Author Archives: Justin Fox

Sadly Nioh is for PS4 only, that means jaggy low res graphics! Such a shame, this game would look amazing with high res textures on PC.

Love the loading screen lore, the cinematics and illustrated movies too.

Japan (the map).

One really cool thing you can do at the blacksmith is change every bit of your appearance to any other piece of gear you’ve looted in the game, both armour and weapons too so you can pretty much make William look however you want, from heavy Samurai gear to Ninja outfits (I’m wearing medium Samurai Warrior armour but my character looks like a Ninja atm).

How mad is my rifle! I’m right at home with more and more different RPG’s now and I’ve really taken to Nioh’s interface, the whole lot of it; crafting, re-calibrating, merging gear, distributing skill points for opening skill trees, etc. Nioh is pretty hardcore and has the works.

I really really enjoyed playing The Surge, so much so played a complete 2nd new game+ playthrough. I now feel content and I’m well and truly done with the game, which makes me feel sad so I thought I’d look into other games in the same genre; namely Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, Nioh and Lords of the Fallen (which was made by Deck13 the same guys who made The Surge).

I spent some time researching Dark Souls. I’d say it’s 50/50 out there between fans of the original verses the last. The original seems to suffer from clunky mechanics, which wouldn’t fly after playing The Surge (I loved how connected the action felt) and issues with Windows 10. Dark Souls 3 seems like the obvious choice, but I’ve been waiting for a Steam sale to pull the trigger on that.

I did some research into Lords of the Fallen as I figured it would share a lot in common with The Surge as it’s made by the same team. The reviews suggest it’s a little too easy to complete, and recent reviews suggest that gameplay isn’t as tight as The Surge, so I’ve put this game on the wishlist for a Steam sale too.

That leaves Nioh, a game which many compare to Dark Souls but suggest it’s even more brutal, and where the others are rooted in the Lord of the Rings style realm, Nioh differs in that it’s SO Japan (SO GOOD!).

The game follows the adventures of William (based on real historic figure William Adams, the first legit non-Japanese Samurai who forever changed Japan) and is loosely based off the Sengoku period, when Japan was in the midst of war prior to the ascension of the Tokugawa shogunate (so rad as this brings back recent Japan trip memories!).

I’m literally being educated in the art of Japanese weapons and Samurai armour. I’ve even been introduced to Hattori Hanzo and I’m smashing Yokai with a Kusarigama!

Progress has been slow but I love to grind. You can’t get to the recommended levels by just completing the main missions and side missions, it’s true RNG/RPG so I’ve needed to grind pretty hard in order to play more comfortably.

I’ve had more than a few “I quit” moments. Like most I almost quit early on as the 2nd Boss battle in Nioh with Hino-enma was sadistic (those who know know!!!). It’s so wild that a game introduces new players to the hardest boss in the game on the 2nd level. I’d say a huge percentage of people who bought this game would have returned it/given up before getting to enjoy the rest of the game!

Update: I’m 2 stages away from the end, each new section of the map has been way more hardcore than the last and I’ve just about had enough of the massive boss fights so I’m calling a tie out to maybe re-visit some older parts of the map before finishing my first playthrough.

My guy.

My end game character. If you fight right, you get to keep the bits of armour from the enemies you come across so there’s lots of styles and stats to choose from, each piece can be upgraded to level 5. If you wear a matching set you get a special bonus. It’s all very Division!

RPG goodness.

I bought The Surge on my B’Day (May 16th, check my review below). I’ve been chipping away at it since. No other game I’ve ever played in my life has made me want to rage quit more than this game. It’s got to be the hardest game I’ve ever played!

There are 4 big bosses in the game and I couldn’t get past the 3rd boss for days. During those days I watched a lot of videos. On the 3rd day I watched other guys on Youtube play past the boss only to see them die over and over on the next level (which was, like the last level, a billion times harder than the level before). I decided that I’d not put myself through the pain and rather stop playing here, BUT! I gave it one last push and fucking hell I beat the bastard!

I farmed hard on the new level in order to build up my character (so as to make it easier for the final boss) and when I got there I died at least 20 times before beating him. Wasn’t as bad as the 3rd Boss, but it was damn bad and it makes me realise this game is torture but I’m such a sucker for this kinda shit!

SO stoked to have finished the game (especially that the game has no difficulty settings, nor glitches or console cheats). The ending sequence was great and made up for the lack of story throughout the game (it was all action baby!). Super smart level designs and I really appreciated the sound design (but I had to turn the music off for boss fights in order to pass them, the intense music was killing me!). Really loved the super intuitive and fairly deep RPG elements of the game. You can really build up your character how you like to play, and for me that was tanky as fuck with a heavy hard hitting weapon.

PS: When you finish the game your save file becomes “New Game+” and the game start over but with a whole bunch of new surprises (I’ve only just loaded in; you get to keep your gear and the first guy you fight feels like fighting another player/PVP!). Very very cool. I’m more than satisfied.

42!!! I had a huge breakfast at The Pool Cafe with Mum in the morning and spent the rest of the day gaming and avoiding calls to go out. Under the radar is just my style when it comes to birthdays!!!

2 games were released May 16th. “Injustice 2″, one very polished Mortal Kombat style beat’em up featuring Superheroes and another called “The Surge”. Had to buy at least one of them and since I’ve been eyeing Dark Souls 3 (everyone’s comparing this game to it) I thought why the hell not.

I love it how every game I buy now I just go: Full Screen, 4K, Ultra! So so good! This game features low res textures throughout, but I love the art style, which feels low tech grungy and very Fallout 4 as you’re in a mech suit at all times.

39 hours in and I now truly understand what Dark Souls is all about. It’s about dying… LOTS! The RPG elements are great so far (I’m killing things over and over just to gear up before progressing) and the map makes you go a long way out only to give you a very quick alternative way back to base (surprising and welcoming each time).

The first boss was a bitch but the 2nd boss took the cake and had me crying in frustration as I died at least 30+ times before beating it. The 3rd boss made me quit, then watch tutorial vids on tips to pass. I’m on the 4th boss now and I’ve just about had enough! I know what to do… but I just can’t get past him! The maps/world is starting to get all samey and my research tells me there’s only one more boss to go after this one I can’t pass, so if that’s it then I have to say yup. The Surge got me good. 100% would recommend. Trailer above, some screen grabs to come!

4K goodness. A screen grab from the super detailed and crazy windy opening scene.

Style is bang on.

I’ve heard of Deus Ex, a game released in 2000 (for a little while when I’d google Deus, Deus Ex would rock up, that’s way before Deus took off!). I’ve always been into first person shooters and I love cyberpunk-themed worlds. Not so massive on stealth type games as I do like to gun, but the main thing I never liked about the Deus Ex franchise was the look of Adam Jensen, the main character. It’s like not liking an Actor in a movie. To me he looks stiff, like Neo but so not, and generally just trying too hard. With every new game release the character never changed so I never bothered to pick up the game until now.

I decided to play the most recent 2016 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and was instantly thrown into a vibrant detailed world with impressive graphics, turbulent windy environment (which sadly doesn’t impress again after the initial scene) with tons of litter everywhere for me to pick up and interact with. It’s not open world, feels it at first but the world feels smaller as the game goes on. There’s a crafting system which I didn’t use at all, the main guts is in how you upgrade your character’s body augmentations, some of which will make or break the way you can get in and out of spaces, and this game offers you even more ways than Prey does.

My playthrough was 27hrs start to end doing a fair few of the side missions. I’m still not into the main character and thus didn’t get into much of the rather simple story (delivered with stiff cut-scenes). Prague/the world is awesome and I liked the general gameplay feel and how effective each upgrade I invested in worked. Although it’s a stealth game I still did 50/50 stealth and attack and I think I got the best of both worlds (IE: satisfaction from sneaking around in vents to avoid enemies to get to point A, or blasting my way direct to point A).

Gun play wasn’t amazing, the guns just didn’t feel powerful, but hey Deus Ex isn’t primarily a shooter. The ending was a let down as it’s a cliff hanger to a part B DLC, one which I didn’t pay for and glad I haven’t to be honest. Am I a Deus Ex fan? Nope. Really enjoyed the game, but kinda knew it wasn’t for me, still isn’t and it’s primarily because I have to play Adam Jensen.