Destiny 2 - New Legends Will Rise

After several months of speculation, Destiny 2 has finally had an official trailer. Unfortunately, not one scene of which actually included any gameplay footage. Destiny has captivated a devoted gamer fan-base since it first launched on September 9, 2014.

In the teaser trailer titled "Last Call", Cayde-6 (portrayed by none other than Nathan Fillion) recounts the events that transpired leading to the fall of the Vanguard's Hall of Guardians while presumably taking some "creative liberties" on his heroic performance whilst defending himself as well as his comrades Ikora Rey and Commander Zavala.

In the featured trailer, he makes an attempt at rallying the various Guardians spread throughout the ruins of what was once the Tower or the last city on Earth. Comically however, his motivational speech is not nearly as impressive as Commander Zavala's but with the promise of "loot", the Guardians in his midst are rearing to take on the Cabal who had the "Ghaul" to invade and destroy the Vaults containing the Guardians' arsenals (pun intended).

The official description of the reveal trailer reads as follows:

"Humanity’s last safe city has fallen to an overwhelming invasion force led by Ghaul, the imposing commander of the brutal Red Legion. He has stripped the city’s Guardians of their power, and forced the survivors to flee. You will venture to mysterious, unexplored worlds of our solar system to discover an arsenal of weapons and devastating new combat abilities. To defeat the Red Legion and confront Ghaul, you must reunite humanity’s scattered heroes, stand together, and fight back to reclaim our home."

More info is said to come via a future livestream on May 18th, 2017. Players who pre-order will be the first to obtain BETA access to the game, but there will be an Open BETA at a later date.

My Thoughts

My expectations for this game are at an all time low because I'm skeptical (and cynical) that the plot of this sequel will have any real substance.

In addition, knowing that Bungie had DLC expansions, I can at least somewhat predict that the same pattern will occur once again. As such, I suspect that Season Pass will be offered. Let's recap on when the original game released its downloadable content:

1.) The Dark Below released on December 9, 2014
(91 days from the time of the launch of Destiny or approximately 3 months).

2.) House of Wolves released on May 19, 2015
(252 days from the date of the launch of Destiny or 8 months, 10 days).

(161 days from the date of the release of The Dark Below Expansion or 5 months, 10 days)

3.) The Taken King released on September 15, 2015
(371 days from the date of the launch of Destiny or 1 year, 6 days).
(119 days from the date of the release of the House of Wolves Expansion or 3 months, 27 days).

4.) The Rise of Iron released on September 20, 2016 

(742 days from the date of the launch of Destiny or 2 years, 11 days)
(371 days from the  date of the release of The Taken King Expansion or 1 year, 5 days)

So we have a rough idea of how spread apart the expansions were for the first title. Does this mean that Destiny 2 will follow the same trend? Not necessarily, but at least it's a starting point. On average, each expansion comes out somewhere between 3-5 months apart from one another (with exceptions regarding the last one).

Iron Banner Supremacy - A Broken Blade?

In an article titled Iron Banner Highlights Big Issues With ‘Destiny’s’ Multiplayer

by By Collin MacGregor, the Destiny community’s PvP (Player vs. Player) Iron Banner Supremacy mode comes under strict scrutiny by the author.

In the Iron Banner's Supremacy mode, two teams of six are tasked with shooting each other for “Crests”, which are engrams that are dropped after each successful kill. If a player runs or walks over it, their character picks that crest up. After an immediate kill, it will add a point to their individual scoreboard and a point to the team total. If another player manages to gather your crests after you have bested your opponent, they get one point for the retrieval and you get a kill point. It is ideal to pick up your downed allies' crest engrams as it is vital to prevent the opposing team from collecting them.

The first team to 150 points, or the team with the most points by the end of the round will win the match. This game mode is vaguely reminiscent of the "Kill Confirmed" archetype from the Call of Duty franchise. However, the exception in Destiny: Rise of Iron is that no points are awarded for the actual take-downs. The points are awarded solely upon crest retrieval.


Where MacGregor and I differ is in our opinion of the balancing of the game mode for this month's Iron Banner. According him the game has shifted the


"...balance of Destiny’s multiplayer considerably in the favor of certain classes. Support or distance based powers such as Nightstalker, Sunsinger, and Gunslinger feels shoved aside for the close quarters powerhouses like Striker, Bladedancer, and Stormcaller. Bungie has been trying since the games inception to find some sort of balance between all of the different guns and sub-classes, but this is the first time it’s truly felt broken. Now, I’m not asking for the entire game to revolve around snipers or allowing players to just camp in the back the entire match. However, one shouldn’t feel like entire gun archetypes are not viable due to everyone running exceedingly aggressive builds."

This is where Collin MacGregor and I disagree. I typically play as a Nightstalker Hunter in most PvP game modes (I'm honestly never really in the mood to switch) and I personally never saw any problem with the Nightstalker bow being used. In fact, it was IDEAL in the close quarter maps as I would be able to tether multiple opponents at once, gaining the "Wild Hunt" accolade nearly every time I unleashed it. I have seen many additional hunters utilizing the same effective strategy to circumvent the Stormcaller Warlocks and the Sunbreaker Titans. To me, what really seems broken is the lag time between picking up a crest engram and it disappearing from view. (I can't count how many times I've dashed towards a crest I thought was there, only to find out that someone had already picked it up.)

If anything, the lag and lack of partial credit towards kills is what has cause the balance in Destiny's latest game mode to be a bit skewed. I would rather have a top score of 250 with a point awarded for a kill, two for getting a crest, and perhaps three to four for the kill and retrieval of a particular crest.

I do agree with MacGregor with regards to the individual maps being a bit of a clincher on the game balancing front. Last Exit, Icarus, and Skyline are indeed full of narrow hallways and passages. As such, close combat tactics are preferred and encouraged. If other maps were rotated more frequently, we might see a drastic change in how the players respond in certain combat scenarios. However, with Rise of Iron only being  seventeen days old from the time of this post (September 20, 2016 is when Rise of Iron launched), this latest game mode being front and center for the new and improved Iron Banner is to be expected.

When I say "new and improved" I'm referring to the welcome addition of the female Iron Lord Efrideet as the head of the Iron Banner (via a nice introductory cinematic I might add!). The bounties for the Iron Banner now apply for the entire week and do not refresh daily, but now that the Tempered buff is no longer in play, it's far easier to rank up reputation levels. (I managed to get to rank 3 in the span of about an hour or two.)

My issue is that during battle, with everyone clustering together in an attempt to ensure crest pickup, it makes allies far easier targets for chain effects like that of the Zhalo Supercell and Stormcaller Warlocks. I can't count the number of times I've sneaked behind enemy lines just to flank the entire team and throw them off guard. So, perhaps spreading out a little bit wouldn't hurt on the teamwork.




Works Cited:

 MacGregor, C. (2016, October 05). Iron Banner Highlights Big Issues With ‘Destiny’s’ Multiplayer. Retrieved October 7, 2016, from http://heavy.com/games/2016/10/iron-banner-highlights-biggest-issue-destinys-multiplayer-balance-shotguns-snipers/ 

Bandai Namco Announces Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 - Counting Down 2 E3

Bandai Namco announced today, (Tuesday, May 17, 2016) that Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is releasing in 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

According to the press release:

Santa Clara, Calif., (May 17, 2016) – "BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. the premier publisher of anime video games today announces DRAGON BALL® XENOVERSE 2, the most expansive Dragon Ball® videogame experience to-date. DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 is currently in development at famed Osaka, Japan based video game developer, DIMPS and will be available for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and STEAM® for PC.

DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 is scheduled to launch in the Americas in 2016. Developed to fully utilize the power of current generation gaming consoles and PCs; Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 builds upon the highly popular Dragon Ball Xenoverse with enhanced graphics that will further immerse players into the largest and most detailed Dragon Ball world ever developed.  

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 will deliver a new hub city and the most character customization choices to date among a multitude of new features and special upgrades.The Dragon Ball franchise is a crown jewel and a perennial fan-favorite of Bandai Namco Entertainment’s robust anime videogame portfolio and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 will build upon that illustrious legacy.” said Eric Hartness, Vice President of Marketing at Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.

“With Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, we’re working diligently with the Dimps team to pull out all the stops and push the Dragon Ball videogame experience to new heights.” 

Additional details and features pertaining to DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 will be revealed at E3 2016 (June 14-16, 2016) in BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.’s demo theaters, located in rooms 303 A and B in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

You can watch the announcement trailer down below.

I'm looking forward to seeing the gameplay in action at this year's E3 convention, but I am cautiously optimistic, especially since I wasn't really content with the combat system the first game had implemented. You can read my thorough review of Dragon Ball Xenoverse here. I'm eager to fight against Towa and Mira once more, but if key components of the game are still left unchecked, I may pass on this title.


Works Cited:

Schreier, J. (2016, May 17). Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Announced, Coming This Year. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from http://kotaku.com/dragon-ball-xenoverse-2-announced-coming-this-year-1777060267

Widening the Divide - Ubisoft Punishing Players Who Exploit a Glitch During The Division’s First Boss Battle

On April 12, 2016, Tom Clancy's: The Division received a free content update, the game's first Incursion, titled "Falcon Lost" in which players confronted the Last Man Battalion in a water-treatment facility.

The "Falcon Lost" storyline has two difficulties: Hard mode, which is recommended for players who have a gear score that is equivalent to level 31 or higher; and challenge mode, which is far more difficult. In addition, there are no checkpoints in Falcon Lost; if your team goes down, you'll have to restart from the beginning. This is reminiscent of Destiny's initial Nightfall activities where players were expelled back into Orbit upon a total party wipe (before certain updates were put into effect). Gamers can replay Falcon Lost and other upcoming Incursions as many times as you want and still be rewarded with new loot each playthrough.

Clever participants have discovered a rather unique method of defeating the boss and avoiding several waves of enemies. The process involves using the mobile cover skill to clip through a wall. Doing so prevents the game from registering that players are in the room, meaning a group can fire upon the boss without it retaliating in kind.

Ubisoft's community manager, Natchai Stappers responded to this issue on the game's forums claiming that it's working on a fix for this particular glitch. However, he also mentions that those that took part in the exploit violated Ubisoft's code of conduct. Thus, the developer is "looking into what can be done in terms of punishment" which is, in my mind, not the proper course of action.

When Destiny had an exploit known as the "loot cave" they fixed the issue promptly, and then acknowledged the error by making a tribute to the players for bringing the lack of loot to light. They did this by providing a tribute to Rahool, the Cryptarch of the Tower and official engram decoder. Bungie honored (by the transitive property) the players by creating a special Easter egg. They placed the remains of the countless Hive creatures in the caves and permitted players to "disturb them" with a cryptic message bellowing "A million deaths are not enough for Master Rahool." It was a nice nod to guardians who were shooting at a rock formation for several hours instead of partaking in other, less rewarding activities. What Ubisoft plans on doing is placing unnecessary sanctions upon players for their own negligence.

I believe that players should only be reprimanded if they're utilizing an external device (such as "lag switching") or outside software to give themselves an unfair advantage in competitive play (this includes hacking). I believe also that if they're using profanity or sexually explicit imagery in customizable settings there should be some form of repercussion in place. When the game itself is flawed, players should have free reign until the developer patches it accordingly. Ubisoft is forgetting their role. They set the parameters for the game. If they miss something crucial to the stability of the rules of the game, the blame should lie upon them, not that of the players.If this were Dungeons & Dragons for example, Ubisoft would be the Dungeon Master (DM) setting up the campaign, with the setting and scenarios in place. The players, if they outwit the DM should be praised and rewarded, not chastised. The DM would merely adjust encounters for the next playthrough if the party managed to do something out of the realm of his or her intended guidelines.

This may have a detrimental impact on the Division's fanbase, especially for those that have moved on from Bungie's monumental success. Previously, violators had been handed out a 3-day ban and the matter wasn’t pursued any further. However, Ubisoft can also wipe a player’s stats completely if they so desire, rendering a player's time and effort, worthless.

Works Cited


Ayres, S. (2016, April 16). Ubisoft Will Punish People Who Exploited a Glitch During The Division’s First Boss Battle. Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://www.gamnesia.com/news/ubisoft-will-punish-people-who-exploited-a-glitch-during-the-divisions-firs

Makedonski, B. (201, April 15). Ubisoft's looking into how to punish people who glitch The Division's toughest new boss. Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-s-looking-into-how-to-punish-people-who-glitch-the-division-s-toughest-new-boss-355632.phtml

My E3 2015 Predictions & Expectations

Nintendo

I'd like Nintendo to ideally make a new Custom Robo game. The last one that came out was back in March 19, 2007 with Custom Robo Arena. The development company is called NOISE and has worked with Nintendo for a number of years, however, it has been quite some time since their last title.

As such, I think it would be a great undertaking if Nintendo were to re-visit the franchise, especially with the release of the upcoming game, Little Battlers eXperience. In that game, (which is based off of an animated series about kids building miniature, remote controlled mecha models, battling them, all while taking on a secret conspiracy that utilize the mechs for their own ambitions) players can customize their mechs with a plethora of different parts and weapons. I feel as though this would be the perfect time to make this upcoming year the year of the mechs!

This holds merit when one considers that the upcoming title Xenoblade Chronicles X has giant humanoid mech suits called "Skells" ("Dolls" in the Japanese version), which are used to combat the various enemies in the expansive open world environment.

I also expect to see Starfox Wii U with an all new trailer for the game, as well as a brief glimpse into the main plot (if possible). I've been a fan of the Starfox games since the release of Starfox 64 (I have yet to beat it sadly, as I've only recently downloaded the game on the Wii's Virtual Console). I did however manage to complete Star Fox Assault and rather enjoyed the game.


Although Nintendo mentioned that The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U would not be featured at E3, I still sort of hope that maybe they will toss out a teaser trailer or something to whet our ferocious appetites. In addition, I eagerly await more information on Fire Emblem and the Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem crossover.

I'd like to see a brand new Pokémon Snap, and a new Metroid game as well, but perhaps those ideas should be locked away for now. I think it would be fantastic to be able to once again revisit the Metroid Prime Hunters universe with a sequel that has a truly dedicated multiplayer first person shooter experience (most desired on the Wii U) with Samus Aran, Weavel, Sylux, Kanden, Spire, Noxus, and Trace.

Sony

The one game I'm most interested in with regards to Sony is Tom Clancy's: The Division. I eagerly anticipate more details and gameplay footage that will assure that my decision to purchase the game will be a worthwhile investment.


Microsoft, Activision, & et cetera

As for Microsoft, Bethesda, and the rest, I want to be surprised and dazzled by their showcases. I don't know exactly what to look for, but I'm hoping that overall, I will be impressed.

My Dragonball: Xenoverse Review: Not Quite Over 9000

Dragonball Z: Xenoverse is a Dragon Ball game developed by Dimps for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows (via Steam).

Essentially, Towa and Mira (Female and Male Demons respectively) have begun interfering with time using manipulative magic (possession, enhancement of abilities, et cetera) in order to wreak havoc which later results in the Demon God Demigra's release from the Chasm of Time (a prison dimension both separate and a part of time). Demigra, once freed, also begins to damage history almost to the point of being irreversible. The player's role as a Time Patroller is to fix the timeline with the Supreme Kai of Time and Future Trunks by restoring certain events during fights.

From Left to Right: Supreme Kai of Time, Future Trunks (Time Patrol Trunks)

It's fresh a take on the familiar Dragonball Z storyline without being a complete rehash of things most fans have seen and heard before. What is so great about the game is that your character feels like the center of attention and absolutely vital during the plot. It's more of an RPG (Role Playing Game) than it is a typical fighter. You can gain experience, level up, and allocate attribute points as needed.

One major aspect of DBZ Xenoverse is that you can pick from up to five different races to choose from when creating your own character. You can choose from Majin, Saiyan, Human/Earthling, Namekian, and Frieza's Race (Arcosian? It's never really explicitly stated that was the name of the villain's race, but at this point, I feel as though they Akira Toriyama probably should've properly named them.) There's a pretty decent selection yet, I'm kind of irritated that Supreme Kai or Android races aren't available and that there is no "thin" Majin options for males (They're all fat).

From Left to Right: Towa, Mira

The gameplay mechanics are decent, but they're not great. The combat system is a tad overly simplistic, almost to the point of being bare bones button mashing. It becomes repetitive and frustrating at certain intervals as you're alternating between strong melee attacks, weak melee, ki blasts, and ultimate or strike super attacks. The most irritating aspect however, is when players are fighting against more than one opponent, as the COMs tend to spam attacks and will attack mercilessly as you're locked onto only one of them at any given time. There is no training mode to practice acquired skills, nor is there a preview option for when the player acquires a new outfit or piece of clothing before purchase.

The AI is absolutely terrible for certain missions (in particular, the ones where you have to keep allies alive while maintaining your own health all while trying to defeat your opponents in the time allotted).

In addition, there are no beam struggles (which means no iconic laser clashes like the Galick Gun verses the Kamehameha).

The currently level cap is 80 (at the time of this writing) and I'm honestly hoping that will change. I'm questioning why it wasn't just placed at 100 for the sake of it.

FINAL VERDICT

Overall, this is a 7.0/10.0 (C) rank title. It's most certainly worth a rental, but depending on your preferences, it may or may not be worth an actual purchase. I would argue that it's not as good as DragonBall Z: Budokai Tenkaichi III (In my personal opinion, the greatest game in the franchise.), but it pulls its own weight. It far exceeds the most terrible game in the franchise, Dragonball Z: Sagas, that's for certain.

My Custom Character: David
"I'm going to tell you more about this game, but first, let me take a selfie!"

Key Criticisms

• No "Sonic Sway" defensive move.
• Android Race and Supreme Kai Race options are unavailable.
• No "thin" Majin options for male characters.
• No Super Saiyan 3 transformations for custom characters.
• Random Number Generator Reward System.
• No Versus Mode available via the title screen. (You must select a character first, then go from the central HUB city Toki Toki Tower to get to the local and online versus screens, respectively.)
• Occasional frame rate drops (Usually only occurs during intense combat with multiple enemies. I currently own the PS4 version of the game.) 
• Audio not in sync with dialogue.
• No proper Ki Blast Deflection (The basic ki blasts all characters have.)
• No "Dragon Dashing" (or "Dash Clash") - When two players dash into each other at the same time, they should enter the "clash" simulation where both players will battle it out (usually in a Joystick struggle) for the most hits. Whoever get the most hits (in the hit counter usually displayed on screen) would win the struggle and knocks the opponent away, usually to be followed up with continued attack.
• No adjustable difficulty settings
• Limited character roster (For instance, Majin Vegeta is unavailable. Dodoria and Zarbon are not available and "base form" Teen Gohan is not either. He starts off Super Saiyan)

Praise/Noteworthy Aspects:

• No QTEs (Quick Time Events) are present during the storyline, although clashes & beam struggles should be implemented.
• Nice overall story (albeit one without main character dialogue)
• Customization options are vast (Skills, clothing, et cetera)
• True to form graphics (although, some characters look like they've put on a lot more tanning oil than needed).
• Good Soundtrack

KEY ---- HOW I RATE GAMES ----

Typically, I use a scale of 1.0-10.0 (with 1.0 being the worst possible game and 10.0 being the absolute best). Additionally, I may use an A through F grading scale to further determine the quality (or lack thereof) of entertainment each game possesses. C rank games, for example, are of average quality while D rank games (while only slightly above F rank) are far worse. What sets D rank games apart from F ranked ones involves the basic fundamental playable mechanics of the game itself. (Most movie games fall under D rank category, while games like "Sprung" for the Nintendo DS fall under the F category as it should not even be considered a game).

Rent: This game is worth a trial run. It may have some aspects to it that are memorable or noteworthy, but may need a bit more polish. You'll have to try it to see if it's worth a purchase. Player discretion is advised.

Buy: This game is most definitely worth the money you've spent (possibly even more so). These are games you should go for.

Pass: This game isn't worth your time. It may have dropped frame-rates, glitches, poor storylines, bad or non-responsive mechanics, or other terrible components. I try to avoid purchasing poor games whenever possible and I read reviews (like you are now) in order to get a better idea of whether or not I'll like a particular game.