2019/12/18: Playstation 4: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Dead or Alive 6

Let me know what you think about my reviews.
User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

2019/12/18: Playstation 4: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Dead or Alive 6

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 18th, 2019, 9:01 pm

I'd like to hear your thoughts on these

User avatar
BlasteroidAli
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 7:50 pm

Re: 2019/12/18: Playstation 4: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Dead or Alive 6

Postby BlasteroidAli » December 18th, 2019, 9:24 pm

I have the first Life is strange. I found it underwhelming. It looks like part 2 is of a similar ilk though you seem to suggest it is passable.
Fighting games. When Tekken/DOA/WF first came out it was like WOW. 25 years later and substantially they have not changed. The graphics are a lot better but they just seem to play the same way. I am old now so my hands cannot work quick enough for the buttons.
As such I cannot see me getting another DOA and on the strength of your review it sounds like nothing much has changed. Last good game, VF4?

ThePixelatedGenocide
Posts: 1232
Joined: April 29th, 2015, 9:06 pm

Re: 2019/12/18: Playstation 4: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Dead or Alive 6

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » December 19th, 2019, 5:07 am

Gotta disagree with at least one part of the DOA review.

Unless Team Ninja changed the physics engine in part 6, Dead or Alive has never simulated breasts accurately. If you unleash Tecmo's odeal preferences, they act like Jell-o in near zero G. Sports bras were invented to avoid the pain of DOA breast physics on their lower settings...although, to be fair, Team Ninja has never gone full topless, so maybe they just have terrible everything else physics?

Still, any gamer offended by them, (anyone?) is missing out on a really good fighting game engine. You totally nailed the depth of the engine. My ex, her wife, and I were pretty evenly matched, so it almost felt like speedrunning a game of chess by way of Dance, Dance, Revolution, except way more forgiving than either of those games.

Except when you get punished for taking too many risks.

So, possible second disagreement, why only a C+ grade? You say the arcade mode offers little sense of progression, but can't the same be said for the arcade mode of Streetfighter 2, as well?

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: 2019/12/18: Playstation 4: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Dead or Alive 6

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 19th, 2019, 6:53 pm

ThePixelatedGenocide wrote:
So, possible second disagreement, why only a C+ grade? You say the arcade mode offers little sense of progression, but can't the same be said for the arcade mode of Streetfighter 2, as well?


In most games the arcade mode culminates with a boss and some sort of ending. In DOA6, it's just a series of random fights. Maybe I should mention that in the review.

User avatar
Matchstick
Posts: 977
Joined: October 26th, 2017, 6:45 am

Re: 2019/12/18: Playstation 4: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Dead or Alive 6

Postby Matchstick » December 19th, 2019, 10:51 pm

Never played any of the Life is Strange games, though I've been told I should. I hear they take place in Oregon (where I live) but also hear that they kind of tend to make the people out here look bad. Heh, maybe I'll find out, someday.

I like the DOA6 review. I don't have the retail game, but I did download the free Core Fighters version about six months ago and have been having a blast with it. Yeah, you only get four characters (including Kasumi!) and the story mode is not part of the package, but the rest of the games's content is fully intact and included. I tried it out to see if I liked the game (viewing it as a glorified rental) and have since been waiting for it to go on sale for a low enough price to pick up the full package. Once it hits $10 or $15, SOLD!!

I agree with the lack of endings in arcade mode. It's a real bummer, but it seems like nearly every fighting game nowadays shies away from including individual endings for each character. Mortal Kombat handles endings well, but even DOA5 didn't have endings for each character, with DOA4 being the last game in the series to include them. They're so goofy and off-kilter, and my wife *loves* the 4th game for that reason, especially Kasumi's ending, where she dreams she's a mermaid. Even though I personally think that the 5th game is the best in the series so far, the lack of endings for each character just stinks. It's a shame that they went this route again with DOA6, but it is fun to play arcade mode for a high score. That, and the higher the difficulties you complete in arcade mode, the more challenging difficulties you unlock. Man, can this game kick your butt on the harder settings.

It's also a shame how "grindy" the game is when it comes to unlocking costumes. You cannot unlock any new characters through gameplay, only through paid DLC methods. BOOOOO! Most of the costumes are locked away behind a DLC paywall, too. BOOOOO, again!! What there is to unlock takes a series of points that seem to be handed out a random. Beating arcade mode may give you 200 costume points (at most) but it goes to a random costume that isn't always tied to the character you were using, and some costumes take upwards of 1500 points to unlock. Once you get enough points, you then need to purchase them for several thousand dollars worth of the in-game currency. I would estimate it took me about 10 hours of gameplay to unlock Kasumi's black outfit (my favorite) and I don't think this is limited to the Core Fighters version, as I believe the full retail release follows this unlock strategy, as well. Ug.

I like having things to unlock, but when Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast does it better than most games twenty years later, I think that's a bit of a problem. In SC, you unlocked a new character each time you beat arcade mode with a different character. Same goes for other Namco games of the era, such as Tekken 3. Extra costumes weren't too hard to unlock, either. Every play session with SC felt like a reward. With DOA6, while the game is well-made and fun to play (and that music is, indeed, great) it just doesn't offer much of a reward to keep playing.

Yes, gameplay can be its own reward (which is why it's fun to bust out Super Street Fighter II every now and then) but when there is the promise of unlockable items which you may only see after dozens of hours of gameplay or after spending a significant amount of real money, It can make for a bit of a hollow experience. As a publisher, you run the risk of the player getting burnt out on the title before they have the chance to unlock the best items. This is one of those games where I can practically feel the guys at Tecmo dangling that carrot on a string in front of my face.

Still a fun game, DOA6, but not a world-beater. For that, I think a C+ is the perfect grade.

User avatar
BlasteroidAli
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 7:50 pm

Re: 2019/12/18: Playstation 4: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Dead or Alive 6

Postby BlasteroidAli » December 23rd, 2019, 8:35 pm

So I played the first episode of the first life is strange. Wow, a d- max. I was really bored during it. The story was so predictable. Thanks for the waring bout LISBTS.


Return to “Review Feedback”