Way of the Hunter advertises itself as an authentic hunting experience. This isn’t necessarily a good thing. When it comes to hunting games, your first thought is probably to picture a Cabela’s Big Game Hunter arcade box with the rifles you point and shoot. Or Cabela’s Big Game Hunter for PS2. Or Duck Hunt, depending on your age group. In comes Way of the Hunter, a hunting game with RPG elements and a vast, gorgeous map to explore and take down big game. There’s plenty of game, equipment, and firearms to go hunting with. However, the excruciating time consumption coupled with dodgy mechanics makes Way of the Hunter a mixed bag at best.

The game’s storyline starts with you taking over your grandfather’s ranch, which is surrounded by vast lands of wildlife. The aim of the game is to teach about ethical hunting practices. And to give you the real-life experience of hunting a wide gamut of animals. There are rewards and light RPG elements that go with your use of weapons, the game you bag, and how much exploring you do.

You can carry out objectives to progress the story or explore new areas and find bigger and badder animals. Or you can decide to just do whatever you’d like. You can even hop in the Jeep and go driving the terrain for an hour if you’re so inclined. Or you can stop, hike into the woods, and bag a fox if you’re lucky. Unfortunately for anyone looking to use video games as an escape, this is about as close to real-life hunting as you can possibly get.

There’s Such a Thing as Too Authentic

Whenever I’ve been asked to go hunting, I’ve always asked myself a question. “How much do I want to hike for hours, sit and wait for twice as long in hopes of seeing an animal? And, in the best case scenario, hit said animal and then drag it out of the woods?” The answer is always, “Not at all.” With that in mind, I’m not exactly ecstatic to do all of that but in a virtual realm. It’s like playing a game about doing chores around the house to distract yourself from doing actual chores.

Way of the Hunter has you tracking down, let’s say deer. Your ‘Hunter Sense’ allows you to examine the environment and find the best places to hunt deer. The game is very realistic in its animal behavior patterns. So you can go to the lodge and sleep until it’s time to go get the deer. You spot the animal and decide to sneak up on the herd. Well, you’ve moved while within 150 meters of the game, so they’ve been spooked. Now they’e running away for the day. This happens every time and with every animal.

I once army crawled at the rate of one movement a minute at a range of 200 meters. I crawled for, real-time, nearly 12 minutes. While I was about 90 meters away, I lay still to scope out which deer I would take down. I switched from my binoculars to my gun and they got spooked and ran. The alternative is to show up much earlier than the game is expected in the area and hide. Then you lay down and don’t move, hoping the animal will wander into your trap. I took a book out to pass the time while waiting (just like real hunting!).

Way of the Hunter Goes the Wrong Way

The game clock is set so that 5 minutes real time is 15 minutes game time. Eventually, some of the game will wander over where you lie in wait. Want to bring your gun up to aim? Well, now they’ve heard you and they’ve run away for the day.

Here’s the other part of the game that is just the cherry on top. The realism of the game is very well done… in the sense that if I decide I’m going to shoot any of the pheasants–who scream bloody murder and alert everything around you if you dare step near them with a rifle of too high a caliber–you basically obliterate the thing. The game shows you exactly where your shots go and how good you are at hitting the organs because, again, they’re trying to teach ethical hunting. It also teaches you the best way to take down larger game, AKA shooting it in its organs.

I’ve already talked about the deer, so let’s use a different example. I was hunting for a wolf and when I decided to take a shot, I shot it in its face. It barely flinched. I went to track it with my hunter’s sense and, based on the blood on the ground, I had barely grazed the thing. The shooting mechanics are meant to be hyper-realistic. However, they seem to indicate that the animals in this world have bulletproof skin. That, or I brought a Nerf gun to try to hunt with.

Realistic Doesn’t Mean Fun

Way of the Hunter has aimed to create a realistic teaching tool about hunting and all the complicated steps that go into finding game, equipping yourself properly, and hunting wildlife. Or they were trying to create a fun hunting game. Sadly, they did not accomplish both. I was initially enamored with the game and the expansive world. I enjoyed the way they had you hunt and the lessons and tidbits of information contained within the tutorials. But I was very quickly disenfranchised with the shoddy mechanics and the needlessly difficult gameplay. Especially trying to get within shooting range of animals with better hearing than Superman.

There are people who will enjoy the dedication to making Way of the Hunter an ultra-realistic hunting simulation. Though I fear those people will instead be spending their days actually hunting. If you play video games to get some immersive feel and still have fun doing that thing you wouldn’t normally do in real life, you might not be as appreciative of the dedication to realism. While I fell into the latter camp, I know there are certainly people in the former camp. You’ll have to decide for yourself if Way of the Hunter is for you.

***PC code provided by the publisher***

The post Way of the Hunter Review – Misses the Mark appeared first on COGconnected.

The Ascent was originally released as a timed exclusive on Xbox Series X in July 2019 and we loved it then. Now, the timed exclusivity is over and The Ascent is making the trek over to PlayStation 5. While the game is essentially the same game as when it originally launched, there have been some significant updates, additions and patches to the Xbox version over the past year – and all of that content will be available to PlayStation gamers on day one. In some ways, it was probably worth the wait! If you’re looking for a fast and fun twin-stick shooter with gorgeous visuals and some RPG-like elements, The Ascent has got you covered.

The Story So Far

On the alien colony world, you are a nameless employee called an ‘indent’ – an indentured servant in the cyberpunk arcology – who takes on jobs and contracts for crime bosses and corporations vying to take over your home. The world is filled with aliens of varying species and all manner of robots. It definitely gave me some Blade Runner vibes at first, especially as the initial credits roll and the camera pans around the massive world. For many, like myself, I imagine the story will simply be background noise to the fast and furious gameplay.

The expansive sprawl is full of dangers to keep you on your toes. Outside of the protected areas, any matter of thug, robot, or alien can attempt to take you out. This is where the mayhem and the fun truly begins. Sure, the game features a lot of rinse-and-repeat gameplay – running around, holding the trigger down, mowing down as many enemies as possible. It’s pure wholesale slaughter at times. And yet, it’s still a blast to play. And as the game progresses, new weapons are acquired providing more ways to make baddies go boom.

Modify Me

In addition to levelling up your character to be stronger and finding new weapons, you’ll also gain access to various mods and augmentations. These mods and augmentations are modded into your body by an alien grafter in wonderfully cyberpunk fashion. These new abilities range from grenades to drones to heavily armed bots all of which really help with your slaughter-spree.

Throughout The Ascent, you’ll find a variety of cosmetic items that you can utilize to create a character that is truly you – or as wacky as you want. It’s not the most robust create-a-character we’ve ever seen, but it does the trick. You can pick your gender, skin colour and adjust your tattoos, clothing and hairstyles. In addition, the armour and guns you can swap in and out are also delightful complimentary to the aesthetic of the world of The Ascent. While not overly complicated, it added a layer to the look of the game and gave me some fun stuff to play with.

New Features

The game features a variety of added modes for players to tinker with. There is an awesome couch co-op mode for some added mayhem which, I will say, I really enjoyed. You’ll also have access to a handy Photo Mode for the artistically inclined. And The Ascent also features a New Game + mode for those that are looking forward to experiencing the action another time. PlayStation users will be happy to know that a lot of care went into the haptic feedback for the PS5 controller – a feature Xbox gamers missed out on.

Overall, The Ascent is a fun twin-stick shooter that comes to the Playstation with an absolutely beautiful world design. The wholesale violence is very engaging but may feel a bit redundant as you can be pretty well maxed out about halfway through. I had a lot of fun with The Ascent, especially with multiplayer. It’s a beautiful-looking game that’s a blast to play that’s worth checking out.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***

The post The Ascent Review – Gorgeous Twin-Stick Violence appeared first on COGconnected.

One of the few remaining joys left in the dystopian hellscape we find ourselves in lately is sitting down and watching a great movie. A little escapism, a lot of entertainment, and 2 hours away from the ever-increasingly bleak news cycle. With most of the studios having caught up on their slate in 2021, this year looks to be full of high highs and real low lows. Today, we’re going to tackle the high points! These are the movies you should be on the lookout for in 2022.

The Batman

Matt Reeves is directing the newest Bat outing that is set on the burgeoning Earth 2 universe since DC/WB can’t quite figure out how to reboot the Earth 1 universe for the third time. With Robert Pattinson as Wayne, Paul Dano’s Riddler on a serial killing spree, and an all-star cast with the who’s who from Batman’s rouge’s gallery, this is shaping up to rival The Dark Knight Trilogy as the best Bat adventure yet. Now, if they could translate all these great Batman stories over to making any other good DC movies, that would be fantastic!

Thor: Love and Thunder

On the other end of the spectrum in regards to superhero movies comes the return of Thor and director Taika Waititi. After Thor: Ragnarok reinvigorated the Thor series, Chris Hemsworth returning to the role post-Endgame was a big win for all of us. Imagine my glee when I discovered Christian Bale had signed on to play Gorr the God Butcher in an adaptation of, arguably, my favorite comic book arc, maybe ever. With more fan favorites returning and the (probable) introduction of a new God of Thunder, this one may prove to be the highlight of Marvel’s 2022 slate.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

I maaaaay have jumped the gun on Thor being the highlight of Marvel’s slate next year. Because this looks AMAZING! With a name inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft classic and a horror inspired plot,  Doctor Strange’s second foray in the MCU should be a tad bit darker than the usual fare. With Scarlet Witch in possession of the Darkhold and the return of Sam Raimi to Marvel, Madness of the Multiverse is setting itself up to be a linchpin in the new status quo of the MCU. With so much left unexplored on the magical side of things in Earth 1999999, the Sorcerer Supremes trounce through alternate worlds is sure to be full of even more mind-bending and visually stunning spectacles. The villain is definitely Mephisto though, right?

Uncharted

After several attempts to get the massively successful Uncharted series to the big screen (including the truly bizarre David O. Russell bid from a full decade ago), it’s finally go time! Uncharted being one of my favorite gaming series may make me more inclined to be excited for this one as there are some questions involving the storyline. It’s a younger Drake, so Tom Holland can play the Henley dressed hero but it also features an action sequence from the third game, as seen in the trailer. There’s also the fact that Mark Wahlberg has stuck around to play Sully, which also makes the age gap…odd. Despite the couple of things that give me pause, I’m truly excited for this movie. Maybe they’re crafting an original story that weaves together elements from the games and it’s going to amazing. Because I’m going to be really mad if this is yet another trash game to film adaptation.

John Wick 4

Keanu Reeves returns in the fourth installment of the John Wick franchise. That’s it. That’s the post. *NOTE* This has been postponed AGAIN but I’m leaving it on this list because it deserves to be here.

Read on through to PAGE 2 for the last 5 must-see movies of 2022…

The post 10 Best Movies You Need to Watch in 2022 appeared first on COGconnected.

In this Black Mirror-esque Groundhog Day, we’ve found ourselves living out, there’s nothing worse than investing two-ish hours of your hard-earned time off by watching something terrible. There are some really bad ones on here, some that will be divisive, and some that I maybe get proved wrong about. Either way, these all deserve the 10-foot pole treatment. Check out our 10 movies to avoid in 2022 feature:

Scream 

When Halloween got a reboot to the sequels that happened before the other reboot, I knew this was a portent of doom. Scream has already tried to reboot itself as a movie and as a TV show and that went so well, most people reading this are fact-checking me to make sure that’s true. “Wait now,” one might say, “Haven’t they brought the original cast back for this one?” Allow me to point anywhere that the ‘original cast returning’ is not good enough to fund another disastrous project (I bet Peleton wishes a certain series hadn’t come back).  Couple it with the fact that it’s a horror movie being released in January, the month already known as the place movies go to die, and this has all the makings of a very skippable dud.

Morbius

Once upon a time, Sony was looking into selling off its film division after several disappointing box office showings. One of which was the Amazing Spider-Man series – an ill-conceived reboot that tried to model itself after the Ultimate Universe’s take on the famous wall-crawler.  With all this happening, Marvel decided to play a hand to bring Peter Parker into the MCU in one of the best moves that Kevin Fiege has pulled off! However, it came with a high, high price. Marvel helped Sony develop Venom as a trade-off in one last-ditch effort to make a box office stud. Venom was nothing short of a phenom, thanks to some incredible overseas box office production.

So now, to the sheer devastation of everyone, Sony wants to keep the right and develop their own Spidey-verse. Which is how we’ve ended up with an absolute mess. The once terrific Jared Leto plays the sickly scientist turned vampire as Sony continues to develop its anti-hero stable for… some reason. With the inclusion of Adrian Toombs in the laughably bad trailer, it seems like it’s building to a Sinister Six film, but what that actually means is a mystery. Hard to pull off a Sinister Six team-up with no Spider-Man to fight. Harder to do if everyone has good intentions but are all more ethically fluid than traditional heroes, so you can’t play them as either villain or hero. This is a long way of me saying, this is going to be a hot mess. Avoid.

Black Adam

Ahh, the DCEU – the largest dumpster fire in Hollywood. WB has poured billions of dollars into developing an absolute train wreck series of films. A train wreck that, for some unknown reason, they keep shoveling piles of money into (this won’t be the last time we talk about this). WB has tapped the one person who can save any franchise – The Rock – to try to keep them afloat by casting him as Black Adam and giving him a solo film. There are several problems with this. First, this was announced so many years ago, no one even cares anymore. Second, many people are asking who the F is Black Adam. This brings us to the third problem. Black Adam is Shazam’s greatest foe… you know, Shazam! The kid who yells this stupid word out and turns into totally not Superman.

Which, ultimately brings us around to the biggest problem here. Why are we even doing this? Putting Dwayne Johnson in the lead only means you want to make him an anti-hero (see above for why this is a bad idea). Plus, you want Black Adam to face off against the Justice Society of America (I don’t even want to get into this quagmire), and then… Superman. Not Shazam? But he’s Shazam’s nemesis. Why wouldn’t… oh, because your studio is run by bafoons! On an unrelated note about how messy this whole thing is, they released a promo clip to try to entice people and it could not have been blander. Seems like that was a sign of things to come to me.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbeldore

I’m really taking it to WB with this list, I know (it’s going to get worse). I won’t spend much time here as I’m pretty sure everyone knows where I’m going. I’m currently rewatching the HP series for about the dozenth time for my annual winter wind down and I still can’t make it through the second Fantastic Beasts movie. So, imagine my surprise to see a recast Grindelwald and a third movie still going forward! Side note, if you’ve seen the trailer, any hope fans had must have left them like happiness when a Dementor is near.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

I’m pretty sure this is the part of the list where someone leaves a comment wishing a painful death upon me and my family but I’m ready to stand my ground. The first Black Panther movie was Michael B. Jordan’s film. T’Challa was playing second fiddle to the much more interesting, much more charismatic, and much more dynamic Killmonger. Killmonger had something to say and was willing to die for it, while T’Challa did everything to maintain tradition and ignore the injustice done to Killmonger and his family.

While Chadwick Boseman would make T’Challa a much more compelling character in the Avengers follow-up movies, we sadly lost Boseman to a secret battle with cancer. This is why Marvel made the… interesting choice… to not recast T’Challa. One of the most important characters in Marvel. Is just gone. So, my interest in Wakanda Forever is roughly 1/10. The one being the fitting send-off they have for Chadwick Boseman that I definitely want to see. After that, the Black Panther series and merit in the MCU are pretty much null and void. Whether it be M’Baku or Shuri taking over the crown, neither will have the impact on the Marvel Universe that T’Challa would have had or has in the comics. Thus, Wakanda Forever has become something like The Eternals. Sure, it’s setting something up for the future, but we don’t need another solo movie probably ever again after this.

Continue on to PAGE 2 for more movies you need to avoid in 2022…

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The current state of pop culture has utilized Scandinavian folklore quite a lot over the few decades but has always used it in one of two ways – Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales or Norse mythology. The thing that both of these depictions have in common, from The Snow Queen to Thor to God of War, is that they are decidedly very violent. Unless you only count the Disney versions (which are still pretty dark), the often twisted Scandinavian folklore has always been handled in a fairly specific way. Now, along comes Roki, a classic point-and-click adventure game that transports you into a beautifully designed world, as big sister Tove must help all manner of fanciful creatures to save her younger brother, Lars, from an evil sorceress.

After Lars is kidnapped into a magical realm, Tove must do everything in her power to get her brother back before he is consumed by the evil sorceress trying to turn her own monstrous child human. In order to do so, Tove must traverse the land and help out trolls, gnomes, and the trapped souls of the damned. In addition to working through her traumas, she collects items and uses them to solve puzzles. The puzzles aren’t simply riddles you solve in one screen to advance, but a series of artifacts scattered across the land that you must track down. Some of these items require a little assembly within Tove’s backpack, but without fail, all of the items you find are useful and needed.

Easy Mode Puzzles

Of course, sometimes it’s not so easy to know that items are those you need to pick up. Tove often comments on something because you don’t currently have the proper item to collect it in, or you need to complete another puzzle before it can be used. For the most part, this is up to you to decipher, but they aren’t exactly making you rack your brain when you pick things up. However, you’re equipped with a classic, clickable option that highlights all of the things you can interact with currently on the screen. This is a real double-edged sword, though.

On the one hand, it is beneficial to let you know not just what you can do at the moment, but Tove also gives you helpful information about the object that is a significant indicator for when you eventually do pick up the piece you need. Without it, it is pretty easy to run past an item you desperately need to advance the scene before being defeated by the snow pile hidden by a bad camera angle behind a tree. However, the downside is that you can spam the button, and it removes any critical thinking you may need to do to solve any of the puzzles. When used sparingly, it is a handy tool, but I fear there are too many impatient people who will undermine the quality of the game with rampant abuse of the indicator.

In nearly every other regard, Roki is a gem. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous, one of the best parts of playing this game. Every screen is beautiful, and its eye-catching appeal is simply a delight. There will be detractors about any text-driven game, but with the visuals and the well-done score, I barely even noticed it. Among the most significant things that have been the bane of my existence lately are poor controls in port games. Playing this on my PlayStation, the ease of gameplay was amplified by the intuitive controls – something I was quite thankful for. I was also grateful that while Roki is family-friendly, it’s not a simplistic game. You’re not going to need a guided walk-through to get through Roki, but there were enough times that I was stumped and had to take a pause and really think about what I could do with the items I had. It may seem like a throwaway compliment for the game, but I have played puzzle games with absurd learning curves or puzzles that were too complicated, undoing the story’s momentum. Or games that are ruined by being insultingly easy or having bad controls. Roki doesn’t get bogged down in any of this but still challenges you as you help Tove navigate the magical landscape.

Overall, Roki was a big win in my book. Initially, I found its family-friendly focus to be a detriment to my enjoyment in my first sitting with it. In my second, I began to appreciate more of what it was going for, and in my third sitting, I played for 5 hours without even realizing it. Roki has a lot going for it, including a unique story, well-done but straightforward mechanics, and a simply beautiful art style. Don’t let this one slip past you like a tomte hiding in his hat.

***PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher for review***

The post Roki Review – Beautiful Point-and-Click Puzzler Done Right appeared first on COGconnected.

Kerbal Space Program is a simulation game that has been around for, well, practically a decade if I’m not mistaken – which makes this an odd review. As someone who doesn’t frequent Steam much due to my work laptop bearing the brunt of most of my computer use, I had never given it a whirl, but the title had come up over the years. The release of the PS5 port brings the spaceship building simulator to a whole new crowd, and while it is one of the most in-depth, complex, and well done sims I have ever come across, the translation of the controls from PC to PlayStation make this should-be-fun sim nearly unplayable.

In Kerbal Space Program, you take a fledgling space program and propel your little green people into the void, from the nearest “Mun,” to the farthest reaches of the solar system, and even to the sun (if you can figure out the heat shielding). The detail and amount of ways to construct your craft are basically unlimited but it will require you to get comfortable with sending a lot of good astronauts to their death. The endgame of KSP is building an aircraft/spacecraft that allows you to conquer the heavens, but there’s going to be a lot of failing miserably first. Whether you’re fighting to get off the ground, battling fuel consumption or burning up on re-entry, the amount of ways to crash and burn are endless. It’s through a very, very, rigorous trial and error period that you finally begin to find success. Even though it begins simply, you begin to build off the back of that in a very rewarding fashion.

There are three different game modes – Career, Science, and Sandbox. Career is where you can spend most of your time as you balance budgets and gain reputation. It limits your choice of parts, so this is, by far, the most time-consuming. The challenge vs. reward is usually offset for me by the frustration of failure, but KSP gives you such a level of satisfaction with each successful launch, it has you looking at every new record with glee and you keep going. The Science tree allows you to focus on developing your scientific development without all the budgets and side duties, so this was where I spent a good chunk time. Balancing books have never been my strong suit. Meanwhile, Sandbox unlocks everything, allowing you to put your mind to work on truly whatever you want. While it’s still a game very grounded in physics, you can really let yourself off the chain and see what wonders your mind can create… and how long it takes for them to explode.

I was surprised to find that using the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller with the game is painfully difficult. While I managed to get slightly used to how it worked, it was still incredibly and constantly frustrating. The polar opposite of intuitive, the controls seem purposefully unresponsive, and honestly just a headache to do anything with. I stuck with KSP for as long as I did simply for the purpose of this review. Had it not been for doing a review, I would have given up on it far more quickly. On the flipside of that, if the controls had been better, I wonder how much more I could have gotten done in my time with KSP. Without the scream-inducing controls hindering me, how far into the cosmos could I have made it?

In theory, I could have hooked a mouse and keyboard up to my PS5 to try to alleviate the frustrations of a tail fin simply just refusing to line up and help out my aerodynamics, but alas, this isn’t 2002, so I don’t have extra keyboards and mice just laying about. So, while I still could appreciate the scope of what KSP was bringing to the table, and while there’s an extensive tutorial to bring me up to speed and help me build, it did not help with the horrible controls when I tried to put those lessons into practice.

In the end, Kerbal Space Program: Enhanced Edition is potentially the type of game I could definitely lose myself in. The amount of options to build your craft, the variety of things you have to do to maintain your space program, the charming Kerbs you blast into a million pieces, and the feeling of accomplishment when you reach a new milestone are the kinds of things I look for in a simulation. The added streamlined game modes are bonuses, letting me scratch whatever itch the game may give me. However, all of those positives are offset by a nearly insurmountable control problem. Even in Sandbox mode, where my wildest ideas begged to be carried out, I grew more and more frustrated with each passing moment the engines didn’t line up or my failsafe parachute just disappeared because it wasn’t where I thought it was on the lander. I could always go out and buy a keyboard and have to rearrange the entire layout of my living room to really get the most out of KSP. At that point, though, wouldn’t it be better to just find out if my laptop can handle some Steam?

***PS5 code provided by the publisher for review***

The post Kerbal Space Program: Enhanced Edition Review – Stuck on the Launch Pad appeared first on COGconnected.

It’s not very often when your editor asks you to cover a game about an alcoholic snail that fights his way across the land in a never-ending war with slugs. When you DO get that kind of pitch, you take it immediately. Even prepped with that synopsis, I still don’t think I could have been ready for Clid The Snail, a top-down, dual-stick shooter that has more style and is moodier than it has any business being. While it has its problems, Clid The Snail is a good first effort from Weird Beluga and puts them on the map as solid developers.

Clid is a snail with a big gun who likes to wage war on the plague-riddled slug forces outside the Snail Citadel. The peace-loving Snails kick Clid out for his warrior ways and he begins to explore a world populated by other bugs, critters, and creatures while looking to stop the slugs from destroying everything and put an end to the plague.

A World Rich in Details

The highlights of Clid are that this post-human world is rich and full as well as having a brooding style that works really well. The maps are highly detailed and the world of anthropomorphic bugs and rodents is fully realized and quite original, with lore and history far beyond what such a game should require. The story itself isn’t as innovative as the world it’s built upon but it’s definitely an interesting tale that did a good job to keep you on your toes.

Where Clid hits a wall is in the gameplay itself. I truly believe Weird Beluga was going for a FromSoftware-esque level of challenge in their gameplay – punishing mechanics in a dark and brooding world. What they, unfortunately, landed on was near impossible gameplay that seems to punish you for daring to try. Your stamina never lets you roll dodge for long, your weapons always take too long to charge or just flat out are not strong enough, and the bosses are always too powerful and the fights too long. Even just running around the world, it always takes several shots or careful placements of items to kill an enemy that will easily overwhelm and kill you. While something like Demons Souls or Bloodborne are punishingly difficult, you are always equipped enough to build a strategy that will let you effectively win, even if it requires some grind. In Clid, there is no grind, just a constant restart and an attempt to memorize patterns and hope you don’t zig when you should zag.

While the gameplay itself is inherently too difficult, it still has promise. The world, the characters, the level designs, and the puzzles/mazes, all work in its benefit. There’s room to patch Clid and make its gameplay work better with the other positives. A different level of difficulty, some extra power ups for weapons, a potential debuff of certain bosses – these are all options that would elevate this game leaps and bounds. I won’t pretend like I know how patches like this would work, but to even start with making it more palatable to casual gamers would do wonders for Clid the Snail.

In the end, I am a fan of where Weird Beluga aimed but not as much as where they landed. While the world that Clid resides in is full and realized, its characters unique, its level design excellent, and its overall tone unexpectedly great, the gameplay itself, not plague fuelled slugs, seems to be the biggest deterrent Clid needs to overcome. No matter how Weird Beluga wants to tackle this, whether it be leave it as it is or patch it, they still stand as very innovative and exciting developers. As for the gamer, if you think I’m just weak and you can do better managing the punishing level of gameplay, you should definitely pick this up. Otherwise, maybe see what they do moving forward before you dive into this strange and unique foray into gaming.

*** PlayStation 4 game code provided by the publisher ***

The post Clid The Snail Review – Definitely Not a Snail Crawl appeared first on COGconnected.

When you’re growing up, is there anything more defining on the school yard than a good ol’ fashioned game of dodgeball? I could show you a picture of a ball and I guarantee that you can hear the ball slapping against a face just from seeing it. It’s a rite of passage that we all must endure, if only for you to understand what kind of pain tolerance you have (I learned real early mine is not high). While this was the inspiration for some early generation games, dodgeball in modern gaming has been, at best, a source for a decent mini-game. Dodgeball Academia aims to change that with an RPG-esque take on the sport that still makes me flinch when someone pretends to throw something at me.

Dodgeball Academia centers, as one might imagine by the title, on a Dodgeball school where the best and brightest dodgeball players attend in a fictional world where dodgeball rules supreme. Our lead Otto, a talented player but outside of his social element in a very Harry Potter-esque turn, has to train and grow through the ranks until he’s the best in the school.

Not Your Typical Dodgeball Rules

While the game has a very pleasing Paper Mario style to it, animated 2D characters moving across a 3D world, the central focus is on the dodgeball matches. The matches are on a small court where eliminating players just means they try to hit you from behind if you let an errant ball find them. You can dodge or catch the ball and even use a toss to stop an incoming hit. A health bar indicates your time on the court instead of the usual ‘hit and you’re out’ rules of dodgeball. Academia focuses on quick matches instead of making you grind out a win which is a massive success.

There are side quests and daily matches and random battles you’ll get in, so quick and skillful games are much preferred. If there was a grinding element to the lengths of matches, I would have participated in far fewer than I did. The squad building and super attacks add an oddly satisfying layer to the gameplay as the difficulty level varies quite a bit. You could be running through a dozen matches just to get crushed by a difficult team which has you strategizing and using your power-ups to get the upper hand.

The power-up shots are a part of the RPG elements of the game that aims to add another layer to your playthrough. Equipment, increasing levels, and finishing moves give an element of the RPG to your experience, though this more so felt like an RPG lite element. You have little control over your characters skills or what levelling up offers you. It does certainly aid in progression through the game but I felt that’s almost all it contributed to.

Light on the RPG Elements

The aesthetics of the game are great as Academia fully embraces its silliness. A world based around dodgeball, the mythos of it, and the outrageous characters are all in full swing and they go all out. This helps the enjoyment of the game a lot as you get to be goofy along with the characters and the games of dodgeball are a fun aspect of the game instead of feeling like a laborious chore. In all honesty, Academia is actually quite funny, using its ridiculous premise and over the top characters just enough that it doesn’t spill over into obnoxious territory. I genuinely laughed at several occasions as the characters really play off of each other.

The only downside to Academia’s humor and character building is that all of the dialogue is text based. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a thing for me but there’s a lot of dialogue. So while I enjoyed much of it, I also skipped a few cut scenes because it got late and I couldn’t read a novella of back and forth. While I know this is an insult to the writers, sadly, the dialogue heavy aspects of the game become almost daunting to keep up with.

When it’s all said and done though, Dodgeball Academia is much better than I was expecting. I enjoyed the style, the zaniness, the characters, and only got frustrated by the gameplay a couple of times. Given my childhood history with the sport and my general anger over not being able to win in every game, a couple of times of frustration is a MASSIVE win. While the RPG elements to it are a little on the light side, the open-ish world and all of the side quests/daily challenges you get to tackle on top of the story have you 3 hours deep into dodgeball games before you know it. The fun and light hearted aspects of the game outweigh the negatives, making Dodgeball Academia a good pick up if you’re looking to hear that SPLAT once more.

*** Switch game code provided by the publisher ***

The post Dodgeball Academia Review – Packing a Familiar Splat appeared first on COGconnected.

In the midst of the panicked scramble to get next gen systems out the door, certain world events have delayed both hardware releases as well as game releases. While the lack of hardware is starting to catch up to demand, the lack of software has seen a greater influx of something every new gen of system encounters, but at a heightened scale: remastered hits from the previous generation! Enter Observer: System Redux, a game that was easily picked up and repackaged for the new generation that is in desperate need of titles to fully utilize its hardware. While Observer doesn’t quite bring the full use of the PS5 hardware to the table, it’s still a solid game that can give you good reason to spend some time on your shiny new system.

Opening with a ‘in memory of’ the legendary Rutger Hauer, Observer: System Redux introduces you to the main character in a sad but touching way. Hauer plays the lead detective in this bleak, cyberpunk mystery both in image and in voice. Detective Daniel Lazarski is an Observer, a detective who uses a device known as a Dream Eater to interrogate by entering people’s minds and pilfering through their memories for information. At the beginning of the game, he’s contacted by his long estranged son and by “coincidence,” he’s dispatched to investigate a murder – the missing victim being the son he hasn’t spoken to in years.

Where Observer: System Redux works best is in the absolutely horrifying dream sequences when we hack implants and enter people’s minds. Like in a dream, the memories and the truth are hidden behind some absolutely bonkers visuals and the dreamscape is most often full of horrors you must navigate, piecing the truth together for yourself as much as Lazarski is. What is reality and what is memory becomes inexorably intertwined and getting to the bottom of the mystery becomes a lesson in maintaining your sanity as well. I’m not talking about it being jump scary either. The thing that makes game play stand out to me is that you are unarmed, using your detective skills and implants to sort through crime scenes and evidence while you’re completely at the mercy of the killer and the monsters in people’s minds. Everything from haunting visuals, rapidly changing environments, and some exquisite use of sound was deeply terrifying. In other games, I would panic shoot, hoping for the protection of my weapon against the incoming horrors. In this, the only protection is pushing on, so believe me when I tell you that my fight or flight instinct kicked in a number of times and the struggle to stay focused while my whole body was racked with chills and goose bumps was a task in and of itself.

To Buy or Not to Buy (or Buy Again)

The real question, of course, is do you really need a 4-year-old game on your flashy new system? That answer is a little more complicated than whether or not Observer: System Redux still holds up as a quality game. Visually, the upgrade makes as much use of the hardware as it can. The dirty, dilapidated building of this cyberpunk dystopia is highly detailed and looks wonderful. The neon and shadow give some depth to the environment while the overall green hue of computer screens helps play with the concept of reality. However, there’s a ceiling on the upgrades as its more of a port than anything, so don’t expect those PS5 level textures just yet.

There are also some unintentional sound issues. While most of the game’s atmosphere-building is through sound, the opening video is unplayable as the audio hiccups the whole way through, and several NPC’s dialogue just stops mid-conversation. Most of these are with tenants at their doors, so it’s easily skippable, but since several trophies are depending on talking to said tenants, it was a bit of a bother. It’s not my style to be nitpicky,  but I missed out on three trophies because the quest wouldn’t complete. One simply couldn’t complete on my menu despite being done while the other two wouldn’t allow me to do the final step of the mission. Why this is nitpicky is because 1) my compulsion went through the roof not being able to get these trophies, but mostly because 2) they apparently have been a problem on every version as the threads online cited the different systems to play them on. So, these bugs haven’t been sorted in 4 years, so I’m a little incensed by that.

Bear in mind, I have played the PS5 version which has a later release date than the PC/Series X date and I was also given a list of what the day one patches would be (for clarity, none of the above issues were on the list). But problems are clearly being tackled, so perhaps when the release date comes up these too will have been worked out. Sadly, I’m not in the maybe business, so while Observer: System Redux makes great use of the hardware, it still has some things to fix.

Overall, once you get to play through Observer: System Redux, you do end up with an overall enjoyable experience. It’s genuinely scary, the investigation is in-depth, there’s plenty of side quests and a great mini game sprinkled all over the map to keep you working. Yes, it has some glitches that hampered the completionist in me and some port glitches that need to be worked out still and, quite frankly, the resolution of the mystery is more complicated than solving it. However, it’s still fun to play and it’s easy to get lost searching through the building for a few hours, a fact other games seem to have forgotten is important.

Whether or not it’s worth it for your new system, is probably up to whether or not you’ve played it before. The additions to the main game include some extra playtime, and the graphical upgrades make it a smoother running experience, but I don’t know if it’s worth a brand new purchase of the game. However, if you haven’t played Observer: System Redux yet, this new version is the PERFECT way to get your hands dirty in this cyberpunk murder mystery.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher for review***

The post Observer: System Redux Review – Classic Cyberpunk Mystery Gets Marginal Makeover appeared first on COGconnected.

It’s been a rough 18ish months. Even if you don’t look at the ongoings of the world, we hit a literal content crisis. Films were being pushed back; productions were on hold, Tik Tok grew in popularity. It was a dark time to try to occupy yourself with all of this sudden free time. There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel now, though, as movie theatres have release dates again, shows are getting back on the air, new shows have upcoming dates, and Tik Tok – well, Tik Tok is still a dark specter in all of our lives. The only thing that can combat it is superb superheroes in TV format.

As Emmy nominations have shown much love to our favorite superheroes, as well as Loki just finishing up an incredible season, we’ve reached a key point in superhero supersaturation. We’ve gotten money, clout, and incredible creatives to bring comic books to the small screen with the same aplomb they’ve been brought to the big screen!

So, I know we may not have as much free time as we did a few months ago, but here are 7 of the best superhero TV shows you can stream right now.

*Author’s Note*

I kept my choices to the new slew of shows from the past few years as the modern era of comic book adaptations have taken over pop culture. If I had gone all the way back, this would have been a substantially longer list. Also, don’t expect to find Watchmen on here. I won’t even acknowledge it.

7. Umbrella Academy

Based on the book from music icon Gerard Way, Umbrella Academy brought the weird and strange comic book to life in a hilarious, absurd, and downright strange fashion. Having been brought together as children, the super-powered brothers and sisters have long been estranged until the death of their ‘father’ brings them back together, and they start down the winding, time-traveling, and apocalyptically important journey.

With emotional character arcs, some solid action sequences, and an often touching story of familial bonds, Academy doesn’t suffer because of its insane and quirky approach to storytelling but benefits tremendously from it. While we watch the estranged family come back together as several of them understand the true scope of their powers, we’re also treated to acid-induced hilarity, unlikely love stories, and some of the most unique characters on TV right now.

You can find this streaming two seasons over on Netflix as an original program.

6. Daredevil

Before Disney + took the streaming world by storm, they had entered into a partnership with Netflix to bring The Defenders to the small screen. While it didn’t go off exactly as planned (Iron Fist is unwatchable), one of the good things that came out was Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock – a blind lawyer by day, avenging Devil by night.

Most of the success of this show can rest directly on the shoulders of Cox himself. His portrayal of Murdock and his rise to Hell’s Kitchen’s defender allowed Cox to showcase his acting chops with a true dual-acting role. The affable and charming Murdock took cases and won the hearts of friends and foes alike, while Daredevil came out at night to hammer justice into the criminal underworld and his arch-rival, Wilson Fisk. There’s a real ‘who is the real Matt Murdock’ dichotomy at work here as he leans more and more into his superhero persona, truly becoming the Red Devil as the show wore on.

The supporting cast helped out quite a lot as well. Debra Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and the ever wonderful Vincent D’Onofrio helped fill out the cast to bring Murdoch’s trials and tribulations to life. The ‘will they won’t they’re with Karen as she becomes a world-class journalist. The best friend in Foggy who can’t stand who Matt becomes. And the indomitable battle between Daredevil and Kingpin that raged across the city and even invited an unexpected spin-off with The Punisher.

It also may have helped that this show had some of the best fight choreography out there. Who doesn’t immediately think of that INSANE stairway/hallway fight from season one the second this show is brought up?

The Netflix/Disney experiment was relatively short-lived and didn’t really pan out the way anyone intended. However, Daredevil was so good and so well received, Charlie Cox will officially crossover into the MCU later this year, and there’s even talk of D’Onofrio reprising his Kingpin as well.  Crossing over from a dead universe, a la Miles Morales is a sure sign you’ve done something right.

Check all three seasons out (obviously) on Netflix!

5. Invincible

When it comes to making a superhero comic/show that isn’t Marvel or DC, it tends to end up being a ‘unique take’ on what we already know. And, for some reason, it always seems to be the Justice League. Maybe it’s just the archetypes that JL embodies that make it easier to translate, but it always seems to be them, whatever the reason.

Enter Invincible. A series that’s based on the Justice League and almost IMMEDIATELY takes its own way with it. Things are not as they seem, and Invincible needs to learn how to grow into his powers quickly.

The simple joy of Invincible is twofold. First, it’s a coming-of-age story as a young man learns to live with his superpowers, his secret identity, and the world as he knows it is coming undone. Second, it’s so incredibly violent. Nothing else on this list comes even close. There’s another Prime-exclusive that tries (read more about that later), but no. Invincible uses its animated license to really go over the top with the violence to the point of making you wince. The level of violence isn’t just because it’s gratuitous, though, but because they really showcase what superhumans would actually do to each other in brutal, brutal fashion.

Throw in some truly great characters, awesome voice acting/cameos, some wild twists and turns, and an excellent season-ending setup for the next batch of episodes, and Invincible is definitely a must-watch!

Check out season one on Amazon Prime.

4. WandaVision

Within the ever-evolving world of comics, people die, are resurrected, have multi-verse versions of themselves replace each other, or have an abundance of clones running rampant. So, there are very few times that comic book characters experience true loss, barring a few. In the pages of Marvel and on the screen in the MCU, Wanda Maximoff has experienced loss on a scale I don’t think any other Marvel hero can even touch.

After the fallout from Infinity War/Endgame, we find Wanda and the Vision in a sitcom reality where their lives are playing out happily… as long as reality doesn’t seep in. What is real, who is at the epicenter, and can Wanda save her family becomes the show’s crux while Wanda’s true status finally becomes canon in the MCU.

While the show inevitably ends in the Marvel staple ‘final showdown’, the show hinges on dealing with loss, pain, and being able to move on. While the sitcom tropes and the unwinding of the created world become clearer as storytelling devices and fewer pop culture nods, the absolute heart-wrenching truths come to light. The last portions of the show are heartbreaking. Wanda’s pain becomes palpable, even as her greater role in the MCU becomes more defined, cementing her as one of the most important characters in the Marvel Universe.

Yes, we all dissected this show WAY too much. Still, as it carefully and faithfully recreates TV’s best shows to play into its own character themes, WandaVision sets itself aside as an emotional, fun, quirky, and amazing journey. But seriously, it was definitely Mephisto, right?

Check this one out on Disney +.

Continue on over to page 2 for the conclusion of our list!

The post 7 Best Modern Superhero Shows You Should Watch Right Now appeared first on COGconnected.

Since 2017, the Outbreak series has been dropping installments in its franchise so fast, it’s almost as if they were afraid people would forget what early 2000’s games were like. The Outbreak series channels the survival horror classics of our (my) childhood like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The fixed camera, the limited supplies, the inventory management, all of the things that made you hate and be terrified of a plodding zombie outbreak are resurrected in the Outbreak series. With Endless Nightmares, the series takes those mechanics and game style and adds in a roguelite element as you must plunge into an ever deepening nightmare to find your way back to reality.

As you get ready to plunge into ‘The Anomaly’, the thing keeping you stuck between realities, there are a number of handy demons/ghosts that explain the conundrum you find yourself in and offer special services. Some offer advice, others offer items, and one in particular collects coins which, once you collect enough, will allow you to leave this hellish limbo. As you collect more coins, more areas become open to you around the home called ‘The Nexus’ and each offers more options to help you reach the deepest depths.

One of my most and least favorite parts of Endless Nightmare is the dedication to recreating that old school horror feel. I love playing that style again, where limited ammo and health have you managing your inventory while slowly making your way around monsters and solving puzzles. There’s a little less suspense around EN based on its roguelite style of dungeon crawling, so there’s not really the option to run around an enemy until you can find more goods or weapons and return when you’re better equipped. Once you’re in a room, you’re in it until you clear it. As with most procedurally generated content, the layouts are ever-changing, so you can’t just speed run it nor can you rely on that pistol or demon merchant being there to help when you’re gun becomes useless.

Communication is Key in Co-Op

However, there is a handy feature that really helps with the workload of the game – a co-op mode! While playing on my own, I found myself really stocking up on one or two items in particular. Which made way more sense when I started playing with someone, as you both share your item box. Clearing rooms was much easier with someone by my side, though it did create its own problems. The splits screen makes it a little difficult to judge where the edge of traps are and, as a personal issue, we wasted a lot of ammo by being trigger happy and not communicating.

Which brings us to my two least favorite parts of EN. The fixed camera directional movements and the speed your gun deteriorates. The first one is simple – in today’s games, the camera moves with you, so up is always up. In EN, up is in direct correlation to where the camera is and it reminds me why I’m happy with how games have progressed. Even though you can switch your viewpoint, moving through the hallways is still quite tedious and a little aggravating. The second is that you’re guns break down insanely fast and become useless hunks of metal. Yes, there are a number of upgrades, a lot of stronger weapons that dispose of monsters quicker, and you can turn the broken guns into repair kits, but this is still a game of inventory management. Ammo, the tools to create ammo and repair kits, two guns, a secondary weapon and health. This does help in getting through the dungeon crawling, but I always felt completely overloaded and ended up leaving things behind, just so I always had a weapon on hand.

They warn you at the outset that you’re going to die A LOT. I found that once I got the hang of the dungeons, I started moving through the levels a lot faster. Give that difficulty level a little nudge up and oh boy. There’s all the dying. There’s also a Tower mode where you can score sweet collectibles, but the tolerance of pain in that one also needs to be sky-high.

Overall, Outbreak: Endless Nightmares is exactly what it promises to be and that is both a negative and a positive. It’s great to get back into that era of being too scared to sleep at night because of Silent Hill or being too scared to sleep at night because of Resident Evil 2/3. Now that I think about it, a lot is starting to make sense…

However, for as much as that sense of nostalgia is great, video games have come a long way since then and I’ve become accustomed to a certain playstyle. Being so fully integrated back into an old style of game, as I said earlier, reminds me of why I’m thankful for how far games have come. Outbreak: Endless Nights does everything it sets out to and while I enjoyed some dungeon crawling and shooting zombies in the face for a little while, I’m still going to go back to my very full game library… I have far too much to catch up on to spend too much time in 2002.

*** PS5 Game code provided by the publisher ***

The post Outbreak: Endless Nightmares Review – Playing Video Games Like It’s 2002 appeared first on COGconnected.

In a world of puzzle games, it’s always about how you can innovate a tried and true gaming genre that will really set you apart from the crowd. Considering the legions of offerings, you need a certain je ne sais quoi to catch the eye of the discerning gamer. A 2D side scroller with adorable monsters and a space pilot rabbit as your lead may not be enough. But how about a dual-layered map where you rotate your ‘splitter’ and use physics and the environments to collect your little friends? And finish levels that see dramatic increases in difficulty? Because that’s World Splitter, a deceptively challenging game that was as much a head-scratcher as it was fun.

Here’s a real breakdown of how to play World Splitter. Each map is actually two that you have to split to navigate properly. You can rotate your splitter to come at obstacles from different angles, and you can slide it to access the secondary area of the map. An example of how it works is, let’s say the gap between where I’m standing and where my monster friend is waiting is too far to jump. If I spin to get the angle right and slide it just so, I’ll reveal enough of the landing on the underside of the map to jump to it, finishing my mission. Think of the ‘Upside Down’ in Stranger Things, and you’ve got the idea.

Of course, as you go on, there are new ways to navigate the maps and enemies that show up to get in your way. You can see through to the other side before you move your splitter, use portals, or learn to jump, all of which assist you as you move forward. The maps are also aptly named and are a clue as to how you can make it through, which is a nice way to help out without making me feel like my hand is being held.

It’s All About Perspective

Because I have to say, this game made me realize how I completely lack nearly any spatial recognition whatsoever. I STRUGGLED with so many maps because I couldn’t figure out the right angle or how fast/slow to move the angle. So while I looked at this simple, 2D map with some gaps and an enemy or two, I thought to myself how quickly I would move through this game. I can assure you that it did not happen. If anything, I shaved a couple of years off my life from stress. What’s more, each level has a time challenge and a challenge for how many degrees you can swing the splitter. Nothing says ‘do better’ like posting an 18 minute time on a level with a 45-second challenge.

Outside of making you want to put the controller through the wall on your own, World Splitter offers a co-op mode where you and a friend have your own splitters, and you have to work together to navigate the shared level. As you can imagine, this is incredibly fun and what I also believe will be directly involved in the dissolution of relationships and the destruction of friendships. For every time you figure out the right angle and the two of you grab that last little monster and head for the exit, there are about 13 times you swing it too far, or you turn the splitter the wrong way, and you squish your partner into a wall. The entire game is built on the thrill of winning, giving you enough serotonin to overcome the many, many, many agonies of defeat. Sometimes, well, the person you’re playing with only knows the agony of defeat. Choose your partners wisely.

When I look at World Splitter as a whole, the only downside I can find is its replay value. Perfectionists will want to complete every level without leaving any monster behind, and people with unhealthy coping mechanisms will want to beat it with all challenges completed. If you’re normal, though, you may not want to go back and have your incompetence reiterated. In the same token, once you’re stuck, you’re stuck, which is a bit of a bummer when you can’t figure out how to move an enemy up and over where you need to go for what seemed like days.

Overall, World Splitter is a really great and challenging puzzler that may look easy but will leave you scratching your head more often than not. The unique double map and physics mechanics are some of those things that really make World Splitter stand out. The cute and simplistic style is very aesthetically pleasing and helps keep you from screaming at the top of your lungs when you take one step too many at the very end of a map. Challenge your brain and spatial awareness if you dare.

***PS4 code provided by the publisher***

The post World Splitter Review – Splitting Headache appeared first on COGconnected.

When it comes to picking the next game I’ll dive into; the biggest factor is always variety. Was I just beating people down as Spider-Man? Well, I suppose I’ll navigate clickers and commit brutal homicides as Ellie for a bit. Or, getting tired of Battle Royale? Let me pick up an indie-puzzler with a charming art style like TOHU. Though, while TOHU is a fun head-scratcher with a Gaiman-esque aesthetic, it suffers from the now ‘as per usual’ port control problems that plague so many games.

The world of TOHU is easy to explain. A hooded villain has come to Tohu, a location made up of several “fish worlds,” and has begun wreaking havoc. This villain ends up breaking the “Sacred Engine.” And now, it’s up to the Little Girl and her robot alter-ego Cubus to travel to other fish worlds and undo the damage. See, easily explained. But, without context, it’s as puzzling as the riddles within that you’ll need to solve.

In TOHU, you play as Little Girl. She’s an inquisitive character whose small size allows her to do things like climb a precarious stack of books or crawl through minuscule holes. Many of which will contain secrets. Believe me, when you’re looking for the final glass shard to put a mirror back together, you’ll appreciate getting her into every hidey-hole you can find. Alternatively, Little Girl can turn into Cubus, a robot version of herself that is cumbersome yet quite strong. As an alternative to playing as Little Girl, the Cubus gameplay revolves around moments like, for example, throwing a broken pipe to smash your way through. Between the two, you have to navigate various maps and solve a series of puzzles that remain ever-growing in difficulty.

It’s the Small Pieces That Make the Bigger Picture

Each world/fish/map you visit is fairly simple, usually made up of 3-5 screens. Each screen is one giant puzzle, consisting of many smaller puzzles. For example, you have to find three tickets in one of the earlier maps. To find the tickets, you have to solve a puzzle for each. This allows you to come back and solve the big puzzle to achieve your objective. Sometimes they’re as straightforward as ‘follow this recipe.’ Other times you have to backtrack across the map to find all the pieces you need to unlock a door. The key is that TOHU offers absolutely zero insight into how to do any of it in a narrative form. Everything is on the screen, but it’s up to your detective skills to solve the levels. Yes, that does mean that even simply figuring out what the puzzle is can also be a puzzle. Luckily, the developers offer a hint page for each puzzle – though even this isn’t easy. There’s a skill test that involves clicking the right buttons as your cursor speeds up. Even then, the hints are vague pictures that, hopefully, you can piece together. There is no aspect of this game that isn’t a puzzle in some way or another.

Aesthetically, the art style is also up my alley. If you’ve read anything Neil Gaiman or obsessively watched Coraline, then you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Tohu looks like. Featuring weird, colorful, and truly inspired character design, TOHU feels familiar while being its own thing. Fireart Games do a wonderful job of incorporating things like talking pictures or “wrench snakes” to bring the world to life, making every environment part of the puzzle-solving.

Jagged Edges

Of course, nothing is perfect, and I’m about to turn into the Bernie meme here (not the mittens one). I am once again asking; if you can’t make the console controls work, please don’t port the game. In something like TOHU, I don’t mind that it’s a cursor-based game as the whole thing is essentially point-and-click. It’s when you have to do the puzzles based on reaction time that issues arise. You can click a mouse and keyboard at a moment’s notice, so reaction time isn’t necessarily required. Do you know what is not conducive to that? The PlayStation stick and the X button. No, no, I cannot do that in under a second. And, realizing that, it was around this time when TOHU ran into a wall for me. After nearly throwing my controller through the window, I had to give up. For what seems like the millionth time, a ported game’s controls mar what once was a wonderful gaming experience. Yes, it was only a particular part of the game that was sullied. But when you need to have every puzzle solved to advance – and the controller is stymieing you – it’s extremely frustrating.

Overall, TOHU’s lovely aesthetic, challenging puzzles, and do-it-yourself style of direction make this a real winner in my eyes. While so much good hits a real stumbling block with controls not designed for a controller, it didn’t stop me from really enjoying this unique and wacky world. And I appreciate the complicated puzzles that are enjoyably difficult instead of ‘smash your head against a wall’ hard. I would recommend TOHU, especially if you’ve somehow managed to figure out quicker reaction times with your controller than I have.

***PS4 code provided by the publisher***

The post TOHU Review – Jigsaw Falling Into Place appeared first on COGconnected.

Whew! What a hot mess the last list turned out to be, huh? Welcome back to our annual movie countdown where we look at the films to watch and the films to avoid. If you’ve been keeping up with them, this list is going to look suspiciously like last year’s because, well, some things happened that caused a lot of release dates to be pushed. So we’re going to tackle the 2021 slate with some addendums on this one. We won’t be adding release dates because MAN did that ever backfire last year. This also means they won’t be listed in any particular order, so there’s no ranking taking place here.

There’s also a particular addendum that is personally being added that is pretty dependent on how things shape up in the next few weeks in regard to safety. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the absolute shit show WB caused with its joint HBO MAX and theatrical release, so allow me to make a point here. There are several WB releases on here, but they all come with the caveat of going to see it in theatres. I cannot stress enough how detrimental this move is to the film industry and to the overall quality of the content we will receive in the future, let alone the gong show you will have to go through to try to see these movies at home (for a HUGE premium) if you don’t live in the USA. I could write an entire essay on the differences between this plan vs other streaming services, so let’s not use the comments section to try to weigh in on that. However, if it’s not safe to do so, I am NOT saying you should go to the theatres. Just don’t support this horseshit HBO MAX deal. Those films will have a handy asterisk beside them if you want to read up on how the filmmakers feel about that deal.

We talked about the best movies HERE, but now let’s get on with the worst!

Avoid Watching

Morbius

In case no one has paid attention for the past 20 years, Sony has done a SHIT job with the rights to Spider-Man. Not as bad as what Fox did with the properties they acquired, but Sony has not done well. Lucky for them, Marvel came along and saved the day, making Spidey not only a box office juggernaut again, but also alleviated so much of the Spidey exhaustion people had been feeling. So, Sony thought “hey, know what we can do? Fuck up Spider-Man’s entire catalog of characters!”

After the abomination that was Venom (more on this later), Sony plowed straight ahead with producing even more Spider-Man themed content that is bound to also be dumpster fires! First up, Jared Leto in this nonsense. Has Morbius had multiple solo runs in the comics? Yes. Have they all been prematurely canceled? Also, yes. Has Jared Leto been an amazing actor? Yes. Has Jared Leto also been in a series of bad movies since winning his Oscar (save for Blade Runner:2049)? Also, yes, you see the pattern that’s developing, right?

No thanks, Sony. I’ll keep my money and my sanity on this one, thanks.

The King’s Man

I’m not super pumped when a series gets two entries and flips to a prequel to try to capitalize on its popularity. It always sounds like they’ve run out of ideas but don’t want to lose out on the notoriety of the name. While I still think this one has the potential to be awesome, I’ve danced to this tune before and prequels, while sequels are in the works, are almost always a hot mess. Hoping I’m wrong but I don’t think I am.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Above, I decried Sony’s horrible treatment of Spider-Man characters. Allow me to continue. Venom, starring the usually amazing Tom Hardy, is horrible. Inconsistent, lame, and as bland as tapioca, it was the exact opposite of what I wanted from a movie starring Spidey’s greatest foe and one of my favorite anti-heroes. To top it all off, Woody Harrelson (who I also love) shows up at the end to let us all know that he too can rock a horrible wig and that curly red hair is not a good look for him. Oh, also, Carnage is going to be in the sequel.

So, we’ve got a dumpster fire introduction to both characters along with a studio known for destroying movies with their input and are DESPERATELY trying to ride Marvel’s coattails. Finally, one of the worst sequel titles I’ve ever seen. What a terrible waste of $250 million this is going to be. Just let the rights go, Sony. For the love of God, just let them go.

The post Ten 2021 Movies You Might Want To Skip appeared first on COGconnected.

Whew! What a hot mess the last list turned out to be, huh? Welcome back to our annual movie countdown where we look at the films to watch and the films to avoid. If you’ve been keeping up with them, this list is going to look suspiciously like last year’s because, well, some things happened that caused a lot of release dates to be pushed. So we’re going to tackle the 2021 slate with some addendums on this one. We won’t be adding release dates because MAN did that ever backfire last year. This also means they won’t be listed in any particular order, so there’s no ranking taking place here.

There’s also a particular addendum that is personally being added that is pretty dependent on how things shape up in the next few weeks in regard to safety. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the absolute shit show WB caused with its joint HBO MAX and theatrical release, so allow me to make a point here. There are several WB releases on here, but they all come with the caveat of going to see it in theatres. I cannot stress enough how detrimental this move is to the film industry and to the overall quality of the content we will receive in the future, let alone the gong show you will have to go through to try to see these movies at home (for a HUGE premium) if you don’t live in the USA. I could write an entire essay on the differences between this plan vs other streaming services, so let’s not use the comments section to try to weigh in on that. However, if it’s not safe to do so, I am NOT saying you should go to the theatres. Just don’t support this horseshit HBO MAX deal. Those films will have a handy asterisk beside them if you want to read up on how the filmmakers feel about that deal.

Go Watch!

A Quiet Place 2

So, this years’ list starts off pretty much where last year’s did – A Quiet Place 2. The massive success of John Krasinski and wife Emily Blunt’s collab in the sci-fi horror genre seemed like it very well could be a one-off, but it seems there was more story to tell as we hop back and forth between pre-invasion and after the events of the first movie. If all goes according to plan and it is as good (or nearly) as its predecessor, this is going to be a must-see for this year!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Jason Reitman, son of legend Ivan Reitman, takes over as the director of the Ghostbusters franchise, with Afterlife being a direct sequel to Ghostbusters II. Rudd, Coon, Wolfhard, Grace, Murry, Ackroyd, Hudson, Potts, Weaver. I just gave you 10 reasons to put this on the ‘must-watch’ list. I’ll keep it short and leave you with that.

Head over to PAGE 2 for more movies…

The post 10 Movies You Must See in 2021 appeared first on COGconnected.

Once upon a time, Hideo Kojima had a working relationship with Konami and he made the batshit crazy and utterly terrifying game demo, P.T. Unfortunately, P.T. was never anything more as Konami became a pretty exclusive slot machine manufacturer and Kojima went on to make Death Stranding, leaving people to hoard P.T. for the gold that it was. I mean, I know people who won’t give up their PS4 because it has P.T. on it, that’s how crazy people went over this demo. The premature death of P.T. is now something akin to an urban legend, but the guys over at SadSquare weren’t going to just let it fade away into the haunting shadows. They hunkered down and got a Kickstarter going for their own game, inspired by the legendary demo. What they came out with is Visage, the hands-down most frightening experience of my life.

Visage takes place in the 1980s as Dwayne moves through an old house, reliving the haunted experiences of the people who have lived there before him. As you explore, you run the risk of dying, being killed by ghosts, or going completely insane – hopefully, you can solve the mystery of the house before any of that happens.

Sum of all… Fears?

The style of game is familiar – it’s an investigative game at its core as you try to piece the story together, of course, mixed with a HEAVY dose of horror. Think ‘The Vanishing of Ethan Carter’ mixed with ‘Heavy Rain’ via P.T. So, it’s good, is what I mean. Yes, the controls aren’t exactly the smoothest or as polished as I would have liked but it’s also not a game where you can do a whole lot that requires the slickest of controls. Some people may also be put off by how plodding the navigation of the house can be, especially since the layout of the house is not only structurally confounding but also quite expansive. However, the slow exploration is one of the greatest assets of the game, building tension with a slow, methodical walk down an ever-dimming hallway…

From the get-go, Visage lets you know it’s hard, via a handy message before the game. The game is also definitely not for the faint of heart, as you execute an entire family (children included) before turning the gun on yourself… in the opening cinematic. As you explore the house, taking note to dig through all the nooks and crannies, you find resources that you will NEED. Light bulbs used to fix the lights, candles and lighters so the dark doesn’t drive you insane. Pills are used to keep your psychosis at bay so you don’t go insane. Extra pants for when you slowly make your way down a hallway as a cacophony of sounds come from the kitchen, and some insane lunatic ghost jumps out from around the corner, screaming at you at the top of his lungs! Okay, maybe the extra pants were just for me. Look, a lot of the game is trying not to go insane, alright? When it comes to psychological horror, prepping your subject that his entire goal is to NOT lose his mind is an excellent and effective method to institute trauma.

So, the gameplay relies heavily on atmosphere and the plot is the main catalyst for propelling the game forward. It’s also a horror game that isn’t supposed to be just tension and plot points. So, how does it stack up? Honestly, I have never been so petrified in my life. You know those deep, guttural screams that you have no control of when they come out and you think ‘was that me!?’ when you hear it? Yeah, that was every 30 minutes for me. Everything combines for a nightmare-inducing trip that is going to take some time for me to get over. The methodical approach you need to take to play makes you hyper-aware of everything around you. The music and plodding pace of your character create a tense and paralyzing atmosphere. Then, the lights go out, you lose your grip on sanity, and children missing pieces of their damn skull come out of the shadows while you panic, desperately trying to remember how to turn a fucking light on. That’s one of the lesser jumps, mind you. I won’t even get started on the basement.

In the end, the payoff for the story isn’t amazing but it works well with the game, and since I can’t think of a different way it could have played out, perhaps I’m just nitpicking. As a psychological horror that uses one of the most iconic horror games of the last-gen as its inspiration, it works incredibly well. I never thought walking down a hallway in a game could fill me with such dread, but every single staircase, hallway, and door ramped my anxiety all the way up. In all honesty, for the first couple of days, I could only play it for 10 minutes at a time before I had to call it quits. As someone who watches horror movies all the time, getting me to tap out before you even scare is a feat to be proud of. By that measure, Visage should be bursting with pride!

*** A PS4 review code was provided by the publisher ***

The post Visage Review – Some Seriously Spooky Sh*t appeared first on COGconnected.

There was a point, many moons ago, when playing D&D was a great way to get yourself beaten up. This was before Community, Stranger Things, and video games in general (amongst a litany of others) made RPGs a socially acceptable form of entertainment. This was a time that I grew up in and so I was never one who got into D&D very much. And bear with me – this is a needed preface before we talk about Pathfinder Kingmaker. Why you might ask? Well, it’s more like playing a classic tabletop RPG without the need of a dungeon master than a more modern RPG. This makes it slightly tedious but is incredibly detailed, layered, and can take all of your time and effort to grind through a fairly enjoyable game.

Right out of the gate, let’s talk about the character creator. No lie, I spent 50 minutes making my character. As you would expect from a D&D game, creating your own character is incredibly in-depth. A multitude of races, classes, sub-classes, and skills made starting the game a delightful feat. After picking the right character, you’re launched into Pathfinder, soon discovering what lies ahead is basically two games in one. The first section is adventuring about as you raid dungeons, complete quests, and armor up.

It’s when you defeat the first main quest line that the second game opens up and you begin to have to manage your kingdom. Managing the kingdom can be very tedious, so setting up the proper regents will be your saving grace. You will have to make ruling decisions that require you to return to your capital quite frequently. But, many of the ‘dilemmas’ for your kingdom are necessary to push you forward with new quests for further adventuring. Both systems work well for the game and add an incredible amount of depth. Either one would work well as a game unto itself and they are both integrated fairly well into each other, making Pathfinder time-consuming in a very positive way.

Saving Grace

Not everything is positive though. Like I said at the beginning, I never played much D&D or tabletop RPG’s of my own, so this was not easy to acclimate to. This isn’t a knock against Pathfinder itself as it does exactly what it intends to do very well. But, this is more of a personal note for other players. I always gauge how difficult a game is going to be based on how complicated the tutorial is. And after spending 30 minutes squinting at incredibly small writing to unload the reams of information I was being bombarded with, I knew this was going to be excessively complicated. Again, not a knock against the game, but more of a heads up to the casual gamer.

I got stuck in the first part of Pathfinder as one of my decision tree choices (one of the agonizing amount of text-based decisions you have to make) got me to avoid a fight. However, this left me without a key piece of intel needed to find a character and move the story forward. So, once I Googled it, one of the Reddit users chastised the person posting the question because if they were already having problems in the first act, they were doomed for the rest of the game. Which almost perfectly sums up Pathfinder. If you aren’t prepared for this level of attention to detail and putting the grind in, you’re kind of screwed.

On another hand, the graphics are underwhelming for where we are, and the voice acting is infuriating. Three lines repeated over and over and over again is unbelievably annoying. This is compounded when you interact with a character and you have to read a passage from a book while the voice actor delivers some of the dialogue.

The controls were also quite infuriating, but this strikes me as the usual problem with PC to console ports. Button mapping on the PC would have made the controls silky smooth. But, the inability to do that, and with the limited number of buttons on a controller, things didn’t work out so well. It doesn’t keep you from being able to effectively play but it certainly removes a lot of the control that you would expect from this type of game. They try to offset this lack of control by allowing for a turn-based battle style, new to the Definitive Edition. While this helps out with more nuanced control of your characters, it adds an unbearable amount of time to fights. So, while the turn-based mode (which you can toggle) is certainly more effective for boss fights, the reliance on a cursor which feels like its purposely fighting you at times, still makes the controls feel clunky.

Controls and obnoxious voice acting aside, Pathfinder delivers exactly what it promises and does so very well. I can’t knock a game for not being something I usually play when it does what it sets out to do it so effectively. From the character creation, to the battle system, to the governing system, Pathfinder is incredibly in-depth. It’s very effectively realized and will steal whole hours of your day before you know it. If you miss the height of tabletops and CRPG’s and you love to fiddle with every nuance and detail in your gameplay, then Pathfinder: Kingmaker is definitely the game for you.

***PS4 code provided by the publisher***

The post Pathfinder: Kingmaker Definitive Edition Review – Tabletop Glory appeared first on COGconnected.

When doing my research, I discovered that Obey Me by Error 404 Game Studios is second in popularity to Obey Me, an anime dating game. This Obey Me is about a demon hunter, Vanessa, who is tasked by her demon overlord to fight through demons and angels with her hellhound, Monty, to carry out a secret mission that ends up with her caught directly in the middle of the war against Heaven and Hell. So, slightly different than an anime dating simulator. While Obey Me has a unique look to it and is quite fun to play, the almost-obnoxious characters and it being a direct clone of Diablo makes this one a tough sell, even at the low price.

A Girl and Her Beast

One of the biggest pros and biggest cons for Obey Me is, as I said, that it is a Diablo clone. For me, it was a big benefit because once I got the controls down in about two battles, I knew I was going to run through this game. I knew what to expect: dungeon crawling, a few locked-in battles that increase in difficulty until the boss — who will be a combo of all the monsters you fought before — and hidden treasures found if you wander away from checkpoints. I mean, the plot is even about warring Archduke Demons and angelic interference in the war. I could almost say the dialogue before it came out at times.

Our fearless heroine is Vanessa, a spunky demon hunter with an attitude who is the key to stopping the demon war. She is accompanied by her faithful companion Monty, a hellhound. Through the journals of Aleister Crowley, you find out that hellhounds used to be Higher Demons who, after making a grave mistake, are turned into hellhounds to run with the bottom feeding demon hunters. I make note of this because while all the other demons have Latin names, his name is Monty, which goes hand-in-hand with the snappy back-and-forth Vanessa and Monty have that plays itself off as humour. It’s not.

However, it does lead to the co-op section of the game. If you’ve got a friend that can couch co-op with you, they can pick up the controls as Monty and help you tear through the horde at will. While the AI is competent enough to help you through the battles, having another human teaming up always makes quicker work of your foes. In case you don’t have another person to play with you, again, the AI is competent and helps a lot, but it also lets you fully utilize the fusion technique the duo has. It’s weird to use with a friend but if you’re playing on your own, you can charge your fusion bar and merge with your hound to make a stronger hunter. You get a gun, your melee is stronger, you take less damage, and you basically run amok.

Visually Appealing, Yet Redundant

The different stages unlock different weapons as well as different modes for your hound. Each weapon has a different strength and if you can master swapping between them, they can be a deadly repertoire. Monty’s modes reflect the weapons you get, so leveling them up accordingly can really boost your effectiveness as a team. The upgrade tree is pretty standard, but padding out the right tree is paramount to you clearing a dungeon in record time or being stuck fighting a boss over and over and over again.

If you’ve played Diablo or any other akin game, you know exactly what this game looks and plays like: Top-down dungeon crawling with a very linear layout and basic controls with one button doing most things. Combining timing and the special skills of each weapon is also necessary to succeed. While Obey Me replicates the dungeon crawling with visual aplomb, the actual dungeons aren’t very pleasant. By the back half of the game, Vanessa is regularly saying “This again?” whenever you get to a new section of a dungeon. There’s usually a snarky comment from the dog to make light of it, but she says it so often that it almost becomes the joke itself. How many times can I possibly run through the same exact combination of flame thrower, spike tower, and explosive mine? Or laser saw, laser beam, and shielded enemies? While the dungeons do have a lovely aesthetic appeal, the redundancy of the maps is frustrating, to say the least.

Obey Me does a lot right to make it a fun play and entice fans of the genre in. The gameplay isn’t overly complicated but it’s still challenging. The dungeons are visually exciting and quite lengthy. They have a scoring system after each battle that will infuriate you if you don’t get the top score. However, the characters are not as endearing as the creators hoped they would be, the dungeons are repetitive, and it’s so close to being a Diablo game … well Diablo 3 is literally right there in my library. If you’re looking for a similar game to Diablo that isn’t just rehashing a game you’ve played a hundred times and you want something with a less bleak tone, then drop the $19.99 on Obey Me. Just know what to expect when you boot it up.

***PS4 review code provided by the publisher.***

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The post Obey Me Review – Inferior and Repetitive Diablo Knockoff appeared first on COGconnected.

The world of racing games is quite expansive and has two camps firmly situated in it. In the one corner, the more of a video game it is with weapons, mods, and gravity-defying stunts, the better. In the other, the gamers who demand hyperrealism. While I am firmly in the former, it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the latter, even if the latter is gruesomely punishing. MotoGP 20 is both beautiful to look at and a lot of fun, and it has a ton of ways to enjoy it but boy, is it ever not for the casual player.

MotoGP takes you all around the world to the best and brightest places to gun your bike up 230 mph in 5 seconds flat. From Australia, to Qatar, to Scotland, you have a wide selection of places and tracks to choose from to fulfill your racing desires. Every place is a lovely sight to behold, regardless of the weather. The level of difficulty is on a track by track basis determined by how good you are at high speed turns.

Can You Manage Those Turns?

The ways to race are also plentiful. There’s practice time trials, solo GP’s, online against humans, career mode, etc. to ensure that you can tackle the game in whichever fashion you prefer. The career mode is quite in-depth, allowing you to manage every aspect of your GP career. It includes everything from hiring a manager who can specialize in getting you more money or better gear, to signing the contracts that will get you the money you need to further your career. Better managers and better gear translate to better placement in the races which, in turn, gives you better contracts. The contracts specify to you how well you need to be doing in each race and the practices and gear you work on between GP’s ensures that you do well…as well as your driving allows, of course.

The customization level in the game is also quite staggering. The character creator leaves you with face presets, but that’s where the presets stop. The bike paint jobs can be tinkered with, all the way to the handlebars. Your suit can be any number of styles or colors, along with a huge plethora of gloves, pads, helmets, and boots to choose from. Each team you sign up with has different bike options that you can choose from to tailor to your racing style. Sometimes you might make a contract move and regret it because the bike isn’t quite what you like. In these cases, you might have to mod your bike in order to stay competitive in your current contract. While you can’t build your own character from scratch, there’s an absolute ton of options to make sure you personalize your character as you see fit.

The only real downside to MotoGP 20, however, is its inaccessibility. Like I said at the start, I’m much more adept at say, Mario Kart, where real world physics aren’t so integral to gameplay. When I hopped into GP, I got thrown to the wolves. Without a tutorial, I had to figure out the controls and mechanics on the fly and let’s just say that didn’t go well. In fairness to the game, it’s my bad for not reading all the options beforehand, but I’ve been spoiled by games that lead you into a game before ramping up the difficulty level. The difficulty curve here starts at an 8/10 and just gets more punishing as the game goes on. This is a game for purists and MotoGP has no problem in making sure you know that. It must make for some INCREDIBLE online races and boy does it ever make me feel inadequate as a gamer.

Overall, MotoGP 20 is a game for the player looking to be as close to racing on a crotch rocket at 300 mph without having to go jump on a bike themselves. With a very deep career mode, a ton of customization options, several modes of play, and stunning graphics from beautiful locales, there is a lot to do for the gaming purist looking for a hyper-realistic recreation of one of racing’s finest leagues. For the gamer who wants to shoot rockets from the sunroof and pull a barrel roll over a lake, well, this is probably not for you.

*** PS4 code provided by the publisher ***

The post MotoGP 20 Review – Beautifully Punishing appeared first on COGconnected.

The Dark Crystal was made popular back in the 80’s when Jim Henson’s puppet and animatronic blended film made a lot of people really weird in an age of traumatizing children’s movies that were incredible. From the ongoing demand of nostalgia, Netflix invested in the beloved movie and brought a prequel series that follows the Gelflings fighting back against the nightmare fuel Skeksis. I have seen the original film many times (though not in a number of years) and I haven’t seen the Netflix series yet. So, heading into a tie-in game, you can understand that I thought I knew what I was in for. I was not. While the turn-based gameplay and RPG elements are in-depth enough to be interesting, this has literally nothing to do with Dark Crystal. Not only do I know nothing new about the series, I’m also confused about what, if anything, was the reason for licensing this game. It’s a very confusing though decently fun game that I’m not really sure who the target audience is.

The game is a traditional turn-based RPG, each character able to move a certain number of spaces and their abilities able to span a certain number of blocks with enemies having the same movement and attack movements. Your team continues to grow throughout the game as you move through different stages, collecting characters from the franchise as you go, each of them having different ‘jobs’ assigned. These are all completely interchangeable, though I didn’t try to do it too much. Changing a soldier to a scout which ups the characters movements and turns but lowers their strength seemed silly when I could just move their soldier status up to the max third tier and make them a tank. The options are there though and I’m sure it could make for a very interesting game strategy if you began stacking your classes to specific levels.

Which brings us to the level design. As the game goes on, it gets more and more intricate as you rely less and less on straight attacks and more on the special attacks you unlock. As the levels offer you new ways to defeat your enemies, whether it be strange creatures that attack, or an acid swamp, or what have you, you need to use different attacks in order for these map specific traps to help you defeat an enemy and finish the map requirements and move on to the next mission.

Map Quest

Though, completing the map requirements is much more difficult than it sounds. Sometimes that means a jaunty 5 minutes in a dungeon, sometimes it’s 20 minutes as your band of Gelflings move 6 spaces at a time while your enemies chase you and you try to get them in the right spot to push them into an acid swamp while also trying to open a door on the other side of the room. So, it can be frustrating. As I stated above, the job classes are cool as they are very interchangeable, but they don’t seem to serve much purpose in my books. The loot system doesn’t always drop an adequate amount of pearls either, so you’re struggling to equip your people, right up until you finally get everyone fully loaded and then the pearls start accumulating. There’s always a higher tier armour or weapon, but by the time you actually get to them, you’re already manhandling enemies, so it’s just gratuitous at that point.

I can’t reiterate enough that I have no idea who this game is aimed at. I had no idea what was happening story-wise because I hadn’t seen the series and it had been time since I watched the movie. Is there enough to do to entice fans? Since you can just turn your characters into any class of fighter, I wonder. There were scenes that I felt for sure were pulled right from the show but the way I went about winning the stage was more than likely how it went down in the show. So again, it’s not for the uninitiated but I don’t think it’s for hardcore fans either. Turn-based RPG’s are also a pretty niche genre, so that adds another layer to my confusion.

Regardless of who it’s for, ultimately The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance falls somewhat flat. While I enjoyed aspects of it, those same things would frustrate me to no end in different maps. It’s a tie-in game that doesn’t give enough information to pull me in, though I feel it gives precious little new stuff to fans to entice them. When it comes down to it, I don’t really understand who this game is for because I can’t tell fans they’d love it and I can’t tell the uninitiated to pick it up because the story is baffling, and the gameplay isn’t great. So, even though there are aspects of the game that are solid, this one gets a hard pass from me. Hopefully, I have fewer nightmares about this game than I did about the Skeksis for pretty much my entire childhood.

***A PS4 review code was provided by the publisher ***

The post The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics Review – Resist If You Must appeared first on COGconnected.

Unlike the last entry of the top movies to avoid, we’re focused on the movies in 2020 that show the most promise and deserve your money. Admittedly, this list is going to be far more controversial than the last, but I am confident in my choices of what you should be watching over the next 12 months.

Birds of Prey (Feb 07)

Okay, so we’re going to start with the hardest pill I’ve ever had to swallow. Suicide Squad is the biggest pile of trash that’s ever been made with no redeeming qualities. The only thing that ever came out of that 120 minutes long deluge of feces was some smart casting choices. Namely, Margot Robbie as one Harley Quinn.

I’ve made it no secret that I think the WB has handled the DC films with what is tantamount to the single biggest debacle I’ve seen in Hollywood, maybe ever. So, with disdain, I watched the trailer for Birds of Prey and I ruefully will say my opinion changed. ‘Cause this movie looks great. Solid one liners from Harley, chaos abounding, violence, mayhem, flashy costumes, and Ewan McGregor as the villain. Also, no Jared Leto as Joker, thank god.

This is very hard for me to say, but everything about this trailer is very appealing. Add in its R rating and its attempt to capitalize on the Valentine’s Day market like Deadpool did; I think Birds of Prey is going to be not just a smash box office hit but also a pretty solid movie overall. Don’t make me regret my words, WB/ DC.

Onward (March 6)

In my books, Pixar can (almost) do no wrong. The less we say about The Good Dinosaur, the better. The latest entry into the Pixar lexicon looks pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself.

Blending the fantasy world with modern suburbia in a way only Pixar can, this one offers up jokes, action, and definitely an emotional one-two just to keep you on your toes. Couple that with Spider-Man and Star Lord on voice-over duties while Julia Louis-Dreyfus continues her career resurgence, everything about this one points to Pixar knocking it out of the park yet again. Very much looking forward to this one.

A Quiet Place II (March 20)

A Quiet Place broke out as a surprise smash hit that also showed that Jim could still give deep and meaningful gazes across large distances outside of The Office ,as well as have a magnificent beard. While it seemed like it finished with a pretty conclusive ending, that sweet, sweet, box office take made it so that a sequel was inevitable.

Luckily, Emily Blunt is back to hold things down and we all know she needs no accompaniment to carry a film and the teaser shows just that. Remember that bad ass end shot of the first one where Blunt cocks the shotgun and is ready to slay the aliens? Well, the teaser is just as quiet as you’d expect but she still has that ‘slay everything’ look about her that you would expect to see after years of monster killing following your husband’s death. The worry, of course, is that this will suffer from sequelitis and be a boring rehash of the movie we’ve already seen. I have faith that John Krasinski won’t do that to us and he’ll deliver a sequel that is a worthy follow up.

The post 10 Movies You Must See in 2020 appeared first on COGconnected.

As we begin a brand new year, it’s that time again where we give you our recommendations and our warnings for the coming year’s theatrical slate. This year’s slate is sans an Avengers or Star Wars movie but there’s still lots of good and an awful lot of potential bad movies to bring your attention to here. To start things off, let’s take a look at the 2020 movies you should definitely be running away from.

Dolittle (January 17)

There’s a term in Hollywood for the first two months of the year and it’s ‘deadzone’. Basically, studios try to squeak in their most subpar films to try to capitalize on the fact that there’s nothing else going on to squeeze a few extra dollars out on a project that would get buried during any other time of the year.

Which brings us to Robert Downey Jr’s first post Iron Man role – a retelling of the classic Doctor Dolittle story. RDJ’s star has never been stronger and he can carry any film he decides to but there’s, uh, something off about this one. AKA it looks awful. The list of stars is as long as my arm but my interest in seeing this movie couldn’t be shorter. The trailer lacks charm (which is RDJ’s strength), humor (which is odd since it’s supposed to be a comedy), and it seems like the ads are aimed at the parents of the children who are the key demographic of this one. Maybe it’ll bring home some serious dollars but I’m going to predict it’s going to also bring home some seriously bad reviews.

Sonic the Hedgehog (February 14)

Earlier this year the trailer for the extremely long gestating Sonic movie finally dropped and the character design was nightmare fuel – something I kind of think was done on purpose. The re-edit and redesign were done in a suspiciously short period of time and then the company who did the work went belly up in a suspiciously short span of time immediately after. This all points to a publicity stunt in my books as everyone did their best to ensure that everyone was talking about Sonic the Hedgehog for the first time in 20 years.

There’s nothing wrong with this trailer per say but it’s just something my gut is telling me. The jokes Jim Carey delivers aren’t really good and there’s a certain lack of cuteness which normally makes these types of movies excel. It all just seems to be missing a certain je ne sais quoi that makes me think this movie is going to be a rough ride.

The Invisible Man (February 28)

Does everyone remember when Marvel was riding high and every god damn movie studio on the planet decided they were all going to cash in on a connected universe? Well, a lot of those companies lost an absolute ton of money building a series of very expensive films about characters that no one cared if they were in each other’s movies or not. Universal, of course, is one of the biggest losers of this gamble, but god bless them, they’re pushing forward anyway!

And true to form, they have replicated the formula used on The Mummy (which actually wasn’t terrible) and made the titular character the villain. Because that’s how you build a franchise. Why am I investing in a character if he’s the villain who is going to be defeated by the actual star, whoever the hell the other person is? Also, this was initially supposed to be a Johnny Depp vehicle but Depp got off that train faster than his marriage to Amber Heard ended and I feel like that’s a good warning to us all. Basically, this psuedo horror is going to sully a great story and potentially ruin Elizabeth Moss’ film career.

The post Ten 2020 Movies You Might Want to Skip appeared first on COGconnected.

Last week I tackled the PS4 port of Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, which I absolutely loved. This week, I take a stab at The Gathering Storm expansion pack – an expansion that promises to elevate the game and make it even better. The Gathering Storm expands on the regular gameplay with more options, new ways to be victorious, and a more balanced way to wage war. Suffice it to say, if you’re into Civ VI as much as I am, you’ll want to pick this one up! The price tag may change your mind though…

The expansion adds several new leaders and nations for you to develop through the centuries, including my homeland which I was impartial to as a good ol’ Canadian boy. The special abilities that each of the new leaders bring to table make for some very interesting map builds where you can try to make a map to benefit yourself but might end up screwing yourself over. For instance, using my Canadian special abilities of building farms on frost (and laughing at all those suckers fighting for farmland south of me) may have lead to being raided by Viking berserkers non-stop because I was the only other person that far north. Civ VI makes sure that the special abilities that you are gifted with aren’t so powerful that it give you an unfair advantage, but it definitely adds to the fun of it all.

The other new additions other than new civilizations, is a new warmonger system that adds grievances to balance out the war system. No longer will the other nations be as battle hungry for retaliating and taking a city after you’ve been invaded by another empire. Previously, regardless of the scenario, waging war and taking cities from opponents would paint you in a bad light with the rest of the rulers. The grievances system allows everyone transparency and a lot more fairness when it comes to the domination side of playing.

Uncivilized

Additionally, there’s a whole new diplomacy system that uses diplomacy points as a currency system to use if you strive to have a diplomatic victory. Garnering friendships and alliances will put you in the forefront of diplomatic victory and will help you out in the other new addition – the World Congress. The world congress gets all of the empires together to vote on topics that are either pointed specifically at a particular empire or will help or hinder all. While the diplomatic victory option makes it handy to be friendly to all and still climb the ranks to victory, the congress option leaves much to be desired. On more than one occasion, I was leading in diplomacy (and at least one other category) and my vote in the congress was completely ignored. Since diplomatic points are what’s supposed to be the main decision making aspect in the world congress, I didn’t really see any benefit to helping in the voting.

One of the biggest changes in the expansion is the change in the map and the weather system. As one can imagine with a name like ‘The Gathering Storm’, the environment plays a big part in the expansion. Not only are there varying degrees of natural disasters to make your life more difficult, but the way you and the rest of the world build your empires affects the global climate. While very applicable to today’s society, boy can it ever be real annoying in game. Nothing is more to the point than when I laughed all through the Medieval Age as the Sumerian’s nearest me got repeatedly flooded on their low laying terrain, only to wait until the Atomic Age when my lacklustre environmental policies ended up in rising sea levels that began to wash away whole districts I had been building for ages. The environmental aspect of Gathering Storm certainly adds a degree of difficulty to the game that is very real world based as well as making it apparent as to why we are in such trouble in our current world.

What it shakes down to though, is whether there’s enough bang for your buck in this DLC pack. There are so many positives that make it worth your while with new leaders, new ways to win, and new environmental challenges to test your mettle. However, the $40 price tag makes it a bit of tough pill to swallow. Half the price would be a no-brainer but having a DLC pack that’s 50% of the of the original game price is a bit steep. Personally, given how much replay value and how all consuming Civ VI is when I’ve delved into it, I wouldn’t hesitate to bite the bullet. However, I can understand the trepidation if anyone would have it. The Gathering Storm is certainly worth the price tag to me and I’ve lost sleep and been late to work in order to squeeze a few more turns out. If you’re dedicated to the 4X genre and enjoy Civ VI already, it’s well worth the price tag.

*** A review code was provided by the publisher ***

The post Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: The Gathering Storm Review – Almost a Perfect Storm appeared first on COGconnected.

When you talk about the turn-based 4X genre, you can’t have the conversation without talking about the Sid Meier’s franchise. The Civilization franchise has always been a benchmarker in the 4X world and with the expansion and port of the sixth iteration making its way to the PS4, Civilization VI proves that Sid is still going strong as the leader in the genre as Civ VI is easily one of the best 4X games I’ve ever played and its console port is nearly perfect, making for a compelling and completely engrossing experience.

Civ VI follows suit with its predecessors in getting you to expand your empire through the ages, one turn at a time. Your choice of empire building is tied to your choice of the worlds greatest leaders, each of whom come with their own specific skills, special abilities, and unique unlocks to make each dynasty build feel different and challenging. There are a number of different maps you can also use so you’re never repeating the same build each time. The unique builds always give you a great challenge but I do stress building your own games and keeping the maps manageable in size seeing as it is turn-based. Nothing worse than wanting to come to the aid of some of your forces under attack and seeing that it’s going to take 37 turns.

You Can’t Measure Hours in Turns 

The massive appeal of this game is not just that you’re getting a seemingly new experience each time or the variety of ways in which you can play. The biggest appeal of Civ VI is how easy it is to get lost playing it. Hours slip past and you’re still trying to make sure your newest colony is surviving and ensuring the economical alliance you struck with the Canadians is still thriving. Quite frankly, I’m playing while writing this. In between turns, I’m hopping over to my laptop to plug away at this review, so if that doesn’t tell you how utterly consuming this game is, I don’t have a better example.

In addition to the regular game, there’s an online component if you think you can beat people on the interwebs in the struggle of survival and expansion. There are also several scenarios you can try out if you’d prefer a timed experience and not throwing your entire weekend away. Again, this just adds to the incredible amount of gameplay and replayability that Civilization VI offers.

The 4X genre is full of terrific games that will suck up hours of your time. Very few make the transition from PC to console so effortlessly. The game looks great, the music is very relaxing and surprisingly not obnoxious considering how many hours I sat and played it, and I have almost no problems with the game at all. The only knock I guess I could dig up is that while they did a good job putting the controls to the PS4 controller, it’s still very clearly meant for PC. It’s such a minuscule thing but there were a few occasions that I wished the controls were laid out differently.

Basically, if you enjoy 4X games or are a Civilization fan, you have to pick this up. But you didn’t need me to tell you that. It’s already on your list and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is already in the download queue. If it’s not, you’ve got time right now to remedy that.

Next week I’ll tackle the Gathering Storm expansion pack to Civilization VI. With the level of enjoyment I’ve been having and the terrific gameplay I’ve experienced thus far, I only expect the best from the new pack. Check back in and find out if the add ons are worth their weight in gold.

***PS4 code was provided by the publisher***

The post Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (PS4) Review – All Hail The Mighty Sid appeared first on COGconnected.

It was already a decade ago that audiences were first introduced to the movie Zombieland and its hometown-named heroes. It became a surprise hit and it took all this time to return to Zombieland for a sequel. In that time, the leads became more famous, wrangled in awards, became A-listers, and was a horrible Lex Luthor. Now that Double Tap, the aforementioned sequel, has hit theatres, a tie-in game was attached to go along with it. I’m unsure how familiar our readers are with tie-in games, but they’re usually as bad as the video game to film adaptations. Zombieland: Double Tap -Road Trip is a top-down, dual-stick entry into the world of Zombieland that lives up (or down) to tie-in standards. Other than the tried and true mechanics of the genre, Road Trip offers not much more and does a poor job of trying to capitalize off the buzz generated by the movie.

Road Trip takes you to various locales in Zombieland as you take on the mantle of the heroes of our story, including unlocking the new ones from the Double Tap movie. Each character has a unique quality to help you out, they each wield different weapons with different efficiencies, and each character has a special move to help you out of those situations when you are overrun by the undead.

“LFG – Game”

The gameplay, as well as the controls, are your classic twin-stick shooter and they work pretty well in that regard. It’s easy to run around the map shooting zombies, even as the zombies grow in numbers. If you can find 3 friends to play with, I’m sure you’ll have an adequate time shooting zombies while Woody Harrelson utilizes audio snips transplanted from the movies. The thing is, you’ll have to convince 3 friends to play with you. If you can’t, the enjoyment drops significantly if you’re playing by yourself, because the levels are annoyingly difficult. The ever increasing horde makes it a lot harder to do tasks if no one can watch your back. The Horde part of the game falls directly into the same category. If there are no teammates, you will not get very far, regardless of how accurate you can shoot.

The graphics are underwhelming, which of course do not help anything either. When talking about top-down games, I’m sure we can all name a bunch that we love. The one that comes to mind for me are the Baldur’s Gate games. Know why? Because that’s roughly the graphical output you’re looking at. Even on the home screen when they make actual avatars, they look like the statues you see in celebrity wax museums that leave you saying, “If I didn’t know who this was supposed to be, I’d be lost”. This brings us to, unfortunately, the best part of the movie tie-in – the celebrity appearances. While these are always hilariously bad, Road Trip strives to take the cake with badly-timed subtitles and a desperate attempt to capture the charm and humour that made Zombieland popular. It simply falls flat and the game falls on its face.

The reason why Zombieland was popular was because it was quirky, the characters were charming, and it was hilariously meta (I’m looking at you, Bill Murray). The makers of Road Trip try to recapture that glory but they seemed to have missed the part about how the characters made that movie. Much like how the phrase ‘Nut up or shut up’ was already tired by the end of the first movie, Road Trip is tired even as it boots up. So much so that most of the dialogue given to Tallahassee is that phrase that has been worn out for a full decade. Luckily, Double Tap itself was much better than its game counterpart. Based on historical examples, this isn’t the first time nor will it be the last time we can make that statement.

*** A PS4 code was provided by the publisher ***

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