Sorta.

There’s really no story to Hunters. But essentially you can step up as one of 12 (at this point) different character types from the Star Wars universe and battle in a team-play, blast-‘em-away competition. Two teams made up of five characters each are set loose to give battle.

Since this game was primarily designed for use on your Apple or Android smartphone, the game’s various maps aren’t huge like some battle royale team shooters. But the feel is similar, and it can be easily navigated with a touch screen. Characters have their own special abilities and weapons. You can use ziplines, grappling hooks and catapults to get from level to level. And when teamed up, your squad simply aims to take the foes down in a fast match that only lasts a couple of minutes.

In other words, Star Wars: Hunters is an easy-to-pick-up amusement that can be played while you’re standing in line or totally bored. You know, those instances when you could be looking at things or people around you but would rather fill those minutes pretending you’re a big ol’ Wookiee or a robot Jedi. 

On that character front, Hunters offers up some fun choices for fans of a certain galaxy far, far away. For instance, you can play as Rieve, a female Sith who’s agile and skilled; Aran Tal, a Mandalorian Vanguard; and Utooni, a pair of piggyback Jawa scavengers wrapped in a trench coat. Those are some of the damage-focused characters. And then you’ve got your tanks (such as the above-mentioned Wookiee juggernaught, Grozz) and support-class battlers such as the Rebel war hero, Zaina.

Each character has a main weapon in the form of a pistol, rifle, lightsaber or warclub; their own sense of speed and agility; and  specific skills such as the ability to drop a healing zone, deflect gun fire, throw up a personal shield, blast foes with a wrist rocket, draw an enemy closer and the like. You choose which character you prefer and go.

This is a multiplayer game that definitely requires an online connection. And there’s a microtransaction element ever present in the play. (Detailed below.)

POSITIVE CONTENT

As shooters go, this one is relatively mess free. There’s no blood or flesh rending, just zaps of light and color. Characters fall with a skull symbol above their head when bested.

The pace of the game is fast and fairly fluid. And while Hunters doesn’t offer much in the way of gaming complexity, there is a variety of classes, characters and abilities to choose from and build your teams with.

And, of course, it’s a light, action-packed title that’s designed to tickle Star Wars fan fancy. Characters sometimes talk in the midst of battle, but there’s nothing offensive or crude.

CONTENT CONCERNS

All of that said, this is a run-and-gun shooter and pretty much nothing else. So, if you’re averse to trigger-pulling, explosions and zapping foes, this isn’t the game for you.

Probably the biggest drawback is the fact that the gamemakers make their money on the microtransactions in the game. So, Star Wars: Hunters isn’t shy about offering players ways that they can make their play a little better with a bit of real-world cash.

Pop-ups regularly remind you that rather than deal with built-in timers and other elements that limit your play, you can purchase battlepasses, cosmetics and a variety of helpful things with real cash. And then there are the characters themselves. You start with a single character for simply playing the game tutorial, but you can only unlock the others through hours of matches. Unless … you get out your charge card.

GAME SUMMARY

Droids, Jedi, bounty hunters and Wookiees are at your beck and call. Star Wars: Hunters is a free game that’s easy to pick up and fun to play. (As long as you don’t mind a bunch of in-game buy me offers.)

The post Star Wars: Hunters appeared first on Plugged In.

Once again, the central character here is our physically and mentally scarred young heroine, Senua. She struggles with the constant whispering voices of her schizophrenia-like psychosis.

Of course, in Senua’s time, the swirling voices in her head are thought to be spirits that whisper doubts and encouragements; they open paths and give insights as Senua pushes toward her hallucination-laced goals. (The game is designed to be played with headphones in place. And that binaural immersion intensifies the disturbing and disorienting aspects of Senua’s ongoing inner torments.)

Senua’s Saga picks up where the first game left off. The embattled protagonist has allowed herself to be captured by Northmen who keep raiding her lands and enslaving her people. That may seem to be a self-destructive choice, but Senua and her voices know that she is a battle-hardened and raging fighter. And her goal is to allow the slavers to draw her into their fold where she can then gut them from within. She’ll have the chance to find justice for the innocent while also, she believes, atone for her own past sins.

However, Senua’s vengeance-soaked mission isn’t as simple as she hopes. Through the struggles of an Icelandic shipwreck, encounters with mystical hazards of the lands, torrents of bloodthirsty and cannibalistic monsters, and battles with enormous giants, she finds that blood-boiling rage doesn’t solve every problem.

As Senua slashes her way toward a cathartic solution, it becomes clear that monsters are made, not born.

Gameplay is focused on melee combat involving attacks, parries and dodges; exploration through large, graphically defined landscapes; some character interactions; and solving environmental puzzles. This third-person action-adventure game is single-player and it does not require an online connection after the game is installed. There are four levels of difficulty to choose from.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is photo-realistic in its movement capture and graphic presentation. And between those highly detailed images and the binaural sound immersion (featuring always moving, breathe-in-your-ear voices), the gameplay is incredibly impressive.

In the game’s opening screen, we’re told that psychiatric professionals assisted in its realistic depiction of psychosis. The game therefore gives players insight into how schizophrenia can torment people who suffer from it. And the ongoing story also points to how extreme feelings of grief, loss, rage and guilt can reshape people into monsters they never wanted to be.

“Darkness outside makes darkness inside,” the game tells us.

On the other hand, Senua’s Saga also suggests that people always have choices. Even when dealing with uncommon struggles, you can choose better paths; you can reach for help.

CONTENT CONCERNS

All of the above positives noted, however, potential gamers should also take note that this is an intense and very M-rated game. The incredible graphics can showcase a radiant sunset, but they also make this game’s entrail-spilling gore all that more realistic. Blood spews and spatters at every turn.

Scenes focus on cannibalistic savagery; people are hacked apart and left in piles of dismembered limbs and fly-speckled gunk. Bloody body parts are recrafted into suspended, dripping displays. And feral men gobble the contents of cracked-open skulls. You face screeching, sinewy killers who swing swords, throw axes and spew flames. The game certainly leans into its barbarically gruesome elements with glee.

And this title’s incredible immersion qualities also drag gamers into a very dark and creepy domain of growling, unseen tormentors with a corrupting demonic feel about them. In fact, Senua’s entire Icelandic world feels nightmarish, ready to rip and tear into anything and everyone unfortunate enough to exist there.

GAME SUMMARY

This sequel lives up to the graphics and gameplay expectations of its predecessor. But it also drags gamers through gruesome gore while baring gristle filled teeth.

The post Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II appeared first on Plugged In.

Believe it or not, the cartoon-cute Another Crab’s Treasure is a Soulslike game in its little crabby heart. But it’s a Soulslike with a twist.

The game tells the story of Kril, a tiny hermit crab more than happy to live his tiny life on a sun-washed and wave-splashed rock. But then a government shark swoops in, demanding back taxes that Kril had no idea he owed. Before he can protest, the gilled government guy swims off with Kril’s cracked shell.

So, Kril has no other option but to jump into the salty depths and try and get what little he had back. In the course of his journey, he meets the denizens of the ocean, and they open his eyes to just how tough the plights of this tide-tumbled world are.

The ocean economy is based on trash that drifts down and clogs up the seabed. And Kril will have to scrape up quite a load of microplastics and other junky wealth if he hopes to regain his true treasure—his shell home—once again.

But Kril also has to deal with the fact that all that dropped gunk is poisoning that underwater, driving its inhabitants to wanton death-dealing and destruction.

To protect Kril, gamers arm him with a tarnished fork; find the best protective shell for any given situation (in the form of an old soda can, a moldy banana peel, a discarded shot glass and the like). So armed and armored, gamers plumb the depths and platform their way through multileveled coral reefs and rocky formations; take on quests from fishy citizens and powerful royals; and face off against all the angry crabs, lobsters, seahorses and, well, anything that can swim Kril’s way.

While on that path, it’s all about upgrading Kril from a hapless bit of moving chum to a barnacled battler to be feared. And, of course, helping the crab reclaim his little cracked shell.

This is a single player game that doesn’t require an internet connection. There is no multiplayer option.

POSITIVE CONTENT

While many Soulslike games are centered on dark and dour fantasy tales, Another Crab’s Treasure keeps things much lighter with lots of ocean-depths humor and tongue-in-cheek winks. And Kril stays positive (for the most part) as he trudges forward through a generally colorful and appealing world.

Don’t be fooled though. This game may look cute and sweet, but it’s difficult!

But the game, as Soulslike as it is, hides a small twist that can make the going a little easier. In the settings section, gamers can dial back the difficulty a bit by boosting Kril’s chosen shell durability, reducing the damage he takes, lowering enemy health, and the like. Gamers even have the option to give Kril a gun. (Of course, that carries its own issues since it turns this T-rated game from a crab-with-a-fork-battler to a shooter.)

Another Crab’s Treasure definitely promotes the idea that we humans should recognize the potential harm of dumping our trash in the oceans. “One thing no creature can afford is complacency,” the story narration tells us.

CONTENT CONCERNS

Again, parents looking at the game’s adorable artwork need to keep in mind that its not an easy game to play. After the first few battles, the difficulty ratches up steeply. While Kril can don 60-plus pieces of trash for a bit of bash protection, players must learn various blocking, dodging and parrying maneuvers if they have any hope of proceeding.

Those battles aren’t bloody, but characters can cry out in pain. Kril can fall, screaming, off high ledges. Some poisoned characters vomit up black gunk in the midst of battle. One chosen shell gets Kril drunk, reducing his reaction time but boosting his attack. The trash scattered across the ocean floor is littered with cigarette butts and liquor bottles.

The in-game language can be off putting, too. (Some of it is spoken aloud, other times printed out.) It can range from deep-sea winks of “holy crab,” “Codspeed” and “Well, boil me slowly,” to uses of the s-word, “d–n,” and “codd–mit!” One angry cry appears to be a stand-in for the f-word, too.

There’s lying and deception in the story mix.

GAME SUMMARY

Another Crab’s Treasure has a cheery look, salt-water humor and gameplay that will appeal to some. But it’s not exactly smooth sailing.

The post Another Crab’s Treasure appeared first on Plugged In.

Over the years, Nintendo and its game-making partners have done yeoman’s work to keep each of the many, many Mario games from feeling like cookie-cutter copies of one another. And they’ve done a great job. Princess Peach: Showtime! is an exemplary example. This game’s protagonist princess hits her mark with bravado and charm.

Things start off when one of Princess Peach’s mushroom Toad pals shows her a poster for the upcoming Sparkle Theater productions. It looks so enchanting that the princess and Toad soon fly off in hopes of seeing a fun show together. But upon arriving at this Vegas-like, oversized playhouse, Peach discovers that something foul is afoot.

A villain named Madame Grape—and her crew the Sour Bunch—have made an unexpected entrance to steal the show, imprisoned the star performers and redirected everything in Grape’s own foul image.

It’s time for Peach to step out of her typical duties as loyal royal sidekick and take on the roles of heroic leading lady characters. Literally! With the help of Stella, the theater’s sparkle spirit guardian, Peach slips into a variety of different costumes, assumes that character’s abilities and then jumps into each performance with dramatic gusto. She’ll need to best all of the backstage baddies, free the captive actors, and make sure that the show will go on!

Gameplay wise, Princess Peach: Showtime! blends a variety of different gaming genres. When Peach performs as any of 10 different character parts, the style of gaming fits the role.

For example, Swordfighter Peach leaps into swordplay battles; Detective Peach uses her sleuthing skills to uncover clues; Cowgirl Peach jumps up on horseback and lassos baddies through a side-scrolling train set.

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a single-player-only game and it does not require an online connection. (Oh, and players never need to break a leg.)

POSITIVE CONTENT

In this reviewer’s humble opinion, Princess Peach is a much more approachable and endearing protagonist than a couple mustachioed plumbers I know. And her game is filled with appealing variety. The game doesn’t dive deeply into its different genres, but some of the performance stages feel like they could be expanded to become whole games of their own.  

On top of that, this game feels geared for younger players. There’s lots of color. And Peach’s leading lady heroics abound while always maintaining the sweet charm that the character is known for.

In short, Princess Peach: Showtime! spotlights gaming novelty and helpful niceness—elements that parents will appreciate.

CONTENT CONCERNS

There isn’t much to worry over. Players will direct Peach to deliver sword slashes, kung fu kicks and a few explosives on her puppet-like foes. But it never feels harsh or cruel. (Some of the villains blast at Peach with lasers and the like.)

Princess Peach: Showtime! may be a little disappointing for adult gamers who want a more challenging hill to climb, but it works well for younger Peach fans.

That said, I should note that the game sometimes requires timed jumps or attacks that could get a little difficult and/or frustrating for smaller players. They may require a little adult help to navigate.

GAME SUMMARY

Hollywood starlets step aside. Princess Peach is ready for her closeup, and her game is ready for its own spotlight. Cue the sweeping musical score.

The post Princess Peach: Showtime! appeared first on Plugged In.

In 2020, gamemaker Square Enix decided to begin the process of modernizing that single-player role-playing-game classic into something with real-time gameplay mechanics, some story changes and polished 3-D graphics. But instead of a single title to represent the original FF fav, they decided to create a three-game trilogy.

The 2020 installment, Final Fantasy VII Remake, covers the initial portion of the original game in the neon-lit city of Midgar, and the newly released Final Fantasy VII Rebirth picks up the embellished story from there.

What is that story? Oh, it’s a doozy. Not to mention, something rather difficult to wrap one’s brain around and explain. In a way, it’s a story about a story that already happened in some other dimension. Or perhaps its more of a multiverse tale with many different realities that are all running at the same time.

No matter how you see it, it’s clear that the game covers pivotal moments of the original narrative involving a world called The Planet; a power source called the Lifestream, that flows in and around The Planet; and a group of eclectic heroes battling against a company that’s attempting to weaponize that power source. The stakes? No less than either the salvation or the destruction of the world.

Those powered-up heroes—some who have weapons replacing missing limbs, some who have an extra boost of Lifestream in their bodies, etc.—are led by a mercenary named Cloud Strife and his childhood friend Tifa Lockhart. (Those two are an almost item.) These good guys also battle against a sorta-hero-turned-crazy-villain named Sephiroth who was given incredible power by being injected with a piece of an ancient 2,000-year-old entity that looks like a naked woman in a large glass container.

If you know nothing about Final Fantasy, then those bare-bones basics of the narrative probably don’t make much sense. But that’s the kind of dense and broadly narrated, multi-dimensional story this is.

Rebirth is a large and incredibly expansive RPG that’s divided into segmented world sections. And over the game’s 90-to-100 hours of play, gamers are called upon to explore; follow objectives; climb towers; battle monsters; talk with many characters and creatures; play through a large number of minigames (such as deck-building card games and combat-strategy simulators); cast spells; and cross swords with enemies and big bosses.

Rebirth can be played with or without an internet connection (DLCs and extra content require one). The game is single-player only, but it offers access to nine playable characters, each with their own unique playstyle (ie: Cloud’s fast-paced sword swipes, Tifa’s martial-arts fighting skills and teammate Aerith’s potent spells and character buffs.)

POSITIVE CONTENT

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is very impressive to look at and play. The story quests are well laid out and the game mechanics are relatively easy to pick up. It’s fantasy landscapes and the hero’s sacrificial actions are highlights.

The Yu-Gi-Oh-like deck-building minigame is excellent, and could almost be a separate game all its own. Players might find some of the other minigames—such as being part of an interactive onstage play or racing Ostrich-like creatures called Chocobo—to be quite entertaining as well.

One improvement of Rebirth over its original centers on combat. Players take control of a party of characters that can be freely switched between for more expansive play. …

CONTENT CONCERNS

… That said, you’ll find quite a lot of frenetic melee and spell-casting combat in the game’s action. Explosions, gun blasts, plumes of flame, sword and staff slashes, spinning blades and impalements and screams of pain are all part of the mix. It’s not a gory spectacle, but there are splashes of blood. And characters die.

Language can get a little heated at times as well with uses of s-words, and other crudities such as “d–mit,” “a–hole,” “pr-ck” and “h—.”

We also find a bit of sensual content here, too, including some obvious sexual tension between Cloud and Tifa. The two kiss. And some female characters (including Tifa) bare midriffs and cleavage in outfits and bikinis that the camera takes time to leer at. Some characters smoke and drink, and players can go to a bar and get drunk.

The story contains plenty of spirituality, too. It’s all fantasy focused, but the game states that the spirits of the dead are what make up The Planet’s Lifestream—part of an exotic spiritual backstory that explains many of the powers, beasts and entities we meet. The central villain, Sephiroth keeps growing more powerful in an attempt to ascend to godhood.  

GAME SUMMARY

Final Fantasy fans will likely cheer all the ways that this Rebirth updates and embellishes the story and play of the 1997 original. But younger, unfamiliar players could easily be left scratching their heads over the dense, lightly problematic, and difficult-to-follow story.

The post Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth appeared first on Plugged In.

The Inquisitor could easily be labeled as a narrative-driven adventure mixed with a murder mystery. But there’s more going on here. Based on a book by Polish writer Jacek Piekara, The Inquisitor is driven by a dark, faith-focused fantasy.

Gamers play as Mordimer Madderin, a holy inquisitor from the Middle Ages. It’s his job to hunt down heretics, vampires and the like and enforce the Christian laws of the land. But this version of Christianity is very different from the one you know.

In this alternate fantasy reality, Jesus refused to sacrifice his life on the cross. Instead, he broke free and set off on a bloody rampage across the land, unleashing his vengeance on the Roman Empire and becoming something of a warrior god-king. So now, 1,500 years later, Mordimer and others like him work to ensure that the all-powerful Church’s oppressive will is obeyed without question.

As Mordimer, you enter the 16^th century city of Koenigstein in search of a rumored vampire. But soon after arriving, you discover clues that hint at a much more sinister plot in the making. It’s a plot that involves ritualistic murders, stolen relics connected to Jesus himself and the possibility of an unfolding apocalypse.

In the course of the Inquisitor’s investigations, gamers must traverse the expansive districts of Koenigstein; talk to and eavesdrop on citizens; interrogate wrongdoers; examine murder victims and crime scenes; solve puzzles and dig up clues; jump into sword-clashing conflicts; and weave together the potentially world-ending conspiracy that’s afoot.

When talking to merchants, nobles, officers and locals, gamers have dialogue choices. And though those choices don’t always seem to make a great difference in the action, your choices may trigger one of several different game endings. While using prayer—praying in what appears to be Latin—Mordimer can see glowing indicators of where to go next.

The Inquisitor is a single player, offline-only game.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Mordimer is an individual who stands by his convictions and strives to do what’s right. And even though he’s as dour and grim as the dark world around him, he makes choices to aid the innocent.

Gameplay—in particular the investigative, clue-piecing side—can be interesting and fun.

CONTENT CONCERNS

Despite its small positives, however, The Inquisitor is a very dark and often disturbing game.

The game regularly uses biblical scripture—such as Matthew 10:34, Nahum 1:2 and Exodus 22:18—and twists the meaning of those passages to attribute a sense of vengeance, hatred and deadliness to the Church.

In fact, in this alternate reality, nearly everything people of faith would avow as true is twisted backward. For instance, Mordimer can stop and kneel to pray at altars for improved abilities. And while seeking the bloody death of foes he regularly prays for things such as “ruthlessness in fighting my enemies,” and that God would “bereave us of weakness, lest we forgive those who trespass against us.” He seeks to “cast the first stone” and praises God’s “bloody works.” There are references to faith and the beliefs of “good Christians” here, but anyone taking their cue of what constitutes faith in Christ from this game will be sorely drawn astray.

Even putting that concept of faith aside, other dark spiritual elements infect the grimy gaming mix. For instance, Mordimer must repeatedly enter into a corrupt “Unworld” populated by a Cthulhu-like deadly abomination. He has twisted spiritual visions, must deal with demonic entities and even fight a fallen angel.

Then there’s the violence of this game. Characters are murdered in foul rituals. We see torn-open bodies and a severed head on display. One insane individual tortures others ruthlessly, rips corpses open gleefully and tosses their organs here and there. Mordimer must closely examine some of those naked and gashed open bodies, both male and female. And Mordimer is called upon to kill attackers as well.

Foul language is an integral part of the dialogue here. We hear f- and s-words and uses of “b–tard,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “a–” and the c-word.

GAME SUMMARY

Some people seek games that focus on faith. And The Inquisitor could be said to fit that bill … but in all the wrong ways. It’s grim and despairing, and it generally paints faith in Jesus with a blasphemous brush.

The post The Inquisitor appeared first on Plugged In.

We’ve seen over a dozen Prince of Persia games since the title’s early beginnings way back in 1989, when it was a side-scrolling amusement built for the Apple II computer. The franchise has evolved plenty since then, and you might remember Prince of Persia as an open-world adventure or even something closer to a hack-and-slash actioner.

But Ubisoft’s new Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown harkens back to earlier builds and gives fans a well-constructed, side-scrolling platformer packed with battles, complicated acrobatics and puzzles.

The Lost Crown assigns gamers the role of a muscular, mop-haired warrior named Sargon, a member of the Persian kingdom’s elite “Immortal” force. After fighting off a neighboring realm’s blood-thirsty army, the seven Immortals are sent to rescue a kidnapped crown prince. But for some reason, that important royal was snatched up by Sargon’s own mentor and taken to a temple called Mount Qaf.

When Sargon and crew arrive at Mount Qaf, they discover that time and space are twisted out of shape: What seems like an hour to them ages someone else 30 years. Bizarre mythical creatures, powerful gods and even doppelgangers of themselves can be encountered and battled in the mysteriously distorted passageways, hidden chambers and foul dungeons. And Sargon is called upon to unravel the sprawling shrine’s secrets before the prince—and perhaps Persia itself—meet a dire end.

As mentioned above, this game’s action focuses on combat, environmental puzzle-solving and tightly-timed acrobatic platforming moves. In fact, in the game’s early hours, Sargon won’t have the skills to best the challenges before him or fully explore the gigantic hidden map. His early combat is also kept fairly simple—comprised of rather basic, repetitive strikes on easy foes.

With time and experience, however, players’ skill sets grow based on the effort they invest. The quests gamers take on and the items they discover, for instance, give Sargon improved jump, dash and special time-based abilities.

Even then it won’t be an easy trek: The platforming challenges often require stringed-together combinations of dash-jump-shoot-leap-slide-swing movements that must be memorized and performed to perfection before passage is allowed. Likewise, the big-boss battles become extremely difficult: Players will need to  seek out, learn and master an expanded arsenal of attack and defense moves to steer clear of a deadly ending.

It’s important to note that this game requires a Ubisoft account and an internet connection for play. And this is a single-player-only game, with no multiplayer or co-op options.

POSITIVE CONTENT

In light of the fact that the gaming challenges become extremely difficult at times, The Lost Crown offers gamers a variety of difficulty settings to choose from and even an option to “custom-design” their play. (For instance, those who hate platforming but love extremely tough combat can adjust play to their liking.)

That said, the game is well balanced, and though the challenges can get tough, they’re also pretty exciting as Sargon (and, by extension, the player) pulls off impressive acrobatic and death-defying feats.

The Lost Crown also offers some interesting additions that make play more inviting. A collected “Memory Shard,” for instance, allows gamers the option of taking a picture of a point of interest and attach it to their map, giving them a reminder of someplace they will want to revisit for a quest or treasure. …

CONTENT CONCERNS

… The necessity, however, to constantly backtrack in the game can become agitating at times, especially in light of the fact that there are very limited options to fast travel around the expansive, trap-filled map. The game also focuses on a lot of deadliness. There’s only light blood spatter (The Lost Crown is rated T) but Sargon dies over and over as his challenges intensify. And each revisited area is repopulated with characters who attack with blades and launched projectiles.

This world also is packed with mythological beasties, gods, goddesses and powers. We see sword slashes and impalements along with flashy special attacks and finishing moves as Sargon gives battle to fellow Immortals; massive multi-eyed gods; undead warriors; mythological creatures such as the Jahandor (a creature with the body of a lion, the face of a man and the tail of a scorpion); and he vies for godly powers and a spiritual energy source called Athra.

Sargon and other Immortals go shirtless to showcase their ripped torsos. We also encounter some female characters who draw attention to their muscular, but femininely curved forms. And there’s a bit of language in the mix in the form of a use or two of the words “d–n” and “a–.”

The central story swirls around vile betrayal and past and present murders, both perpetrated for the sake of gaining great power.

GAME SUMMARY

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a game of muscular heroics, tightly timed acrobatics, hacking combat and environmental puzzle solving, all locked into a side-scrolling structure. Pretty good stuff if you can navigate the light bloodiness and exotic spirituality of it all.

The post Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown appeared first on Plugged In.

Isn’t it just Pokémon with guns? some have asked. Is it copyright infringement? Others have wondered, Is it cruel? Why is it becoming so popular and setting gameplay records?  

So, even though the game is still “officially” only in early access, we thought we ought to play it and address those questions along with the straight-forward query of: What exactly is this thing?

The fact is, Palworld seems to pull a lot of its mixed-breed inspirations from a whole bunch of popular titles. (Though its gamemakers have already declared there’s no IP infringement.) Some have suggested that it has DNA of titles such as Ark: Survival Evolved, Minecraft, Fortnite, Pokémon and even a dash of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running through it’s veins.

And they’re all, in a way, correct.

At its core though, Palworld is more of a base-building, survival/crafting game than anything else. At least, that’s where you throw most of your early gaming energy.

Palworld doesn’t really have much of a story to lean into. There are no quaint villages to visit or critter competitions to participate in. You’re simply plopped down in an open-world locale filled with trees, rocks and wandering “Pal” critters and asked to go fend for yourself. The one surefire story suggestion is that there are “ancient glowing towers” scattered about the land. And they seem important.

So, how do you survive? Well, you can initially pick up sticks and punch trees and rocks in an effort to gather basic resources. And with enough of those resources, you can unlock recipes for a rudimentary workbench; a campfire to keep you warm at night; a basic axe; a basic club. With the club you can go out and kill a Pal for meat and sustenance. (Yep, this game ain’t always so “Poké” friendly.) And with more resources and recipes, you’ll get around to building a Pal Sphere with which to catch a weakened Pal critter.

Those Pals can then hunt with you, they can go out and gather resources for you, they can maintain your camp. With them you can build houses, beds, storage facilities, and more. When you unlock the ability to ride the galloping or flying Pals, they can transport you all across the great big world. 

Hey, eventually you can even force your growing team of critters into an industrialized production line of conveyor belts and machines, if you’re so inclined. That will not only keep your camp humming but supply you with all the ammo and other elements you’d ever hope to own, use or sell. (There are also human merchants and black-market traders in the mix.)

Then there’s the battling side of the gaming equation. You may start out by thunking critters with a stick. But your crafted arsenal can grow into swords, bows and arrows, crossbows, shotguns and rifles. You can even pick up certain Pals and use them as a flamethrower against foes, for example, or assign them as guards with automatic weapons.

As you capture bigger, more destructively powerful Pals, you can then fend off other trainers who send their Pal armies to decimate your camp. You explore. You raid dungeons and discover treasure chests. And eventually you spread your influence to those glowing towers scattered about, and there you face off with big bosses in residence.

So, as to the question of what this game is, it’s many things. It’s a survival game, a crafting game, a farming sim, a strategy game, a shooter, an open world adventure and, yes, something of a thinly veiled, Pokémon clone featuring oh-so recognizable critters. It can be played as a single-player or multiplayer co-op game as well.

POSITIVE CONTENT

There is a lot to do in this game. And it can be fun. There’s not much story or narrative to drive you forward, but the game does toss many environmental, resource-management, combat and exploration challenges your way. (Even simply surviving your first frigid night is pretty motivating.)

On top of that, the world map is huge, colorful and alive with variety, which prompts players to keep exploring. And the Pal management is interesting—if you can get past the more negative aspects. More below.

CONTENT CONCERNS

The Pokémon clone feel of this game can be unsettling for some players. Pals do look very Poké-like, right down to their colors, markings, shapes and sizes. And with that Poké-mindset, bashing or slashing them to death and then butchering them for their chunks of meat can be disturbing.

In addition, you can essentially use your captive Pals as slave labor and work them to the point of mental exhaustion. (I should also note that human NPCs can be captured and fall into that category as well.) That imposed stress is played as dark humor, to a certain degree, but it can also be seen as animal abuse.

Some have used the term “Pokémon with guns” as a game descriptor, and that’s applicable. Players can craft muskets and rifles and some larger weaponry that the Pals fire at foes with. Parents looking at the cuteness of the game may overlook its violence. That said, the blasting and butchering isn’t bloody, but accompanied by bright sparks of contact and groans of pain.

There’s also something of a sexual component in the Pal mix. I noted one particular Pal, called a Lovander, with a very full-figured feminine look about it that’s hard to miss. It carries a rather adult description, too: “Seeking a night of love, it’s always chasing someone around. At first it only showed interest in other Pals, but in recent years even humans have become targets of its debauchery.”

You can also breed Pals for interesting new Pal offspring with upgraded skills. (Though there’s no visual breeding shown.) In addition, players can find (or kill specific Pal types to acquire) Pal Souls, the cast-off soul of a dead critter. These can be used to magically upgrade Pal skills.

GAME SUMMARY

Mom and dad might think “cute” when they see Palworld’s colorful critters. But AK-47s and butchering cleavers have a way of draining away the sweet and cuddly side of this game.

The post Palworld appeared first on Plugged In.

The Finals, a team-based arena shooter,is the latest entry on that long gaming list.

Story wise, The Finals isn’t what you’d call a deep game. Gameplay centers on teams of three players who are named as contestants in a multiplayer televised game show event, complete with holographic onlookers and commentators describing the action. And the general objective is a co-op heist blended with scenery-destroying PVP (player versus player) shootouts.

The game offers three different modes: Quick Cash, Bank It, and Ranked and Unranked Tournament. But the one that players will most often turn to is Quick Cash, where three different teams each try to grab a small vault filled with money and transport that vault to a cashout point. The vault, however, can be stolen at any time by one of the opposing teams, so the result is a fevered and constant three-way struggle until the cashout point clock runs its course. The first team to cash out twice wins the day.

Bank It features a 12-player, four-team competition where your objective is to extract the maximum amount of cash within a 15-minute timer. And the Tournament mode features a total of 16 teams that battle it out with the goal of extracting more money than their opponents by the contest’s end. Ranked tournaments can land you on a national hierarchical leader board.

Gamers choose from three different avatar types (Light, Medium and Heavy) to flesh out their teams. Each has a distinct playstyle, weapons, gadgets and special abilities. Lights are athletically speedy and stealthy and use the likes of suppressed submachine guns, for example, but they’re more fragile overall. Mediums attack with assault rifles but tend toward healing and supporting roles in addition to laying down defensive items such as turrets. And Heavies are all about absorbing and dealing out tons of up-close damage.

But it’s not just players who take damage. A huge aspect of The Finals is the fact that, with the right sledgehammer smash or explosive blast, nearly every in-game structure can be crumbled and destroyed.

When players “die,” they explode in a shower of coins that an opponent can collect. Those deceased players then turn into a small statue that their teammates can carry away from danger and revive. Fallen players can revive themselves too, but this requires using a Respawn Coin from a limited team supply.

The Finals is an online only game, and players are most often randomly teamed up with other online players. Gamers can, however, add and play with friends through a fairly streamlined process. But to do so they must create and accept the terms of an Embark Studios account when they launch the game.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Players who enjoy speedy gameplay and tight teamwork will find a great deal of joy in this T-rated game. Bounce pads, ramps, grapple hooks and ropes allow teams to quickly traverse the various, intricately defined maps with incredible grace. The game also requires teamwork and awareness of other teammates to achieve any strategic success.

In addition, the destructibility of the surrounding buildings offers completely unexpected twists and turns as floors, walls and, sometimes, complete buildings can be crumbled with toddler-kicking-a-wood-block-tower glee.

CONTENT CONCERNS

All of the above said, however, each of those elements might also be concerning for some.

This game is solely focused on death-dealing, theft and destruction, and that could be a concern for parents of young players. (The one advantage being that there’s no blood or mess in the T-rated mix.)

And this is definitely no game for those out for a casual gaming stroll. The speed and reaction time required for play is lightning fast. Frenetic attacks come from all sides at, seemingly, all times. And the 16-team Ranked Tournament action is so punishingly difficult as to be nearly impossible to enjoy for the average gamer not amped up on Red Bull and sugar.

There’s also the above alluded to in-game monetization. You can certainly play this game for free, but the pushed microtransactions—which offer access to battle passes, higher levels,  bigger rewards, outfits, store items and the like—make trading real cash for in-game money appealing.     

GAME SUMMARY

The Finals offers lots of high-action bang for lovers of online shooters. And it’s a gore-free shooter to boot. But this is no easy gaming stroll. And it might cost more than its free-to-play label will suggest.

The post The Finals appeared first on Plugged In.

You can call it an action/adventure, an open-world shooter, a gathering and crafting title, or maybe even an environmental activist’s dream game. But whatever else it is, the new Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is definitely a movie tie-in game. And it’s flat-out the best way to swoop through James Cameron’s beautiful world of Pandora with a game controller in your mitt.

Fans of the movie franchise should note that this game’s story runs concurrently with what’s been on the big screen. We never meet the hero, Jake Sully, but we do see how his choices impact the human’s Resource Development Administration and the Na’vi tribes of Pandora.  

Gamers play as a male or female Na’vi, and are part of a small group captured as children and forced into a reeducation program. The goal of the program was to raise up human-friendly natives that could be used to either persuade or fight against the indigenous residents of Pandora. But that program is shut down when things go sideways (thanks to Jake Sully’s in-movie actions).

The surviving kids are hidden away in hibernation pods by a caring human and then, 16 years later, escape to rediscover their heritage and their people’s connection to nature.

Gameplay focuses on climbing, running and leaping through the dense and beautiful open world of Pandora—a sprawling vista of jungles, plains, mountains and caves. The goal initially is to meet and interact with Na’vi tribe members; reconnect with the enviro-spiritual world at large; and explore and craft weapons, tools, food and protective clothing from the incredibly expansive biome around you.

In fact, Frontiers of Pandora pretty much demands that players engage with the game’s hunting, gathering, crafting and cooking mechanics to move forward in the story.

The other side of play is the shooter/combat interaction. Your Na’vi may be experimenting with this new world, but you’re constantly reminded that those evil humans are still polluting and corrupting the environmental goodness of the land. So along with hunting meat, you’re using bows, assault rifles, swooping in with winged mountain banshees called ikran and applying a massive amount of melee strength to destroy the RDA and its evildoers.

You’ll need to go online to set up the game, but after that, players can game offline. After completing an early quest, gamers can also play co-op with a friend, which does require an internet connection.

POSITIVE CONTENT

The biggest positive for Frontiers of Pandora is its beautiful and majestic world, and the joy of climbing, leaping and flying through it. The traversal system is fluid and smooth and a number of bouncing and swinging plants and trees aid your parkour-like progress.  

The Na’vi characters and interactions are well-designed and crafted. The story is immersive and focused on valuing and maintaining the lush beauty of our environment and its animal inhabitants. …

CONTENT CONCERNS

… That said, the game can sometimes feel militantly focused on the environmental ills and misdeeds of humanity. As with the movies, humans are definitely vile villains here, except for a few who side with the Na’vis’ environmental cause. And even the good humans repeatedly complain about how humanity let the Earth die away.

It can feel strange to be so fervently focused on impaling, shooting, pounding and burning humans. The battles with those human foes are intense and lethal, though generally bloodless.

And this is definitely a one-sided tale. The humans of the RDA are seemingly focused solely on decimating the indigenous population and raping the mineral-rich world at large. Gamers play and see things through the Na’vi, portrayed as completely innocent, pure and spiritually in tune.

The spiritual beliefs of the Na’vi’s often seem to echo those of Native American religions as well. The Na’vi worship a goddess known as Eywa, the Great Mother, a deity that seems both personal (the Na’vi pray to her) as well as encompassing the collective energy of Pandora’s living creatures. The Na’vi also lift up a prayer of thanks to an animal they kill.

As mentioned above, it should also be repeated that the crafting and hunting side of play is central to this game. Those who aren’t so excited about the gathering of a wide variety of tree bark, mosses and animal hides will find some of the game to be rather grinding.

We hear uses of the s-word, “a–hole,” “d–mit” and some misuses of God’s name in the dialogue.

GAME SUMMARY

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a fun, questing romp through a beautiful world. But it also has a lot to say about how terrible we humans are.

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