R-Type Dimensions 3 PlayStation 5 Review

 R-Type Dimensions 3 was sent my way by Inin Games, and there is a pretty excellent physical edition available on their website. I know how much you guys love that. ( I do NOT make any money if you buy it from that link) I just know many of you enjoy that sort of thing. Anyway, on to my review.

As you can tell from the trailer above, it is your typical old-school side-scrolling arcade shooter. If you like that sort of game and how they play, and you want to be able to play in the old-school 2D or new 3d graphics, you will be happy here. The sounds and music are fantastic, and the controls are crisp and clean.

Now I am sure you are wondering, I said a lot of good things all at once. The review can’t be this short. Is there that much bad stuff? No, not at all. The bad things I have to say aren’t even that bad, but admittedly, they will either have you running to the store to buy it or running away from it. Let’s hit the story first. It is pretty standard stuff. You fight for the Earth Defense Corps, flying the R-90 Ragnorok. A new ship dedicated to defeating the Bydo Empire, a sort of bio-machine empire trying to destroy humanity.

Onto the bad. This game is hard. I don’t mean like when people say something is hard, but it was hard for them. The game has two modes, normal and infinite. Infinite gives you unlimited lives just to let you learn how to play the game and see all the levels, so you can memorize them without having to restart over and over again. There are entire sections of the game where there is only one place on the screen you can go, so you won’t die. The game is fair, I never felt the deaths were cheap, or because the game didn’t co/ntrol well. This is just the design of the game and who it is made for. It is an 8/10 title. I enjoyed my time with it. Not everyone will feel it is worth the $35 price point, though. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

1492 – Colonization of the New World

1492- Colonization of the New World was sent my way by Salty Olives, and as of 5/17/2016 are facing some legal issues with the title. Which before I get to my review, I will copy and paste their statement.

The store page for 1492: Colonization of the New World is currently unavailable due to a legal notice.
We are reviewing the situation and working to resolve it as quickly as possible. The game will return to the store once this process is complete.
Thank you for your patience and support — we’ll share updates as soon as we have more information

This situation is new for us, so we don’t yet know how long it will take. We’re working to resolve it as quickly as possible so we can get back to Update 1.1.

To clarify what’s happening:

Take-Two Interactive has sent a legal notice to Valve Corporation regarding alleged IP concerns. We have not been contacted directly, this is between Take-Two and Valve.

1492 is inspired by Sid Meier’s Colonization, which we’ve always been open about. We’ve only used elements we believed to be in the public domain, but Take-Two appears to disagree.

We’re reviewing the notice and will respond via Valve. Some minor changes may be made.

That said, based on our initial review, we believe there is a possibility that this notice may be automated (AI?) and triggered by specific words or phrases found in the game.

At this stage, we are not convinced there is a valid case. It’s not uncommon for larger companies to take a cautious and wide-ranging approach to IP protection.

Without being out of the way, let me get to my review. The game is much like Civilization on a smaller scale and in a different role to start. You aren’t on your own as a new country, but as a colony of said country. I started by making my own city with a few people and attempting to get things rolling. I had a single ship to send back to England with some furs and to get new people to help run my new settlement.

Thankfully, the ship, after it hits the open see will simply travel to England, then let you decide what you are doing there, then come back. You can, of course, control it on your coast. I really like this approach because it lets me focus on my side of the ocean.

How you handle things like the natives and other countries in the Americas is up to you. I chose not to make my life harder by going to war with them, but it is an option. I simply enjoyed trading and setting up new settlements. You do have to be careful, however, since not everyone will just take whatever you stroll up to their town with. I learned this the hard way with a (metaphorical) truckload of furs nobody wanted until I got to what is probably modern-day Texas from Pennsylvania.

Now I won’t lie to you. The sound and graphics of this game aren’t the best, but the game is fun. It is a nice 6/10 title I enjoyed, but can’t say there isn’t better out there. It is, however, a nice change of pace, and if their legal issues get straightened out, I can see it having a fan base and, with a few updates, being a great game. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown | Patch 1.7 is live – the Delta Flyer is here

Quick heads-up: Patch 1.7 for Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown drops on Steam today, and it comes with a fan favorite: the Delta Flyer is now in the game, completely free for all players. Console players won’t have to wait long either. The patch is scheduled for consoles in early June.

Built in the Shuttlebay, the Delta Flyer brings a brand-new questline with Tom Paris in Sector 7, construction mechanics, and a combat ally role that won’t split your rewards. There are also new Delta Flyer-specific branches in several existing quests, including Old Friends, New Enemies, The Drone, and Uprising.

Beyond the Delta Flyer, 1.7 is a hefty quality-of-life and stability pass: overhauled bridge UI, PlayStation gamepad support, a wave of quest fixes across some of the game’s bigger storylines, and a bunch of crash and save game fixes.

Patch 1.7 Changelog

Patch 1-7 introduces the Delta Flyer, including a new questline with Tom Paris, construction mechanics, and combat support functionality. The update also adds new Delta Flyer event and quest branches. 

Delta Flyer & Shuttle System

  • Added the Delta Flyer as a new game mechanic!
  • Added a new Delta Flyer introduction questline in sector 7 with Tom Paris.
  • The Delta Flyer can be constructed in the Shuttlebay.
  • The Delta Flyer is limited to one and requires a Shuttlebay level 3.
  • The Delta Flyer can be used as a combat ally without splitting combat rewards!
  • Added new Delta Flyer-related event options across several points of interest and sometimes adjusted balancing of normal shuttle options.
  • Added Delta Flyer-specific branches to selected quests, including Old Friends, New Enemies, The Drone, and Uprising.
  • Updated shuttle naming: “Standard Shuttle” is now “Class 2 Shuttle”.

Quest & Event Fixes

  • Fixed several blockers in existing quests, including Duranium Infestation, Friendship One, Equinox, Dark Frontier, Scorpion, Good Shepherd, Innocence, State of Flux, Think Tank, and Live Fast and Prosper.
  • Fixed cases where questlines could become stuck after loading older savegames.
  • Fixed incorrect or missing POI visibility in several missions.
  • Fixed several incorrect dialogue branches, missing conditions, and wrong outcome priorities.
  • Fixed morale questline issues related to dissatisfaction, final warnings, and mutiny.
  • Fixed cases where heroes could become unavailable incorrectly after events.
  • Fixed several missing or incorrect quest tracker texts.
  • Improved handling of questline resets for patched savegames.
  • Fixed some multiple choice event options not being usable at high difficulty settings

UI & UX Improvements

  • Reworked Bridge combat ally room management UI.
  • Added HUD indicators for recruited combat allies.
  • Improved Shuttlebay room management visuals.
  • Added warning when switching production options to prevent accidental progress loss.
  • Added cargo icons to Cargo Bay room overlays.
  • Improved room descriptions for Sickbay, Bio Lab, Borg Alcove, Waste Deassembler, and other rooms.
  • Improved custom difficulty UI text handling.
  • Updated tutorial images to match the current UI.
  • Improved gamepad tutorial images and controller input detection.
  • Reduced visible gamepad cursor flashes between events.
  • Fixed several text overflow issues in UI.
  • Fixed missing or incorrect hero impact descriptions.
  • Added support and icons for Playstation gamepads

Balance & Gameplay

  • Fixed shuttle build cost and build time tech bonuses.
  • Adjusted morale penalties and morale quest timing.
  • Weakened the second tutorial fight to better match shield balance.
  • Adjusted threat level changes in selected quest outcomes.
  • Fixed several room limit and resource modifier issues.
  • Improved Borg encounter behavior so certain enemies can no longer flee or surrender repeatedly.

Stability & Bug Fixes

  • Fixed crashes related to loading screens and game close.
  • Fixed room widgets not reacting correctly after room removal or cancelled construction.
  • Fixed room deactivation/destruction issues that could cause unintended resource loss.
  • Fixed cases where inactive rooms still allowed UI interaction.
  • Fixed resource modifiers not stacking or resetting correctly in some cases.
  • Fixed build limit display issues.
  • Fixed duplicate crew names.
  • Fixed several localization, typo, and text formatting issues.
  • Fixed missing explanation for Contamination Cloud phenomenon

Visual & Audio Updates

  • Updated endgame visuals.
  • Improved hull bar UI visuals and feedback for low hull. 
  • Fixed visual issues in several rooms and cutscenes.

Black Jacket PlayStation 5 Review

Black Jacket is the newest roguelike card game from Skystone Games, and they were nice enough to pass me a copy. The game’s concept is quite simple. You are playing a version of blackjack, and the closest person to 21 wins. Now if it were actually that simple, every loser in Vegas would be a winner, and this game would be over before it even started.

See, in this game, every suit has special abilities. Some will burn your opponents’ cards and maybe even your own, which is more useful than it sounds. Another will allow you to force them to play cards on their side of the field that lowers their score or simply takes up valuable space. Worse, a certain person you will play can rotate cards completely. More than once, my perfect 21 turned into their 21. Getting to 21 sometimes isn’t the best way to win.

All of this strategy is meaningless if the story on which the game is built is bad. While gambling your way out of hell sounds mundane, the people you meet are what is important, and I won’t speak on them other than to say they are truly what kept me playing. Why is this woman, simply known as Better, so angry with me? Why was this literal child cast into hell in the first place? These questions are answered, but first, you will have to master the mechanics of the game. With hundreds of cards and artifacts to unlock, there are plenty of reasons to play one more round. This is a 9/10 title if I ever played one. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Welcome, Dear Human announcement trailer

Sometimes I find some really cool stuff wandering down the Youtube rabbit holes. The trailer looks odd but the art style is really eye catching. The concept looks pretty interesting and I can see it being a fun kinda creepy. Admittedly the narrator made me think of Patrick Stewart which also helps. Anyway, this game looks like something interesting I’d like to check out someday if it lands on consoles. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Remothered: Red Nun’s Legacy

So I never played Remothered so I can’t say I was hyped for this game. However, this installment peaked my interest. The imagery alone is off putting and looks to be more suspense driven then your typical running sim or survival horror experience. I’m always looking to expand my interest when it comes to horror games so I would definitely like to see more. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Vultures – Scavengers of Death Steam Review

Vultures – Scavengers of Death was sent my way by Team Vultures and Firesquid Games, which I am always thankful for. Vultures- Scavengers of Death is basically what you would get if classic Resident Evil and X-Com had a baby. You will hear this a lot, but there is no way to avoid this comparison because it really wears this on its sleeve.

The story is quite simple: you go through missions investigating an area with characters Amber and Leopold. While doing this, you will fight assorted zombies, creatures, and cultists that have been affected by a biohazard. You can already see the Resident Evil vibe shining through, I am sure. The combat is very tactical, turn-based, and if you have played X-Com at all, you will feel right at home.

Scavenging for items such as ammo and Molotovs to use feels great. Coming from a Resident Evil background, this and the story made me feel right at home. Unfortunately, coming from a Bethesda background, the multitude of glitches and technical issues also made me feel right at home. Starting in the tutorial, I had to deal with multiple crashes, controls that randomly decided not to work at all, and once even a tutorial that just did its own thing and forced me to redue a section.

Now the game still sits at very positive reviews on Steam, and for less than $20, I can see why. The game is far from perfect, and the issues can be easily fixed with a patch, and may even be caused by system specs. It is still a 6/10 title that is worth checking out. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Shore PlayStation 5 Review

The Shore was sent my way by Iphi Games, and is one of those beautiful, atmospheric horror games that were on PC for a long time and finally made its way to console. You will start off on a beach searching for something and will quickly figure out what that something is. More importantly, that something is someone, and that someone is your daughter.

It doesn’t take long to discover that something on this island isn’t right. I mean that quite literally, the game only takes around 4 hours to finish. That 4 hours, however, are filled with some beautiful sights, some horrible monsters, and a pretty heart-wrenching story. Is it really worth the very odd price point of $21.49 tho?

Well, as I said, the game is truly beautiful. I also can’t deny that the sound is incredible; it gets pretty creepy from the music alone as you walk up and down the beach and see the occasional Lovecraftian horror out in the distance.

This does bring me to why I can’t recommend the game on PS5 unless you have no choice. The game is $12 on Steam, and they even have bundles for about 20. For a 4-hour game with so little replay val/ue to be such a price in one place and less in another, even when that game is an 8/10 title, I can’t recommend you buy it on console over Steam, unless you only own a console. That being said, the game is worth experiencing. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Factory Magnate Steam Review (Updated)

Factory Magnate was sent my way by Indie IO, which is always appreciated. To be honest, you are going to see some strong opinions about this from every direction, and I understand why. My first real factory building game of this sort was Factorio. ( You can see my Switch review here) If you are looking for something in-depth, you are very much looking in the wrong place. My original review did contain some misinformation about the ability to copy and paste entire sections. If you look at the comments, a Dev was kind enough to correct this, and as such, I have corrected it. This can be done quite simply by checking your keybindings and using those.

What the game does have is a very easy-to-learn flow to it, and no enemies. It is a very cozy factory builder at a low price point. Less than $10, so if you have always wanted to get into these games but were afraid of wasting your money, Factory Magnate is a fantastic entry point.

The game quite literally starts you out with simply mining copper and selling it. From there it will show you how to turn it into copper ingots and sell those. From there will show you how to make things like copper sheets and wires, and combine those with silicone and make other things to make money.

The only challenge in this game is setting up your factory in such a way as to avoid backing up your conveyor belts and locking up your money flow. This is a great introduction to the systems in all of these games. I have changed my score to reflect this new information, since the quality of life things aren’t missing like I originally thought. The game is an 8/10 title for everyone. It is a great title to learn the genre, or simply to relax with for veterans. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Bus Bound PlayStation 5 Review

Bus Bound is the newest bus driving simulator sent my way by Saber Interactive, a company that if you love driving simulator you undoubtably have played one of their games. This time around they are tackling driving city busses. What you may not know about good ole Savior is I spent some time a a school bus driver at one point. So if this game is bad, or these buses don’t feel like busses, I will know quickly.

The first thing you do is get a tutorial, and they quickly explain you won’t be dealing with ticket fairs. Great move Saber, I hated this in other bus simulators. There is just no way to do this without greatly slowing down the flow of the game, and having rode many busses most people pay with exact change anyway and the few buttons I have seen drivers hit require next to no time. Saber chose to explain it as the company gets paid through grants or taxes or something.

Graphically the game is beautiful. A couple times I almost hit a few things because as you reach milestones the city will upgrade and I was taking in the sights and forgot to hit the breaks. This brings me to how you are rated, in real time, by passengers. If you drive well, slow down for speed bumps ( keep it under 10 MPH ladies and gents) and stop at stop signs and don’t speed they will make positive comments, give you a thumbs up, give you multipliers and stops will upgrade faster and even help you get new busses. Slamming on the breaks, speeding, hitting speed bumps hard and other assorted violations will do the opposite.

This was always going to be the big selling or killing point for me however. Does it feel like driving a bus, and how is traffic? Well I am going to let you in on a secret, when you are driving a bus other drivers always seem like idiots, because they don’t realize how big a bus actually is an how hard it is to see them sometimes. They also don’t realize those things don’t stop or really turn a fast as their smaller cars, so when they whip in front of you or cut you off, it gets stressful because if there is an accident, the other person will die, and you in the bus will be fine. And we will have to live with that knowledge. The traffic in this game basically acts like real traffic does, and I like that. As for how the bus controls, it isn’t perfect but damn is it close. Busses need wide turns, but they are modern so they don’t feel heavy and clunky, just like modern busses. They don’t stop fast, but they jolt a bit, just like modern busses. My only complaint every bus feels similar, and that isn’t realistic. Even two of the same model school bus feels a bit different. The game is still a 8/10 title. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.