[Review] Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (3DS)

Flight combat not only takes strength of the mind, butstrength of the body; as a result, it is perhaps best reserved for those withthe right stuff. After all, hitting speeds of Mach 1.6 and flying at 40,000feet in an F-16 isn’t for everyone. With stereoscopic 3D, the experience couldbe recreated more truly, providing both the sense of speed and distance fromthe ground that’s needed. Ace Combat:Assault Horizon Legacy not only provides that, but an exciting gameplayexperience as well.

Players star as Phoenix, a member of the Allied Forces whoare tasked with taking down the rebels on the continent of Usea. They’ll besent on a variety of missions that include defending bases, attackingsquadrons, and others. Even in the air, AssaultHorizon Legacy manages to provide both variety and a challenge, whether itbe stalling in high altitudes or finding a balance between hitting targets andnot buildings at lower altitudes. Unfortunately, there was no multiplayerexperience to go along with the game, which really killed any lasting appeal itmay have beyond the single player mode.

While many missions have players assaulting ground units orplanes that are otherwise incapable of keeping up with them in speed, almostall missions also include faster planes and dogfights. With aerial combat gamesbeing somewhat of a niche, the game does a good enough job of introducingplayers to the controls. Beginners may take a while to adapt to the upside downy axis and the sluggishness of a fighter jet, but the aerial maneuvers easilyremedy the problem for newcomers to the genre.

Aerial maneuvers take players behind enemies at the touch ofa button or easily dodge an incoming attack. It may sound as though these takethe challenge out of dogfights, but players will still have to make an effortin order to make use of these. The attack maneuver requires players to havefollowed a target for a set amount of time first without being attacked orusing evasive maneuvers, meaning that strategic positioning is definitely key. Evasivemaneuvers on the other hand have fewer requirements; however, players stuck ina cluster of enemy fighters will find themselves evading endlessly, hardly evengiven a chance to shoot off a missile.

Although HorizonAssault Legacy is obviously visually inferior to its console counterpart,the stereoscopic 3D is impressive. It only makes the aerial maneuvers look allthe better. The visuals give the sense of height that 2D visuals just can’t. Whennot preoccupied with shooting down enemy pilots, I was more concerned withenjoying the view from above than I was with the next mission objective. Fromfar away, the landscapes impress, but quickly lose their magic once playersclose in. On the other hand, the fighter jets themselves are renderedsurprisingly well, making for a pleasing viewing experience during anydogfight.  

As an introductory game to flight combat, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy isperfect. It combines the difficulty of flying at high speeds while providingattack and evasive maneuvers so that everyone can join in on the fun and be anace pilot. The visuals are naturally enhanced by the system’s 3D capabilities, whichshould usher in even the most skeptical pilots to give it a try. 

Available on: 3DS; Publisher: Namco Bandai Games; Developer: Project Aces; Players: 1; Released: November 15, 2011; ESRB: Teen; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Review] Tekken Hybrid (PS3)

It’s quite evident that fighters are making quite therevival as of late. Even before Street Fighter IV though, the Tekken serieshad never gave up on the genre and only continued to push out titles throughoutthe years. As fighters have become part of the mainstream, it’s only expectedthat it would bleed into other entertainment forms as well, such as movies;likewise, Tekken would be one of thefrontrunners in coming out with a  CGmovie, which is sure to satisfy fans more than the live action failures ofother franchises. Tekken Hybridthrows the past along with the fruits of its labors together, giving fans Tekken Tag 2 Prologue, Tekken Tag Tournament HD, and CG movie Tekken Blood Vengeance all in onepackage.

More than a decade since its original release, Tekken Tag Tournament still manages tobe a fun game. While it lacks the extended combos of recent outings, the solidtag-based is intact. Harking to a more simple time, TTT’s lack of walls and bound-based combos offer solace for gamerswho are tired of being pounded to death upon a single combo that will carry himto the wall. On top of that, it has all the modes that its previous consolecounterpart did, including the mysteriously addicting Tekken Bowl mode. Thoughthe gameplay has kept up, the graphics’ age definitely shows. Like a veteranactress, the game is expected to show some age; it’s an excusable, yetundeniable facet of TTT HD.

It’s hard to look at this package and pick out any one partthat’s the headliner. However, with TekkenTag 2 Prologue’s character selection being heavily influenced by the maincast in Tekken Blood Vengrance, itwould seem that these two go hand in hand in promoting each other. As thefuture of the Tekken franchise, TTT2 Prologue should certainly be thecenterpiece that has gamers’ appetite whetting the most. In addition to the tagpossibilities presented in TTT, TTT2 Prologue includes Tag Assault,which allows two characters bombarding an opponent with attacks, and Tag Crash,which allows one to safely tag out during an attack as another comes in. Bothof these only strengthen the tagging mechanics, making it a crucial aspect to implementduring games. With only Jin, Kazuya, Alisa, and Xiaoyu available, the game ismerely a demo that will leave players wanting.

Graphically, the game already looks better than Tekken 6, with more detailed charactersand stages alike. This is only made all the more impressive by the game’sability to have multiple characters on screen at the same time, pummeling away.The musical stylings established in Tekken6 stay strong, giving players a variety of electronic music, including thetoken dubstep noise.

Film loving gamers may be reluctant to load up Tekken Blood Vengeance, they will bepleasantly surprised if they go against their first instincts. While Blood Vengeance is by no means AcademyAward material, it’s a jump in quality from other fighting game based movies –certainly better than most adaptations of the Street Fighter series. The writing does become confusing and hardto follow at times, but bears the series’ signature combination of serious scenesinvolving the Mishima family and humor with Xiaoyu and Panda. Visually, it isstunning. Avid Tekken followers willundoubtedly draw similarities between the movie’s CG quality and those of thegames’ cutscenes.

For just one aspect of this bundle, Tekken Hybrid may be a hard sell. However, Tekken fans will surely beat themselves over the head foroverlooking an opportunity to replay one of the most iconic games in the series(without the guaranteed three frames of lag on a backwards compatible PS3), watcha visually stunning CG movie that is true to the series, and get a taste of thefuture of the series a full year before it hits (without dropping a dollar pergame at the arcade). General fighting game fans will likely want to take acrack at the title, but they’re advised to wait as the bundle as a whole maynot be as enticing. 

Available on: PS3; Publisher: Namco Bandai Games; Developer: Namco Bandai Games; Players: 1-2; Released: November 22, 2011; ESRB: Teen; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Review] Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

As the king of portable racers, Mario Kart has always yielded high expectations and met themeasily. Though Mario Kart DS hadsnaking and attracted a crowd of dexterious gamers, recent Nintendo trends inpreviously competitive games like SuperSmash Brothers have been to simplify them for the general gaming public.With this in mind, gamers stepping into MarioKart 7 will still enjoy the comparatively casual, yet still fast pacedexperience.

Though the 3DS’s screen may be small, gamers will be able tosee the graphical improvement upon MarioKart DS at first glance. Everything from the racers themselves to the trackshave a lot more details and the 3D visuals provide a sense of speed not feltbefore. In terms of character selection, avid Nintendo fans will be graced bynewcomers such as Metal Mario and Wiggler, whose characters only shine morewith the inclusion of taunts and various in game actions.

As expected of Nintendo’s recent releases, the game has beensimplified to reach a larger audience, leaving no traces of snaking behind. Mario Kart DS veterans may have toadjust to this, but it ultimately means that players will have to rely on mostracing games’ basics, such as using the right lines and course knowledge inaddition to the game’s core drifting mechanic. The result is a game thatencourages players to practice as much as it encourages them to simply play anddiscover new ways to go around levels. Unlike previous games that have alsoincluded classic tracks, the levels have been improved to include shortcuts andsegments that make use of the game’s new gliding and underwater racingabilities, breathing new life into otherwise familiar courses.

With the game’s drift toward simple gameplay, the Mario Kart series’ most glaring issuesare still there. Players are still punished for being in the lead, constantlygiven subpar items and at danger of being struck by blue shells and lightning, effectivelyundoing two laps of hard work. Luckily, new items Tanooki leaf and Fire Flowerare still obtainable when players are relatively close to first place, both ofwhich provide a decent defense mechanism against incoming shells or peskyplayers. The newly added first person mode, which allows players to steer usingthe gyrometer, is a poor substitute for the precision of either the d-pad oranalog stick.  

Taking a cue from the SNES and GBA Mario Kart games, this version includes coins that will boostplayers’ speed as more are collected, in addition to unlocking more in-gamecontent like karts and wheels. The intervals between new unlocks are frequentenough so that players feel a reward at the end of practically every grandprix. Eventually, after everything is completed, rewards come less, which willdrive the ambitious to either play online or wirelessly with friends, neither modeof which were problematic.

The 3DS left gamers wondering if Nintendo could still claimthe title of king of portables, giving a paltry selection of titles for themajority of its release so far. With the release of Mario Kart 7, it is clear that Nintendo won’t be dethroned soeasily. The game adherence to Nintendo’s trend of simplification is by no meansa deal breaker and only serves to help its growth.  

Available on: 3DS; Publisher: Nintendo; Developer: Nintendo; Players: 1-8; Released: December 4, 2011; ESRB: Everyone; Official Site

[Review] Payday: The Heist (PS3)

Okay, let's be real: given the opportunity and a lack of consequence, we would all want to rob a bank. Hollywood has given us all this guilty pleasure of having us scope out a bank and coordinate this feat to the last detail. Hopefully though, none of us will ever actually try to this because, let's be real once again, you'll die or go to jail. But to give us a better taste and some control in this action, Payday: The Heist is the perfect place to go, with ridiculous clown masks and everything.


The premise of Payday is simple. You and three other friends grab the closest creepy clown masks, some Uzi submachine guns and head to your nearest bank and tear that place up. There is no real tutorial provided; you just walk right up to the bank, listen to instructions, and at that point it becomes almost instinctual. You start yelling at the civilians, tying them up, shooting the security cameras, and looking for the bank manager who has the key to the vault. Though we all know it's never this simple; before long, the cops show up and it becomes a shoot out. It really is a lot of fun, and easy to pick up and play. Throughout the game, you may have an outside man who will give you instructions and updates on when and where police attacks are coming from. Though you might worry that robbing banks might get old one day, that's not the only thing that you do. The game comes with six different maps that will let you commit bank robbery, steal from drug dealers, diamond heists, and more. Developer Overkill Software has announced that there will be DLC to expand gameplay even more.

The gameplay parallels that of any typical first person shooter, though it can be choppy and in general less smooth than other titles. My biggest issue would be that the aiming can lack fluidity and make it difficult to shoot moving cops, though adjusting the sensitivity does help and is recommended. While both the single player and multiplayer have identical gameplay, the best part of the game is playing online and organizing your team, shouting commands to each other and sweating profusely under the pressure. With three pretty much useless AI teammates, you really need that human factor of conflict and arguing to make the game that much more authentic.

After completing a heist, you are awarded money that measures what level you are and can allow certain upgrades such as extra armor, guns, health packs and others. However, one big oversight of the game is that the upgrade system is hidden deep in the settings; players will have to spend some time searching to figure it out that there is an upgrade tree that allows you to choose a path to upgrade your character.  But once you do, it really enhances the gameplay. This is especially true while playing online because upgrades allow you to use different strategies and possibly equip certain players with extra ammo or extra health. These also allow for a larger variety of guns, so you can have a look out sniping, a power guy with heavy firepower, and a more subtle stealthy player amongst other possibilities.

Payday: The Heist might not be the best first person shooter out there but it offers more than enough to keep your criminal urges under control. With the variety in the gameplay combined with the (hopefully) upcoming DLC, this game offers a lot at the $20 price point, making for great replay value. So get your team together and start building your money and reputation as you try to become the most successful criminal in the world, or the virtual world at least.

Available on: PC, PS3; Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment; Developer: Overkill Software; Players: 1 - 4; Released: October 18, 2011; ESRB: Mature; Official Site

Note: A promotional code was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Review] Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends (PS3)

Undoubtedly, hack and slasher fan favorite Dynasty Warriors has been known to pushits fans to collect just about every item and weapon and complete every stage. Withthe advent of DLC based add-ons, the series’ long time expansion, Xtreme Legends, seemed like it would becoming in the form of DLC for sure. Alas, fans will be receiving a full retailgame instead, which will inevitably beg the question of whether there is enoughnew content to warrant such a release.

Most notably, the game features three new characters for Wei,returning officer from Dynasty Warriors 5character Pang De, who wields dual axes like Zhang Liao; Wang Yi, a newcharacter who uses dual blades at lightning quick speeds; and Guo Jia, astrategist who uses a staff and giant billiard balls to attack enemies. Thelatter two are quite interesting; whereas Wang Yi is a blast to play as sheplows through the field, Guo Jia’s billiard formation allow lots of fun to behad as he places them around him and even lets his musou rip enemies apart ashe can continues to attack.

On the weapon side, Omega Force has introduced four newweapons for preexisting characters Xiahou Dun, Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and ZhangFei. Considering how iconic these characters are, it’s only right that theyreceived unique weapons this time around and it certainly aids the issue ofhaving multiple characters with eerily similar movesets in Dynasty Warriors 7. With these weapons, the four characters feelmore like their original selves from previous iterations of the game. Much likethe story of Romance of the ThreeKingdoms towards the end, the Wu kingdom is eerily silent, given noadditional rosters or weaponry, which will be disappointing to some fans.

Loyal fans of the series will be rewarded with the Remixmode, one that avid Dynasty Warriorsplayers will be familiar with, where players disc swap the original version withthe respective Xtreme Legends discfor additional content. This may have been acceptable ten years ago, but onlyproves to be an annoyance and inconvenience when DLC would have been a farbetter route. While previous versions of the Remix mode simply allow players toplay through the original’s campaign, Remix mode this time around actuallyenhances the story and conquest modes, adding multiplayer support, the newofficers from Xtreme Legends, and allowingplayers to use any officer desired.

New to this expansion is the inclusion of the Legend and Challengemodes. Legend mode offers another campaign for players as they build up a cityfrom its humble beginnings into a haven for the emperor, playing throughrecreations of stages from past Dynasty Warriorsgames and original level designs. To quench players’ thirst for item and weaponcollection, this mode offers additional item for players and weapons if theycomplete explicit conditions on the Chaos or Nightmare difficulties. This is awelcome change from the past, when players were forced to look through internetwalkthroughs instead just to seek the proper conditions for unlocking weapons. Thoughthis may sound daunting, the game’s inclusion of titles, which can have effectsfrom life absorption to increased damage against officers, makes the Chaosdifficulty more manageable, save for a couple of random hits that will quicklydrain away at a player’s life bar. Challenge mode offers players a chance to showtheir skills, either by taking down as many officers or troops as possible,knocking units off a platform while staying atop, or running through a level asquickly as possible.

Xtreme Legendsadds a healthy amount of new content for players who may have already plowedthrough Dynasty Warriors 7. However,the disc-based rather than DLC route proves to be an inconvenience that relieson decade old technology rather than embraces the new. This game definitelyimproves upon the original experience,but will be lost upon players who are playing sans Dynasty Warriors 7. 

Available on: PS3; Publisher: Tecmo Koei; Developer: Omega Force; Players: 1-2; Released: November 15, 2011; ESRB: Teen; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.