Competitive battling is really fun!
No, I do mean it.
What I like about competitive Pokemon battling is that it requires strategy and mind games in order to defeat your opponents. Brute force cannot work and often will be punished.
It's like more complicated version of chess. You have 6 pieces instead of 16, and each piece can be customizable to an extent. Each of your Pokemon has strengths and weaknesses and there are certain match-ups that has to be remembered (because you do not ever bring a Pokemon in to battle against an opponent that Pokemon can't defeat, knowing very well you have other Pokemons that you can use against it).
I wasn't very into the competitive nature of Pokemon at first. I was just the typical trainer who would complete the main story and maybe play a bit of the battle subway/frontier/maison/tower/etc. That being said I do have little (as in, very little) knowledge on how competitive works by playing the online battle simulator Pokemon Online.
Then Pokemon X and Y came, and that changed everything. EV training is much accessible now with Super Training and Horde encounters. IV breeding for perfect Pokemon, while still rather annoying, is very much easier than previous generations. So I thought to myself, why not give it a go?
Before trying out EV training and IV breeding, I found out my team fares rather horribly in Battle Spot's Rating Battle. So I decided to train up a team. This team was no ordinary team, it was a team comprising of 5 of my friend's favourite Pokemon (and the last one being mine). Thus, the first generation of IV bred and EV trained Pokemons were born.
Lucky * (Jolteon) was the fastest of them all, and was the go-to lead as it could use Volt Switch, it could also use Roar or Toxic (depending on the moveset I chose for it). While I rarely use him now, he was one of my most frequently used Pokemon in Rating Battle and did save me a few times.
Gordon (Starmie) was the 2nd fastest in this team. It was my Rapid Spinner and an offensive attacker. Again, like Lucky *, I hardly use Gordon now, but it's one Pokemon I have my utmost respect for making an incredible comeback when I was down three to 1 in a Rating Battle.
Hydra (Charizard), a starter with some incredible potential. He was my Mega Pokemon, and had an offensive physical moveset that comes with Mega-Charizard X. I still use him from time to time, and he never disappoints me.
Epsilon (Metagross) is a hard to breed one, but being bulky has its uses. From my experience with it, I found out that a Close Combat from Mega-Lucario is not powerful enough to defeat it, and would lose to it should Epsilon use Hammer Arm/Earthquake. It's not a staple in my team now, but it can easily be a replacement Pokemon should I need one since it's rather dependable.
Sharky (Garchomp) was another Pokemon I had that has a Mega-form, but I did not use it for the Mega-form because I thought the decrease in speed actually hinders it from doing a lot of significant damage as it might be outsped by fast Pokemon that had Ice moves. He was quite good as a normal Garchomp being able to defeat a Mega-Garchomp, and better yet defeat a Mega-Kangaskhan all by himself. But much later down the line, I was able to make a Sand Storm team, and with my Baton Passing Speed Boost Blaziken in that team, I decided that it's time for Sharky to use his Mega-Form.
Finally my favourite Pokemon, Simon the Excadrill was in the first generation of bred Pokemon and was the first Pokemon I had with 5 IVs (though not perfect). Simon was one beastly member of my team due to it's high attack. However, the fact that some people may not like the idea of using a Sand Rush Excadrill made me let Simon rest in the sidelines. But later, I realized that I needed Simon to shine, and I decided that I did not care what they thought of (since only Legendaries are considered banned), so I placed him back in my Sand Storm team.
With my first 6 members, I did pretty well against people worldwide in the rating battles, raising my win rate back to 50% (which was the minimum requirement to satisfy me). I also did something with this team which was pretty awesome in my opinion. I raised them to level 55, and pit them against the Elite 4 and Champion with Set battle format and not allowing me to use Pokemon Amie beforehand and not using healing items during battle. Needless to say, they were able to enter the Hall of Fame despite being 8 levels lower than the weakest Pokemon of the Elite 4.
Then I decided to breed another Pokemon. And that Pokemon was a Kangaskhan. I was able to breed a rather good Kangaskhan (though not perfect IVs, but I didn't mind then). She was one of my aces as she's incredibly powerful when in her Mega-form, and saving me in a couple of matches. She's still a staple in my team, but she will be traded away to my best friend since I bred her successor - a Kangaskhan with 5 perfect IVs. Nonetheless, the new Kangaskhan will still take the name of older Kangaskhan - Kate n Nate.
The first Kate n Nate was the last Pokemon I bred in my first generation of my Pokemon breeding. Since then, I've bred more Pokemons, and them having IVs in the right places.
The first Pokemon bred in the second generation of breeding was a Greninja I called Strider. I found a Froakie with Protean from Wonder Trade, and I thought 'why not breed it'. After experiencing several hours of not breeding a 5IV Protean Froakie (I had a 5IV perfect TORRENT Froakie), Arceus has decided to bless me with a Protean Froakie that has 6 perfect IVs. That Froakie turned out to become the Strider he is today, and has been terrorizing many teams due to it's high speed and the power of Protean.
Then I bred Tim Drake (the Gale Wings Talonflame). Having 5 perfect IVs, he's one of my favourite birds around (next to Staraptor) for it's amazing ability and it's approach to enemies (by Brave Bird, taking it's life in the process). He's still a threat to most teams, but due to me not having a practical way to counter Stealth Rock (the thing that eats Tim Drake and Hydra for breakfast), I decided that I would not use him too often.
Using some spare 5IV Pokemons I have, I was able to trade them with other trainers, and I got my next three Pokemon - Tyranitar, Gengar, and Rotom.
Tyranitar was the main reason I decided I should go for my favourite kind of team (the Sand Storm team). I noticed that he had Outrage as an egg move, so I decided to scrap the plan of using him as a Stealth Rock user and make him an offensive tank. I equipped him with an Assault Vest, and from my battles, I realized that a STAB Aura Sphere from Mega Mewtwo X is not enough to take down this beast.
Gengar has an odd name (Bb15), due to his original master wanting to sort them systematically. While not having the egg-move Disable, I did place Taunt of him as a way to surprise some opponents. His fast, though not as fast as Strider, but he hits harder. At one point he had Sucker Punch in his arsenal, which surprised a Mega-Gengar user whose Mega-Gengar didn't have much health left.
The Rotom I had wasn't perfect, so I decided to breed it to perfection - but I failed. The Rotom I have with me has 5 IVs (lacking of Speed), but has a decent speed stat (as it's speed is 12 instead of 11). I decided to use it to burn people with Will-O-Wisp, and then use Rest (since it's a tank). While still new in my team, the burn it causes is invaluable. The Rotom I had took the form of a washing machine, and it's name it WRotom.
Another tank I just bred is a Ferrothorn whose name is loosely based on the popular Malaysian fruit the Durian (his name is Duryan). He is my Leech Seeder and has explosive personality. Also a new member of my team, so he hasn't had his awesome moments yet.
The latest Pokemon that I raised to level 50 is a Shuckle I called Stones. He's the latest member to my Sand Storm team and can take a beating. He is my Toxic user and another Rest user to stall the battle. He also has the Ability Contrary, and uses Shell Smash to make him even bulkier. While new, I've tested him on a Free Double Battle on Battle Spot. He was able to defeat a Mega Blastoise and Marrowak while being the only member alive in my team.
Anyways, this is just me reminiscing the experiences I have with the Pokemon I used for battle. As you can see, I'm not really a guy that aims to win the battle. While winning is nice, I enjoy the experience of battling with my team even more than that. We win together, and lose together, and that's all that matters.
Saturday 30 November 2013
Monday 25 November 2013
Review: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
One of the many reasons I got myself a 3DS was the announcement of new Ace Attorney game for the 3DS at the Tokyo Game Show at 2012. As a fan of the series, I really hoped that game received localization since Ace Attorney Investigations 2 (aka Gyakuten Kenji 2 in Japan) did not receive localizations at all.
Fortunately, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (AA5) did. While the game was only released as a digital format downloaded from the 3DS eShop (which annoys me since I can't sell it), the decision by Capcom makes a bit of sense, as the Ace Attorney series, as a whole isn't that popular around the world as it is in Japan, where musicals, movies, and orchestral arrangements of the tracks can be found for this series. The decision was cost effective, since there will not be cost put into making the physical copy and the fact that the risks that comes with making a physical copy will not exist (having extra copies that no one will buy).
At first, the 30$ price tag on the game seems rather hefty to me (even though a normal 3DS game usually cost 40$ at retail), and I thought that it should be cheaper. I still bought and downloaded the game on Day 1, and after playing it, I can say that this game is indeed worth the price.
Story:
The story takes place where Apollo Justice (AA4) left off, with Phoenix now getting is lawyer badge back and being a lawyer once more. Depending on which case, you'll be playing in the perspectives of one of three characters - Phoenix, Apollo, or the newest member of the Wright Anything Agency, Athena Cykes.
The game's story is pretty amazing, with each case giving some sort of significance to the overarching main plot of the game. There are five cases total (not counting DLC), and among the five case I would say Case 2 is the weakest among the five. That being said, the case isn't bad (it does have its merits), it just pales in comparison to the rest.
Graphics:
This game looks amazing. I was a bit skeptical at first with the use of 3D models in the game compared to the sprites of previous games. My main concern at first was the way the mouth moved as it didn't seem natural looking to me (this is my first impression when I saw the trailer, at least), but when playing the game, I never seem to notice it all (they were fine).
The use of 3D models also helped make characters more lively. I felt that several characters in this game were designed such that to take advantage of the things they can do with 3D models that they can't with 2D sprites. Each character appears to have several kinds of animation, and the animation is extremely fluid (like Klavier's finger snapping, it looked really natural). The 3D models also enable them to alter the appearance of certain characters (like a pickpocket who stole and wore someone's item will be seen wearing that item, when he wasn't wearing it at all a few minutes ago), and this also gave us one of the most surprising villains in an Ace Attorney game ever.
Another cool thing in this game is the Thought Route sequence. Why is this in the graphics section? Because before and after this sequence, you'll be zoomed in and out of Phoenix/Apollo/Athena. when zoomed in, you can see that the character models were outlined such that they looked like they were from an anime/manga, showing us the kind of artstyle that the game is using, which I liked a lot.
Sound:
You can't deny that Capcom games have some of the best musics in video games ever. The Ace Attorney series is no different. Each game has it's own awesome song. This game is no different. The music is awesome as always, and certain tracks are throwbacks to songs from the previous games. Take the 'Objection' theme for example, it heavily resembles the 'Objection' theme from Trials and Tribulations.
Most of the songs have an orchestral feel to it, and they sound good. The orchestral songs in this game could be due to the person in charge of the music being the same person in charge of the Ace Attorney orchestral album. While I didn't like the orchestral remixes of the Ace Attorney orchestral soundtrack (as they were inferior to the Ace Attorney Jazz soundtrack) I enjoyed the orchestral feel of the music a lot in this game.
Gameplay:
Gameplay is divided into two portions - Investigation and Court. Many argued that the Investigation part of the game is easier than in previous games, and I do agree, but it's probably because it's streamlined. This game is designed to have a linear gameplay experience (like in the older games of the series), but the problem with older games was that because it is linear, you have to present 'that one evidence' to 'that one person' in order to move on, and sometimes, you don't know who are you supposed to talk to or present evidence to. Some people get stumped because of this and stopped playing the game, so the streamlining of gameplay in this game is indeed a plus.
Older game mechanics like the Psyche-Lock and Apollo's bracelet makes a return in the game, accompanied by the new courtroom-only mechanic, the Mood Matrix. Personally, this game mechanic is a hit-or-miss. Sometimes, solving problems with the Mood Matrix is satisfying. But there's also times where a mechanic of the Mood Matrix appears due to the person's disturbed emotions, and that part is more lucked based in my opinion.
Oh, another thing I forgot is that if you get a game over in court, you can consult your partner should you choose to continue (as a hinting method to the gamer should you get stuck in court), which is somewhat nice.
A problem with the game (which is somewhat prevalent in older games) is the lack of grammar and spell-check for some of the cases (this usually happens in the 2nd or 3rd case, and hardly happens in the final case).
Another minor bug I found was the 'missing text'. In this game (as well as older games of the series), in case you clicked next too fast and missed out on a dialogue, the game lets you re-read the dialogue by viewing the activity log. The problem is that sometimes, the conversations and actions are missing from the activity log, hence the text is 'missing'. Though this problem can be solved by saving your game and loading it once more from the title select screen, but it is somewhat annoying.
Characters:
I would say that the characters in this game are rather likable. Every character in this game have some sort of quality that makes them stand out (even the side characters). The design of some of the characters, as mentioned earlier, felt like it was meant to show off the power of 3D models in this game.
Our newcomer prosecutor, Athena is an alright character. At least she turns out to be more likable in her debut game compared to Apollo Ace Attorney 4. The story of this game is much more focused on her, so it's natural that she gets more attention in certain episodes. My main problem with her is not in her personality, but her voice actress in the animated cutscenes. I'm not saying that Wendee Lee is a bad voice actress (she did a fine job as Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop), it's just that the voice acting didn't feel right, for me, and I think that if Athena was voiced by another VA it might have been better.
Simon Blackquil, the Twisted Samurai, and the main prosecutor for this game, is also really likable with his awesome pet bird Taka, and his quotes of his fellow prisoner inmates. Compared to the prosecutors of older games, he is a pretty competent one. By playing more of the game, I realized unlike Franziska and Manfred (and at one point, Edgeworth), he does not aim for a perfect win streak, he's just doing some fine prosecuting with his abilities. I would say that his prosecuting skill is slightly below Edgeworth's and I would rank him in my top 3 prosecutors of the series.
The third new character of the main crew is Detective Bobby Fulbright. He's considered the likable/unlikable character. Some may like his hot blooded personality and his sense of justice, some may not like the fact that he replaces Gumshoe as the detective for this game. As for me, I think he has a catchy theme, though the theme is somewhat annoying when you hear it almost on repeat on the later cases. Also, if you're a player reading this review and have not completed this game, Fulbright's may become increasingly likable or hated as the game progresses (not spoiling anything there).
Now, a special mention to Apollo Justice, as he's much more likable and has more personality in this game compared to Ace Attorney 4. The awesome thing of Ace Attorney 5 is that while you do control 3 attorneys, they do give each attorney almost equal amount of screen time for them to develop their personalities. And while Phoenix didn't need much development, Apollo needed it, and they did a fine job making Apollo a likable guy.
Animated cutscenes and voice acting:
Personally, I thought it was awesome that Capcom managed to hire Bones studios (the guys who animated both adaptations of Full Metal Alchemist) to be in charge of their animated cutscenes. So the animation and quality is there.
What I didn't like about those cutscenes was there isn't an option to switch between English to Japanese dubbing (with added subtitles), it's not because I prefer Japanese audio over the English one, but there are certain cutscenes I find to be cringe-worthy (there is one in the 3rd case, so keep in mind that).
As for the voice acting, it's decent, but could be better. There's only one person whom I felt has the perfect voice actor for the job (and that's Phoenix Wright). There were a few moments where Apollo's voice acting sounded very cliche. Also, I didn't really like Edgeworth's voice as it did not suit him. I thought he was an American, why does he sound like he's trying to imitate Professor Layton? (Unless they're trying for that regal feel since he looks so formal and stuff, so they thought a British accent would suit him)
Is the DLC worth it:
Yes (for the DLC case), and no (for the DLC outfits). If you're reading this and decide to buy the game, you won't be able to get the free costumes for Phoenix, Apollo, and Athena (those costumes are buy-the-game-early bonus). And while it's nice to see Phoenix in his old suit, it's not much different from his new one. Apollo's and Athena's outfits are different though, but I don't think it's worth paying for it (unless you're really a fan of the game, but if you were a fan of the game, you would have gotten the game earlier, and would get these costumes for free, so I dunno...).
As for the DLC case (Special Episode Turnabout Reclaimed), that is definitely worth it. The case is pretty good, and this DLC doesn't seem like a half-baked one, as the case is as long as or even longer than the 3rd case. It is rather well written and somewhat tragic. There were also more cutscenes in this case than the usual cases, and it has as much evidence as the 4th and final case. The best part of the case was how it shows an epilogue, taking place a few months after the courtroom trial, and seeing how the characters in the case are doing. A minor problem you'll face in this case is the tutorials for Investigation mode appearing once more (which is justified because Case 2 introduces you to Investigation mode, and you can only face this DLC case after Case 1).
Final Verdict:
Overall, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies is a well polished game for the series, and is a huge step-up from the rather disappointing Apollo Justice game. While the gameplay is linear as always, it makes up for it with it's amazing story and well-written characters. The game is far from perfect, and it has yet to beat the amazing game that is Trials and Tribulations, but it is certainly up there as one of the better Ace Attorney games of the series.
Pro's:
Amazing Story
Well-Written Characters
Fluid 3D Model Animation
Cons:
Some Voice Acting Were Cringe-Worthy
Grammatical & Spelling Mistakes In Some Cases
'Missing Text' Bug
Score:
9/10 Without DLC Episode
9.5/10 With DLC Episode
Fortunately, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (AA5) did. While the game was only released as a digital format downloaded from the 3DS eShop (which annoys me since I can't sell it), the decision by Capcom makes a bit of sense, as the Ace Attorney series, as a whole isn't that popular around the world as it is in Japan, where musicals, movies, and orchestral arrangements of the tracks can be found for this series. The decision was cost effective, since there will not be cost put into making the physical copy and the fact that the risks that comes with making a physical copy will not exist (having extra copies that no one will buy).
At first, the 30$ price tag on the game seems rather hefty to me (even though a normal 3DS game usually cost 40$ at retail), and I thought that it should be cheaper. I still bought and downloaded the game on Day 1, and after playing it, I can say that this game is indeed worth the price.
Story:
The story takes place where Apollo Justice (AA4) left off, with Phoenix now getting is lawyer badge back and being a lawyer once more. Depending on which case, you'll be playing in the perspectives of one of three characters - Phoenix, Apollo, or the newest member of the Wright Anything Agency, Athena Cykes.
The game's story is pretty amazing, with each case giving some sort of significance to the overarching main plot of the game. There are five cases total (not counting DLC), and among the five case I would say Case 2 is the weakest among the five. That being said, the case isn't bad (it does have its merits), it just pales in comparison to the rest.
Graphics:
This game looks amazing. I was a bit skeptical at first with the use of 3D models in the game compared to the sprites of previous games. My main concern at first was the way the mouth moved as it didn't seem natural looking to me (this is my first impression when I saw the trailer, at least), but when playing the game, I never seem to notice it all (they were fine).
The use of 3D models also helped make characters more lively. I felt that several characters in this game were designed such that to take advantage of the things they can do with 3D models that they can't with 2D sprites. Each character appears to have several kinds of animation, and the animation is extremely fluid (like Klavier's finger snapping, it looked really natural). The 3D models also enable them to alter the appearance of certain characters (like a pickpocket who stole and wore someone's item will be seen wearing that item, when he wasn't wearing it at all a few minutes ago), and this also gave us one of the most surprising villains in an Ace Attorney game ever.
Another cool thing in this game is the Thought Route sequence. Why is this in the graphics section? Because before and after this sequence, you'll be zoomed in and out of Phoenix/Apollo/Athena. when zoomed in, you can see that the character models were outlined such that they looked like they were from an anime/manga, showing us the kind of artstyle that the game is using, which I liked a lot.
Sound:
You can't deny that Capcom games have some of the best musics in video games ever. The Ace Attorney series is no different. Each game has it's own awesome song. This game is no different. The music is awesome as always, and certain tracks are throwbacks to songs from the previous games. Take the 'Objection' theme for example, it heavily resembles the 'Objection' theme from Trials and Tribulations.
Most of the songs have an orchestral feel to it, and they sound good. The orchestral songs in this game could be due to the person in charge of the music being the same person in charge of the Ace Attorney orchestral album. While I didn't like the orchestral remixes of the Ace Attorney orchestral soundtrack (as they were inferior to the Ace Attorney Jazz soundtrack) I enjoyed the orchestral feel of the music a lot in this game.
Gameplay:
Gameplay is divided into two portions - Investigation and Court. Many argued that the Investigation part of the game is easier than in previous games, and I do agree, but it's probably because it's streamlined. This game is designed to have a linear gameplay experience (like in the older games of the series), but the problem with older games was that because it is linear, you have to present 'that one evidence' to 'that one person' in order to move on, and sometimes, you don't know who are you supposed to talk to or present evidence to. Some people get stumped because of this and stopped playing the game, so the streamlining of gameplay in this game is indeed a plus.
Older game mechanics like the Psyche-Lock and Apollo's bracelet makes a return in the game, accompanied by the new courtroom-only mechanic, the Mood Matrix. Personally, this game mechanic is a hit-or-miss. Sometimes, solving problems with the Mood Matrix is satisfying. But there's also times where a mechanic of the Mood Matrix appears due to the person's disturbed emotions, and that part is more lucked based in my opinion.
Oh, another thing I forgot is that if you get a game over in court, you can consult your partner should you choose to continue (as a hinting method to the gamer should you get stuck in court), which is somewhat nice.
A problem with the game (which is somewhat prevalent in older games) is the lack of grammar and spell-check for some of the cases (this usually happens in the 2nd or 3rd case, and hardly happens in the final case).
Another minor bug I found was the 'missing text'. In this game (as well as older games of the series), in case you clicked next too fast and missed out on a dialogue, the game lets you re-read the dialogue by viewing the activity log. The problem is that sometimes, the conversations and actions are missing from the activity log, hence the text is 'missing'. Though this problem can be solved by saving your game and loading it once more from the title select screen, but it is somewhat annoying.
Characters:
I would say that the characters in this game are rather likable. Every character in this game have some sort of quality that makes them stand out (even the side characters). The design of some of the characters, as mentioned earlier, felt like it was meant to show off the power of 3D models in this game.
Our newcomer prosecutor, Athena is an alright character. At least she turns out to be more likable in her debut game compared to Apollo Ace Attorney 4. The story of this game is much more focused on her, so it's natural that she gets more attention in certain episodes. My main problem with her is not in her personality, but her voice actress in the animated cutscenes. I'm not saying that Wendee Lee is a bad voice actress (she did a fine job as Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop), it's just that the voice acting didn't feel right, for me, and I think that if Athena was voiced by another VA it might have been better.
Simon Blackquil, the Twisted Samurai, and the main prosecutor for this game, is also really likable with his awesome pet bird Taka, and his quotes of his fellow prisoner inmates. Compared to the prosecutors of older games, he is a pretty competent one. By playing more of the game, I realized unlike Franziska and Manfred (and at one point, Edgeworth), he does not aim for a perfect win streak, he's just doing some fine prosecuting with his abilities. I would say that his prosecuting skill is slightly below Edgeworth's and I would rank him in my top 3 prosecutors of the series.
The third new character of the main crew is Detective Bobby Fulbright. He's considered the likable/unlikable character. Some may like his hot blooded personality and his sense of justice, some may not like the fact that he replaces Gumshoe as the detective for this game. As for me, I think he has a catchy theme, though the theme is somewhat annoying when you hear it almost on repeat on the later cases. Also, if you're a player reading this review and have not completed this game, Fulbright's may become increasingly likable or hated as the game progresses (not spoiling anything there).
Now, a special mention to Apollo Justice, as he's much more likable and has more personality in this game compared to Ace Attorney 4. The awesome thing of Ace Attorney 5 is that while you do control 3 attorneys, they do give each attorney almost equal amount of screen time for them to develop their personalities. And while Phoenix didn't need much development, Apollo needed it, and they did a fine job making Apollo a likable guy.
Animated cutscenes and voice acting:
Personally, I thought it was awesome that Capcom managed to hire Bones studios (the guys who animated both adaptations of Full Metal Alchemist) to be in charge of their animated cutscenes. So the animation and quality is there.
What I didn't like about those cutscenes was there isn't an option to switch between English to Japanese dubbing (with added subtitles), it's not because I prefer Japanese audio over the English one, but there are certain cutscenes I find to be cringe-worthy (there is one in the 3rd case, so keep in mind that).
As for the voice acting, it's decent, but could be better. There's only one person whom I felt has the perfect voice actor for the job (and that's Phoenix Wright). There were a few moments where Apollo's voice acting sounded very cliche. Also, I didn't really like Edgeworth's voice as it did not suit him. I thought he was an American, why does he sound like he's trying to imitate Professor Layton? (Unless they're trying for that regal feel since he looks so formal and stuff, so they thought a British accent would suit him)
Is the DLC worth it:
Yes (for the DLC case), and no (for the DLC outfits). If you're reading this and decide to buy the game, you won't be able to get the free costumes for Phoenix, Apollo, and Athena (those costumes are buy-the-game-early bonus). And while it's nice to see Phoenix in his old suit, it's not much different from his new one. Apollo's and Athena's outfits are different though, but I don't think it's worth paying for it (unless you're really a fan of the game, but if you were a fan of the game, you would have gotten the game earlier, and would get these costumes for free, so I dunno...).
As for the DLC case (Special Episode Turnabout Reclaimed), that is definitely worth it. The case is pretty good, and this DLC doesn't seem like a half-baked one, as the case is as long as or even longer than the 3rd case. It is rather well written and somewhat tragic. There were also more cutscenes in this case than the usual cases, and it has as much evidence as the 4th and final case. The best part of the case was how it shows an epilogue, taking place a few months after the courtroom trial, and seeing how the characters in the case are doing. A minor problem you'll face in this case is the tutorials for Investigation mode appearing once more (which is justified because Case 2 introduces you to Investigation mode, and you can only face this DLC case after Case 1).
Final Verdict:
Overall, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies is a well polished game for the series, and is a huge step-up from the rather disappointing Apollo Justice game. While the gameplay is linear as always, it makes up for it with it's amazing story and well-written characters. The game is far from perfect, and it has yet to beat the amazing game that is Trials and Tribulations, but it is certainly up there as one of the better Ace Attorney games of the series.
Pro's:
Amazing Story
Well-Written Characters
Fluid 3D Model Animation
Cons:
Some Voice Acting Were Cringe-Worthy
Grammatical & Spelling Mistakes In Some Cases
'Missing Text' Bug
Score:
9/10 Without DLC Episode
9.5/10 With DLC Episode
Friday 22 November 2013
I'm back from exams.
Yeah, my exams are finally over.
It was okay I guess, I just hope I didn't do too bad (cuz I felt like I've been playing more video games this semester, even though I told myself not to).
Anyways, my plans immediately after the paper was to find out which one of my friends have plans to do something and just tag along with them. Problem with that plan was because only my Food Science friends end today (while my other friends who took other science degrees like Biotech and Biomedical Science all ended a week ago), so there wasn't many people to look about for plans to do after our exams.
Most of them were too tired from studying our final paper and wanted to just have a snack, then head home and relax, so that was what I did - I had lunch with two of my friends.
We went to eat outside the university compound so we head to one of our friend's car. While heading to the carpark we stumble upon one of our lecturers. He is one of the lecturers that taught us the unit Food Bioprocessing and Technology, which so happens to be our last paper.
Funny story,
So we were chatting with him on the questions he prepared for the exams (each lecturer prepared a number of questions for the paper based on what they taught us), and he was telling us how easy his questions is (provided we read is lecture materials). After chatting for a while, there was a short silence, and he looked at me, and asked me:
'Are you one of my students?'
Somewhat stunned that he doesn't recognize me, I said 'Yeah..'
'Oh.... Did you skip my class?'
'No', I said 'I was present in every one of your lectures except the first one (which was a mistake in my part during enrolling in the units)'
'Oh.... You sit at the back of the class, didn't you?'
'No, I sit in the middle (there were only 30+ students in a class that can fill a hundred, it's so empty that we have no choice but to sit in front since he asked us to).'
I realized (and I think he did too) that he didn't recognize me despite me being present in his class. I don't blame him though, not all lecturers remember their students faces since they have so many students. While the Food Science lecturers are starting to remember our faces more (since we ARE Food Science students), this lecturer is a sessional lecturer, meaning he's not teaching full time. It also could be due to the fact that he only asked questions to the same few people in his class, and I'm not one of those people, so I don't stand out.
I feel like I'm like a ghost in his class - a being which is present all the time in a room or area, but not detected by the presence of certain humans. If I didn't bump into him just now, he wouldn't know I existed at all, which is somewhat awesome?!
Anyways, after that I just went for lunch and head home a few hours later. The first thing I did when I got home was download the new DLC case in Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies.
I'm not sure if I posted about it before, but I've beaten the game within 3 days of it's release in the 3ds eShop. It's a really fantastic game that I'll be reviewing later. Seeing the DLC case being out on the last day of my exams got me really excited so I playing the DLC was the first thing on my to-do list when I got back.
You know what, it didn't disappoint. It's pretty good for a bonus case (as in it was well made, up to standard, and better than some of the cases in the main story). Beaten the game last night and I probably won't touch for a while.
So what's next? A review of the game Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies!
It was okay I guess, I just hope I didn't do too bad (cuz I felt like I've been playing more video games this semester, even though I told myself not to).
Anyways, my plans immediately after the paper was to find out which one of my friends have plans to do something and just tag along with them. Problem with that plan was because only my Food Science friends end today (while my other friends who took other science degrees like Biotech and Biomedical Science all ended a week ago), so there wasn't many people to look about for plans to do after our exams.
Most of them were too tired from studying our final paper and wanted to just have a snack, then head home and relax, so that was what I did - I had lunch with two of my friends.
We went to eat outside the university compound so we head to one of our friend's car. While heading to the carpark we stumble upon one of our lecturers. He is one of the lecturers that taught us the unit Food Bioprocessing and Technology, which so happens to be our last paper.
Funny story,
So we were chatting with him on the questions he prepared for the exams (each lecturer prepared a number of questions for the paper based on what they taught us), and he was telling us how easy his questions is (provided we read is lecture materials). After chatting for a while, there was a short silence, and he looked at me, and asked me:
'Are you one of my students?'
Somewhat stunned that he doesn't recognize me, I said 'Yeah..'
'Oh.... Did you skip my class?'
'No', I said 'I was present in every one of your lectures except the first one (which was a mistake in my part during enrolling in the units)'
'Oh.... You sit at the back of the class, didn't you?'
'No, I sit in the middle (there were only 30+ students in a class that can fill a hundred, it's so empty that we have no choice but to sit in front since he asked us to).'
I realized (and I think he did too) that he didn't recognize me despite me being present in his class. I don't blame him though, not all lecturers remember their students faces since they have so many students. While the Food Science lecturers are starting to remember our faces more (since we ARE Food Science students), this lecturer is a sessional lecturer, meaning he's not teaching full time. It also could be due to the fact that he only asked questions to the same few people in his class, and I'm not one of those people, so I don't stand out.
I feel like I'm like a ghost in his class - a being which is present all the time in a room or area, but not detected by the presence of certain humans. If I didn't bump into him just now, he wouldn't know I existed at all, which is somewhat awesome?!
Anyways, after that I just went for lunch and head home a few hours later. The first thing I did when I got home was download the new DLC case in Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies.
I'm not sure if I posted about it before, but I've beaten the game within 3 days of it's release in the 3ds eShop. It's a really fantastic game that I'll be reviewing later. Seeing the DLC case being out on the last day of my exams got me really excited so I playing the DLC was the first thing on my to-do list when I got back.
You know what, it didn't disappoint. It's pretty good for a bonus case (as in it was well made, up to standard, and better than some of the cases in the main story). Beaten the game last night and I probably won't touch for a while.
So what's next? A review of the game Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies!
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Quick Post
If you haven't notice by now, I don't really make much posts lately. It's due to exams and Pokemon.
Yeah, when I'm not spending time studying/revising, I'm playing Pokemon.
Currently, I've made what I called the 'Friends Team', I asked 5 of my friends on their favourite Pokemon, and make a team out of it (with the 6th Pokemon being my favourite). It consists of Jolteon, Charizard, Starmie, Metagross, Excadrill, and Garchomp. It did fairly well in Rating Battles (increasing my win rate to 50% in singles).
After that I went and breed a Kangaskhan. Keep in mind that most of the Pokemons I bred are not with perfect IVs (cuz I'm not that much of a fuss). As long as they have 3 or more perfect IVs, or an 'outstanding potential' evaluation from the judge, I'll keep them in my team.
That being said, I was able to breed a Fletchling with 5 perfect IVs today (HP, Atk, Def, SpDef, and Speed), that comes with the hidden ability Gale Wings and is Adamant natured. So I'm definitely using this guy on my team.
That's all for now, my last two papers are next week, so I have time to study for them.
Yeah, when I'm not spending time studying/revising, I'm playing Pokemon.
Currently, I've made what I called the 'Friends Team', I asked 5 of my friends on their favourite Pokemon, and make a team out of it (with the 6th Pokemon being my favourite). It consists of Jolteon, Charizard, Starmie, Metagross, Excadrill, and Garchomp. It did fairly well in Rating Battles (increasing my win rate to 50% in singles).
After that I went and breed a Kangaskhan. Keep in mind that most of the Pokemons I bred are not with perfect IVs (cuz I'm not that much of a fuss). As long as they have 3 or more perfect IVs, or an 'outstanding potential' evaluation from the judge, I'll keep them in my team.
That being said, I was able to breed a Fletchling with 5 perfect IVs today (HP, Atk, Def, SpDef, and Speed), that comes with the hidden ability Gale Wings and is Adamant natured. So I'm definitely using this guy on my team.
That's all for now, my last two papers are next week, so I have time to study for them.
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