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Yakuza 0 Review

   Yakuza 0 is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Sega. It is the sixth main entry in the Yakuza series and prequel to the original Yakuza game that was released in 2005 for PlayStation 2. Yakuza 0 was released on March 12, 2015 for the Japan region and later worldwide. The game is available to play on Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PC and Xbox One platforms. 

   In this review I will cover the main storyline, combat system, minigames and then I will give a verdict.

Main Storyline

   The main story in the Yakuza series is like a good thriller with a lot of plot twists, drama and breathtaking moments and Yakuza 0 is not an exception. The game setting is placed in Japan in the 1980's. We have two main characters to play, one of them is Kazuma Kiryu and the second one is Goro Majima. Kiryu and Majima are yakuza members from different clans and they both are full of problems. 

   Yakuza 0 opens in Tokyo with Kiryu beating up a businessman who borrowed a lot of money from a loan shark, later in the game he finds out that this businessman was found dead at the same place Kiryu was beating him up and that somebody set  this up. Kiryu is in trouble right now and he decides to expel himself and find out who set him up. 

   Later in the game, a new chapter opens with another playable character Goro Majima who runs cabaret business for yakuza in Osaka. Majima was expelled from his family for launching a raid attack on the other family with his friend and now he does dirty work for his ex-clan. Majima wants to get back in his clan and he agrees to assassinate a person named Makoto Makimura. He gathers intel on this person and gets the location, a massage salon. However, the moment he goes inside this massage place, he finds out that this person is a blind young girl who doesn’t deserve to die for yakuza games. Majima tries to hide and protect her and slowly falls in love.

** **

   After we complete ¼ of the main story, it finds out that Makoto’s assasssination and Kiryu’s setup is connected between each other and the whole yakuza gang is after one forgotten piece of land in the heart of Tokyo called the Empty Lot. This is where all the drama and plot twists begin which sometimes made me feel confused and question myself a lot about some story details. 

Combat System

   Combat system in Yakuza 0 is very fun to play. It is very brutal and always enjoyable to watch. Unlike the original game, we have two main characters and each character has its own special fighting styles as well as unique animations. There is a wide variety of weapons to choose from, starting from a pocket knife and nunchaku and finishing with shotguns and grenade launchers. Furthermore, there are special weapons like frozen tuna which is literally a frozen fish or just a huge canon . Entering fights in Yakuza 0 is always entertaining and upgrading your abilities is always exciting because you unlock new special moves and features in combat.

   Weapons have their durability scale so you can’t use the same stun gun for the whole game, it will break sooner or later. Pistols and shotguns have ammo and ammunition is not unlimited (unless you unlock a very overpowered golden pistol for Kiryu or a golden shotgun for Majima). You can also unlock skills that make your weapon durability not to drop as long as your character doesn’t enter rage mode. Anyway, if you don’t feel like bothering with repairing your weapons or unlocking extra abilities you can always pick some of the daggers and guns from your enemies or grab a warning sign on the street and use it as a bat.

There are 4 different types of fighting styles for Kiryu and Majima.

   Kiryu has Rush style (very fast, but weak strikes with good evading), Brawler style(balanced fighting style), Beast style (very slow, but powerful attacks) and Dragon Of Dojima (Secret fighting style that is the best, but requires a lot of time investment to unlock it). Majima has Thug style (I would say it’s pretty balanced between powerful and fast attacks), Breaker style (Break-dance fighting style that’s good when fighting multiple enemies but very vulnerable to their attacks), Slugger style (Pretty balanced as well. Majima pulls out an unbreakable bat and destroys everybody) and Mad Dog of Shimano (Another secret fighting style that requires a lot of time to unlock. Majima pulls out a worn-out dagger and stabs his enemies). 

Mini-games

   When it comes to the Yakuza series you will always find out a lot of mini-games there. Each title, as well as Yakuza 0, contains a wide variety of mini-games. If you feel like you need more content in the game, you can always go to the nearby bar and play darts or pool. You can also sing karaoke or go to the club and have a disco party (which  sometimes I find very challenging).

   If you feel like you want fishing you can buy a fishing rod and go to the nearby river in Osaka or take a taxi to the port in Tokyo. Wanna go play some arcades? There are Sega game clubs in both towns where you can play old-school classic racing games, get a toy from a claw machine or shoot the aliens in “Fantasy Zone”. 

   “Catfight” arena allows you to gamble on fighters, it’s a kind of rock-paper-scissors game where you have to participate and watch your fighter fight. There is a phone club in Tokyo where you can talk on the phone with strangers and you have to pick the right responses for them (it is not as easy as it looks, because these response bars are spinning and flying all over the screen). When playing as Kiryu, you can visit “Pocket Circuit” stadium and race with other kids using little toy cars. Batting center is another mini game that requires good reflexes.

   Furthermore, when you progress through the story you will unlock a hostess club for Majima and then you can start running your own business and take down Osaka's hostess club monopoly. You can customize your hostesses’ clothes, serve customers in person and earn millions in one shift. Once you receive enough fans in one of the 5 areas, you should receive a phone call from your rival’s hostess club and he will call you for a club battle. During this battle you have to earn more money than him in order to take over his club. After you complete all of these club battles you will unlock new skills for Majima’s fighting styles and should be able to unlock Mad Dog of Shimano fighting style.

   Kiryu has his own business as well. He runs a real estate business and tries to defeat Tokyo’s Five Billionaire group. You need to properly manage your real estate business in order to maximize the revenue. You need to invest money in real estate to get a better revenue from these buildings. Sometimes bosses will start money battles which require a lot of cash to defend your real estate. After you reach 60% of the revenue, one of the bosses challenges you for a minigame and if you win your money share increases 10%, if you lose it decreases 10%. It depends on the boss when it comes to the minigames; He could challenge you in a karaoke bar or a Sega arcade club. If you lose a minigame against the billionaire, you can still take over their area but it will require more time. When you get 80% of the revenue, you will take over the boss’ building and his area. After you defeat all bosses, you will unlock extra skills for Kiryu’s fighting styles and secret Dragon Of Dojima fighting style.

   There are many activities in Osaka and Tokyo to kill your time and have some fun. These minigames certainly give you a lot of content and many hours of gameplay. Furthermore, there are a lot of side missions to complete and many of them are connected with these minigame activities.

Verdict

   Overall, I enjoyed playing Yakuza 0. It is a good open world game where you can go wherever you want, beat street thugs, play a whole bunch of minigames and dive into the main storyline. I felt passionate about Kiryu and Majima when I was watching their story and I definitely like all these plot twists and drama even though it was confusing because of so many details. I spent many hours leveling up my fighting styles and it brings a lot of joy when it comes to testing them out. I spent about 80 hours playing this game and I don’t regret any second I invested in it. That was a great game experience I will never forget. 10/10

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Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Review

     Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released on October 29, 2013 and is available to play for Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo Switch and PC.

     In this review I will briefly cover the main storyline without giving too much information for those who haven’t played it yet, some new game features and online innovations.

Main Storyline  

     The main storyline opens with our main character, Edward Kenway, fighting the royal fleet during the storm. As we find out later, Edward is a pirate and he has a wife named Caroline. Back in England he promised to his wife to earn a lot of money in West India and come back home rich. Edward said he will be away for only 2-3 years, but later in the story everything goes wrong and it leads to many tragic moments. After we fight the royal fleet, our ship is getting destroyed and Edward wakes up on a coast besides Havana.

     Later in the game Edward meets an assassin called Duncan Walpole and kills him in self defense purposes. He finds a letter to the governor of Cuba who’s located in Havana, a magic artefact and steals Walpole’s uniform. After reading a letter addressed to spanish governor Edward decides to go to Havana in order to deliver this artefact and get some money. This is where Edward’s journey and adventures begin.

New Game Features

      Assassin’s Creed IV has many new game features and one of the main ones is being able to use your ship as a transport. After you get your ship, Edward names it “Jackdaw”. You can customize your “Jackdaw” and use it to rob royal or spanish fleets. You get valuable resources such as rum and sugar to trade in the ports. Metal, wood and cloth is used for “Jackdaw” upgrades and cosmetics. While sailing across the Carribean Sea, your sailors will sing pirate songs and point at some events happening around your ship like a white seal or incoming pirate hunters.

     You can also attack fortresses across the map and capture them. When the fortress is captured, it will help you to fight other ships in the sea by firing its guns and heavy mortars. These fortresses have their own contracts, you usually just need to destroy other ships or deliver some resources. After you complete all of these contracts you get golden pistols which are very powerful. Furthermore, you can bribe to one of the guys in the fortress to prevent pirate hunters from chasing you.

      One of the many features I also enjoyed a lot is diving. When you progress through the story you should be able to buy a diving bell which allows you to explore some places underwater. There are a lot of lost treasures from destroyed ships and blueprints to upgrade your “Jackdaw”. It is very interesting and fun to play game feature, but it is not as easy as it might sound.  

      First of all, there are a lot of sharks in the sea who can eat Edward. Second of all, our main character can not breathe underwater. Finally, some ships are like labyrinths; it is hard to find the way to some chests and blueprints. But all these complications make these diving adventures even more interesting. There are a total of 12 shipwrecks and caves and they are all unique and fun to explore.

      The combat system changed in some ways as well. Now  you can carry up to 4 pistols, but you need to upgrade Edward’s gear first. You can obtain items for upgrades by hunting animals. Carrying 4 pistols is very helpful when you board ships and perform a kill chain (killing one after the other enemy rapidly). Another useful tool you will get later in the story is a blowpipe. You can use tranquilizer darts to make enemies sleep or berserk darts to make them attack their allies. This is very convenient when you try to stay hidden and not to make a lot of noise.

      If you are seeking for some challenge, there are 4 legendary ships across the map to destroy. They carry a nice bonus of 20,000 coins and they are hard to defeat. Each ship has its own feature, one is immune on both sides and vulnerable at the back and the other has a powerful ram which makes it dangerous at close ranges. Edward’s “Jackdaw” is a small brig and it forces players to use tactics and be very careful when challenging these dangerous warships.

      The game also has treasure maps which can be obtained by exploring various locations such as Kingston, Havana, Nassau and small islands across the map. When the treasure map is found, you will see a drawing of where this chest is located and location’s coordinates. Half of the treasure chests have blueprints to upgrade your ship and others have a lot of money inside.

Online Innovations

      Kenway’s fleet is one of the online innovations added to the game. Basically, throughout your game you can board ships and send them to your fleet. You can use these ships to trade some resources like tobacco, wine bottles and others for money. The more trading missions you do the more trading locations you unlock. Trading unlocks collectible items, treasure maps, English officer’s uniform and “Jackdaw” upgrades.  

     When your friends play Assassin’s Creed they can speed up your ships so you can finish those trading missions faster and point at some online chests and events which will be available for you when you enter the game next time.

Multiplayer

     Multiplayer has new innovations as well. For the most part it is the same game modes we’ve seen back in Assassin's Creed 3, but the new “Wolfpack” game adds a cooperative game mode which allows you to play with your friends and hunt enemies controlled by computer. The new feature “Game Lab” allows you to modify existing game modes (excluding “Wolfpack”) and create them your own way. However, there are no Naval Multiplayer because Ubisoft said it was impossible to create and they faced some technical issues. Unfortunately, the game is 7 years old already and it is challenging to find a game because nobody plays online anymore.

Verdict

     Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is a game with an amazing storyline, many hours of naval gameplay, wide choice of customization, interesting locations and fun combat system. Graphics still look good in 2020 and I enjoyed the impact from the waves in the sea, this was an outstanding technology back in 2013 and even nowadays not so many games can show such a good work with water physics. The gameplay was fun for the most part, however, I felt a lack of interesting side missions and fighting. Majority of the map is filled with chests and collectibles, I wish there were more side missions and shipwrecks to explore. Assassin’s Creed is a game where it is extremely fun to enter combat and kill everyone and it would be much better if the game developers added more action here. Unfortunately, the multiplayer mode is “dead” as of May 28, 2020 and I didn’t get a chance to test it, but it doesn’t make this game bad. I still had a lot of fun in a single player mode and I spent hours playing this game. My verdict is: GOOD.

Graphics: 7/10

Storyline: 8.5/10

Gameplay: 7.8/10

Total: 7.76

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) REVIEW

     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) is a first person shooter game (FPS) and it was released on October 25, 2019. It’s a reboot of the Modern Warfare series that was originally released in 2007. The game was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is available to play on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC platforms. 

     In this review I will discuss Multiplayer mode, Spec Ops, Main Storyline and Controversial Politics surrounding the game. Talk about some of the new features in this game. I will briefly explain each mode and what they offer, provide images for context and give my opinion. After the evaluation is done, I will talk about the game overall, what I do and do not like and why I feel this way. Then  I will give you my verdict.

Multiplayer

     Multiplayer is the number one reason most people buy Call of Duty. This game franchise is famous for its dynamics, effects and graphics. Infinity Ward went through a lot of work to make this game different from any of the other games in the series; they created a new game engine that runs the game and added some new mechanics like mounting your gun on the wall, car and other covers before you shoot. You can pick between two factions, “Coalition” which is pretty much countries involved in NATO or “Allegiance’’ which is Russia and some Private Military Companies.

     Let’s take a look at all the good and bad sides of the multiplayer mode. Modern Warfare 2019 received a new level design. Now we have multiple entrances to the buildings and a lot of windows. Of course that new map design has its own advantages and disadvantages. This game plays differently now because we have more immersive and interesting gameplay since it makes us use many different tactics to kill the other teams enemy players, however the new map design creates a lot of problems for gamers because the game becomes slow paced. Players just sit in the corners and don’t move; they look through the windows and put proximity mines by the door entrances. Unfortunately, this kills that dynamic gameplay that we had in previous Call of Duties, but everybody likes to play it in their own way; at least the game doesn’t force you to play passively. 

     The new game mode “Ground War” brings an amazing and new experience of that big war-like feeling the player experienced in the Battlefield series to Call of Duty . You can get in a tank, a car or a helicopter and just have fun in the game. The key to this battle is to capture as many flags as you can and get 250 points in a match in order to defeat the enemy team. The only problem I had with this mode is the undestroyable environment. For example, in Battlefield if you shoot at the building it can fall apart and if you drive over the fence it will break. Unfortunately, Call of Duty does not offer something like that and I believe it is time to change; I hope in the next Call of Duties they will create a destroyable environment and my tank will be able to drive over a small tree or a fence. 

     “Gunfight” is another gamemode that was added to this new CoD. It is a competitive gamemode where two teams that consist of 2 people each face each other on a small map. In order to win you have to defeat the enemy team 6 times. To prevent people sitting at one spot as in the other game modes, the developers added a timer and when the time is gone both teams have to capture a flag in the middle of a map. This match is fun to play with your friends if you have somebody over or just to test your skills in the game.

Spec Ops

    Spec Ops are back in the new Call of Duty:Modern Warfare (2019). That’s a cooperative game mode where 4 players try to complete missions together. Unlike the normal player vs player multiplayer mode, you can pick whatever faction you want. Because you are not assigned to one particular team it doesn’t matter if you are playing as Russian Spetsnaz or a US Marine. You have a list of operations including big spec ops that last a long time where you have a bunch of tasks to complete and classic spec ops. Classic Spec Ops are small maps with one particular task to complete when the time is running. For example, you need to quickly run into the enemy base and grab an intel on their operations and exit the location afterwards. Survival mode is played on one small map from the regular multiplayer match and you have to survive for as long as possible and kill unlimited waves of enemies; you can buy equipment, weapons, weapon upgrades and support streaks like gunship and juggernaut suit. 

    The problem I faced with Spec Ops is that you have to kill unlimited and overpowered waves of enemies no matter if you’re playing Classic Spec Ops or regular ones. This makes it unplayable since the game was released and we haven’t received many updates or new maps for Spec Ops.

Weapon Customization

     Throughout the whole Call of Duty game series, we had weapon customization in multiplayer. However, the new weapon customization system is very different from past games in a good way. You can pick up to 5 weapon attachments and use them to play whatever you want to play.. Some attachments decrease recoil, other attachments help you to improve your aim down sights speed and others can boost your damage. You can also get a grenade launcher or an extra shotgun on your assault rifle. There is a wide variety of guns to choose from and weapons camos as well. The more you play with one gun the more attachments and camouflages you unlock for it. That’s definitely one of my favorite customization systems in Call of Duty.

Main storyline and its controversial politics

     Call of Duty:Modern Warfare (2019) is a reboot of the original Modern Warfare trilogy and it has nothing to do with the previous games. Of course, we have some old characters like Captain Price, but the whole game universe and its timeline is completely different. Game developers and scenarist Taylor Kurosaki tried to make this brand new Call of Duty controversial and make the player feel like there’s no good or bad characters, because war doesn’t have good sides. However, it didn’t work and a lot of gamers were disappointed because we didn’t get what we expected. After the game was released and was available to buy it got a 2.4 rating on Metacritic website.  Let’s take a look at the main story and try to figure out why.

    One of the missions that was controversial in this game is Embedded. The main protagonist Alex, a CIA agent, goes to the country called Urzikstan to fight Al-Qatala (AQ). Here he meets one of the key main characters, Farah Karim, a woman who is in charge of a rebel organization that fights AQ and the Russian army who occupied Urzikstan and also fights Al-Qatala. First of all, the mission starts with Alex going down to one of the districts to bomb the Russian helicopters and sabotage Russian army supplies. Starting from the beginning of the mission, we see how the Russian army makes the people of Urzikstan their own slaves, they build buildings for the Russian and are executed when they don’t obey. After a few minutes of gameplay you can see how the Russian army hangs people on the construction crane because they didn’t let them know where AQ leaders were hiding. Also, throughout the mission you hear general Roman Barkov (one of the main antagonists) saying that he tries to protect Russia and the whole world.  I believe that developers mixed up Russians with Nazis, because only Nazies could do that kind of horrible things to innocent people.

     Another controversial moment in the campaign was a mission called “Highway of Death.” The reason this mission was so hype on the internet is that during the briefing, Farah says that this highway was bombed by the Russian forces when civilians were trying to escape and it led to thousands of deaths. In fact, that is a real life event that happened on Highway 80, located between Iraq and Kuwait. It was bombed in 1991 by Coalition forces when the Iraq army and many citizens were escaping and it led to thousands of deaths and abandoned vehicles as a result. Scenarists decided to blame the Russian army in their game which is clearly propaganda and an attempt to hide military crimes of the United States army. 

    Finally, another mission that was probably the most controversial in the game is called “Hometown”. During this mission, we play as a kid Farah. She and her little brother get attacked by the Russian army and are gassed. At the beginning of the mission, her father picks her up and runs to their house to grab all the essentials like documents, radio and backpack. Unfortunately, after a few seconds a Russian soldier gets in their house and starts attacking Farah’s dad. Why? I have no idea. The game doesn’t explain this. Then we have to hide from this soldier because he tries to kill us. Finally we find a screwdriver and stab him. We get his gas mask and then we leave the house. As we are trying to leave the town we see hundreds of dead civilians and animals. Then we see how the Russian army executes people by shooting them. At the end of the mission we try to steal their truck and Farah’s little brother says he’s gonna drive (He is about 8-10 years old, so that makes absolutely no sense). However, general Barkov catches us before the truck runs its engine and puts us in prison with our brother.

    I really think they could have  made a great story in this game, but something went wrong and instead of getting this grey moral with no bad or good guys we get Russians who act like Nazis and general Barkov who has no motives to create chaos in Urzikstan. I get why so many people are disappointed because it wasn’t something Infinity Ward promised to our gaming community and I get why this game got a 2.4 rating on Metacritic. However, this game also has a lot of good sides and I think it deserves something better than just hate for the main story because it’s not the main thing people play Call of Duty for.

Verdict

    In conclusion, I enjoyed playing Call of Duty. Even though the campaign wasn’t the best and many people including me didn’t get the main plot and Russians being bad for no reason; I still enjoyed multiplayer. The graphics are amazing and sometimes it feels like the game developers inherited the best traditions of Michael Bay and Hollywood in general. You can see beautiful and juicy explosions everywhere, the new game engine makes the lighting look nice and the guns sounds seem real. My verdict is GOOD. It’s fun to play multiplayer and spend lots of time in it, but if you are more into the storyline it’s not worth it and you should probably go back to the original Modern Warfare trilogy. There is a lot of hate over the storyline but it’s not the biggest part of the brand new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Graphics: 8.5/10

Multiplayer: 9/10

Main story: 6.5/10

Total: 8/10