REVIEW / Pressure Overdrive (PS4)

 

Pressure Overdrive is actually a rehash of a 2013 game (named just Pressure) that came out for the PC. The developer, Chasing Carrots, took the game and developed it through Unity in order to spread the game to different consoles. The PS4 version was released the end of July, and it’s quite a disappointing experience to play the game.

 

 

You see, Pressure Overdrive is a shoot ’em up that takes place in the ground with a steam-buggy and in a steampunk universe. The premise is that a conniving dark lord is attempting to pilfer all the world’s water sources in order to create his own wellness spa. To steal the water, he has constructed machines that suck up the water. It is then up to you to use your little steam-buggy to offset his plans by racing to his headquarters and bring him and his machines down. During your adventure, you will have to learn how to maneuver through crazy tracks with obstacles, use your weapons and gadgets to destroy the greedy water-sucking machines, and balance your steam-buggy’s need for pressure in order to run.

The main mechanic in Pressure Overdrive is the pressure system. Firing your weapons and using your gadgets (such as a turbo boost) uses up pressure. There are two ways to gain pressure: it regenerates over time when weapons or gadgets are not used or destroying enemies. Dispatched enemies also drop gold, which is used to upgrade the steam-buggy. There are six areas of the steam-buggy that you can upgrade: its front, rear, top, bottom, weapon, and body. With at least six different parts to attach and upgrade to, there is literally a lot of different combinations that you can customize to.

 

 

Customization is one of the good things about Pressure Overdrive. To suit your style, you can opt for a electricity-inducing Tesla buggy with a zapping weapon that jumps to multiple enemies and a rear zapper that takes care of the enemies behind you. Or you can opt for drones to fight for you while you ram nearby enemies with your spiked wheels. The possibilities are endless…if you have the gold for it.

That’s where my disappointment comes in. During the campaign mode, the gold you earn in each level is capped by how many enemies there are. Thus, if you want to maximize your earnings, you have to kill all of the enemies in the level. That’s a good goal if you can keep up with the right upgrades for your steam-buggy. The thing is, once you purchase an upgrade for your steam-buggy, the gold you pay for will be gone.

 

 

You say, “Well that’s fine, since you got an upgrade, right?” Well, the problem is that if you choose the wrong upgrade, that may mean you will have to restart the whole campaign all over again, since your effectiveness in killing enemies and collecting gold will diminish over the future levels. By the way, to pour salt over the wound, you can replay old levels to better your gold retrieval, but you are stuck with the upgrades you have made from that point on in the level; upgrading your steam-buggy affects future levels, but your past upgrades are stuck with you in the previous ones.

On easy and normal difficulties of the campaign, the gold issue is slightly alleviated with giving you the option to sell back upgrades for a fraction of the cost (with normal difficulty being less of the fraction given than the easy difficulty). The problem is that you still will come off with less gold than what you started with. In the hard difficulty (which by the way, there is a trophy awarded for completing the campaign on hard difficulty), there are no buybacks.  What annoys me about the whole gold and upgrade mechanic, is that it discourages the experimentation aspect of the game. You literally will have to figure out what is the optimum steam-buggy setup, and you will have to plan what and when to upgrade.

 

 

The developers noted in a forum I read that the reason there is a freeplay mode is for that experimentation aspect. The gold and upgrade mechanic was devised in order to preserve the integrity and difficulty of the campaign mode. While I think that explanation is a little ridiculous, one of the flaws about the freeplay mode is that you have to beat the main campaign first in order to unlock all the 33 different levels, which again brings me to the point about having a good strategy (or read a good guide).

Speaking of a good guide, you might have to refer to YouTube for the original game in order to beat some of the boss battles. There are three bosses in the game, and defeating them is somewhat of a puzzle. While that aspect is quite fun, what gets frustrating is that the game gets particular (or it may be a glitch) in order for the boss to change its attack patterns for you to take it down sometimes. Thus, you are left with a barrage of constant attacks with no reprieve on taking down the boss.

 

 

Those who are left insatiable with the 33 levels of Pressure Overdrive can take on the endless mode. In this mode, you keep going and going until your steam-buggy’s hull is destroyed. Each completed level gives you a spin on the wheel that gives you a random assignment of upgrades to choose from.

If Chasing Carrots can make changes on its gold and upgrade mechanics and deliver it in an update, then I could say Pressure Overdrive is a fun shmup. If the developer also tweaks around its boss battles to not be so particular, then the game would be even better. However, with its current state and mechanics, I can only recommend the game to those who are willing to plan upgrades and look up guides to beat bosses in order to complete the game…which I do not think is fun.

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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Shephy rams its way to Steam

 

Okay, what are the first two things that jump into your head when I mention solitaire? Cards and sheep, right? No? Well, in this particular case those are the two things that are going to be in the mix. That busy bunch over at Arc System Works have just announced the release of Shephy on Steam.

Some of you mobile users and Switch owners may have already come across this solitaire style card game. In Shephy your aim is actually relatively simple. All you need to do is increase your sheep count to 1000. You need to achieve this goal using combinations of the events found on the cards before you empty your deck three times.

For beginners Shephy features both tutorial and practice modes. This will let you get a good feel of what you’re doing before moving onto anything more challenging. When you’re nice and comfy with the controls you’ll move to Challenge Mode. Here you will be looking to attain the aforementioned goal of 1000 sheep. There isn’t actually a limit to the number of sheep you can collect so there’s plenty of scope for high score enthusiasts.

If you’re looking for a slightly different take on the game, Shephy has a story mode. In the game’s Post Love mode special sets of rules may apply to go hand in hand with each part of this title’s story line.

If you like card games and … well … sheep, Shephy may well be something for you to try. It’s waiting for you on the Steam sStore if you find yourself wanting to get involved. As a little side note I’m rather impressed that I managed to get through this entire article without the need for any bad puns. After all, padding it out with sheep jokes would have made the entire thing far too wooley. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Pop over to Steam and have a look for yourselves.

 

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New Bonuses Stages and Time Attack Mode Announced for Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania, one of the most highly anticipated Sonic titles to date, is quickly approaching its release date. Coming off of an announcement on Special Stages at Comic-Con San Diego, Sega has also announced that Bonus Stages and time attack mode will both be featured in Sonic Mania.

The Bonus Stages will see the players navigating Sonic, Tails or Knuckles through a series of blue spheres in order to complete the stage. Those familiar with Sonic 3 will notice similarities. Once a blue sphere is touched, it turns red. If a player runs through a red sphere then the bonus stage goes uncompleted. Bonus Stages will differ from Special Stages in that players who complete Bonus Stages will be rewarded with medallions. Silver medallions are rewarded upon stage completion, while gold medallions are rewarded if the player successfully captures all of the blue spheres as well as the rings.

 

Time attack mode will allow players to compete for the fastest speed online. The times are globally ranked, so players from all across the world will be able to compare their speed.

 

 

The Special Stages differ from the Bonus Stages in structure and reward. The player will chase down enemy UFOs. Blue spheres can be collected along the way that will add to the player’s speed meter. Once the meter is full, the mach level will increase. The player will move a lot faster, but should take care not to fall off the stage. The reward for catching up to the enemy UFO is a chaos emerald.

 

Sonic Mania will be available August 15th for the Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC. This is one of two upcoming Sonic titles. Sonic Forces is a 3D and 2D platformer currently slated for release later this year.

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REVIEW / DRIFTING LANDS (PC)

 

I’ve never been a big fan of side scrolling shooters. Actually, I’ve never been a big fan of the bullet hell genre period. I don’t have an issue with the concept. I can see that it’s all meant to be fun, frantic and heart pounding. The thing is, I’m just impressively bad at them. I have a tendency of playing the first few levels, getting blown to bits far more often than I should and giving up in annoyance that my fingers won’t do what my brain is telling them to, which is why Drifting Lands caught me by surprise.

 

 

This could well be the game that has actually changed my mind about the entire genre. I’ve realized – now that I’m quite a lot more than a few levels into the story – that I’m still alive, still enjoying it and actually doing pretty well, thank you very much. It’s got nothing to do with this game being too easy; rather, instead of having a difficulty spike big enough to impale a baby elephant, Drifting Lands has a difficulty curve. This is marvelous. This is a game that doesn’t have it in for you from the moment you load it up.

 

Welcome to the Rift

 

With this awesomely pleasant surprise out of the way, what other nice things can I say about this title? Well lets start with the story. You’re a pilot defending the Ark – basically a big floating battle cruiser – from enemy forces. There’s quite a bit of intrigue going on, which is why I’m enforcing my “no spoilers” policy. All I’m willing to say is that if you give the game a chance, you’ll be wanting to know exactly whose side you’re on. You’ll realize quite quickly that some of your leaders probably aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. The characters you meet have substance. Way too often in games of this type, the story comes second to the action. In Drifting Lands, the two go hand-in-hand in the most marvelous way.

 

 

Drifting Lands is a hugely customizable game. You start with a choice of three basic ship classes. I went with the big, slow bullet sponge that is the Sentinel. Of course, if you want something light and nippy or something a bit in between, the game caters to that as well. From here it’s all about the scrap you pick up throughout the levels. You basically build your ship based on the armor and weaponry you accumulate. I absolutely love this. In far too many shooters the weapons you use are what you pick up during the level, you will default to what you collect regardless of whether you want to or not. Here you can really play your way. If you want a powerful beam weapon for instance, go out and find one, I’ve gone for a Trident which is a speedy spread laser. I don’t care whether it naturally fits my ship. I might be big and clunky, but I absolutely don’t want the thing I’m shooting with to be.

 

It’s your ship. Build it your way.

 

Another massively customizable feature that I really like in Drifting Lands is the way skills work. You start with some basic skills but, as you enter more difficult areas, newer ones will unlock. You essentially have three skill trees: Active, Advanced and Passive. Within these are a bunch of subheadings which become unlockable. Now the kicker here is that you only have six skill slots to play with. Two of these are passive slots and as such are effectively turned on all the time. I suggest keeping auto-retreat as one of these, as this isn’t a game you want to be getting shot up in. The other four are your weapon skills, repair skills, etc. and you’re going to have to make some pretty big choices as to what you go for. You’ll be using your skills a lot in a level so you really want to be picking what works well for you. As everything is choice driven, skills aren’t so much earned as bought and this brings me neatly onto my next point.

 

Your skills define you. Choose them wisely.

 

You will earn thousands of credits playing levels, but on average are only allowed to keep 10% of your plunder. When you’re buying skills, gear for your ship (something you won’t do too often but you can), and stat points to make you faster, stronger etc credits don’t go very far. This is something that I think is really clever. You can do anything you like within the realms of the game, just make sure you can fund what you’re doing. It’s so much better than being able to farm experience points until you’re more lethal than everything that moves and outfit yourself with the most expensive gear just to rub it in. Be honest. How many games have you played where you become so powerful that gold ceases to matter and you can do virtually anything based on the stuff you find? This isn’t going to be happening in Drifting Lands.

 

 

There is a real RPG feel to this game. In my honest opinion, a lot of bullet hell games mask the fact that they aren’t hugely long by ramping up the difficulty to a level that’s so high that you have to replay the levels a hundred times to get anywhere. Drifting Lands has a hell of a lot of meat on it. As the story progresses you will find yourself going up in levels of difficulty. The thing is you can do this at your own discretion. If you don’t think your ship is up to scratch for harder battles you can farm earlier levels until you find the gear you want to proceed. This is a really smart way of playing. It takes a lot of the frustration that can build with games of this type away because you are playing on your own terms. There is a level of control here that I can’t remember the last time I saw in a game of this type.

 

 

So this is the bit where I have to complain about something isn’t it? Well … I hate to say this but I genuinely can’t. The cartoony graphical style of the game is gorgeous, the story is entertaining and it will keep you going for ages. I’m not even going to get snippy about the controls; you’re told up front you’re best off with a pad but the keyboard control system isn’t hideous when you get the hang of it. The game has a lovely difficulty curve and is massively addictive to boot.

 

 

Just go out and get this game. For bullet haters like me, Drifting Lands may well change your mind. For action fans, the game is an absolute must and I think I’ll be punching many more hours into this title before I’m done. Absolutely stunning.

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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Samurai Riot hits Steam this September

 

We love a bit of violence. There’s something in the genetic code of many gamers that just begs for a bit of bloodshed. Well, for those of you just aching to knock the snot out of something there’s a new contender for the 2017 Beat’em up crown. French indie developer Wako Factory is pleased to announce the appearance of Samurai Riot on Steam this September and we’ve got a bit of info on this 2D brawler just for you.

Samurai Riot isn’t going to be just your average fighter. In this game the decisions you make in your quest to bring peace to a warring land will actually mean something. Each choice you make as a Samurai, Tsurumaru/Sukane will have an influence on your destiny. You will have an arsenal of deadly attacks at your disposal but the goal of making it through each battle alive will require skill and forethought over simple brute strength.

“The main inspiration in the creation of Samurai Riot is really simple – we always loved to play cooperative games, especially arcade style – with each other. We felt that there are not enough local cooperative games to play, so decided to develop our own Beat’em up, that focuses on the co-op experience,” said Kevin Buchet, game designer at Wako Factory. “We are also big fans of Japanese history and we have spent a lot of time on the backstory of the game, where you have to make the decision on what you would sacrifice in order to preserve your honor as a samurai and feel that our game seamlessly mixes traditional Japanese elements and mythology, in a fresh and modern take on the classic genre.”

We can expect a game that offers a plethora of choices both in single and cooperative play. In co-op mode the story has been written to involve both players equally with a multi-branching plot line. Samurai Riot also features eight different endings so this title should be hugely re-playable. If you don’t want to play with a friend PVP has also been catered for. Here you will earn points which will allow you to unlock fighting schools, further adding to the replay value of the game.

Having a choice between 14 different fighting schools, all of which will alter the way your character behaves will add a lot for players that like to become skilled at everything. The fact that the co-op system also allows for devastating combined attacks adds even more variation to the mix.

This would appear to be a game that has a lot going for it. Pardon the pun but this 2D arcade fighter would appear to be anything but 2D in so many other ways. Far too many other Beat’em ups have you repeating the same story over and over will relatively little new being seen on each playthrough. It’s nice to see a game in the genre going out of its way to be different. We’ll be able to see just how much depth is on offer next month. If you like a good brawl this is definitely one worth keeping an eye on.

 

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SNES Classic preorders to land at the end of the month

 

Everyone who lost their SNES Classic preorders in the big Walmart mess up, get ready to have a second chance. The SNES Classic is confirmed by Nintendo to be going up for preorder at the end of August by “various retailers”.

While there is no specific date laid out for what will most likely be the death of many stores’ webpages, it is nice to know that the mini console will be available before they hit shelves and Nintendo promises that a significant amount of them will be shipped to stores for the launch day for those who miss the preorders.

My recommendation is to take those words with a grain of salt because we do not know how much “a significant number” is. In relation to the NES Classic last year that could be 20 for all we know. I remember walking into the Best Buy I was working at last holiday season and seeing over 80 people line up for the 15 consoles we were given, so have they learned their lesson? They might have, but just remember what company we are talking about. Nintendo already came out and said it is only being sold through the end of the year.

Nintendo has come out on a couple of occasions and promised there will be more SNES Classics than the minuscule number we saw last year for the NES Classic, but time and time again we see Nintendo send out small shipments of their most popular items to ensure that there is always a demand for the newest Nintendo thing.

The SNES Classic was officially announced earlier this year in June. You can read my post on it here. The $80 console will come packed with 21 classic Super Nintendo games as well as the never before released Star Fox 2 and is set to release on September 29th.

Personally, I hope to get one to show and play many of the games with my 5 year old daughter. Along with the Switch, this will be one of the biggest gifts this holiday season.

You can see Nintendo’s post at their Facebook page here or check out the Game Informer article that I learned about the post here.

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Citadel: Forged With Fire new update incoming

 

Just a mere five days after seeing its release on Steam Early Access, Blue Isle Studios, developers of Citadel: Forged With Fire, has announced the first update to the wizardly sandbox rpg.

Besides an update to the servers, the game will receive five new crafting recipes, iron armor, and the bear claw gauntlet. You can see the iron armor and bear claw gauntlets in the short trailer released below.

Along with that batch of usable items, the game will see a new dragon, wild boar, castle props, and a new skeleton warrior join the game.

If you want to read up on the game’s patch notes you can here.

Citadel: Forged With Fire as mentioned above is out now on Steam Early Access for $19.99 right now (the game is normally $25).

While there is no release date yet, the game is in development for both Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

If you want to check out my other post about Citadel: Forged With Fire as a whole you can see it here.

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