Achievement Guide: Beach Buggy Racing

This achievement guide is currently a work in progress and I’ll be adding more information to it as I get it.

Beginner – 10gs – Earn all stars in Easy Street

Come first in every event in Easy Street

Contender – 20gs – Earn all stars in Coconut Cup

Come first in every event in Coconut Cup

Competitor – 30gs – Earn all stars in Sunshine Sprint

Come first in every event in Sunshine Sprint

Professional – 40gs – Earn all stars in Chowder Bowl

Come first in every event in Chowder Bowl

Expert – 50gs – Earn all stars in Tropical Twist

Come first in every event in Tropical Twist

Champion – 60gs – Earn all stars in Pineapple Punch

Come first in every event in Pineapple Punch

Superhero – 70gs – Earn all stars in Tidal Rush

Come first in every event in Tidal Rush

Legend – 80gs – Earn all stars in Typhoon Trophy

Come first in every event in Typhoon Trophy

Race Team – 10gs – Recruit 5 drivers

A driver is unlocked when you beat them in the final level of each cup. Beat 5 other drivers to get this.

Color Theory – 10gs – Paint a car

Simply change the color of your car in the Upgrade menu.

Metric Century – 20gs – Drive 100km

No quick way to do this, it’ll come with time, just drive 100km. You can track your progress by clicking on the graph in the top right corner

One Million Meters – 30gs – Drive 1000km

No quick way to do this, it’ll come with time, just drive 1000km. You can track your progress by clicking on the graph in the top right corner

Trans-Siberian Railway – 50gs – Drive 9,289km

No quick way to do this, it’ll come with time, just drive 9,289km. You can track your progress by clicking on the graph in the top right corner

The 1% – 50gs – Earn over 1,000,000 coins in your career

Another grinder. Simply earn 1,000,000 coins. Make sure to do the dailies every day to maximise your coin gain.

Gull Hater – 10gs – Smash 100 seagulls

Seagulls can be found all over the races in the Easy Street, just drive over 100 of them.

Crab Terminator – 10gs – Smash 40 crabs

Two crabs can be found in the Crab Cove track which is race number 2 in Easy Street. Keep driving over them.

Fire Eater – 10gs – Smash 20 lava monsters

Can be found on Death Bat Alley, they fall from the sky.

Gardener – 10gs – Smash 500 palm trees

Palm trees can be found all over the races in Easy Street, just drive through 500 of them.

Skull Go Boom – 20gs – Smash 50 death bats

Can be found on Death Bat Alley. They swoop down at you so don’t worry about hitting them in the air

Cry of the Yeti – 10gs – Smash 25 yeti

Yetis can be found on the Blizzard Vale race track. I was only able to find one to smash through though.

Unhappy Feet – 10gs – Smash 100 penguins

Loads of penguins can be found on Glacier Gulch. Just drive through 100 of them.

Reckless – 20gs – Win a 1000 HP Race without using the brake

Simply don’t touch LT and go on to win the race. Cannot be done in split-screen

Skillz – 20gs – Win a 1000 HP Race without resetting

Don’t let your car reset (go back to the middle of the track flashing). Could be obtained with Reckless but if you have to reset when going for Reckless, just take your time and play it safe. Cannot be done in split-screen.

Pure Speed – 10gs – Win a Race without using a Powerup

Easily done in the first race. Just be sure not to press A when you pickup a Powerup.

Comeback – 20gs – Go from last to first place on the last lap of a Race

Hang back in last place until the beginning of the final lap then go for first place. Easily done on 2 lap races.

Tastes Like Chicken – 10gs – Win with a chicken on your face

Either drop a chicken crate just before the finish line on the penultimate lap for yourself to drive through it or hope one of the AI does. Or if you have two controllers this can be done in split-screen.

Egg Finder – 10gs – Find 1 Easter Egg

See Egg Hunter below.

Challenger – 10gs – Beat a Daily Challenge event

Daily challenges can be found in the main menu. Simply meet the criteria for the challenge.

Super Challenger – 30gs – Beat 7 Daily Challenges in a row

Daily challenges can be found in the main menu. Make sure to come back each day and beat 7 in a row.

Egg Hunter – 30gs – Find 10 Easter Eggs

Below are the locations of 10 Easter Eggs. There is one in an earlier track but I couldn’t get the timing right.










Precision Driving – 10gs – Score 25 in a Follow the Leader event

To get this you need to grab all 25 orbs from the leader in a Follow the Leader event. If you miss any you will have to restart. The earliest opportunity to get this is event number 12 in the Sunshine Cup.

Leap of Faith – 10gs – Successfully complete the triple-jump shortcut in Death Bat Alley

Just use the shortcut in Death Bat Alley shown below.

Turtle Power – 20gs – Bounce off three different turtles in one river crossing in Dino Jungle

Just before the first bridge crossing in the final race of the first cup you will come across a sharp right turn. Keep going forward but drive quite slowly otherwise you will overshoot the final turtle. I actually missed the second turtle but you just float into it.

I’m in Your Head – 10gs – Use Remote Control to detonate a car under the Nitro effect
3-for-1 – 10gs – Take out three drivers with one Death Bat Powerup

When you get the Death Bat powerup make sure you are at the back of the pack and try to wait until some of the AI are lined up in front of you. It works like the Blue shell in Mario Kart.

Going, Going, Gone – 10gs – Use Earth Strike on an opponent who’s experiencing Low Gravity

When you see cars floating in the air they have Low Gravity. If you have the Earth Strike powerup use it whilst they are floating.

I’m Helping – 10gs – Use Fireball on an opponent who is frozen

Fire a fireball at a frozen opponent. Again, you’ll have to count on the AI to do the freezing for you.

Really I’m Helping – 10gs – Use Freeze Ray on an opponent who is on fire

Same as above just the other way around.

Long Jump – 20gs – Jump 400 meters
Dentist – 20gs – Knock the Tiki Temple’s teeth out

On the Tiki Temple race track you jump off a ramp and into the mouth of the Tiki Temple. You need to have at least a 250HP car to be able to reach his teeth and using Rez’s ability. Other characters can be used if your buggy is has a higher HP. I Tried it in split-screen and it didn’t unlock.

Giddyup – 10gs – Do a jump start

To do a jump start you need to press A between the three dots and ‘GO!’. I would say you need to press A closer to GO! than the three dots. Make sure you don’t hold down A.

I’ll Get That – 10gs – Knock the penguin off the mammoth tusk

On the Glacier Gulch race track you will come across a penguin on the top of a mammoths tusk. Just drive up the tusk and drive over the penguin.

Switcheroo – 20gs – Use B’Zorp to teleport into 1st place within 100m of the finish line

You do this against the AI if you really want to but you will need to unlock B’Zorp first by beating him then using his teleport skill within 100m of the finish line to teleport to first place. If you have two controllers, start up a split-screen game and get player two quite close to the finish line then park them up and catch up with them. Use your teleport skill within 100m of the finish line on the final lap and the achievement is yours.

1-Time Champion – 20gs – Win one 1000 HP Championship

On the main screen you need to select ‘Championships’ and win all championships leading up to and including the 1000HP championship.

5-Time Champion – 40gs – Win five 1000 HP Championships

Same as above, but you need to do it with 5 different cars.

Review: Mega Coin Squad

Mega Coin Squad
Cost
$14.99 / £11.99
Format
Digital
Size
0.88GB
Available On
Xbox ONE [Reviewed],Steam
Release Date
05/20/15
Developer
Big Pixel Studios
Publisher
Adult Swim Games
Modes
Single player, local multiplayer

Mega Coin Squad, brought to us by London based Big Pixel Studios is a frenetic 2D action-platformer for 1-4 players locally. You have the option of 5 playable characters from the beginning (with another character being unlocked later in the game), each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Each character has a short backstory as to why they are on Mega Coin Island, but long story short, they all need money and Mega Coin Island is the answer.

Your goal is to make your way through Mega Coin Island collecting coins and banking them in the piggy bank on each stage. At the beginning of each stage you will be given your target number of coins to bank, which you can do at any time by returning to the piggy bank in the centre of the stage by pressing Y. If you get hit whilst holding coins, not only will you lose a life, you will also lose the coins on hand at the time. There are power ups which decrease the amount of coins lost when hit but more on that later.

Each character starts with the ability to jump, dash and shoot fireballs. The attributes that differ are Speed, Acceleration, Weight and Power. As you can see from the screenshot below based on best times, Chunk was my favourite character (quite fitting), simply because of his power.

My doppelganger minus the grey beard.

My doppelganger minus the grey in his beard.

During each stage the landscapes will change periodically giving you new opportunities to grab coins and also bring along new traps and enemies. You really need to pick your battles depending on your current upgrades and power-ups. You don’t really want to be messing with spike pits unless you have the invincibility power-up handy for example.

In Mega Coin Squad there isn’t really an option to take your time and be cautious. Each stage has a time limit and if you don’t bank the amount of coins required, you need to restart. This keeps the gameplay fast paced and edgy. On more than one occasion I found myself on the edge of my seat trying to avoid the traps and enemies because I didn’t want to get hit with 900+ coins on hand.

Mega Coin Squad is split up into 4 different areas, each with 4 stages. In the final stage of each area you are tasked with defeating all the enemies that spawn in waves and banking the Mega Coin for that area. These final stages don’t have any challenges attached to them and they are generally a lot easier than the regular stages which I found to be a bit strange.

Each stage has 3 challenges to aim for. Don’t get hit, bank all coins needed in one go and beat the par time. For each challenge you complete, you get a Diamond to obtain a random upgrade. These upgrades range from new weapons to double jumping and power-ups you can pick up during the stages. With these being random, each play through almost always needs to be approached differently. A few times I found myself a few stages in praying for the double jump ability to be unlocked because without it, the ever changing landscapes are harder to reach.

The local co-op for Mega Coin Squad is really where the game shines. You have 4 game modes to choose from, Bank the coins, Mega coins, Death match and Hold the rainbow. Bank the coins and Mega coins works similarly to their single player counterparts, Death match speaks for itself and Hold the rainbow is like the Oddball game mode in Halo. You have to find and keep hold of the Rainbow ring whilst moving to generate coins. I played local co-op with my 4 year old son and we had a blast. It really had a super smash bros. vibe to it for me, not necessarily in gameplay but how manic it was battling to grab the most coins.

Multiplayer goodness.

Multiplayer goodness.

Even though the soundtrack and 16-bit graphics are most definitely retro, it doesn’t feel like an outdated game. I know there’s been a big influx of retro styled games, but it really works with Mega Coin Squad. Big Pixel Studios really did a great job with the music. It keeps in sync with the frantic pace of the gameplay and it certainly kept me pumped to keep on playing.

Even though the gameplay is great, there are a couple of niggles in Mega Coin Squad. Firstly is the length of the single player. My first playthrough clocked in at around an hour, and that was with completing all challenges for every stage. This could be quite disappointing for some but if you are wanting to complete the game, achievements and all, you’re going to have to play through it at least 6 times plus bank a total of 100,000 coins.

My only other issue was the lack of online multiplayer. That would have been immense. Not everyone has 3 other people to play with at home, so online multiplayer really would have added so much more to an already fun filled game.

All in all, Mega Coin Squad is a fantastic, action packed platformer with very little single player content and lacking an online multiplayer. However, don’t let that put you off. The gameplay is intense and brilliant, the random upgrade system along with the random environments gives you plenty of variety within the small world and the local multiplayer is crazy fun.

A digital copy of Mega Coin Squad was provided by the Developers for the purpose of this review.

PROS:
1) Fast paced platforming
2) Great upgrade system
3) Amazing local multiplayer
4) Local co-op is blast

CONS:
1) It’s over too quickly
2) No online multiplayer

8.3
EXCELLENT

 

Review: Spy Chameleon

Spy Chameleon
Cost
$4.99 / £3.99
Format
Digital
Size
0.48 GB
Available On
Xbox ONE [Reviewed], Steam, Wii U
Release Date
05/22/15
Developer
Unfinished Pixel
Publisher
Unfinished Pixel
Modes
Single player

Unfinished Pixel’s first foray into the magical world of the Xbox One comes in the form of Spy Chameleon, an action-puzzler. You play as an undercover RGB agent whose goal is to complete each mission without being detected. As far as any story goes, that is pretty much it, but it doesn’t really take anything away from the game.

Spy Chameleon tasks you with completing 5 missions, each with 15 levels. Each level has 3 challenges to complete. A par time to beat, 10 flies to collect and finding all the ladybugs in that level (anywhere from 1 to 3 per level). There aren’t many levels where you will be able to complete all 3 challenges in 1 run, so you will be replaying levels a lot if you want to nab all the challenges.

During the missions, you will need to avoid detection from CCTV, Robot Sentries, Rats and others by using the environment as cover from their field of vision. To successfully navigate through each level you quite often need to make use of your camouflage ability. Each colour is represented by the corresponding colour on the controller so Y is Yellow, X is Blue etc, which works really well. For example, if there is a tin of green paint spilt on the floor you can use your green camouflage to disappear from the enemies field of vision.

Blending in like a pro

Blending in like a pro.

Spy Chameleon does a great job at introducing you to new puzzle mechanics and I never really got bored of doing the same thing over and over because there was plenty of variety going on. The flip side of this though is the difficulty seemed to fluctuate throughout the missions due to the tutorial levels for each new mechanic being introduced.

I found a handful of levels really required pin point accuracy and timing to beat the par time, but for the most part you are given plenty of breathing room. For a puzzle game I would say the frustration level stays pretty low throughout, which was a nice change of pace for me.

Towards the end of the game and not exactly a challenge

Towards the end of the game and not exactly a challenge.

Unfortunately, not everything is as enjoyable as the puzzles in Spy Chameleon. A few nights back I was playing for about an hour and a half and progressed to level 58. When I came back the next day to carry on my progress I had been reset to level 8. None of my stats were saved and I had 40 levels to redo. I’m not 100% certain what caused the reset, but I have seen others mention it when putting their Xbox One in sleep mode. So anyone wanting to play Spy Chameleon, be aware that you could lose progress if you’re not careful.

Something I really like about Spy Chameleon is the achievement list. It’s pretty uncommon for an Indie Developer to include a good achievement list. You’ve got your standard game progression achievements, a handful of random tasks to do like annoying the same fish 25 times and some skill based ones too for completing all challenges on Hard mode and finishing all 75 levels in under 18 minutes (I’m currently at just over 20 minutes). The par time for level 18 is currently incorrect and although it can be done with the incorrect par time, the Developers are aware of the issue and a patch is in the works.

Spy Chameleon does a lot of things right. The controls are on point, the puzzles aren’t frustratingly difficult or fiddly and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The fluctuating difficulty did catch me off guard a few times but it’s not a deal breaker. Apart from the loss of progress, I had a blast playing Spy Chameleon and Unfinished Pixel got the pricing point spot on.

A digital copy of Spy Chameleon was provided by the Developer for the purpose of this review

PROS:
1) Pricing point is excellent
2) Constantly introduces new puzzle elements
3) Fun!

CONS:
1) Can sometimes lose mission progression when powering down your Xbox
2) Difficulty level fluctuates

7.5
GOOD

 

Review: Toro

Toro
toro omg why
Cost
$19.99
Format
Digital
Size
2.17 GB
Available On
Xbox ONE [Reviewed]
Release Date
5/15/2015
Developer
Recotechnology S.L.
Publisher
Recotechnology S.L.
Modes
Single Player

Toro is a bullfighting simulator developed by Rectotechnology S.L. The game promises to challenge your skills and reflexes against an array of dangerous bulls worldwide, as you face the beast with style and excitement. Sadly however, the game fails to do any of that. In fact Toro is one of the worst games I’ve ever played on so many different levels. Pulling a single redeeming value from this game would be harder than being thrown in the ring and facing a bull myself. From top to bottom Toro is a miserable failure. Making a bullfighting simulator video game is hard enough, since the idea doesn’t really translate into video game mechanics that well. If someone made a bird watching simulator, it probably would be darn-near impossible to pull off. But maybe if the game was gorgeous, immersive, and well designed, it could find a niche small audience. It’s the same for a bullfighting sim, maybe it could work if done right. But that is certainly not this game, all of Toro reeks of complete bullshit.

The most important thing in any video game is the gameplay itself. It needs to be fun and have depth. If it’s a puzzle game, it has to inspire and give the player “eureka” moments of joy. If it’s a fighting game, it needs to have complex but fulfilling actions that give the player a sense of achievement. If it’s a shooter, it needs to feel crisp and give the player satisfaction with every pull of the trigger. Every game in every genre needs to have fun deep gameplay. Toro falls flat in its face in this regard. To face the bull you do two things, call the bull towards you, and then press a couple buttons to do a “pass”, which is a style of move to avoid the bull. That’s it. Call the bull, double tap X. Call the bull, press X and B, call the bull, double tap X again. Often there are times when I failed to time it correctly, but the bull ran right through me. Other times it should have worked just fine but I was run over for who knows why. This goes on until you enrage the bull, and you do this for three minute rounds.

If you successfully avoid the bull after a few runs, the game goes into a clumsy quick time event. In this event the game doesn’t change at all, you don’t do a cool move or anything different in any way. The bull and your character look exactly like they did when you were doing normal passes with your double X nonsense. As you successfully press the button for the quick time event, the bull runs right by you and you wave your flag just like normal. Why is there a quick time event when nothing changes? Why am I not still playing the game normally? I honestly don’t see the point. In a normal game, in a good game, a quick time event is in place of something that cannot be done in the normal gameplay. For example, let’s say you’re playing a star wars game as a Jedi. In the normal gameplay you can attack with your lightsabor, dodge and parry, use the force, and jump about. However, what if you are going up against an AT-AT Walker? (A giant walking tank) Well, the developer can choose to use a quick time event for something like this. Get close enough to the Walker and jump underneath it, suddenly the game tells you to press A, if done so correctly your Jedi starts climbing up the leg of the Walker! Now press B, your Jedi reflects a blaster shot from a nearby enemy while continuing to run up the leg! Now click A, your Jedi flips in the air and slices the power source of the Walker and it explodes with epic glory! This is what quit time events are for. Yes, the developer could have programmed it so you’d just slash away at the legs of the Walker till it falls. But it might be more satisfying and more fun to allow the player to do new and thrilling moves to take down the enemy with flashiness. Jedi’s can do some really crazy stuff can’t they? Now as soon as this quick time event is over, the game will go back to the normal, yet still rewarding gameplay with your saber in hand. But for Toro, the quick time event is literally the same thing as the normal gameplay. In my Star Wars example, it would be like if in the middle of fighting off stormtroopers with your lightsaber, the game goes into a quick time event were you just kill more stormtroopers with your lightsaber. What’s the point?

If the bull “gores” you, nothing happens. You’re in game character doesn’t get hurt. You don’t have a life meter. There’s not injury. There’s nothing. Even the sound effect is pathetic. If the bull gores you, it sounds like someone throwing a tennis ball against a brick wall. There’s a small noise and the crowd makes an “oooh” reaction. Then you get right back up and continue tormenting the bull. IT’S A GIANT 1,500 POUND BEHEMOTH WITH SPEARS ATTACHED TO ITS SKULL! Yet you get run over by it over and over and over and shrug it off like it’s a freakin’ bag of cotton candy. They call it GORE for a reason don’t they? There’s no suspense in trying to avoid the monster. There’s no satisfaction in fighting him off. It’s like you’re playing bumper cars or something, oh wait it’s nothing like that at all, bumper cars is actually fun.

The first and third rounds play exactly the same; call the bull, double tap x, occasional boring quick time event. The second and fourth rounds are more quick time events that last only about five seconds. In round three you places cones on the back of the bull, the quick time event does all the work. And in the final round you stab the bull with a sword, the quick time event again doing the work. It’s strange however since you don’t see the bull once you thrust the sword. As soon as you finish the quick time event, a small crosshair appears, but it’s another ridiculous design choice because the crosshair is always at the perfect spot as soon as it starts. You don’t need to line up anything, just press A as soon as the cross hair appears and you’re all set. And when you do hit the bull, instantly the bull is out of the picture and the screen pans to your bullfighter who is soaking in the applause. Maybe they didn’t want to look cruel? Maybe they didn’t want to do the work to show the stabbed bull? Either way it feels empty and strange and unrewarding.

Speaking of empty, that’s a perfect word to describe something that is hard to put into words about Toro, but I’ll do my best. The game is just so quiet and empty. There are seconds that go by where there is literally no sound whatsoever. To go along with the horrid graphics, which I’ll talk about shortly, this emptiness creates an almost eerie sense of loneliness. There’s no life in this game. There’s no heart. It’s not to say that the developers didn’t create the game with heart, it just doesn’t come out in the final product at all. Hearing the same sound effects over and over started to drive me mad! The tennis ball sound when I get gored, the same “hut” every time I call the bull, the same exact sound of the crowd cheering for 2 seconds and then instantly disappearing again is repetitive and obnoxious at best.

After completing matches you unlock more bullrings to fight in and more costumes to wear. The customization is lackluster. While character customization is sometimes a great way to make the player feel involved, if it’s not fleshed out it can actually push the player away from that emersion. There is just one face to choose from, a few different hair styles and colors, and different lengths of sideburns that they comically call facial hair. Why can’t a pick between a handful of faces? I understand they want to make the game look in-line with what real bullfighters look like, so no Amish-style beard allowed. But why have customization at all then? Other than your actual character, there are several costumes to choose from once you unlock them. These look fine and you can adjust their colors.

Once unlocked, there are two mini-games to play. For 2 seconds anyway, they are more fun than the real game, but after those two seconds you realize they are as repetitive and boring as a Dora the Explorer episode. I GET IT YOU’RE THE FREAKIN’ MAP YOU DON’T GOTTA SAY IT 74 TIMES! But an episode of Dora is still 700 million times more entertaining than Toro. The first mini game had some promise; you play as the bull, build up power, and launch the bullfighter into the sky hundreds of feet. It’s funny the first and maybe second time but that’s it. Again they have the exact same sound effects over and over and there’s no strategy or fun in the gameplay. Once you do it a couple times there’s no reason to try it again. What am I saying there’s no reason to try it in the first place! The second mini game you play as the bull again, you run down a hallway with double doors at the end. You aim the bull left or right to make it through the doorway and you press, “A, B, X, or Y”, whatever it asks you to press, to open the doors. Three major problems. One, it’s obvious you’re not moving the bull, you’re actually moving the entire screen left or right and it just looks offsetting. Two, it’s like a dumbed down even more boring and repetitive and ridiculously easy version of flappy bird. And three, you can cheat the game. It asks you to press a button, but in reality you can press any button you want as long as you press the correct one as well. Meaning you can just continually press all four of the buttons nonstop and you will always open the doors and run through, there’s no penalty for pressing the wrong ones.

The graphics in Toro literally the worst I’ve ever seen on a console post 2000. And who cares if a game doesn’t look that great in 1997, that was the technology of the day. This is 2015! I could easily compare the graphics of Toro to the Sega Dreamcast, and that’s not hyperbole. There are Dreamcast games that look better than Toro. I think that really sums it up just fine, but for the sake of explanation I’ll put it this way. The animations are appalling. The textures and details are nonexistent. 99% of the crowd doesn’t move, making the 1% that does move stand out in the worst way possible. There bullfighter and the bull’s faces don’t move at all, frozen in a perpetual state of stupidity. The sound effects are actually almost creepy. I don’t want to continue, it’s painful for my finger tips to express it all.

Toro is a mess. I don’t even want to call it a video game. I’d rather succumb to Chinese water torture than play another minute of this abomination. I probably shouldn’t be putting this on the internet for the world to see, but if anyone wants to torture me, make me play Toro. Within seconds I’ll be on the floor balling my eyes out and telling you everything you need to know. It might sound harsh, but Toro is that bad of a game. I’m ashamed that the game is on the Xbox One. It shouldn’t even be free to play let alone a game someone would need to purchase to play. The Xbox team should be embarrassed for letting this game enter its marketplace. Whole consoles, like the Wii for example, have truly suffered due to shovelware. The entire gaming industry fell apart due to shovelware in the video game crash of 1983. Toro does teach what bullrighting is about. It has information of the different types of bulls, the different passes that are performed and what the “sport” is like. But if you want any of that information, look on the internet, in books, or wherever. But stay away from Toro. To be blunt, the game should be gored by a bull and left to rot in video game obscurity as one of the worst games in video game history.

PROS:
None

CONS:
1) Boring and repetitive gameplay
2) Awful game design
3) Terrible graphics, three generations old.
4) Just everything…

1
Pathetic

 

Review: Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
box_witcher3wildhunt_w160
Cost
$59.99
Format
Retail and Digital
Size
25.42 GB
Available On
Xbox ONE [Reviewed], PS4, PC
Release Date
5/19/15
Developer
CD Projekt RED
Publisher
Warner Bro
Modes
Single Player

Witcher 3 is a 3rd person action RPG from CD Projekt RED. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt you play Geralt a Witcher. This means it’s your job to hunt down rare and dangerous monsters in the world, well at least as long as someone is paying you to do it.

If you are a true completionist then prepare for the long haul. Ideally you already live in your mom’s basement and she is willing to bring you Funyuns on a moments notice because this game is PACKED. It’s hard to describe the shear scope of the game. Games keep talking about making bigger and bigger maps but then they fail to fill them with anything enjoyable to do. Not so with The Witcher 3. There are quests and activities in every nook and cranny of this game. I’m 67 hours into it and not only am I not getting bored but I don’t even feel like I’m halfway done. These are not just go fetch me a crate quests, everything has cutscenes and decisions and you feel like what you did before this moment has helped define what you are doing now and why you are doing it.

Just a small portion of one of the maps

Just a small portion of one of the maps

The combat is very satisfying and very much skill based. Every creature has very specific attacks, defenses and weaknesses. It’s extremely important to make use of all your abilities and a player who is familiar with dodging and parrying during combat can defeat a much higher level opponent through pure skill. Although a monster may be able to 1 hit kill you, the fact that if you use the right equipment with the right Signs you could still win that battle and I really enjoy that aspect of trying to take on a really hard fight and managing to win.

Let’s talk about everything you have at your disposal during a battle. You have 2 swords, one for humans and one for monsters. You have five magical abilities, your Signs, and for me two of these really stood out as amazing. Igni, which is your fire attack, is amazing in battle against 90% of enemies. Burn damage is massive and it creates a stagger effect on enemies allowing you to add on attacks. The other beast Sign is Axii. This is a mind attack. On basic monsters and humans you can stun them in place or even convince them to attack their friends. Against monsters it’s a nice slow down effect. The remaining three are Quen, a shield, Aard, a telekinetic blast and Yrden a trap spell. They all have their places in the game and all are useful.

Toe to toe with a Griffin

Toe to toe with a Griffin

This leads us to Alchemy. Alchemy brings us bombs to throw, potions to take, oils to add to your swords for bonuses and decoctions which are monster specific bonuses. The Alchemy system is both a strength and a weakness. I applaud them for creating this entire system of bonus potions and oils but it’s almost too complex. I fight my first Griffin and get a Alchemy item that allows me to create a potion so that the next time I fight a Griffin I’ll have a little bit of an advantage. They vary but usually something like I do 10% more damage to Griffins. That sounds great doesn’t it! The problem is I also have to find the recipe to actually make the potion, and then I need to find the rest of the ingredients that will make the potion. Then I need to actually find another Griffin to fight and make sure I apply the potion and the oil and the decotition and it just becomes a LOT of work for a minor bonus. I could spend hours getting all the parts and making the items and only ever fight 1 more Griffin the entire game.

On the flip side, if I really want to do all that Alchemy work then the Skills Tree just adds and adds and adds bonuses. There is a skill called Refreshment that at max skill level heals 25% of HP on each potion use. So not only get the potion’s benefits, but also do a major heal. There are a load of skills that do a load of great things. But don’t think you are just going to get every skill and be a god among men. First off you get 1 skill point per level and levels do not come easy. Experience is really earned in the Witcher 3 and it take a lot of time to develop your character. Then there is the fact that abilities are only helping you if you place them in active slots on your character of which there are only a few places.

So you’ve made all these potions and just used them in battle against a Rock Golem. Do we have to search the land for more ingredients to replenish our stock? NO. You Meditate. When you meditate in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt you replenish all your bombs, potions, etc (and heal on anything but the highest difficulty) for the cost of just 1 alcohol. Yes, if you have a beer in your inventory when you Meditate you get everything back. 1 beer equals 3 bombs, 2 potions and whatever else you used up to this point. It’s a pretty big stretch immersion wise and meditate’s story problems don’t stop there. The process is, Geralt sits down wherever he might be and you select how much time will pass. Meditate is also used to speed up time if you need to meet someone at a specific time. Like it’s mid morning and your contact only shows up at Midnight. So I select 6 hours to pass. As I sit down there is a dwarf walking in front of me. Now I get up 6 in-game hours later and that dwarf is exactly where he was when I sat down right in stride. NPCs that would arrive or leave during that time do so, but anyone who is valid for the full range doesn’t appear to have passed any time at all. Just a immersion problem.

Game looks amazing

Game looks amazing

There is a full card game to play also called Gwent. Apparently its only the rage with merchants and traders as they are willing to play with you but no one on the street seems interested. It’s a valid sales strategy that they are willing to demo a game they want to sell you cards for but it’s reach so far appears to be Barons and Witchers. It’s a fun little game that carries the major problem with any game made to be simple. There is no cost to play a card so the game is just about getting the best, most powerful cards which in itself is probably the longest and most time consuming quest in the game.

The problems on the Witcher 3 are minor annoyances that really only come up because the game is so huge you are bound to find things that just don’t feel right to you. Swimming in 3rd person games is one of my top pet peeves in the world and Geralt is just as bad a swimmer as every other game in the history of the world. Getting out of the water is a insanely frustrating exercise where you the player are trying to figure out what 1×1 pixel on the shoreline that CD Projekt RED wants you to get out at.

Overall CD Projekt RED has made an amazing game where even a straight main quest only playthrough is going to net you a LOT of content. Try to take in everything, and that time played counter is going to skyrocket. All of the game’s issues are cosmetic and Witcher 3 has one of the most advanced and varied combat systems I’ve played in a while.

PROS:
1) So much to do
2) Great varied combat
3) Great story, great acting

CONS:
1) Swimming
2) Mediate as a game mechanic seems not quite done

10
Perfection

 

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Mad Money Making Tips!

This entry is part [part not set] of 5 in the series Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

We’ve found two pretty awesome money making tips for the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The first can be done immediately in White Orchard and makes you some decent cash for little effort. The second one can be done when you get to Novigrad and makes some MAD cash for pretty much no work. Read up on these options below:

MAD COW MONEY

As you enter the main town after crossing Woesong Bridge there are 2 cows to the left in a small fenced in area. Use Igni to kill both cows and loot them. They may have nothing, they may have meat or cow’s milk or if you are lucky they have cow hides. Cow hides sell directly to vendors for 24 to 50 orens each depending on the vendor. The real trick here is to kill the 2 cows and then move to the side of the area. Face away from the where the cows spawn and then mediate for 1 hour. 2 more cows! Continue until you get bored. The local Merchant doesn’t have a lot of cash on him but there are plenty more around the area and any little bit of case is good at this point.

SHELLY SHELLS SEA SHELLS BY THE SEA SHORE

NOTE: This has been patched out of the PC version. Still works on consoles as of 5/22/15.
At the Heirarch Center in Novigrad there is a Merchant in front of some fish that will sell you unlimited Shells and Sea Shells for 7. Buy out his stock and the back out to the Show me your wares screen and you go can right back in and buy more Shells. You then take them to the Armorer who is about 10 feet away and Dismantle them into Pearls and Black Pearls that sell for over a 100. You are only limited by the amount of Oren the Armorer has to buy the Shells with. You can Meditate for 7 full days so he gets more cash, or as I do just hold on the Pearls and sell them to any Armorers or Blacksmiths you run into. Alternately you can travel to the Loan Shark by the Oxenfurt Gate. He only has about 1000 Orens at a time, BUT it is instantly replenished when you back out to the choice menu and come back in!

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Witcher Gear Set Guide

This entry is part [part not set] of 5 in the series Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

There are 3 main sets of Witcher Gear in the Witcher 3. Griffin, Cat and Bear. And then each of those sets have 3 extra levels of upgrades to find and craft. Enhanced, Superior and Mastercrafted. Here are our guides to starting these quests and then crafting and upgrading each set.

GRIFFIN
STANDARD

This video shows you were to find all the diagrams for the Griffin Witcher Gear Set. All the pieces are found in Velen. To start you begin it at the top of a peninsula in Velen at Lornruk. It’s above Blackbough. There is a chest with the first diagram above the room and then you also need a journal from climbing the tower to the top.
Level Requirements: Swords – 7 | Armor – 8


ENHANCED

All of the Enhanced upgrades can be found in various locations around Velen. There is no quest to help you locate these pieces you just need to find them in the world. Here is our video showing all 6 locations.
Level Requirements: Swords – 14 | Armor – 15

SUPERIOR

Level Requirements: Swords – 22 | Armor – 23

MASTERCRAFTED

Level Requirements: Swords – 30 | Armor – 31

CAT
STANDARD
BEAR
STANDARD

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: Nero

Nero
Cost
$19.99 / £15.99
Format
Digital
Size
8 GB
Available On
Xbox ONE [Reviewed]
Release Date
05/15/15
Developer
Storm in a Teacup
Publisher
Storm in a Teacup
Modes
Single player

Nero is Storm in a Teacup’s first game and they describe it as a first person puzzle / visual novel. Does Storm in a Teacup’s first outing hit all the right notes?

Right from the word go, you can tell this game is visually stunning. The colours are vibrant, the environment is enchanting and even the wildlife are beautiful in their own weird way. Even in the dullest areas of the game, there are still pockets of bright, neon colours, which really make the visuals pop. When I started up the game, watching the opening cut scene made me smile. I really thought I was in for something really special.

Truly stunning visuals.

Truly stunning visuals.

That feeling soon dissipated when I got off the boat and began to control my character. I decided to look around at the amazing environment and my disappointment began. The frame rate seems extremely low especially when looking around with the right analogue stick. I started to move my character forward and the movement was unbearably slow. A few minutes went by whilst I was walking through the first little town area before a tip popped up on screen advising you can run with RB. Unfortunately, even with the aid of an unlimited run the pace was still too slow. You spend vast majorities of your time just “running” in between puzzles, so the game really could have done with some extra movement speed.

Other than running around you gain the ability to make these orbs of light which you can fire in front of you to unlock doors, activate switches etc and a little further on in game you gain another hooded figure who acts as your companion who you can direct to stand and move wherever you want them to, to help solve the puzzles.

During your time exploring you will need to look out for little picture frames which act as your collectibles in Nero. Each picture frame contains a fragment of a picture which symbolises the story being told for that particular area.

Something that Nero is brilliant at is telling a story. It isn’t full of plot twists or shock moments, but right from the beginning I was hooked. If you want to hear all of the story, then you’re going to have to complete all of the puzzles the game has to offer. Throughout the game you will encounter floating paragraphs which feed you bits of information filling in the story for you. After most puzzles are completed the Narrator will further expand on the story, making a great experience and one of the more original storytelling ideas.

I really enjoyed reading these floating paragraphs.

I really enjoyed reading these floating paragraphs.

The game is split into 4 different areas for you to explore and even with you searching high and low for every collectible and completing all the puzzles, you’ll be very lucky to get more than 3 hours worth of gameplay. Considering the current price, that does not equate to much bang for your buck.

As far as the achievements list goes, if you find all the collectibles and solve all the puzzles you will pretty much complete the list. The only exception being an achievement which requires you to play the Hospital level on a Thursday for a specific meal to show up in the canteen.

Nero shows a lot of promise. It’s storytelling was superb, the visuals were stunning especially considering this was a self-published first outing for Storm in a Teacup it is just a shame the gameplay couldn’t match those standards. It is too difficult to look past the annoyingly low frame rate and tedious gameplay. Add to that how short the game is and it leaves you feeling disappointed after expecting so much in the beginning.

Nero is definitely an experience worth playing through to experience the story, but if you need some satisfying gameplay, look elsewhere or wait for a price drop.

A digital copy of Nero was provided by the Developer for the purpose of this review

PROS:
1) Brilliant storytelling
2) Truly beautiful visuals

CONS:
1) Very poor frame rate
2) Too short
3) Tedious gameplay

5.7
DULL

 

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Bestiary Guide

This entry is part [part not set] of 5 in the series Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Here is our list for the weaknesses of various enemies in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

BEASTS

Bears :: Beast Oil, Quen
Dogs :: Beast Oil
Wolves :: Beast Oil

CURSED ONES

Bersekers :: Devil’s Pufball {Bomb}, Cursed Oil, Quen, Igni
Botchlings :: Cursed Oil, Axii
Ulfhedinn :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Devil’s Puffball {Bomb}, Cursed Oil, Igni
Werewolves :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Devil’s Puffball {Bomb}, Cursed Oil, Igni

DRACONIDS

Basilisks :: Golden Oracle {Potion}, Grapeshot {Bomb}, Draconid Oil, Aard
Cockatrices :: Grapeshot {Bomb}, Draconid Oil, Aard
Shrieker :: Grapeshot {Bomb}, Draconid Oil, Aard
Wyverns :: Golden Oracle {Potion}, Grapeshot {Bomb}, Draconid Oil, Aard

ELEMENTA

Gargoyles :: Dimeritium Bomb, Elementa Oil, Quen
Golems :: Dimeritium Bomb, Elementa Oil
Hounds of the Wild Hunt :: Dimeritium Bomb, Elementa Oil, Igni, Quen

HYBRIDS

Griffins :: Grapeshot {Bomb}, Hybrid Oil, Aard
Harpies :: Grapeshot {Bomb}, Hybrid Oil, Aard

INSECTOIDS

Endrega warriors :: Golden Oracle {Potion}, Insectoid Oil
Endrega workers :: Golden Oracle {Potion}, Insectoid Oil

NECROPHAGES

Alghouls :: Necrophage Oil, Quen
Drowners :: Necrophage Oil, Igni
Foglets :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Necrophage Oil, Quen
Ghouls :: Necrophage Oil
Grave hags :: Black Blood {Potion}, Necrophage Oil, Yrden, Quen
Mourntart :: Black Blood {Potion}, Necrophage Oil, Yrden, Quen
Rotfiends :: Necrophage Oil, Necrophage Oil, Yrden, Quen
Water hags :: Northern Wind {Bomb},

OGROIDS

Nekkers :: Northern Wind {Bomb}, Ogroids Oil

RELICTS

Crones :: Relicts Oil, Quen
Fiends :: Samum {Bomb}, Devil’s Puffball {Bomb}, Relict Oil
Godlings :: PEACEFUL

SPECTERS

Devil by the Well :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Specter Oil, Yrden
Jenny O’ the Woods :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Specter Oil, Yrden
Nightwraiths :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Specter Oil, Yrden
Noonwraiths :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Specter Oil, Yrden
Plague Maidens :: Specter Oil, Yrden
Wraiths :: Moon Dust {Bomb}, Specter Oil, Yrden, Quen

VAMPIRES

Ekimmaras :: Devil’s Puffball {Bomb}, Vampire Oil, Igni
Higher Vampires :: Vampire Oil, Igni