Game Review: Transcripted (Switch)

Transcripted is a fun shooter/match three combination game with a microbiology premise. Players assume the role of an overworked lab tech tasked with piloting a nanoprobe to destroy pathogens. These pesky microscopic enemies evolve to counter your weapon, and so you too must learn and grow!

The gameplay is straightforward and the controls are relatively easy to master. The nanoprobe can move all over the screen, and starts out with basic pew-pew guns and a shield. The guns are to destroy murderous pathogens that interfere with your main work: matching three color cubes within the ever-moving DNA strand, to disrupt the growth of the unknown virus. The match three portion consists of the probe destroying pathogens, which usually releases a cube, which players then haul in and shoot out at the chain. Thankfully, the probe becomes invisible to its enemies when carrying a cube.

At higher levels, specific individual cubes are highlighted as being priority for elimination, earning more research points that go toward buying new skills for the probe, like more speed, or a death laser. Transcripted lets players replay levels to improve their previous scores and earn more points. These upgrades are vital, because the probe is S-L-O-W. It lumbers around like my toddler at five in the morning, a tiny, terrible, hilariously nonthreatening force of nature. Once you get some juice in there, though, we are in business!

Below is a sample of the action:

The nanoprobe (left arrow) should shoot one blue cube at the highlighted spot (right arrow) to remove three blues from the chain and score more sweet research points.

As the image shows, the visuals in Transcripted are clean despite all the action. The backgrounds are typically very muted and allow the moving bits to shine. The music is similarly terrific, soothing and energizing at the same time. And the levels really build up the challenge factor, demanding quick reflexes and some light tactics.

However, the banter between Adam the tech and the lab AI is annoying, and the bad guy's identity is obvious from the start. I respect the storytelling, but every character is just grumpy and snarky. Maybe too realistic? I'm flashing back to my cubicle and our outdated lab, the horror, the horror...

Minor bellyaching aside, this game is so engaging that I would recommend it without hesitation. Pew! Pew! Lasers! Science!

TL;DR: Super fun! Highly recommended!

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This post brought to you by Fragrant Husband's delicious leftover lamb!

Game Review: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is absolutely bonkers, in a good way. This particular treasure hunting/murder spree adventure stars Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross, two popular characters from Nate Drake’s previous runs. It continues the successful Uncharted formula of dazzlingly gorgeous visuals, light banter, running, jumping, shooting, and puzzle-solving. My only beef is that it’s over too quickly, but hey, what a fun ride!

The game is set in India, where Chloe and Nadine are hunting for the legendary Tusk of Ganesh, said to be hidden in the capital of the Hoysala empire (10th-14th AD). As the duo head to their destination, the views are so beautiful that one almost forgets how absurd it is that premodern peoples went through all the trouble of building massive hidden cities with gigantic, elaborate puzzles to protect their artifacts.

Perfectly reasonable-sized gates to a city! Image from Gaming Central.

The story is impressively efficient, offering both an entertaining yarn and parallels to the character’s inner conflicts. Chloe’s daddy issues are at the forefront early on, as she pursues the same treasure that consumed so much of her archaeologist father’s time. Meanwhile, Nadine has issues in the same vein. Shoreline, the mercenary army she led in the previous Uncharted game, was inherited from her father—and her loss of command is a primary motivator for her teaming up with Chloe. At the same time, the game’s antagonist Asav twists the theme of legacy by using his bloodline—which he claims can be traced back to the kings of Hoysala—as justification for his bloody insurgency. Finally, the Tusk of Ganesh that everyone is after is based on the story of the elephant god losing his tusk while defending his father Shiva’s temple. So just…dads.

The gameplay is spectacular, with appropriate times devoted to the separate activities of exploring/jumping/climbing, taking out bad guys, and solving puzzles. Along the way, Chloe in particular absorbs an almost comical amount of damage, none of which slow her down. All the major gameplay elements will be familiar to Uncharted veterans: obvious ledges and handholds, freely available guns and ammo, and impossibly intricate setups that need to be resolved to continue forward. As fun as the puzzles were, driving the jeep, sneaking around for stealth attacks, and narrowly escaping certain death were equally enjoyable. Chloe can pick locks, too!

I also appreciated the minimalist approach to side quests, as in there is only one: collecting tokens scattered around the region to uncover an item that alerts players to nearby treasures. I was pumped about this new feature at first, because I’m a completionist, but it became very distracting after a while. Fortunately, my little spawn cuddled with me through some of my playtime, and I enlisted his help to find “the shinies.” (Real talk: he was not very helpful, but it did divert him from demanding that I find more cranks to operate.)

Also real talk: Fragrant Husband was appalled by my sheer incompetence when it came to gunfights. At the end, the game reported that I had 28% accuracy. Hubby had guessed much lower. :P

Moving on—the dialogue is frequently hilarious. Chloe dishes snappy banter, and has a lighthearted line for even the most stressful situation. In one instance, while being strafed by a helicopter and frantically looking for an RPG, she pops open a weapons container with a hopeful, "Do you go boom?" (Nope.) Nadine straight up reads everyone, friend and foe alike. Chloe gets the worst of it. At one point, Nadine asks her if she and Nate took turns, or just talked over each other. (Good question! Probably the latter.) She also drags Chloe for "wearing red in a jungle combat situation." The later addition of another Uncharted character keeps the humor going even as the tension mounts and the stakes get even higher.

Overall, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is a compact, delightful game with an engaging lead. In one of the later chapters, Chloe exclaims, “That’s crazy! I’ll do it!” and it perfectly sums up the entire ethos of the game. Everything about it is ridiculous in the best way: the vistas, the structures, the tête-à-tête, the mayhem, the grievous bodily injuries, the invincible jeep...Like I said, bonkers. In a good way. I will be there with bells on if Chloe ever sets out on another adventure.

BONUS! Here's a great article from IGN about why it's so nice that Chloe and Nadine partnered up.

TL;DR: A breezy action-adventure for those with 8-10 hours to spare! 

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This post brought to you by 2018’s first impending snow storm!

Game Review: Eiyuu densetsu: sen no kiseki II / Trails of Cold Steel 2 (PS Vita)

Sen no kiseki II (Trails of Cold Steel 2) is a sequel that boasts many improvements over the original, notably the music, graphics, and combat. It picks up shortly after the cliffhanger ending of Sen no kiseki (review here), and resolves a number of mysteries from the first game. Overall, it's a terrific game with a couple of glaring flaws.

In the sequel, the chancellor's shooting ignites a civil war within the Erebonian Empire. As the Noble Faction pits its provincial armies against the imperial forces still loyal to the chancellor, protagonist Rean Schwarzer must reunite with Class VII, his comrades from Thors Military Academy. Together, they contribute to efforts to end the fighting and assist innocent civilians. Meanwhile, hidden forces plot an outcome that bodes ill for everyone, regardless of allegiance...

Sen no kiseki II is the seventh entry into the Eiyuu densetsu: kiseki (Legend of Heroes: Trails) series, which takes place on the continent of Zemuria. Characters from previous games/other countries make an appearance, such as Prince Oliviert from Sora no kiseki (Trails in the Sky, my review here), and [SPOILER] from [EXTREME SPOILER, my review here]. These cameos, as well as mentions of other states and international events, expand the scope of the game and remind players that everything is connected, so buy the other Trails games now!

The gameplay in Sen no kiseki II retains most of the elements of the original, with a turn-based combat system, tons of sidequests and hidden quests, character bonding events, and NPCs with elaborate backstories. Towns, monster-infested roads, and secret dungeons abound. The main story progresses in two Acts, with an Intermission, Finale, Divertissement, and Epilogue to further pad playtime. This allows the sequel to expand the world introduced in the first game, with a larger roster of playable characters, lots of mecha combat, and more locations available and easily accessible via airship.

A digression: the airship mechanic annoyed me. It’s fine if you have stuff to do or people to talk to on board, but actual travel, presumably the vehicle’s primary function, is a three-step process. THREE STEPS! Ain’t no one got the time to (1) get on board, (2) talk to the captain, and (3) select a location. It’s such a contrast to the teleportation function in towns/cities (press square, instant travel!). Grumble, grumble, I am old and cranky.

Fortunately, the shining gem of Sen II’s gameplay – the combat system – is so wonderfully broken that I’m willing to overlook most anything. Apart from the devastating special crafts (S Crafts, basically Limit Breaks), there’s the Over-Rise mode (essentially the Burst feature from Ao no kiseki), which unlocks when combat-linked characters fill a special meter. In Over-Rise, characters get extra HP, EP and CP, and spells are instantaneous. Then there’s Rush, which, as the name implies, is when multiple characters rush in simultaneously to attack enemies. But the core of the battle system is the combat links, wherein paired characters get special abilities that improve as their link levels rise, e.g. Arts or CP boosts, quick healing, EP recovery, etc. With my favored paired characters decked out with speed enhancements and other attribute boosts, by the end of Act 2, I was practically untouchable and could wipe the floor with supposedly difficult hidden bosses (Lindbaum didn’t even scratch me!).

The soundtrack is similarly outstanding. Every single track is worth a listen, and I was surprised at how familiar and nostalgic the Divertissement track was—those who played Zero and Ao no kiseki will know what I’m talking about. The music is so good that I get all pumped for epic boss fights, and dutifully tear up during emotional scenes. I am a puppet, I dance!

Another strength of Sen no kiseki II is the characters, although not everyone shines in this category. Despite having 21 playable characters, the core of the game is still Class VII, a group of nine youths assembled to overcome the empire’s social stratification (plus two added later for less idealistic reasons).

Top row: Jusis, Machias, Laura, Emma, Gaius; Bottom row: Instructor Sara, Fie, Alisa, Rean, Eliot, Millium, Crow

Rean is his usual lost-yet-determined self, quick to jump in with an inspirational and corny speech to change hearts and minds. Jusis makes a choice that makes him a true noble. Emma becomes less distant. Laura and Fie remain badasses, and Eliot is still adorable. The most unexpected improvement was Alisa, who shows that she’s observant, empathetic, and understands the burdens carried by her classmates. By contrast, in the first game, she was mostly defined by her terrible relationship with her mother (who is still not Mother of the Year, by the way). Only Machias and Gaius, whose backgrounds were covered in the original, stay flat and frankly, pointless. Be OP (overpowered) or get out!

Now let’s talk about the plot, which is both a strength and a weakness. There are two things going on here: the Erebonian civil war, and the machinations of Ouroboros, the hidden society whose members side with the Noble Faction to further their own ends. The Erebonian civil war is straightforward: nobles who want to preserve the social order are vying against the reform-minded meritocratic national army (and Class VII, which is a mix of the social classes).

Meanwhile, Ouroboros has been a mainstay of every single Trails entry, meaning they (and the developers) are playing a long game. The society has an ultimate goal called The Orpheus Final Plan, and their various projects leading up to it serve as the main obstacles to Trails heroes, e.g. the Phantom Flame Project from Sora no kiseki. In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a musician who tried to bring his wife back from the dead, so I’m guessing Ouroboros wants to revive the goddess Aidios, the oft-mentioned and sole deity in all Trails games. In Sen no kiseki II, Ouroboros’ project is the grandly-titled Phantasmal Blaze Plan, and it’s connected to events in Crossbell from the Zero and Ao no kiseki games. It's a hot mess, and thus weakens the plot: all the confusion takes focus away from the characters' growth.

Speaking of hot mess, what was up with that fake ending??? Here’s what happened, dear reader: I went into what looked like the final dungeon, defeated four sets of sub-bosses, whomped all three forms of the presumably final boss, and got rewarded by a predictable plot twist. And then came another plot twist, and the screen cut to black, a J-pop song blared, and credits rolled. I was like, “Nailed it in under 80 hours! Will wonders never cease!” AND THEN THE GAME KEPT GOING FOR ANOTHER BILLION YEARS.

I exaggerate, but there were two whole other sections that followed that “ending,” which NO. Just No. The only good news is that it leads into a wonderful callback to Ao no kiseki, where a certain scantily-clad lady shows off what a dancer’s legs look like (Muscular! Amazing!).

Speaking of scantily-clad, what happened to the rest of Fie’s civilian clothes? What, Nihon Falcom couldn’t just make her breasts bigger for the sequel, like they did with all the other ladies?

Fie: Still 15, now with 40% less clothing!

In conclusion, Sen no kiseki II is a strong sequel that requires a lot of time and commitment that perhaps could be lavished on other things, such as one's offspring, for instance. While I’m happy with the experience and shipped Rean and Laura as hard as I could, I will likely not be playing Sen no kiseki III  anytime soon because (a) it's on PS4, not Vita, (b) meaning I would have to create a new PSN account so I can play the game since there’s no localized version yet, and (c) I’d rather play the latest Ys, which has a far superior combat system and manages to create a sense of epic scale despite deliberately limited geography and a much shorter playing time.

TL;DR: Recommended for hardcore fans of the Trails series or lovers of excellent JRPGs.

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This post brought to you by water!

Game Review: Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4)

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a solid sequel to 2013's Tomb Raider reboot. This time, Lara Croft is pursuing her father's research, which had led to his downfall and death. Most of the action takes place in Russia, with a brief interlude in Syria. Mechanics from the first game have been improved, locations are diverse, and Lara now starts out as a badass. Overall, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a terrific action/adventure platformer that has me looking forward to the next installment.

Ways Rise of the Tomb Raider Rocks
The game has plenty of strengths: a compelling lead, lots of exploration, fun puzzles, gorgeous visuals, and a thrilling soundtrack. As always, Lara is a star: she's a force of nature, laser focused on her goal; and neither words nor bullets will deter her. It's a joy to have her perform improbable physical feats as she seeks the Divine Source that her father obsessed over. Lara scales sheer walls of ice, mows through mercenaries with only a bow and arrows, and survives falls that would kill anyone else. She also helpfully tells players what the next move should be when faced with a puzzle, e.g. "Looks like that lever will control the flow of water." The Survival Instinct mechanic, similar to Eagle Vision in the Assassin's Creed series, is key to spotting clues, relics, documents, climbable surfaces, and other environmental features that will help Lara move forward.

In terms of visuals, while Uncharted 4 retains its "Prettiest Game" tiara (my review here), Rise of the Tomb Raider offers stunning vistas and excellent animations, particularly the wildlife. Facial expressions during cut scenes are also outstanding. Night and day look fantastic, and Lara's glow stick does a great job illuminating dark places.

The music is also great, with tracks for every occasion: a grand yet somewhat melancholy main theme, a "ta-daa" effect when Lara solves a puzzle, driving percussion for enemy encounters, etc. The voice work is impeccable. In fact, Lara sounded so different from the first game that I thought they changed the voice actress, but no, it was still Camilla Luddington, pitching her voice lower and adding rawness to Lara's lines, appropriate for the traumatic events Lara underwent in her last outing. The villains Konstantin and Ana are menacing, Jonah is as huggable as ever, and Jacob's and Sofia's voice actors are stone foxes, I tell you. Also their voices are good.

Meanwhile, the AI does a bang-up job of making the game challenging. When alerted, bad guys coordinate their attacks, with gunners laying covering fire as brawlers try to flank Lara. Mercs armed with flame guns will never turn their back on you, necessitating frantic rolling maneuvers to get behind them and blast their fuel tanks. As for animals, non-predatory ones are vigilant and snap to attention as Lara approaches, fleeing before she gets too close. Predators are quick to charge, and some even sneak up on you. The AI adds a level of realism that compensates for Lara's near-magical jumping abilities, I think.

Exploration is where the game really shines. Observant players are rewarded with faded brown explorer satchels leading to hidden survival caches, hilariously conveniently placed treasure boxes, and all sorts of items for crafting: wood, nests, ores, oil, etc. There's a happy marriage of fantasy RPG elements and platforming, where discovering artifacts or documents scattered throughout the settings leads to experience, which become skill points, which in turn can net new abilities for Lara (e.g. faster healing). Deciphering ancient documents or Soviet-era murals improves Lara's language skills, which help with finding hidden coin caches to buy extra swag like gun silencers. At base camps, Lara can craft ammunition, upgrade weapons, learn new skills, or fast travel to a previous camp. This latter option is perfect for when you get new gear that lets Lara access new areas in past locations.

Crucially, game controls are perfect. There is never a danger of missing a platform (unlike in Final Fantasy XV's Pitioss Dungeon); Lara is programmed to land on or reach for the next climbing surface. Firing weapons is intuitive (aim with L2, fire with R2), though I did have some issues with the special ammunition at first (aim with L2, fire with R1). So confusing! But this is probably because I am an old lady. Get off my lawn.

However...
Alas, Rise of the Tomb Raider suffers from skimpy writing and character development. Unlike in the last game, when Lara struggles with her transformation into an effective killer, there's barely any growth this time around. I spent most of the game unimpressed with Lara's fixation on the Divine Source. While "My dad died for this!" is an acceptable and well-worn motivation, it rang hollow without more background on Lord Croft's efforts. If you haven't started a new game yet, I recommend doing the "Blood Ties" mission first, accessible via the Croft Manor option in the main menu. This introduces players to the exploration and puzzle-solving that are the crux of the game, and also presents a lot of context for Lara's motivations.

Since I only played "Blood Ties" after I finished the main game, Lara's quest seemed pretty selfish at first, especially since there were friendly people around asking her to give it up. The only time I felt a sense of urgency was when Jonah got kidnapped. Then I was totally on board the Lara Exploration Train, which had screeched to a halt and then jumped on the tracks marked "Rescue My Pal."

In Conclusion
Other than that, the game is bomb. I love the NPCs and the new allies system, where Lara could agree to ally requests geared toward the overarching goal of defending their homes. I especially appreciated Sofia, who is initially hostile but eventually becomes a staunch supporter. The main villains are shown to have strong desires and inner conflicts, just like the hero.

My attachment to the NPCs made me realize a major difference between the Tomb Raider series and Assassin's Creed: Lara Croft (and her progeny, Nathan Drake of Uncharted) is frequently alone in her adventures, whereas the various Assassins move through crowds of people and interact frequently with NPCs. This is why the new allies mechanic was so nice; it made the game feel less lonely and balanced out Lara's very personal quest, making her part of a bigger picture.

In the end, of course, Lara gets her hands on the Divine Source but destroys it, and players are rewarded with a wonderfully fierce ending theme, "I Shall Rise" by Karen O. At the very end is an easter egg: a scene showing Lara being targeted by powerful foes, capable of ending her at any time they choose. Oooooo~!

TL;DR: A fantastic sequel! Highly recommended!

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This post brought to you by Sarah Waters' Fingersmith!