Review: ArcaniA: The Complete Tale

ArcaniA: The Complete Tales
psstore_arcania_w160
Cost
$29.99
Format
Retail & Digital
Size
5.80 GB
Available On
PS4 [Reviewed]
Release Date
5/12/15
Developer
Spellbound Entertainment
Publisher
Nordic Games
Modes
Single Player


Arcania aka Arcania Gothic 4 was originally released on last gen consoles and PCs back in 2010 and a year later on PS3 with an expansion attached. Now released on next gen with said expansion, does it have improved visuals and game play that most of these re-makes promise? Short answer, no! In a time where definitive/remaster/ultimate editions are the fad in the early days of the next gen life cycle, this shouldn’t be considered to fall into that category. Graphically it has got the whole budget look to it; character models are average and lip syncing is woeful almost as bad as the actors’ voice work itself. It’s a shame as the setting is probably the best looking thing in the game. That’s not to say Spellbound Entertainment are trying to package the game as an upgrade on the last gen version it just seems to be a straight port.

But lets not be too negative. When swaggers asked me if I could review the game in some ways I was more excited to do so than with the previous 2 games I had reviewed. Both of those were game genres I had played previously or had an interest in. Arcania is not and although it wasn’t something I would normally buy and/or play I was pleasantly surprised when I started it. The game is very user friendly when it comes to teaching you what you can do, weapon uses, skill assignment, general combat and more. Being a total novice to this genre I was quickly up to speed with the games mechanics and felt comfortable on the journey ahead.

Starting up you play an un-named hero, initially in a peaceful village with much to look forward to. Tragedy strikes and the hero’s quest soon becomes one of revenge and self discovery. Going back to the acting the performance wasn’t enough to make me invest in the character but the story in general was quite interesting and I was soon doing various tasks leading toward the eventual goal. It was refreshing to also have a system in place where your level didn’t prevent you from accessing certain weapons or magic. Levelling up is still key as it makes your character stronger but it was never at the forefront of my priorities.

Trophy/achievement wise you would normally expect an RPG to be either crazy hard or very time consuming. This is a little bit of both. The trophy for completing the game on the hardest difficulty (Conqueror) seems to ease up as you progress, make use of dodging enemies and using ranged attacks wherever possible. According to those that have got the platinum/100% you’re looking at 30-40 hours, which admittedly isn’t as bad as other RPG games but given the handful of missable trophies and a point of no return care must be taken if you want to do it all in one play through.

PROS:
1) Easy to learn
2) Good story

CONS:
1) Bad graphics
2) Voice acting
3) Animations

6.5
Average

 

Review: Toren

Toren
psstore_toren_w160
Cost
$9.99
Format
Digital
Size
4.91 GB
Available On
PS4 [Reviewed], PC
Release Date
5/12/15
Developer
Sword Tales
Publisher
Versus Evil
Modes
Single Player


Sword Tales a little known Brazilian indie developer brings you its first foray into computer games with Toren. A very spiritual, imaginative title with action, puzzles, platforming and sights to behold.

Toren

Toren

You play as Moonchild a girl that is seemingly destined to learn from her mistakes and discover herself as she explores and climbs the tower known as Toren. As you ascend the tower you find yourself solving mostly simple puzzles, fighting monsters and discovering new weapons and abilities in dream sequences to make you stronger and better equipped in your quest. Many people likened this game to the hugely popular Ico and Shadow of Colossus games. Having never played either I went into this game not knowing what to expect. Graphically, while not at the level you’d expect of next gen, it’s by no means horrible either and some of the design is really impressive and you can’t help but think with a little more polish this could have been a real gem. The scale of the game did impress me though and this was reflected in the game’s size. A soft soundtrack accompanies Toren and the game tells its story with both on screen text and in Moonchild’s actions themselves.

The Life Tree

The Life Tree

Overall it’s quite a short game, I completed the main story in little over an hour and with no difficulty levels to choose from any deaths were solely my own fault. In fact the game was an ideal length in my opinion. Playing through I did miss three trophies on my way to the 100%, Enlightenment, Little Monk and Dark Knight. The first focuses on completing the life tree which you do as you enter the dream world through various shrines dotted through your travels. I however missed a few on my initial run through, luckily you can use chapter select to get what you miss. The other two are for collecting a mask and upgrading your sword both done by backtracking. So if you pay attention and check areas thoroughly you will be OK. Additionally the North American version stacks (separate trophy list) with the European one so so for all you trophy hoarders (guilty as charged) this is a nice way to boost your count.

PROS:
1) Quick and easy
2) Impressive size and style

CONS:
1) No skippable cutscenes
2) Lack of polish on look

7.0
GOOD

 

Review: Nom Nom Galaxy

Nom Nom Galaxy
psstore_nomnomgalaxy_w160
Cost
$14.99 / £11.49
Format
Digital
Size
439.9 MB
Available On
PS4 [Reviewed]
Release Date
5/12/15 (NA) / 5/13/15 (EU)
Developer
Double Eleven
Publisher
Q-Games
Modes
Single Player & Co-op

Double Eleven bring to you the latest installment of the pixel junk series, Nom Nom Galaxy. The cutesy graphics and playful nature so familiar in their previous games returns with new features thrown into the mix.

You play Astro Worker, an employee of SoupCo a galactic company tasked with making and sending the best tasting soup all around the galaxy. Your boss Robo-Shaco tasks you with looking for various ingredients that will please any and all of their hungry customers.

At the start-up menu you have various options but the core of the game consists of 3 modes. Corporate Conquest which is primarily the single player mode but also allows other players join you in building the best soup factory there is. Another mode similar in nature to co-op is S.O.O.P which allows you and another player to play a previously completed planet but without any regulations or restrictions. Finally Challenge mode which rotates on a 2 day (48 hour) clock where you can compete for the best scores in race, combat, sales and split screen co-op.

The menu

The menu

So lets break down the modes. Corporate Conquest is where you will spend the majority of your time. You start off in Soupcon Valley which at the start has 5 worlds. Selling and/or completing said worlds opens the gravlock which allows you access to another galaxy with more worlds to explore and mix new soups. The main aim is simple; reach 100% sales against a rival soup maker. As you send soup so does this rival and whoever reaches max sales first wins. If you are doing well the rival will send employees to put a stop to your success and ultimately your game if given the chance. To start a factory you must build an office. Without this the factory doesn’t run and this is what must be protected. Luckily you can purchase turrets and eventually robot security to fend off such attacks.

The deadliest of all the Soups

The deadliest of all the Soups

The co-op I managed to test myself which I can confirm is not a PVP style but fully team based, Clicking the quick join option I was put into a game already in progess, another player had built some of his factory already. While it was fun and added more to the mode knowing you had human help rather than the AI this experience was riddled with input lag, button commands following through onscreen 1-2 seconds after. Additionally there were some long pauses in this mode where the game looked like it had crashed only for it to continue after. Hopefully this will improve once the game is fully released.

Lastly challenge mode, as stated there is a constant refresh of said challenges every 2 days. In this time you can compete for medals in 4 different categories, after which the game will rank you on either bronze, silver, gold and elite. When the challenge expires and you go back into this mode you will be rewarded. I managed to get 2 elite entries on my first attempt and received a choice of 6 boxes to chose 5 prizes from. These were gums that act as temporary powerups to be used in Corporate Conquest.

Challenge Mode

Challenge Mode

Trophy wise nothing looks too difficult, time consuming maybe. Culinary Arts Award requires you to unlock all astro pins and while these are simple enough ranging from tasks like harvesting certain ingredients there are 75 pins which will take a while. Luckily the game has a lot of planets for you to try and get 100% market success on so ample opportunity to work on this. The game also allows you to check which pins you have and your progress toward the next.

Summary –
A game with elements such as side scrolling, resource management and tower defense seemed a bit daunting at first along with the many different factory machinery options but after playing the 2 tutorial levels and diving right into the main campaign you quickly realise these all fit perfectly with each other and how best to manage each different world and how you can be successful on it. The addictive nature of trying to make a better factory on the next planet had me hooked and eager to see what the next one brought.

PROS:
1) Great visuals
2) Funky soundtrack
3) Multiple game styles mixed into one

CONS:
1) A lot to take in
2) No Vita version
3) 2 controllers required for couch co-op

8.2
EXCELLENT