Game Review:Battle Girl High School

What is 'Battle Girl High School'(BGHS)?:

BGHS is a 3D smartphone game by Colopl that tells what it is right off the title: An action RPG where you take charge of various high school girls as their teacher while they fight aliens and stuff.
If you want to play the game, you'd need to either:
1.Gain the APK file off a download site and manually install(Android users)
or
2.Somehow access the Japanese I-tunes store(iOS users)

The Gameplay:

With a team consisting of 3 girls, the game's combat is executed with one-hand: Dragging for movement, tap to attack and flick to dodge. The controls are simple to understand but still feel rewarding to master, considering that it combat happens in real-time and there's a combo system that gives the game a bit more depth than blindly tapping the attack button.Weapons also affect attack patterns. After playing for awhile, however, an odd realization would come: Leveling up characters through combat quickly ends up barely filling their experience bars.

Character progression actually happens more OUT of combat as you take care of the girls(Cause you know, you're the teacher). The means of which are to give them affection(though gifts and head pats. Yes. Head pats) and sending them to training/exercise. Due to the game having no stamina limit like other games, this system becomes the means of properly limiting playtime, since the training takes time(10 minutes for the quickest and 8 hours for the longest).

Rising affection unlocks perks for the characters. Each girl has their own array of 'class' cards that decide their stats and skills. As you increase affection, sub slots are unlocked to put in unused class cards which add a portion of their stats. This also means that when you get 'subpar' cards, they can at least still be used as stat supplements. Of course, increased affection also means you unlock more information of the girls, some class cards even having their own 'story'(Which is good if you understand the language).

Monetization comes in the form of using gems to summon class-cards or weapons. Besides purchasing, gems are rewards for clearing stages for the first time as well as completing certain requirements given by the stage.

Why would you be interested in it:
-Simple controls but combat itself still feels it has depth as you try to maintain combos while dodging enemy attacks
-Stages reward masterful play. Passing a stage normally gives 3 gems, but completing stage requirements gives another 3.
-Graphically pleasing
-Class-card system and sub-slots give flexibility.
-Due to above mentioned system, cards obtained via summoning will have some kind of use, be it as stat supplements or extra costumes. Duplicate cards are converted into items that allow remove the level cap for class-cards.
-Fairly generous with resources, making it terrifyingly friendly to newer players.
-Story content(For those who know Japanese)
-Head pat the cute girls.

A smile to protect.

Why would you NOT be interested in it:
-Using some weapons can be annoying cause they cycle through their patterns randomly.
-Play the game long enough and you'll end up crossing your fingers hoping not to get duplicate cards when you summon. It gets worse the more you play and summon.
-Character balancing can be a bit poor, be it in terms of stats or their special attacks.
-Missing out on a chunk of story if you don't know Japanese.
-Micromanaging. You are taking care of 18 girls in total by the end, so it might feel like a hassle to manage their growth. They also get upset if you neglect them and focus on select girls.

Oh no-

Final word:
If you don't mind the somewhat inconvenient means of getting it, the game is pretty well-made and friendly to get into.

Game Series Review:BlazBlue

*Dusts off the blog*
.....I should be here more often. Testing a new format of writing with this.

Anyway-

What is 'BlazBlue'?:

Blazblue sprite-based fighting game series created and published by Arc System Works in Japan, with English localization handled by Arcsys Games and Zen United in the North American and Europe regions respectively.

Beginning with 'Calamity Trigger'(Released in arcades in 2008 and 2009 on consoles), the game has spanned it's story across 4 games, ending with 'Central Fiction' in 2016.

The Gameplay:

As described by the image above every character has a basic set of four attacks: Weak, Medium, Strong and Drive. The first three are easy to grasp on how they work(Weak being fast but dealing least damage to Strong being slow but dealing most of the three). The Drive button is an attack or gimmick unique to each character, such as the character Ragna's Drive being able to drain health of opponents onto himself. Combining directional commands with attacks executes various other special attacks as well. If executed correctly, attacks can be chained, though naturally practice is required.

For the sake of those new to fight games, the developers did include a separate layout which makes executing attacks and chaining them easier, called the Stylish layout.

It basically allows instant execution of special moves and chains.

The game does not seem to take kindly to those who use it in the long term though.

A certain unique point of the series is that it has story focus, playing out like a Visual Novel with battles littered in between. The games also have various challenge modes to provide replayablility.

Although there has been changes to some mechanics between each entry, the basic combo system remains intact through the series.

Why you would get it:

Blazblue is one of the few fighting game series's that still utilizes character sprites instead of 3D models, feeling easier on the eyes. The game's combo system is one of the easier ones to pick up.

It has quite a selection of characters to choose from, so one is bound to happen on a character that appeals to them(Hopefully with the aesthetics and playstyles intersecting) . Fights are pretty fast-paced, with each entry adding new mechanics that can turn the tide of battle if used well.

Its story is a lot bigger than what most would see in fighting games, making one invested in the characters as they go through the struggles.

Like Japanese anime or fast-paced fighters? Then Blazblue would be highly recommended for you.

Why you would NOT get it:

Due to the nature of its system, the utmost focus in timing and muscle-memory is needed, cause the window for chaining some attacks can be very short. Like, 3-4 frames of animation short.

>This is a 'basic' Combo

Having a huge pool of characters can feel a bit overwhelming, seeing that there is 28 charac-

(Select screen from the latest game's arcade version)

THERE'S MORE!?

Balancing can be a bit of an issue here considering that there are 32 as of the current(Arcade) version of the latest game.

Likewise can be said of the story, the scale being a bit intimidating(We are talking a visual novel's worth of story here), but bits of plot are only better explained by their other media out of the main game(Prequel and side story novels). 

Takeshi's Challenge, Spec Ops and what Video Games give.

For those who don't know the first game in the title, its an old NES game created by Taito with the help of comedian-turned actor Takeshi Kitano, who actually actively took part in the game's development. Something like this was rare back in the day as even though there were games that bear the names of Japanese celebrities, most didn't take part in the game's development beyond lending the name. And such a decision was....Well, let's just say that here's a fun fact: He apparently HATED video games. And whist discussing ideas for the game, he was drunk.

The game's plot is about a salaryman who seeks treasure on an island. Possible events in the game include fighting(Or running away from) the yakuza, divorcing /your/ wife and dying from punching the guard on the password screen. There were also some tasks needed to be completed unconventionally such as leaving the controller untouched for an hour.

The game itself was very difficult to complete due to the very specific and unorthodox feats demanded. And in the end what was the reward given?

A black end game screen. It would also have the word 'Congratulations' written on it. 

Some might not see the big deal if one looks online at the kinds of things needed to be done to complete it and the effort, it would probably make one go mad with rage.

And just to add salt to the wound, if the player chooses to leave the screen alone for 5 minutes(Either out of choice or sheer bewilderment), another message appears and says:

It's a fan translation, but it's not fair from the actual message.

You work so hard and tank through all that just to get....An ending like this.

But then what if that's the point? What if that's what Kitano was trying to convey on his thoughts of video games? That they were nothing but time wasters in which the reward was nothing tangible or meaningful. Thinking about it, would he be wrong to say that?

Playing a game, you do the various tasks it requires you with the mechanics given. Sure, you'll gain skill in playing the game and be better at it, but what else? At most it would give you a virtual reward such as a congratulatory message for saving the 'world' or some such. Nothing much you can really carry or apply into the real world. 

Then again, the game itself is pretty dated, so could the rather bitter message by Kitano be as well?

For the most part, it still stands. But then there are some games of recent memory that seem to use the same method as Kitano did(I.E using the game to send a message) in order to make it something more.

Spec Ops: The Line was a third-person shooter where by the player takes control of a Captain by the name of Martin Walker. As much as it may seem like a run-of-the-mill military shooter, it later unveils itself as a journey into the unsightly side of military life as we follow Walker's decent into madness.

Sadly, I only have second-hand experience with the game. But from what I could infer, it managed to criticize modern military shooter games and how the glorification of what soldiers actually face is actually that isn't really right.

Such games provide a perspective and let us think. The game attempts to makes us contemplate on a subject matter. In my perception, such a game like this is a useful tool for a parent in the military who wants to educate their teenage or young adult sons on the actual risks and how it might not be as 'heroic' as it seems at times. How many games have managed that?

Another example would be Telltale's episodic The Walking Dead series. Taking place in a zombie apocalypse, the game puts the player in the shoes of whoever is the protagonist of the season as they meet up with and gather survivors. 

As much as the characters and settings are fictional, the moral dilemmas within makes a person invested and tests their moral compass. Discussions of decisions made in the game could possibly show a person's way of thinking and their rationalization for making that choice.  

As rare as it might be, I would love to see more games provide something for people to think and bring into the 'outside' world. As a medium of interactivity, video games are powerful since they pass decision making to the player and show them the results of their choice.

Game Review:Metal Slug Defense

For those who don't know, I'm currently enlisted in the army due to conscription. What better time to talk about a game with a military theme, eh?

Metal Slug is a series of primarily run and gun games that were pretty popular in arcades. The games focused on the exploits of the Peregrine Falcon Squad and their battle against forces that desire world domination, such as a rebel army and aliens(Specifically referred to as Martians or Mars People). The series has spin-off games as well and we're going to look at one of them since I've been spending some time on it.

Metal Slug Defense is a tower(?) defense game on smartphones that recycles the sprites of existing games. The main 'story' involves General Morden, the recurring antagonist of the series, planning a coup d'état (again), with the assistance of Martians and causing incidents about the world. The military sends its forces around the world to stop them.

Example of a stage being played

The game's levels are split into areas, with stages that can be played in any order. Though most tower defense games have the objective being to survive wave after wave of enemies, the objective of the stages in MSD's main game is to destroy the enemy's base. This is done by creating units of your own with AP points that's built up automatically. The maximum amount and rate of build up can be increased by spending some AP. The units created can execute special attacks or functions when the bar below them is filled and they are tapped.

Before battles, items can be used to provide support or boosts, such as a satellite that assists in attacking or increasing the rewards after the stage. There are also Prisoners of War that are hidden and appear randomly in the stages. Rescuing all the prisoners in an area provides a reward, granting a degree of replayability.

After each stage, players earn MSP, which can be used to upgrade the units or upgrade the 'base'(Player aspects), examples being  AP generation rate, Unit Production Rate and MSP gain.

Besides the main game, there is also a 'Mission' mode, whereby there will be presets provided and an objective given such as surviving or destroying the enemy base in a certain amount of time.

Medals are the premium currency of the game, which can be earned by clearing a 'World', finishing certain missions or purchased via real world currency. They are used to purchase items ,new units and to increase the upgrade limit for units.

At first glance one might suspect this to be a simple cash in on the Metal Slug brand, but the game provides more depth as it goes on. Units have their specialties in battle, some better at being in the front lines soaking damage while others back up with powerful fire support. This degree of depth is better displayed in the 'Mission' mode. As Missions go on, they will demand the player to utilize fully the abilities of the provided unit(s).

The user interface is responsive enough and the game provides a fast forward function for those who want the stage to go faster if they feel they can complete it or they already know how to and just want to speed up the process.

DAAAWWW(Death SFX of Marco, one of the characters. We're talking about the game's flaws now.)

The balancing of the game needs work as some units cost of purchase don't seem to match up that well with their in-game efficiency. For example: A unit that costs around 150 or so medals can out perform and be more efficient than one that costs 280 considering the 'cooldown time' and AP cost of the units.

Another issue of balance is the stages themselves. After selecting a stage, they would state the stage's difficulty, but it is very subjective.There would be some points where it feels that a player must have a certain criteria met in order to progress.

Because some character sprites are small and the stage map moves when you sweep, it can be very easy to accidentally move the map and disorient yourself, wasting vital seconds.

The game feels like it deserves a 6.5/10. If you were to remove the Metal Slug IP and replace it with something else, I would still say the game is worth a good amount of one's time. One's money, on the other hand, is a question that is subjective, since it does feel like the purchase of one or two units from the Medals earned freely can carry a player for a very long time.

Game Opinion(?):Phantasy Star Online 2

Due to life being a bit....Uncooperative, my blog posts will be slowed down even more and I won't have as much time to go through games as well.

That's why we're having a Game Opinion section for the list of games that I feel I've played enough of but haven't quite reached end-game yet(So these 'reviews' need to be taken with more pinches of salt than usual).

That being said, let's begin.

Phanstasy Star Online 2 is a Massively Multi-player Online Action Role-Playing Game played in a third-person camera view by SEGA. The players are known as ARKs, best described as inter-planetary explorers who explore the reaches of space and investigate incidents caused by D-arkers, beings of dark energy that corrupt.

Character creation lets the player choose from 4 races: Humans, Newmans(Bio-engineered humanoid elves ), Casts(Mechanical beings) and Dewmans(Humans with recessive Darker genes). The character creation is also rather extensive in the sense that besides the presets of faces and hair, customization includes armour colours and proportions of the face and body. There are a total of five starting classes to pick from:Hunter, Ranger, Force, Braver and Bouncer, though previously level-locked classes(Fighter,Gunner and Techer) are also available for use at the start now so it should be eight.

Combat in the game is simple and reactive. Basic 3-part attacks are executed with the assigned button(depending on what control the player is using i.e mouse and keyboard or game controller). Special attacks called Photon Arts or Technics are integrated differently depending on the weapon. Striking weapons(colour-coded orange) have their Arts attached in a 3-block interval alongside the attack command, meaning that they can be chained into while Ranged weapons(blue) are individual attacks. Technic weapons are basically the 'spells' that are also cast individually(Except when using Jet Boots). Arts and Technics are learned via Discs, which are items and spend no resources to be learned. Weapons also have secondary functions that are assigned to the Shift key, usually involving dodging or accessing more Photon arts. There are also Weapon Gears, of which are usually gauges that add an additional feature such as improved performance.

Classes in the game can be freely accessed and changed, removing the need to create a new character if the player wants to try a new class. Another feature is the Subclass, which allows the player to pick a secondary class which arguments the stats of their main class and allows access to their class skills.
Assuming a player also possesses a rare weapon that can be used by all classes, they can also access the Photon Arts of the subclass.


In the game, there are various missions on different planets that can be taken. During a mission, Emergency Orders can appear randomly , which are events and tasks that occur in that instance. Completing all of it for a certain planet unlocks the 'Free Exploration' for it. Beating the boss located in the final area of it would unlock a new planet. As a player gets deeper into the game, challenge modes such as Extreme Quest and Time Attack Quests(The former which I have no experience in and the latter being incomplete).

The game's Premium currency Arks Cash(AC) is used for improving a player's experience more than improving the player's character. It's mostly used for aesthetics and expansion of item storage, removing the danger of power-creeping in the game.

The game's battle system provides a good sense of depth and accomplishment, since it's very customizable. The game modes give content that manages to maintain interest as harder versions of the missions get unlocked as a player's Class level gets higher.
Because AC is used to merely enhance a player's experience, it doesn't feel like the game forces players to pay in order to catch up to paying players.

But the game does have a slight issue involving the weapons as the secondary function of some weapons are useless unless the Weapon Gear is learned. The harder version of the missions basically increase enemy health and damage as well as the density of enemies. On the difficulty of Very Hard and Super Hard, the values make the missions quite punishing.

Overall, PSO2 is a very well-made game and it's business model of using it's premium content to bolster game experience makes it feel more inviting than most.

Games Journalism, Gamergate and thoughts

So there's been a huge storm over in games journalism due a certain Zoe Quinn and her dishonest dealings with major individuals in the industry to gain undeserved press and prestige.

(For those not in the know)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5-51PfwI3M

But she's not the point.She should not be entirely.

What's happening now is. What gaming news sites are doing now is. How gamers are responding are and the analysis of how bad the current state of the industry is.

After the incident came to light, there was outrage at Zoe Quinn, up to the point she has been sent death threats. It also caused an explosion in the sense that the sites the individuals who were involved with her write for are now distrusted by the general gaming community,which  is only made worse by the fact that these sites have apparently been trying to quell discussions, removing posts relating to the incident and such. In the wake of this, a movement called GamerGate has arisen.

https://github.com/GamerGateOP/GamerGateOP/blob/master/FAQ.md

More and more evidence pile up and game journalism seems less and less reliable. It saddening to see.

Her incident was a symptom to the major disease that has taken over. A disease of corruption and silencing. And it's drawing more attention. Soon maybe the internet will be watching as this unfolds. And how gamers and games journalism will be seen lies on how this is going to end.

What do I feel about this?
There are good and bad sides to this. The good side being that such a thing is being uncovered and addressed for the sake of integrity and truth in games journalism. The bad side is how this is probably going to be terribly scarring.

After having been repeatedly silenced over the discussion of Zoe Quinn and some sites writing articles that seem to be retaliations against gamers, a form of drastic action has been called:
The boycotting of these sites. Gamers now actively avoid games journalism websites in order to starve them of revenue.

This action is most definitely going to be harmful to both parties. I feel gamers do at least need some place where they can get information on games that are coming out or news relating to the games industry. With this, they shut it out. The sites would obviously suffer losses as this drags on, and depending on how long this goes for, I fear a horrible collapse. Could this really happen? And would a new wave of journalism arise from the ashes of this disaster? I don't know.

I look at this and I feel a myriad of negative feelings:Anger, sadness, pity, fear. Upon first hearing this, I got honestly upset and disgusted. Watching on as it unfolded, it was disheartening to see the this war between gamers and the journalists. New comers to gaming and games journalism would be frightened by these and I worry that certain individuals who honestly treat games journalism with respect may be causalities. Being someone who dreams to work in the field, it's scary to see something like this and the industry being faced with something so seemingly grim and uncertain.

Yet part of me feels a bit of hope. A Hope that this might shape games journalism for the better.

One can only hope that this may end decently, but one thing is certain: There will be a massive change.

MMOs becoming easier/casual: It's like smithing.

After writing the review for Elsword, I look back at when I first began and the current state it is in.

Back when Elsword had 6 characters instead of the 9 it has today, and also a reduced amount in the job options they had(2 instead 3 paths). Leveling up and achieving those job advancements were also a pretty big deal and a significant milestone. But as of what it is now, achieving the advancement don't feel as monumental, though at this point quite a bit of content have been added and updated.

Thinking about this, I recalled another MMO I used to play: MapleStory. Those early days when earning the currency of the game (Mesos) was relatively difficult and equipment dropped very rarely from mobs. The days where getting to the 3rd job advancement was a mark of greatness as leveling up became ever harder. The legendary locations beyond Victora Island such as the floating island of faries Orbis and frosted grounds of El Nath, where veterans tread and could only reach with a rather big hole in their funds. Hitting the big 100th level was something well-worthy of grand respect as it probably took months.

But now?

Now one can stock pile quite a bit of Mesos and equipment drop from mobs, their value reduced by the fact that items created with the forging system have additional effects and better stats. Leveling up is pretty much a breeze, with quests giving buckets of experience points along with the mobs feeling much easier to deal with as to before. Getting to the 4th job advancement(Of which is at level 120) don't take as long. Orbis, El Nath and various other areas that used to be a big deal can now be accessed FREELY. All this knowledge what the game was as of late had me feel a bit of ire, considering all that effort I used to put in to leveling, grinding. I was disgusted.

After watching a certain episode which talked about gaming, however, I would realize there was somewhat a need for what feels like a reduction in difficulty.

For starters, I had been an avid fan of Maple for awhile, so when there was new content, it was within a reasonable reach for me. The same can be said for Elsword. But what about those who were new to the game, the fresh players? They'd need to go through the same grind I did before getting to the same content. As time passed on, there came new areas, the new job advancement, new characters etc etc. SO much content. Maybe starting to get TOO much. With all that grind to get to the new content that maybe their veteran friend are enjoying, how many new players would have the patience to remain interested?

So what to do? Best compress it then. Make it easier to level up. Reduce the amount of experience points needed. Make earning money easier. Make travelling easier. Make it faster to go through the old content and catch up to the newer ones. I mean, one of them managed to last more than 10 years.

I can't disagree that it makes sense and benefits players in general since the game becomes less of a grind, but as said before, the unfortunate sacrifice is the feeling of accomplishment the old content used to provide. That moment when you go: "FINALLY. I HAVE ACHIEVED THE GREATNESS" rather than "Ugh. Finally got to this point". Then again, back when those games were new, they had to worry about the inverse: Gamers going through their content TOO fast, which meant making leveling up on the higher tiers more difficult and better equipment hard to find etc. And at least most games provide harder 'end-game' content for those who want the sense of achievement that comes from a herculean task.

Maybe it's a natural progression for MMOs as they age. For the devs to take the existing content and reshaping it as a blacksmith would old tools, melting, adding more and making something 'new'.