Gaming

Forspoken review-in-progress

Best (and worst) of both worlds

Published

January 24, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Most roleplaying games today fall under two categories: Western or Japanese. Though they might not realize a distinction between the two, each player usually has a preference leaning one way or the other. However, on rare occasions, a game can cross over and appeal to both audiences, such as Elden Ring and the Dark Souls series from FromSoftware, a Japanese developer. While these games makes its non-partisan appeal subtle, Forspoken is taking a more blatant approach.

In Forspoken, Alfre Holland (or Frey, for short) is a 20-year-old miscreant, orphaned as a baby and stuck in the wrong circles. Frey’s heart is in the right place, though. Amid all the arrests, her one goal is to save enough money to leave New York and care for her cat, Homer. However, everything changes when she stumbles upon a talking vambrace which transports her to the magically corrupted world of Athia. It’s a fish-out-of-water story inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

Once a sprawling paradise, Athia is on the verge of destruction because of a zombie-making infection that Frey calls the Break. Rendered on a PS5, Forspoken makes Athia pop with different biomes across its many regions. Character animations, particularly Frey’s, are also the best we’ve seen in this generation even in simple animations as Frey petting a cat or thumping on her leg during a running sequence.

Western meets Japanese

In contrast to the story, Forspoken’s gameplay is anything but unfamiliar. The game melds the most notorious elements of Western and Japanese RPGs together in a satisfying (but sometimes confusing) blend.

Like a Western game, Forspoken features a sprawling map littered with objectives and markers to cross off a list. Though it’s not as blatant as, say, a Ubisoft collect-a-thon, there’s still a lot to do. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t offer much in between pursuing objectives. Despite the map’s size, Athia is largely empty and devoid of any personality. After a while, even the different map markers blend into the same formula: clear the enemy and claim the treasure.

It’s almost a requirement to go through a good chunk of the optional objectives, too. Following a more Japanese angle, Forspoken features a complex crafting system required to level up Frey and acquire new abilities. Combat is similar, asking players to master a wide selection of spells mid-fight. It also has an annoyingly chatty side character in Cuff, the same talking vambrace (which the game mercifully allows players to minimize chatter from).

If anything, combat and traversal are bright spots in Forspoken, highlighted by the fluid magic parkour system. Except for some areas with hard limits, it’s smooth to move around Athia. Now, to compensate for the fluidity of movement, the game relies on only a limited set of strategies for enemies: packing a hundred of them in a cramped location or making one an absolute bullet sponge.

Obviously, Forspoken is far from a perfect game. Still, it’s a fun addition to the roleplaying genre.

Gaming

There’s a new Batman Arkham game coming

Exclusive to VR

Published

May 3, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

The world of Batman Arkham is not done. Despite concluding the trilogy with the successful Arkham Knight, the series occasionally makes a comeback. Now, it’s time to make another trip to the immersive grimdark world. Batman: Arkham Shadow is the next entry to the series, exclusive to the Meta Quest 3.

The franchise’s trips outside of the main trilogy are a mixed bag. No disrespect to those who actually liked the game, but Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League just was not it. Though the game promised a return to Rocksteady’s iconic Arkham formula, the resulting game was a live-service mess. Arkham Origins was, at least, a decent play. Finally, the franchise’s first foray into VR, Arkham VR, was lauded for its gameplay but criticized for its length.

Arkham Shadow brings the franchise back to virtual reality. While the previous VR-exclusive was already a marvel of its technology, the upcoming title represents an evolution for hardware. Based on the official teaser, it will have updated graphics, giving Arkham City just that extra bite of darkness.

Currently, the trailer does not reveal anything about the game’s mechanics. More details are scheduled for release during the Summer Game Fest in June.

Though Arkham Shadow is certainly set in the eponymous universe, Rocksteady is not helming the development. Instead, Oculus Studios and Camouflaj are behind the title.

As for confirmed lore, the title looks like it will feature Ratcatcher, the villain who — surprise, surprise — controls rats. You might recognize the villain from 2021’s The Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn.

Gaming

Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO: New trailer, more characters revealed

It’s master vs. apprentice this time

Published

May 3, 2024

GadgetMatch

Today, Bandai Namco has released another trailer for Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. The clip focuses on master-apprentice duels this time, expanding on what we know so far about the upcoming latest installment of the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi fighting game series.

In the trailer, we see an epic series of battles between master and apprentice pairings. These include Piccolo against Gohan, Master Roshi against Krillin and Yamcha, Trunks versus Gohan, and a lot more. We also see Android 17 and Android 18 and one-armed Gohan towards the end of the trailer.

Even better news: it has been confirmed that 10 more playable characters have been included to the roster:

Gohan (Kid)
Gohan (Adult)
Gohan (Future)
Gohan (Future), Super Saiyan
Trunks (Sword)
Trunks (Sword), Super Saiyan
Videl
Beerus
Whis
Master Roshi

After the announcement of 24 Gokus and Vegetas, as well as 11 more characters about two months ago, the build-up definitely continues for the fighting game. With more and more playable characters, that means endless combinations for players to enjoy, all while indulging in stunning visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5 and tailor-made for new-gen consoles.

Bandai Namco previously released exclusive gameplay footage from the title two months ago. This gave fans a preview upcoming fighting game’s 3D action-battle mechanics, with no less than rivals Goku and Vegeta leading the way.

The latest trailer, meanwhile, just let fans dive further into the graphical capabilities of the title. From the lightning-paced combat highlighted in the master-apprentice showdowns, to the characters’ in-action effects itself, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is building itself as a visual masterpiece.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).

Gaming

TEKKEN 8: Brand new story, 2nd DLC character announced

Season 1 roadmap unveiled

Published

May 2, 2024

GadgetMatch

Enjoying TEKKEN 8 so far? The title’s upcoming roadmap for the rest of 2024 has been revealed at EVO Japan, giving fans more reasons to keep playing Arika and Bandai Namco’s beloved fighting game.

There will be an all-new story coming to TEKKEN 8‘s Story Mode, which will be released in the future. Additionally, Lidia Sobieski has been confirmed as the second DLC character. She will be joining the roster this summer. It can be recalled that Eddy Gordo was the first character DLC for TEKKEN 8, joining the roster last April 4.

No specific date has been mentioned yet regarding Lidia Sobieski. Lidia made her franchise debut back in TEKKEN 7 as a DLC for the Season 4 Pass.

Meanwhile, adjustments to the battle system will be rolled out starting this spring. The game’s development team continues to work on improving balance and player experience. New modes such as Ghost vs. Ghost and Online Practice, on the other hand, will also be added at a later date.

Moreover, a new summer-themed stage, “Seaside Resort” will be available for free. Lastly, a brand new story will also be part of another free update in autumn. This new story will involve no less than Eddy Gordo.

ALSO READ: TEKKEN 8 closes a violent chapter to begin anew

TEKKEN World Tour

Also keeping TEKKEN fans busy for the next few months is the TEKKEN World Tour. The sixth season of this global tournament kicked off recently. Players across the globe compete to earn points and earn their place at the finals to be named The King of Iron Fist.

There will be a total of two Master+ events, 10 Master Events, and 14 Challenger Events worldwide for competitors to join. For more information on tour partners, event dates, locations, and signups, visit tekkenworldtour.com.