computer science

2023-10-30 18:12:00

Two years following the release of Disgaea 6 on Nintendo Switch, and its export to PC, PS4 and PS5 a year later, Nippon Ichi Software gives us a new opus of its flagship series. This time, we go to the Underworld of Hinomoto, renowned for its Bushidos and their code of honor, all with a good dose of humor that NIS has the secret of! You will have already seen it by looking at the rating, this latest part of the franchise that is Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless is simply excellent! Let’s see together why, while avoiding spoilers as much as possible, as usual.

If you already follow us, you have known for a long time, we greatly appreciate the work of NIS (Nippon Ichi Software) for their offerings that are both offbeat but also very sophisticated, some of these games are even part of unmissable cults! For Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless, an SRPG/TRPG, the developers take the formula of the sixth part – and old opuses – and enrich it once more in a beautiful way, offering once once more, a lifespan colossal! All with an obviously new and well-written story.

For honor!

Accessible in our beautiful language of Molière, this adventure takes us to the heart of new Underworlds including that of Hinomoto -Feudal Japan sauce-. At the time, this place was recognized for its Bushidos, and obviously their code of honor -following the path of the warrior-, the demons themselves going so far as to adopt this lifestyle, and therefore this particular code. Unfortunately, the arrival of Admiral Expandor has turned everything upside down, and as a result, the Bushidos are struggling to survive in these new imposed conditions…

It is in this Underworld that we meet Fuji, “Bushido” by name, but not by honor since he does not respect the code, he is “unhealthy”, without a sense of honor, and seeks above all to make money. But also Pirilika, a very, very rich entrepreneur, the latter having a great weakness for the Bushidos, and everything she knows regarding them on the subject, understand by this a “devouring” passion. When she learns that everything has changed following the appearance of Admiral Expandor, the young lady is in turmoil, she would like to restore the Bushidos’ way of life. Fuji then offers to help him in exchange for very large financial compensation. The two young people then join forces for a “great adventure”.

For this last part, Nippon Ichi Software draws as usual on a humorous and offbeat tone, this time with Feudal Japan and the Bushidos in the spotlight. Without going into all the details, the studio’s writing is once once more very pleasant, whether for the development of the characters, their delicious interactions, moreover the duo Fuji and Pirilika, with “opposite personalities” works really well, or even just each person’s story. In short, a narration of high quality that is a pleasure to see, especially since we still benefit from a French text version, once more very careful in its translation, with a whole host of puns and other joys. Let us note in passing that the dialogues are dubbed in English or Japanese.

Some new features for gameplay that is still as complete as ever

For its gameplay, Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless does not do things by halves since we find all the usual recipe of the franchise, both through the combat and the improvements from the HUB. Regulars will therefore not be in any way disoriented and will discover some “major” new features, and that’s fair to say.

As a reminder, before engaging in a confrontation by selecting an Underworld and a stage, we find ourselves within a HUB, here a ship, governing all the functionalities specific to the preparation of the characters. Once once more, we greatly appreciate refining our favorite warriors, customization logically taking a prominent and central place in the software, even in the series for that matter, and is intended to be as complete and unimaginable as possible.

Without re-explaining everything – don’t hesitate to reread old reviews for more information – we can take advantage of the services of a good forty classes (with some new ones) having their own specificities according to their name (archer , mage, warrior, some favoring melee, others distance, etc.), their affinities with weapons and elementals.

We can obviously equip them with new protections, other weapons to acquire, or even subsequently manage their IM: Maleficent Intelligence. Yes, this functionality introduced in Disgaea 6 serving – like FFXII Gambits – to record and modify action commands – to perform automatic combos – is back! Just like reincarnation. Among the other “shops” and installations located at the heart of this HUB, we have the Hospital to treat its minions and protagonists, while obtaining another type of currency, the side missions, the various shopping shops, the ” world of objects” for farming, the Cheat Counter can modify the allocation of experience, and so on, as we said earlier, this part always turns out to be as complete and rich .

Once the preparation is complete, it’s time for battles in a multitude of varied areas even with a good dose of verticality. Like a classic TRPG, but also the integration of dedicated mechanics from Disgaea, it is a question of properly placing your units on a gridded terrain then annihilating our different adversaries whether according to classes, skills, throws (a specificity specific to Disgaea) increasing the movement range. You can even chain combos together, counter-attack, exploit weaknesses, or even use color blocks (Geocases) corresponding to bonuses and penalties. In short, the foundations that made the saga famous are there, to our greatest happiness.

In addition to all this, the title from Nippon Ichi Software has several new elements such as the transformation into giant characters. Both valid for allies and enemies, the transformation into Megamax brings added value in the sense that we can very quickly overcome a group of annoying adversaries. By combining this Megamax trait with Megabricks, this means interesting bonuses (increase in damage, etc.) transmitted to the different units; tactics go up a notch when our opponents have damaging bonuses. In these cases, the elimination of the Megabrick associated with the enemy Megamax becomes the priority target to take down! In addition, speaking of surprises, we also have Luciferian mode, the latter – accessible for the protagonists of the main adventure and linked to a gauge – allows access to devastating special skills.

Great atmosphere

Let’s now continue with the technical, sound and visual aspects of this latest Disgaea opus. As for D6, two graphics modes are available: “Quality and Performance”. The software benefits from a 2D/3D mix that is still pleasant for the retina with the very famous identity of the saga. That is to say excellent character design, many types of environments and diversity of zones, details, color, very well drawn artworks and here a Japanese association (Feudal Japan) that is simply at the top. In short, if you like the AD of the franchise, and Feudal Japan, you will definitely love it! The same goes for the soundtrack which corresponds really well to the adventure experienced. Note that the texts are in French, while the voices are available in Japanese or English.

Tested on PS5

Disgaea 7 – Vows of the Virtueless should delight longtime fans, as was our case. Between its well-written narrative adventure, its Japanese Feudal Japan atmosphere, its characters and their personality, a translation always at the top, or its rich content, without forgetting some great new features and the pleasure of playing, Disgaea 7 will be able to make a great place under the tree and during next year’s MaXoE Festival.

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#Disgaea #Vows #Virtueless #très #bon #opus #PS4 #PS5 #Switch

2023-10-28 17:17:00

Released for the first time exclusively on Xbox 360 in 2010, Alan Wake is re-released in a remastered and multi-platform version in 2021. Signed by the Remedy studio to whom we owe the excellent Max Payne saga and more recently the incredible Controle (which also shares the same universe as our game), Alan Wake is a psychological action thriller game that will put you to the test and from which you may not emerge unscathed. So strap in and dive with me through his nightmarish story…

What is this regarding? You follow the story of Alan Wake, a writer who once his moment of glory has passed, finds himself lacking inspiration (but not for long). He therefore decides with his wife to go on vacation to the magnificent town of Bright Falls. But things quickly turn into a disaster, because as soon as they arrive at their holiday chalet, all the lights go out, his wife disappears in a deafening scream, being swallowed up by the darkness and our writer loses consciousness. When he wakes up, the chalet and his wife have disappeared, and 20 days have passed since this event which strangely no one seems to have noticed. During his investigation, our hero realizes that during these 20 days of absence, he wrote a horror book whose story comes to life and whose origin he will have to understand. I won’t say more to keep you a little surprised.

The game begins with the traditional tutorial, which will allow you to get used to the character and a 3rd person camera. You experience a nightmare from Alan who teaches you how to survive and fight darkness with light. For this, various weapons and accessories will be at your disposal: revolver, rifle, flashlight, flare… A whole arsenal that is very useful once morest the multitude of enemies who are pursuing you.

a talented writer whose only fault is being asthmatic

Usain Bolt had better watch out, our dear writer runs the 100 meters in a little over… 20 seconds (yes, I had fun counting). In the absence of an overhaul of the race, we would have liked the appearance of an endurance bar with this remaster to know when it is exhausted. However, you will have the opportunity to drive a vehicle through certain levels, which helps diversify the way you travel around the town of Bright Falls.

Morgan Freeman at your service

During your adventure, you will meet different characters, some anecdotal like the local waitress who is a little too much of a number 1 fan for my taste, but some others will have a role to play in your adventure, like the local radio host (with the French voice actor official Morgan Freeman), and especially Barry, your agent and best friend! Ah good old Barry, a colorful character as energetic as he is unbearable.

The narration, the big strong point of the game

If you like Stephen King novels, Alan Wake is for you, there will also be quite a few references to several literary works or famous authors (the book Deliverance, Hemingway, HP Lovecraft, etc.). Its distressing universe is a pleasure to explore (you call me psychopath, I would say lover of horror). But it is above all his way of telling the story, because as mentioned above, the character wrote a book which he does not remember, but throughout your adventure, you will find the pages scattered everywhere the collectible way to recover, but which for once have a real interest.

These pages can then be read (they are read by the main character which adds immersion) and they will teach you more regarding past events. The game will also be divided into several episodes, like a series (or a book) with a summary at the start of each episode, which allows you to get back into the swing of things straight away. Without forgetting a part in case of a long break in your adventure.

Now let’s move on to the technical part of this port. If we are far from a remake with a graphic overhaul and additions to Resident Evil 4, we still note good work on the textures with 4K resolution, reworked lighting effects and more natural shadows. The addition of DLSS to boost its performance and compatibility with ultrawide screens are also included. In addition to that, this is the port for the first time on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles (at the time, the game had been a Microsoft exclusive). However, we deplore the fact of not having any improvement in gameplay (fairly rigid animations, camera that goes wrong at certain times).

Tested on PC.

Here we have a high quality remaster of a classic psychological action-thriller game from the 2000s. If the game is not categorized as a horror game, its distressing atmosphere can still bring you a cold sweat sometimes. The way of telling the story through the pages of a manuscript is an idea straight from the genius of the Remedy studio. We can’t wait to see what awaits us next from our writer, so see you on October 27, 2023 for the release of Alan Wake 2!

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#Alan #Wake #Remastered #good #remaster #PS4 #PS5 #Xbox