Surprisingly Addictive- A Venture into Mobile Games, Brave Frontier

I don't often review mobile game titles, since as a hardcore enthusiast I feel that the quality of mobile titles still doesn't match my standards bar for acceptable games. Most games are rife with bugs, forced in game purchases, and mechanical oddities that just make mobile titles fall flat on their face. The ones that I have enjoyed like Infinity Blade are few and far between. However, I took the advice of a fellow gamer, who yes also happens to be a girl and wound up trying out a free-to-play title that dazzled me. Brave Frontier seriously impressed me and it highlighted what mobile gaming could be if done right.

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Story: While this certainly isn't the highlight of all mobile games; still evident in this particular title. Brave Frontier manages to pull out of the proverbial magical hat of mobile gaming, a semi-decent story.  Characters each have lore entangled back stories, each new area unlocked boasts a bit more of the story panning out. Anything that isn't directly tied to the story has fair representation. It certainly isn't the Hamlet of mobile gaming stories but it does give providence to an aspect of mobile titles that has largely been neglected. It is well written, however, because of mobile limitations, the story is still simple and therefore has been given a back seat. Some of the dialogue is clearly out of sync with the actual setting and lore. For the all of the good and the bad the story receives an acceptable score of 6.5/10.

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Gameplay: It's simple, it's advanced, it's quite ingenious. With mobile limitations they actually packed quite a lot of depth into the gameplay elements. The main mechanics rotate around the old Fire Emblem style weakness/strength tree. Basically every unit has its strengths, weakness, and neutral elements/weapons. Combat while smooth is however, very limited. Characters only have 3 move types: Basic Attack, Brave Burst, and Guard. Alim studios managed to solve the limitation by introducing some aspect of timing, thereby raising the skill cap and depth of the game possibilities. By comboing "correctly" and on time with each units specific type of attack animations you can trigger Sparks to maximize damage. This gives skilled players an advantage in fights especially if they know their units well. While beginner players like me, can mash down on characters and still do just as well. (Note: higher level play will require Spark mastery, there's a noticeable difference in the strength of Non-Sparked combos)[Note: this means players of all ages and skill levels can participate in this game]. Cash shop elements are non-intrusive to gameplay at least in the earlier levels. Deep collectiblity in units lends itself to replayability. For its well designed combat and intricate yet simple systems Gameplay receives a 10/10.

Graphics: Return of the good ol-8 bit RPG style. While this certainly doesn't turn many players on, it doesn't actually hurt this game in any way. It's a retro feel, that actual feels good. Character sprites and art are all well drawn and designed; some people may not care for the Japanese-anime inspired art. Graphical FX are beautiful and each individual animation is both stylish and varied. However, chaining together large amounts of Brave Bursts causes massive frame drops. I don't have a FPS recorder on my phone, but, I'm pretty sure at one point or another my frames dipped to single digits, when chaining together a lot of ultimates. Because the game isn't fully optomized to handle all the 8-bit attack art at a time. I can't give graphics full score. However, it does receive a solid 8/10. 

Sound: All of it is done masterfully. I don't care for some of the background music especially in the village. But, all other attack sound FX and musical scores are admirably performed. Each has its own varied taste which is good. I was afraid that due to the mobile platform there would be lots of cookie cutter music, but this isn't the case which left me pleasantly surprised. The sound receives a 8/10.

Honestly, this isn't a new game. But, I just recently discovered this little gem. Now I'm really addicted in a bad way. It is a Free to play so there's no reason not to at least try it out you can get the app on either the Google Play Store or the Apple iStore. 



If you do end up trying the game out my Friend ID: 3107058851. If you add me It'll be appreciated in its own right.

A Rightful Heir-The Second Son

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Easily one of the best games I've played within recent memory Infamous Second Son takes a step in the oh so right direction. Infamous Second Son is an angsty thrill ride akin to that of the re-imagining of the Devil May Cry series. Everything about this game succeeds in presenting something fresh to Sucker Punch's Infamous franchise. Warning potential spoilers ahead, I'll try to keep them to a minimum but no guarantees.

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Story: Easily one of the best aspects about this game. The story is your classic tale of a hero or villain as the presumptuous Delsin Rowe. I can't help but feel that the story matched exactly what the game mechanics wanted to say and it was just enough to keep interest but not long enough to bore you. Pacing was solid however a hinted romance never developed which personally left me feeling just a tad bit deflated. I'm a sucker for a decently crafted romance especially when its appropriate. That being said there are a lot of pleasantly relatable issues if you're a teen, actually especially if you're a teen. Almost to a fault, this story is both angsty and rebellious. Those of hardcore gamers can also relate heavily to the backstory of side-character Eugene. For both a well crafted story and likeable characters, story gets a 9/10.

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Gameplay: If there were a water conduit power, this game would probably pull it off magnificently. Everything flows exceptionally well in this game. Command inputs are smooth, skill tree is well designed and equally as well tied into the story. There's almost a Jedi vs Sith sort of feel to the powers, growing not only by player input but also by story choices. This makes for a deep system that ties right back into re-playability, which this game already had plenty of. There are some small immersion breaking bugs regarding subduing enemies and exploding vehicles but that can be overlooked in my opinion. There are some problems with wall climbing that Sucker Punch failed to really iron out. Climbing buildings with Smoke powers can be really annoying since the contact points don't always work. Comparing wall climbing between games like Assassin's Creed, it's clear Sucker Punch has some work in that department. Despite its minor flaws the majority of the action is silky smooth with great depth so Gameplay also receive a 9/10.

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Graphics. It isn't as good as I would have wanted it to be. However, the facial animations are so well done that it's hard to say that the studio failed at making a game with rich graphics. Majority speaking the game functions quite well; frames are smooth with plenty of detailed textures. Backgrounds and settings are well designed with equally as fantastic and rich character designs. There are no official cut-scenes in the traditional sense. Everything that is seen as a cutscene could easily be done within the gameplay parameters. Since cutscenes also share the same graphical attention as their in game counterparts there's not a break in immersion allowing for action and movie segments of the game to flow well together. Some games have a tough time with transitioning between in game facial animations and those of the movies. However, I'd say Sucker Punch has done a good job bridging that gap. Overall graphical work receives 8/10.

Sound: Robust and powerful, sound FX are quite well done in this game. Accompanying soundtrack could use some work. A few musical selections could have been mulled over some more. Sometimes I found myself wondering if this was really the right musical selection for the mood. But, every other sound effect I found myself very pleased with their decisions. Sound Receives a solid 8/10.

With an overall score of 8.5/10 or 34/40 Infamous: Second Son is a must play for PS4 owners. Those who haven't picked up a copy should definitely do so via PSN or from the link below.

The Humungous Metal Ordeal that is Titanfall

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After having spent about little over a week with the game I'm confident I can give you a full picture of how the game feels. It feels strangely good. I'll be honest I'm not a fan of the whole Call of Duty franchise as of late and I'm about to insult every COD fanboy/girl out there right now in saying that I think it's a piece of copy and pasted crap. It provided no innovation within the last four releases which should sound a no-no alarm in every gamer that this is just another money maker. Is it a good money maker? Sure. But, by repeatedly hashing together the same thing with nothing new, it got boring even faster with each progressive title. I'm happy to say that with the first release of Titanfall that the spirit of the COD franchise has been renewed, even though the publisher as well as the IP is entirely different the developers brought over COD's distinctive feel, while you guessed it, adding something new!

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Story: With all the praise I'm giving to it, it'd be strange that there isn't something inherently wrong with the game and unfortunately this is it. The story is basically voice-over briefings before multiplayer missions begin. With sparse cut scenes, and annoyingly brief intercom injections while playing a multiplayer match. I understand the fact that Titanfall was to be praised entirely for its multiplayer combat, but why bother designing a campaign mode then? It would have been better if they left this out entirely and relegated the collection of the Titan models to some arbitrary completionist award in the classic multiplayer. Especially since doing well or utterly failing has not even the slightest impact upon the outcome of the story. I did like that they tried something new, but I'd have much enjoyed it if they polished it a bit more, this felt even more tacked on than the traditional FPS titles story modes. Story gets a 4/10.

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Gameplay: Undeniably good, albeit rather unbalanced. Like COD you rush to streak yourself to get your Titan as fast as possible, once in your Titan you try to streak for as long as possible to win the match. Titanfall's combat while polished inevitably falls into this realm of play style. Which isn't necessarily bad, but very limiting. Gun balance leaves much to be desired as rifles can hit targets as far away as snipers and still be able to kill with relative ease compared to them. The satisfyingly multiple ways of finishing off opponents is what really make this game stand out and the parkour really lends itself to this matter. Being able to rodeo streaking titans really helps to balance out the perk known as the: Titan. Anti-Titan weapons also help foot-soldiers ultimately feel useful unlike in COD where choppers are almost un-targetable or when nukes are dropped and the match is over. Bringing inherent balance to a moving wall of utter destruction makes this game feel much more palatable to players across all spectrums. Although speaking in terms of game mechanics this is still a game for the hardcore; it just welcomes the casual players and gives them many more stepping stones other than noob-tubing. Gameplay gets a 8/10.

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Graphics: As with most modern games graphical fidelity is a non-issue especially if you're on PC; occasional frame drops here and there if too many explosions occur at once but generally a non-issue. With the console versions its about the same. The attention to detail is really amazing as well. Some graphical loading issues when you're transferred from soldier to mech. Side panels on the interior of the mech don't load properly until you have successfully turned on the visual screen inside. It's a small issue, but for me it breaks immersion. Graphics get a solid 8/10.

Sound: Very rarely do I complain about a FPS soundtrack, they're usually pretty good. I have not much to complain about here either. Everything regarding the soundtrack to sound FX loops are done masterfully. Weapon firing sounds on a few SMGs as well as sniper rifles could feel more powerful. However, I think that is more a personal opinion than it is undeniable fact. Sometimes during high intensity fire fights. Audio may cut out due to simulation overexposure but those are rare occasions and I write it off as a programming bug rather than something inherently wrong with the game's audio. For making me feel like a badass giant robot, audio gets a 9/10.

This game is well polished COD-style FPS, while entertaining new elements which greatly help balance the overall feel of the game. Story was weaker than usual, but forgivable since all other aspects of playing the game felt really good. If I wanted to feel like I were a badass robot this is the game I would play. Otherwise it might be portal 2. Seriously physics altering robots. Not enough badassness to hold myself with there.  Overall Score 7.25/10 or 29/40

I would recommend picking this game up for hardcore Call of Duty fans as well as anyone interested in getting a foot in the door with FPS games. It's well balanced structure and manageable learning curve allow just about anyone to enjoy Titanfall. If you haven't already picked up a copy of the game you can get it here:

Titanfall CE Humungous Unboxing

This is long overdue since I recorded it the day Titanfall came out. With all the prep and everything I'd completely forgotten to upload and enhance some of the footage. Enjoy this on the side quite large un-boxing.

Square Enix power hour

I haven't really had time to really play either of the games lately I have been prepping for my week in San Fran at GDC. However, I have played both of them enough to give my review on both of them in detail. I will try not to give away any spoilers if possible, but expect a few mishaps here and there.

Bravely Default:
This is Square Enix at its finest in the last couple of years. Ever since FFX-2 the entire franchise has slowly been wavering with the graphic department at its helm. Bravely Default forgoes all the hype of new graphical fidelity to return to true Square Enix roots. The art of storytelling and solid turn based combat. Bravely Default delivers wonderfully on all fronts, yes even graphically. 

The game delivers beautifully in story it created memorable characters all of which had one could emotionally commit to. Unlike the hollow characters of FFXIII, each of BD's character has depth and intrigue. While the story itself might be cliche and sort of overdone it is perfect for the genre of the game and the story it seeks to tell is masterfully written to hide as much of the boring old trope as much as possible. Of the 3 chapters I have played I have never found myself not absorbed by the atmosphere of the writing. It oozes of eastern cliches and tropes though, so western audiences might find it hard to relate at times.

I'll touch upon the musical score as well. It's pretty normal cookie cutter theme mixed with traditional FF style battle/boss music. But ever score is well composed and masterfully performed so that even in this tired age of repeating the same old stuff it feels fresh and welcoming.

Gameplay works solidly and wonderfully introducing a mix of new flavor into the old turn based style of combat. It delivers wonderfully with its pseudo ATB style combat giving fresh prespective on the word turn based, while not taking anything away. The brave system works wonderfully in combat. However, I wish Square had not introduced the Bravely Second function, while the usage can be obtained through regular gameplay an unnatural microtransaction system was implemented into the game that I felt was both detrimental to Square and its fanbase. It screams of the fact that Square wants more money and it feels horribly tacked on and an "easymode" to the game. Pacing is neither too fast or too slow and the amount of content you burn through is regulated nicely by the rebuilding of Norende.

FFXIII: Lightning Returns

The counter opposite to what everything Bravely Default stands for Lightning Returns is a masquerade of a good game. Certainly combat was successfully implemented but the focus on all of the new systems completely drained the game of any other polish. 

The combat system feels fresh and new and while it draws upon the old ATB charge style. It doesn't feel slow or clumsy. However, Final Fantasy has always been about the story of a group. Not one person, the combat system isolates Lightning and complete degrades what value main characters like Snow and Hope. Sure the schemata system helps to alleviate the problems of not having a squad for combat. But, it is also what kills it. Instead of being a strategy game of planning when to properly execute big combos. The game feels reactionary style of switching between "dresses." It feels like a revamped version of FFX-2's dress spheres. I didn't like that system to begin with so this opinion is biased; however, I feel it doesn't lend itself to telling a story of struggles. 

The story may perhaps be the aspect that suffered most. Connections built in the other games have been completely shattered and any semblance of a deep character Lightning was is completely crushed in this version of the series. In an effort to push out yet another game with the titles of "Final Fantasy" Square has destroyed what those of us loved about the franchise.

Musical scores all still well composed thankfully. However, sound effects such as walking on water or metal feels incredibly artificial as its a looped one sound montone. Normally a good sound effects track will loop between 2-4 sound clips to produce a realistc reconstruction of what it might be like to listen to people walking on streets, etc... but FFXIII: :LR fails to deliver in immersion of the character and the world thus making the game feel artificial.


As a wrap up I personally would like to ask Square to move in the direction of Bravely Default. well told stories even if they're not of traditional the FF franchise just suit Square so much better. It doesn't hurt to try new things. But, I'd ask them to get a competent team of story writers before attempting any future changes to the long running franchise. I hope you've enjoyed my return to reviewing with this special double feature review.