases their damage considerably. It's not too badly balanced, no matter who you pick you have varying strengths and weaknesses.

Not unlike most of the games on the Wii, the graphics aren't spectacular. The maps are pretty awful too, but they do depict all the scenes from the anime and manga accurately. What I do like, is the fairly comprehensive roster of characters you can choose from. You can play survival or arcade mode when you've finished the campaign, which utilize tag team battles. Overall, I'm disappointed in the lack of content, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for future Bleach games.

Bleach: Versus Crusade isn't really a great game. It's fun, and will kill a few hours of your time. But it lacks depth and there's not much for you to do. If you do like Bleach, then it's worth playing. If not, you can probably find something better to do.

Final Fantasy XV may put Square Enix back at the top.

This years E3 has been interesting. Aside from Microsoft being outclassed in presentation in every possible way by Sony and Nintendo, new footage for the exciting new Final Fantasy XV. In the past couple of years we've seen a couple of trailers, ones that lack any kind of substantial information about gameplay. That's all about to change. This video shows how Square Enix have finally accelerated themselves into the new era of action RPG.

I am not ashamed to admit that watching this video sent my body into goosebump overdrive. I am trembling with anticipation for this game. I have played every Final Fantasy title to date, and haven't thoroughly enjoyed or respected one after X. Every release after FF10 made at least one gamebreaking mistake, one that defined the entire title in a bad way. Final Fantasy X-2 had the abysmal dress sphere system and the distinct lack of any story aside from concluding the previous game. FF13 was terrible in the sense that the only break from the first 20 hours of following one linear path was to press auto-battle repeatedly until you won. It's no secret nor something people can argue about: they were all distinctly lacking that Final Fantasy feel that made you lock yourself in a room and quit your job until you had finished it.

Final Fantasy XV looks like it is going to bring us all back from the brink. Dare I say it for fear of jinxing the whole production? We're actually going to get a good Final Fantasy game again. One that us fanboys can actually defend on an intellectual level. We've got a main lead that seems to be cool for once, unbelievable graphics, intense third-person action, and some colossal enemies that look truly terrifying. Final Fantasy XV looks promising indeed.

This video just looks awesome. Square Enix could still fuck it up, but from what we've seen they are definitely on the right track to making a titanic game. Here's hoping I don't end up posting a review next year about how disappointing it is. My biggest fear is that the protagonist Noctis will turn out to be a douche. Ever since Tidus I've never liked the main character.

How games could be better.

I have this discussion on a regular basis with numerous acquaintances. If you spend just a few minutes thinking about it, you can probably think of several ways you can make one of your favorite video games better.

Thinking about how to improve games is usually a fairly frustrating process for me, because most times you can think of many ideas that could be implemented into a game with a small amount of effort. If only some developers had decided to keep their game in production for another month or two, it could bump the enjoyment and quality immensely.

Now I'm not saying video game developers are lazy, because I know it's a challenging and long process to make a game you can sell. Sometimes the release date is behind schedule, the budget runs out, or the team who are working on the game just get entirely burnt out. There are hundreds of variables that can affect the production process. But it's downright upsetting to think of a feature that would probably take 30 minutes of coding and increase the quality of play exponentially.

Off the top of my head, the Crysis franchise. If you look at the 3 titles objectively, it's easy to say they are all fairly decent. But if you turn a critical eye over Crysis a quick summary will usually give anyone the same opinion. Every feature seems to have been sacrificed in lieu of advanced graphics. The upgrades, the mechanics, even the gameplay has inherent flaws that you can abuse to become immune to death. Using stealth properly allows you to become visible for less than a second to headshot an enemy and disappear back into thin air.

How much time do you think it would take to give the Crysis bad guys a couple of effective methods to root you out of stealth? Flash bang grenades that unveil you would surely take less than a day. What about the upgrade system? Would adding a dozen minor perks that gave you something to look forward to be a long and arduous process? I think not. It's minor projects like these that if combined together, would make Crysis one of those legendary video games that you wouldn't forget.

I don't like how so many new games are put on the market in an almost unfinished state. Most developers barely even try to patch their titles when they have issues. Moreover, the worst companies release an unpolished game and then pull out a chunk of it and demand you pay extra because it's DLC. This kind of shoddy practice will never stop because people will always buy it. I'll pay for it myself on occasion, on impulse.

Although this post seems to have turned towards a spiteful shunt at the gaming industry, don't forget my original point. If you think of your favorite game right now, you won't have much trouble imagining very easy ways to make it a better title for everyone. If you know what I mean, post a comment and give us an example!

Starseed Pilgrim, an intriguing puzzle?

I've heard several very biased reviews from friends about a puzzle game. My initial response was to obviously to scoff with derision. Unfortunately, I got ganged up on by several people in a Skype call. So I got to work doing a little research, and I barely found anything at all.

What is going on here? You tell me.

After hearing word combinations such as indie masterpiece and incredibly satisfying, digging deeper was my only choice. What I found was a concept that sounds uniquely interesting and potentially boring at the same time. You are a farmer, planting various seeds that grow into different shapes. Each seed has different properties that interact with their surroundings in various ways. Your objective is to create a path using the right combinations. Now where this path is supposed to go, and what you're supposed to do with it isn't readily apparent to me and probably half of the playerbase. However, it sounds like a fantastic premise for a simple game that could end up killing several days or months of your time.

I'm not going to pretend to understand Starseed Pilgrim. The specifics seem particularly strange to come to terms with unless you actually purchase and play it yourself. Sadly, my game budget is shot for the next few weeks, and I don't quite feel comfortable torrenting an indie title created by a single person. So if you've actually experienced and played Starseed Pilgrim, get your beautiful behind up here and post a comment! Give us your opinion!

Dead Space 3

I only managed to clock in about 5 hours on Dead Space 3, and the reason for that is that it really isn't my cup of tea. It's an alright game, but I can't get behind it. Why? Because Dead Space 3 is designed to shock you. Every corner you turn some terrifying creature tries to leap at you and give you a fit. But when you take those scary moments away, what does it have left? A weak shooter with bad mechanics followed by pretty cool weapon customization.

Hanging out of spaceships in precarious positions seems to be a popular theme on this franchise.

Isaac Clarke comes back as the protagonist from the previous two games, mentally crippled from the traumatic events he experienced from slaughtering his way through two games of scary zombie action. A marker has been activated on the moon, creating a plague of Necromorph. The markers alter the DNA of corpses which turns them into bloodthirsty death machines that shrug off shots to the head. As the only one to survive previous marker outbreaks, and convinced by his missing girlfriend, Isaac is dragged into the fray once again. Although I didn't like Dead Space as a game, the story captivated me. It's one of the better Sci-Fi tales I've experienced.

These cracker ass cultists brought on the apocalypse because that's what cults do.

So what are you getting if you buy the third main title in the Dead Space franchise? A survival horror third-person shooter. In space. Sadly, that's about it. Oh, aside from the creepy zombies that morph dead bodies into creepy masses of death. It's got an indie feel to it, but that's because the graphics aren't great and the mechanics aren't polished. If you are a survival horror enthusiast, Dead Space is a brilliant choice for you. If not, then you might find it questionable like me.

Necromorphs are actually pretty scary enemies, and there's plenty of them.

My main issue with the Dead Space franchise is that it was overwhelmingly disappointing. After all the reviews and excited friends I have dealt with, I really expected more. Sure, the zombies crawling out of every nook, crevice and cranny scared the hell out of me. I wasted countless bullets spraying at corpses. But the awful mechanics just irritated me to no end. The kick function was terrible, and barely served a purpose except in situations you were probably already dead. Many of the guns were completely useless, and only became a viable choice after upgrading them a lot. Picking up and moving objects with Kinesis could have been a fun and potentially amazing mechanic, instead it's just an annoying minigame. The graphics were sort of blotchy, I really expected them to be better. All in all, I found myself focusing on the bad parts of Dead Space 3 instead of enjoying the good.

I bet he's getting used to hanging out of spaceships in precarious positions by now.

There are a few good features to Dead Space 3. Unlike the first two games, the awkward horror situations have been replaced in favor of more action. Instead of being forced into a cramped vent just so something can make you jump out of your skin and suffer organ failure, it feels more like a run and gun. With the added function to roll and take cover, Dead Space 3 definitely feels more dynamic than the previous two games.

Being able to control your character out in space is pretty awesome. Up until the Necromorphs start to do the same thing. Then it's just scary.

Another cool aspect is the UI. Every part of the ingame interface is accessed through your spacesuit. Instead of pausing the game and bringing you to a menu, you can view your inventory while playing since it projects itself from your suit.

The best part of this title is the weapon creation system. Once you collect enough materials, it's possible to create all manner of death dealing guns. For example, crossing a cryogenic torch with a rocket launcher allows you to freeze and then shatter anything. You can combine a lethal shotgun with a diffractor to put everything everywhere on the ground; while you casually step up to each one and blast their brains out. Honestly, this is the only thing that kept me playing.

It's a shame that Dead Space 3 has a few really cool mechanics that get bogged down and held back by the rest of it. Visceral games have tried to innovate since the previous games in the Dead Space franchise, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

I really like the gun customization, you can craft some scary stuff.

You can slowly time when your enthusiasm for Dead Space is going to run out. Early on in the game when windows explode and cretinous devilspawn starts trying to claw your eyes out, you will empty every clip in your gun at it and then stomp on the corpse until every limb is splattered over your suit. Several hours later, you will be targeting limbs with precision shots; and things leaping out of every corner won't even phase you. That's when I became disinterested.

Most games are easily criticized, but the best of them keep you so intrigued, entertained, or just plain frustrated that you completely forget to complain about the awful things. If I look at Dead Space objectively, it's a good franchise that does exactly what it says on the tin. However, when I look at it personally- it's a lackluster title that loses value the longer you play it.

I can understand that Visceral Games have created a game that a lot of people will enjoy and appreciate. I am not one such person. As previously stated; it's not my cup of tea. So if you're interested in it, it's up to you to make a judgement call.