My New YouTube Channel

I've started a new YouTube channel just for videogames. It's called "Gauche Plays" and is sure to be awesome. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ASdLbopAaLV3nF46k__jQ and view the first video below.

Cool Kickstarter Project -- Steamboat Billy

Do you like Cuphead? Pokemon? Zelda? Well, then, have I got the game for you. It is Steamboat Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan.

The story is that every once every  millennia a leviathan rises up from the ocean and steals the world's colors. It's up to you as a very Cuphead-looking character to explore the land and seas, recruit monsters to help you, and rebuild Star Harbor to bring back the colors.

This game appeals to me because it has Cuphead's art style but it's not a brutally hard run-and-gun affair. Its Pokemon and Zelda aspects make it more in line with what I like to play. 

The game is currently in development by ManaVoid Entertainment. It's a little over halfway to its goal. You can find much more information on the Kickstarter page. I'm a backer at the Captain level at I hope you'll consider supporting this game as well.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1106152318/steamboat-billy-the-curse-of-the-leviathan?ref=user_menu

James Review -- Far Cry: Absolution

This week I decided to review Far Cry: Absolution by Urban Waite. 

The story begins with bar owner Mary May Fairgrave attempting to convince the sheriff of Hope County, Montana, where the novel and the Far Cry 5 game that this serves as a prequel to take place, that the recent death of her father in a car crash wasn’t an accident. She believes the crash was arranged by the Church of Eden’s Gate which her father had long opposed. Her brother Drew has joined the church and their father had been on his way to inform Drew of their mother’s death and attempt to convince him to return home when he died. After the sheriff refuses to help, Fairgrave sets out to meet her brother herself, but soon finds herself forced into a wreck by Eden’s Gate forces and on the run.

Hunter and trapper William Boyd is a fringe member of Eden’s Gate who joined the church after his wife and daughter died and rarely attends services. Lonny, his usual contact in the church, approaches him seeking aid in killing a bear that had attacked a ranch recently claimed by the church. Boyd explains why he feels the effort is futile, recounting a story about his military unit’s failed efforts to kill a tiger during the Vietnam War, and Lonny departs planning to attempt to kill the bear on his own.  However, Lonny soon returns, claiming that Mary had been injured in an accident, was lost, and needed to be found and helped. Boyd was friends with the Fairgrave family before joining the church so he agrees to join the search.

But as the pair travel, Boyd finds signs that the church has become cruel and forceful in the years since he has joined it. And when they find Mary, Lonny attempts to shoot her only to be stopped by Boyd, with Lonny falling to his death as he and Boyd struggle. Eventually, Mary is captured by the Church and Boyd sets out to the town of Fall’s End seeking help for a rescue. But during the rescue a secret and a plot darker than either Mary or her rescuers could imagine will be revealed…

I give this book 7 out of 10. I enjoyed the action sequences and a view of Hope County before the game begins was interesting. However, I feel there were a number of flaws. First was the lost opportunity to learn about the beginnings of Eden’s Gate. Rather than getting a detailed history of how the cult started before turning into the force from the game, all we get is Boyd, an early convert thinking about how much things have changed. And many of the characters introduced in the story have little personality and little or no background, with some characters that had vital roles in the tale not even having full names given.  Also, the early parts of the story make strong implications about the events that led to the death of Boyd’s family, only for a twist to throw the implications out. I feel Boyd’s story would have been better if the original implications were correct.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 First Half Hour

Retro-bit CES 2018 News

Games I want to see on a Retro-bit Dreamcast Console

I've decided to shift my focus to videos instead of mainly articles. You'll be seeing a lot more of this ugly mug, but don't worry; there will still be reviews and other content on this blog. In the mean time, here's my most recent YouTube video. You can find a lot more of moi on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/InfiniCalendar?feature=mhee.

Pandora's Box 4S 800

Today I want to tell you about an exciting new product I just acquired. It is the Pandora's Box 4S and it is a dream come true. It's pretty much a retro videogame console that only plays arcade games, but man, they are some of the best games ever. This isn't shovelware; these are real arcade games you used to have to shell out your hard-earned money to play in the arcade, or plunk down thousands of dollars for a full cabinet in your home. There are multiple versions of this available, but I'm going to focus on the particular one I bought.

The thing comes pre-loaded with (depending on the model you purchase) 800 or more arcade games. It has many of the greats such as the Ninja Turtles games, The Simpsons, X-Men, countless fighting games like Street Fighter, and obscure Japanese titles. If I had this as a kid, I would have literally died of joy.

However, I should mention it's not perfect. Here are the pros and cons.

Pros:

1.) 800 of the greatest arcade games ever

2.) HDMI support. You can also hook it up to your PC monitor.

3.) Uses an authentic joystick setup

4.) USB support

5.) You can create a Favorites list so you don't have to keep cycling through the massive library to find the game you want to play.

6.) The games run pretty faithfully from what I've seen so far.

Cons:

1.) The emulation isn't perfect. I've noticed some slight (and not so slight) glitches.

2.) Comes with a very cheap HDMI cable which broke the same day I set it up. You're better off using your own.

3.) The power cable comes in two pieces that don't fit very well together.

4.) The model I got has a two-player joystick board which requires you and a friend to pretty much be rubbing up against one another to play. There are other models which come with different controllers, so maybe shop around a bit.

So far, I feel the pros outweigh the cons and this thing is fantastic. I'll keep playing on it, and if my opinion changes, I'll let you know.

https://www.amazon.com/Console-Classic-Players-Pandoras-multiplayer/dp/B074FVLQF2/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=T5REGJKJ54PT85FKT4NY

Cool Kickstarter Project -- Lona: Realm of Colors

Do you have serious problems? Don't you wish you could just paint them away? Well, good news! In this indie game I recently found on Kickstarter, you can. It is Lona: Realm of Colors.

This point-and-click game stars the titular Lona, an artist with a heavy heart. She begins painting to deal with her problems, and the more she does it, the more she gets sucked into it and loses her grip on reality. Here are excerpts from the official Kickstarter page:

What happens if you could escape from life difficulties that you can do nothing about? What if you could paint all your troubles away or turn them into magical musical notes? “Lona: Realm of Colors” is an artistic adventure about a girl trying to deal with her difficulties by painting them. The more she paints the more her drawings transform real life troubles into abstract art forms and as she is more and more consumed by her paintings she loses touch with real world, and finally gets trapped in her art.

“Lona: Realm of Colors” is a point and click adventure in nature focusing on art and narration instead of fetch puzzles and dialogue. Each level is an abstraction of Lona’s story and it is up to you to bring peace and balance to her painting and find out what has happened to her.

Each level has two sides: a chaotic side represented by Ms. Schmidt the cat and a dark side represented by Mr. Ruppel the crow. You can switch between the two worlds at will and try to bring balance to these extreme interpretations of a single situation. You can use items from each world in the other one and everything you do might affect both worlds. There will be 15 unique scenes from Lona’s memory and paintings each having two sides.

This game looks like it's going to be something really special, and as always, I encourage everyone to support it. We need more unique, beautiful games like this and lli. Become a backer today!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spacefox/lona-realm-of-colors?ref=user_menu

James Review -- Starcraft: Evolution

This week I decided to review Starcraft: Evolution by Timothy Zahn. 

The story begins six years after the end of Starcraft 2. There is an uneasy truce between the three largest powers in the Koprulu Sector. The Terran Dominion led by Emperor Valerian Mengsk, The Protoss led by Hierarch Artanis, and the Zerg led by Overqueen Zagara. 

Zagara sends a message to Mengsk requesting his aid to defend the Zerg presence on Gystt, a planet that was the site of a Terran colony destroyed by the Protoss in the early stages of their anti-Zerg campaign which led to the events of the original Starcraft game. Mengsk decides to investigate personally and when he arrives at Gystt, Zagara invites him and Artanis to a meeting on the planet.

There she tells them that the Zerg wish to atone for their past actions. Using the Adostra, a new form of Zerg created using a limited supply of Xel’Naga essence, they can heal worlds devastated during the recent wars. 

But a Terran team en route to examine the Adostra in one of their three breeding grounds find themselves assaulted by Pryolisks, a new form of Zerg. Artanis believes this is proof that Zagara has lied to them and prepares to wipe out the Adostra. 

However, in the aftermath of the attack on a second breeding ground, the Terran team, accompanied by an exiled Protoss, comes to believe that the Pryolisks are deliberately trying to get the Terrans and Protoss to exterminate the Adostra. Megnsk launches a desperate effort to discover his people’s true enemies while struggling to convince Artanis not to launch an offensive that will reignite the war between the three powers.

I give this book 9 out of 10. I liked the battle sequences a lot and enjoyed the new characters. However there were a couple of early scenes that I feel should have been integrated into the main plot better and some of the periods between battle scenes were rather dull to me. Also, I feel the story is a little too self-contained. I wish the story had some better hooks for possible sequels because I would love to see these characters again.

Defending Homefront: the Revolution (James Review Special)

I decided to join in defending things I like that are widely hated. And Homefront: the Revolution is definitely near the top of the list of most bashed things I enjoy that are widely panned by critics and reviewers. So here is my defense and feelings on Homefront: the Revolution.

Ok first I want to make it clear that while I know Homefront: the Revolution has a number of flaws, I just feel that many reviewers exaggerate those flaws or ignore the fact that many of them were fixed soon after release.

First on the agenda is the bugs. This issue more than any other is one I feel is both blown vastly out of proportion and has been largely fixed via patches. I got the game the weekend after release and the only recurring issue I ran into was the game slowing down massively or freezing for a few moments right after autosaving, and that was fixed. A lot of people seem to think the fact the game had bugs at all should be held against it, while I feel that one of the great things about modern gaming is that DLC patches allow bugs to be easily fixed after the game is released and I know of games with far worse bug issues then Homefront: The Revolution long after anti-bug patches stopped coming that don't get bashed for bugs like this game does.

Now the story. It is pretty basic, set in the near future on an alternate timeline where a technological revolution in North Korea during the 1970s led to the downfall of that country's Communist regime and it transformed into a capitalist technological superpower run in all but name by the Apex Corporation . The USA has been conquered by Korea after the US ceases payments on the debt it owes Korea, leading to an invasion while Apex shuts down all of the US military's equipment purchased from it.You play as a Resistance fighter in Philadelphia struggling to liberate the city. I haven't seen many complaints about the story and most of those come from people who seemed to not understand that this was set in an alternate history, or that it wasn't set in the same timeline as the original Homefront game. If you enjoy stories like the original Red Dawn like I do, or its re-imagining (which I haven't seen yet) then I don't think you will have any big issues with this game's plot. That said, I don't like the new ending added by the final story DLC because I feel it is too close to endings of other recent games with similar themes.

And finally the gameplay. The main game is an open world setting with the character completing a number of primary missions and being given the option to complete side missions to secure new outposts for the resistance or gain other benefits. Planning and caution are vital in this game because if you try charging an enemy base or patrol head-on, you will lose. Health items are rare, and the amount of ammo carried by fallen foes is low so running out of bullets is a regular concern in my experience. That said, I had a lot of fun outside a few issues. First, switching which of the three possible sidearms I was carrying was a huge pain as the game locked in the stealth pistol which was the last of the three that I had purchased from a rebel stockpile and would not let me switch to another like the submachine gun for quite some time. The gameplay changes drastically for the three story DLCs which cut the open world elements in favor of chains of objectives leading towards the story's goal. However, I greatly disliked how the DLCs use invisible barriers or exclusion zones to limit the player's movement. In particular the final DLC, with a description that talked about being able to explore a new map was very bad about this with several difficult battles where I would think of a plan only to discover that couldn't carry out my idea because it involved leaving the mission zone.

Despite the flaws I give Homefront the Revolution 7 out of 10. It is far from the successor to Freedom Fighters that I hoped for when I first heard that an open world Homefront game was coming, but I had fun with it and in no way regret getting it as a birthday present for myself. And as cheap as it is now I feel that if this combination of theme and gameplay is one someone feels they might enjoy, there is no reason not to try it. I'll never understand the hatred it generated or why I see it on so many worst game of 2016 lists.

The Problems With Battleborn

Recently I picked up Battleborn for PS4. I was excited for this game since it's from the same people who made Borderlands. However, I've found it disappointing, and I'll tell you why.

1.) It requires a constant internet connection. It doesn't matter if you're playing solo; you have to be online. If you ever lose your connection, you can't play. This is a bonehead move on Gearbox's (the developer) part and one I feel to be completely unnecessary.

2.) An over-reliance on escort/defense missions. Too many missions in this game require you to defend something, and you automatically fail if you can't defend it. If it were one or two missions, I could forgive it. But it's several, so I can't.

3.) You go back to level one after each mission, killing the sense of progress you would have had by building up your character. I don't like having to re-level my character each mission, choosing the same skills over and over again. Much of the fun in Borderlands came by building up my char and molding him/her into a mighty warrior. I sort of understand why Gearbox did this; they probably wanted everyone to start off on a level playing field. But it just doesn't work for me.

Because of these flaws, Battleborn falls well short of its amazing potential. It has a wildly diverse cast of characters and smart humor, and could have easily achieved greatness if not for its problems.

Movie Review -- Pixels

Today we have the new movie Pixels, starring Adam Sandler and directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus previously brought us Home Alone and a few of the Harry Potter films, so expectations are somewhat high going into this.

The story starts off in 1982, when four boys compete in the World Videogame Championship. After a fierce battle, the winner is decided. We then flash forward to the present day. Technician Sam Brenner (Sandler), who came in 2nd in the competition, now installs TVs and other devices for a living. His best friend Cooper (Kevin James) actually became President of the United States (though he has an abysmal approval rating).

One day, Brenner is doing an install for Lt. Col. Violet Van Patton (Michelle Monaghan) when they both get a call from Cooper summoning them to the White House. Upon arriving, they are informed that an unknown force has wiped out an American military base in Guam. Brenner quickly identifies the culprit as the old arcade game Galaga, though this is difficult for Cooper's cabinet to accept. Nevertheless, it is confirmed by another competitor in the 1982 championship, conspiracy theorist Ludlow (Josh Gad).

The world soon receives a message from inhabitants of another planet who received old videogame footage from the championship via a space probe launched in the 80s. They misunderstand the video as a declaration of war, and they accept. The declare a best of five series of battles, with the winning side taking the loser's planet, The first battle was when they wiped out the Guam base, so the humans are already down by one. With the fate of the planet on the line, mankind turns to the videogame experts for help, but even they are going to need backup, so they recruit the guy who actually won the championship, the felonious Eddie Plant (Peter Dinklage). But with a checkered past, can he be trusted to help save the world?

Pixels is a fun-filled romp through 1980s American pop culture. As someone who grew up with games such as Pac Man and Donkey Kong, it was quite enjoyable to see them get the big-screen treatment they deserve. And it's great to see all the videogame characters they managed to include; not to spoil anything, but even a certain snickering dog makes an appearance. I also found the film to be funny, though not all of the jokes land.

I also want to take this time to sing the praises of Peter Dinklage. From Game of Thrones to X-Men: Days of Future Past to Pixels, this little guy continues to impress me. He can go from being dead serious to a comic lowlife (as Eddie Plant), and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

However, as its IMDB page currently shows, Pixels isn't for everyone. It currently has a metascore of 27 and a 5,1 from 3,451 IMDB users. There weren't that many people in the theater, either. I think this is going to be a movie that people will be divided on.

But I thoroughly enjoyed Pixels, and hopefully you will as well.

James Review -- Halo: Mortal Dictata

This week I decided to review Halo: Mortal Dictata by Karen Traviss.  This is the last ook of the Kilo-Five trilogy. Unlike book two, which focused primarily on the plot regarding UN military’s efforts to keep the civil war among the remnants of the Covenant going, this one focuses almost exclusively on the reborn colonial independence movement. Specifically, it focuses on Staffan Sentzke who believes, correctly, that his first daughter Naomi was kidnapped by the government and replaced with a clone who died less than two years after taking Naomi’s place. Naomi, who was kidnapped to become part of the Spartan-II program, survived the war and has now been attached to the trilogy’s namesake unit which has been assigned to deal with her father. Early in the book, Staffan obtains a former Covenant battle cruiser equipped with anti-planetary weaponry which he rechristens the Naomi. Meanwhile, while observing her father, a few of the memories that were suppressed during Naomi’s training arise. And a group of former Covenant personnel are seeking to reclaim the Naomi. After capturing part of Kilo-Five, Staffan begins negotiations to trade the battle cruiser for his daughter being offered the chance to leave the military, but  during the negotiations the former Covenant forces strike and both sides must unite to face their assault.

I give this book a 4.5  out of 10. The story is OK but adds nothing significant to the plot of the series. There are massive scaling issues like claims that the battle cruiser can wipe out a planet when earlier works have shown it taking hundreds of ships to do so. And the single biggest flaw--an all too common one for this author--is that she forms an opinion on something, then writes the books as if her opinion is the truth, even if earlier stories in the setting show otherwise. I don’t think anyone who has read the series considers the Spartan-II program, which kidnapped children to train as child soldier and replaced them with clones who usually died very swiftly, along with maiming many of the subjects, a good thing. But the author is convinced that the entire program was the fault of the woman who came up with the idea and that the government and agencies which approved and funded the project weren’t at fault for it. The story also implies that Doctor Halsey feels no remorse for the project when she’s been shown attempting to protect the Spartans and atone for the harm the project did to its subjects in multiple prior stories.

Cool Kickstarter Project -- Project Scissors

Today we have an exciting upcoming videogame from the creator of the old Clock Tower horror games, Project Scissors: NightCry. From the official Kickstarter page:

Welcome to the Kickstarter for Project Scissors: NightCry, the latest game experience from veteran game director Hifumi Kono and co-created by film director Takashi Shimizu.

NightCry started from Kono-san’s desire to return to his roots and create a truly terrifying horror adventure game.

We need your financial support to make this a reality, though. Kono-san and his team at Nude Maker are working from a humble office, trying to make it all come together. The creators involved, including Shimizu-san, are coming together for little to no money to make this game happen, just the way Kono-san imagined it. That is how passionate and devoted this team is.

However, unlike the past glory days of the Japanese game industry, point-and-click games are a genre no publisher likes to take a chance on nowadays. And it doesn't help that Japanese publishers believe that the idea of a horror game without guns or weapons of any kind doesn't have mass market appeal.

We did secure some funding for the mobile version, but it's simply not enough to give you, the fans, the big screen (PC) experience we heard you requesting. Titles with original ideas and innovative gameplay, which have been the creative bedrock of this industry, have been largely pushed to the side in Japan.

That's why we want to go back to the roots of Japanese development and buck that trend with your support!

So that's why we brought NightCry to Kickstarter. All of us involved are passionate about making the game without compromise, and Kickstarter gives us a chance to include our fans in that passion!

It's up to you, the true fans of the Japanese horror game, to help us make this plan a reality. Your support will determine if NightCry is able to grow to its full potential or not.  So, please help us - help us get the staff, equipment, and studio time that we need. Let's make NightCry the incredible new Japanese horror game experience we've all been dying to play!

Join us on this journey to a dark place and come out with a new appreciation of what Japanese game creators can do!

NightCry is set on a cruise ship, and you have been invited along for the cruise of a (possibly short) lifetime. While your surroundings are luxurious and the guests are friendly, not everything is as it should be. The guests and the crew start to turn up dead, the victims of some foul murderer.

As those aboard begin to suspect each other, night falls, and a baby’s cry echoes throughout. It's up to you to search for clues that will lead you to the killer as you float, lost, on the open sea.

But be forewarned - your actions will determine how many survive to the end.

Backers can pledge between $5 and $10,000. I am currently pledging $40 to get a digital copy of the game and soundtrack. This game looks like it's going to be very cool, and I encourage everyone out there to become a backer. Get more information at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playism/project-scissors-nightcry.

Gaming Review -- Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea: Episode 2

Today I'm doing something a little different and reviewing a new videogame release. I don't know if this will become a regular feature here, but anyway--here's my review of Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea: Episode 2.

This DLC logically picks up after Burial at Sea: Episode 1. Elizabeth is enjoying Paris, but then she suddenly finds herself back in Rapture. The rebel leader Atlas (who fans will remember is actually the villainous Frank Fontaine) has taken Elizabeth and Sally (the Little Sister she had come to Rapture to rescue) prisoner. Booker, despite having been gutted at the end of Episode 1, appears to Elizabeth and tells her to make a deal with Atlas to get him back to the civilized part of Rapture in exchange for their safe release. The plan involves securing a Luteche particle (which keeps the floating city of Columbia in the air) and using it to lift Atlas' buildings off the ocean floor. Atlas agrees, but can he be trusted? Probably not.

Episode 2 is far superior to Episode 1 which was ruined by a ridiculously short play time and illogical decisions made by Elizabeth. I'm happy to report that Episode 2 has none of those problems. Unlike the 90 minutes of Episode 1, this one took me hours to get through, and those hours were well spent. You fight your way through not only Rapture, but Columbia as well, thus making for a rich variety of locales.

This time you play as Elizabeth after she loses her godlike powers which we enjoyed in Episode 1 and the main game. Her vulnerable status requires a different approach to combat since ammo and plasmids are scarce. You have to pick your spots and use stealth to take out enemies. It isn't quite as fun as in the Batman Arkham games, but it's still refreshing to not just mindlessly blow away splicers. You also run into Big Daddies, but it's best to avoid them altogether.

The plot is far more engaging than in Episode 1 and features some surprising moments. At least one character from the main game will be seen in a new light after you go through this. And the satisfying ending ties it all together.

Finally, I must commend Courtnee Draper for her outstanding voice work as Elizabeth. She really brings the character to life with an emotional punch.

If you're a fan of the Bioshock games, you absolutely have to get Burial at Sea: Episode 2.