Missy's Game Shelf

  • Dragon Age: The Veilguard Review

    Is it wrong that I was hoping to be proven wrong about this game? I didn’t really know what to expect from a follow-up to Dragon Age: Inquisition, but it certainly wasn’t this. Players of this series have been crafting the world state based on what they want in future games. An example of this is the transition from Dragon Age: Origins and the Awakening expansion to Dragon Age 2, near every main quest had been referenced even some side quests made appearances. This tradition would continue into Dragon Age Inquisition characters from Dragon Age 2 and Origins may not make any appearance in the game, but easter eggs in the War Table Quests and some characters dialuoge changes and this can even effect some endings. Dragon Age Veilguard seems to think only three choices in Dragon Age Inquisition mattered despite people spending time to create the World they wanted to play in it almost feels like an insult to longtime players especially when so much of the plot of these games revolves around previous choices. What’s more is the three choices from Inquisition have little to do with Veilgaurd or any charcaters in past games. This game brings the Venitori enemies from Dragon Age Inquisition back, but aside from what is essentially the same goals nothing changes and despite bringing them back the Red Templar enemies who had the same goal and were allies with them don’t show up at all with no explanation.

    The problems with this game also reflects its plot. At times it feels like a bazaar retelling of the plots of the first 3 games, but lighter in tone and stakes somehow gone. Battling the Blight and fighting off Darkspawn and an Archdemon that was Dragon Age Origins and even though it copied that plot Origins did it better by raising stakes and showing the player what was happening not just telling them. Also no mention of the events or characters from that game. Stopping cities from falling to Qunari or corrupt leaders that has the themes and plots from Dragon Age 2, but once again the first time was better as each character and main villian was given time and had their reasons it wasn’t they were evil because they are evil. Lastly the main premise of this game of fighting off powerful corrupted by the Blight enemies, you may as well call the two main villians Samson, Calpurna, or Corypheous because it once again feels like we had already done that in Dragon Age Inquisition. Further, after Act 1 of the game you are given a choice whether to save one city or the other quests and such can change depending on your answer. The problem is this is the first act of the game so unless you pick the faction based there during character creation you have no attachment or feel the need to save one or the other. This isn’t really a choice based on who deserves what more as you barely have interacted with either at this point.

    Next the game tries and fails to be Mass Effect 2 by ensuring that even with your team being at Hero of the Veilguard Status basically the highest loyalty status in the game, you can still lose members at most if you know what your doing you will only lose one member. The reward for getting to that status in Mass Effect 2 was everyone survived and showed up to help in the follow-up, but here there is no reward as it kills off anyone regardless.

    The combat is also strangely limited you can’t unlock specializations till level 20 and at that point you may as well just keep using core skills as those will get you to the ending even if you never change your specials out. At most it feels like a simplified Dragon Age 2 combat system with less varied abilities the most differences I found was Mage was a ranged fighter, but each class has a ranged attack and melee attack so every class felt the same.

    Score: 3/10

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  • My Time At Evershine Concerns

    If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile then you know I played and reviewed both My Time at Portia and My Time at Sandrock. While they are essentially the same game this being because Sandrock was supposedly a DLC to begin with before being expanded on to its own game with different stories. My Time at Evershine takes out the cartoony graphics with a more realistic character designs and has survival elements on top of the RPG elements the series has always had. The biggest question on these is that while the bigger budget gives them the funds to make whatever and players are clearly thrilled for the next installment, however with the new art style and gameplay changes and the story being a little darker than before it opens up either a game that will be amazing and show progress with the team working on it or a game series that is still struggling to find out what it is. Normally at the third game in a series the developers have figured out all the faults and know how to balance the mechanics. Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy 3, and Sonic the Hedghog 3 all learned from the past games and are remembered fondly. I hold similar fears for the Nexomon series as that game is trying 3D despite the developers having previously worked on mostly 2D titles. I like the clear growth and how many of the teams want to try new things and want to expand, but it comes to the question of if these two series are ready for that kind of expansion. Is the team ready for this? New layers that need to be tested and will the things that worked in previous titles translate well to the new style? RPG is no stranger to survival, but whether the developers behind the game can pull it off remains to be seen. It’s newest trailer does provide some hope they can do this style well, but at the same time most game trailers are smoke and mirrors they promise everything the players are looking for only to deliver mediocrity when the game releases.

    Also I still remember the state My Time at Portia and My Time at Sandrock released in on the Switch both were missing quests, were buggy, and even in their current state have frame drops to the point they come close to unplayable and if the music wasn’t going I thought they crashed. This makes me think they really shouldn’t try anything new as if they plan on a Switch release then they will be releasing another broken game on the console. I have heard the games run fine on other systems espicaily Steam and have all the quests and updates, but I’m not a fan of paying for the same game twice. Even then, rather than a forgivable $20 indie game like Nexomon, the series charges full price so why not make something worth that price they had 2 chances to and failed both times.

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  • Grabbed By The Ghoulies (Rare Replay)

    I don’t know what genre this game fits into. It is too weird to be horror yet has monsters commonly associated with that genre of game, such as mummies, skeletons, and spiders as well as paintings and statues leading to simple jump scares. It also isn’t scary at all arguably being the least scary game ever. Super Mario 64’s Boo’s Haunted House is scarier than the entirety of this game. As for gameplay it is relatively terrible. Grabbed by the Ghoulies is a 3D beat em’ up hordes of enemies appear and can be defeated relatively easily. The main problem with combat is how it controls rather than button presses it relies on the C stick. Now the C stick is mostly used for camera control in any other game you will get the two confused as you control the camera with the triggers and unlike other beat em ups there are no specials or flashy moves. Further, some enemies need a specific weapon such as the candle being used to beat mummies, but it adds literally nothing aside from a longer animation hit detection doesn’t change and nothing feels different. The plot is forgettable you play as Cooper on his quest to save his girlfriend through a haunted mansion and every time you do rescue her she needs rescuing again.

    Can I judge this game as a horror experience? Well Five Nights at Freddy’s is considered horror, but it isn’t all that scary the most terrifying thing is it’s lore so can you say the same here? I don’t think so FNAF has the advantage of atmosphere I really shows off how unsettling its animatronics are espicailly with how they look and if they catch you, you lose instantly. Here there is nothing making the Huanted House scary chairs and skeletons that die in two hits aren’t scary they’re a nuisance that just gets in way. I like the concept of this game just not the execution especially with what is available today Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Fatal Frame do everything this game tried to do better.

  • Bethesda Responds To Starfield Backlash (Again)

    I’ve never played Starfield and reviews for that game show as something to avoid. Bethesda recently released a DLC for their worst game. Base Starfield was a boring open world that on paper sounds fun travel and explore the different open worlds and clear quests, but that isn’t what happened. Starfield had open areas but none of the quests connected and some planets were just empty. Now, the DLC it seems that most players take issue with the fact that it compares itself to Fall Arbor the best DLC pack from the Fallout series.

    Now Bethesda is doing damage control a few devs have stated that they support how the game turned out saying the game was intentionally supposed to be that way and that when astronauts went to the moon or travelled space they didn’t find much there which is why planets are empty. The difference is that when players put time and resources into something they expect to be rewarded with something hardly comparable to the Space Race as the fact we developed enough technology and science to actually go there and bring people home was reward enough. Here though, there is no reward and Starfields DLC doesn’t seem to add anything most people describe it as more Starfield I think I’m more surprised people actually bought it and at $30. For the record most DLCs cap at $20 with additions, new weapons, new places to explore, and new story elements. So Bethesda released a boring game, couldn’t or refused to fix it, charged $30 to anyone holding onto hope for this game, then proceeded to add nothing to it besides reskins to equipment and a 5-10 hour story that adds nothing to the base game. I know 5-10 hours sounds like a long time, but this is a open world game in comparison to the Dragonborn DLC or Fall Harbor DLC those easily triple that time spent exploring the new areas and finding useful gear.

    There is also a clear lack of care with Starfield. Rather than fix issues with the game they added more issues. Remember base Skyrim had the ability to turn into a vampire and that sucked in comparison to Werewolves. They reworked it and from that we got the Dawnguard DLC pack that made both more useful and balanced even adding skill trees to both and increasing the level cap. The same with the DLC in Fallout, in one instance your radiation proof companion wouldn’t go into a room full of radiation for you to save the Wastelands now he does in a recent DLC. My biggest question is if they put so much care into Fallout and The Elder Scrolls DLC packs what happened with Starfield? Why not try to revitalize it and clean up the things that don’t work similar to before? Why double down on what isn’t working? Why did people pay $30 for more of the worst open world game in awhile? The Elder Scrolls and Fallout have their faults you can fall through the floor during normal gameplay and there are so many bugs, but at the end of the day they are fun games Starfield isn’t fun and is just a game that brings out the worst of Bethesda.

  • Tomomon Legacy Of Light Review

    Tomomon is one of the most disappointing things I have played recently. Now I do give games a easier time if they are Indie or made by small groups like this one, but that didn’t make what I played fun. The main questline seems impossible and even though that is mostly due to the RNG mechanics the game suffers for it. The main quests are finding the Guardian monsters, completing the Tomopedia, and lastly stopping the evil team in this game. The Guardian Monsters are non-existent and by that I mean I never actually saw or fought one yet still saw every area on the map. The first time I tried was an early route in the game and still saw nothing. After an npc told me to visit a town leading to another quest this one having crafting materials I don’t believe are even in the game or never showed up I gave up on the guardians. Take Coromon and Nexomon you actively seek out larger monsters in those games and they are part of the main quest, but their locations are fixed and crafting is optional no rng is needed till you unlock capturing them. Also, early in the game a challenge requiring level 30 comes up you can probably do it earlier, but the extra damage from that helps. This means you need to grind at least 15 levels for your monsters and since you really have no where else to go at this point and past that battle you never have to worry about anything your level is too high to really be threatened by type advantage or disadvantage.

    Okay what about the monsters do they have good designs? Not really half the monsters feel like copy and pastes of each other with a different color scheme and type. Also, I think some of the monsters have evolutions that aren’t in the game or their evolution is just inaccessible. Most three stage evolutions occur at mid to late 30s and if not you need an item like a stone to make it happen that is until you reach Sanmeow a cat like monster that seems to evolve yet nothing I tried did anything. The other part is fusion never really needed it. Not because I didn’t want to, but because first to unlock it you need a key after you get said key by doing a side quest, you need the formulas and right monsters for fusion, getting the monsters happens naturally while exploring, but you get formulas by doing side quests and the horrible crafting system returns for that. Creating a system that while it should be able to fuse with anything is limiting and lacking in imagination.

    So the part I have been avoiding: crafting. Resources are found on expeditions. Expeditions can be unlocked through rank. Here you can catch monsters you haven’t seen or rare monsters. This is fine for the most part, but several quests require specifically colored blocks called data. Good luck finding ones your looking for it won’t show up no matter how many times you reset the areas. I searched each area for specific things multiple times before giving up entirely.

    The conclusion is I can see the potential for this game its 3v3 combat system is fun and sort of reminds me of Monster Sanctuary, but everything being tied to RNG is oddly a detriment there doesn’t seem to be a progression system and a severe lack of signposting for the player. In most games like these some things are RNG based monster encounters and some resources, but with near everything tied to it makes the game feel more randomized than anything and in areas where randomization would have improved things like in fusion it is fixed. Early on I did recommend people this game, but that is because I believe it can be fun at times. Now after playing for awhile it definitely needs work.

    Score: 4/10 (Score subject to change if improvements are made)

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  • Entire Annapurna Interactive Staff Resign

    A publisher probably one of the best for its quality and finance smaller games that may not get attention otherwise has had their entire staff resign. Annapurna Interactive are the publisher of What Remains Of Edith Finch and Stray. Which now that I think about it makes me wonder about the Switch port for Stray given that was just announced. The resignations come from what seems to be disagreements over the business. CEO Megan Ellison was unwilling to spin off and allow their games to become its own company in a way similar to how Marvelous has film and television or how Lucas Arts has its own gaming company as well as amazing movies. Annapura has multiple divisions including film and television, but was unwilling to allow video games their own division. The company is shuffling its remaining staff into other departments as well.

    I find that incredibly weird as video games are the second most profitable media and all of the games it has created have been well received with high ratings. Also, I have never heard of any of their films or television shows, but have seen playthroughs and have been planning to try both Stray and What Remains of Edith Finch. I do hope the developers are able to go indie and create their own stuff because their games are amazing and deserve more credit.

  • Ova Magica Early Access Review

    Ova Magica is a Farm Simulator with Creature Capture mixed genre game. I normally wait for a games full release before reviewing it, but even in the state it is in most of the core game seems done. The gameplay is fun and art style is good.

    Gameplay is similar to Harvest Moon in that you start by farming and a small town and your relationship with the townspeople matters as they can unlock quests, recipes to craft, and the ability to bring them into dungeons. The Blobs are creatures you can hatch from eggs that come from rewards during festivals or in combat. You have to not only keep an eye on your own stamina which depletes mostly during farming, but your monsters stamina as well which depletes during combat. Combat is turn based with an emphasis on readying your moves. Your monster will act in one of three ways the first is resting where you can take average damage and comes after acting, readying which is almost the same as resting, and acting where you can defend, attack, or use an item. In acting you can take critical damage which is why you need to defend if both you and the opponent are there. There are three types and depending on the skill used can do more or less damage. There is a lot in this game and the fact that it is in early access doesn’t really stop it from being a good game. It definitely is further along than other early access games and has a lot going for it. It is easy to tell a lot of this game is done and even in the current state it does have an unfinished feel in some areas, but it is still in development and getting actively worked on.

  • NINTENDO SUED PALWORLD

    I am not a lawyer so can only say so much in this. Rather than sue the thirty app games that use their licensed characters Nintendo sued Pocket Pair the studio behind Palworld. The two games really only have being a Creature Capture game in common. Palworld has characters similar to Pokemon, but most if not all of them are original. Now one way to look at this is Nintendo has felt threatened by Palworlds growing popularity and wanted to be as malicious as possible. Which they wouldn’t need to feel threatened if they made good games. Pokemon has good titles like Legends Arceus and the Mystery Dungeon games, but outside of that their last good game was a remake of Gen 3 so not exactly good. Pokemon also fails to grow with its audience, Mario is a good example of growing with the audience yes anyone can beat a Mario game, but extra challenges open up for those who have a desire to take on harder levels.

    Palworld and Pokemon also come from two totally different genre as mentioned they are Creature Capture games, but the differences lie in the details. Palworld is an open world, survival game, with crafting, and shooting elements. Pokemon is a mostly linear RPG with little to no difficulty. Let’s not forget the biggest obstacle to Pokemon is Pokemon itself. When Sword and Shield destroyed the Pokedex Temtem became popular and now when Pokemon released Violet and Scarlet which is still a broken buggy mess of a game Palworld became popular. People also see the difference in price for Pokemon games $60 is needed for a mostly average game. I can get Temtem, The Nexomon Collection, and Palworld for around the same price and get more stable gameplay, better challenges, more fun and get four games. I’m wondering how gamers will react either by voicing discontent on twitter or taking advantage of Metacritic and IGNs review system and making sure Nintendo know they messed up with fans.

    Realistically, Nintendo will just throw money at a lawsuit till Pocket Pair run out of money or they lose due to corruption. People have crunched the numbers and Nintendo hasn’t lost any lawsuits they put forward. As unfair to Palworld as this is and as much as people will complain nothing will change.

  • Dragon Age 2 Review

    This is my least played Bioware game. In fact I actively forget this game exists. This coming from a person who’s favorite game behind Fantasy Life is Mass Effect 2. The only reason to play this is because of plot and story which is a large part of the Dragon Age series. Now if you do play this don’t play it on Xbox Series X and S it glitched and crashed more times then any game I’ve ever played. That could also be more attributed to the rushed design and development issues.

    Gameplay

    It is a hack and slash with rpg elements and emphasis on story. Waves of smaller enemies appear and you fight them with the goal of defeating a larger boss. This system makes the classes near useless as all three feel the same as opposed to Origins and Inquisition where all three classes had differences. Specials are more useful for crowd control or for a bit of power against a boss. Even then your companions don’t always have to swap weapons and equipment if at all just swap weapons as equipment is locked unless it is a gift item which is rare. Also without varied races like Origins or Inquisition the only real difference is that Hawke may have been at Ostagar or not. Similarly, depending on class your companion can be Bethany or Carver. It really doesn’t matter as they only accompany you past the first act and the prologue. Though they are present for the DLC and a few quests after if they live.

    Overall I don’t hate this game it opens a lot of mechanics that Inquisition would later expand and polish. It also sets up the villains for the third game. For example Samson and Corypheous are main villains in Inquisition, but play minor roles here, but it is still not very good compared to other games Bioware made at their best. The rushed development shows and the only reason to play this is to get the story which you don’t have to do because Dragon Age Keep imports your save to Inquisition anyway.

  • Concord Another Live Service Failure

    It is rare for a game that was so prominent and had so much press release with little. Concord released and I would not be shocked if you didn’t know. This game was announced at Playstations day of play then proceeded to show absolutely nothing about the game since. Developed by Firewalk Studios and published by Playstation, Concord was set for a AAA live service 5vs5 shooter. I already felt the game didn’t have a lot going for it. Dead or Alive, Overwatch 2, and Team Fortress 2 all seem to hold a fanbase and have enough going for them. Concord seems to be in a much worse position while the above mentioned games are praised for gameplay or unique characters Concord has nothing going for it. Content seems bare bones and lackluster and as for players it peaked at 660 and is somehow declining. Now we all know how this will go within a month the game has already been delisted and taken down. Then some poor apology from Playstation or Firewatch if that. This is what AAA games are not understanding right now. Yes they make money off of players and constant updates, but if the base game sucks and there is no focus then why would anyone play the game. It is funny to look at the highest rated and most played games right now as a majority of them are single player, but we can guess where this goes no one has learned anything, Firewatch will close, and Playstation will pretend nothings wrong till this happens again in which we will have another cycle of Live service game to dumpster. I tried to look up what made this game so terrible, maybe troubled launch, bad development, or lacking player base and came to the conclusion a mix of all three maybe. Then something else came to mind a lot of Live service games are free to play you don’t need money to at least play them, but it does get you easy loot and cosmetics. Concord released with a $40 price tag. So a lackluster game with nothing going for it with a dwindling player base and a price tag. Or I could play Fortnite for free a game with a lot going for it, increasing player numbers, and cross play on all platforms.

    Edit: Less than two weeks since launch and the game is already down not sure if that is some sort of world record, but at least it was quick