DOA: Dimensions gets a MashButtons Review

The second fighting title for the 3DS has been out for about a week now and with its release being just before Blazblue hits store shelves, it's got some pretty stiff competition. It is beginning to feel like the 3DS is a solid platform for fighting titles and DOA is another great example of why. Team Ninja is back with the Dead or Alive franchise, this time around toting new features like 3D of course along with multiplayer, both local and online, one on one and tag matches, and a roster consisting of 20 fighters. But most notably for new comers to series and fans of the series is the ability to relive the story lines from the original up through the latest release, Dead or Alive 4. So let's get the show started and see if we finally have a title to take Super Street Fighter IV off its pedestal.

To start, this is like if not better than playing any of the previous Dead or Alive titles, in terms of graphics and gameplay. The storyline is nothing new but is nice to play the previous versions of the games on a portable device. The thing I liked most is the controls, as it is not as easy to spam specials against your opponents like in Super Street Fighter IV. The online matches are easy to find although I think that either players are better or the specials are harder as it is harder to win the online matches. 3D visuals are more subtle so it adds depth without straining your eyes after prolonged gameplay. There is a lot of replay value with the online gameplay, but the biggest reason for continuously picking up and playing Dimensions is the scheduled DLC and challenges, so you continuously get free costumes and challenges to keep things fresh, that and the bouncing boobies.

The bad, well first off would be the story. I am not the first to say that stories in fighting games lack substance as it is hard to enjoy watching a long cutscene only to play a one to two minute fight just to watch another cutscene. Sure the stories over the course of the series are not bad, but there is not enough gameplay to justify the amount of cutscenes. Also, I had to play through the chronicle in order unlock other fighters to be used online so you are pushed into playing through the stories to play as your favorite fighters online. Luckily, you can skip the cutscenes to move onto the next match. I did not notice much in the way of bugs or lag, but there is still lag and does not play quite as smoothly as the 3DS launch fighter, Super Street Fighter IV.

All in all, this is my go to fighting title for the 3DS as I had always liked the series, it looks great, the girls kick high, it isn’t hard to find matches online, and have played about as much as I can of SSFIV. Though it is not the best fighter out there, but is a good transition for those that are getting tired of Super Street Fighter IV. Also, with BlazBlue coming out next week, I am not sure how it will hold up in the collection of 3D fighters, but is definitely a contender with the free DLC costumes and challenges. I give DOA: Dimensions an 8 out of 10, and hope to see you online against my Hyabusa and Tina.

Dynasty Warriors 7 | Review

I finally get my first chance with a Dynasty Warriors title, that's right, the series that I usually use at the low end of the spectrum when comparing games. What made me request the title from Tecmo Koei? Well, mainly because I have enjoyed the majority of games played and reviewed from this publisher with the exception of a few, so it is about time to give Dynasty Warriors another try since playing it last on the PlayStation 2. Now for those of you unfamiliar with the series, it is considered to be a tactical action genre, but the 7th entry is released on the series' 10 year milestone mark and boasts more playable forces, new dual-wielding combat system, online coop, and conquest mode.

I know I have reviewed many games similar to Dynasty Warriors from Koei, but never the real deal. I was greeted with a few gameplay modes and a handful of forces to choose from. This is just a small idea of the amount of content because you can play though with each force or start your own journey in conquest mode and let me just say, both are long. Content doesn't mean anything though if the game cannot keep your attention. Dynasty Warriors did this in spades with how fluid it runs when the screen is full of soldiers and you are leaving a trail of bodies in your wake. The new feature that I personally enjoyed was the ability to equip two weapons that are interchangeable on the fly and have special abilities that are released when swapped.

Now for the parts that didn’t mesh well with the gameplay or took away from the experience…there always has to be something. For Dynasty Warriors, the load times, camera, and controls while on mount are those things. I know with a title like this that there are going to be longer load times because of the large battlefields and numerous enemies, but the load times are really long even if you are just going back to a city in conquest mode, you still have the same wait times to that of regular missions. Yes, the camera, all it takes is an enemy or boss to move behind you and you will watch your health gauge drop quickly as you try to find them while moving the camera, luckily you can press LB to position the camera behind you, and while helpful it doesn’t resolve the issue. Lastly, I did not like the controls when riding my mount, or horse, mainly because attacking while on it is slow, and it is much easier for enemies to knock you off than it is to knock enemies off of their horses.

All in all, I was impressed with the title as it offered a lot more than I expected. There is a lot of replay value with the long story mode with multiple families and the conquest mode that is just as equally long. Though there were long load times, the ability to handle the fast fluid action and mass amounts of clones, uh I mean enemies, without a drop in frame rate is an impressive feat in itself. The changing of weapons and trying to figure out the deadliest combination with each is what really had me coming back for more. As someone that really didn’t like the franchise in the past, it has come a long way and converted me into a fan…kudos to you Koei Tecmo and Omega Force!

Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll | Review

Synopsis: Koei has just provided us with their newest title from game developer Omega Force, Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll, and of course we got our hands on a review copy to give our impressions of playthrough. The premise of the game is based on a prophecy that the king will be slain by his offspring and to top it off, the belief that the continent of Vyashion was created by the god Notoon is not shared by all its inhabitants, leading to a failure of a unified society. Your role is to control three characters, a warrior, a wizard, and an assassin on the fly to defeat enemies and ultimately the evil King Balor. Confused yet? Well don’t be as I am here to break it down and see if this story holds up through the course of the game.

Praise: I must admit that I had no idea what I was getting into with this game and turns out it has a strange effect on me and time as I have yet to play it less than two hours at a time, hell, the first night I threw this game in, I spent four hours playing in one sitting, saying just one more quest numerous times. The gameplay is great, being a fast paced hack and slash, you are able to map two sets of three skills that you can change on the fly on top of being able to change your playable character on the fly. What this means is that you can set up some devastating combos once familiar with the controls. Souls of Zill O’ll has some RPG elements that keep you playing, such as a wide array of weapons, upgradeable skills, and more quests than you can shake a stick at. The method to my madness in this game was to take on as many quests as possible then grinding through them all before going back to town and cashing in on my rewards. The graphics are good, but I feel the strongest part behind the visuals is that regardless to the amount of enemies I had on screen, I did not experience any slowdown.

Gripes: The story started out strong and fizzled out just a couple hours into the story. I still focused on the main story, but after a while, I found myself fast forwarding through the text on side missions along with the gossip in taverns. Being that there are three characters, it seems like it would have been possible to make this a three person online coop game for those wanting to play socially, eliminating the ability to switch on the fly. One thing I quickly noticed was that I was backtracking to a lot to places I had previously been to in order complete fetch and rescue missions. The closest comparison in which I can think of is Final Fantasy Tactics, where you take on new quests in places that you have already been to numerous times. The learning curve also takes a while, between two and three hours, to get comfortable with as you actively use every button on the controller, sometimes with little to no opportunity for much thought and the character development is relatively deep, with hundreds of options as to how to upgrade and focus on specific skills.

Overall, I am having a blast with this solid action RPG and don’t see it growing old for a while. I do wish I could play it in smaller amounts to prevent playing through it before the weekend, but is that really a bad thing? Though this is not a full-fledged RPG, the closest game I can relate this to would be what Final Fantasy XIII should have been in terms of action and gameplay along Final Fantasy Tactics in regards to the towns, where you don’t actually move around, but have a list of places to go to for gossip, spells, weapons, and quests. Now please excuse me while I go back to mad questing. Well done Tecmo Koei, as I have gone from not liking your action games, to now looking forward to what is next after Fist of the North Star and now Trinity.

Mashbuttons.com gives Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll an 8 out of 10.

Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll is available now for the Playstation 3.

It's time to check out the final trailer for Trinity: Souls od Zill O'll

Tecmo Koei has provided us with their final trailer for Trinity. The good looking trailer actually has 3 minutes of both in game cinematics and gameplay to give you a good idea of what is to be expected in this Action RPG. Those that can't figure it out, well, it looks like you quest to find your grandfather in which ordered your death along side with two other heroes to help achieve success in your journey. Expect this title to hit store shelves on next Tuesday.

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage | Review

Synopsis: Fans of the anime series, Fist of the North Star, have a reason to rejoice with the release of Ken’s Rage, a new beat em up from Koei. You play through the game as Ken and have the ability to play as other unlockable survivors through progression, each with their own special moves and techniques. With a number of special and standard moves along with a destructible environment makes for almost limitless ways to take out dozens of the vicious gang members that inhabit the resource pillaged wastelands. With the visuals reproduced from the comic series, all the levels provide an accurate representation of the world. Let the button mashing begin for the review of not Dynasty Warriors.

Praise: I have not followed the anime and actually found out about it after telling someone I was reviewing this title. But like the intro states this is made by Koei and is NOT a Dynasty Warriors game, it didn’t even feel like one, even when fighting a screen full of baddies. The graphics are amazing and the move lists are plentiful, meaning less button mashing and more strategic planning of moves. It has a strong story element and makes more sense that it is following an anime series, but the gameplay feels more like you are playing a solid IP. Ken's Rage is rated M, and for good reason, as when you strike and kill your opponent, there will be blood and lots of it.

Gripes: How many of our loyal readers remember the movie, Hook, well it almost seems like an Easter egg that Ken's face resembles Rufio, of the lost boys, so strongly. The voice acting is also not something to write home about but with the exception of a few characters, helps move the story along throughout gameplay. Camera control, yes I have to bring it up as I felt like I was fighting with the camera about as much as I was fighting wasteland riff raff. Also, for a game that focuses on action, the moves are executed slower than you would see in other current beat em ups, this isn't a huge issue, but will take some time to slow down your move inputs.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Fist of the North Star, possibly because I was expecting it to play like other previous beat em ups from the same developer. There is a lot of replay value behind Ken's Rage, as you will be able to go back and experience the other playable characters' rage as well and experiencing the story through their point of view.

Mashbuttons.com gives Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage a 8 out of 10.

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage is available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Quantum Theory | Review

Synopsis: With little hype, Tecmo Koei has released Quantum Theory, their third person action shooter. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy going into the weekend and got the chance to play through it with little interruptions before possibly breaking two fingers in a batting cage. You take the role of Syd, to take out the Living Tower, overtaken by black material after a world war has damaged the human race. It may sound like a daunting task but you don’t take on this feat alone, as you have a partner named Filena, a mysterious woman that helps take out baddies on your trip to ascend and destroy this villainous tower. With features such as a shape shifting battlefield, strong two person combos, and online gameplay modes, let’s see how this new release stacks up.

Praise: It’s an action shooter, full of fast paced action, put that together with a variety of weapons, melee attacks, and Syd/Filena combos make for quite the satisfying experience. The action also escalates the higher up the tower you and your companion go, with larger enemies and bosses. Weapons range from the typical assault rifle, pistol, plasma rifle, grenade launcher, etc. and it is a good idea to strategically plan ahead in regards to ammo and weapon type as there is not an overabundance of ammo. Filena is also a nice addition as she is really helpful and you can determine when you use her against groups of the opposition, but to top it all off, she also looks good. The story is straight to the point without adding in any unnecessary confusion, and cuts scenes are short and sweet quickly placing you back in the action.

Gripes: There are many people that are adamant about not giving the game a chance because they think it is a Gears of War clone. Not true, though it does play similarly, both have dark environments, and ridiculously large guns, both biceps and weapons. It does not really stray from those basics and were my first impressions, but when sticking with it to see where the story goes will make you remember you are playing as Syd and not Marcus. My only issues after that are that sometimes I will be walking down a corridor and then suddenly I can’t go any further although it looks like a hall I can continue walking down and wonder why there isn’t a wall in these places. Lastly because it is so dark and the only bright and vibrant colors come from Filena or stained glass windows, it is sometimes hard to identify enemies from a distance.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised when playing through Quantum Theory. From the start I was a bit skeptical but shortly lost track of time and was running and gunning my way up the tower with my mysterious girl at my side. The graphics are pretty solid and with the game installing to the hard drive, I don’t recall a time where I had an issue with load screens. There is a moderate amount of replay value as I would like to check it out again on a harder difficulty and the online would be more fun if there was a larger community for it.

Mashbuttons.com gives Quantum Theory a 7 out of 10.

Quantum Theory is available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Tecmo Koei felt safe enough to let MashButtons play their games

I promise I am finally coming to the end of the E3 coverage, but don't quote me on that. One of the larger booth with a great and more organized setup and most if not all game there playable, was Tecmo Koei, though being strapped for time, I was only able to get my hands on two of their titles on display. These two titles being Quantum Theory and Warriors: Legend of Troy, below is a brief hands on summary of my first impressions.

The first game I picked up was the third person shooter Quantum Theory. I got the play completely through the demo level, only embarrassingly dying a couple times. But the control this far was a fast and fluid style that reminded me of the Gears of War games. However, that is the only thing the two titles seem to have in common as this contains more a fantasy aspect where you play as Syd and it is your goal to destroy an evil tower. The tower level I played through had a dark fantasy look and was introduced to a unique element of controlling a partner through gameplay which appeared to be a woman I could throw at enemies to help distract or take them down.

The other title I got my grimy hands on was Warriors: Legend of Troy, which was an action hack and slash game that felt like Dynasty Warriors, however seemed visually more entertaining as you play due to the story or setting taking place is the poem about Troy. Yes,kind of like the movie if you want to be technical about it, but without Brad Pitt and with better action sequences, more along the lines of 300. Though, I have never gotten into the Dynasty Warrior games, this game was entertaining and full of action and violence.