For fans of Portal that want a more serious plot, Q.U.B.E. 2 is the sequel to the hit first-person puzzle game Q.U.B.E. from Toxic Games, an award-winning, independent game development studio based in the U.K. which specializes in brain-twisting, first-person puzzle games.
Q.U.B.E. 2 immediately introduces the player to Amelia, a British archaeologist who has just woken up on an alien planet with a bad memory and special gloves. Ameila, with the help of fellow survivor, Emma, must face the challenging puzzles of the Q.U.B.E. in order to try and find a way back home
The innovative mechanics of Q.U.B.E. 2 is where the game truly shines.Taking control of Amelia, the player will utilize her gloves to create different colored cubes in order to solve the various puzzles throughout the game and escape this strange, alien world. A blue cube creates a surface that propels anything to come in contact with it in the direction that the square is facing. Green creates a cube that is primarily used in conjunction with the other squares and environmental objects, while orange manipulates a rectangular cube that can be used to reach higher areas, as a surface for green cubes to rest on, or to move.
Once the player has the basics down, the mellow atmosphere of Q.U.B.E. 2 keeps the player involved and introduces new mechanics at at a steady pace. Gameplay can be slow at times, which is part and parcel for puzzle-based games, but Q.U.B.E. 2 provides enough deviation in the mechanics to keep the progression fresh.
Accompanied by subtle, atmospheric music that gradually swells when appropriate, the sense of locomotion in Q.U.B.E. 2, whether launching through the air as a part of a puzzle or plummeting off a high platform with no consequences, leaves the player enraptured and prompted many accidental exclamations of delight during my time with the game. While the ambient music is not present at all times throughout Q.U.B.E. 2, this adds to the sense of urgency, which is fitting for a puzzle game of this nature. The characters in Q.U.B.E 2 are believable and easy to empathize with, thanks in part to the realistic voice acting. Amelia in particular has personal connections outside of her current predicament which gives the player motivation to get her out of her dire situation.
Good news! There is little to no learning curve if you’re old hat with puzzle games. Q.U.B.E 2 employs good use of pacing and gets the player accustomed to solving puzzles early on with ease. Which isn’t to say that the entire game is a no-brainer! Puzzles in Q.U.B.E. 2 require some serious outside-the-box style thinking, but never become controller shatter frustrating.
The attention to detail is extremely prevalent in Q.U.B.E. 2, particularly in the building of the intricate cube formations that are littered throughout the game. Q.U.B.E. 2 employs beautiful graphics and runs smoothly with no significant frame rate drops, and a great use of color palette, starting with more neutral colors and proceeding to lush, natural colors as you progress deeper through areas. Mesmerizing geometric formations can be found throughout and fit well within the theme of Q.U.B.E. 2.
Where other games can be too in your face about the theme of extraterrestrial involvement, the plot of Q.U.B.E. 2 leaves the player with a sense of intrigue.The smooth execution of this normally campy plot device urges the player to continue pressing forward to unravel the mystery behind why the structures were built and how Amelia fit into the overall story.
Editor’s Note: This review was written in conjunction with Bernard “Beano” Huang, a contributor to Sub Cultured. Catch him on “The Bean Stream” every Wednesday and Thursday night at 9PM CST on Sub Cultured’s Twitch channel!
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How do you follow up an almost flawless first issue of Doomsday Clock, that not only established a new status quo for the world of Watchmen but also seamlessly integrated a mystery involving Superman? Don’t forget with art and writing that feels like Moore and Gibbons never left.
Well, if you’re Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, having Rorschach eat Batman’s breakfast isn’t a bad place to start. But we’ll get to that.
Issue #2 of Doomsday Clock picks up right where we left Ozymandias, Rorschach, Marionette and Mime. Sticking with the classic 9 panel grid for most of this opening, we start in Nite Owl’s abandoned basement and are shown two interweaving stories. Mime and Marionette are carrying out a heist gone wrong some time in the past, and Rorschach and Veidt in the present debating the merits of trusting two hardened criminals to save the world.
The arrival of Dr. Manhattan during the heist is a fun unexpected moment that reveals why Marionette is such an integral part of Ozymandias’ plan. Whether or not he’s fully aware of why Manhattan spared Marionette’s life remains to be seen. It certainly appeared that Manhattan was hesitant to kill a pregnant woman. This contrast nicely echoes the Vietnam sequence of the original Watchmen where The Comedian demonstrates he has no such qualms.
Then it’s off to the DC universe without a moment to spare as the Watchmen’s world is nuked into oblivion. This whole segment felt rushed and convenient compared to the rest of the issue. Perhaps I was hoping for a more intricate system for travelling between dimensions than a throwaway of, “Oh, its ok, I’ve installed a new button in the Owl ship”.
However, this is only a minor gripe as I can understand that Johns is more interested in showing how these characters interact with the DC universe than how they get there. What’s more interesting is where the Watchmen initially land, in an almost exact reproduction of the funfair from The Killing Joke. It’s a nice nod to Alan Moore’s other DC work and potentially an indication of the way Johns intends to characterize Batman and the Joker for the rest of the story.
Here is where our team splits, as Ozymandias and Rorschach attempt to recruit Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor to their cause, whilst Mime and Marionette are restrained aboard the Owlship. At this point, Gary Frank’s art goes from good to great, as we are treated to some brilliant visual storytelling, mixing Watchmen inspired visual cues with Geoff Johns’ humour and wit. The Owlship bursting through the Bat Symbol and Rorschach’s exploration of Wayne Manor are particular highlights. Rorschach being distracted by a free breakfast leading to him notice a tell tale breeze under the grandfather clock is an amusing and appropriate way for that character to unearth Bruce Wayne’s big secret.
Ozymandias on the other hand has less luck convincing Luthor, who has reverted back to his evil business tycoon demeanor that readers have not seen since before Forever Evil. Luthor questioning Ozymandias’ intelligence after having the plot of Watchmen explained to him feels like Johns winking to the reader about the more ridiculous aspects of that series finale.
We are then left with not one, but three, cliffhangers as a seemingly resurrected Comedian attacks Luthor, Mime and Marionette escape into Gotham City, and Rorschach is confronted by a hungry Batman. Hopefully the Comedian’s appearance is not all it seems, as I feel that bringing back this character undermines the importance of his murder in the original Watchmen. Perhaps it’s tied to Ozymandias brain tumor. We can only wait and see.
Overall, this issue continues the high quality established by the first, with John’s doing an admirable job of echoing the writing style of Alan Moore and Gary Frank bringing beautiful and inventive imagery to every page. My only negatives being the protagonists convenient journey to Gotham and the reappearance of the Comedian, though these do not detract from the story overall. I look forward to seeing where this story goes next and how one gruff vigilante will come to terms with another gruff vigilante eating his pancakes.
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Arms
If you watched our live stream of the Nintendo Switch announcement, you will know that we did not have a kind word to say about Arms.
After having played the demo at PAX South, I may as well be Shrek – because now I’m a believer. For a game with such a strangely picked title and looking like the least fun game on Wii Sports, Arms has no business being as good as it is. The controls are responsive, the customizing of characters feels good, but isn’t overwhelming, and above all else, the game is really fun. I also have a feeling the developers knew it was kind of a goofy game. I mean, it’s called Arms and one of the characters is called Master Mummy. Someone is in on this joke.
The game is also surprisingly deep with strategy, given how much jumping, dashing, cancelling, and your special can really make or break a fight. Overall, it’s quite fun and actually gives you a bit of a work out if you’re competitive. The only downside is you need two pairs of Joycons to play it, and jeepers, those are expensive.
Arms will be out at launch for the Nintendo Switch on March 3rd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7s3UB_8dFM
Splatoon 2
Did you like the first Splatoon? Good, because Splatoon 2 is just like that, but slightly better.
Remember when Left 4 Dead came out, then a year later Left 4 Dead 2 came out and it was almost identical, but had better stuff in it? That’s exactly what’s happening here. Splatoon is a great game that just didn’t reach a wide enough audience because the Wii U’s sales were so poor, so it’s actually a great idea to add some stuff to it and release a sequel on the Switch where the user base will be, presumably, much larger.
There’s not much different between the two games, other than the addition of the Splat Dualies, dual pistols that focus more on PvP than painting the ground. They give you the ability to dodge roll, which is pretty powerful especially if your opponent is using the gyroscope and having to contort their torso just to see you.
Splatoon 2 is out this Summer for Nintendo Switch.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
It’s hard to say anything new about Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That being said, videos don’t quite do it justice.
We’ve watched trailers and gameplay videos showing the opening scene of Link coming into the world for the first time. It was impressive seeing it the first few times, but actually experiencing it live, immersed by the sound, experiencing that transition into the cut scene is like the first time you realize Final Fantasy VII doesn’t just take place in Midgar. Seeing Death Mountain way in the distance and knowing you can go there is mind boggling.
The game isn’t without its faults — some button mapping could use some work and if we’re being nitpicky, the lines on the edges of textures can be a little jagged — but none of it even comes close to tainting the sense of adventure, freedom, and wonder felt from the first time you pick up the controller.
In the short demo, we only activated a tower, fought some bokoblins, and did part of the magnesis shrine, but the world felt alive. The concerns about it maybe being too open and sparse may still prove to be correct, but at the present, no Zelda game has given us this many goosebumps since Ocarina of Time.
You can play Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on either Nintendo Switch or Wii U March 3rd.
Want more PAX South 2017 coverage? All you had to do was ask!
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Dragon Ball Z games have launched in various degrees of quality. It is always good to practice skepticism with these games because for every great game like Dragon Ball Z Hyper Dimensions on the Super Nintendo, we get three horrific entries like Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast. It is never fun being burned by a bad game adopted from a pre-existing franchise with personal and nostalgic ties. Thankfully the new Xenoverse series has acted as a new age for incredibly fun Dragon ball Z games when the first entry came out back in 2015. The sequel, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, moves the franchise forward with minimal changes but carries the torch of the original by bringing quality, fandom, kinetic controls, and an incredible roster to longtime fans of the anime.
Created character (in the middle)
The adventure continues to be yours in this entry and you again create your own character to participate in some of the most memorable fights in the Dragon Ball Z lore. Expect all the fast action, hard punches, enormous energy beams, and evasive teleportation maneuvers that made the TV show iconic.
There are plenty of customization options to choose from as you appoint you look to the five races of, Sayian, Namekian, Human, Buu, and Frieza race. Each race has their own ability to transform. Sayians go Super, Frieza goes perfect, Buu goes Kid, humans have hidden potential, and the Namekian’s grow large like Lord Slug. Nobody is left out of the transformation game this time around which levels the playing field in a big way. The other races lacked a true transformation which found those character under powered when fighting against transformed Super Sayians. This addition was more than welcomed.
Once you cook up your fantasy character, you are dropped right into the world of the Time Patrollers where you’ll help keep time’s flow safe from the dastardly villain duo of Towa and Mira. These characters return from the first game and use their energies to increase the power of other villains across time. These time manipulators team up with Turles and Lord Slug and tackle every major moments in the Dragon Ball Z history. These super powered versions of classic villains are determined to change the timeline for the worse. Your job as a Time Patroller is to ensure that the events go according to how they originally transpired. For whatever reason your original character’s presence does not affect time like the presence of new villains, so in that aspect the narrative makes little to no sense. Leave logic at the door for this story folks. The time traveling rules are basically nonexistent and offered up in convenient and illogical ways.
The mechanics are not much different from Xenoverse 1, however, they are refined and honed. Everything just feels faster in all the right ways, which for a Dragon Ball Z game is majorly important. You want to feel like Vegeta when reeling back for a final flash and you want to harness the speed of Gohan when you are zipping around the large areas looking for the next bout. This game delivers on that fantasy of embodying a Z Fighter, and any fan of the series would be hard pressed to feel differently.
6 Player Raid Boss Fight Against Vegeta in Ape Form
There are plenty of customization options as you progress in the game. Once you start collecting costume pieces and buying new articles of clothing with your awarded currency. You can look like some of your favorite characters or go for a completely unique look as you pan through your item drops to see which clothing has the best stats and look. If you don’t like the stats but love the look of your clothes, there is a remedy for that! QQ Bangs can be mixed up by combining clothing and power items. This negates the effects of the clothing stats which, in turn, uses the QQ Bang stats, which gives you the choice to look how you want but have the stats that fit your play style.
HUB World Conton city
There are other things to do in the HUB world as well. This world acts as your lobby, a place your character engages in as you queue up missions and quests.This open area known as Conton City, is much bigger than Xenoverse 1’s HUB world of Toki Toki City. Your created characters. It is so awesome to see all their creations as you run around the world communicating through emotes. Bonus: No load times for this HUB area with up to 250 other player-controlled combatants, all with their owns hinder this areas as you fly from end to end and do small quests and missions in that world.
There are plenty of activities to occupy your time in Conton City. Time rifts are quests that has you going to famous locations like Guru’s house, Frieza’s ship, Capsule Corp Building, and Master Roshi’s Island. Here you will find your character participating in missions that are specific to these locations. Guru’s house will have you fighting off Frieza forces and collecting Namekian Dragon Balls. While over at Frieza’s ship you will find yourself aligning with different Lieutenants as they usurp one another all in the name of becoming Frieza’s right had man. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 does not lack content, but it does lack diversity. In any of these quests, the main thing you are doing at any time will always be fighting. The only things that do change are the enemies, the win and lose stipulations, and the arenas you fight in. It sounds like a negative point but it is no more repetitive than any other fighting game.
The gamplay loop is very exposed early on, but that comes with the territory of these mission based/grind heavy/loot collecting games. You will spend your time doing all the various types of missions I have talk about, which are ultimately the same mechanically. You will load up a story mission, fight some bad guys, and then at the end of the match get some credits, items drops and possibly even new moves. You will then utilize item drops, sell them off, or mix them into new items. Doing story missions unlocks patrol missions which are just variations of the story quests. In between these mission you can do all the time rift events which, again, is just more fighting. The game is repetitive, there is no denying that. I think this shortcoming is overshadows by all the other working parts of this game though.
Even Movie Content Make’s its Way In
The story and mission progression have not changed much from Xenoverse 1. The story itself is all about fixing the timeline of the original series, while the Patroller Missions, which can be played up to 3 players co-op online, takes more creative chances as yr avatar teaming up with the bad guys in alternative-history-like scenarios. Playing online with 2 other friends is a blast and has quickly become one of my favorite co-op experiences of this year. There are also 6-player raid missions where you’ll participate in fighting big bosses for big payouts and loot. These fights get incredibly large scale in terms of the open spaces you occupy and the amount of movement and activity going on at any given time. The intensity levels of these battles really ramp up as the screen becomes a cornucopia of colors as you blast energy waves together in an attempt to take down the damage sponges in the form of long time villains.
Out of all the games this year that I have played, the only game me and my gamer group could agree on to play co-op this year was Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. My squad and I loved the first game and played hundreds of hours of co-op, so it was obvious that we would return to this series. Also an important personal note if you’re debating to purchase this for group gaming: out of the four people I play this game with, only 2 of us are major Dragon Ball Z fans, one is a passive fan, and the other hates the entire series. He plays the game because it offers fun co-op, jaw dropping graphics, and a great fighting game/action RPG hybrid.
Graphics Looking as Close to the Anime as Can Be
There is nothing else like the Dragon Ball Xenoverse series. The creative team, Dimps, has taken everything they did right about earlier fighting game entries, and shaped it up into an Action/Adventure RPG hybrid. Much like what Gearbox did with marrying the first person shooter genre to the Role Playing Game genre with Borderlands, Xenoverse series successfully merges two completely different game types to make something that feels fresh. I think that anybody, fan or not, that is willing to give it a try, can find something to enjoy about this game. Buy it now if you’re a longtime fan, try and check it out if you have a passing interest…but this is one of those gems of this year that will be sorely under-appreciated by most of the gaming community.
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In 2011, the first issue of Nonplayer, written and drawn Nate Simpson, was a hit on the comics market. Instantly selling out at local stores and acquiring a movie deal, I was only able to find a copy of it at SDCC later that year and was fortunate enough to have Simpson sign and doodle in it. But as suddenly as it appeared, Nonplayer vanished.
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As a young lad I used to hang out at my grandmother’s very large, very creepy house and play video games with my older, cooler cousins. Mortal Kombat, Suikoden, and Doom. Back then I would sit around starry-eyed and listen as they talked about the “next-gen” of video-games. I would ask stupid questions like, “Can I throw my sword into the ceiling, climb up on it, wait for an enemy to come around the corner and then drop on them?”. They would chuckle and say something along the lines of, “No, not yet.”
Fast forward seventeen years and Final Fantasy XV has given me my dream. Finally (pun totally intended). Not only did they give me my dream, but they added some extra special sauce on top. I can throw my sword hundreds of yards and then teleport to my sword, dangling from it in insanely cinematic situations.
With the main game and story being developed by Tetsuya Nomura (one of the main character designers of Final Fantasy VII fame and also the director of Kingdom Hearts), the combat system being developed by the Kingdom Hearts 2 team, and the cut scenes being handled by the Advent Children team we are in for one hell of a game. Don’t take my word for it though. Watch these two videos and have your mind melted. The first video has a good chunk of cut scene during the first half, but then it kicks into actual gameplay.
I’m not sure exactly what the story is yet, but it looks to me like a combination of Gangs of New York and Romeo and Juliet (specifically the struggle between the Capulet’s and Montague’s). Works for me.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.And this video is solely gameplay footage. I think It’s interesting how your other party members interact with you in a completely organic way.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.Fulfilling a fantasy that I never knew I had is the Xbox One exclusive Titanfall. This new dream of mine is to eject from a mech on the verge of fiery explosion, rocket into the sky, land on the roof of the opposing mech, and unload a full clip into its skull, sentencing it to the same death it attempted against me.
The Call of Duty influence is obvious as the game is being made by Respawn Studios, the company founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella (the co-founders of Infinity Ward who took most of their team with them when they were fired for “insubordination”). Luckily, they have chosen to not simply retread the same foot-steps the Call of Duty franchise has been burning out and instead took a fresh approach.
This game is it is a combination of giant robot fighting, Call of Duty, and Mirror’s Edge parkour. Oh, and rocket packs like in Vanquish. Yep. I’m buying it.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.And then came Bayonetta 2. If you haven’t played and beaten Bayonetta 1 I implore you, nay… I beg thee to do so. There’s an anime by the name of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan where with every episode the show grows more and more over the top until the end where they are literally throwing solar systems at each as ninja stars. Bayonetta embraces this sort of audacity and revels in the set pieces that will have you simeoutaneously saying, “WTF HAHA!” and, “YESSSS!!!”.
The trailer for Bayonetta 2 shows off the heroines cute new hair style and then starts off at 100% over-the-top. This game. Is going to be. In-sane.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
A Quick Run Down of Free Comic Book Day
September’s Twitch Giveaway!
