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Drox Operative Review

December 23, 2012

Drox Operative
Developer: Soldak Entertainment
Publisher: Soldak Entertainment
Platform: PC (Reviewed), Mac
Release Date: November 29th, 2012
Price: $19.99 – Available Here

Overview
Space games are starting to get popular again, with plenty of indie developers vying for customers and plenty of Kickstarters vying for supporters to get their game into development and each one trying to offer a different experience to make themselves unique in the eyes of players. Soldak Entertainment decided to go a pretty unique route for their game Drox Operative in that, while being an RPG the player is not tasked with leveling to become the driving force of the galaxy or lead all the people. Instead, the sole goal is more tangential, ally the captain with the different races in the galaxy and help or hope that the captain is in the good graces with the last one standing or too scared of them to want to start anything or become the richest presence in the galaxy or . . . What makes Drox Operative unique is that there are plenty of ways to win and lose, so players can play exactly however they want to. But how well does that work?

Story
In terms of story in the Drox Operative universe the information supplied only really covers the backstory and premise. The Drox race being one of the most well known forces in the universe and even better known were their Drox Operatives, captains that could tackle and complete any impossible task that was laid before them. While a pretty good gig at the time, all good things must come to an end and after the Drox race started doubting the logic of allowing such an immense force to continue to exist they opted to try and kill all of them, which is of course the dumbest thing anyone can do when worried about how powerful someone is. Needless to say Operatives won and now willing to work for those that are able to afford them, which is where the player captain comes in.

With a story like that the game both establishes exactly how powerful their Operative can be and can accomplish, as well as explains why the goal isn’t progressing the Drox race to being the top in the galaxy. Leaving the rest of the story up to their players to fill in however they should choose. The game is designed to let players play however they choose and likewise can roleplay that to the full extent as a captain sick of the war they were forced to do against the Drox and hoping to find a peace between all the races, or a captain looking to bash everyone into being left alone so no other race attempts to wipe them out like the Drox did before, or a captain looking to have the most peaceful race left standing and simply taking out all the others. The variety of play and stories players can try their hand at is spectacular, so that anyone looking for a game that can be played in a vast multitude of ways can find it here.

Gameplay
With a story that can be taken in any direction by the whims of the players, it is great to see that the ease of play is likewise made excessible to a vast majority of people. Starting out players get to choose their starting ship from those of the different races available in the game and with 10 races to choose from it is easy to get started one whatever path of playtype the player wants. Being able to start with more tactical power, engineering, or any of the other skills is as easy as comparing each of the races and finding the right balance. After picking a ship comes the most important decisions in the game, how to build the universe for that play which allows for plenty of options from the number of races the captain will be dealing with, to the number of systems in the universe, to what levels the enemies will be starting at. What’s more the universe is generated randomly after selecting these options, so that different plays with the same options will provide very different experiences such as a universe with 3 more peaceful races on one go and the next having 3 warmongering races. It is this variety that gives Drox Operative it’s biggest advantage, as players looking to get a lot of play out of their games can definitely find it here.

After the captain is finally free to explore the universe they now must inhabit, players can find the controls fairly easy to navigate using the mouse and keyboard. Flying the ship with the left button and actions with the right, players can get into the groove of how to control in space and start exploring to see what the universe is like for them and the races they will be interacting with. From this point the game gets far more in-depth from quests to aid the different races, to espionage and rumors to impact how the races interact with each other. Needing to spark a conflict to narrow down two hostile races, spread some rumors with both about how the other hates them or sabotage one of their planets to give one side an edge. Want them to become better allies, spread rumors that they think each other are pretty swell. The ability to somewhat control how races feel about each other add a whole level to strategy to the game and provides more ways to try and achieve what players are shooting for. Even better is that the game recognizes plenty of different ways to win the game, so that players aren’t simply shoehorned into playing one way to “officially” win.

Though just how the quests are designed can take a little getting used to as the obvious choice of dragging specific items to a planet to complete a quest isn’t actually how it actually works. This will instead jettison the object into space failing the mission, as opposed to the preferred method for the game of having to trade the items to the planet, which is nice after getting used to it, as there is then the option of just giving the planet the item or charging them for it. While not a terribly big issue after getting the hang of it, it might have been nice if the game warned that this would jettison the cargo or give the player 10 seconds to pick it back up before just failing the mission. Other than this issue which is easily learned from the controls and methods work great and the replayability of the game itself gives players plenty to do for hours and hours and hours.

Visuals and Audio
While not the absolute best graphics that could be utilized for a game the effort put into the variety of race and monster ships is apparent on even the first playthrough. Every type of ship fits the personality of the race it represents and the monsters in the game are not only vastly different from each other, but each has variation among its own kind that provides a varied experience when travelling around a system. It might have been nice to see a bit more variety among the different speakers of the races, but one for each does a fine job as the time spent seeing these is fairly limited in gameplay. There isn’t much else that could be asked for in terms of visuals for an RPG with the depth that this has, as too much effort might have caused the gameplay itself to suffer, which would have severely hindered the games quality.

Audio is a bit limited in terms of gameplay, while the music that is present is great for the atmosphere of a space game the rest of it is a bit lacking. Aside from the music in the background and the sounds of combat, the audio is limited to the clicks of menus and navigating screens, which unfortunately also stops the music when entering these. While the music itself is awesome the fact that it is almost the only consist sound throughout play is a big distraction when it cuts out the second a menu comes up to check inventory or quests really quick.

Overall
Drox Operative is the type of game fans of space RPGs can lose themselves in for hours trying different tactics or methods for winning to see what they have to offer. The random generation of galaxies adds even more variety to the game to keep it not only fresh, but supply different challenges even giving harder options after players have gotten used to the game. While the visuals do a great job showing off what it has to offer without needing to be excessively detailed, the audio being limited to simply sound effects and music that cuts out the second any menu is opened kind of hurts the flow from gameplay to the menus. But, with audio being the only weak link, I give Drox Operative

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope Review

Zac Elawar

December 22, 2012

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
Studio: Thomas Tull Productions/Warrior Poets
Publisher: Madman
Formats: DVD
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $29.95 (Available Here)

Overview

Morgan Spurlock has become the biggest household name in documentary film-making since Michael Moore, and he just doesn’t stop. In Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, Morgan Spurlock has set out to create a love letter to the pop culture event whilst following the journey and stories of 6 sets of people as they all converge at the San Diego Comic-Con for a multitude of reasons. Some for love, others for business, but most to fulfill a dream. Can we self-professed nerds be proud of this documentary? Read on to find out!

Story

The documentary starts at the beginning. You’re all thinking “duh!”, but I’m talking about the beginning of Comic-Con itself. It’s San Diego in 1970, and comic-book letterer and artist Shel Dorf had organised and held the first ever Comic-Con in the U.S. Grant Hotel. A sound-bite plays of a news program, back in the day, that was playing a recent interview with Shel where he promoted the event as old black and white photos from the inaugural event display in a slideshow for the viewer. Fast forward to 2010 and we begin to get acquainted with the subjects of the documentary. They are presented with a moniker in the film, which is displayed on a freeze frame in a comic-art style filter and panels. First up is “The Geek” (couldn’t that apply to all of them?)…

‘The Geek’ is Skip Harvey, a young man who works at a sci-fi/video game themed bar and dreams of one day becoming a comic-book artist. His ‘nerdisms’ were passed down to him by his parents. In his words, they are “uber-geeks”. They met at the planning committee for the first Star Trek convention in Kansas City in 1976, and even designed his Birth announcement in a Star Trek theme. But there’s another who shares the same dream as Skip, and that would be “The Soldier”, Eric Henson. That’s right, a military man who wants to become a comic-book artist! Now I’ve seen everything!

Next up is Holly Conrad, “The Designer”. Living in San Berardino, California, “where people stop to go to the bathroom before they go skiing”, Holly and a bunch of her good and equally passionate friends make costumes. For the 2010 Comic-Con Masquerade, the team have been readying some Mass Effect costumes. The pièce de résistance is an animatronic Grunt, whose jaw opens as the puppeteer opens his. It has lights in it’s armor, and it’s brow also has the capability to furrow and relax. You may have actually heard about Holly, because not too long ago, she was hired to be the wardrobe consultant on the upcoming Mass Effect feature film. She also worked on the E3 2011 Mass Effect 3 live action trailer, making the Husk costume. Okay, I ruined the conclusion of her story, but you’ll still want to see her process and the costumes in detail. Very impressive.

Then we have “The Survivor”, Chuck Rozanski, owner of “America’s Largest Comic Dealer” Mile High Comics. Chuck makes the claim as, at the time, Mile High had over 8 million comics in their warehouse and serviced more customers than anyone else. He’d been going to Comic-Con for 38 straight years, and at the 2010 con, was hoping not to have to sell his immaculate and super-rare Red Raven #1 to make a profit. Now, here’s where an issue with the film’s plot rears it’s head. The next subject is introduced 20 minutes later in the course of the film. After having all of these prior introductions made almost back-to-back, this large gap is indicative of the imbalance and lack of equal attention that should have been given to each story. The documentary is just not timed out and plotted out too well, which is it’s worst flaw.

That subject in question is Anthony, “The Collector”. Now, Anthony has the thinnest story to tell; his agenda for visiting the convention is to collect a limited release Galactus figure…and he does so almost immediately. His tale (if you can call it that) was an afterthought. He didn’t even get an update at the end of the documentary. Tying in with my previous criticisms, maybe to save the pace and plot of the film, his scenes should have been all together relegated to the extras. Practically his whole story was told within 8 minutes, after which we get an interview snippet with Seth Green, where he talks about meeting his wife at Comic-Con. This led directly into our final subjects: “The Lovers”, James Darling and Se Young Kang. They too met at Comic-Con the year before, and at the 2010 event, James plans to propose to Se Young in front of everybody during the Kevin Smith panel.

The tone of the film is very light, sweet and respectful of the culture and the event. Criticisms aside, I like that I wasn’t watching a pretentious, biased propaganda piece, but instead a light-hearted, honest look at the first-hand experiences of these 6 sets of people amongst a sea of approximately 140,000 people that attended the event across it’s four days of operation. It clocks in at 82 minutes, so it’s not going to bore you. But, looking back, and in considering the sheer number of attendees, it would be fair to think that Spurlock and Co. could have hand-picked a more interesting subject than “The Collector” in particular. Nonetheless, it’s a feel-good documentary, which I don’t get to say very often.

Visuals & Audio

I always feel this sections lacking when it comes time to review a documentary. There’s not much that can be said here. The video transfer is presented in anamorphic widescreen 16:9, and the visual quality is reflective of the format and genre of film-making. There is one visual aspect that’s missing; that is usually found in a Morgan Spurlock documentary…Morgan Spurlock! He’s nowhere to be seen on-screen. He didn’t need to take the spotlight here, and so he made the right decision. All of the individual interviews that were conducted, and played in snippets throughout the film (and found in their entirety in the extras section) are front-on against a plain-white backdrop; very simple, with the emphasis being placed on the stories the subjects are telling.

There are no issues with the visual or audio quality. The audio is played in the Dolby Digital 5.1 format. English is the only language and subtitle track available…there isn’t even a Setup sub-menu on the disc like you would expect to see in pretty much all home media releases. So basically, if you’re not an American, the producers don’t care about you. I guess they see it as American-only subject matter/culture. Another thing that’s missing from the menu interface are “Play All” buttons in the extras sub-menu. Considering that there are 15+ interviews scrawled across three pages, a Play All button would have been appreciated and appropriate.

Extras

All in all, there is over an hour worth of special features on this disc. The usual inclusions of a Theatrical Trailer and – with most Madman titles – Madman Propaganda (not a negative connotation; actually their wording!), which includes trailers for four other Madman distributed films, are present. Then there’s the Deleted Scenes, of which there are 5. They are “Anthony’s Car Breaks Down” – which is really upsetting because he had a 65′ Ford Mustang with the Punisher logo painted on the hood ready to drive to Comic-Con, “Holly Looks At Gremlims On Showroom Floor”, “Holly Talks To Costume Designer Guild”, “Anthony Makes Custom Action Figures” and “Skip Gets Reviewed By Phil Hester”. I love how their contents are all completely obvious by their titling. Very short, but then again most deleted scenes are.

The best part of the extras package are the “Extended Interviews”. A plethora of talent and celebrity fans give insight into their starts in the industry, their fandom, what Comic-Con means to them and more. The names on this list are impressive: Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane (his name was misspelt in the menu!), Robert Kirkman, Ellen Page and many more. It was all inspiring to listen to, except for one. Jon Schnepp pretty much talked trash about the event and what it has become for the entire interview and really put a downer on the whole vibe of the disc. He was making the argument that comics are not even the focal point any more and the spirit of the con has been sucked away by film production companies that now use it as a platform to advertise their upcoming projects. Which is fair, but completely out of tune with the tone of the film/extras on a whole.

Overall

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope is a fun documentary; something you don’t hear very often. I’d heard criticisms that the film is empty and pointless, but I think those “critics” missed the point all together. Spurlock took the opportunity to use the documentary genre and format to tell a happy story, an entertaining one for once that doesn’t necessarily have to have a deep and powerful message about the world, or politics or global warming. Other than, of course, the simple message that there is always a place for us, and we’re all nerds in some form or fashion…but we already knew that. It’s just comforting to explore the culture and hear/see these people’s stories (including all the industry members and celebrities). For all of our people: buy this DVD, and celebrate your geekdom.

Dynasty Warriors 8 Jump Festa trailer released

Travis Bruno

December 22, 2012

Now that Jump Festa has kicked off in Japan Tecmo Koei and Omega Force have chosen to release an extended version of the first Dynasty Warriors 8 gameplay trailer that was released a couple of weeks ago. Now don’t be confused by the fact that it shows a 7 on the trailer, that is simply due to the fact that Tecmo Koei originally localized a fighting game under the name of Dynasty Warriors, essentially making this version the eighth in the series in the West, but the seventh in Japan.

Currently Dynasty Warriors 8 has only been announced for the PlayStation 3 in Japan, and has a release date of February 28th next year, but it is highly unlikely that the title won’t be making its way overseas and if it does, it likely will be available for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at that time.

Kasumi struts her stuff in latest Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge trailer

Travis Bruno

December 22, 2012

A few weeks ago Tecmo Koei revealed that they would be releasing Kasumi as free DLC for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge however at the time the company only provided one image of her in action. Well today the company released the below trailer where Kasumi shows that she can be far deadlier in Ninja Gaiden than she ever was in Dead or Alive.

Kasumi joins the growing roster of playable characters in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge which has already seen the addition of Momiji in the last few days. As for a release date for Kasumi, unfortunately no date has been given as of yet.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix dated for Japan

Travis Bruno

December 22, 2012

Ever since it was announced for Japan, we haven’t heard much about Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix but today it was revealed that the game will apparently be released in Japan on March 14th exclusively on the PlayStation 3. For those who don’t know, this collection includes upgraded versions of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, and the cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.

While Japan may be getting the title in March, a Western release hasn’t even been hinted at as of yet so while fans in Europe and North America may want to start setting aside money for import fees at this point. Check out some new screens for the game below until then.

Resident Evil 6 retro skins to be awarded for online event participation

Travis Bruno

December 22, 2012

If for some reason you find Resident Evil 6 an unfortunate game because it actually takes the series forward into a more modern era of gaming, perhaps you can stomach the title for a bit to make the game perfect for all of you retro loving gamers out there.

Today Capcom revealed that they will be providing some new costumes for the various Resident Evil 6 characters as long as you participate in some online events. The first event is called “Zombie Mayhem” and is meant to take place on December 28th. If you and other zombie killers around the world kill 15 million total zombies then one of these costumes will be unlocked, though Capcom failed to specify which costume will be awarded first, however they will be unlocked over time so just keep an eye out for events and maybe you’re favorite character can look like they are from the ’90s again.

Official Lightning Returns trailer released alongside new screens

Travis Bruno

December 22, 2012

Today Square Enix officially revealed the first trailer for Lightning Returns, though many of us have already seen it since it leaked out yesterday (and was subsequently removed today by the uploader). The official trailer is called “The Final Journey of Lightning” and it can be seen below as well as a large number of screenshots and a few pieces of artwork from the game.

As many of you may already know, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XII as it is called, features the return of Lightning in a world that only has thirteen days left before it is destroyed. It appears her journey will be completely solo and as such Square Enix has revamped the combat system to fit her solo fighting style. Currently Lightning Returns is set to be released sometime in 2013 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Ratchet And Clank: QForce PS3 Review

Joshua Spudic

December 22, 2012

Ratchet And Clank: QForce/Ratchet And Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Platforms: Playstation 3 (reviewed), Playstation Vita
Release Date: 27/11/2012 (PS3), 29/01/2013 (PS Vita)
Price: US$19.54 (Available Here)

Overview
It has been a busy year for the Ratchet and Clank series. On the back of the HD release of the first three Playstation 2 games and representing the franchise in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, Ratchet and Clank return in a new entry of the series. Ratchet and Clank QForce combines the classic platforming elements of the series with a tower defence element. Will this interesting combination prove to be successful or will this experiment fail to impress?

Story
Unlike the other Ratchet and Clank games, the story of QForce isn’t as fleshed out. With that said, there is a story behind the game. Captain Qwark is now a retired Galatic President, bored as there is no danger in the galaxy. Suddenly, the QForce picks up some danger in a far off planet, recalling Ratchet, Clank and Captain Qwark back into action as a new alien force invades the galaxy. It is a basic story but it isn’t terrible. It’s quirky and fun. Short as well, but, considering the price of the game, it is to be expected.

Gameplay
Ratchet and Clank: QForce is a mix of the classic Ratchet and Clank platforming formula and tower defence games. Each map is divided into several sections, but mainly consists of the player’s base, nodes and the Planetary Defence System. At the player’s base, generators must be defended from invading forces. At the same time, the player must execute a one-man (or machine) assault to activate key nodes, which in turn activate the Planetary Defence System. Once that is activated, the player must repel one final assault, which would test the patience of any commander.

That is how each level goes. Build up a base, activate nodes and activate the Planetary Defence System. With that said, there is opportunity to explore. Each level is littered with five gold bolts to find, usually found in secret sections. This exploration is how one finds bolts for building a defence system for the player’s base. The combination of these two elements is great, but they will also test your patience. The tower defence mechanic will require some time to get use to, considering the previous entries of Ratchet and Clank. While not occurring too often to pull one’s hair out, the flow of one’s assault breaks as soon as enemy drop ships approach the base. Not a great thing, especially if the progress into the opposition’s base is quite far in.

This will be a problem for some. Ratchet and Clank, at its core, promotes exploration. Yes, QForce does have opportunities to explore, even required to unlock bonuses. With that said, people might find the defending side of the game quite boring. The pricing for some of the weapons is a factor in that. The most basic turret, the Pyro Cannon, costs 1250 bolts. The bolts provided to the player upon beginning the level only allow one to be affordable, forcing the player to choose which flank to protect first. Add in other elements, such as barriers, mines and repairing generators, resources are going to be spread thin quite quickly. A recent patch reduced the prices for some of the weapons, which is a good step. The character must be the last resort, not the defensive front line.

Weapons are treated differently this time around. In the older games, weapons would be bought with bolts at a vendor on each planet. Bolts do return, but their purpose is in base building. Weapons are retrieved in weapon pods scattered throughout the level. Only a selection of weapons is available in each weapon pod, giving some freedom to strategise the player’s assault. It also means the weapons one chooses are an absolutely must use. Often, I have switched between various weapons in order to defeat my enemies quickly. Gadgets such as the Hoverboots are also a must, making no weapon or gadget a waste of time. The weapon levels return, although they are capped to level 3 (a recent patch extended the cap to level 5). Remember this: the weapons do not carry over into one’s inventory each time a one finishes a level. The weapon pods occur in each level and they are only available for that playthrough.

Throughout the game, players will have challenges to complete, which are rewarded with medals. The common challenge is to complete the level. Other challenges include making sure the generators are in tact and completing the level in a certain time. More medals equates to promotion within the QForce and access to more abilities. Multiplayer is also available, both locally and online. One can bring a friend along in campaign or compete against one another in the competitive mode.

Visuals and Audio
The visuals are based on the same graphics engine that was used in last year’s Ratchet and Clank’s title Ratchet and Clank, All 4 One. This time around, the visuals are more refined but don’t expect any super high textures. Colours are in abundance, creating a bright and vibrant world. The enemy models are imaginative and there is a variety of enemies to fight against. The level design is not confusing or convoluted, despite the size of each map.

The sound design is quite good in QForce. The soundtrack will not be memorable, but that isn’t to say it is a well put soundtrack. Tracks fit the situation, whether it is just chilling on the Starship Phoenix II or the environment in which the player defends their base and assaults the PDS. Dialogue is also great. This came down to the writing. The writers bring back the hilarious dialogue that is expected in a Ratchet and Clank game, adding chemistry between the playable characters.

Overall
Despite a few flaws, Ratchet and Clank QForce is definitely worth looking at. The platforming and tower defense elements do complement each other but does require some time to get use to and it may make some players feel tedious with the constant management between defence and attack. The story is basic but fun thanks to the quirkiness of Ratchet and Clank. The visuals are nice and the audio is great as well. With the game at AU$24.95 and a free Vita version, which will see a release next month, this is definitely a game worth purchasing.

HOLIDAY SALE – Guild Wars 2

Joshua Moris

December 22, 2012

For the next three days, Guild Wars 2 will continue their sale of the Digital Deluxe edition by lowering the price even further. The beginning price started at $79.99 which has dwindled down to an amazing $49.99. For a savings of $30.00 and some nice in-game bonuses, this Guild Wars 2 sale tops the rest.

Be quick to take advantage of this deal as it ends December 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time. Check out the deal (here) while it is still available.

If you don’t have a clue what Guild Wars 2 is about, you should make your way over to our exclusive review page (here). For $49.99 you will not acquire a better deal.

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