It has now been a full month since the long awaited release of Street Fighter 6 and the game has already catapulted itself into the “best games of the year” due to newly added features, online play and solid game mechanics. Street Fighter 6 offers classic controls tailored for experienced Street Fighter players and modern controls for casual players and newcomers. Modern type makes it easier to pull off special attacks by pressing 1 button or 2-button combinations. Classic on the other hand, players must input specific button combinations to use special attacks. Both controls setups allows all players to figure which configuration works best for them.
This year’s roster includes franchise icons such as Chun Li, Ken and Ryu while bringing in new character like Luke, Manon and Lily. Despite the new additions, the roster feels somewhat thin despite the initial 18 playable characters. Some players may be left feeling a little disappointed knowing that Capcom, like most fighting game publishers, rarely utilize the full capabilities of consoles. We’re sure they'll add several more characters along with the upcoming DLC. The characters however, do feel unique when playing as each fighter. Each are equipped with their own specific fighting style, drive impacts, special techniques and super arts. In addition to the updated roster, there are different modes for players to experience such as Battle Hub, World Tour and Arcade. Battle Hub allows players to test their skills against other players online or watch players compete against each other.
Fighting Ground boasts a variety of modes which includes Online Play, Training, Arcade and Local Versus. Players can experience character-specific storylines through Arcade. These storylines lend some insight into each character's backstory. In Local Versus, players can test their might against a friend while Online let's you fight for supremacy against players globally. However, if you are a newcomer or someone who wants to improve on mastering the gameplay mechanics, Training is where players can go to hone their skills. World Tour sets itself apart from any other mode Capcom has incorporate in the Street Fighter series. World Tour implements RPG elements mixed with the classic gameplay of Street Fighter. Players create an avatar and progress through story missions to increase the avatar's level and style rank. Experience for style ranks can be earned after enrolling as a student under characters from the game. Players gain experience for both style rank and level rank by completing story and side missions but mostly by fighting NPCs roaming the city. There are apparel and food players can purchase which offer temporary or permanent boost in stats. Where World Tour lacks, is it's mundane main story and underwhelming side quests. The dialogue is not much better and in many cut scenes, it can come off cheesy. The writers are either out of date or out of touch with today’s world. The game as a whole runs very smoothly with minor frame rate dips only occurring in the forementioned World Tour mode.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Street Fighter 6 is a major step in the right direction, particularly for the fighting genre. This will hopefully set the tone for more innovation in future fighting games. Especially when you're shelling out almost $60 or higher depending on what edition you're buying. This is a good way to provide closer value to the market price. Overall, Street Fighter 6 seems to have lived up and surpassed expectations. Let see if the fighting game genre can now build off the precedent set by Capcom for the sake of fans, casual and hardcore alike.
Positives:
-variable controls allows an easy transition for new and veteran players
-Battle Hub and World Tour are refreshing innovative modes
-newly added features provide much needed replay value
-players can play classic games such Final Fight and Street Fighter Alpha 2
Negatives:
-frame rate can lag in World Tour
-mundane story in World Tour leaves a lot to be desired
-limited roster of fighters
-dialogue is mostly boring or laughable (not in a good way).
Kingdom Hearts 3 is a simple game with very simple gameplay. Pretty much all you need to do is mash the X button and hit triangle every once in a while, even on critical or proud mode the same thing goes albeit with more grinding for those harder difficulties. The fighting and magic remain pretty much the same thing we remember with some new additions like spinning around a pillar to attack multiple enemies at once. Running up walls is new to the series and pleasantly reminded me of Prince of Persia. Apart from the new Gummiship gameplay which was a whole lot of fun for me personally (you fly around wherever you want blasting enemies in space from your ship, collecting treasure, new ship parts, discovering new worlds to travel to, new waypoints and taking pictures of constellations.) Everything else is pretty much old hat, the same formula and the same gameplay in some new worlds, that’s it. This game boasts a lot of new transformations that are kind of unnecessary like changing into a carousel or a huge ship to damage enemies you could also summon Disney characters into battle like Simba for example but I never did, never quite felt that it was necessary.
Graphics:
These are by far the best looking graphics we’ve ever seen for a core KH game. There is really no point comparing KH2 on the PS2 to this one. The lines are clean and crisp in glorious HD. The worlds look great, the snowy world of Arendelle was my favorite by far.
Story:
I feel like telling anything about the story will spoil it so I won’t, I’ll just say this is where things take a steep nosedive in my opinion. You’ve played Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 right? Great, now you’re playing part 3? Also great but you don’t know the whole story. They expect you to have played all those little side story games across various handhelds to fully grasp the story and yes I know the collection came out with all those games on modern consoles but it’s just to much. I’ve never heard anyone say “I’m going to play these eight or nine games to understand the story for this game.” Yeah they give you some summary movies for you to find out more and get a refresher because this game took so long to come out but it’s just feels like too much to do for this game. Possibly the worst thing is that not one Final Fantasy character makes an appearance because they wanted to focus on their characters and their stories plenty of Disney characters show up though.
Conclusion:
I was so disheartened with this game that I didn’t enjoy it at all. In RPG’s I do practically everything or as much as I can however with KH3 it was just a mad dash for the finish line. I’ve followed the stories of convoluted games like the Metal Gear Solid series for example but KH3 left me scratching my head. After such a long wait of over a decade I feel like they could’ve done more with this one. Guess you could say I’m being a bit “heartless” with this game but personally it really missed the mark for me.
Positive:
+ Some new worlds.
+ Wall running is fun.
+ Gummiship flying was my favorite part of the game.
+ It was nice to see the reunions of some friends.
Negative:
- Boring gameplay. (I feel asleep 3 times in the Toy Story world.)
- Unchallenging
- That big showdown with Organization 13 was lackluster.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a bit different from your usual AC game, it keeps everything Assassin’s Creed Origins did but adds dialogue choices into the mix. When you begin your odyssey you have the option to chose between a male or female protagonist which doesn’t really effect the story but once you choose one your locked in with that character. Apart from that there’s a whole new way to play the game, you can have a marker telling you “go here” or you can play the game the way the developers want you to by getting some vague directions from quest givers and scouting the area with your trusty eagle sidekick Ikaros that can tag enemies, entrances and other points of interest. All the usual things return for this adventure like your skill trees Hunter, Warrior, Assassin and interchangeable gear that you can actually see on your character which is one thing that I really appreciate. Sadly there is no hidden blade in this adventure, what you use instead is the tip of a broken spear that belonged to your grandfather which can be leveled up by pursuing a particular side quest. I say side quest because even though it’s a big part of the game you don’t have to complete it to beat the game although you should to get the most out of it’s compelling story. There’s also a modern day story to this one that seems to be building up to something big for later AC games. One thing that is missed is true assassinations, it’s all a numbers game based on stats, equipment and levels etc. not like the days of older AC games where a stealth kill was a true stealth kill. There are a bunch of different weapons to suit your play style from swords, daggers, staffs, spears etc. all with their own advantages and disadvantages. The story can be fast or slow paced depending on whether you choose to follow the given markers or actually discover everything with your eagle but that’s really a personal preference. Naval combat has made a comeback and reminds one of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. It’s fun but Black Flag’s sea adventures were superior for me personally. Don’t forget to mind your actions too, if someone sees you commit a crime they may put a bounty on you. In order to remove said bounty you’ll either have to pay the bounty from your world map or kill whom ever put the bounty on you which is indicated on your map.
Graphics:
The graphics in this game are amazing and I played this on a PS4 with an older HD tv. The locales were beautifully recreated with some amazing detail. The beaches were one of my first initial surprises, they looked so pristine. Everything about this from the monuments to the roads to the characters were amazing. The legendary weapons and armor designs made me squeal at one point when I equipped a full legendary set of armor. I can only imagine how much better it would’ve been on a PS4 Pro with a 4K tv.
Story:
This story is a sad one as they all tend to be. After choosing your protagonist and seeing a little of your childhood you are thrown into the world to fend for yourself. You live your life surviving as a “misthios” which is what you’re called in the game. When you come upon a clue about your past you set off on your odyssey for your family, for revenge. Slowly, step by step you find yourself moving closer to your goal and unraveling huge conspiracy’s along the way and meeting some of Ancient Greece’s most iconic historical figures. There are a lot of side quests in this game, the side quests alone could’ve been their own game to be honest. One thing I must point out about the game is level scaling which is NOT optional. All enemies you face will be around your level which is something I do not agree with. What’s the point in grinding and searching for legendary gear when a scrub from the opening area of the game will be level 50 just like you? This should’ve been optional like in some other AAA games. This is a long journey, mine lasted almost 127 hours but I did everything this game threw at me except those constantly renewing quests and with the upcoming dlc it’d be an even longer game. It offers a lot of replay value too with new missions appearing all the time and a list of never ending mercenaries for you to hunt or be hunted by depending on your wanted level. There’s nothing like trying to stealthily complete a mission and have 3 mercenaries show up hunting you and mess it all up.
Conclusion:
If you’re a fan of single player huge open world adventures that let you do things at your own pace this might be the one for you. Expect to be in Ancient Greece for a long time though because this game is busting at the seams with places to see, things to do and people to assassinate.
For Honors gameplay is a hybrid of a beat'em up with a third-person fighting game style. You have three different classes The Knights, Vikings and Samurai with each class having four different cast of characters each with their own strengths and weaknesses. For Honor has rather unique controls instead of using the buttons to attack you use the LT/L2 to lock-on and RB/R1 for light attacks and RT/R2 for heavy attacks and it also gives you the ability to use perks or feats to help you and your teammates like smoke bombs and mines. Some also give you the ability to use projectile weapons such as longbows, crossbow and a calling of fire arrow. When playing online you start off with one of each character from every class but they give enough money from the beginning after beating the tutorial to get at lease two or more characters. The game has a nice pace not slow but also not very fast either which feels balanced when playing each character. With the maps there are things everywhere that can give you a instant kill such ledges, fire, spikes and broken bridges which really allows you think before you make your moves along with watching your environments and surroundings just like a real fight which I found to be enjoyable whether playing alone or with a team either way it's up you.
Graphics:
When it comes to the games graphic I found it be very disappointing Ubisoft is a big name company and to have graphics like this in this day and age is very bad when looking at the rain and fire it's just hard to believe at times that you are playing on your Xbox One or PS4. Perhaps they wanted to focus more on the gameplay then graphics for this game but that's still no excuse for these type of visuals.
Story:
The For Honor story is not the main focus for this game and you can tell right away there's nothing really that draws you in and makes you want to continue playing despite the fact that you can play co-op and also has a good amount of replay value but just not interesting enough to make me want to keep playing I think a few ideas from other games with that amalgams idea i.e Warriors Erochi help build the story.
Online:
The games online is very fun with the game modes that they have. There's Dominion which is like King Of Hill style of a game mode but it's a little different as others where instead of just adding points you lose the points you have and is transferred over to your opponents side.There's many ways to get to pick up points from capturing bases and killing your opponents you also can gain points by killing the mpc's on the other team.The other game modes are Deathmatch/Team and Duel Single or with 2 Vs 2 which they call Brawl and then Skirmish which is similar to Dominion just without the bases. Not many modes but it's a 4 Vs 4 game you can't really expect much but what they have FOR NOW is very good but should be improved upon at a later time along with maps also because if they don't add more to the game it will get old fast and that's not good with a game that has a lot of potential to be really good but the main problem with this game is not the gameplay, story or even the graphics it's main problem is it's servers. I can't tell you how many times I have lost connection to the servers or just getting error messages after a exciting match but it's still very new so this is to be expected I'm sure it will be resolved soon.
Conclusion:
If you're a fan of fighting games, beat em ups and strategic games with a unique movesets good customization and characters and you care mainly about online then the story then this would be a game you should checkout buy or rent.
Review:
It has now been a full month since the long awaited release of Street Fighter 6 and the game has already catapulted itself into the “best games of the year” due to newly added features, online play and solid game mechanics. Street Fighter 6 offers classic controls tailored for experienced Street Fighter players and modern controls for casual players and newcomers. Modern type makes it easier to pull off special attacks by pressing 1 button or 2-button combinations. Classic on the other hand, players must input specific button combinations to use special attacks. Both controls setups allows all players to figure which configuration works best for them.
This year’s roster includes franchise icons such as Chun Li, Ken and Ryu while bringing in new character like Luke, Manon and Lily. Despite the new additions, the roster feels somewhat thin despite the initial 18 playable characters. Some players may be left feeling a little disappointed knowing that Capcom, like most fighting game publishers, rarely utilize the full capabilities of consoles. We’re sure they'll add several more characters along with the upcoming DLC. The characters however, do feel unique when playing as each fighter. Each are equipped with their own specific fighting style, drive impacts, special techniques and super arts. In addition to the updated roster, there are different modes for players to experience such as Battle Hub, World Tour and Arcade. Battle Hub allows players to test their skills against other players online or watch players compete against each other.
Fighting Ground boasts a variety of modes which includes Online Play, Training, Arcade and Local Versus. Players can experience character-specific storylines through Arcade. These storylines lend some insight into each character's backstory. In Local Versus, players can test their might against a friend while Online let's you fight for supremacy against players globally. However, if you are a newcomer or someone who wants to improve on mastering the gameplay mechanics, Training is where players can go to hone their skills. World Tour sets itself apart from any other mode Capcom has incorporate in the Street Fighter series. World Tour implements RPG elements mixed with the classic gameplay of Street Fighter. Players create an avatar and progress through story missions to increase the avatar's level and style rank. Experience for style ranks can be earned after enrolling as a student under characters from the game. Players gain experience for both style rank and level rank by completing story and side missions but mostly by fighting NPCs roaming the city. There are apparel and food players can purchase which offer temporary or permanent boost in stats. Where World Tour lacks, is it's mundane main story and underwhelming side quests. The dialogue is not much better and in many cut scenes, it can come off cheesy. The writers are either out of date or out of touch with today’s world. The game as a whole runs very smoothly with minor frame rate dips only occurring in the forementioned World Tour mode.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Street Fighter 6 is a major step in the right direction, particularly for the fighting genre. This will hopefully set the tone for more innovation in future fighting games. Especially when you're shelling out almost $60 or higher depending on what edition you're buying. This is a good way to provide closer value to the market price. Overall, Street Fighter 6 seems to have lived up and surpassed expectations. Let see if the fighting game genre can now build off the precedent set by Capcom for the sake of fans, casual and hardcore alike.
Positives:
-variable controls allows an easy transition for new and veteran players
-Battle Hub and World Tour are refreshing innovative modes
-newly added features provide much needed replay value
-players can play classic games such Final Fight and Street Fighter Alpha 2
Negatives:
-frame rate can lag in World Tour
-mundane story in World Tour leaves a lot to be desired
-limited roster of fighters
-dialogue is mostly boring or laughable (not in a good way).
Gameplay:
Kingdom Hearts 3 is a simple game with very simple gameplay. Pretty much all you need to do is mash the X button and hit triangle every once in a while, even on critical or proud mode the same thing goes albeit with more grinding for those harder difficulties. The fighting and magic remain pretty much the same thing we remember with some new additions like spinning around a pillar to attack multiple enemies at once. Running up walls is new to the series and pleasantly reminded me of Prince of Persia. Apart from the new Gummiship gameplay which was a whole lot of fun for me personally (you fly around wherever you want blasting enemies in space from your ship, collecting treasure, new ship parts, discovering new worlds to travel to, new waypoints and taking pictures of constellations.) Everything else is pretty much old hat, the same formula and the same gameplay in some new worlds, that’s it. This game boasts a lot of new transformations that are kind of unnecessary like changing into a carousel or a huge ship to damage enemies you could also summon Disney characters into battle like Simba for example but I never did, never quite felt that it was necessary.
Graphics:
These are by far the best looking graphics we’ve ever seen for a core KH game. There is really no point comparing KH2 on the PS2 to this one. The lines are clean and crisp in glorious HD. The worlds look great, the snowy world of Arendelle was my favorite by far.
Story:
I feel like telling anything about the story will spoil it so I won’t, I’ll just say this is where things take a steep nosedive in my opinion. You’ve played Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 right? Great, now you’re playing part 3? Also great but you don’t know the whole story. They expect you to have played all those little side story games across various handhelds to fully grasp the story and yes I know the collection came out with all those games on modern consoles but it’s just to much. I’ve never heard anyone say “I’m going to play these eight or nine games to understand the story for this game.” Yeah they give you some summary movies for you to find out more and get a refresher because this game took so long to come out but it’s just feels like too much to do for this game. Possibly the worst thing is that not one Final Fantasy character makes an appearance because they wanted to focus on their characters and their stories plenty of Disney characters show up though.
Conclusion:
I was so disheartened with this game that I didn’t enjoy it at all. In RPG’s I do practically everything or as much as I can however with KH3 it was just a mad dash for the finish line. I’ve followed the stories of convoluted games like the Metal Gear Solid series for example but KH3 left me scratching my head. After such a long wait of over a decade I feel like they could’ve done more with this one. Guess you could say I’m being a bit “heartless” with this game but personally it really missed the mark for me.
Positive:
+ Some new worlds.
+ Wall running is fun.
+ Gummiship flying was my favorite part of the game.
+ It was nice to see the reunions of some friends.
Negative:
- Boring gameplay. (I feel asleep 3 times in the Toy Story world.)
- Unchallenging
- That big showdown with Organization 13 was lackluster.
- No Final Fantasy characters.
For A. C. E.
I’m Kevin Betances see you next game.
Gameplay:
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a bit different from your usual AC game, it keeps everything Assassin’s Creed Origins did but adds dialogue choices into the mix. When you begin your odyssey you have the option to chose between a male or female protagonist which doesn’t really effect the story but once you choose one your locked in with that character. Apart from that there’s a whole new way to play the game, you can have a marker telling you “go here” or you can play the game the way the developers want you to by getting some vague directions from quest givers and scouting the area with your trusty eagle sidekick Ikaros that can tag enemies, entrances and other points of interest. All the usual things return for this adventure like your skill trees Hunter, Warrior, Assassin and interchangeable gear that you can actually see on your character which is one thing that I really appreciate. Sadly there is no hidden blade in this adventure, what you use instead is the tip of a broken spear that belonged to your grandfather which can be leveled up by pursuing a particular side quest. I say side quest because even though it’s a big part of the game you don’t have to complete it to beat the game although you should to get the most out of it’s compelling story. There’s also a modern day story to this one that seems to be building up to something big for later AC games. One thing that is missed is true assassinations, it’s all a numbers game based on stats, equipment and levels etc. not like the days of older AC games where a stealth kill was a true stealth kill. There are a bunch of different weapons to suit your play style from swords, daggers, staffs, spears etc. all with their own advantages and disadvantages. The story can be fast or slow paced depending on whether you choose to follow the given markers or actually discover everything with your eagle but that’s really a personal preference. Naval combat has made a comeback and reminds one of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. It’s fun but Black Flag’s sea adventures were superior for me personally. Don’t forget to mind your actions too, if someone sees you commit a crime they may put a bounty on you. In order to remove said bounty you’ll either have to pay the bounty from your world map or kill whom ever put the bounty on you which is indicated on your map.
Graphics:
The graphics in this game are amazing and I played this on a PS4 with an older HD tv. The locales were beautifully recreated with some amazing detail. The beaches were one of my first initial surprises, they looked so pristine. Everything about this from the monuments to the roads to the characters were amazing. The legendary weapons and armor designs made me squeal at one point when I equipped a full legendary set of armor. I can only imagine how much better it would’ve been on a PS4 Pro with a 4K tv.
Story:
This story is a sad one as they all tend to be. After choosing your protagonist and seeing a little of your childhood you are thrown into the world to fend for yourself. You live your life surviving as a “misthios” which is what you’re called in the game. When you come upon a clue about your past you set off on your odyssey for your family, for revenge. Slowly, step by step you find yourself moving closer to your goal and unraveling huge conspiracy’s along the way and meeting some of Ancient Greece’s most iconic historical figures. There are a lot of side quests in this game, the side quests alone could’ve been their own game to be honest. One thing I must point out about the game is level scaling which is NOT optional. All enemies you face will be around your level which is something I do not agree with. What’s the point in grinding and searching for legendary gear when a scrub from the opening area of the game will be level 50 just like you? This should’ve been optional like in some other AAA games. This is a long journey, mine lasted almost 127 hours but I did everything this game threw at me except those constantly renewing quests and with the upcoming dlc it’d be an even longer game. It offers a lot of replay value too with new missions appearing all the time and a list of never ending mercenaries for you to hunt or be hunted by depending on your wanted level. There’s nothing like trying to stealthily complete a mission and have 3 mercenaries show up hunting you and mess it all up.
Conclusion:
If you’re a fan of single player huge open world adventures that let you do things at your own pace this might be the one for you. Expect to be in Ancient Greece for a long time though because this game is busting at the seams with places to see, things to do and people to assassinate.
Positive:
+ Huge world
+ Replay Value
+ Customizations galore
Negative:
- Level scaling
- No hidden blade
- No “real” assassination's like in older AC
For A. C. E.
I’m Kevin Betances see you next game
Gameplay:
For Honors gameplay is a hybrid of a beat'em up with a third-person fighting game style. You have three different classes The Knights, Vikings and Samurai with each class having four different cast of characters each with their own strengths and weaknesses. For Honor has rather unique controls instead of using the buttons to attack you use the LT/L2 to lock-on and RB/R1 for light attacks and RT/R2 for heavy attacks and it also gives you the ability to use perks or feats to help you and your teammates like smoke bombs and mines. Some also give you the ability to use projectile weapons such as longbows, crossbow and a calling of fire arrow. When playing online you start off with one of each character from every class but they give enough money from the beginning after beating the tutorial to get at lease two or more characters. The game has a nice pace not slow but also not very fast either which feels balanced when playing each character. With the maps there are things everywhere that can give you a instant kill such ledges, fire, spikes and broken bridges which really allows you think before you make your moves along with watching your environments and surroundings just like a real fight which I found to be enjoyable whether playing alone or with a team either way it's up you.
Graphics:
When it comes to the games graphic I found it be very disappointing Ubisoft is a big name company and to have graphics like this in this day and age is very bad when looking at the rain and fire it's just hard to believe at times that you are playing on your Xbox One or PS4. Perhaps they wanted to focus more on the gameplay then graphics for this game but that's still no excuse for these type of visuals.
Story:
The For Honor story is not the main focus for this game and you can tell right away there's nothing really that draws you in and makes you want to continue playing despite the fact that you can play co-op and also has a good amount of replay value but just not interesting enough to make me want to keep playing I think a few ideas from other games with that amalgams idea i.e Warriors Erochi help build the story.
Online:
The games online is very fun with the game modes that they have. There's Dominion which is like King Of Hill style of a game mode but it's a little different as others where instead of just adding points you lose the points you have and is transferred over to your opponents side.There's many ways to get to pick up points from capturing bases and killing your opponents you also can gain points by killing the mpc's on the other team.The other game modes are Deathmatch/Team and Duel Single or with 2 Vs 2 which they call Brawl and then Skirmish which is similar to Dominion just without the bases. Not many modes but it's a 4 Vs 4 game you can't really expect much but what they have FOR NOW is very good but should be improved upon at a later time along with maps also because if they don't add more to the game it will get old fast and that's not good with a game that has a lot of potential to be really good but the main problem with this game is not the gameplay, story or even the graphics it's main problem is it's servers. I can't tell you how many times I have lost connection to the servers or just getting error messages after a exciting match but it's still very new so this is to be expected I'm sure it will be resolved soon.
Conclusion:
If you're a fan of fighting games, beat em ups and strategic games with a unique movesets good customization and characters and you care mainly about online then the story then this would be a game you should checkout buy or rent.
For A. C. E.
I'm Dwayne Robinson Jr see you all next time
Positive
Controls
Fun pace
Characters
Execution
Game Modes
Negative
Story
Online Servers
Graphics
Music