XZoro™

DH1 DH2

Game Informations. Developers : Online R&D. Publishers : SEGA. Released : 5 Aug, 2020. Genre : Action, role-playing, Massively Multiplayer Online. Mode : Single-player, Multiplayer. Platforms : Microsoft Windows - PlayStation 4 - Xbox One - Xbox Series X/S - Nintendo Switch. I can’t believe it took nearly eight years for Phantasy Star Online 2 to get an official Western release, but here we are. I dumped hundreds of hours into the game years ago on the Japanese servers, and while I was very taken with it then, time has been less than kind to it. Once you add in the new problems included due to the Microsoft Store, you’re left with a worse version of a dated game that’s nearly half a decade behind the easily playable Japanese version. Darken my door The basic premise of Phantasy Star Online 2 is that you’re a fresh recruit in the ARKS organization, which is fighting off an invasion by the Falspawn (unfortunately known as Darkers in the original Japanese). The North American version currently has the first three episodes of the story available, with episodes four and five supposedly coming at a later date. For reference, episode 4 debuted in 2015. I guess they thought it’d be okay to give people time to catch up. While the story used to be unlocked by completing obnoxious objectives in the field to unlock squares on what was known as the Matter Board, now all you have to do is select story quests from the menu. These are made up of cutscenes and levels to play through that advance the narrative, that is — if you even want to do the story. It gives you some useful gear, but it’s also boring, and punctuated by stiff, awkward cutscenes and poor character animation. That also applies to the game’s visuals as a whole. Phantasy Star Online 2 wasn’t exactly a great-looking game when it originally launched in 2012, and it looks downright archaic now. Character models are basic and doll-like, and the environments feel small and lifeless. The available anti-aliasing is FXAA, so the game can often look truly terrible. While most enduring online games get some sort of makeover to keep things fresh, this one didn’t. I tried to enhance the visuals with the Radeon Software, but it can’t detect the game due to its being a Microsoft Store app. I had to put Reshade on it to make it look bearable. Gotta level ’em all The general structure of Phantasy Star Online 2 is questionable at best. Barring the story, early progression is based around going into exploration fields for each zone and completing them to unlock access to the next ones. These are made up of two randomly generated areas followed by a boss encounter. You can choose to rush through to the boss battle to get it over with, but there are random events to find where you’ll interact with NPCs, fight waves of enemies, or even fight boss monsters. It doesn’t take long for the game to feel like a bit of a pointless grind, but the combat is still as fun as ever. There’s a wide variety of classes and they generally feel quite different from each other. Some classes focus on using melee weapons to smack your foes around, while others give you ranged weapons. My favorite class, Braver, mixes the two by giving you a katana and a bow. The weapons are fun to use and the combat is more fluid and technically proficient than tends to be the case in these sorts of games. You don’t just wail on things, either. You can dodge, parry, utilize perfectly timed strikes to do more damage, and make use of a large host of Photon Arts. Photon Arts are dropped by foes and can be learned by selecting them in the menu. Then you just open up your subpalette and put them in, and you can use them in battle. Leveling up naturally nets you skill points that you can use to put into skill trees that build up your character. One neat thing that Phantasy Star Online 2 does is that it also has subclass versions of the main classes, which allows players to build their characters in more specific ways while simultaneously leveling a second class. This is the end, friend But what would an online game like this be without a solid endgame? Well, funny story, but Phantasy Star Online 2 doesn’t have one. The only real goals that will pop up are new weapons that come tied to events where you have to beat a certain urgent quest. You’ll do this so the boss will drop items that can be used to exchange for better weapons. But that’s only helpful if you want to turn the difficulty levels up as high as they go. The game’s urgent quests are fun, though. Every day has multiple scheduled urgent quests. When it’s time, you just walk up to the quest counter and accept one. These can net you better gear, but once you get to a certain point you’re only going to get a bunch of crap you don’t want that’s just used to improve the weapon you’re currently using. Upgrading weapons is one of the game’s biggest grinds as paying for the upgrades gets very expensive at higher levels. But if you get pulled into the game, you’ll get around this by joining an alliance that runs time trial quests every week to keep you flush with cash. Speaking of cash, Phantasy Star Online 2 is free to play, and this is one of those games where there isn’t any pressing need to spend any money. That being said, your inventory capacity is capped at 50 slots by default, which is extremely small and you’ll need to buy inventory expansions with ARKS Cash to make it larger. ARKS Cash is also used to buy scratch tickets that can net you new outfits from specific series. As this version of the game has only been around since March, however, the outfit selection is low and the prices to buy some of them with in-game currency on the player marketplace are ridiculous. Not here to stay Other than all of that, the biggest objective in Phantasy Star Online 2 is to level up all of the classes. Each time one hits level 75, your character gets a permanent bonus. I still enjoy the combat and have fond memories with the game, but it’s fairly hard to recommend to new players in 2020. Although I jumped back in for a dozen hours or so to get the lay of the land, I don’t feel compelled to get lost in this game again. And even if I did, I’d play the Japanese version, as this one still has some kinks that need to be worked out. Many people can’t even play the game, and those that can get hit by a bunch of giant issues. For one, there’s a ton of lag on the ship. Players found a workaround already, but the professionals apparently couldn’t be bothered to fix it themselves, despite its apparently being simple. I also had an issue where the game wouldn’t let me accept quests due to a glitch during matchmaking. Most people who were curious about Phantasy Star Online 2 tried it years ago. And players who have stuck with it since can’t move their characters to the new servers and would find less content even if they did, so it seems like a case of too little, too late for the game. At any rate, it was still cool to play the game with everything being in English for once. System requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64bit Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 and above Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT AMD RADEON HD2900XT or a Graphics Card of the same caliber and above DirectX: Version 9.0c Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 80 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Soundcard (DirectX 9.0c and above) Additional Notes: Monitor Resolution: 1280 × 720 and above ------------------------ RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64bit Processor: Intel Core i5 6500 and above Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti or a Graphics Card of the same caliber and above DirectX: Version 9.0c Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 80 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Soundcard (DirectX 9.0c and above) Additional Notes: Monitor Resolution: 1280 × 720 and above

We just finished the second Anniversary Collection event, but Respawn didn’t waste any time in preparing another event for the upcoming Switch launch of Apex Legends. The Chaos Theory Collection Event is themed after Caustic, and will add plenty more cosmetics, a town takeover, new game types, and in-game items to Apex Legends. Starting on March 9, you’ll be able to experience the new thrills and chills. Perhaps all that Nox Gas isn’t something to look forward to actually. The rest of the update is certainly exciting though. We don’t usually get Collection Events so close together, but the Switch launch is a good reason to do another. This marks the long-awaited debut of Apex Legends on the popular Nintendo console and also presents new opportunities for PC players. You’ll now be able to play with friends no matter the platform. Plus, there’s a sweet Pathfinder skin you can claim if you own a Switch. Just download the game and link your accounts to receive a sleek, white and red skin. The new location on the Kings Canyon map will be a popular new destination come March 9. The Water Treatment location has been remade and renamed as Caustic Treatment. Those two words don’t exactly jive in a positive way, do they? There’s now a chemical facility that somewhat resembles the original location, however, it now features plenty of gas tanks. Players can risk death by deploying the facility gas canisters to expose gold items. It will certainly be a risk worth taking as long as you don’t encounter enemies amidst the fumes. Now featuring more death storms The next noteworthy addition is the new playlist called Ring Fury Escalation. In this LTM takeover, you’ll need to worry about Ring Flares in addition to the normal closing Ring. The Ring Flares work in an inverse manner to the normal Ring. These will randomly crop up on the map and expand as matches progress. Fortunately, you’ll be able to counter them with a new item called a Heat Shield. And you’ll definitely want to master this new item, because the Ring Flares will grow more aggressive with each passing day of the LTM. Heat shields are new permanent item which serve as bubble shields that protect players from Ring damage for a limited time. Heat Shields have a few interesting characteristics. For starters, you can store them in a new “survival” inventory slot for a maximum of two. Heat Shields will last as long as they are deployed within the zone, but Ring damage will begin to eat away at the item’s health. That means these will collapse over time and won’t last long in the powerful endgame rings. Still, these will make a huge impact on how Apex is played from here on out. Heat Shields not only protect players from Ring damage, but also speed up revives and and healing item use times. Expect to see new strategies implemented by enemy teams, and hopefully no exploits. The changes keep coming Respawn is piling on a ton of changes to Apex Legends in the upcoming Chaos Theory Collection Event. You can expect more limited-time cosmetics that will be available to unlock or purchase along with a rewards track that can be filled up by completing daily challenges. Respawn didn’t list all of the cosmetics in the official blog post today, but we’ll gather everything up for you and have a separate guide on all of the new looks you can expect to acquire soon. There’s even a new heirloom for Bangalore that looks just as deadly as her. The Chaos Theory Collection Event and the coinciding Switch launch for Apex Legends also marks another opportunity for Respawn to implement more gameplay balancing and quality of life changes. Expect more info on that soon. March 9 is just around the corner, so you’ll be gassing it up in no time. The Collection Event will run until March 23, so you’ll have a healthy amount of take in the sights and enjoy the toxic fumes. Check out our Caustic Legend guide if you want to learn how to use him to his fullest potential during his moment in the spotlight.

DH1 DH2

Game Informations. Developers : Layopi Games. Publishers : 1C Entertainment. Released : 17 Sep, 2019. Genre : Action, Adventure, General. Mode : Single-player. Platforms : Microsoft Windows - PlayStation 4 - Xbox One - Nintendo Switch. Video game adaptations of books have become increasingly popular over the last few years, especially with the success of The Witcher, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and Metro. It makes sense. These novels already have extensive lore and proven narratives that yearn for a more visual art form. Author Paweł Leśniak took note, and he created his own studio to adapt his novel Equilibrium into a video game. That effort has led to Devil’s Hunt. Devil’s Hunt is the first third-person hack-and-slash action game developed by Layopi Games. Did they make a deal with the Devil, or did they breathe new life into a crowded hack-and-slash genre? Devil may not cry Devil’s Hunt introduces the player to Desmond Pearce, the son and future heir of a wealthy entrepreneur. He’s truly living his best life, with a beautiful girlfriend finally agreeing to marry him and a burgeoning boxing career about to take off. Alas, a series of misfortunes puts Desmond face-to-face with Lucifer himself – the only one who can restore Desmond’s life back to normal. If you think this sounds convoluted, you’re absolutely right. As Devil’s Hunt‘s development was steered by its lead writer, I had expected it to at least have a passable story. To my surprise, the game’s storyline would feel more appropriate in a ’90s teen drama than a modern video game. While there are some admittedly interesting and unexpectedly well-written characters, Devil’s Hunt‘s seven-hour campaign is more campy than riveting. Voice acting is a major strong point for the game, even when the engine doesn’t always match the characters’ words to their mouths. At times, character interactions genuinely captivated me, because voice acting this good feels way out of place in a plot as haphazard as this. Lucifer’s voice acting performance is one of the narrative’s highest points. Shame we don’t see much of him after the first few levels. Thematically speaking, Devil’s Hunt discusses the perpetual tension between light and dark, good and bad, and authentic and fake – all to a nauseating extent. At its best, Devil’s Hunt is a magnificent tale of a fall from grace, of the ultimate loss, of revenge, and a chance at redemption. On the other hand, there is a reason Leśniak’s novels average a 2.5/5 on GoodReads, and it isn’t because of thoughtful nuance or character development. Rather, Devil’s Hunt tries to introduce as many plot points as possible instead of expanding on those it establishes early. Character motivations aren’t really clear, and ultimately the main characters are little more than flat and generic – especially Desmond. Desmond is as shallow as his leather jacket would suggest. Silly one-liners, a lack of emotion, and every generic action-movie trope known to Hollywood reduce him to a hero worth forgetting. This detracts from a story that already sits on the cusp of tolerability. And if you like closure, stay far away from this game. Devil’s Hunt is strictly an adaptation of the first novel in the trilogy. This means that things end with a big fat cliffhanger to set up the next game in the series. Your best weapon is yourself You’ll spend most of your time in Devil’s Hunt slicing through waves of the same enemies, with a few boss battles scattered throughout. While it’s easy to compare the game to Devil May Cry, I think the combat of Assassin’s Creed is more similar. While you’re stuck in the same cramped battlefields as Devil May Cry, you’ll spend less time building up combos and more time evading, parrying, or reversing enemy attacks. Combat ranges from ridiculously easy to cripplingly hard, but never in a good way Desmond’s attacks feel sluggish from the get-go, but the game’s fairly comprehensive skill tree quickly allows the player to utilize supernatural powers and devastating finishing moves. These keep combat fresh. Each branch of the skill tree corresponds to one of Desmond’s fighting “schools,” which can be swapped any time using the D-pad. The “executor” school transforms Desmond’s arm into a fiery demon fist, utilizing brute force to pummel his foes. The “unholy” school allows Desmond to regenerate health or launch luminescent spears from a distance. Finally, the “void” school gives Desmond demonic abilities and utilizes his full power. Additionally, each attack that lands fills up Desmond’s “Demon” bar, which can transform him into an invincible demon with unrelenting attacks for about 10 seconds. This is all fine and well until you realize that one skill tree lets you literally kill every enemy by holding the left trigger. I’m not kidding – you could either repeat the same four-button combos until you finish off each enemy, or you could rip demon souls from their bodies with one button and get it over with. The three “unique” combat schools A brutal, boring Hell It seems as though Layopi realized this exploit late in development and decided to throw an unfair number of enemies at the player to discourage its use. Several times, I had to replay long sections due to an artificial difficulty brought on by spongy mini-bosses and an overwhelming amount of enemies. Combine this with the omission of a lock-on, and players will quickly grow frustrated by the barrages of off-screen foes. Despite the three fighting modes, combat lacks complexity, and there’s no real strategy or variation between each enemy type. Each enemy’s attack has an obvious tell, and each skill tree only has 4 button combinations to choose from. This reduces combat to a repetitive loop of dodging and mashing attack buttons until prompted to perform a finisher. When it works, combat is engaging. When it doesn’t, it’s a monotonous chore that cripples the game’s pacing. These combat sections are further weighed down by an absolutely brutal traversal system that the developers call “environmental puzzles.” This is not an accurate term for them. You won’t find any real platforming or puzzle-solving in Devil’s Hunt. Rather, you’ll sprint down linear hallways until you find something with the “interact” prompt on it, press “A”… and that’s all you need to solve these “puzzles.” It’s a real shame, as the core combat mechanics and moment-to-moment gameplay are sometimes genuinely enjoyable. But they are spread too thin amidst such arduous and flat-out boring platforming sections. Taking a closer look Part of Devil’s Hunt‘s allure is definitely its visual fidelity, and there’s a reason for that. Powered by the Unreal Engine, the superbly detailed renditions of Hell pushed my PC to its limits. I ran Devil’s Hunt on a 1080p variable-refresh monitor with all graphics settings maxed out (except for antialiasing), with framerates varying from 60-80 fps with an i5-9400f, RX 570 4GB, and 8GB of RAM at 2666mHz. Occasionally, outdoor levels would push my GPU’s 4GB frame buffer to its limit, but overall, Devil’s Hunt appears well optimized for lower-end hardware. You could lower the settings to increase framerate, but you’ll want to experience the game’s particle effects in all their glory. The graphical options of Devil’s Hunt don’t deviate much from other Unreal Engine games Combat sections are permeated with glowing sparks and flying particles that are consistently stunning. From an artistic standpoint, the red-hot glowing particles contrast beautifully with the deep blacks of its demons characters, and I was shocked at how well done certain chapters looked. Specific levels (especially those shown off in promotional materials) are also quite imaginative, especially the sections set in the depths of Hell. However, levels that take place on earth are markedly generic and bland. Levels also have a substantial amount of copy-and-paste, and you’ll soon grow bored of returning to Desmond’s Miami apartment. It’s unfortunate that much of Devil’s Hunt lacks the polish of the modern titles it seeks to emulate. From a technical perspective, animations are sometimes off – like, way off. Desmond’s face never moved to express dialogue or emotion. The supporting cast is much more visually compelling, specifically those residing in the underworld. The texture and animation of characters like Lucifer and Agares rival some of their AAA counterparts, but they lack the screentime needed for us to fully appreciate their glory. While we’re talking about technical issues, I should mention that I was unable to play the game with a mouse and keyboard. Inherent mouse acceleration and wonky movement made it impossible for me to progress. This game was clearly developed with a controller in mind, which is weird considering console ports won’t release until January. This isn’t to say that you couldn’t play the game as God intended, but your enjoyment will be severely diminished. Consistency is key It’s important for me to clarify one thing: Devil’s Hunt is an indie game. Screenshots and trailers may give it some semblance of AAA production value, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Hence, Devil’s Hunt suffers a lot of the growing pains attributed with other indie releases – specifically, its inconsistency. The pacing of Devil’s Hunt fluctuates heavily throughout the story. Sometimes, an especially long cutscene will slam the player with an overwhelming amount of information. Other times, an exhausting number of especially difficult enemies will be thrown at the player, long-removed from a checkpoint. And the repertoire of introspective and beautifully-performed dialogue segments are overshadowed by awkward one-liners from its leading man. Visually, the interesting and detailed depictions of the depths of Hell are broken up by clear asset-flip levels designed to pad the length of the story. Not to mention the breathtaking particle effects, which look awkward next to tepid animations. It’s unfortunate that so much of Devil’s Hunt is overshadowed by its lack of polish. Somewhere beneath its gawky surface is a game that I wish I could recommend. But until Layopi buffs out some of the annoying bugs and technical weirdness, and maybe adds a bit of content, it’s hard for me to recommend Devil’s Hunt – especially at full price. The game feels more like a proof of concept than a finished release. With much more complete alternatives out there (Devil May Cry 5 comes to mind), there’s little reason to grab Devil’s Hunt unless you’re a big fan of Leśniak’s novels. System Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10 Processor: Intel i5 quad core Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: 2GB graphics card DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 26 GB available space Sound Card: Integrated or dedicated DirectX 11 compatible soundcard Additional Notes: 64-bit system only

yes @HiTLeR.

i'll vote for DH2, great song better than DH1 .

Accepted DH1 DH2

both are good, but i'll vote for DH2 more better for me 😄

i'll vote for DH2, more better, rhythm + melody .

i'll vote for DH1, i like it more than DH2.

i'll vote for DH2, more better 😉