Galactic Diary 20/01/3301

Name: CMDR Tickle

Date: 20/01/3301

Location: HARTSFIELD PLANT, POTRITI SYSTEM

The day began like any other and as was becoming the norm I perused the contracts board only to find nothing suitable, I'm not some terrified hauler waiting for my cargo to be jacked by pirates I'm the guy waiting for the pirates to come so I can claim the bounties on their damn heads. Like I said though there was nothing for me here so I headed back to my trusty sidewinder, did my pre-flight checks and took off towards Tuan Orbital hoping that the rumours about there being work were not unfounded.

It never ceases to amaze me how empty space is and yet every time I venture out into the void there's always something new to be found and hey if it means I can sell my scan data to the people in cartographics then I'm more than happy to help. One uneventful supercruise later and Tuan Oribital was within my sights, I opened up my comms to get docking permission because the last thing I need is to be blown out of existence by some two-bit station. It was only after I had docked that I discovered this place was controlled by The Gold Mafia and that only ever means one thing, money to be made here. It seemed the rumours about work were true, not long after I landed I received a message about a gang of pirates in the Apoyota system that needed eliminating and the pay was more than worth the risk so I didn't waste any time, I left the station and made the jump to Apoyota. 

I don't quite recall what happened next but the long and the short of it is that I may, MAY, have drifted a bit closer to a Red Dwarf star than intended and damaged my hull, not wanting to risk fighting the pirates with an already compromised hull I needed to find a place to repair. My Nav told me there was a place not to far away in the sector that I could get my ship fixed, Hahn Relay, so I throttled up and went on my way. When I arrived I discovered I wasn't alone, there were a decent amount of other CMDRs at the relay and I can only assume they too were looking for the pirates, while I was docking I scanned a nearby pilot and found he had a bounty on his head, the hunter in me wanted the money but that plan went out the window when I came to my senses. If I even so much as fired a warning shot this close to the Relay I'd have every federal ship on me withing seconds, this guy wasn't worth that much so I just let him go and headed over to repair and refuel and once again set off in search of the pirates.

Review - Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PC

- Press F to review -

What is it?

I'm sure by now that I don't need to explain what Call of Duty is but just to be on the safe side it's a Modern Military Shooter (MMS). Advanced Warfare as you can probably guess is set in the near future and revolves heavily around both future tech and Private Military Contractors (PMCs). Personally I'm pretty certain that this entry in the series also serves as a potential season 5 maybe season 6 for House of Cards. The biggest question about Advanced Warfare is whether or not it's a step forward for one of the more stagnant franchises or is just another Call of Duty game?

Story

As with all Call of Duty games you have but one name that will be shouted, barked and screamed at you throughout the campaign and today that name is Mitchell! Anyway, you and your bestest bud in the whole world, Will, are out on a mission in North Korea and inevitably shit hits fan and your friend dies and you have your arm crushed as well as all your future military dreams. At the funeral you meet Wills dad Johnathon Irons aka Kevin Spacey as Kevin Spacey who feels this is the best time to ask you about your career plans for the future and in turn offers you a place at ATLAS, his own personal PMC and even hooks you up with your own bionic arm.

After joining ATLAS and going to war with the terrorist group KVA for whatever reason ATLAS emerge victorious and become the biggest and most powerful PMC in the world as a result, it's about now that the cracks begin to reveal themselves and once again shit hits the fan and by now you can probably predict what happens for the rest of the game, if not I'll remind you once again that Kevin Spacey is in this game and owns the largest PMC in the world...so yea.

Gameplay

Call of Duty isn't exactly known for it's innovation given the fact that they've used the same formula since the original Modern Warfare so you know what you're getting when you buy into it, shooty shooty deathbang boom. Credit to Sledgehammer (the developers) as they've definitely left there mark on this game with some of the additions they've made and frankly some of them are pretty bold given the effect they have on the multiplayer, and god help you if you change that and feel the wrath of a bunch of angry kids.

Since we're in the near future of 2054 then we're going to need some appropriate future tech so without further adieu I present to you, the EXO-Suit!!! *Fanfare applause fireworks women fainting* The EXO-Suit is your one stop shop to go from man of the land to man of the land wearing a bit of a metal frame on your body, what does this do I hear you cry well let me tell, the EXO-Suit allows you to super jump, super punch, super kick, boost from side to side and many more things. The suit also comes with a built in grenade launcher because it's 2054 and who wants to be throwing grenades in this day and age? Nobody! Throwing is for chumps! If you're going to throw something then make sure it's one of the new Multi-Grenade, this allows you to switch between flash, stun, threat and even an EMP with a flick of the wrist. I'll stop the sales pitch gimmick now I promise.

Okay so you can see they've tried to spice up the usual formula with these additions but this is Call of Duty and change is frowned upon so even though with things like a mech-suit section you'll still have to go through the motions and nods back to All Ghillied Up from Modern Warfare with the usual "hey follow me but only when I say so and HEY DO YOU REMEMBER THAT MISSION WASN'T IT GREAT?!?!HUH!". Yes I remember the damn mission and it was great the first time but just stop making me replay it!

Graphics

I think after the huge disaster that was Call of Duty: Ghosts we were all a bit apprehensive about Advanced Warfare when it came to the PC port but surprisingly Sledgehammer really pulled out all the stops with this one and delivered a solid PC port with one of the more in-depth graphics options menus I've seen recently with things like supersampling and shadow preloading for the beefier PCs out there.

The textures are decent enough and while it's by no means Crysis 3 it's a vast improvement over Ghosts, though at this point that wouldn't take much. Shockingly Kevin Spacey looks better than every single thing in that game, I mean lets face it if you've paid him to be in your game you better make damn sure it looks like him.

Audio

Audio is a huge part of games for me but I can honestly say that I couldn't even remember if this game had music because it's just so forgettable, it's not like Call of Duty is known for it's epic memorable scores but it's still disappointing to come away from a game and not want to listen to the soundtrack (for me). The sound design is the same stuff we've been hearing since Modern Warfare really, it's not Battlefield levels of commitment but it's serviceable at least.

I'd like to make a plea to Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer and Treyarch, please for the love of god either stop using the same voice actor to play the only English guy in every game or just stop putting an English guy in your games. I'm sick to death of hearing the same gruff Ross Kemp style southern bloke playing the same damn character every damn time! Spice things up a bit, use a pure blood northerner or something, or a Geordie! Imagine the scene, you're following along on a stealth mission waiting for patrols to pass like you do and all you can hear through your speakers is "Wai-aye pet it's just ooover errree haawayyy".

Yay/Nay?

One of the main questions I had when playing this game was "am I going to have to wait 3 more years to have jetpacks again?", this is definitely the most fun Call of Duty game I've played for years and it's the EXO-Suit mechanics that make it that way because when you add things like strafe-boosting and verticality to your multiplayer maps it makes the game feel fresh and new. The problem for me is that when the next Call of Duty comes out in November and it's from Infinity Ward I'll have no desire to play it because odds are it won't have these fun new mechanics and most likely won't be future based.

I like the near future idea but I wish they would have gone further with it, I'm sick of assault rifles, why can't we have something a bit more interesting, it can't be for the sake of realism because we've got bloody mech-suits, my guess is that this game was meant as a proof of concept for the next one and hopefully by then they push it further, I want lasers and railguns already.

Like I've said previously this is absolutely a step in the right direction and even managed to breathe some new life into the franchise, sadly they're still using the same basis for all their campaigns, let's be honest when has a story involving PMCs not ended in betrayal and blood, it didn't work in Metal Gear Solid 4 and it didn't work here. Overall it's a solid game and while I know people only really buy these games for the multiplayer if they continue to ship a singleplayer campaign with it then it has to stand up on it's own as an experience. If you want the newest multiplayer and aren't afraid of change then definitely pick this up, it's not perfect and we're still waiting on dedicated servers because lets be honest we need them because peer to peer hosting is just stupid, but it's still enjoyable which is an achievement for Call of Duty at this point, though I definitely wouldn't pay full price for it.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/209650/
http://www.callofduty.com/uk/en/advancedwarfare

Review - Bayonetta 2 - WiiU

• Classy English lady
• Clothes made of hair
• Angels, demons, hair?
• I need this game in my life

- INFINITE CLIMAX (heh) -

What is it?

Bayonetta 2 is the most recent instalment in the spectacle fighting, or Third person 3-D action game, series from Platinum Games who are responsible for some fantastic games such as Madworld for the Wii, the original Bayonetta, the underrated Vanquish and Metal Gear Rising. Despite the rocky performance of the first game it was well received and people loved it for how over the top the fighting was and the character of Bayonetta herself, but even with that Sega had no intention or desire to put out a sequel, flash forward a few years and out of nowhere Nintendo of all people announce that they will be funding development for the WiiU exclusive sequel and I found a huge reason to buy a WiiU.

Story

You're an Umbra Witch, you kill angels and demons. OK moving on..

Alright alright more depth etc. The game begins with our leading leggy lady Bayonetta out on a little shopping trip in the city with her stocky Italian-American walking cliché of a friend (or at least what passes for a friend in her mind) Enzo Ferino. On his merry way to acquire presents for his children Enzo is nearly run down by a lady on a motorbike with outrageously long hair, this turns out to be Jeanne (Bayonettas former rival turned ally) who arrives to update Bayonetta on the situation in Paradiso (that's Heaven to you and me). Once that's done she disappears and Enzo resumes his toy quest, whilst doing that a fighter jet comes down to street level and heads straight for him and yes it really does change that quickly. Cue Bayonetta who arrives just in time to punt the jet skyward and begin her assault.

Skip forward a few fights with Angels and an appearance Jeanne to save our arse and it looks like things are wrapping up so we summon a giant Demon from Hell to finish things off at which point things go a bit awry as it breaks free and begins to terrorise the city, during this fight Jeanne gets hit so hard her soul comes out and is dragged down to Inferno and THIS is where the story begins as we embark to rescue her soul and shove it back in her body. Along the way you'll encounter a couple of returning characters as well as some new faces and a fair amount of throwbacks and nods to the first game, there's a lot more to the story than just a rescue mission but going into detail about that would ruin the fun were you to play it for yourself, also it's worth noting that I only covered the first 15-20 minutes of the game so there's that.

Gameplay

Hey, did you play the first Bayonetta? Did you like it? Good because it's more of the same with the punching and the kicking and the giant fists made of hair and the spanking, oh the spanking. Anyway. You move from chapter to chapter completing a varying number of verses (the biggest variation is whether you find all the bastarding verses or not), during which you'll find portals to the Muspelheim where you must complete a task using a given set of rules such as don't touch the floor as well as portals to the Gates of Hell where you'll find the lovable Rodin (pronounced Rodaaaan for some reason) peddling his overpriced wares in exchange for your hard earned currency. You earn Halos for every enemy you kill and more based on your overall performance throughout the chapter and these can be spent on various things such as: new weapons, restorative items, trinkets to alter gameplay, new moves and costumes of which there are many including some special Nintendo ones such as Peach and Samus.

As I mentioned above you can buy new moves from the shop to expand the already huge combo list, however I ended up going through the game only buying one extra move and I'm pretty certain I could have done without it. While the combo list is big and varies with every weapon fights will always devolve into hammer as many buttons as possible and cool shit will happen which isn't really that bad when you think about it. The only place this tactic fails to work is in the games Tag Climax mode aka co-op. Here you and a friend (or random person) choose 6 different scenarios and compete for score and ultimately more halos to spend on more costumes, these scenarios are unlocked as you progress through the story and there are 52 total cards to unlock however some cards do have secret conditions that need to be met in order to unlock them such as completing the game on a higher difficulty.

Graphics

The game is gorgeous and runs at a glorious 60fps in 1080p and definitely helps show what the WiiU is actually capable of as opposed to something like Mario 3D world (which was also great). The environments are beautifully rendered if a little repetitive but where the game shines is in Paradiso and the Inferno because it's here that the artists have more license to essentially go nuts and over the top. Paradiso is what you would expect in that it's very regal and bright with lots of use of white, yellow and gold and if I'm wrong about that just put it down to being colourblind.. Inferno really stands out and everything about the environment feels oppressive and like it wants to kill you and the enemy design amplifies that feeling of terror and dread that you would expect to find in a place called the Inferno. Monsters in this game are a sight to behold and it's clear that as much effort went into designing the small flying ball angel things as it did into the giant hair demon dragon and it's not like there are a small amount of enemy types, as you progress through the game each enemy type seems to evolve and continuously get bigger and more of a pain in the arse to fight.

Also, get used to that creepy baby face that's on the angels because you'll be seeing it constantly, in your nightmares..it haunts me.

Audio

Boasting an absurd 183 tracks the Bayonetta 2 soundtrack is pretty damn epic, that's really the best way to describe it, when you're fighting a giant bone snake you want something suitably amazing musically to accompany that scene and make it even more over the top and that's exactly what the soundtrack accomplishes, they even throw in a cover of Moon River. The sound design is pretty flawless and whether you're slicing and dicing with your swords or hammering something to death every hit feels good, it's not even annoying when you're skating around with chainsaws for shoes. Hellena Taylor also gives a fantastic performance as Bayonetta and perfectly delivers the characters hyper-confidence throughout the game.

Yay/Nay?

Bayonetta 2 is a fantastic game with incredible characters and gameplay to match and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it, but it does have it's issues. The biggest issue of all is that it's essentially just more of the same, you can buy this game bundled with the original and if you played through the first and jumped straight into the second you'd probably wonder if you'd forgotten to change discs. There's also what I consider to be poor design within the co-op mode in that you're limited to one set of weapons for all 6 scenarios as opposed to the two sets you can utilise in single player and you can't change your character or weapon loadouts without quitting out of co-op which means you then have to start the lobby over again. It's a small thing I know but it seems like an oversight to me and it became annoying when I would unlock a new character mid game and have to finish all 6 scenarios, change character and start a new set of 6 not knowing if I would even like the character.

However even with those few issues it's not even close to being a deal breaker, even with the repetition I wouldn't call this a failing because at the end of the day if you enjoyed the experience the first time then having the experience all over again with some changes is fantastic. If you loved the first Bayonetta then you'll no doubt love this one as well, if you love spectacle fighters then you'll probably love this as well. I loved it to the point that I went from start to finish in two sittings and have already started over again on a harder difficulty with a different character. If you have a WiiU this is definitely what I would call a must buy game, I'd even say it's a good reason to buy a WiiU.

http://bayonetta2.nintendo.com/

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Wii-U/Bayonetta-2-765382.html

Review - Shovel Knight - PC

• Retro Platformer
• Pogo Simulator
• £10.99/£14.99 with the glorious soundtrack  

- FOR SHOVELRY -

*Disclosure - These screenshots are from the press kit on Yacht Clubs website because mine got corrupted in a HDD issue*

What is it?

Released back in June 2014, Shovel Knight is an 8-bit 2D platformer in the vein of old Castlevania games for PC, 3DS and the WiiU from Yacht Club Games. It began life as a Kickstarter campaign and is one of the few things we can safely call a success when it comes to Kickstarter.

Story

One day whilst out adventuring with your favourite gal pal Shield Knight you stumble upon the ominously named Tower of Fate where you both fall prey to a cursed amulet, when you wake up Shield Knight is gone and you're left feeling quite upset by the whole thing and sack adventuring in favour of early retirement. Big mistake really. During your extended vacation a formidable team of nasty chaps make an appearance and begin terrorising the realm, including the all powerful enchantress and as you might guess she's not too friendly. When news reaches you about all the bad things that have happened since you've been gone the decision is made, time to once again pick up shovel and put a stop to it all.

Gameplay

When you hear the words "8-bit 2D platformer" you know what you're getting and admittedly that isn't always a good thing since this is a genre filled with quite a lot of shitty games. Shovel Knight stays true to the genre and it's levels are laden with holes to fall down, spikes to fall on and secrets to be found, oh and enemies that will go out of their way to get you killed. You even get a Ducktales style pogo jump when you jam your mighty shovel into the moist brains of enemies.

When you do die, and you will a lot, you lose a portion of your money which you have a chance at reclaiming by getting to the spot you died and collecting the bags ala Dark Souls. The controls are incredibly responsive and whilst I prefer to play with an Xbox 360 pad (despite it having one of the worst D-pads in the world) using a keyboard will not be a hindrance on you.

It's worth mentioning that if you're playing on PC check your V-sync settings because I went through over half the game before I realised turning it off made the game run much better and made me run much MUCH quicker, or rather run at the speed I'm supposed to.

Graphics

Again, you know what you're getting when it comes to 8-bit. Yacht Club have gone above and beyond when it comes to the stylistic feel of Shovel Knight, even using a colour palette nearly identical to the original NES and their effort shows because the game is simply stunning to look at. The character design is incredible and each environment is varied and conveys the theme of each level so well. The 8-bit style isn't for everyone and it isn't always done right but you would have a hard time looking at this game and not thinking it looks beautiful.

Audio

Before I gush about how good the music is I want to touch on the sound design because it's really good and has a lot of satisfying bit-crush throughout, okay music time. Oh it's so good, seriously it's just so damn good! Jake Kaufman did outstanding work on this game, truly inspiring. I love chiptune music and this is no exception, it's so well written and an absolutely perfect match for the game, it even has 2 tracks written by Manami Matsumi who wrote music for Mega Man! How amazing is that! Go to Jakes Bandcamp page and listen to it, just, do it. Now.

Yay or Nay?

There's a reason I like this game a lot that I've yet to touch on and that's the character of Shield Knight, she's not the usual woman that needs saving, she isn't a love interest she's your partner and the two of you are a well oiled machine together. Much better than whining about being in a castle or some other plot device. The games biggest failing is its length, I got a lot of enjoyment out of my first playthrough (which would've gone faster without the V-sync issues) and while you have the option for a new game plus it feels artificial since all it does really is make things a bit harder. That having been said I really do like this game and find it hard not to recommend it to anyone and everyone because it's just a really enjoyable experience and who doesn't love that?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/250760/
http://yachtclubgames.com/shovel-knight/
http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-original-soundtrack

...SALE - Steam Summer Sale - Day 9

Day-[9] hype!

Transistor - £11.24

 

"Discover the world of Transistor, a sci-fi-themed action RPG from the creators of Bastion."

Oh god I love this game so much that I want to marry the soundtrack! If you want a full breakdown of this then you can check out a review I wrote for it right HERE. To summarize however Transistor is a Sci-fi themed RPG from Supergiant games who also brought you Bastion, you play as Red and you awake in the streets to find the Transistor (your sword) and the two of you head off on an amazing adventure figuring out what's happened, listening to the beautiful soundtrack courtesy of Darren Korb, and stopping every once in a while to take in the stunning environment. Despite the game not having much in terms of replayability I really think that it's still worth it for this price 100%.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/237930/

PAYDAY 2 - £4.59

"PAYDAY 2 is an action-packed, four-player co-op shooter that once again lets gamers don the masks of the original PAYDAY crew - Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chains - as they descend on Washinton DC for an epic crime spree."

This game can be incredibly fun and violently frustrating and unfair all at the same time. You and your crew of either friends, strangers or AI will attempt to steal various quantities of money, cocaine, servers and such without getting killed brutally. The problem is that for somebody brand new to the game the only choice is to go in guns blazing and try to survive because you effectively stealth the heists in this game you need certain perks from the talent tree which are pretty high up. That having been said however, it's a lot of fun especially with your friends on teamspeak, it will all be going well and no-one will know you're drilling a vault open then BAM a civilian sees one of your friends, gets shot and then the police turn up to ruin your day even more. Very much fun. There's beginning to be a mountain of DLC for this game all of which you can get for an extra £10.08 and that includes The Big Bank Heist which came out a week or two ago and as far as value for money goes the £15ish it will cost for everything gets you a hell of a lot.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/218620/

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Directors Cut - £3.24

"You play Adam Jensen, an ex-SWAT specialist who's been handpicked to oversee the defensive needs of one of America's most experimental biotechnology firms. Your job is to safeguard company secrets, but when a blackops team breaks in and kills the very scientists you were hired to protect, everything you thought you knew about your job changes."

Deus Ex is one of those go to franchises for PC gamers, many are the nerds that will regale you with stories of how amazing the original game was, how it changed the future of gaming and in turn, the world. Some of them will also tell you how this recent one ruins everything they ever loved and practically murdered their families. I however, never played the first Deus Ex but I did play this so I'll tell you that it's a great game, it's a lot of fun planning out your access into the building through the vent on the roof then sneaking past the guard then thinking "Ah bugger it" and ditching all of that to run in guns out and super-punch people to death. The cyber-punk future setting is really well done and as you'd expect the world is very neon green. Personally I think Adam Jensen is a twat but that's just me and probably attributed to how I played him in the game (as a twat), it's a very good mix of action and RPG.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/238010/

Deal of the Day

 It's so damn lovely! I can't not recommend this, it may not be the longest game (clocking in at about 4 hours) but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't one of the best games I've played recently. The combat system is intuitive and new, the enemy and world design is fantastic and the soundtrack is musical sex. Supergiant games have already got such a good track record now between this and Bastion that I can't wait to see what they do next.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/237930/

...SALE - Steam Summer Sale - Day 8

AWOLGaben

Civilization V - £4.99/£11.54

"Create, discover, and download new player-created maps, scenarios, interfaces, and more!"

First things first, this game is fan-god-damn-tastic. If you've been living under a bridge for the past few years then here's what you've missed - Civilization is the classic turn-based, 4X strategy with all your favourite political leaders through time: George Washington, Genghis Khan, Mahatma Gandhi etc. In Civ V you will wage war over giant maps against multiple enemies and wipe then all out so that you rule the world, or you can let them wipe each other out and sneak the victory away by getting into space first. It's an absolute class franchise and with Steam Workshop support the experience is constantly changing and evolving. I would advise that you spend a few more pennies and pick up all the DLC packs including Brave New World which adds a whole set of new systems and changes a lot of the meta, the majority of Civ fans can attest to how good that expansion is.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/8930/   

Dishonored - £2.49

"Dishonored is an immersive first-person action game that casts you as a supernatural assassin driven by revenge, With Dishonored's flexible ombat system, creatively eliminate your targets as you combine the supernatural abilities, weapons and unusual gadgets at your disposal."

Ahhh Dishonored, this game is really good and one of those games which serves as a reminder that there's more to gaming than shooty shooty bang bang, there's also stabby stabby sneak bang. You are Corvo, victim of the most obvious set-up in history and you must work to clear your name and avenge your ladies killer. Depending on how you choose to play, either stealthy or loud and proud, your world may slowly begin to fill with what are basically zombies for a reason I don't entirely remember. Either way this game is great and I had a blast with it because teleporting around and stabbing people is always fun, it's also worth picking up the Knife of Dunwall DLC as I hear very good things about it and it sounds like The Brigmore Witches is more of the same which is probably good.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/205100/

Left 4 Dead 2 - £3.74

"Set in the zombie apocalypse, Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) is the highly anticipated sequel to the award-winning Left 4 Dead, the #1 co-op game of 2008. This co-operative action horror FPS takes you and your friends through the cities, swamps and cemeteries of the Deep South, from Savannah to New Orleans across five expansive campaigns."

This game. Easily the best example of zombie murdering in my opinion, following up on the incredibly popular first game L4D2 adds even more to the formula including different ammo types, melee weapons and of course new zombies. I didn't play as much of this as I did the first game but it's definitely one of those things you can keep going back to and have ridiculous fun with and for this low a price you should really own it. Also, fuck clowns. Evil bastards.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/550/

Deal of the Day

It's got so much going for it! So much mod support and campaign and fun with friends and getting your shit ruined by barbarians all day. You'll find the hours just fly by as you enter the 3am stage of "Just one more turn", minutes into hours into days into weeks into years into Civ. I can't recommend it enough, I've put nearly a hundred or so hours into it and I still find myself going back to try doing things differently (trying to get a cultural victory as Genghis Khan, not easy).

http://store.steampowered.com/app/8930/

Review - Tomodachi Life - 3DS

• Fun
• Stupid
• Fan-fic generator
• Pricey

What is it?

The Island as it starts

Tomodachi Life is a very strange crossbreed of The Sims and Animal Crossing wherein you are god and have to deal with an island full of Mii's who have problems that need solving and their free will

can only do so much.

The whole gang..so far

Story

Basically there isn't a story...or nothing that I would say actually counts as narrative. You start the game, create yourself in your image and then forever forward you are know as "blahs" look-a-like. You exist to solve these Mii's problems and solve them you will and as you solve them and tick off different requirements your island will grow and expand with new buildings and such.

Gameplay

The first thing you'll want to do is take advantage of the QR scanning feature and head over to the internet to find a huge list of QR codes for characters you know and love, as you scan a character in you'll want to make sure that each character at least has a date of birth set, I'll elaborate on that soon.

Princess Zelda doing the news

Depending on the type of QR code you scan you may have to fill out some more options with the Mii such as personality, voice, first name, last name, nickname and a few other stats. Personality is done through a series of extreme sliders for example you are either incredibly normal or incredibly mental, obviously you can be anywhere on the scale but the extremes are somewhat hilarious. Voice is also done through sliders and hearing the speech feedback can be terrifying, especially when your Mii says your name for the first time, it's haunting.

As I mentioned you exist to solve these Mii's problems and you'll do that by checking in on them in their room in the big island council flat where they all reside. Mii's will have different types of thought bubbles on their rooms depending on the type of problem they have, maybe they want food, want to meet somebody or are in love with another islander or maybe they want to play a game which when clicked they will ask you in a very scary 8-bit style voice "come play with me"...again, haunting. There are a variety of mini games which you'll end up doing including Sumo Wrestling, Catch, Match 2 and more, nothing really too taxing but some of them can just be a pain in the arse like Identify Mii where you are shown a silhouette of a Mii on your island and given a choice of 3 names to choose from which given the limited amount of hair styles in the Nintendo character creator can be as I said, a pain in the arse.

Mii Apartments

Problems and requests

It's not all entertaining Mii's though, you also need to feed them by buying whatever food is on sale in the shop that day which they may or may not like. Buy them new clothes with whatever is available in the shop that day or buy them a whole new room design. None of that is actually important though because since this is a Nintendo game you can't die from starvation or anything but it's always nice to keep your subjects Mii's happy. With enough interaction between your Mii's they will eventually develop friendships and distaste for each other  which can lead to arguments or better yet, marriage and tiny little babies. This is why having date of birth set for each character is important because without it they could be a child and that would be...bad. So make sure everything is above board and okay first. When two Mii's have a baby it will eventually grow up and you'll be given two options, either he or she can live on the island with the other slaves Mii's or you can send them off to another island via street-pass (which I haven't managed to do because I don't get any street-pass hits here..).

Just...fantastic

YEA!...right?

Awww

Graphics

I don't know what anybody is expecting to find here, it looks like anything that involves Mii's really which means it can look anywhere between Okay and OH GOD NO. At the end of the day you're not buying this to look at the sweet 3DS graphics are you.

Eren mytriggeristitans Jaeger

Professor Oak coping with his problems

Audio

So in order to make your Mii feel more like you when you create your Mii you are given a very odd set of sliders to manipulate your voice, you can choose from a few presets (Old man, old woman, man, woman, boy, girl) but then everyone sounds the same. Trying to replicate your own voice is difficult to say the least, it's really only 1 or 2 steps above Microsoft Sam..For all kinds of fun you should hit that randomize button because some of those randomized voices are most definitely speaking in tongues. Also the music is as bland and forgettable as Animal Crossing.

Yay or Nay?

This game is pretty fantastic. Having the ability to put all your favourite videogame and TV characters together in one space and see who hates who and who loves who is pretty great, it's basically a fan-fiction generator..if you're into that. There was some rather big and frankly unnecessary hoo-hah about the removal of a bug or glitch that allowed same sex couples to have children and get married and such, Nintendo pulled it and people were furious, saying it was homophobic and unfair and blah blah blah. This is just a fun silly game that's mainly for kids, definitely not something that was worth all the drama it got.

I opened by saying this game was like Animal Crossing and it is but it's different in one key way, there's no time restriction placed on character interaction. In Animal Crossing you were pretty screwed if you wanted to play at 2am or even if you just did too much early in the day. In Tomodachi there is pretty much always something to do, the game doesn't shut down at 10am, it's great. It's a fun, stupid, silly experiment of a game and I'm still not bored of it.

That's how you do it Tifa

Bye bye

http://tomodachi.nintendo.com/
http://www.reddit.com/r/tomodachilife/

...SALE - Steam Summer Sale - Day 7

Cut down to what I know...

So I cut out all the games I know nothing/very little about/haven't played because what's the point? Here's what I do know though...

The Banner Saga - £9.49

"Live through an epic role-playing Viking saga where your strategic choices directly affect your personal journey. Make allies as you travel with your caravan across this stunning yet harsh landscape. Carefully choose those who will help fight a new threat that jeopardizes an entire civilization."

The Banner Saga is an incredibly striking game visually, the art style is fantastic. Every choice you make has some effect on the outcome of your story as time goes on which is a great mechanic which I love, feeling like what you're doing actually matters is something games need to do more. It's worth picking this up just for the soundtrack because Austin Wintory, who wrote the frankly gorgeous music for Journey, absolutely nailed it with this one which should surprise no-one.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/237990/
 
Counter-Striker: Global Offensive - £5.99

"Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched 12 years ago. CS:GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.)."

Come on, this series is synonymous with PC gaming now so you should know what it is. It's a classic piece of team-based FPS where depending on the map you're either rescuing hostages, killing the rescuers, planting a bomb or defusing said bomb. That's just scratching the surface though because in CS:GO they've built in a few more interesting game modes that were popular in CS:Source such as Gun Game (now called Arms Race), not to mention the fact that there's all the community made maps and game modes like Surf and zombie. There's so much going on for this game and it's hard to see this franchise going away since it's been here for 15 years, if you want a different experience to CoD or Battlefield this is it for you.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/730/


Bioshock Infinite - £4.99

"Indebted to the wrong people, with his life on the line, veteran of the U.S. Cavalry and now hired gun, Booker DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia."

What a game, a great example of top notch story telling. Not however a great example of gunplay and waves of enemies..I liked Bioshock Infinite a lot and I didn't like or finish Bioshock 1 or 2. Elizabeth is one of the best characters I've seen in a AAA title and the way she interacts with the world and the fact that she doesn't get in the way during combat is great, not only that but the way the story is delivered through narrative and the few dozen audio-logs means that you have to put the time in to find these to start to understand the depth of the story. It's definitely worth picking up the season pass with this game because the Burial at Sea DLC is game changing. I actually reviewed this on my YouTube channel so if you want a more in-depth look at it then click HERE

http://store.steampowered.com/app/8870/


Final Fantasy XIV- £3.39

"FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Windows PC and PlayStation3 that invites you to explore the realm of Eorzea with friends from around the world. Form a party and adventure with a multitude of players from across the globe."

Well god damn this is a fine looking game! I will keep this one short though because it's hard to sell an MMO in a couple of paragraphs. It's an MMO set in the world of Final Fantasy where you choose one of several classes, and start your adventure in probably the prettiest world I've seen in an MMO. One of the unique aspects of this game is the job system which if you're familiar with the franchise isn't new to you but if you're not basically think of it like evolving your class, so a Lancer becomes a Dragoon, a conjurer becomes a White Mage etc. It's a great mechanic that changes how your class plays and the role it plays in groups, the other great thing is that you can be everything on one character. What that means is that my one manface can be every class and every profession in the game and yes that would take you quite a long time BUT being able to do everything on one character is fantastic. Before you decide on this one you should look for a proper in-depth review of some form because sadly I don't think there's a free trial and I can't cover everything here..maybe I should review it...

http://store.steampowered.com/app/262342/

Deal of the Day

The story and characters alone are enough for me to recommend this game especially at this price. Despite the less than spectacular gunplay it's truly a good game and you've got to get the Season Pass so you can play the DLC and expand the story and the universe even more.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/8870/

...SALE - Steam Summer Sale - Day 6

Sorry I was raiding....

Good thing these deals last for 48 hours eh. Either way there's no one game you should buy so here's all the ones you should consider/spend all your money on...

Torchlight II - £3.74

"The award-winning action RPG is back, bigger and better than ever! Torchlight II takes you back into the quirky, fast-paced world of bloodthirsty monsters, bountiful treasures, and sinister secrets - and, once again, the fate of the world is in your hands!"

For those not in the know Torchlight II is a Diablo style point, click and die game but unlike Diablo which is all grim and dark and about evily evil, Torchlight is a bit brighter in terms of world design. Yes the story is still about stopping evil in one way or another but doing so in a much more colourful world makes a difference. On it's own Torchlight II is a fairly standard experience but it also happens to be incredibly moddable with a huge modding scene where you can get new classes, dungeons and even an entire overhaul/expansion mod that changes just about everything in the game and adds raids, armor sets and more. If you're looking for an action experience but don't want to shell out for Diablo III then this is definitely for you. 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/200710/

Fallout New Vegas: Ultimate Edition - £5.09

"Welcome Back to New Vegas! Jump in with this complete set that includes all of the acclaimed add-on content."
 

Fallout 3 was great I think we can all agree but it had some shortcomings, like the story. New Vegas
on the other hand has a pretty good story that will take you all over this big ass wasteland killing everyone you meet (or not). You know what this game is and for £5.09 you get all the DLC so there's no complaining. Hey if you get bored you can do what I always do and open the console and dick around with point values and turn yourself into a god who explodes people when he punches them...

http://store.steampowered.com/app/2028016/

Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons - £2.19

"Guide two brothers on an epic fairy tale journey from visionary Swedish film director, Josef Fares and top-tier developer Starbreeze Studios. Control both brothers at once as you experience co-op play in single player mode, like never before."

Buy it. Buy it now. This game for this price, or any price for that matter, is fantastic. Not only is it one of the most visually beautiful games I've played but it also delivers its story like no other game, controlling both brothers helps to pull you into the narrative and you very quickly become engrossed in the setting and story. It's a game that can say a thousand words without any dialogue. I know you've spent more money on far worse things than this so finish reading and go buy this game and if you don't own a controller to play it with, get one.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/225080/

...SALE - Steam Summer Sale - Day 5

Change Places!

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition - £4.99

"Dark Souls will be the most deeply challenging game you play this year. Can you live through a million deaths and earn your legacy?"

Well I'd stand a better chance of attaining my legacy if this game wasn't such a terrible port. Praise the people who made DSFix which you will absolutely need if you plan on picking up this incredibly challenging running-into-a-brick-wall simulator. Honestly though you're better off waiting for Dark Souls II to drop in price during this sale which I'd wager it will.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/211420/

FTL: Advanced Edition - £2.79

"This spaceship simulation rogue-like allows you to take your ship and crew on an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy filled with glory and bitter defeat"

FTL is a top down tactical roguelike where you jump from planet to planet engaging pirates and either defeating them so you can live to fight another day or getting blown to shit and having to start all over again, should you manage to make it all the way to the end you'll be faced with the mother of all pirate ships and if you're not sufficiently prepared then you may as well just exit the game then and there. Given that recently a free expansion was released which included new races, events, weapons, ships and loads more you definitely can't complain about paying £2.79 for this and you can even mod it if you're really crazy and want more of a challenge.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/

Nether - £2.19

"Nether is a first-person urban survival experience unlike any other. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Nether forces players to make life-saving decisions in a fast-paced struggle against players and the environment. Join tribes to battle for territory. Scavenge, craft, trade and loot your way to stay alive another day."

This is what I imagine the result would look like if S.T.A.L.K.E.R and DayZ had a bastard child. The reviews on the Steam page are relatively high, though they are from people I've never heard of like Cramgaming or GodisaGeek...The idea of the game is great as it is with all these games but the market is already so flooded with DayZ clones that you're better off just not bothering. Probably give this one a miss, I couldn't say for sure but I bet you could put the £2.19 to better use

http://store.steampowered.com/app/247730/

Rogue Legacy - £2.74

"Rogue Legacy is a genealogical rogue-"LITE" where anyone can be a hero. Each time you die, your child will succeed you. Every child is unique. One child might be colourblind, another might have vertigo-- they could even be a dwarf. That's OK, because no one is perfect, and you don't have to be perfect to win this game."

A rogue-like with a twist, the genealogical aspect definitely makes things a lot more interesting since two characters are rarely alike which alters how you have to play to survive. This game got a lot of love from reviewers and the community and the fact that it's only £2.74 means you can't argue because there are few better ways to spend that amount of money.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/241600/

Saints Row IV - £7.49

"The US President must save the Earth from alien overlord Zinyak using an arsenal of superpowers and strange weapons in the wildest open world game ever. The epic conclusion to the game that changed all the rules!"

Changed all the rules and implemented flying and lightning speed mechanics thus eliminating the need to ever buy, drive or customize a car ever again. Until your NPC partners need to drive somewhere and you end up being the chauffeur. I love Saints Row, I'll say that now, but this game was probably the weakest I've played. I love how batshit stupid it is and admire them for going as far as they have with it but somewhere in this game it lost its charm to me. That being said, flying around the city and forcing people to twerk with the dub-step gun is great fun, it just grows old a bit too fast. 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/206420/

ARMA III - £17.99

"Experience true combat gameplay in a massive military sandbox. Deploying a wide variety of single and multiplayer content, over 20 vehicles and 40 weapons, and limitless opportunities for content creation, the PC's premier military game series is back. Authentic, diverse, open - Arma 3 sends you to war."

They're not wrong, this game is in a league of it's own when it comes to military simulation. Possibly one of the most gorgeous looking games that has the pleasure of melting my PC every time I play it with one of the most open and powerful content creation tools I've ever seen, the mods people make for this game are insanely detailed and the recent Zeus game mode just proves how powerful the game can be as you assume a god role and set objectives for players whilst trying to stop them with all the spawning power at your fingertips. This is not a game you can just jump into, getting acquainted with the controls is the first impossible hurdle, prepare to have a cheat sheet handy so you can check how to sit on the floor whilst looking down the barrel of your gun, not down the sight, and shuffle forwards on your arse...Did I mention they recently put up a kart-dlc? I just did.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/107410/

Surgeon Simulator 2013 - £1.74

"Surgeon Simulator 2013 is a darkly humorous over-the-top operation sim game where players become Nigel Burke, a would-be surgeon taking life into his own shaky hands, performing life-saving surgical maneuvers on passive patients."

What's that I smell? Is it...I think...Yes, it's the unmistakable smell of YouTube money because that's what this game has become. Using keyboard and mouse you "perform" surgery but because of the nature of the controls it all goes wonky and causes YouTubers to scream on camera and make millions of dollars for no reason. Once you sufficiently ballsed things up make sure you take a screenshot and post it to reddit so everyone can see how much fun you're having...

http://store.steampowered.com/app/233720/

The Lego Movie Videogame - £5.74

"Join Emmet and an unlikely group of resistance fighters in their heroic quest to thwart Lord Business' evil plans - a mission that Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously unprepared for. It's a wild ride with a surprising mix of over 90 playable characters including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Green Ninja, Gandalf, Shakespeare,Cleopatra and more."

That blurb was so disgustingly sweet it gave me diabetes. It's a Lego game which means it's a fairly standard affair by now, also who needs 90 bloody characters besides fighting games. Apparently they're good, people like them, they keep making them and will probably never stop. All glory to Lego!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/267530/   


Insurgency - £4.94

"Take to the streets for intense close quarters combat, where a team's survival depends upon securing crucial strongholds and destroying enemy supply in this multiplayer and cooperative Source Engine based experience."

Will my friends play this with me on a serious level instead of just dicking around? A question I always ask myself with these games because when it comes to tactical FPS gameplay it's hard to rely on random people to have a good time. That having been said for the low price you are getting a hell of a lot out of this game, 17 maps, 9 game modes, 32 player support, bot mode practice, PC and OSX compatible. You don't get half that much stuff in Call of Duty games! I haven't played it but for less than £5 I definitely will and with the 4-pack purchase option all I need to do is find 3 friends to play with..

http://store.steampowered.com/app/222880/

Deal of the Day

 Given the amount you can get out of it if you can put the time in, ARMA III is today's winner. It is an insanely in-depth and complex game with a community that absolutely loves the game more than their own children. If the multiplayer scares you then jump into the bootcamps and various other training scenarios to get better acclimated with the various features of the game, or take it easy and join an RPG server where you can be a civilian, drive around, eat and drink, buy a driving license, get shot from somewhere and not understand why or how.. Or as I mentioned earlier join a Zeus server and play with people trying not to invoke the wrath of god. The potential of this game is incredible and the devs are showing no signs of letting up when it comes to updates and content, ARMA II had tonnes of expansions so the future is very bright for ARMA III.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/107410/