Monday, September 11, 2017

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Uncharted: Lost Legacy, Batman Arkham VR

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (What is going on?)

  • Overview
    • 3rd Person Action Adventure game with a main character suffering from Psychosis. 
  • Good
    • It's visually stunning.  
    • The facial graphics and animation are the best I've seen.  The camera is always close to the character and there are many moments you just watch her face and an easily see how she her emotions of being tormented by psychosis 
    • The game uses binaural sound and it's amazing hopefully other games start using this technology. 
    • This type of recording mimics how you hear in the real world so even with a pair of cheap headphones you can pinpoint the exact location of the sound being made.  Headphones is a must.  
    • Since the game is about psychosis one of the main symptoms is hearing voices and the game does an awesome job of trying to convey that feeling.  
    • The game is set during the Norse\Viking times and I liked each environment, it did remind me some of the Viking TV show. 
    •  I also like the lore of the time and the game has a ton of interesting stories. 
  • Bad
    • The combat was great at first but near the end it became very repetitive and fights took far too long,  This may have been intentional to showcase her symptoms, but it was bothersome to me.
    • Some of the puzzles were vague and I had to watch a video a couple of times for the solution which was usually something I missed in the environment. 
    • Un-Intuitive beam controls.  Walking across a beam you push the direction you are falling to correct yourself.  I thought opposite which caused 4 deaths.  
  • Cool Experience
    • The whole game is a cool experience.  From the visuals to the sound it's captivating all the way thorugh and unlike any game I've played before.  Recommendation:  High. 

Uncharted: Lost Legacy (Lara Croft who?)

  • Overview
    • If you like the Uncharted series you will like this game. 
  • Good
    • Still feels like Uncharted even without Nathan Drake.
    • Once again the graphics are amazing with some breathtaking views.  I took about 50 photos.
    • The photo mode is insane.  There are so many options that you could spend hours creating the perfect photo. 
    • The mix of exploration and combat felt perfect in this game.  There weren't waves and waves of bullet sponge enemies. 
    • The story and characters are once again top notch with some great voice acting. 
    • Only $40.  
  • Bad
    • A couple of the puzzles can be a bit tricky and I had to look a couple up because I missed something in the environment.  
  • Cool Experiences
    • In Photo mode you can give Chloe different facial animations and the results are hilarious.  
    • Just standing on top of a mountain overlooking the landscape.  Unbelievable. 


Batman Arkham VR (I'm Batman)

  • Overview
    • You are Batman in VR.  Awesome. 
  • Good
    • You are Batman. 
    • The story mode has you doing some detective work which actually worked very well.  I would like a whole VR game of just being a detective. 
    • In some games they have extras where you can see the character models and usually it's lame but in VR it's awesome.   You can get up close and personal with a ton of characters from the Batman lore. The Joker and Killer Croc being highlights. 
    • Available on PS4VR and PC VR headsets. 
  • Bad
    • The game is pretty short with the story mode taking about an hour.   There are Riddler challenges to complete after the story which adds a couple of more hours. 
    • No combat just detective sequences.  
  • Cool Experiences
    • Putting on all the Batman gear and then seeing yourself in the mirror, makes you feel like Batman.....well until you realize you can make gestures with your hands and then it just turns silly.
    • You are Batman