Street Fighter V Video Game Review

Final Verdict - Definitely Worth Playing

Sorry this review took so long but given the shaky release and variable issues at launch I wanted to wait and give it a fair chance. With that being said lets jump right into the usual format. As expected I bought this game for PC since I have not yet joined the current next gen gaming family on PS4. I'm a long time fan of the franchise so I have been eagerly awaiting its arrival and the arrival of my main character in the series as she has been out of the game for a while. Its time to rise up....

Street Fighter V is a fighting video game published by Capcom, who co-developed the game with Dimps. It is the fifth main numbered entry in the Street Fighter series. The game was released in February 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, the game features cross-platform play between the Windows and PlayStation 4 versions. Similar to the previous games in the series, Street Fighter V features a 2D-esque fighting gameplay system. The game also introduces the "V-Gauge", which builds as the player receives attacks and adds three new skills. The game features 16 characters at launch, with 4 of them being new to the series. A story mode and additional characters were added through updates and downloadable content. According to Capcom, the game was a PlayStation 4 console exclusive as both Sony and Capcom had "the same vision for the growth potential in the fighting game space". The game was powered by Unreal Engine 4, and had a beta test prior to its launch. Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the game's graphics and gameplay, but was criticized for its lack of story-mode content and characters.

What’s Good:

Graphics: Some have gone on record saying the look is cartoony but I feel like Capcom did a good job using this particular art style to represent the brightly colorful and fast paced action of the franchise. I'm saddened that certain graphical aesthetics were tweaked all in the sake of being a PG rated game but aside from that the HUD, characters and stages are all wonderfully done.

Story-line: I must say the worth is well worth it given the content, character development and overall setup of the story provided. Well executed and gives both old and newcomers to the series a well rounded experience and introduction to new and returning cast members alike. Overall the story mode clocks in at about 3 hours, and even though Capcom released it months after I can see where the extra time and effort was placed into ensuring it was an enjoyable experience.

Soundtrack: Pretty solid soundtrack and voice acting overall. Without a doubt some of the best remixes for character theme songs. My top three theme song favorites are for Rashid, R. Mika, and Ken.

Game Mechanics: Stepping away somewhat from its previous iteration Capcom has introduced the "V-Gauge", which builds as the player receives attacks and adds three new techniques: V-Skills, V-Reversals, and V-Triggers. V-Skills are special attacks unique to each fighter; for example, Ryu can parry an attack while M. Bison can reflect projectiles, some of which build V-Gauge when successfully performed. V-Reversals allow players to use a section of the V-Gauge to perform a counter move whilst being attacked. Finally, V-Triggers use the entire V-Gauge to allow the player to perform a unique ability, such as a temporary damage boost for Ryu's hadoukens. Also a visible stun bar meter has been added to the HUD.

What’s Bad:

Game Mechanics: With a rough launch three major issues plagued many player for months on end, Netcode stability, lack of a penalty system for rage quitters, and poor ranked match making. Since the story mode DLC has launched however 2 of these issues have been rectified for the most part as matches flow much smoother and I no longer get matched up against people 2-5 levels above me consistently while playing ranked. Capcom even implemented a point deduction system for consistent Rage Quitting over extended time periods.

Replay: Not much to do besides fight your friends persay and an added difficulty for the new story DLC but the main reason replay value is lacking is the manner in which Capcom decided to implement character color unlocks. Literally no one is happy about the survival mode color unlocks; it is the bane of most current owners existence. I can say without a doubt on Hard and Extreme difficulty the computer is a dirty cheater on the higher up levels.

What Should Have Been Added:

Definitely more characters at launch because Street fighter has always been known for its robust roster and in this day and age especially people want a wide variety of characters to choose form and explore when diving into a new fighting game.

Final Thoughts:
Pound for pound this game even with its rough launch and poor PC port is too much fun to pass up. If you are a fan of Fighting Games or the series itself you without a doubt should add this game to your collection. It is relatively safe now to buy the game as most the launch issues have been improved on or fixed by this release of the story DLC alongside new characters Balrog and Ibuki. Enjoy the story mode gameplay with commentary below...

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Goat Simulator Video Game Review

Final Verdict - Give It A Shot 

The little goat that could; or should I say the little joke that could. Goat simulator fever has taken the gaming community by storm and what started out as a simple joke project soon became a reality. Coffee Stain Studios, the Swedish team behind the Sanctum series, have used artistic licence and given us their view on the epic day to day life of a goat. So come along for the ride and experience the only Goat Simulation game in existence...(as far as I know of anyways)

Goat Simulator is an open-ended third-person perspective game in which the player controls a goat. The player is free to explore the game's world, a suburban semi-urban setting, as a goat, and jump, run, bash things, and lick objects, which attaches the goat's tongue to the object and lets the player drag the object around until they let go. At any time, the player can let the goat drop into a rag-doll model, allowing the game's physics to take over, and another control makes the game run in slow-motion. It was released for Microsoft Windows via Steam on 1 April 2014, while ports for Mac OS X and Linux are presently being developed. The game has been compared by the developer as akin to skateboarding games, but where the player controls a goat aimed at doing as much damage as possible around an open-world map, without any other larger goals. The game, initially developed as a joke prototype from an internal game jam and shown in a early alpha state in YouTube videos, was met with excitement and attention, prompting the studio to build out the game into a releasable state while still retaining various non-breaking bugs and glitches to retain the game's entertainment value.

What’s Good:

Game Mechanics: Somewhat paying homage to the innovator of its engine Goat Simulator the game features a scoring system similar to skateboarding games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, whereby doing tricks or other actions earns points. Like the old adage goes "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and oddly enough this works well in Goat Simulator. Couple that with insane rag-doll physics and even a slow down time button and you have the makings of a fun time whether you are high, drunk or sober.

Replay value: The DLC is a coming so that give us hope for replay value as well as a Leaderboard that tracks world wide ranking points for the game so you can be the very best like no one ever was. There also exists a variety of different goat models that the player can gain access to via small golden goat statues that are hidden in the game's world and certain quests. 

Soundtrack: The game's soundtrack is somewhat limited but this is to be expected somewhat given the overall nature and price of the game. The soundtrack music is however quite catchy and I found myself quite naturally humming along to the music.

What’s Bad:

Story-line: There is none, short of a couple quests that get you acclimated to the game and its controls there is no real directive or flow to the mayhem that is Goat Simulator. I can see how since the game is a open world sandbox title it lends itself to the premise of creativity though. Essentially letting the player do as they please, but there isn't any excuse not to have even a crappy story-line instead of none at all to give some sense of meaning to the twisted world of Goat Simulator.

What Should Have Been Added:

Definitely should have added multiple levels at launch considering the small size of the only level available. Can't really fault them though since the game is in general just one big joke that went viral and had a strong enough hype to get it made into a reality.  Obviously a story-line would need to be added as well to give further motivation past just the occasional cheap laugh at the rag-doll physics that befall the goat. Some form of multi-player interaction maybe akin to the Dark Souls franchise where you can invade other players games. 

Final Thoughts:

Honestly the game is ridiculously fun; for about the first 15-30 minutes depending on your sense of humor, creativity and maturity level. Without a story-line or sense of meaningful progression its hard to say that you will stay motivated to play. This is the fundamental flaw of the game as its novelty and viral hype can only be expected to carry it for so long and no more. Thankfully this game is priced nowhere near the full retail price of a AAA game title so you don't have much to lose on experiencing the one of a kind "goating" experience.

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Psst; Hey You...Wanna Get Laid?

Game Mechanics - 2/2

Story-line - 2/2

Graphics - 1/2

Soundtrack - 1/2

Replay Value - 0.5/2

 Total Score - 6.5/10

Well its summertime so you know what that means in video game land. Its the drought season; the time of year when their aren't really any big games scheduled for launch whether because of E3 or Steam Summer sales. Summer time between June to august is always just a time to catch up on past titles and buy old games you never got a chance to play via the ridiculously low prices of Steam Summer sales and so on. Well I fondly remember the days of Leisure Suit Larry and his ridiculous point and click adventures so I was shocked when I found out they make a remake and just had to find myself playing it. So lets see if we can't get our forty year old programmer laid in the all new Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded.

Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded is a point-and-click adventure game released on June 27, 2013 by N-Fusion Interactive and Replay Games working with series creator Al Lowe and IP holder Codemasters. The game is available for Microsoft Windows via Steam, Mac OS X, and Linux. Android and iOS versions are still in development. It is an enhanced remake of the 1987 Sierra On-Line adventure game Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, which was itself a remake of the 1981 Softporn Adventure. Like the 1991 VGA remake of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, the game employs a point-and-click interface over the original 1987 version's text parser. The game consists of a variety of puzzles, which can be solved by looking at, picking up, licking, talking to or using items on a variety of objects and people in the game. There are five buildings in the game: Lefty's Bar, a mini-mart, a love chapel, a multi-floor casino, and a disco club.

What’s Good:

Game Mechanics - Definitely an improvement over its predecessor  ease of use to appeal to whatever your preference as there are three ways of utilizing the game control scheme. Controls in general are intuitive as you can easily figure out each one without even checking out the tutorial mode.

Story-line - Sex is always and forever one of the most popular and most enjoyable topics to partake in so who wouldn't enjoy a game about getting some? As the game goes on you realize just how hard it is to not only get laid but to find true love for Larry. With many adventures and ensuing hi-jinks along the way you are certain to be entertained while playing granted you can figure out each puzzle and scenario effectively.

What’s Bad:

Soundtrack - Was neither hear or there; narration and voice overs were good but the overall ambiance of sound did nothing to really immerse you in the experience.

Graphics - Granted this is a remake and it at least meets the standard of presentation better than its predecessor  With games like The Walking Dead doing the same point and click adventure though its easy to see that more could have been done in this regard for the game.

Replay Value - Pretty much non-existent save for one or two points in the plot where if you hadn't gotten a certain item scenarios would be harder or easier to progress through.

What Should Have Been Added:

Updated graphics engine, better animation, more risque scenes, multiple outcomes instead of a linear set path to complete most objectives. I would also liked to have seen more types of mini-games instead of mostly just gambling machines and the like.

Final Thoughts:

Decent remake overall, lots of improvements considering how old the original game is but still nothing noteworthy to warrant ushering the potential of Leisure Suit Larry to make a comeback and garner a new generation of gamers. Still worth a shot if you are a fan of the series or like point and click games in general. You can also check out our little bit of play-through below to get a feel for what the game is like.

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Hope You Don't Get Lost...

Game Mechanics - 1/2

Storyline - 2/2

Graphics - 1/2

Soundtrack - 1/2

Replay Value - 2/2

 Total Score - 7/10

Are ya ready kids? I can't hear you? Oh who lives in a pineapple under the....wait a sec wrong intro. Hey guys welcome to another video game review here with your friendly neighborhood gamer ZALGO_COMETH. Today we are going to be looking at  the recently released game titled "The Cave". Not one of the biggest releases for January as it was pretty much overshadowed by the release of the new "DmC: Devil May Cry" as well as "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch". I opted to review this game because I feel it deserves some spotlight time as it is definitely worth a play; even more so if you are into puzzle solving and platforming. With that being said lets take a look at "The Cave".

The Cave is a platform-adventure video game developed by Double Fine Productions and distributed by Sega in January 2013 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U consoles via their respective storefronts and on Steam for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The game was created by Ron Gilbert, building on an idea that he has had for nearly twenty years about a cave that lures people into it to explore their darker personality traits. The game borrows concepts from his earlier 1987 game, Maniac Mansion, in which the player initially selects three different characters from a cast of seven to explore the Cave. 

What’s Good:

Storyline; The Cave's story is based on a magical talking cave with a set of labyrinthine tunnels within it. Seven characters, drawn from across time and space and harboring dark secrets, have come to the Cave, believing they can "learn something about themselves and who they might become", as stated by Gilbert. As you play through the game you can unlock bits and pieces of each characters past that help the story unfold as the characters path to self discovery takes shape. This spans many areas and scenarios that are so verse that you undoubtedly will find yourself pulled into the story as it unfolds.

Replay Value; many of the game's puzzles require the three characters to work in coordination to complete, while some puzzles are specific to the unique abilities of a character; in this manner the Cave can only be fully explored through multiple play-through. With such a diverse set of characters to choose from and each with their own special ability you are guaranteed a multitude of different play-through experiences as you go about exploring the cave.

What’s Bad:

Soundtrack; honestly didn't really care for it. Don't even really remember feeling any bit of hype or suspense from the soundtrack. Was just there as an unimportant part of the game.

Game Mechanics; don't get me wrong the game mechanics of the game itself are ok but the fact that I had no idea what each persons special ability was even after trial and error to me is a big no no. So i feel like there should have been a better introduction or explanation of each character and what they are capable of so you can better choose your party of three to suit your play-style more. I ended up just picking who I thought looked cool.

What Should Have Been Added:

Not that the game lacked polish but in this day and age I feel like it could have used better graphics to help better bring across the importance of the cave and your surroundings as a whole. Hopefully there will be DLC to include more characters and possibly varying cave locations. They also needed a dedicated button to warp off screen players together because it got really tedious and annoying having to walk everyone together at times. I figure it might have been a better idea to make the co-op play split-screen so players have a better view and control of how they interact with each other.

Final Thoughts:

Overall "The Cave" provides a decent playing experience for anyone who decides to give it a shot. If you enjoy platforming games or puzzles you will definitely enjoy "The Cave". If you are just looking for a new game to try out as well I would recommend this as well. Hopefully if they make another one in the future they pick a better release window so the game can get a fair bit of exposure and not get overshadowed by bigger AAA titles.

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