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Tuesday, April 18, 2017

LEGO Worlds Review!

You know what kind of video games that I always like? the various LEGO games made by Traveler's Tales. However, the one thing the LEGO games never did was actually base an entire game around the concept of using the eponymous brightly colored bricks to build whatever the heck pops into your imagination. That is, until Traveler's Tales decided to take a page out of Mojang's book and make this...

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LEGO Worlds. It can best be described as Minecraft meets, well, LEGO! But does this promising concept make for a good game? Well, that's why you're reading this review, aren't you? To decide whether this quirky sandbox game is worth your money?

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The story of LEGO Worlds is very barebones, to the point where you can hardly call it a plot. Basically, you play as an EXTREMELY customizable LEGO Minifigure as he/she explores a galaxy made entirely from LEGO bricks, whilst collecting treasure such as weapons, new characters to play as, and Golden Bricks used to upgrade your spaceship so you can visit bigger, more varied planets, all so that your Minifigure can become... A MASTER BUILDER. It doesn't go anywhere deeper than that, and it's mostly an excuse to get you exploring the near-infinite world.

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Now while the story is very barebones, the gameplay is LEGO Worlds' highlight. You explore randomly generated worlds using a tool you get from one of the three MANDATORY tutorials known as the Discovery Tool to scan objects, vehicles, animals, and some characters (more powerful characters, like the Vampire King or the Dragon Wizard require a list of criteria to be fulfilled before they become scan-able). After an object/creature/vehicle has been scanned, you can spawn in as many of that object/creature/vehicle as you like (or until your game dies from having to render a large number of one thing all at one time).

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there are also TONS of collectibles in this game, from the Golden Bricks to the various weapons you can find in treasure chests scattered throughout the world(s). However, my biggest gripe with the game comes from the combat. While there is combat in this game, it isn't really fun. Namely, the fact you can't strafe while aiming projectile weapons such as the the Cowboy Pistol or the Megazooka means you have to shoot blindly and pray you hit the thing you're trying to hit, or stand perfectly still while aiming only to get rushed down by an angry club swinging troll (or blown to pieces by a dragon). And using melee weapons ultimately comes down to "mash the Square Button like a madman to win every fight!". I do appreciate the slight strategy as far as preparation goes, since certain enemies take more damage from certain weapon types than others. Example, Zombies take extra damage from explosions, while WereWolves take extra damage from weapons made of Silver (Silver Daggers, Silver Bullets, etc). But seriously, how can I NOT strafe while aiming!? But another combat gripe I have and I know I sound like one of those "Stop Having Fun" guys plaguing the meta-game over at the Pokemon fanbase, but this game is WAY too easy. Yes. Even with the clumsy and awkward combat system, LEGO Worlds is also somehow the easiest LEGO game ever made. First of all, when you die, the only penalty is you lose a handful of Studs, which is an in-game currency used to unlock various scan-ables once initially scanned with the Discovery Tool. You respawn literally five feet from where you died, letting you jump back into the fray, and while I understand that this is a kids' game and as such you have to make some compromises to make sure that kids don't get mad and rage quit at a game designed specifically for their demographic, I have been spoiled by the likes of Monster Hunter and fellow sandbox game Terraria and have come to expect at least a decent challenge from most video games nowadays.

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The biggest draw of LEGO Worlds is the ability to build virtually anything you want. Although, the game does give you a warning when you first turn it on to avoid building structures that are, shall we say, rude and offensive/scandalous? So please refrain from doing so. It IS a children's game after all. Anyway, something I LOVE is there is an IN-GAME terraforming tool that's available very early into the game. This is a GOD-SEND for building. With Minecraft you either had to terraform by hand or with a fan-made hack (the latter of which is legally impossible on the Console Edition. Sadness). With Terraria (another game I have and will review in the near future) there is a terraforming tool, but it's unlocked so late into the game that you probably won't need it by then due to just terraforming by hand in that game. So LEGO Worlds does terraforming tools right, by giving them to you in very beginning, something more open-world sandbox games with an emphasis on creativity need to do. It also has an in-game way to copy-paste your builds (or just structures you think look cool but aren't scan-able), which is also nice.

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You can also spawn in entire structures if you find the building instructions for the structure. Said structure can be edited, exploded, flooded, buried, flattened, drowned in lava, and many more ways to alter it for better or for worse to your hearts content. You COULD build everything by hand, but it's much slower, and very frustrating, because for some reason, not all the bricks you can use are unlocked straight away. To unlock more bricks, you have to find, track down, and tackle gremlin like monsters called Troublemakers who carry brick types you can build with. Only problem with this is Troublemakers spawn randomly (though fairly often it seems), but there is a high chance that Troublemaker will have a brick type you already have, thus wasting your time. There is a VERY SMALL chance that Troublemakers will have a Golden Brick instead of a normal one, which is totally worth the effort.

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The main reason you want Golden Bricks is because you can visit larger worlds that will (hopefully) have rarer biomes (50+ hours into my playthrough and I'm STILL discovering new biomes on a regular basis!) but once you have 100 Golden Bricks, you can create your own Custom Worlds, where you can literally pick and choose everything in the world, what kind of biomes appear, what kind of NPC's, what kind of enemies, everything. And given the nature of how to unlock some of the more elusive characters, vehicles, and creatures, some things can ONLY be unlocked once you have a Custom World.

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The game also has both local and online co-op,
so you can play with your friends, sweethearts, 
random strangers, brothers, sisters, parents, and
those wacky neighbors that you may or may not have.

One of the most glaring issues with LEGO Worlds is how glitch-y the game can get. Which is especially surprising considering that this game was in Early Access (a kind of business model for video games where the general public can play the game while the developers are working on it so they can see the development of the game first hand) for two years, and while the final product does run more smoothly than the Early Access version, it's baffling how the final product has SO MANY kinks in the armor, so to speak. Some of the glitches are admittedly kind of humorous, like enemies getting stuck inside treasure chests, thus making the treasure chest slightly resemble a jack-in-the-box. Others are frustrating, such as automatically teleporting to the surface while trying to explore a cave for seemingly no reason, and perhaps the biggest offender being you can get "stuck" with the Discovery Tool permanently equipped, which effectively takes away your ability to build, or fight, or explore, thus forcing you to restart. Here's hoping Traveler's Tales patch in some bug-fixes in the near future, as the game would be a thousand times better if the glitches weren't there.

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On to visuals and music. LEGO Worlds does sport a nice aesthetic, seeing as how literally everything is made of LEGO bricks. The Sky? LEGO-ized. The Ground? LEGO-ified. The Water? LEGO-ed. Even the clouds are made of LEGO! The individual biomes are also nice to look at, even if the biome names are a little on-the-nose (Weird Woods, the horror themed biome, Lawless Lagoon, the crime/swamp themed biome, and Dessert Desert, the candy themed biome, are the real standouts in this department). My only complaint about the presentation is I wish there was a way of identifying which biome is which, due to how similar some biomes are to others (Dusty Dunes and Playful Prairie practically mirror each other, Fantasy Forest and Whispering Woodland are almost identical save from have a slightly different style of tree, etc) aside from the Narrator telling the name of a biome when it visit it for the very first time. Another gripe is how the game has a tendency to lag when entering underground dungeons or if there is a lot of stuff going on at one time. But on the plus side, the trademark sense of humor Traveler's Tales is known for made it into this game. Some of the weapons and characters and ESPECIALLy the animations are really funny in a kind of slapstick kind of way (the playable version of the WereWolf acts curiously like a puppy dog rather than a fearsome beast, you can ride almost any animal you see, even they are smaller than your character, and by far the best one is how one of the weapons you can get is literally a Pie Launcher). As far as music goes, it has surprisingly good music. I love how each biome gets it's own theme, but the best parts of the soundtrack being the Weird Woods theme, due to capturing the (slightly campy) spookiness of early horror films, which is fitting for the biome that is based entirely around the concept of classical horror, the Main Menu theme, which is weirdly catchy thanks to the heavy use of saxophone, and the Western theme, because who doesn't love a good old fashioned showdown at High Noon?

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Overall, I give LEGO Worlds two scores, actually. Depending on how you like to play open-world sandbox games, your enjoyment of this game will vary. If you are the lot that likes adventuring and becoming progressively stronger, then with a 6/10, this game is not for you. There are open-world sandbox games out there that make adventuring loads more fun (and much less glitch-y), But if you simply like building things out of LEGO Bricks, then I give a 8/10. This game is not perfect, and has quite a few issues, and your enjoyment is largely dependent on how you like to play video games in general. That's true for any open-world game (or any game that is non-linear in design). LEGO Worlds is at it's best when you are building with the surprisingly intricate construction system, but sadly, it's at it's worst when you go off adventuring for the things NEEDED to make the construction system work. Additionally, this game is a NIGHTMARE to 100%, due to hundreds of unlockable characters, creatures, vehicles, objects, weapons, and a shockingly large number of biomes to explore (don't forget everything is randomly generated so you could have the worst luck in the world trying to find whatever it is you are looking for). So basically, only get this game if you want to drop $30 like it's nothing, absolutely LOVE LEGO, or just want a open-world sandbox game with a very in-depth building system.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review!

Welp, they really outdid themselves with this one. Originally planned to be the swan song for the slowly dying Wii U and then ported to the Nintendo Switch. But also released on Wii U...? Eh, at least folks like me who can't get their hands on the elusive Switch still have a way to play what can basically be described as Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 2.0. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, I mean this one Zelda game is considered one of the best Nintendo games ever and will be considered a revolutionary pinnacle of the interactive entertainment media as a whole and countless devs in the future will look to this game for inspiration.

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Random fun fact! Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is actually the third Zelda game I have ever played (the first was Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and the second was Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker!). However, since I love the general style of the Legend of Zelda franchise, I did my research for the rest of the franchise, because, you know, I'm a nerd.

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In case you know nothing about the best Nintendo IP ever (come at me, Super Mario Bros!), the general gist is you play as Link (not Zelda, she is another character entirely!), an adventurer on a quest to defeat Ganon, the King of Darkness.

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However, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild puts a spin on this tried and true formula that hasn't been seen since Ocarina of Time. Link actually fails to stop Ganon from destroying the kingdom of Hyrule and is mortally wounded. The game starts up a whopping 100 years after this disaster when Link is revived in the Shrine of Resurrection and sets off to stop Ganon once and for all (whether he does this to make up for the fact Ganon creamed him last time or simply wants to save the kingdom is entirely up to your interpretation) as well as restore his lost memory.

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An impressive feat on the story writers for Breath of the WIld is how incredibly non-linear the story is. You COULD just make a mad dash for Ganon and fight him the moment you leave the Shrine of Resurrection, or you COULD take your time to restore Link's memories (and even those you could do in any order you want) and you COULD try and free Shadow of the Colossus-esque titans to help you in the final battle against Ganon (again, you can do this in any order you want), or you COULD try and get the series staple that is the Master Sword, or you could do none of these things and go snowboarding. What's even more impressive is how they wrote different dialogue based on all these factors (example, visit the various towns after getting the Master Sword, and almost everyone will become shocked that "the Sword that Seals the Darkness" has been recovered, while doing this before getting the Master Sword will result in everyone doubting Link's abilities at first, and the village elders dropping increasingly blunt hints as to where the Master Sword might be). I always like that kind of foresight on the devs part.

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And this incredibly non-linear story fits perfectly with the overall theme of this game: Freedom and Exploration. Breath of the Wild's overworld is the largest in the franchise, as well as one of the largest in video games period. And the attention to detail is very apparent. From the way the grass moves in the wind to the fact that they actually bothered to put in realistic weather psychics (you cannot climb walls when raining, using metal weapons in a thunderstorm will draw incoming lightning towards you, Link has to wear weather-appropriate attire to prevent heatstroke/freezing to death, etc), this world is not only beautiful, but it also feels alive. And while on the subject of freedom, I don't recall any video game that has a story that gives you anywhere near as much freedom as this game.

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The only bad thing I can say about the open-world-iness of Breath of the Wild is it uses a LOT of open-world tropes that show up literally everywhere, such as needing to climb towers to fill out the map, or stumbling upon enemy camps that you can raid for loot. While they do work as intended, anyone who played the likes of Horizon: Zero Dawn or Elder Scrolls: Skyrim will feel a little fatigued (guess which one of those two games I actually played)

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Did I forget to mention that Link is the ultimate chick
magnet? Seriously, it's a miracle the Internet hasn't shattered
from the sheer chick-magnet-iness of Link!

On another note, the story is good. Like almost every Zelda game ever, it can be best described as a classic battle between good and evil. And Link's chick magnet...ness. It would honestly be easier to count the number of girls that don't go cray-cray for Link (both in-universe and the various female Legend of Zelda fans) . Which is impressive, considering that Link is almost completely mute (some cutscenes imply he can talk but he is for some reason the only character in the game who isn't fully voiced).

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Speaking of voice acting, this the first Zelda game that has full voice acting! Granted, said voice acting is kind of hit-or-miss. Some characters, notably instant fan-favorite Prince Sidon along side Revali and Chieftess Riju have really good voice acting that sounds surprisingly believable. Other characters, such as Princess Zelda herself, well... It's not bad, but Zelda's in-game voice doesn't sound how I imagined she would sound like (I have been told her Japanese voice is much better than the voice in the English dub, but I can't switch to the Japanese version because the game doesn't have dual audio. Sadness). On the bright-side, almost every character has some kind of European accent (British, Posh, etc), which fits in the context of Hyrule being a medieval kingdom and also reminds me of the English dub of Xenoblade Chronicles (where everyone had British accents).

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Now I know I spent a while talking about the story, but what about the gameplay? This is easily Breath of the Wild's strong point. The general thought process of the game is "You see that location way off in the distance? You can go there!". There is literally nothing stopping you from making a mad dash to anything in the distance that catches your eye. Including Ganon, since you can see his lair no matter where you are.

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The combat is also top-notch. Unlike every Zelda game ever, Link gets most of his weapons by stealing them from enemies or simply finding unattended weapons lying around. Said weapons are divided into four categories: Short-swords, Heavy weapons (axes, hammers, etc), Spears, and Bows (which funnily enough almost perfectly mirrors the Weapon Triangle from the Fire Emblem franchise). All of these will break if you use them excessively, and while one of the bigger Zelda arguments is whether weapons having limited durability is a good thing or not, I personally agree that it is a good thing, as it forces the player to try out weapons they would otherwise completely ignore. However, the Master Sword is, for obvious reasons, indestructible, albeit with a 10-minute cooldown to, again, make sure the player experiments with the other weapons.

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In addition to the four weapon types mentioned earlier, early on Link acquires Runes that he can perform with a Tablet-like device known as the Sheikah Slate. Runes basically serving as the game's version of magic spells. They can help with combat in a variety of ways, like using the Magnesis Rune to drop a metal crate on an enemy's head, or using the Stasis Rune to freeze enemies in time.

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Breath of the Wild also has lots of puzzle-solving, which is basically what the Legend of Zelda franchise is known for. However, unlike the rest of the franchise, the majority of puzzles are put in small mini-dungeons called Shrines that contain a bit of treasure, an item known as a Spirit Orb which can be used to upgrade Link's Health and Stamina gauges, AND double as Fast travel points once visited. Another impressive feat is how every Shrine has a unique puzzle, and none of the Shrines use the same kind of puzzle twice. In fact, sometimes the Shrine's puzzle is figuring out how to get to the Shrine in the first place (my favorite being the one where you have to wander a dark forest Slender: The Arrival style).

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Additionally, you can cook food. I know that sounds really mundane, but hear me out. There is nothing more satisfying than figuring out a new recipe, but ignoring that satisfactory sensation, the main reason you want to cook food is because this is by far the most difficult Zelda game, and unless you are prepared for anything, you will die a lot. So my advice? Every time you see a cooking pot, take a break from whatever you are doing, look through your inventory, and cook as much food as possible. The food you cook will also have different boosts based on the ingredients used (example, combine some spicy peppers with a handful of mushrooms and you get a dish that will make you impervious to cold weather for a short amount of time).

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You can also take selfies in the game, which results
in pictures like this.

As for exploring the vast and beautiful over-world, Link can climb up almost any surface for... some reason. The only restraints on this being walls and cliffs become too slippery to climb if it's raining, and Link's Stamina gauge serves as a timer for long Link can climb before losing his grip. Also using the Stamina Gauge, Link can sprint like a madman and use a nifty Paraglider to, well, glide. By far the coolest feature is Link can use his currently equipped shield as a makeshift snowboard, which makes going downhill both fun and lightning fast. All of these work wonderfully and add to the aforementioned theme of freedom. However...

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My biggest gripe is with the horseback gameplay. You see, Link can tame wild horses and use them as a speedy way to get around. However, the Horse controls are clumsy and awkward, and while the animations for horse riding are fun to look at, more often than not it's just easier to go on foot, especially since for obvious reasons, horses cannot climb or use the Paraglider. And there are a few side quests that require a horse to complete...

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Prince Sidon is quickly becoming the most
popular supporting character in a Zelda game
EVER. Not even Groose can stop the fish prince!

The visuals of Breath of the Wild are also really good. They took the cel-shaded, anime-esque art-style of my all time favorite game in the franchise (Wind Waker), and made it better. The environments are simply beautiful and the character designs are also really good (stand-outs being, again, Prince Sidon and Revali). Sadly, as I have played the Wii U version, the game is prone to sudden framerate drops when heading into heavily forested areas. Combined with the fact that the game runs at 720p when not lagging, so yeah...

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The game's music is also surprisingly good. Breath of the Wild uses mostly simplistic piano tunes, but does use other instruments as well. My favorite piece of music would be the Hyrule Castle theme, since it sounds like a heroic knight has arrived right on the King of Evil's doorstep, and about to put an end to his reign of terror. Plus, the music itself does a massive troll when you climb up Gerudo Tower, which is the tallest tower in the game, and you almost reach the top, and all of a sudden you hear an accordion playing. Turns out there was a traveling bard who plays accordion sitting at the top of the tower!

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Overall, I give Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Wii U version, a 9/10. It's not perfect, but it's nearly flawless. Just fix the horse controls and the frame-rate issues and then it shall receive a perfect score.

P.S. I am one of the few people who DIDN'T give this game a perfect score. It really is Ocarina of Time 2.0, since no Zelda since Ocarina of Time have been met with this much universal praise!

P.P.S. I guess you could say that the graphics in this game are... BREATH-TAKING!!!