Arms Has Legs

I'm not really into fighting games. Mortal Kombat is cool because I can rip people's spines out without being labeled as a murderer. Street Fighter is fun because I am undefeated in Street Fighter V with Balrog. You read that right. Undefeated, as in no loses. I'm 1-0 with him. Injustice is neat because it's Batman v Superman without being all mopey and lame.

But all of these games have super long combo lists for each character and ginormous character rosters. As I play, I realize I'll only pull off these combos once in a while through random button pressing.

Despite my aversion to fighting games, I bought Arms on launch day. When it was revealed in January, I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes. Then I played the Arms Global Testpunch (stupid name, I know) and I enjoyed it so much. Even though I was getting wrecked online, I still found the game to be fun. I only won one game and that was because my opponent wasn't even playing. I'll take whatever wins I can get in that game.

Arms is super tough, but not because there's a high barrier to entry like most other fighting games. It's tough because the AI opponents are ridiculously brutal and have the ability to see into the future, which is frustrating. But when you find the right AI difficulty (like...2) the game is a lot of fun.

Even battling people online is fun, until grab-happy Ninjaras ruin the momentum. Having more than one game mode available in casual online makes the online a go-to destination for me.

Except the two-vs.-two fights are lame. Like, really lame. Hard pass.

Out of the Shadows

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia has been out for a few weeks and it's been quite the departure from traditional Fire Emblem games. It's still the same concept: fight armies on a grid in turn-based battles, but without some of the stuff from the  most recent entries. You can't pair up your troops and make super-powered babies this time or partner up on the battlefield and wreak havoc.

Those features weren't in the original version of this game, so it makes sense they are absent in Echoes, because it is a nicer looking copy of that game, basically. The dungeons are unique to the game and I hope they return in newer Fire Emblem games.

However, keeping this game so true to the original has some setbacks.  The lack of enemy and class variety is a little disappointing, and because the map is more open, you-ll play in the same exact environments over and over again.

Overall, the game is really fun, but I have not seen such false hit chances since XCOM.

I can't tell you how many 80% chances I've missed. One level in particular saw me miss more than half of my attacks, despite having a 78% chance to land them. You don't need to be a math pro to realize that 78% does not equal 50%. An enemy archer also landed five of his six attacks despite having a 32% chance to hit on each one.

Frustrating, but fun. A sentence that can describe every Fire Emblem game at some point.

Living on a Prey-er

Prey came out. Lost in all of the talk about Prey's publisher-imposed-late-reviews is the fact that Prey is a really good game. It reminds me a lot of games I already love.

It's got the atmosphere and tense gameplay of one of my favorite games ever--Alien: Isolation. Much like BioShock, it's setting is deep (Get it? Because BioShock is underwater? Deep? Deep!) and full of interesting lore to find out.

It's also similar to Dishonored in that each area and story mission can be completed in a number of different ways. Also, the GLOO Gun is an awesome weapon--it's basically a freeze ray. I was a big fan of the first Prey and I wasn't too fond of what the sequel initially looked like, but I'm glad they managed to reboot it all, and the result is pretty great.

The game's got a lot more RPG elements than I initially thought, too. It has side quests and the map is one giant open space station. You can explore the exterior of the station as well and relive the sickness you felt when watching the movie Gravity.

Walking around not knowing what's an enemy hasn't gotten old yet, and it keeps the game tense.

My one major complaint in the game: it practically discourages you from getting the game's coolest abilities, like turning into a mug. Yes, turning into a mug is a cool thing and probably the highlight of experience life so far.

Star Wars Battlefront II...Again

Star Wars Battlefront II's first trailer was released last week--officially and unofficially, given the leak a few days before the reveal. The story-heavy trailer showed off that you'll be playing as an Empire-splinter group that bands together to keep fighting the good--erm, bad fight after the Death Star gets blown up. Again.

I know EA and Dice's original Battlefront reboot was divisive. I love the game, but I agree that it needed more content. I wasn't too concerned about the game's lack of a single-player story considering that I rarely played the original Pandemic-developed Battlefront games solo anyway.

The reboot needed more maps and locations. It needed easier access to hero characters. It needed more heroes. The Season Pass fixed a lot of these issues, but paying a total of $110(!) for a single game feels gross.

Despite it's flaws, I loved Battlefront and I'm super excited for Battlefront II. The inclusion of every era of Star Wars history is great. With a class-based system for multiplayer and the elimination of vehicle pick-ups in favor of vehicle access being similar to another popular DICE online-focused first-person shooter, Battlefront II seems to be headed in the right direction.

A cool story mode about a time we don't know much about just it makes it even better.

The second attempt at a fusion of Battlefield and Star Wars could be a beautiful thing.

Basically Banjo-Three-ie

The collectathon genre says hello again with the release of Yooka-Laylee.

It's set in a completely unique world filled with completely unique characters who are unlike anyone from any game you have ever seen before.

Obviously I'm joking when I'm talking about the uniqueness, as the game is basically a Banjo-Kazooie clone. That is what the developers promised, after all. Oh, and a 3-D Shovel Knight is there, which is DOPE.

The game takes me back to my childhood where the only two games I would play on my Nintendo 64 were Banjo-Tooie and Kirby and the Crystal Shards. I always got lost playing Banjo because I couldn't remember (see: didn't care enough as a youth) to go to each objective I was told about.

Now that I'm older and closer to death, the finality of how few games I'll actually have time to finish has hit me, and I'm determined to finish this game before I die. Well, that and I find the game incredibly fun and addicting.

I'm also much wiser than I was when I originally played Banjo games, so I won't get lost. I'll just get distracted by every shiny object I find.

If you like collecting things and/or love Banjo-Kazooie or Banjo-Tooie, you will like this game. If you never liked those games, then there's not much here to win you over.

Destined for Sequels

So there was a Destiny 2 pre-order sales pitch reveal last week. You probably saw it. It had a funny Cayde-6 rallying other Guardians while Zavala did the same, just in a more serious manner. Yeah, I thought the Cayde-6 monologue was amusing, but as famous fictional scientist Dr. Alan Grant said in Jurassic Park III, "No force on earth or heaven could get me on that island." The island being Destiny 2 in this case.

And yes, I'm fully aware that Dr. Grant ends up going to that island, but he was promised a lot of money. If someone paid me to play Destiny 2, I'd be down.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Destiny. I bought it three times and played all of the expansions. However every time I finished up an expansion, I left feeling robbed. Destiny (and presumably) Destiny 2 is all about the grind. It's got more grinding than a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game or an awkward high school dance.

Destiny never really got it's hooks into me like it did for so many others, and that's fine. But there is a pretty big divide between those who love Destiny and those who hate Destiny. It seems like a game everyone loves or hates; there is no middle ground.

Destiny 2 will probably double down on everything the original Destiny was about, which again, is great for its fans, but probably won't do much to win over new players. Over the life of Destiny, almost none of my concerns (and the concerns of many, many others) were addressed. Bungie seemed to cater to those who loved it already--which is a huge number of people--without addressing some key concerns.

The reveal obviously won't tell us too much, if anything, but before I consider playing Destiny 2, I'd need to know a lot of information.Will the game become more streamlined instead of hiding interesting lore and ways to get new loot behind a lame second-screen experience like the Destiny app? Will the enemy variety be better? Will there be an interesting story?

The game box lists its "Cinematic Story Campaign" on the back of the box as a selling point. I've yet to see that "Cinematic Story Campaign." I don't believe it's there. Maybe it's hidden somewhere in the Grimoire cards.

The biggest thing I took away from the reveal? The different editions the game will launch and the different pre-order incentives. Hopefully the game lives up to everything Destiny's hardcore fans want it to be.

A Journey 600 Years in the Making

Mass Effect: Andromeda is out, which means I get to dive right back into one of my favorite video game franchises. I think the original Mass Effect trilogy is a near perfect set of games. The amount of time you invest in your team rewards with you all the personal interactions, and that's always been the main draw for me. 

Once I boarded the new ship--the Tempest--I instantly felt like I'd arrived in a Mass Effect world. Is the game perfect? No. But I still really enjoy the game, which means the game overcomes it's shortcomings for me. I love this game, even if the reception has been pretty divided, and that's okay.

Between this and Breath of the Wild, I don't know where I'll find time to sleep.

The new characters are interesting, including Jaal, who is from a new alien race. These new aliens are pretty uggo, but they are interesting, so it balances out. Liam is a cool bro to talk to, Vetra is a cool...mom-like character, and Peebee brings some levity to an otherwise serious game. I left out Cora, because I don't trust anyone with the last name Harper in Mass Effect (I'm looking at you, Illusive Man). 

Mass Effect is a continuation of what has been, so far, one of my favorite years in gaming already. Resident Evil 7, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mass Effect: Andromeda have all been exactly what I hoped for. 

Hopefully the rest of the year can continue to give us fun experiences.