TastyRetroGaming

CyberPunk 2077

This is one of the many reviews I have half started, or nearly completed and I think with the release of the DLC Phantom Liberty on the very near horizon it’s worth putting this review out now. I never got round to getting any footage of the game, mainly due to the fact I wrote this after doing everything so there wasn’t a fat lot to get footage of as a result. I will also be putting everything on hold for the DLC and playing through from the beginning again, as I am deeply invested in this game. So I will be getting an endless amount of footage and I will be returning to do an updated review, with some nice shiny pics and vid clips.

Well what a difference a bit of time makes, I am in no way defending the way the game initially launched back in November 2020. I mean I’ve always played it on PS5 so I never had that much grief, and rather enjoyed it first time round, but since patch 1.5 dropped adding a next-gen spruce and some smaller bits of DLC, bundled with many many smaller patches prior. The game really has had a second coming, and could easily fall in to the category of No Mans Sky with the turn around that it’s had.

On this 100% platinum run I did, which clocked me in at just under 80 hours, so there is a far whack of content to be had. I had nothing but a grand ol’ time. I thoroughly enjoyed it to the point it was the only game I played until I was done. Having re-jigged the skill trees, and made driving actually bearable even if the best cars are still needed for a fluid drive, the open world of Night City has never felt better to be a rampaging mercenary on a quest to stay alive all the while trying to take down one of the worlds biggest megacorps. All this is accompanied by the masterclass choice of Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand, which really aids in the story telling and to get a feel for how the times have changed in the world and subsequent evolution over 50 years. With the character arc really unfolding over the course of all the side content rather than the main missions. All of which makes for an interesting perspective and overall outlook of the character from the initial meeting with him.

The world of night city for me is one of the best open worlds I have played in, the world whilst still lacking in a few places now feels reactive and alive. Certain areas are more active on the time of day, how crowds now react to gun fire, either running away, cowering or even joining in, fast travelling around and seeing a random car bomb go off, shows you what sort of city you are in. With all the neon lights flooding your vision at every turn, or the sweeping carriageways that interlink the whole city together, and take you out to the sticks where you can see massive energy stations,a giant burning rubbish heap, hidden slums or even abandoned half way stations leading to a new city the corps have left half finished. All the while flying cars litter the skies above with massive cargo ships, and giant advertisements that blend straight into the clouds. It would be more fun if you could get a flying car, or like a mech suit or even parkour cybernetics that would make traversal far more fun and the world more open. Sadly the closest you’ll get to that is either double jump or boosters in your leg slot for your cyberware.

Shooting now feels far better and more responsive than before, which is an integral part of the game as you have to gun down hundred if not thousands of enemies in the various missions. Whether it’s the main quest, gigs offered to you be every districts fixers, NCPD hustles and active assaults, which near 200 hundred dotted over the entire map, or side missions, it’s nice to feel that as you upgrade your desired weapon tree that the later levels and perks really feel worth your time. Ammo for my rifle being my main weapon of choice though was always a bit of issue, I would run out all the time with the max you can hold being 700. I would always have to run to gun shops between missions as crafting ammo isn’t very economical and most ammo crates contained shotgun and pistol ammo.

I feel for the most part weapon and armour choice is fantastic but it’d be nice if there were some real hard to buy/unlock weapons and complete special sets of armour with dedicated bonuses across the board. This in turn would aid in your character build as even though weapons have elemental like effects for the most part it’s just an added gimmick, but more in-depth or a new skill tree to build on this would be the icing on cake as for the most part the armour you’d only pick the ones with the highest defence and armour bonus as the other perks were kinda shit.

For all there is to do in night city, a few more side missions wouldn’t go a miss this is something I do still feel they are short on, especially as having 5 main side characters with their own missions to complete, most feel an after thought. Rogue only has two missions, and River has three and his story could’ve been really fucking good if it was fleshed out more. And considering rogues story if completed can give you one of the 5 different endings you’d think more effort should’ve been spent there. Not that some of the more smaller ones aren’t fun like the sentient drinks vending machine Brendan, or the guy who’s cybernetic dong explodes on him. I also think some of the fixers should’ve had more gigs to give you. With Pacifica’s Mr Hands being annexed entirely, only giving you just a random one that unlocks along with the story, for the most part that entire area is lacking. This to a point also plays into the opening sequence with Jackie, rather then having a couple missions to play and get to know him better it’s all played out over a couple minutes worth of a cutscene.

The whole game is gritty,dark and utterly unforgiving, and this is reflected perfectly in the city itself. Each districts has it’s own distinct feel and design which are mirrored in the different gangs, some partake in extreme cybernetic modding and drugs which has ruined their remaining pysche. The human trafficking where people are gutted for parts to be sold. All this is a stark contrast to the bustling street markets and neon lit world around you, especially when you enter the corpo district with all the high rise offices and pent house apartments, which are still controlled from either dodgy dealings or just outright by the upper echelons of the Tyger Claws and Mox. With this even not escaping the upper classes as one of the best side missions you find out the potential next mayors’, brain has been transfigured to someone elses design with memory and personality manipulation. Which for me is where the expansions should lead onto as I feel there is much to be had there for exploration. Adding more lore building onto the netrunners of the city, who hack into everything and everyone.

Quick hacks in the game are a cool feature, allowing you to personally hack people or electronics in your surroundings. With the higher tier ones being the best, detonate grenades in peoples pockets, force them to commit suicide, cripple their movement or spread a virus among neighbouring allies, stunting them for easier take downs. If you want to go a more indirect route you can drop weights bars on them when they are working out, trigger tv, alarms to distract enemies, hack into the main servers through cameras and many many more options for you.

The entire world is fleshed out perfectly that only more minute and subtle details can add to the overall atmosphere. Say a few more shop fronts, maybe a few more missions with specific gangs,and some deeper more meaningful side missions. With the entire jacking in of personal constructs into machines, and the human modding this game has endless scenarios that it can go down. With the incredible engaging if not slightly short main story interwoven between all this. Great combat, along with choice of weapons at your disposal with a myriad styles of play at your fingertips. Up the level cap from 50, and add one maybe two more skill trees in. More personal customisation on your cars, weapons and character themselves all for making the replay value or choice of skill tree with the respec option becomes far more appealing. I could go on about all the other cool shit I’d like to see added in but I’ll wait patiently.

With more fixes on the horizon and confirmed expansions the skies the limit for this game, and potential series. I only see it getting better and better from here on out. And as of patch 1.5 it’s very nearly redeemed itself already. With potential to become one of my favourite games of all time. So lets hope that a new game plus mode drops some time soon as I will 100% be picking this game back up to go through again, this time to do a blade, slowing down time build to make use of the super cool mantis blades.

I’d certify this game a solid 10/10 real fuckin’ tasty

There is so much to love about this game now it’s practically fixed, and really deserves your time again or if you are a new player. With so much content packed into a near breathing, living city that is riddled with corruption and plagued by the biggest questions of life. Such as what happens to humanity with the addition of A.I, humans no longer dying, what makes a human, human, even personality constructs. This game storytelling is probably the biggest draw for me and really makes the weight of the actions of V seem of high importance, all fuelling the ending of your choice.

Released, 10th December 2020, Sony Playstation 4.

Luigi’s Mansion

This game has been on my playlist for some time, even going further back than when I initially got it. I had decided it was time in-between all the new and newer releases I’m playing I need to up my dedication somewhat to the older hidden gems and classics. So I reached into my old faithful that is my Gamecube and dug this one out. This review was supposed to have more pictures and some light video sprinkled into it, but it transpired my piece of shit capture software chose to not record most of my gameplay. Meaning there is only a few screenshots going at this time and can only give you my tasty followers a small apology which ultimately falls flat and probably means nothing, but alas I am sorry. I may choose to attempt to capture some more stuff in the not too distant future but I wouldn’t hold your breath. I wouldn’t mine.

Finally sitting down and putting a few hours into this game, and by few I mean a few. It isn’t a particularly long game. I’d imagine it’ll clock in the region of 6-8 hours for the vast majority of people so if you are expecting anything past that you’ll be sorely disappointed. All the action of the game takes place in the mansion. This mansion was awarded to Luigi in a game he never took part in and naturally Mario has been taken and gone missing in said mansion.

Professor E. Gadd, a new character whose first outing comes from this spin off series.

The gameplay and mechanics of this game highly differ from your standard Mario game, outside of returning characters and for some their first game appearances in the Mario universe. It’s completely different. This is for the best it helps set Luigi’s solo outing apart, giving way to two sequels so far.

Whilst roaming around the mansion, the game play fundamentality stays the same, you wander through all the different rooms and suck up some ghost with your modified vacuum cleaner, called the poltergust 3000. Once you have cleared the allotted ghosties, you are awarded with a chest that gives you a key to another room, as they are locked and if you wander into a room that doesn’t exist the door smashes you up a wall knocking some of your health off. There is a few variety of different ghosts to suck up and turn into portraits for some reason and then at your leisure you can look at them in a gallery at any time. You also gain the access to water, fire and ice elements which help you with certain puzzles and enemies. Whilst you try and suck up the ghosts you have to wiggle the C-stick in the opposite direction to drain their health, which if you aren’t fast enough you get dragged around and slowly injures you. The coolest feature for me though is the Gameboy horror, this is where you track the map and rooms you’ve been too, your items and the ghost portraits you have collected so far. Not only that though you use it as a camera which helps you unlock how to defeat some of the mini-boss type ghosts, as sometimes your flashlight isn’t enough.

During your search for Mario, you also collect money, gold and cash notes which don’t really do shit. It just effects the sort of mansion you end up with at the end, which for the most part confuses me as they could’ve just added purchasable items or even just different clothing items.

The gallery where the smashed to fuck ghost you capture get forcefully get turned into paintings you can look at your leisure.

I’d imagine in the sequels every aspect here is built up upon, as this game is a solid entry level title. I’d even go as far as saying that potentially for a game in the Mario series it could’ve been a tad better. For a game that’s over 20 years old now, in some aspects graphically it holds up well. I imagine at the time it looked tip top. The styling of the game and the use of darkness do build up a horror light ambience, with out having to push the age rating up to far. The game excels in it’s audio, with everything being on point and being perfectly balanced aiding in the ambience the game is aiming to build. Along with Luigi’s minimal voice acting usually calling out for Mario as he searches the mansion, it’s gotta bit of extra content outside of the main story, mostly just collecting the extra hidden 50 Boo’s who have escaped. I’d say there isn’t much replay value in it, you can easily blast through it in a few hour sittings, or once you’ve done it once or twice probably easily done in one go. You do unlock a harder mode once you’ve completed the game, admittedly I’ve not bothered with this mode, namely cause I can’t be arsed. However if I did want to play it again I would probably give this version a go, it might add a little more to the game.

There isn’t a whole lot to write up here, as the game is short and once you get going outside of a few extra functions, the gameplay doesn’t change a whole lot. The only parts that stick out are the few boss fights that occur during the game, culminating in a fight against King Boo. It’s an easy game to pass a few hours in, and if you like Mario games and ghostbusters, then you’ve got a neat little hybrid here.

Overall I’d rate this game a meaty 7/10, Positively Tasty. A strong first outing, for a series that is now over 20 years old and I’d imagine only get better with each sequel.

Released May 3rd 2002 on Nintendo Gamecube.

More games

I’ve been a bit quiet on the collecting front, namely trying to work through some of the many games I have. I’ve been somewhat successful, but this hasn’t stopped me from picking up a few new additions. Don’t worry I know you’re thinking will this have an amazing block photo of the new games I’ve purchased. Oh yes it does. I wouldn’t let you down like that.

This time round mainly comes from newer games.I thought it was about time I pumped out my PS5 library a tad more. I purposely left Ghostwire Tokyo and Tiny Tina’s Wonderland to drop in price as games are fucking pricey these days.I can’t complain as definitely worked in my favour. Not paying a fat lot for them and it was worth the wait to be honest. I did splash out on Final Fantasy 16, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve yet to start it still and frankly it’s taking all my will power to not start it. I’m about half way through both the others and I’ve put a chunk of my life into Dying Light 2. Whilst dabbling in and out of Tears of the Kingdom, which for all the hours I’ve put into it, I feel I’ve still barely scratched the surface. That is going to be a phenomenal sized review when I get to it.

The newest games for my ceaseless blogging adventure.

I managed to find a few oldies for a couple quid still I’m always on the look out, and do love a good bargain me. I’ll always be looking to add to my wrestling game collection, which I’m starting to pad out nicely at this point. I still only need a spare room and a thousand other ones though but one day it’ll be completed and it’ll be fucking glorious. Baldur Gate 2 was just good timing with 3 about to drop the beginning of next month. Another game I’ll no doubt pick up to add to my room full of games. From Russia in Love is like Golden Eye Rogue Agent. In that for me it’s a game I have fond memories of and just wanted to give another go. Hopefully I won’t be as disappointed with this title.

Well this is it for now my tasty fellows, just a small update. Not too much going on this front, amidst the other games mentioned above. I’ve been working on Luigi’s Mansion, Timesplitters 2, Burnout 3. Even had a quick go on a few PS1 titles. I’ve been dabbling all around the generations as of late. Enough to keep my brain going and for some meaty content updates for this endeavour. Keep a look out for a good chunk of reviews coming this way in the very near future.

Whether you are new to this journey of mine or an original. As always stay Tasty.

Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core Reunion.

I know I am a bit shit when it comes to reviewing older games, and I am trying to be a smidge better with that. I have played a few PS2, PS1 and Gamecube games. Well I’ve started them, took no footage to upload and then carried on playing other stuff instead. I do believe however I can somewhat be let off the hook here. Even though this is a PS5 game, it’s a remake of the PSP classic from 2007. Which I was actually gonna get round to reviewing so really this helps me out as I can get footage to add to this review.

Now, for me I am a Final Fantasy fan boy, especially when it comes to 7. My first tattoo is that of the Fenris wolf emblem Cloud as in the film Advent Children. I’ve played the original on PS1, I’ve played it on the PS1 mini, I own the remake, the film, Crisis Core on PSP and even Dirge of Cerberus on PS2. So with the remake/sequel however you wanna describe what’s being done to the series having a fresh coated Crisis Core was a no brainer for me.

Now in terms of a remake, it’s more of a remaster. Fundamentally it’s the exact same game. They’ve just reworked the graphics so they look more up to date. They still don’t come close to the 2020 remake mind you, and I haven’t actually gotten around to playing the PS5 intergrade version with the Yuffie DLC yet. That is definitely on my list before Rebirth drops. In this updated version though, they have tweaked the combat system, so it’s more in line with the 2020 remake, which is for the best. All the dialogue is now voice acted which just adds a little more depth to the story, and everything just plays, handles and looks nicer.

Three main aspects of battle, stats, moves and the DMW

As mentioned above with this being a remaster, you’d expect a full visual and fidelity upgrade. This isn’t the case. It doesn’t look bad by any means, especially if you compared how the PSP graphics looked to this version. It definitely brings it up to date but as it doesn’t really sit much past mid level PS4 graphics to be honest, maybe not even quite that far along. As such in some places it does come of clunky, along with certain textures or models looking better. This flickers in and out especially in dialogue, some of the enemies look great though, and again others no so much. It’s overall a bit mismatched, and I think considering they probably were just gonna all but leave it initially, at least we got we what did in the end. The CGI cutscenes still look great, if not slightly outdated but I’d argue that’s a small point in the grand scheme of things.

The game itself isn’t very long, you’ll clock in around 12-15 hours to just do the main story, which for if you don’t know is the story of 7. This is the prequel explaining how and who Clouds memories get smushed up with, in his slight PTSD state of being. You play as Clouds mentor and friend Zack Fair, with some returning support characters in the Turks, Aerith and Sephiroth, the one winged angel himself, popping up throughout the run of the game. The main meat of the game though comes in at the side quest or missions. Now this sits a nice and hefty 300 missions to work through. This will really add a lot of extra playtime on if that’s your sort of thing. Most of these don’t take long to do just a couple minutes a pop. I did stop at the 44% mark and just carried on with the story. I may one day return to do a platinum run on this game, as that doesn’t seem particularly difficult. I just couldn’t be fucked to do another 150+ missions. These all take place in mini dedicated areas, which have loot boxes scattered around which keeps you topped up of potions and accessories. So for the most part you don’t need to use the in game shops it’s just a waste of gil. All play out the same find the mini boss fight, trigger it and kill them fuckers dead.

Combat in this game is alright, it’s not the best, if nothing else just a bit repetitive. You can attack, block dodge and lock on. Pretty standard stuff. You have a preset combo, which can’t be improved upon or added to, only changes slightly once you finally get tre buster sword in chapter 5. You use materia to do your magic attacks or slot in stat boosting ones instead. You still have materia fusion where you can upgrade existing moves with extra attack points or to merge together to make newer stronger attacks. What I do like about the combat in this game though as long as you’ve unlocked their image you have a mini slot machine going in the top left. This allows for summons and for high damage special attacks kinda like if you had a support summon trigger. These in some of the boss fights are indispensable.

I wouldn’t say there is too much more to talk about with this game without it becoming a spoiler heavy review. If you are a returning player to the 7 series or just jumped on since the remake, I would definitely recommend playing this game. It takes place in Midgar still, with returning and familiar areas. Most of the characters will be recognisable, and to some degree this is just a bigger explanation of what is told throughout the original anyways.

It does add to the story even if just a bit of fan service, and I imagine Zack is going to play a bigger role in the second part of the remake trilogy. making it at the very least worthwhile just to know whose who. Bringing the graphics up to a more modern standard along with the added dialogue and voice acting refreshes a long forgotten gem on the PSP. Where sometimes the magic casting was a bit clunky, and combat a bit slow. As well as health being capped at 9,999, and MP/AP at 999. here you have limit breaks and equipment that allow you to go to 99,999 and 9,999 respectively instead. This helps bring in a few varied builds which ultimately work better. It ups the re-playability as well as having a soft new game plus mode for once you’ve cleared the main story to go back in again. Plus if you are a trophy hunter you know have he added bonus of those being there to add to your collection.

Overall I’d rate this game a 8/10, Highly Tasty. A great game in the ever growing Final Fantasy 7 universe. All the updates make this worth your time, if for no other reason in that it’s a fairly short game which does let it down though even with the revamping. Expanding it further and making it a complete remaster would’ve worked better here. I think maybe adding a bit more flesh to the story and maybe making the areas bigger and more explorable, would’ve done wonders. Everything has been scaled somewhat but you can tell with how big the mission areas are that it was made for the smaller portable console of the PSP. Some of the restrictions shine through still and I think that hampers what could’ve been a truly stellar remake.

Released December 13th 2022, Sony Playstation 5

AEW fight forever

I’ll first off by saying I am a big wrestling fan, if that hasn’t become apparent over my previous posts. I watch WWE, AEW and try to keep up some what with ROH, impact and even some of what goes on over in NJPW. It’s hard getting to fit what seems a 100 hours of wrestling in a week as is with having a new wrestling game to play. Having already got WWE 2k23 on PS5 which I should probably get round to reviewing at some point. I opted to buy this on the Switch as there isn’t many options for wrestling on it.

I’m not normally so on it with reviews in the sense I’m normally about half a year behind. This time though having the portable aspects coming in handy. As I’m currently on holiday enjoying the sun and drinking from 11 in morning at my all inclusive hotel. During the flight here and in the later hours of the day I’ve actually played a substantial amount of this game.

There’s a lot to like about it. Obviously at this point in the switch’s life with its hardware it’s not as pretty as the big boy console version. Mostly it handles what I’d assume to be the same. Load times aren’t that bad and you can mostly get through a match with very few to no problems. The frames do stutter from time to time, or if you go to pick an object up you will go through it or the game is trying to achieve a body horror element to it. The game doesn’t look too bad though. A bit rough around the edges and for some reason in handheld mode sometimes when you’ve elected your wrestler their image goes this wider shitty PS2 level image, that really doesn’t do the graphics any justice. It’s super fuzzy for no reason. Overall the models are a bit more arcade like, but that’s clearly the aesthetic it’s going for.

The controls are simple, three buttons for attack and mixing them up achieves varying combos. You can grapple and Irish whip producing more moves. You can do attacks from the apron, the corners and jump over the ropes. It’s fairly similar to the later 2k games for WWE. It even shares in where you attack/grapple from will produce different moves or submissions. Front facing, from behind and off the mat etc. Not to mention the silly amount of usable weapons which cause an excessive amount of blood. The matches aren’t designed to go on for long, again adding to the arcade experience here. You have health but you don’t necessarily see that as everything runs off a momentum bar. This increase every move or taunt until you can trigger a signature move. Then you can taunt to upgrade it to a finisher. Which once both have been hit you’ll pretty much get a pin.

A few of the road to elite activities you can do. Eating, visiting famous landmarks. Going to hospital if you are injured.

You can chain wrestle by trying to guess the opposite sort of move your opponent will trigger until one eventually is wrong and gains the upper hand. You have to button mash to submit or get out of a pin. So again nothing too difficult to do and centred around the same 4 main buttons of steak and grab.

You can create your own wrestler, with their own move set. With every match either exhibition or from triad to the elite you gain money from the match rating. Plus your daily challenges you complete. This money allows to unlock new characters, skins, arena parts, entrances and moves. It’s fairly in depth and again not too dissimilar to WWE 2k23.

If you do a customer wrestler run, you have to buy upgrades to make your character better. As an existing one is locked into place.

There isn’t much in the way of different match types to wrestle which really is something that lets the game down. It’s something that 2k23 does very well. It aids in the fun being able to play all your favourite match types, which for me is a steel cage/hell in cell match you just can’t go wrong with that. It’s also lacking in a fully realised roster, I mean this could be due to how long it’s been in development and who’s come/gone and become more popular. There is glaring omissions though, and unless their is going to be more DLC added or a few free updates it’s not gonna change all that much.

Match rating you get after winning or losing. Not sure how it works tbh. Get money and if you achieve any of the challenges.

Road to the elite is fun, it’s separated into 4 month of show blocks leading to the four main PPV. You can use pre existing wrestler or your own custom one. Each month block has branching routes so you can have different feuds and outcomes. Even taking a pin changes the outcome. It can stop you from winning the title. I went first time round with the American Dragon Bryan Danielson, one of my all time favourites. Namely just as he always elegantly puts, ‘I’m going to kick his fucking head in’. Naturally I won all but 1 match. The one I lost is where death triangle gang fucked me in a lights out match . The multi man matches sometimes go full clusterfuck and not in a good way.

The casino royale mode is odd as only 4 people in one go will ever be in a ring so you don’t get h to e full experience as you do in the royal rumble mode, over in WWE. Strangely as well in road to the elite you have gauntlet matches but they aren’t an option to play in exhibition. What you do get though is many more mini games. Every week in road to the elite you fly to a new city, where it ends with a match but you also can wrestle on dark/rampage prior. As you have to keep motivation health and stamina up. You do this by going for food , where it’s suspiciously the same table at every restaurant. Go site seeing, go gym, recuperate at hospital if you get injured. In these you can run into a bother wrestler for a sneaky picture for the album, or if in a feud. Anna hay during a press conference power bombed me through a table setting up a PPV match with her and Christian Cage. These mini games are also an option to win more money and skill points, to unlock new moves for your custom character. From quick memory games, general knowledge quizzes, following dance moves, running from one end of a stadium to the other without hitting a hidden hole etc. You can play these at your leisure as well unlocking more every time you finish road to the elite. Strangely these features give me Yakuza vibes in a good way. I think they are a nice touch but I’d have preferred a deeper pool of match options even if the exploding Barb wire death match is an option. And I’d say that is definitely is the top math type to go for .

One of the mini games you can do, and the odd choice of casino royale, where only 4 people are in the ring at anyone go.

I really like the combat in this game and that it’s not that stat geared so every one is equal. Along with making the matches be quick rounds, like old school mortal kombat, street fighter and the likes. I mean I’m not that fussy about graphics, so I don’t think it looks to bad, I appreciate the lack of entrances as well as I always turn them off to get straight into the action. However the bit walking down the ramp if you press the attack options you can trigger pyro and stuff. It even has hidden unlockable characters, Owen Hart, Paul White and Mr Brodie Lee. Something most games no longer do.

The three stages of pain in the exploding Barb wire death match. Easily my favourite match type.

Overall I’d rate this game a 7/10 positively Tasty. Which admittedly wasn’t as high as I’d like to rate it. The gameplay and combat is fantastic, quick, fun and easy to get the hang off. I should mention reversal is an option but doesn’t tend to work. It does need more match variety, that is something that is clearly lacking. More wrestlers wouldn’t go amiss either. If you’re wrestling fan or just like combat games, this is worth while but it’s definitely a game that’ll need to grow or if a sequel happens improve upon.

There will be a V.2 of this post once I’m done soaking up the sun and drinking and eating far more then my girthy body should be having. I’ll add a bit more content as well as som pics and vids of gameplay. Sprucing the goose a tad as it were.

Released 29th June 2023, Nintendo Switch.

The Callisto Protocol

I was quite interested in this game from when it was first showcased. The game was directed by the co-creator of the original dead space game so finally having a new full linear horror game series on the new gen consoles was right up my alley. Even if a remake of dead space dropped like 2 months later, which I haven’t picked up yet at some point I probably will give that a bash. As it was very well reviewed across the board. Something that this game wasn’t, it seemed to get 6’s and 7’s which isn’t bad by any stretch. So when going into this game I was unsure how it’d go.

The first thing to note is the games graphics are great, having the main character Jacob Lee mo-capped and voiced by actor Josh Duhamel. The army dude from the first three transformer films. As well as Dani Nakamura played by Karen Fukuhara who is Kimiko in the boys and the bad guy of the game Captain Ferris portrayed by Sam Witwer, who for me is notable Starkiller in the force unleashed games. They all look top notch, honestly no complaints on that front if that’s a thing you rate highly in your gaming life. The game takes place in an infected and over run prison called Black iron on one of the moons of Jupiter. I’ll try to keep this review light on the spoilers, but seem will inevitable slip through the cracks.

Your inventory adn collected weapons, not much too see.

It’s a short game, taking me about 11 hours to complete, I think. The game is split into 8 chapters that naturally role into one another, progressing the story. Now with the game being as linear as it is, it means traversing the bowels of the prison, the nuked colony underground it was built on, and the blizzard ridden snow fields briefly. All of it looks fantastic in design, and when it’s dark I found myself having to walk round with my gun ready and primed as it gave you more of a flash light. All of it aids in the ambience and feel of a treacherous horror film. The enemies all look disturbing enough and distinct to know which variety you are facing. Now their could’ve been a few more just variety as by chapter 5 you’ve basically seen every enemy type. Including the dirty stomach tentacle fuckers, that if you don’t shoot immediately they mutate and become bigger bastards to kill. Being set in the future, and out in space it’s very sci-fi laden design which also appeals to my tastes. So from this perspective it’s a visually impressive game in design and styling. It fits the story very well. Even if that story could’ve used probably 2 chapters more just to flesh it out a bit more and make Captain Ferris that more of a bad guy.

Using one of the many wall impliments to impale your foes upon with the GRP function.

Now combat in this game is limited and fairly basic. You get your stun baton which is used for melee, then there are 5 guns you get schematics for. Now you can only dodge by flicking your right stick left and then right, cause if you do the same direction twice you will get twatted out. So make sure you use that 1-2-1 pattern for optimum dodging. Now I only used three guns, I didn’t bother wasting credits on the other two and honestly the hand-cannon, the riot shotgun and assault rifle did me a solid. You don’t have any unlockable skills or extra defence, so learning to dodge early on is key, and it’s a bit wank to be honest. I like the simplicity of it, but some buffs, or specific upgrades wouldn’t have gone amiss. As you wonder around you come across printers where you can print weapons, attachments, health injectors and ammo. The only other item you get is the GRP, where you can suspend enemies and fling them around. On the weaker ones slamming them into blades, or spiked walls is a blessing sometimes. Or shooting the exploding enemies or red canisters help out a lot as well. You get credits by curb stomping the ever loving fuck out of defeated enemies, inflicting further maiming upon the dead. Some are laying around like extra health which become sparser as chapters go on, from crushed boxes or selling certain types of items which are all they are good for. Now the upgrades ain’t cheap especially on the assault rifle which you get in chapter 7. However I used that two thirds upgraded to rinse of the final boss, and it would be better if it wasn’t locked into burst fire. You’re hand-cannon though go for top upgrades on that and the damage on the stun baton. This will make your life far easier.

Oddly there are only really two bosses in this game a two-head which you fight four different ones I think it is, and Captain Ferris. As with the other enemies there is a healthy helping of body horror, and the whole facility is spread in blood and viscera. As well as guards in various states of mangled in most rooms. The gore in this game is heavy and might not be for everyone, and Jacob is no exception, with most of his death animation involving getting his head exploded or lopped in half, or if you are really lucky he might lose an arm. From the body horror and gratuitous violence, you get typical jump scares, you get constantly jumped from behind or some shit launching at you from around corner. For the most part it’s fairly standard and I think they could’ve amped it up a tad more. Another feature of this game is stealth kills, which again aren’t great, you crouch get behind them and stab them if the option flashes. This doesn’t work on most enemies as they clock you immediately and will run over to bitch slap you in the chops. You are also limited on carry capacity for half the game and it’s a bit bollocks, even once you get the suit which increases your health and carry capacity. It quickly becomes full of ammo, and I found I need a lot of health injectors which seemingly just stop being around for pick ups once you hit chapter 5. Where the enemies also die the same but for some reason begin to inflict a lot more damage, and with the slightly shit dodge system. When you are surrounded and killed off one enemy the next will pretty much just fuck you up before you can re-act. The two heads and Ferris will pretty much one shot you regardless of difficulty as well.

Some top tier gameplay of the combat and dodge functions, whereI 100% to flump it.

I did enjoy the story as for the first few chapters it builds the world and the circumstances around what was going on more with little droplets of why all the inmates suddenly mutated and began eating the survivors. Then the last two chapters kinda just dump everything else on you, and this is where the extra chapter or so could’ve really been used. As a few more characters are introduced and conveniently have the answers you need.

I did really enjoy the game for what it’s worth. The length of the game does come with the perks of playing it on the other difficulty options you have, each harder then the last with a permadeath option if you hate yourself that much to go for it. The game has since launch has added in a few improvements from what I’ve read, as well as the DLC adding new modes. The wave based riot mode, and the story DLC is dropping in a couple days, which I will actually be getting as the game does end on a cliffhanger. This all comes with new weapons, death/kill animations a different suit, so as far as season pass goes it’s not the worst going.

Some light stealth kills, doesn’t expand any further than this.

I think this game is a solid 7/10 Positively Tasty. Which falls squarely in line with what a lot of other reviewers gave this game. I think there was a good story there which could’ve been a tad longer, a bit of an upgrade system for melee combat and dodging/blocking. As you can improve damage output but ultimately is very limited and not as fluid as it should be. Maybe a small skill tree could be implemented if a second game comes, just spice things up a bit. For a new IP, it’s a strong start, everything done here needs to just be finessed and built upon. More exploration is needed as there isn’t much to look for outside the main path you have to follow and a few more enemies and a bit more weapon variety. If you like horror or the original dead space games I would recommend giving this a go still. It’s mostly enjoyable and easy to get into.

Released 2nd December 2022, Sony Playstation 5.

Jedi Survivor

I’ll start this by stating that I am a massive Star Wars nerd, I’ve got far too many lego Star Wars models, too many books and comics and I’ve started my Star Wars tattoo sleeve, so I’m hoping that I’m not going to be too biased just because this is a game based on my favourite galaxy far far away. That being said, on the other end I’ve had bad experience with games from EA, Star Wars battlefront 2, although great a year later was a shambles when it released. This game unfortunately has a similar problem.

I picked this up about 5 days after release while shopping for my kids and decided I also deserved a gift. I fired it up and was instantly blown away by the beauty, new brutality and the story. While being as spoiler free as possible, this game starts with your classic tutorial section showcasing the new abilities while reminding you of the abilities from the first game. One thing to mention on this is that you don’t re-learn old things, it’s all brand new stuff and I really appreciate this. It’s much better than your character forgetting everything from before and having to re unlock abilities, and learning more advanced versions instead makes more lore based sense, with cal Learning these new moves and developing as a Jedi knight. This leads into your first boss fight and shows just how far Cal has come in the last 5 years. You fight an enemy from the previous game that was a fairly difficult boss fight, in this game however Cal absolutely destroys them. This is all great story telling and shows more character development that the entire sequel trilogy ( I had to get one in).

I wont talk too much more about story because I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s spectacular, it’s even a better story than Fallen Order which I really enjoyed. It’s around 20 hours long which isn’t to shabby and if you go for platinum like me, your looking 50-60 which isn’t too bad. I will admit that although Jedda and Koboh are massive maps and are brilliantly fleshed out, that I would have liked a few more planets. You get these 2 Hub worlds, 2 decent little planets, 1 small space station and another planet with no collectibles.
I’d have added maybe 2 more medium size worlds to fill in the gaps, maybe Jakku to tie into the new trilogy and something like Felucia to show off the bright colour range in glorious 4k.

Speaking of 4k, this game is beautiful, all the locations look great, the characters look great and so do the lightsabers. This game gives you 9 different colours in the base game and an extra one on new game plus, as well as 5 stances. Double bladed and Crossguard were my go to, double is great for defence from blasters and crowd control while Cross guard was slow but powerful, your classic two handed weapon. Limb dismembered is accurate and with the occasional decapitation this feels more accurate and brutal than the first game.

Now unfortunately we get on to the bad bits and, there’s only really one, but it is a big problem. The frame rate during most of the game is fine and it all flows, but try and fight some storms troopers in a stream and it’s all over. I’m not sure you get much over 2 fps and combat slows to a grinding halt. This also happens during some of the faster cutscenes, some of which would be spectacular if it wasn’t for dropping you out of the immersive experience. This said, it may have improved through more recent updates, which I hope it does because this game is a contender for GOTY even with these issues.

Another mention for issues I had were centred around hammy controls when it came to using the force on certain puzzles. There was a part where I could see a force echo ripe for the reaping and could see how to get there, but couldn’t because instead of force pulling platforms, it decided to do some heavy attack and launch me into the abyss. After this happening several times I abandoned it, but after an update I went back later in the game and it worked immediately so I can only presume the update fixed the problem.

Overall I fully enjoyed this game and would rate it 10/10 if it wasn’t for those problems. So with consideration I’d give this game 8/10, a highly tasty game. This is hard for me, as I said I’m a Star Wars fan and wanted to give it higher but they are real issues. I’d also have liked it to be a bit longer (I’ve heard that before), but I can’t rate it down too much for this because those hub worlds are rather large.

Review by MoonHead.

Released 28th April, Sony PlayStation 5

More Yu-Gi-Oh

Having seeing this 25th Anniversary collection on passing, I thought for the price with 6 booster packs, why not? You get the three mighty Egyptian God cards. As well as the absolute classics in Blue Eyes White Dragon, Red Eyes Black Dragon and Dark Magician cards. It’s pretty decent value just for the boosters to be fair.You also get a chance of getting one of those six cards in the fancy glory of secret rare shininess. I got the Blue Eyes, I won’t lie, I was a bit disappointed in that outcome I really wanted a shiny Red Eyes. Not the end of the world though, all of a welcome in my collection until I have like four of you the same card, then it goes in the abounded pile of cards I will never use but also never dispose of.

My Top level photography coming to play once more.

Along with this they have released a 25th anniversary duel disk. Not actually seen one anywhere yet, however not seen the best reviews of it. All I want in life to complete my empty youth is one of those bad boys. So I will definitely be keeping my slightly dead and tired looking eyes peeled for that majestic piece of overpriced plastic.

I’ve now officially managed to get two full sets of the Egyptian God cards. I’m truly next level with my level of collecting I tell ya. Plus another of Obelisk and Slifer. I image by todays standards of cards they aren’t what they were once supposed to be or even good. If they aren’t banned competitively. But boy oh boy do I feel a baller for it. Watching the anime as a young’n. They were the coolest shit going and I only ever managed to get a fake obelisk which for many years I treasured as my crowning jewel until I found out the truth.Nearly fucking broke me, truly devastated.

They are just truly beautiful to behold.

Anyhow, you get 1 booster of 6 different sets in this box. Look below at what you get.

Here’s a photo of each pack, as I can’t be arsed to write each different pack out.

Honestly, overall the cards I pulled from these were pretty disappointing. Considering these are a lot of the older cards, the interesting shit. The stuff from when the series originally dropped. So the cards that interest me, as I’m still all about the oldies. I did get Exodia the forbidden one , only the big gold bastards head though. Still need the other 4 parts. I’d argue it should be five other cards, on the basis the poor bugger doesn’t have a stomach. It’s not far off looking like a starfish that’s been abused with a cookie cutter. I wouldn’t mind getting some more of the Legend of the Blue Eyes Dragon booster packs though, see if I can get the other 4 parts. Plus looking at the list of what other cards you can get. It’s personally for me the best of the bunch you can get here.

This isn’t to say the other boosters as a whole aren’t worth your time, just depends on your old favourites and play style. For me my play style is just to admire my growing collection, as honestly I still can’t play it for shit. In my short time and money wasting of this secondary hobby of mine. I’ve managed to get a lot of the cards I wanted as a wee little chubber that I was trading cards in the playground. I just need to get summoned skull, and I’ve truly done my younger self justice.

Just another quick update as I know you all like to be kept informed, obviously. However this is it for this time my friends. As always stay frosty my tasty folks.

Fifa 15 – PS Vita, a quick take review.

This will just be a quick review, this is due to the usual not being able to get any footage and as for what this game is I doubt I really need it. Finding this PS Vita version for super cheap, naturally thought I might as well get it and give it a go. It also gets me a few cheeky trophies to add to my list.

You’d be surprised to find out I actually don’t really give two shits about football, I used to care many years back but have since not really bothered with it. I’ll still watch it if it’s on or when the world cup or euros happen. So getting this game simply comes to the previously mentioned cheapness.

I think the last proper fifa game I played would be way back in 2011 or maybe 2012 on the PS3. So my ability in comparing this to the full version console of the same year, too even the newer ones is very limited. Graphically it’s so, so. Not too bad, the footballers all look fairly different and have some likeness to those I know. The pitch looks passable, and every stadium for each team definitely differ from one another. With enough effort also going into the home, away and third kits for each team. I don’t think this handheld version has the same amount of licensed teams as the full big boy console version. I suppose though having the privilege of the same functions and gameplay on the go, this isn’t much of a sacrifice.

The game has several different modes, standard exhibition, create a pro, tournaments and the manager mode. Tournament modes pretty standard pick a club and a trophy you want to win and the game sets up the tournament. Which if you want you can simulate the matches so you don’t actually play it. Beating Man City as 1 star rated Accrington for the FA cup just feels right for some reason. I’d be lying if I said I had done the management mode yet, I haven’t and as it stands I probably wont either. I enjoy play quick 5 min half for the most part or if im in the mood just going for a random team and blitzing through a tournament. I did this with Barcelona a few times when I had my create pro as the centre forward racking up 35 goals over the course of the tournament. Doing feats whilst playing games or in the arena prior to the match aids in making your create a pro stats better. So for the most part it’s kinda pointless but I can see it adds a little something extra to a match if you waned to do it.

The one feature this handheld has over the main consoles version is that if you want you can make use of the touchscreen or rear touch pad. The rear touchpad function is more cumbersome then useful and I turned it off pretty much straight away, any accidental touch just cause the played at the time to just go for broke and spanner the ball into the aether. This could just be down to my big gangly hands, but for the most part using the touchscreen is more efficient and useful to you. You can use it for plays, to make more precise through or lob passes, as well as for scoring attempts. However I did have to disable this feature three tournies deep as for some reason my game glitched the fuck out and every time my player got a touch the hoofed the fucking ball straight down pitch or clearing it into a never ending streams of corners, I got to 13 in a row before I started to think my beloved vita screen was dying. I even tried a few other games to make sure a button wasn’t stuck. But turning that off seemed to fix it, which is a shame as I did like the hybrid control system.

I’d go into a bit more about the game but ultimately if you’ve played any version of Fifa, you’ve played it. Fundamentally it’s a football game, the only difference comes down to graphics, modes and maybe the amount of trophies you can win or teams you can play as. The main controls centre around running, passing, with the basic alternates, and shooting. This version has more precise shot options or finesse you may call it. You can lob the keeper, pull of feints, do some fancy footwork which usually fails on my part. So if you like you can put a tad more flair into the game. The A.I doesn’t seem overly hard, you can tell the difference between bottom teams and top teams. This won’t stop you smashing big clubs 10 -1 though. The pitches reflect weather and different times of the day, but don’t expect much effort in that department it’s not overly detailed.

I’d give this a 7/10 Positively Tasty. This is surprising as much to me as it may be to you. It’s not the best looking game nor something I really care about. However over the past few weeks I have found myself wanting to play it. From quick 5 mins half’s to the occasional full 20 min option. Even going as far as knocking off some of the assists to make the game feel more challenging. All the while whilst I am playing Tears of the Kingdom, and that game is an 11/10 full masterpiece. It’s quick, portable fun and low cost effort, you probably won’t lose and even if you do it don’t mean shit. However if you are like me and like my old consoles as much as my new ones, this as a football fan would be worth your time.

Released 26th September 2014, Sony PS Vita.

More backlog.

I choose to believe I am the bane of my own existence. Nothing more epitomises this then my sickening need to keep buying games, from all consoles of every generation at any given time. I especially can’t help myself if they are cheap as shit. I fucking love a good bargain, I mean who doesn’t. It’s truly one of lifes great delights, it’s up there with scotch eggs and pro wrestling. I’m a strange fellow alright.

As you can see a strange collection this time round, and being second hand some of the cases look only slightly fucked. A pleasnt bonus.

As you can see from the latest treasure trove of shite i’ve collected, I have even somehow managed to buy the same game for two different consoles a small faux pas, one might say. I mean to be fair to me it cost like £4 for both of them so who gives a shit. I even bought a fifa game, and i couldn’t care less about football. Has it stopped me playing it a lot over the past few nights, sure hasn’t. Could a quick take review be on the horizon for this title, oh you know it is.

I am definetly most exicted about this bad boy though.

I know what you’re thinking this completely straight picture of the case is almost of professional quality.

Finally having attained every mainline Professor Layton game, as for some reason this one is harder to come by and cost 5 times the amount. But, alas it is now within my firm grips to live as one of the many hundred games I will most definetly get too later. On the plus, the only one I have left to get now is the strange crossover title for the 3DS, Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright. Which unless i’m super fortunate to run across it in the wild for a fiver, I won’t be purchasing anytime soon as it costs a small fortune. One day I won’t be poor as shit and I’ll be able to treat myself to these expensive treasures.

At some point in the near future I will be updating this site, giving it a well earned spruce. Making it more appeasing to the masses. So as well as the steady stream of reviews, expect an even steadier stream of slow changes upon this website. Expect more chapters in the ever expanding gospel of Tasty , but until next time my faithful readers. Stay fuckin’ Tasty.