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2018 Game of the Year Awards — Console Awards — PlayStation 4

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/23/2018

Posted in: 2018, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2018, awards, become human, detroit, dj max, game of the year, god of war, goty, kratos, marvel's, playstation, playstation 4, ps4, respect, shadow of the colossus, Sony, spider-man. Leave a comment

This was a decent year for the PS4. With many older exclusive franchises being remastered for the system, plus some great new exclusives, the PS4 stood out from the rest. I would feel comfortable saying this is by far the best year for the system.

God of War

Sony ruled this generation, once again, due to the fact that they still know what gamers want and that’s beautiful well-told single-player games. God of War isn’t just the best game of the year on PS4, but the best game that’s come out this entire generation cycle. The acting, visuals, art style, combat, and characters are phenomenal and the bar has been reset for what video games should be.

Runner-Ups

Marvel’s Spider-Man

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Shadow of the Colossus

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Detroit: Become Human

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DJ Max Respect

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Top Ten PlayStation Vita Games

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/20/2018

Posted in: Blogs, PlayStation Vita, Sony Consoles. Tagged: borderlands 2, dj max, dragon's crown, golden, golden abyss, gravity rush, handheld, killzone, mercenary, muramasa rebirth, persona 4, playstation, portable, ps vita, Sony, tearaway, technika tune, top 10, top ten, uncharted, vita. Leave a comment

The PlayStation Vita was a great system despite its lack of support from Sony. It had an incredibly strong first 3 years and tons of support from indie and third-party developers over the years. While Sony nailed the hardware down pat, the system was stuck in limbo between mobile gaming and Nintendo’s strong 3DS support. Here are my top ten favorite Vita games of all time. These will not include remastered compilations, HD ports, or anything that wasn’t significantly special for the Vita.

10. Borderlands 2

It may have struggled technically on the small hardware, but there were many patches put in place to make it playable. With that aside, Borderlands 2 is the best shooter on the Vita, and a lack of them didn’t help despite having twin sticks, due to the overall amount of content. We got the entire Borderlands 2 experience, plus all the DLC for $40 which was a steal. While it took a graphical hit, playing with a buddy on the go was never more fun.

9. Gravity Rush

Despite the nauseating camera, Gravity Rush was a treat to look at and featured a full console experience on the system. The characters were interesting, and the anti-gravity gameplay was one of a kind on the system. While it lacked in story and development, the game had gorgeous locales and interesting things going on.

8. Dragon’s Crown

A Vanillaware game is always something to get excited about, but having one on Vita is something more special. The game looked fantastic on Sony’s OLED screen and featured fantastic co-op gameplay with responsive controls and interesting characters. The game may have been short, but the experience was something to remember.

7. Muramasa: Rebirth

Muramasa was one of the best games on the Wii and having it ported to the Vita was a pleasant surprise. Not only did the system get this exclusive to remaster, but it played better than the original. With Vanillaware’s gorgeous visual design it played buttery smooth on the Vita with plenty of DLC, challenging combat, and interesting characters. It remains one of the best Vita games of all time.

6. Uncharted: Golden Abyss

While Golden Abyss didn’t push the series into new directions and played it safe, it was a solid Uncharted adventure that showed off the power of the Vita. Very few games achieved this graphical showcase and all the controls, combat, and adventuring were as smooth as ever. The lack of originality hurt the game a bit, but Nathan is as charming as ever in this adventure.

5. DJ Max: Technika Tune

You won’t see this game on most people’s top ten lists. This is one of the few good rhythm games on Vita and it takes advantage of all the hardware. The DJ Max series was a popular Korean rhythm genre on PSP, and its debut on the Vita is fantastic. With prompts displaying over music videos, the game is addictive with various taps, buttons presses, and modes. This game got me into K-Pop thanks to the game’s front-runner group KARA being featured with several videos.

4. Tearaway

The makers of LittleBigPlanet pull a fantastic game out of their hat that makes this the single most unique game on the system. It cleverly uses all of the hardware’s features with bright, vivid visuals and fun puzzles. Sadly, the game is really easy and extremely short (less than 4 hours long), and sadly we will never see a sequel.

3. Killzone: Mercenary

The single best FPS on the system, Killzone was the first with the budget of the franchises console brethren, Mercenary is probably the single best looking game on the system and plays amazingly well. With a solid campaign and fun online multiplayer and challenges, this is your go-to shooter.

2. Mortal Kombat

One of the best fighters on the system, and the game I got most excited about for this system. While the game took a mysteriously questionable graphical downgrade, the entire 2011 game is intact with exclusive Challenge Tower modes and all DLC characters. The fighting is smooth, fun, and the only MK game on the system.

1.Persona 4: Golden

While I never finished this game, and I don’t know if I ever will, this game probably gives you the most bang for your buck. A whopping 40-50 hour JRPG with remastered visuals from the PS2 game and added content for $40, it’s a damn steal. The story is brilliant, the combat system is amazing, and there’s something here for everyone. Patience is needed, and some level of grinding, but once you get into the swing of the game you won’t put it down. This is what we needed more of on the Vita and sadly, we didn’t get it.

DJ Max Technika Tune

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 01/17/2014

Posted in: PlayStation Vita, Sony Consoles. Tagged: dj max, playstation, psvita, rhythm, Sony, technika tune, vita. Leave a comment

Publisher: Pentavision, Neowiz

Developer: Pentavision, Neowiz

Release Date: 12/4/2012

Available Exclusively On

DJ Max was the best rhythm franchise on PSP and helps jump-start that genre on Vita. Technika is a reboot in a way but still feels familiar. The game uses the touchscreen and rear pad exclusively ditching the button interface. This may take a while to get used to for DJ Max PSP vets like myself, but after a while, you will see the difference in challenge and pace when playing.

One thing I did notice right off the game is the continued lack of multiplayer and modes. There is Star Mixing (3 songs using the touch screen), Pop Mixing (4 songs using front and rear), Club Mixing (a choice of genres), and Freestyle. There’s the usual album that shows your wallpapers and unlocked videos but that’s it. Why Pentavision insists on having no multiplayer is a mystery, but I’d like to have it in future installments. Thankfully the game is packed full of songs featuring both licensed and original music from J and K pop to rock. Kara is a huge appearance in the game since they are one of the biggest female KPop groups in Korea. They have 5 songs on here and they are fantastic, I actually listen to them outside of the game now.

The songs still feature various DJs and mixing masters from previous games like ND Lee, NieN, and vocals by So Fly and various other Korean singers and rappers. Getting into the gameplay, videos are now played full screen in the background and look gorgeous on the Vita’s screen. Colorful dots are displayed and you must tap them to get Max 100% with the timing of the beat but there are long strands you have to hold down and follow the bar along with the screen. The playfield is split horizontally into two sections and you will be going back and forth between them. Some notes require quick flicking of the touch screen as well and it all adds up to the tense fun. The rear touchpad notes look different with purple and black borders around their notes requiring you to tap and hold. After a few hours, you will get used to the system and slowly increase your difficulty.

As you level up you will unlock equipment that gives you passive abilities like extra XP gain, HP, and even free breaks. There’s also an option to add a modifier to increase the speed of the notes coming in which is sadistic but it’s there. Even after playing for a good 10 hours I’m still unlocking stuff and increasing my score. The songs are so great and fun to listen to that I can’t get enough of the game. If you loved previous games you must get this, anyone, who hasn’t should jump in any way. Technika Tune is the best rhythm game on Vita right now and hopefully, future installments will improve upon the franchise further.

DJ Max Portable 3

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/24/2010

Posted in: PSP, Retro Consoles, Sony. Tagged: dj max, dj max portable 3, korean, music, pentavision, psp, rhythm. 2 Comments

Publisher: PM Studios

Developer: Pentavision

Release Date: 10/14/2010

Available Exclusively On

DJ Max is probably the best rhythm game on the PSP, but that isn’t saying much since there aren’t too many on the system. The game has been well-known for its great song selection, and addictive rhythm gameplay, but after so many iterations of the same thing people were longing for some changes, and thankfully Portable 3 adds something new. While it may not be enough the game tightens some of the sloppy menus and other minor issues with the long-running series.

The new model is 3.2 and 4.2 tracks. You use the analog nub to the new sidebar that has purple streams running down them. You play the middle bar as usual, but when a purple stream runs down the side you move the analog nub accordingly. It remixes the songs, adds a new layer of depth and fun to the game, and makes it even more addictive.

If you aren’t familiar with the series you press the corresponding button (depending on difficulty) to the track icons running down the screen. You are scored on timing and a percentage will pop up after each hit telling you how accurate that note was. You will see a little meter filling up in the middle of the screen and when it’s full you activate your fever mode to double your multiplier. In Portable 3 you can stack these up by getting your meter up again fast enough to add on top of the multiplier. Once you finish you are scored and as you level up you unlock new gear and collectibles.

Portable 3 also lets the unlocking come much quicker and there’s more to unlock. There are more characters, gear, notes, wallpapers, videos, etc. and it’s all great. Of course, if you get bored with the arcade mode you can unlock missions and these have certain parameters such as getting a certain score, hitting a certain multiplier, or breaking under a number amount of times.

DJ Max 3 is well worth the purchase for series fans and newcomers alike. There’s enough content to unlock to keep you very busy and replaying the excellent song roster is very enjoyable. I hope to see further changes in DJMP4 because this series has lots more potential.

DJ Max Fever

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 02/21/2010

Posted in: PSP, Retro Consoles, Sony. Tagged: dj max, fever, korean, music, pentavision, playstation, psp, rhythm, Sony. 2 Comments

Publisher: PM Studios

Developer: Pentavision

Release Date: 1/27/2009

Available Exclusively On

DJ Max is a huge rhythm game hit in Korea that uses a DDR-type gameplay style. There is obviously no dance mat so you have to use the face buttons and this works out just fine. There are 4-button, 5, 6, and 8-button modes. While 4 is the easiest 8 can be damn near impossible. You select a song for each of the four stages and each stage has harder and harder songs.

The game has some RPG elements such as leveling up to unlock more gear, images, songs, etc. Notes, Gear (the whole box in which the notes fall), and your character can have certain attributes that earn you more exp, gold, etc. There is even a speed modifier for people who want more of a challenge or if the game is going too fast for you. This can be changed during the song or before it.

After you get a certain score on a song you can play a harder version of that song on the same stage by pressing left or right. During play, you must hit each note when it hits the bottom. Depending on your accuracy a number percentage will appear. If you miss a note you will break your combo, but if you fill your Fever bar and use it your combo will double for a short amount of time. You don’t just hit single notes, however; there are held notes and even “scratched notes” that require you to spin the analog stick.

Once you finish a song you are scored on how well you performed and given a grade, some experience, and gold. Gold is used to buy more gear. There are 50 songs and each one has a wonderfully illustrated music video that streams in the background. If you get bored with the main mode you can complete challenges that have set goals. Reach this score, don’t break more than this many times, etc. If you really love the music in here you can even listen to the OST or watch the videos. There are dozens of images to unlock and lots of goodies for fans to keep playing.

The game may sound perfect, but it has flaws. There are already four other DJ Max games (including Clazziqai and Black Square Edition) and this is exactly the same as those. Fever takes some of the more popular songs from those games, but it is still missing some key gems. Playing more than 4 buttons will frustrate most players, there’s no way to transfer the OST to your memory stick, and you can’t transfer songs from the other versions like you can within those. Other than this newcomers won’t know a difference and will have a blasty blast with DJ Max Fever.