Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown: 9 Minutes of Online Gameplay

 

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown was just released for free on PlayStation Plus, and one of the biggest questions to be answered was how well the online performs. Here are 9 minutes of ranked matches showing you what you can expect when you take the fight online.

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is a ground-up remake of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. The game was redone in the Dragon engine and while it looks better than ever, it largely plays the same. There have been tweaks to the game's lobby system and visuals, and considering the Japanese name for the remake (Virtua Fighter eSports), you can bet that's a big new focus for this version.

Challenge the greatest fighters in the world in the ultimate remaster of the classic 3D fighter, now featuring gorgeous HD graphics, new online features, and all the bone-crunching, martial arts combat of the renowned original. Master your fighting style to defeat all challengers in the Fifth World Fighting Tournament and become a Virtua Fighter legend!

Gravity Mastery - Review and Levels 1 - 5 Walkthrough - [Gameplay on PC Steam)

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Thought I would check out Gravity Mastery, it was released in March 2021, and it looks like one hell of a tricky puzzle game, so thought I would give it a go.

"A perspective-disorienting puzzler where the definition of down is yours to decide. Change the flow of gravity to complete each of The Adviser's varied, but logical tests. Can you become proficient enough to control the six directions and master gravity?"

Although this video shows levels 1-5, I have played a fair bit more and got deeper into the game, and boy do things get tricky, you really need to think in so many different ways, and while at first putting green balls in red boxes seems easy, when there are multiple balls, multiple boxes, and they are all on different sides of the room, suddenly you find yourself sat there thinking "what the hell", but with a bit of practice, and some serious contemplating, you will get through the levels.

This game is tough, like real tough, but it is also very good. Definitely one for the puzzle fans out there.

Good

Excellent puzzles that will really get you thinking, the music is very relaxing, and the minimalist graphics work well.

Bad

Some of the early puzzles seem ridiculously tough.

Overall

Thoroughly good puzzle game, with a steel learning curve.

I score it a mind bending 8/10

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

REVIEW: Bezier: Second Edition on Nintendo Switch

Review By GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Bezier is a classic style twin-stick shooter. As you start the game you are told by an ominous voice that "100 years ago, I was born inside a computer" And straight away you find yourself controlling a small triangular thing, shooting at enemies. This is exactly how any shooter should begin. 

As you start, there are clear and easy to follow instructions as to what you need to do, and where you need to go. As you destroy your enemies you will collect power ups, shields, better weapons and the usual things you would expect.

The gameplay is fun, and the soundtrack is awesome, apparently there is a full 80 minutes' worth of music to play to, a very cool synth sound.

There are 15 "game zones", various modes, and many different types of enemies to battle against.

Now if you have played Geometry Wars then all of this will look and sound very familiar, and that of course was merely an updated form of classic game Asteroids.

One nice touch in Bezier is the "Ouch bar", this is your health bar, you start with 99 Ouch, and every time you get hit by an enemy you lose an ouch. It's a silly but memorable touch.

The Good

In what seems like an endless stream of twin stick shooters these days, although Bezier is clearly just a fancy Geometry Wars clone, that is not necessarily a bad thing. And Bezier, despite the dumb name, does stand out as one of the better shooters out there, the graphics are simple but fun, and the soundtrack is great.

The Bad

The official blurb for this game talks about how "The story traces the principal's escape from this ""Noah's Ark"" gone wrong", but I really don't get the point of that, maybe that was written before the game was made?

Overall

A solid little twin stick shooter, if you like these types of games, and want a new challenge within the genre, then this is a solid pick, but it won't really offer you anything ground-breaking. I enjoyed it and score Bezier a solid 7/10

Review By GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Available now at

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Bezier-Second-Edition-1900378.html

REVIEW: Before We Leave on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

"Before We Leave is a non-violent city building game set in a cozy corner of the universe." Well, that is what the official blurb says, so let's go with that.

As with all city builders, your job is to create a society, and help it grow, and expand. Your people are known as "Peeps", and they have spent generations underground, so their civilisation is lost, you will slowly help them grow, expand the settlements, discover new as well as lost ancient technologies and eventually even leave the planet and colonise new and wonderful places.

Everything is very laid back, the mechanics of the game are very simple, the planet your play on is based on hexagonal tiles, each tile represents an area you can build on. You start off with everything very basic, and as you go along, you will find that you can research new ways to do things, everything from the way you build roads, to the buildings and so on.

One of the things that makes Before We Leave stand out, is the look of the game, as I said you play on the whole planet which has kind of been shrunk down, you will start on small islands, create shipping routes to other islands, and eventually leave the planet and go to the next.

You will start off playing with a pretty cool and detailed tutorial that will help teach you everything you could possibly need to know. It does this in steps, and at no point will you feel overwhelmed. My only gripe, and this is a small one, when you are first learning how to play through the tutorial, you may find yourself frustrated when it comes to placing certain buildings, that can only be placed in certain areas, for example, adjacent to a mining spot on a mountain, the tutorial tells you what you need to do, but until you have done it, you may not completely understand how to do it. Of course, once you figure it out, it is easy, but for a good ten minutes I was shouting at the screen at my obvious incompetence at placing a single building. Of course, I soon figured it out and felt stupid.

As city building games go, this is pretty cool, it looks great, it sounds great, it has some original touches, it is easy to pick up and play, and things do get more complicated and detailed as you grow, that it keeps the challenge going.

The Good

Looks great, easy to play and learn. Fun, easy going gameplay.

The Bad

The tutorial is great, but perhaps for stupid people like me there is one or two things that could have been better, but this really is me grasping at straws.

Overall

A Fun city builder, that fans of the genre will love.

I score the game a solid 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

Out Now on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1073910/Before_We_Leave/

REVIEW: Thunderflash on Xbox One

Review by Jon Donnis

Back in the 1980s we seemed to have one "run and gun" game after another, these were perfect arcade games, put your 10p in and play to your hearts content, classics like Commando and Ikari Warriors were often found not just in arcades, but in your local chippy. Well fast forward nearly 40 years and we have Thunderflash, a game that is inspired by these great games.

You are dropped into a warzone, and through top-down viewpoint, you have to fight your way through a seemingly never-ending horde of enemy fighters, drones, vehicles and bosses, to try to free "The Kashmir" from a criminal organization known as "Bloody Wolf".

As you play you will collect better and more powerful weapons, pick up gold and medals, and generally try to stay alive while destroying the enemy.

You can play solo or with a friend.

The controls are simple, your stick or pad controls the movement, and two buttons control your normal fire, or rockets. And that is it. You fire in the direction you are running in, just like the classic run and gun games of the 80s. Something that younger gamers might find a bit tricky to master. It is not just top-down view though, there is a scrolling left to right view on some levels, as well as other levels that might have you driving a speed boat, or a motorbike. It gives a nice bit of variety to the gameplay.

Everything is pretty straight forward, there is a normal mode or a hardcore mode. Check out the video I put together below for a selection of the different types of level you will play.

There is also a survival mode, where you are in one room and enemy after enemy spawns, and you just have to survive as long as you can, as well as a Boss mode, whereby you can take on bosses you have beaten in the main game.

The Good

If you are old enough to remember the classic run and gun games from the mid 80s, then you will take a lovely trip down nostalgia lane with Thunderflash, I can imagine this game fitting in really well at the arcade.

The Bad

Although retro graphics are the in thing right now, I feel like a slightly larger pallet of colours for this game would have improved the overall look, that said, this game is a retro style game, so not sure I should complain too much.

Overall

I was a big fan of Commando in the mid 80s, I spent all my pocket money playing it, this game brought back some fond memories for me. I love it.

I score this a Retrotastic 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis.