Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

By: Robert Murphy

There is no easy way to tell everyone this but there is sadly no robot Naruto in this latest edition to the franchise. Devastating, I know. Now that that's out of the way, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 picks the story right back up where players left off as the 4th Great Shinobi War is well underway. For those of you who have read the manga you know that this means there are intense battles, amazing characters and some of the most gut wrenching scenes to ever come from the series are about to unfold. But, does the game follow through as well as the core material did?

The combat system for the Ninja Storm games has already been a long favorite of mine, players can easily weave jutsu as well as use hand to hand combat against your opponents without it being too complex. When coupled with the climactic scenes for these final chapters of the series they offer up just the right feeling one would expect to get from fighting these legendary characters. Fights are also complemented by cinematic sequences that depict some of the raw action as it unfolds and the returning quick time button moments really drive them home as players unleash their characters attacks in full force. A small but interesting new mechanic that has been added here is the ability to switch freely from your support characters, so rather than fight alone with one character and having them unleash minor attacks, you can switch to them and use both of the characters techniques. A compelling feature since I prefer some characters to others or some signature attacks.

Other featured elements are a bit of a hit or a miss for the most part. Mob battles are a feature for certain story moments and in some regards they work like the scene where you first see Kakashi's chidori when he was a kid or when Obito kills all those Hidden Mist ninja that killed Rin. But, these can lead to monotonous story moments later on where you must simply beat wave after wave of the same generic enemies until you reach a certain closing point. What's worse is the optional story mode objectives that can require players to get a large amount of kills or strikes during these sequences.

Once players dig into the games main Story mode, Ninja Storm 4 found a way to take the story that many players already knew was coming but present it in a unique way. The story comes with different branching storylines as Naruto and Sasuke are the main characters truthfully for these final moments. Each of them went through something slightly different and so did the people around them, so the story follows suit as players will play different branching arcs that join up with one another when Naruto and Sasuke do the same. However, each story point itself is plays out in a rather bizarre fashion as each chapter is capped off by explaining the battle that is about to unfold with quick cutscenes that can often be really long. What's more is the cutscenes go back and forth between animated scenes and motion comic effects, both never really coming off as that appealing since the animations were poor and the lip synchronization was often completely off. The story itself doesn't ever derail and plays out all the great battles just as they appeared in the book but there was simply a bit much to sift through when you're trying to get those great battles.

Following on the heels of Story mode, players also have the games Adventure mode which is also a bit of a two prong experience. The story here brings up some of Naruto's best fights through it's many years as Naruto himself moves forward in the present as the hero of the Hidden Leaf Village and new adventures that come with it. It's an interesting way to bring Naruto and Hinata together as well as remind players more about the rich history the series has. Unfortunately, the adventure mechanic itself is really a big bust that felt thrown in as a side note when it could have all simply been incorporated into the Story mode itself. Adventure mode is filled with dull side missions that have you travel all over to fight a random character or go on an actual mission that just has you taking a letter to another village and all the games faults truly are more prevalent in this area such as the bad lip syncing and poor animation. 

Multiplayer battling continues to be an ear mark however for the Naruto games. The character roster now features the complete list of all the series characters with 61 players to choose from, each having their famous jutsus, attacks and variant costumes to try out. The different mode options for online play are limited but outside of a regular sparring match what did you really expect? Still there is an Endless mode, League, Tournament and Ranked/Player matches to choose from and test your fighting abilities against other players out there. The minor aesthetic features are still here as well, such as editing your own ninja playing card to feature pictures from the series and your own ninja tag line. 

Happily, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 took a huge step away from the features that were present in Ninja Revolution and gets back to the elements that work so well for the series in the past. While many of the additions to the game are only minor, they do offer new ways to fight such as the support switching feature in combat. But, the good does balance the bad here as the games Adventure mode and some other poor editions prevented a totally enjoyable experience here.

Good:

- Minor additions to the games already solid combat system

- Story mode follows the series perfect with an interesting presentation to following along with it

- A completed roster makes online and offline play

Bad:

- Adventure mode is a complete wash

- Story mode is sadly filled with bad cutscenes and overabundant dialogue

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10

Super Mario Maker

By: Robert Murphy

Have you ever come across that one Mario level that made you rage so hard you almost smashed your controller? You had to go back to easier levels and spam for lives just to beat it. Fun times, right? Well have you ever wanted to make that rage inducing level and have hundreds to thousands of people play it till they pull their hair out? Well Super Mario Maker finally gives you that opportunity.

Okay so it's not as evil as all that, in fact Super Mario Maker can best be described as a celebration of everything Mario games have been through over the past three decades. The introduction to the game alone is enough to make your inner child smile as you start out on an unfinished level that you must complete. This gives players a brief introduction into the mechanics of making their very own Mario levels. From the basic stuff like placing down blocks to stacking enemies one on top of the other making a towering being meant for blocking anyone to come in its path. Players can also change which generation of Mario their levels will reflect from the golden days of pixelated Goomba to our modern day wall hoping hero. The pure addiction that goes into making levels is something that I did not expect however and as many people already know time simply flies when you're play video games but I've found a whole day could go by making a Mario level if you're not careful. 

Perhaps the reason behind this is the sheer simplicity of making each and every level no matter what generation creators happen to prefer. The game map is laid out in a grid fashion so everything will snap into place when items are dragged onto the screen. A basic level can be constructed in no time and it is something that even younger kids would be able to pick up quite easily. While the more challenging levels and tricks that people have discovered and exploited will obviously take much longer to create, it is done with such ease that you will leave your maps with little stress and feelings of accomplishment. It's almost therapeutic, like a build session of Minecraft, and the more you do the more features you will unlock from the Mario universe.

Super Mario Maker isn't just limited to the level design formula that we've all seen before however and it allows for a much more personal touch. There is an extreme freedom to create anything and everything you can possibly think of no matter how simple it may seem to everyone else. There are levels devoted to things like rube goldberg devices that propel players in every which direction without you even needing to move, there are levels with hidden birthday messages and even levels for proposals. Add to this the tiny touches that can be made to a level such as individual sounds and costumes and you will find that no two things are alike when you set out to see what others have made. It's all worth mentioning simply because it not only shows the games potential but also just how much these games have brought people together over the years.  

Once you've completed a level and proven that it can be beaten, by making it all the way through it yourself, you can upload it in seconds to Nintendo's network for others to try and vice versa. Levels are presented through various categories like "new levels" or "popular levels" so you can try out up and coming designers and see just what everyone else in the world is making. It's truly amazing when you see it as well, some levels are simple and pay homage to classic Mario and others are mindbogglingly difficult to complete. This is where the aforementioned rage comes from, but it still an incredible collection and coming together of designers. It is a bit difficult though to directly find levels that are made by your friends since there is no direct search function for people you have on your friends list, but if you simply ask for the code to their level it can be found with relatively quick.   

If you're having trouble sifting through all the levels and can quite determine where you want to start then look no further than the 100 Mario challenge. It wouldn't be a true Mario game if Princess Peach weren't captured and taken prisoner by Bowser or one his evil spawn and that's exactly what this mode does. Players are given 100 lives to traverse a number of user created levels at random difficulties in order to once again save your Princess from certain danger. It's a great way to get a feel for the massive community and levels out there without having to pick them out one by one. If a level ends up being too difficult then a quick switch out can also be made for another randomly picked level and then it's back to business. 

Super Mario Maker serves as an excellent reminder of the games many wonderful moments throughout the years. It's simple, sweet and doesn't bog players down with an overabundance of rules or restrictions when it comes to creating, you have a blank canvas and you can do with it what you will. When I also start to think about all the features and items that could potentially be added on top of everything that is already present it leaves me with the feeling that the game is not only a fantastic created piece on it's own but it has the ability to get even better. But, for the moment there are many more castles left to explore and it would seem that Princess Peach can never be saved for long, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Good:

- Quick to pick up controls

- Unlimited creative potential

- 100 Mario challenge allows to quickly try out a multitude of online levels

Bad:

- No quick interface to try friends levels

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Casual

By: Robert Murphy

Dating apps are a dime a dozen novelty in today's world where anyone can go on a website or go right on their phone to try and make a connection with somebody. It's great in many ways but it ultimately has many flaws to it as well and for recently single mother Valerie Meyers (Michaela Watkins), who simply wants to connect again with someone, it can be a bit frightening. Her eccentric brother Alex (Tommy Dewey) however is one of those excellent manipulators of today's modern technology and knows just the right moves to help her sister get out of her slump.

Meeting your significant other online has never been something to gawk at and with the advancements in today's technology it has basically become common place for most everyone. This doesn't make things any less awkward for Valerie though as she's spent the last few years in wedded matrimony, that is until her husband cheated on her with some younger prettier girl. It happens all the time in the world and on TV but Casual stands above with its three exemplary main cast members. 

Valerie is just an all around mess of a person when you first meet her and as you watch the show you get the feeling that she was like this long before her unfortunate divorce. Her relationship with her brother Alex also enters into the realm of exceedingly close, mostly due to their upbringing, but the two play well of one another. Even though Valerie is the shrink in the family Alex spends most of his time helping her and treating her like a patient while trying to get her out of her comfort zone when it comes to sex. Alex himself is a self made man after co-founding a dating website, Snooger, that he himself uses to meet woman and hook up with them. However, this doesn't prevent him from being a character with real depth  as you later find out about his struggles to actually make a dating app that works on a real level for the people who use it. He may exploit the system but he does believe in finding that special someone and he spends quite a number of episodes searching for that special someone. 

The break out star for Casual though comes from Valerie daughter Laura (Tara Lynne Barr). Her character had a dominate presence right from the get go as she was the complete opposite person to her mother. Laura is far more sexually confident than her mother is and probably could ever be, her first scene alone in the show involves sex with her boyfriend in a hot tub. Her relationship with her mother is also extremely lax, in fact all three group together in an interesting way when Alex is involved, and Laura basically runs the show when it comes to her mother showing any signs of being a parent. She still has plenty of raw emotion to bring to the role though so it is not all teenage angst, her relationship with her grandma and later on an interesting relationship with her photography teacher makes every moment she's on screen complete gold.

Episodes do have a certain odd orientation to them when you get down to it as the show never really knows who it wants to focus on. I assumed that the show would mostly center around Valerie as she tries to be a single mother and find another man in her life with the first few episodes almost play out like the first season of Cougar Town. The show however tends to hop around from Alex and his sorted love life to Laura and her teenage escapades and so on and so forth. The episodes themselves are all for the most part top notch but it gets a little messy with the follow through.

The remaining cast members is topped off by some excellent names and some relative new comers that manage to do quite well for themselves. Frances Conroy brings her odd charm to the role of Valerie and Alex's mother, Dawn, and I use that term very loosely. It seems the two's childhood was anything but normal and Dawn would rather have lived her life traveling the world and screwing strangers. Their father Charles (Fred Melamed) was just as bad as their mother and they each bring the same self important know it all attitude to their roles. Former Scrubs cast member Eliza Coupe also joins the cast for a number of episodes as Alex's "girlfriend" and the reason why that's in quotes will be extremely apparent once you finish watching her first episode, but her importance it's rather hard to overlook as you discover she is the only one Alex has genuinely connected with.

Perhaps the only character I found myself on the fence about was Alex's friend Leon (Nyasha Hatendi). His character appears in one of the first episodes as Valerie's awkward one night stand who Alex kindly makes breakfast for the following day. The two then form a begrudging friendship due Alex's lack of social graces and his need to pester the ever living daylights out of someone. Alex does do a bit of good for Leon in trying to break him out of his shell since he too has just got out of a long term relationship and needs to get out and mingle again. His shy and timid demeanor works great with Alex's but during certain episodes he just feels out of place and is only there because the script needs him to be. He does have a number of exceptional moments throughout the show, especially in the finale, but he is hit or miss for someone who appears so often in episodes. 

Casual doesn't shy away from hard hitting topics or it's frankness towards how desensitizing it is to be a part of the online dating world. People log in, answer a few questions and are instantly connected to thousands of people who will either creep on you, send you pictures that should never be sent and much much more. It's all done in good fun and the commentary on dating that is presented here is top notch. Add to it the lead roles of Alex, Valeria and Laura and you truly have a show that takes a concept you may have seen before, but makes it their own.

Good:

- Excellent cast

- A funny commentary on online dating

- Tara Lynne Barr as Laura is exceptional

Bad:

- Episode oreinatation is all over the place

- Nyasha Hatendi is hit or miss

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Come Join SNR on Elder Scrolls!

Hey, all you SNR fans, if you play The Elder Scrolls Online, come join us. We have a guild so message @Dibble6891 or @Starkiller2467. Anyone can join and we fight for the Dominion....Lord be with the Queen. LETS TAKE TAMRIEL!

Topics: Subscription based MMO’s

Zach Goodier

As a fan of the Elder Scrolls series, I have been mulling over the new direction of the franchise since the announcement of ESO, and while I definitely think this game has a lot of potential, it also made me wonder why I have failed to jump on board with subscription-based games before now, such as WOW.  While I don’t deny the quality of these games, it has generally been a genre that I’ve avoided.  While I have dabbled in free-to-play MMO’s, they generally fall into a dynamic of “free to play, but pay to win” type of games.  So, here’s a look at why I’ve found subscription-based games difficult to get into.

Paying potentially over a hundred of dollars to play a game.

Alright, first off, let’s break this down a bit.  First, you buy a game, let’s say for $40, but the initial price doesn’t matter.  Sure, it seems like a deal compared to the $60 standard for most games, and they generally come with coupons or codes for at least 1 month of game time, but then it jumps to $15/mo. (the accepted standard now).  Ok, still not too bad, but if you want to reach the level cap, you either have to play non-stop for a couple weeks, or dabble in the game for months, paying $15 for each month just to keep your account active so you can hop on. For some, they can easily get their money’s worth out of these games, and that’s great.  But for gamers who are less than obsessive, this can be a difficulty. 

As new content is released in the months following release, you have to keep paying the subscription fee just to be able to enjoy it.  And sure, most MMO’s end up going free after a while, they can still rack up a hefty bill in the meantime, and you will end up likely spending over $100 before you end up having the game go free, which is a lot higher than the $60 game you thought you were so smart to avoid.

You still often have a lot of items that require money.

Let’s face it, all MMO’s will likely have items you need to pay to have.  However, I will admit that most subscription MMO’s avoid hoarding all the great items for either single-payments or the notorious “VIP” packages and what-not.  In subscription-based games, they usually limit it to cosmetic items, like outfits and appearance packs, but they still make sure the stylish stuff is held back for a nominal fee. 

Want that pet Direwolf (or whatever) pet you've had you eye on, well shell out the dough, amigo.

Closing Thoughts.

I don’t want you to read this and think I detest subscription-based games online.  In fact, I think they’re a great idea, in theory.  If the rate was $10/mo, I might even think about some of them.  However, as a gamer who finds himself without an abundance of time to enjoy his games, I find subscription fees too steep for a person who only has bulk game time on weekends here and there.  This article is mainly an explanation of the weaker points of subscription-based games.  As more and more of my favorite franchises (Elder Scrolls, Knights of the Old Republic) have turned towards MMO’s for the future of their games, I find myself feeling alienated from many of my favorite franchises. However, Elder Scrolls Online might be the game to convert me.  Depending on the pricing of their subscriptions, as well as the reviews on how the game turned out, I might give it a shot.  

I hope ESO is the game to convert me, but subscription fees are a hefty hurdle to overcome in justifying the purchase.

In the News: Elder Scrolls Online Class/Race Selection, PLUS PvP footage

Zach Goodier

In the news... We have some ESO footage from IGN, showcasing the alliances and race system.  Alliances each have 3 races, but you are free to customize classes as you see fit.  However, like other games in the franchise, certain races are geared towards certain classes.  PLUS, the class system currently doesn't have all that much variety. While I'm sure there will be more, you get a general idea that classes are going to fit more into the MMO conventions that you're likely used to as an Elder Scrolls player.

PvP looks to be very interesting, however, as there is a lot more going on strategically than simple abilities and traits among the team, but controlling positions has a lot more significance than simply gaining points or the like.  Seiges look to provide hours of fun, challenging attackers while keeping the defenders working tirelessly to try to impede or repel the attackers.  However, it seems like certain alliances will likely gain a strong advantage early on, unless some other element is introduced to preserve balance between alliances.  

I'm still hesitant to invest the money, myself.  While the game does look impressive, I will likely be waiting to see the reviews and what deals might be out there before I commit (money doesn't grow on trees, ya know?). While I still have some reservations about the direction of this installment in the series, I hope it all comes together and provides the epic Elder Scrolls experience that many fans, myself included, hope to see released.

Swordart Online AMV: What Have You Done - Within Temptation

Zach Goodier

No new content for today, but we'll have the manga updates coming out tomorrow, and we'll have some content ready to roll out Thursday.  Until then, nerdy hugs go out to all of you.

The Elder Scrolls Online - The Arrival Cinematic Trailer

Zach Goodier

Hey guys, have a new Elder Scrolls Online trailer for you.  It's been up for the last couple of days, but I'm sharing it in case anyone out there has missed it.  This introduces what looks to be the main conflict in the game aside from the apparent PvP driven faction conflicts.  Apparently, some form of deadra come into Tamriel and introduce an undead plague in their brief incursion into our world.  While this is a new concept to the Elder Scrolls games, there are a pair of novels that already delved into a similar type of concept.  

These books, titled "The Elder Scrolls: The Infernal City" and "Elder Scrolls: Lord of Souls" are a 2-part story involving a city that crosses over into Tamriel from Oblivion, and creates an army of undead servants that begin wreaking havoc, and eventually attack the Imperial City.  This concept seems to have either served as inspiration for this games conflict, or it is all entirely coincidental, which seems an odd coincidence.  The books are set between the Oblivion Crisis and the return of the dragons, so this game couldn't be cover this event since the setting is centuries before either of the games take place.  

I'm interested to hear more of the villains, and just how they fit into the story, quests, and the game as a whole.  It could be interesting to band together with rivals to fight these deadra, and their undead army.  It could also be interesting to compete with rivals to be the first to resolve this crisis and destroy them.  The potential dynamic between reluctant allies or bitter rivals against a common foe could provide a great deal of entertainment and excitement as the game unfolds, but we still have a bit of a wait until the game releases, so we'll just have to see.

Sword Art Online AMV - The Grey (HD)

Zach Goodier

I don't know who here has been watching Sword Art Online on Toonami, but it's been a very fun show so far, and I'm already hooked.  While a lot of this is from much further in the series by the looks of it, I still loved this AMV.  So while we work on getting organized, and I get ready to start my semester tomorrow, enjoy this excellent work.

In the News: Elder Scrolls Online Subscription Fee

Zach Goodier

The Elder Scrolls Online, which I was hoping to have a free-to-play model, with payed extras to help fund the servers, is now going to adopt a monthly subscription fee of $15.  This is a disappointment, as I have been hoping that MMO's would start adopting the free-to-play model, with paid costumes and extras to supply the company.  Many successful games now tempt players to try the game by being free, and once the player invests they can then pay for credits to purchase costumes, weapons, or other offered extras for players to enjoy and personalize their characters.  I can see why TESO might benefit from the monthly fee in terms of making content fair and balanced, not favoring the person with the biggest wallet; however, this monthly free will cost the gamers a lot just to play, and will likely alienate a lot of people, much like Star Wars: The Old Republic did.  Only time will tell, however, and we will be able to see more of what our money will be buying us.

In the News: TES Online gameplay preview

Video source: IGN

Zach Goodier

Since we are already talking about The Elder Scrolls franchise today, particularly its' brilliant past, let's discuss the future of the franchise, shall we?  This is a gameplay feature showing the character creation, 1st person update, and dungeon raiding with the party, as well as discussing some of the details about the alliances that exist within this game world.  I'm excited about the 1st person being included, since this is an Elder Scrolls game; however, if that isn't your cup of tea, 3rd person is still included.  Skills are also looking cool, since you can "morph" abilities to suit your game style.  I love that classes are not set in stone, making characters seem much more versatile than they do in older MMO's.  I will be eagerly anticipating this game's release next year so that I can finally see if Bethesda can keep up the momentum, and make another gaming masterpiece.

In the News: Microsoft Removes 24-Hour DRM and Used Game Restrictions from Xbox One

By Zach Goodier

Microsoft recently decided to change their policies on 24-Hour DRM and used game restrictions, the statement they made was,

“We love getting feedback from gamers. My ideal scenario is always that I’m working to build a product they love."  We still believe in how games and entertainment are transformed by being connected and powered by the cloud, and frankly you’re going to see us really innovate against that experience. But as part of making the changes to allow you to use physical discs the way that you do today, what’s going to happen is your online games and your physical games will work like they do today. That does mean that features like Family Sharing won’t be there. Another example that we think is awesome is that when you move to any Xbox One, the ability to see all of your games in your Games Library. While you’ll clearly only see the ones that you downloaded online, you’d have to bring your physical discs for the other ones.”  

Source: IGN

Maybe I won't miss out of Forza 5 after all...

I, personally, am excited to see these changes.  I was not a fan of what I heard during the conferences at the reveal and E3.  While I know some people feel like this is a step backwards, I like the traditional setup for consoles.  I use Steam on my PC, but consoles allow me the opportunity to trade discs with the guys to let me try other games without potentially wasting some of my limited funds on them.  I can see where Microsoft may have been trying to lead us, but all their explanations were too vague, and there was too much potential for disaster in the minds of many gamers.  Not only that, but many of the features simply didn't appeal to me; I don't like Kinect, my cable box already does fine for TV, and I'd rather trust my own hard drive than a server in some building.  Beyond that, I simply didn't see how the potential benefits of Microsoft's features would outweigh the harm it could do to us as consumers.  

Still not a fan of Kinect, but if I'm not connected to the internet then hopefully the NSA won't be able to watch my pets for terrorist activity xD

Is there some paranoia? Probably.  However, the question that we have to ask ourselves is, "Do we really want to give up control over what we do with the things we pay for?"  I understand that Microsoft is out to make money, all companies need to make money to stay in business; however, it all comes down to how they try to make money.  Sony is planning to start charging for online services, and I'm OK with that.  Microsoft wanted to start telling me I couldn't trade games without losing them forever (to control the used game market), and that I needed to connect to the internet once a day or my console would brick.  I wasn't OK with that, and there were many who agreed with me.  

Those points aside, now that Microsoft has decided to change these features I may look back into investing in the system somewhere down the line.  I like that Microsoft finally listened to the public on this, but the trust has been broken for me, and it will not be fixed so easily.  Microsoft can still implement these features at a later date, and while allowing people to use the system the same way they used the 360 is a relief, the potential for disaster still looms overhead.  

My advice is to just stay alert for any updates, and think carefully about what investments you make.  There are a lot of people who will be going back to the Xbox One.  Hell, I might be one of them.  However, this incident has reminded me that while we as gamers have a lot of freedom through our games, there is always the potential for losing that freedom as well.

The Elder Scrolls Online - The Alliances Cinematic Trailer

While there's a lot of looking ahead to the future of consoles and some of the new and returning franchises that we know and love, I just wanted to take a minute and share the cinematic trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online.  While the beta had some mixed opinions, Bethesda is working hard to make sure the game is everything we hope for by the time it releases.  While I am somewhat cautious with my optimism, I would love to see the Elder Scrolls setting take off as an MMO, as long is it can preserve the sense of independence and scale that the single-player installments have done.  My biggest concern is that the world won't quite feel as big and wondrous when it's packed with players.  That being said, I still relish the idea of being able to dungeon dive with some friends, and having that co-operative gameplay to enjoy.  Here's hoping that this turns out to be everything we hope.


Stay Nerdy my Friends,
Zach