My City Skyline

Cities: Skylines is a fun game, no doubt.  It allows the player to make big, beautiful cities with a little planning.  As I've already done a review of the game, I won't go into depth here.  I'm simply posting to show...My City.

This is My City, sprawling metropolis that has it all. Most people who come in will see this upon arrival...

Though, people who choose to view the city from across the water will see this...

Or if you decide to pass by on the expressway, you'll see this...

This city, however, is not all skyscrapers, though.  There are some small, quiet neighborhoods...

A small farming area...

An area for all those big, polluting factories...

Sights to see include a shopping mall...

A hospital...

A red light district...

A blue light district...

And a small office area in the middle of nowhere...

And that's My City.  Hope you'll come back soon.

Sonic Gems Collection Review (Gamecube)

Compilations should be good.  They should bring the best of the best to the table, with a some hidden gems and perhaps a few turds mixed in.  But what happens when half the games in a compilation are turds.  You get Sonic Gems Collection.

Sonic Gems Collection is an 11-in-1 compilation.  True to the title, there are some gems in here.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of turds in here, too.  Maybe it's because most of these titles are Game Gear games, that's not the only reason.  After all, two of the three main games are shitty.

So, what do we have in here?  First, you have the crown jewel of this disc, Sonic CD.  This is undoubtedly the game people bought the compilation to play.  As such, it doesn't disappoint.  Even with all the glitches (there are plenty), this is the best game on the disc.

The other two main games, Sonic R and Sonic the Fighters, are indeed shitty games.  They look, play, and generally feel like shit.  Other shitty games include Gear Game versions of Sonic 2 and Sonic Spinball.  In fact, this version of Sonic Spinball is one of the worst games I've ever played.

Most of the Game Gear games are at least interesting.  Sonic Triple Trouble is alright (or at least better than Sonic 2).  The Tails games, Tails' Adventure and Tails' Sky Patrol, are kind of neat.  Not happy with just being Sonic games starring Tails, these games mixed things up a bit.  The best of the Game Gear titles has to be Sonic Drift 2.  It's a Mario Kart clone and it's pretty darned good.

A common problem with all the Game Gear titles is that the screen always seems too small (this is why Sonic 2 sucks).  I'm pretty sure the idea was to make you feel as if are playing on a Game Gear, but in most of these games, you'll wish you could see more stuff.  This is especially the case for Sonic 2 and Sonic's Triple Trouble, which play more like tradition Sonic games.  In the case of Sonic Spinball, this (among many other things) makes the game unplayable.

Rounding out the collection, you have Vectorman and Vectorman 2, a pair of non-Sonic games.  These are a platforming shooters and they aren't bad.  Kind of overrated, but still far above average.  It would have been nice to see a few more Sonic games instead of these, but nice additions overall.

In Sonic Gems Collection, we have a mixed bag here.  You have your good games (Sonic CD and Sonic Drift 2), the hidden gems (the Tails games), and the shitty games (Sonic R and Sonic the Fighters).  In other words, it does what a compilation should do.  There were more shitty games than I'd have liked, but sadly they companies seem to like including them.

The one thing this compilation did right above all else was give me a chance to play games I otherwise never would have been able to play.  I never would have been able to play Triple Trouble or either of the Tails games if not for this collection.  On the other hand, I could have done without playing Sonic the Fighters or the Game Gear version of Sonic Spinball.  Either way, there's something to be said about that.  Check it out.

Nerd Battle: Laura Matsuda vs. Zarina

She's Latina.  She wears a sexy outfit.  She has funky hair.  It's Laura Matsuda from Street Fighter 5.  Or is it Zarina from King Of Fighters 14.  Yep.  It's Nerd Battle time.

Laura Matsuda is Street Fighter's newest "it" girl.  She is the older sibling of arguably the worst Street Fighter character ever, Sean Matsuda.  Laura, however, is a unique character, not content to be a Ryu/Ken clone like her younger brother.  Barring that, there are two VERY obvious reasons why she's more popular than him.

Zarina is a member of Team South America in King Of Fighters 14.  As the only female on the team, that automatically makes her the hot one.

So who looks better?  Both girls are hot and wear primarily yellow outfits (though there are other colors available).  Heck, they both even wear thongs, though Laura's butt is still covered and Zarina's is still mostly covered.

If only she wasn't wearing those tights.

See?  Zarina's wearing pants...barely.

Zarina looks a little more feminine, but Laura is hot still hot enough to where it's not too much of an advantage.  Outfits, on the other hand, put Laura way over the top.  She has more and they are sexier as well.  Laura takes looks.

This outfit is just one of the reasons Laura takes looks.

So, how about fighting?  Zarina uses a capoeira-type fighting style that's primarily kicks.  There's a lot of flash and finesse in her style.  Handstand kicks and super farts propel her to victory.

Look, ma!  Two hands!

Zarina can kick her ass off, no doubt about it.

Her pants are cutting right through her own legs.  I wonder if that hurts.

A kick that takes great arm strength...I think.

Zarina super powerful fart, in action.

Laura, meanwhile, uses a family style of jiu-jitsu.  As such, she's quite brutal and rough on her opponent.  She breaks arms, breaks legs, and breaks necks, on top use using rough-looking throws.  She also has some punches, powerful kicks, and (my favorite) electric dandruff.

Say goodbye to Cammy's arm...

...and Cammy's leg.

She just killed poor Cammy.

"Zap, zap!"  Eleectric dandruff.

A little something extra for Cammy fans.

So if Laura and Zarina met and got into a fight, who would win?  Anything is possible, I find it hard to believe that Laura could lose.  She has too many answers for too many situations.  Her throws are brutal and usually lead to something getting broken.  She can match power for variety in terms of kicks.  She even has a projectile with her electric dandruff.  She doesn't have a REAL keep-out move, so if Zarina built her battle plan around jump attacks, perhaps she could win.  On the whole thought, Laura has the advantage here.

I have reason to believe this is how Zarina would end up in this fight.

So, there you have it.  Zarina may be slightly hotter, but Laura's outfits help her win in looks.  In combat, Laura wins, because her fighting style is versatile and brutal.  Laura takes this Nerd Battle.

Agree?  Disagree?  Make your voice heard.  Comment.

Nobunaga's Ambition: SOIA Created Forces Guide

Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere Of Influence Ascension is a monster of a game.  Ambition accurately describes what you'll need a lot of to beat it.  Your goal is to conquer all of Feudal Japan, one castle at a time.  For strategy game fans, it's quite the experience.

While simply playing the game is ambitious, there's nothing more ambitious (and rewarding) than going at it with a created force.  The thought of building a force from the ground up and thrashing Japan's greatest generals is a thrill that's beyond thrilling.  It's also impossible for a first-timer who doesn't know how the game works.

The first thing you'll notice after plopping down your created force is how much weaker you are than everyone else.  It doesn't matter if you put one measly scrub in your ranks or 300 gods with maxed out stats.  You start with ONE castle, while everyone else usually starts with a higher soldier count and some daimyos start off with lots of castles.

Of course, as mentioned before, that's a part of the fun.  Turning a staggering disadvantage into a baffling victory is the ultimate experience.  In order to do that, however, you need to learn how to survive.  These are just a few tips to start you off and make your conquest a little easier.

1.  An Exclusive Club

Make sure the people you want to use are set to "active".

Before you even plop your force down, you have to determine who's going to be in it.  A force of between 15-25 officers of varying quality to start is good if you want to play fair.  You also want to make sure they each have high loyal (a low Req. Loyalty score) to keep opposing forces from simply stealing them away.  Nothing sucks more than having your best warrior stolen by a nearby daimyo and having them march on you with a 5000 soldier unit a few months later.

2.  Your Wish Is Their Command

While it may be tempting to be a retainer, playing as the daimyo give you ultimate control right away.

Will you start off as the daimyo or as a retainer?  Starting as a retainer will enable you the build an army quickly.  But you'll have no control over where you march, only if you march if you're called by the daimyo.  Being the daimyo, on the other hand, gives you the ultimate control.  When you march, who you march against, who leads the march, and who you befriend is totally up to you.  Being a retainer and climbing up to reagent will give you the same authority over YOUR troops, but your daimyo will still have his own army which you won't have control over.  Also, you can only claim castle you take from the enemy your daimyo orders you to attack.  You can still attack the castles you aren't ordered to attack, but your daimyo will control them, not you.  You can grovel to your daimyo for control over castles and officers, but that's just extra hassle.  For this reason, I recommend starting off as the daimyo yourself.  It's harder starting, but you'll have all the control when you finally do grow into a powerhouse.

3.  Location, Location, Location

You can plop a castle down on any white spot, but be aware of who your neighbor are.

Easily the most important part of your conquest is where you start.  Do you pick a big city that will develop quickly, but is near a major daimyo?  How about a small city in the boonies that develops slowly, but won't get attacked by a castle-devourer within six months?  Most places have their advantages and disadvantages.

4.  No More Lonely Nights

Build up trust and become allies with more powerful forces before they attack you.

Created force almost always start as the weakest force on the map.  If you start off near powerhouses like the Hojo and the Date, you'll be raped and killed.  This is where alliances and coalitions come into play.  If you plop down near a major force, this is the only way you'll survive until you get strong enough to challenge them.  This is also how you keep from getting castles taken away immediately after you conquer them and keeping your own castle safe after you've committed to a march.  Remember, you can have more than one ally.  Just make sure you can afford to keep it going.

5.  Come Back When You Grow Up

When you first start off, you won't be able to march right away (or you won't if you're smart).  Your starting force is so paltry, even a weak daimyo can fend you off with ease.  As a rule of thumb, you should only march on a weak castle (3000 HP or less) after you've gotten at least 1700 soldiers.  To take stronger castles (over 3000 HP) you'll want 4000 soldiers.  For mega castles (7000 HP and higher) don't even try unless you have multiple castles (perhaps 3 castles and 9000 soldiers) or have powerful clans as reinforcements.  Getting the aid of small tribes (not clans) can help your numbers (especially during early marches and defense), but they tend to be unreliable.  Long story short, don't march until your force is ready.

6.  The Way To A Man's Heart Is Through His Stomach

As you can see, conscripts (the hut icon) will only grow as large as supplies (the bales icon).

To build up a high soldier count quickly, you may be tempted to plop down two or three Warriors' Quarters and let the soldiers march in.  However, you need the food to feed them.  Your conscripts (soldiers) will stagnate when your supplies (food) stop growing.  Three farms or two paddies (if you have the good fortune of being near a river) will be enough to build a decent force.  Make sure to Invest in your food makers and Warriors' Quarters to squeeze out all the food and soldiers you can.

7.  Know Your Enemy...And His Friends

Check to see who else you could be fighting before committing to a march.

Marching on a weak daimyo or powerful but small daimyo can be tempting.  Before doing so, it's recommended you check to see who they are allied with or you could be in for quite the war.  For example, you may find it tempting to wipe out the Tendo clan early on.  However, they happen to be a vassal of the monstrous Date clan.  That means if you're going to fight the Tendo, you'd better be ready for a potential fight with the Date.  Or the Ashikaga clan have everyone in the middle of the map as an allies, so starting a fight with them could large to a huge war that you can't possibly win in the early game.  Wait for some of there alliances to end or get some decent backers of your own.

8.  Carving Out Your Slice

Once you've built up your force and created some alliances, your next goal should be to get four or five castles under your control quickly.  The major daimyos will only get stronger as time goes on, rarely getting weaker.  Establishing a five castle area will aid you in greatly with your economy, food for marches, and troop strength.

9.  A Well-developed Body

As you can see, this daimyo has five castles, making him a force even the big boys have to worry about.

Once you've got five or so castles, you can attempt to take on the big boys (the Date, the Ouchi, among others).  Before doing so, however, you'll want to upgrade your castles to get the most out of them.  Your starting castle should have at least 4000 soldiers, 5000 HP, and your best warrior.  Your other castles should have at least 2500 soldiers, 3000 HP, and good warriors.  Good warriors (officers with high LEA and/or VAL scores) can make the most of soldiers and make life miserable for enemies.

10.  Look Before Crossing The Street

From here, you can decide who, how, and when to attack.  You're off to a solid start.  Which direction you go from here is up to you.  Good warriors, troop strength, and alliances are your best friends.  Try not to take on too much too soon and even godly daimyos, like the Hojo, will crumble before you like stale crackers.

Was this starting guide helpful?  What are your tips and tricks?  Let your voice be heard.  Comment.

Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ Review (PS4)

Put on your school uniform, grab your cellphone, and prepare to save the world.  Don't forget to bring your friends.  It's time to get into Tokyo Xanadu Ex+.

In Tokyo Xanadu Ex+, you take the role of Kou and his friends as they leap into portals called Eclipse and beat the crap out of any monsters they come across.  As Kou, you must not only hack and slash your way though dungeons, but build up links with your friends, like Persona or Trails Of Cold Steel.

Our protagonist, Kou Tokisaka

Speaking of Trails Of Cold Steel, there are subtle (and not so subtle) references everywhere.  From the television in the Star Camera store showing footage of Trails Of Cold Steel 3 to minigames in the arcade named after Rean and Alisa, it's hard to miss.  Well, it is made by the same company.  There are also a few Y's references.  There are probably some others I missed or don't recognize, but that's beside the point.

Just one of several references to the Trails of Cold Steel series.

Anyway, as mentioned before this game is a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler of sorts.  It's not just mindlessly running around whuppin' ass, though.  The elemental system plays apart in how effectively you can fight.  Now you can kill enemies all the same, no matter what your element is.  This game, however, give you bonuses (more on those later) for killing enemies with the proper element.  To get maximum points, you have to switch characters frequently, depending on what element the enemy you're facing is.

Try to hit enemies with a character whose element they are weak to.

About your attack party.  You can bring up to three characters at a time into a dungeon.  You can usually bring any three characters in (though characters can be forced on you by the story), but you should build your party around the enemy's make-up to maximize your fighting ability and bonuses.  You only use one character at a time, but you can switch between them freely as the situation warrants.

Timely switches will help rack up those bonuses.

Each character has a number of a number of moves with which to dole out beatings and rape with.  Everyone can melee, shoot, and use super moves, among other things.  While everyone has a move for every situation, some characters do things better than other.  One character may be a better shooter, while another may be better at attacking in the air, etc.  Naturally, some characters will feel better for your playing style, so trot out a party you can work with whenever you get a chance.

Use this screen to plan your attack party.  As you can see here, sometimes characters are "locked" into the party.

You can also customize your characters' weapons, attaching things such as status effects and character buffs.  To a far lesser extent, you can also edit your their appearance.  Want your character to wear sunglasses?  Just buy some and plop them on.  Don't like Sora's school uniform?  Put her in her gym outfit instead.  Changing appearance doesn't help or hurt your stats, so you can use the outfit you want without fear.

You can replay the dungeons as many times as you want with any characters once you beat them.  This is mostly so you can grind and level up your characters so you don't get your ass kicked in later dungeons.  You can also try to get the highest score possible by getting as many level bonuses as you can.  You get graded on five bonuses; time taken, damage taken, elemental kills (which is why party structure is important), objects destroyed, max combo.  You can achieve the highest grade without getting them all, but it something you can shoot for if you're a perfectionist.

A general description of the bonuses and how to maximize your score.

The story has a little bit of everything.  High school, drugs, street gangs, yakuza, friendships and other relationships, and other stuff are all explored here.  There's something for everyone.  Now, being story-driven game, it risks having the dreaded Too Much Talking syndrome.  It just manages to avoid it, which will keep you interested in what the characters are doing.

You'll never think of Eclipse gum the same.

We have a martial arts instructor, a teacher, a yakuza, and a student in a shrine.  What a gathering.

On another note, the kid NPC's seem to speak too much like adults.  Seriously, when was the last time you've heard kids under twelve talk like this...

How old is this kid?

And how freaking old is this kid?

What about the other stuff.  The graphics are alright.  Basically, it looks like an HD version of Trails Of Cold Steel.  In other words, it looks like an anime.  This anime feeling is boosted further by the anime intro that plays before every chapter, like each chapter is an episode of said anime.

The environments in the "real world" look pretty good.  The dungeons are a little bit of a step back, but not much.  Dungeon-crawling is simple (you won't get lost), with small deviations here and there that lead to treasure, switches, and monsters to kill.

Now THIS is how a city should look.

Some dungeons actually look good, but most are generic and simple mazes.

The music is pretty good, especially when you're in a dungeon or fighting a boss.  The boss theme in particular is simply orgasmic.  Almost every dungeon has it's own theme which does a good job of either representing the dungeon you're in or getting you into the action.

The boss theme is pretty darned good.

Outside of the main story, you can talk to minor characters to attempt finishing their backstories.  There's also another mode that allows you to admire the characters in any costume and environment you've unlocked, as well as looking at their various actions.  And as is usually the case which games these days, there's DLC if you want it.

The character viewer let's you view your favorites under various conditions.

On the bad side, there are no English voices.  Some would say that automatically makes them good and they'd be wrong.  I don't understand Japanese, but I do understand cadence.  Sometimes the actors are phoning it in.  For the most part, the voices are okay thought.  Also, there are a few mistranslations, missing words, and typos here and there, but nothing too painful.

As a whole, the game is one that's hard to stop playing.  You have good music, solid graphics, a multi-faceted story that keeps you interested, and satisfying combat.  There are a lot of elements I didn't touch on here, to keep this post a respectable length.  In short, I can definitely recommend it.  Play it.