Game Review - Stardew Valley

Hello Enthusiasts,

Sometimes we all feel like we need to get away from the hustle of the 9 - 5 job. Some of us play games, others watch TV, some will jump into a book, and others will quit their job and move to their old family farm to grow crops and have an adventure. Today's game is all about that last one, as I will be reviewing Stardew Valley. Keep in mind, as always, that there may be some Spoilers Below. 

The game begins with your character receiving a letter from their grandfather, who says not to open it until the time is right to make a change. Cut to years later, your character is a desk jockey that seems miserable, like they've just had enough. It's at this point that they reach into the drawer and pull out the letter, which allows them to move to the old plot of land that their family owns in Stardew Valley. From here, you control the character as they start a farm/fish/get to know the towns people/explore dungeons and kill monsters. The goal of the game is to get rich, run the farm, maybe get married and have children, whatever you want really.

This game is surprisingly fun. Everything is fairly intuitive and I ended up enjoying a lot of it. From the farming to the fighting, everything so far has felt perfectly put together. The graphics are simple but enjoyable, and the different music is wonderfully suited to the different scenarios that trigger it. Every accomplishment feels like it carries a real sense of achievement, making it one of those "just five more minutes" types of games. The more I would learn and discover within the game, the more I wanted to play. I was also impressed with the depth of the stories in the game. Everything feels pretty shallow near the start, with one-dimensional characters that speak to you one sentence at a time. However, the more you get to know the townspeople, the more complex they seem. Shane, who works at the gigantic supermarket that recently moved into town, is an alcoholic that is fighting depression. Kent, a character that comes back from the military in the second in-game year, struggles with PTSD and just returning to civilian life in general. You get closer to these characters by speaking with them often and giving them gifts. You can even romance any of the single characters in the game, which can blossom into marriage with children. There's so much to this game that I have to work to keep myself from rambling about everything that I love.

With all of those great things to say, surely there must be some rough parts to the game, right? Well, outside of some frustration that comes with missing opportunities within the game and some slight monotony with crops near the beginning. Also, while most of the aspects of the game are pretty intuitive, there are a few hard lessons to learn, like all of your spring crops dying right on the first day of summer. These are small complaints compared to the overall positives though, and I don't think it takes away much from my ability to recommend this game. If you haven't seen or played it before, you should jump in, even if it isn't normally your type of game.

I give Stardew Valley a 9 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

First Impressions Game Review: The Surge

Hello Enthusiasts,

Some people enjoy easy games that they can stroll through mostly for the story and some breezy gameplay. Others enjoy games that pose a challenge, but eventually see the player become an insane force to be reckoned with. There's also a group that laves a game that will beat them down and make them scream at their screen. Today I will be reviewing one such game, a game that is in the same vein as Dark Souls and Bloodborne in that regard. Today, I give my first impressions review The Surge. I'm not going to wait to beat the game and give a full review of the game just yet, as it is likely going  to be some time before I'll be finishing this one up. Of course, be ready for some Spoilers Below. 

The game takes place in the not-to-distant future and follows our main character, Warren. He's a wheelchair bound man on his way to CREO, a gigantic tech conglomerate that augments their employees so they can keep up with their mechanical co-workers. From the start, the player is able to choose a smaller, weaker, and faster build or a larger, stronger, slower build. From here, Warren is put into an automated surgery, which neglects to give him any anesthetic for the procedure, leading to a scene of him being in extreme agony. He wakes up to find that nearly all of the other augmented workers have become insane killers and most of the technology in the facility is out to kill him. He is guided by one executive, Sally, as he fights through the enemies and tries to uncover what exactly happened.

While not the greatest tale ever told, it's a decent enough story that has enough mystery to keep your attention.

As I mentioned up top, this is not a game for those looking for an easy time. None of the enemies in the game are very easy to read, and even one slip-up against a random enemy could mean losing a chunk of health. It's a game that keeps you on your toes and demands your focus. For every enemy that is defeated, you collect some scrap metal and random parts that can be used to upgrade your rig and craft new parts. I enjoyed this element, because it caused me some debate when I would head out on whether I should risk damage by fighting every enemy to get some scrap, or if I should try to surpass some of them and save my health. I enjoyed the combat, which allows you target specific parts of enemies to increase your chances of getting a certain part. The different weapons all have slightly different feels, with some being slow and powerful, while others are very quick and land weaker hits. I personally found that I did best with one of the more middle-of-the-road weapons that I spent my time and resources upgrading. Which, by the way, I really appreciated the upgrade system. Upgrading the weapons and armor that you craft is a great way to get an edge, but upgrading your rig improves your overall stats, and when you reach milestones in the upgrade process you can add additional abilities.

I also wanted to point out two specific features that I consider improvements over other games like this one. First of all, there is a pause screen in this game, which is a life-saver. As much I understand that other games really wanted to push the difficulty of the game by not having a pause screen available, it was something I always hated, because it meant that I couldn't grab a drink, use the restroom, or do anything else when playing the game. The added pause screen is a huge plus. The other solid addition come in the form of more paths back to a safe point. In other games, it could be a very long time before you found another way back to the point where you could save and store what had been collected. This game only has one safe point per map, but they offer a new way to get there and to skip ahead in the level far more frequently. With this one, I can be more understanding of people saying that it takes away from the difficulty, because it does mean that the player can heal up more frequently. However, the stress of the game is still there, and for someone like me this system puts the game just within the realm of not being too discouraging.

So I've ranted a bit about what works in this game, but where does it fall short? Well, some of the things I mentioned earlier do get annoying. While the game does add difficulty by making enemies harder to read, it does go too far sometimes with having little-to-no signs to let you know an attack is coming. Add on top that the dodging can be a little slow and uses the same energy as attacking does, and it can lead to some frustrating damage being received. The heavy weapons are also pretty useless. The smaller/faster weapons and the more balanced weapons are really the only viable options, because most of your enemies will not take their time in attacking you, so a slow swing is wildly inefficient. Even though other games have including a similar weapon range of fast and weak vs. slow and powerful, there were ways to effectively use each weapon against the enemies based on your play style. Also, while I am still playing through the game, it seems like more could have been done with having a mech suit. The scope of possibilities seems limited to just a few things, which I hope would be improved in a potential sequel.

Overall, I really enjoy this game. It's stressful, it has heard some choice words from me, but it is also satisfying. It certainly isn't everyone's thing, and it isn't a must-have game, but I found it enjoyable. If you feel like you want a bit of a challenge in your next game, I recommend adding this one to your queue of games to play.

While I have not yet finished the game, I currently give The Surge a 6 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Retro Game Review: The Godfather II

Hello Enthusiasts,

I'm a big fan of the first two Godfather movies, they're some of the best movies of all time in regards to story and character development. I am, of course, not alone in this thought, as these movies are loved by the majority of filmgoers. So with all of this excitement behind a decades-old series of movies, Paramount Pictures and EA Games decided to cash in and create some games. Now I reviewed the first game already, which you can find here, so today I'm going to take a look at the second entry into the series, The Godfather II. Does it follow the footsteps of the movie and live up to, perhaps even surpass, its predecessor? Let's take a look.

So this game doesn't follow the story of the movie as closely as the first game did. In this game, you play Dominic, a made man for the Corleone family who has just been given his own sub-family to run. From here you take over the businesses of the rival families while managing your own. There are some beats from the movie, like Michael Corleone going to court because of his ties to organized crime and the revolution in Cuba. There are also familiar characters here in the form of Fredo, Hyman Roth, Frank Pentangeli, and others, but the game is mostly a focus on your character. Your goal is to take over all of the available businesses in New York and Florida, as well as do some additional work in Cuba. As you take over businesses and eliminate other families, your own family begins to grow, and you have more resources at your disposal.

This game has a decent amount going for it. The controls all work well, and the gunplay is mostly solid. I enjoyed managing my family, as each member will has one or a few skills that they can use to infiltrate business and compounds, as well as during combat. However, not every member of your family could go around with you, so you end up having to decide who you want to travel with and who can help you defend what you already own. The game also gives bonuses for holding all of a type of business, such as extended ammo clips, kevlar vests, faster rebuild time if one of your businesses gets bombed, etc. The upgrade system for you and your family is basic, but I appreciate that they did put one in there. One of the biggest improvements I felt from the previous game was the driving, which was pretty weak in the last entry. This game's driving isn't perfect, but I could drift around corners at high speed more efficiently than in the last game.

Despite all of the positive, this game is far from perfect. The character models are certainly flawed, even with the main characters. If I saw Michael Corleone on the street in this game without any indication that it was him, I would think it's just another random citizen. The world also seems a lot less populated than the last game. I walked around New York for a solid five minutes and saw only six cars drive by me, whereas the last game had a much more dense population. Also, not only is it less populated, but the game feels smaller. Yes, there are three separate maps in this game, but each one feels as large as one of the five burrows from the last game. Plus, by making them separate like this, you have to get on a plane and wait through a loading screen. There are far fewer business to take over, and it feels like they tried to make up for that by having each one be vulnerable to being taken over again by other families. Ultimately, it just feels like less effort was put into this game than the last title.

So while I certainly wouldn't call this a bad game, there is certainly something left to be desired. It could have been a natural progression from the first game, improving on shortcomings and keeping up with the ever-advancing technology, but it instead feels like a cash-grab. Play it if you have the appropriate system and find it cheap somewhere, but otherwise you can likely find a better game of this type.

I give The Godfather II a 5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: Dragon Ball Fighterz

Hello Enthusiasts,

Confession time: I am not very good at fighting games. This has always been the case for me, despite any practice I put in. I really enjoyed the Injustice games, and I put a lot of hours into them, but I was still losing nearly every fight when I would go head-to-head with another player. Up until now, there has only been one exception to that with the Super Smash Brothers games, but that changed fairly recently with Dragon Ball Fighterz. Does that make it a good game? I'll review the title below, but don't worry about spoilers, I promise I won't spoil anything big about this game.

This game's setup is similar to the setup of the Marvel Vs. Capcom series in that you have three fighters to use, though you can only fight with one at a time. This means that you will strategically call back and put out fighters as they're needed. The fight controls are pretty basic: There's a light attack, medium attack, smash attack, and Ki attack. There's also the ability to fly at the enemy, which can help close distance, there's a rush attack that can break guards, and there are, of course, special attacks. You can call in your other fighters for a short assist without actually changing them out, but that does put them in harm's way for a moment.

So those are the basics, but what works in this game? To start, the basic combos are very simple to pull off, even for me, so it can be easy to look good while you play this game and really rack up some damage on the enemy. I also love that the longer a combo goes, the less damage each consecutive hit will cause, which means that getting caught in a good player's combo doesn't mean the end for that fighter (most of the time). On the most basic level though, the fighting is just fun. It's designed in a way that can really get the adrenaline going, and these matches can often come down to who can land the final hit on either side. The art is perfect for this game, some of the dialogue and cutscenes are fun, and each fighter really does have their own play styles (though some vary more than others).

Now it may sound like the perfect fighting game, but not every aspect of the game is a hit. First of all, the story mode is a mess. It's not very intriguing, it doesn't actually let you play as all of the characters that the game has, and it takes a while to get through. On top of all of that, you have to go through all three of the story arcs in order to unlock one of the new fighter, Android 21, unless you're willing to just pay for her. The other issue has to due with the character's included in the game. Now don't get me wrong, they did include a good number of characters, but some of their choices seem a little strange. Not including any DLC characters, there are two different versions of Gohan and Vegeta, and three different versions of Goku (if you include Goku Black). When you take into account the possible DLC that can be bought, both Goku and Vegeta have any additional version of themselves, plus you can buy Vegito, and the Dragon Ball GT version of Goku is being released soon. This wouldn't bother me so much, but they have all of these versions of characters while they leave out so many others. Even taking into account the DLC characters, we can't play as Raditz, Kefla, Auta Magetta, Master Roshi, Turles, Janemba, Lord Slug, Android 19, or countless others. I know a lot of those are minor characters, but it's still strange to have so many versions of Goku when you're leaving out other potential fighters. Now, more of these characters could become playable in the future with additional DLC, but it is an issue I have with the game right now.

It may seem like I had a lot more negative things to say than positives, but I do enjoy this game every time I play it. It has room for improvement, but I consider it to be one of the best fighting games out there, especially for a player like me. If you enjoy fighting games or the Dragon Ball franchise, this is a definite recommend from me.

I give Dragon Ball Fighterz an 8 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

TV Review: The Umbrella Academy

Hello Enthusiasts,

I usually stick to comic books, video games, and books for my reviews, but every once in a while I do like to venture into the world of television. This isn't as common for me because there are so many hours of content involved with a show, as well as the weekly format of TV, but streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have certainly made it a lot easier to do so. With that in mind, today I will be reviewing the Netflix television series The Umbrella Academy, which premiered earlier in 2019. Keep in mind that there will be some Spoilers Below. 

The show follows six adults that were born and raised under unusual circumstances. Their mothers gave birth to them at the exact same time, after exhibiting no signs of pregnancy at all. They were then adopted by an eccentric billionaire, Reginald Hargreeves. He suspects that these newborns will exhibit superpowers, and he is not disappointed, as six of the seven children that he adopts do grow into some powers. Reginald trains these children to be a team of young crime fighters called The Umbrella Academy, but all is not as awesome as it seems. Reginald is not exactly "Dad of the Year" material. He is cold and distant with the children, only interacting with them when it is relevant to their training or missions. He builds a robot mother to care for them rather than doing any of the work himself, and the training that he puts the children through ranges from uncomfortable to downright cruel. However, the show actually starts with the death of Reginald, and children (now adults) coming together for the first time in years to mourn his death. They don't all get along, but it turns out that they will need to band together from here to stop a terrible event, which I won't give away any further.

Quick plot summery highlights: There are six children left, there are super-powers, they're all a little messed up psychologically due to their upbringing, and they have to save the world.

So what works in this show? The actors all do a great job with their roles, some of which are a emotionally heavy parts. The effects were mostly on point, although some of them did miss the mark a little. The dialogue was very natural, despite some of the hyper-realized aspects of the show.  However, one of my favorite parts of the show has to do with the tone of the series. You would expect a show like this to mostly be a dark/serious series, and there is definitely a good bit of that, but there are some moments of genuine levity as well. Just one early example in the show has five of the Umbrella academy members in different rooms of the mansion after a large disagreement. One of them, Luthor, puts on a record that can be heard throughout the house, although he doesn't seem to realize it. Slowly, all five of the characters in the house start to dance to the music without realizing anyone else is. It shows all of them dancing (terribly) room by room, until the camera pans out to show the house in a doll-house like view so you can see everyone enjoying the music for a moment. It's a small scene that doesn't last long, but it was enough to bring a smile to my face in a show that deals with a lot of heavier moments.

Despite my praise though, the show is not perfect. Even though I did like the story, a lot of the twists can be seen from a mile away, including the big one at the end. The show does kinda breeze over a few things that could have been explained a bit more, though I did appreciate that it didn't feel like they were holding my hand the entire time. It could be that they were saving a bit of that content for the second season that they were recently renewed for, but I do have questions that need to be answered. There were also a few story beats that the show hit on very frequently. Easy example: one of the Umbrella members, Diego, has taken his crime-fighting habit into adulthood as a vigilante. His ex-girlfriend is a detective with the police, they speak multiple times about how Diego wants her to do things his way and she wants him to do things her way. There are a couple things like that, things that just get old after a bit.

With all of that being said, how's the show overall? It's very good, a recommend from me for sure. Yeah, it has issues and content that was obviously being saved for season two that could have really been in this first one, but it's still an enjoyable watch. If you need a comic-book based show that isn't one of the Marvel or DC based ones, this is a solid choice. I am looking forward to getting a second season of this, it's another bit of content from Netflix that they seem to have gotten right.

I give The Umbrella Academy an 8 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Ranking the Nintendo Consoles

Hello Enthusiasts,

I love Nintendo. They're a great developer that have built a decent track record over the years. There have been highs and lows, but the one thing that they always seems to do is innovate. Whether their new product is amazing or lackluster, they generally seem to be very different from what had been tried last. So today, I would like to rank the main Nintendo consoles. I am going to do my best to avoid factoring my nostalgia for certain consoles here, but I can't say that won't trickle in at all. I'm also only going over the main consoles, so you won't see any of the gameboys or any of Nintendo's strange side projects. My criteria for these rankings will be as follows: how well they did commercially, how good was the game library, and how innovative the technology was for the console.

7. WiiU

So this one is kind of obvious based on sales alone, as it remains the worst selling Nintendo console to date. While they did try to innovate with the second screen on the controller, it was a bit too bulky and it wasn't very fluid to keep looking from the TV to your handheld while playing. The WiiU didn't have too many games due to very few third party developers being involved, but some of the games it had were outstanding. Here are just some of the highlights: Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros WiiU, Bayonetta 2, Super Mario Maker, Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, Super Mario Bros U, and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker. It was a console that didn't live up to its potential, and it remains one of Nintendo's biggest misses, but at least there were some great games to play.

6. Gamecube

So this system wasn't very innovative when compared with the others (Nintendo was playing catch up with Sony in regards to using disks for their games), but it may have been the most durable system on the market. I had a terrible set up for my Gamecube where it sat about four feet off the ground and we played on wired controllers, so that thing took some falls, but it did not break. It sold moderately well, and there were so many good games on this system. Here are just some of the highlights: Luigi's Mansion, Super Smash Brothers: Melee, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Pikmin, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Metroid Prime, Super Mario Sunshine, and Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. While the Gamecube itself may not have been a huge success for Nintendo, it did have one of the best and most versatile libraries of any of their consoles

5. SNES

The Super Nintendo was the follow-up to the wildly successful NES, and while a lot of people are wildly nostalgic for this system, it doesn't get higher on this list based on my criteria. While the graphics were a huge step up, jumping from 8 bits to 16, the console itself didn't innovate too much from the NES. Also, the Sega Genesis was doing similar work, so Nintendo didn't do anything graphically that the Sega couldn't do. The SNES did sell very well though, and the library for this system was well stocked with timeless classics. Here are just some of the highlights: Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Wario's Woods, Super Mario Kart, Starfox, Super Bomberman, Earthbound, and Yoshi's Island. There was a lot of the word "Super" going around in case you missed it. For a lot of people that I've spoken with, this was their first system, and remains one of their favorites.

4. N64

So if you want to talk about trying to innovate video game hardware, look at the controller for the Nintendo 64. It did have a weird shape, but it also had the first analog stick to be used in a home console. The console itself revolutionized gaming with it's 3D graphics, and the system was a major financial success for Nintendo. While some of the games have not aged well since this was the very beginning of 3D gaming, the system still had some amazing games. Here are just some of the highlights: Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Goldeneye 007, Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Pokemon Snap, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, Pokemon Stadium, and Doom 64. This is another system that is remembered more than fondly, with many people attributing their current love of video games to the time they spent with their N64.

3. NES

The Nintendo Entertainment System had to be high on this list, it checks off all of the boxes I have in quite a fashion. It sold very well, to the point of it being the staple of gaming at the time. Sure, there were other consoles, but none of them had that Nintendo Power! It was innovative in a number of ways, especially with the controller being so simple and intuitive. In a time where the competition was the Sega Master System and the Atari 7800, nobody could touch the NES. It's game library has also created long lasting characters and memorable experiences. Here are just some of the highlights: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Contra, Mega Man 2, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, Excite Bike, Kirby's Adventure, Ghosts and Goblins, and Tetris. It is the definition of a classic video game console, and one that I still have hooked up to my TV.

2. Wii

The Nintendo Wii is still the best selling Nintendo console of all time, and that comes in no small part from it being insanely innovative. It was the first console to effectively use motion controls (debatably the only console to effectively use motion controls), and Nintendo did not waste any time capitalizing on this. The system released with a simple motion-controlled game called Wii Sports, which ended up being a massive hit with the fans. Nintendo also introduced the Mii, and cartoon avatar that a player could create that could play in some games, including Wii Sports. The controller was well thought out, with an additional attachment for games that needed an analog stick and additional buttons. Plus, this system didn't skip out on an outstanding library of games. Here are just some of the highlights: Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, Rhythm Heaven Fever, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Wii Fit, Super Mario Bros Wii, Metroid: Other M, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The Wii was the perfect system to get released when it did, and Nintendo obviously put a lot of time and effort into this console. There's only one console that I would put above this one...

1. Switch

The Nintendo Switch is Nintendo's current console, and it is a massive success. It is the fastest selling console Nintendo has ever released, and it was the best selling console on the market in both 2017 and 2018. It is wildly innovative, allowing the console to be played on a TV or on the go, with detachable "Joycon" controllers available in either mode. The system can be played without separating the Joycons so it's more like a single piece, or players can buy more standard controllers. While many of the games on the Switch are ports from other systems, the first party library is nothing to mock. Here are just some of the highlights: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Pokemon: Let's Go, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Mario Tennis Aces, Kirby: Star Allies, Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and Super Mario Party. Plus, with this being the current console, there are plenty of other games that are queued up for release, such as Yoshi's Crafted World, a new Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Maker 2, and a new generation of Pokemon games (Sword and Shield). Nintendo has also opened up some of their classic NES library for those who pay for the online service, and they continue to add games to that library every month. The Nintendo Switch may be the newest console and one that I don't have any nostalgic ties to, but I consider the Switch to be the most exciting project Nintendo has ever taken on.


So that's my ranking of the major Nintendo consoles. What did you think? Would you change some things around? Let me know by leaving a comment or messaging me on my twitter @BoredEnthusiast.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast