Disk Jam Is a Lot of Fun When the Servers Are Working
Watching an opponent fall when you score to close to them is a good feeling
After learning the ropes and getting my bearings from last time. In this episode, I was able to play three matches within the span of this video. I got enough points to try out the prize machine and attempt to go on a three-win streak. Each match is fast fun and exciting, each victory feels earned as you outmaneuver your opponent. It’s a game of skill and deception, you want your opponent to always be on their back foot. I generally try to switch up my throws and keep them guessing by applying a whole slew of different tactics. It’s also pretty awesome that this is something I can even talk about, this seems like something in short supply in games of this nature.
Two Victories and the Prize Machine
The prize machine can be a big letdown for how many matches it takes to unlock one
The first two matches go pretty well for me, I pull out a hard-fought win in each. There’s some good back and forth, a lot of different throws to dish out and conquer from both sides. The whole time I got a big smile on my face and am just having a blast. If you have yet to try this game, definitely give it a good as it’s a ton of fun in a really short amount of time. After the two victories, I can try out the prize machine and I can’t even begin to describe how big of a letdown it was.
I didn’t get a cool skin or a new disk to throw just a lame victory pose for a character I have no interest in using. Stanton is the character you use in the tutorial and he was just too slow for my liking. For how long it takes to get one prize it’s just not worth striving to unlock a whole bunch of stuff as it’s going to take a lot of grinding.
Going for That Triple Win In Disk Jam
I was pretty happy to end my third win with a shutout
The final match was luckily not too much of a hassle as I pretty much dominated from the get-go. I was proud to win with a shutout in the end. That’s what makes Disk Jam so amazing, you can have three wins that feel earned but it can also have crushing losses that make you wanna jump back in and strive harder for those wins. Whether it be through practice or just pure determination its all just so much fun.
Lumo is a truly unique game that teaches you through gameplay and imagery rather than pop-ups and text prompts. it’s not quite as clear as it could be. In the video above I do have some trouble learning the game’s nuances early on. The odd 3d perspective does have a touch of a learning curve but is also a key part of the challenge. You have to know your surroundings and gauge jumps accordingly. This can be a bit tough as turning the room can be a chore. You can only turn the screen a little bit left and right using the triggers. If you could turn the entire room you’re in this wouldn’t be as big of a problem as you could get a better grasp of your surroundings.
In Lumo this 3D perspective practically is the game
The Start of Lumo Is a Little Offputting
The beginning of Lumo is drastically different from the rest of the game
Lumo starts with choosing a boy or girl and a color. I have no idea why this is needed. Since as soon as you get hit with a Tron-like beam in the opening seconds you become a little magician that doesn’t show the choice that was just made. The graphics stay a tad similar between the two worlds but the game is more so set in the dungeon-like areas. You’re thrown into a small room with no abilities and left to your own devices. From here on out it’s up to you to learn how the game works with visual cues and your wit. Exiting the first room we see we need a key and an arrow points us in a direction. This is how the game operates, it has no voice, no scrolls to readjust the environment and gameplay.
Moving from Room to Room Is Progress in Lumo
In Lumo you have to retrieve the ability to jump
Lumo is about going from room to room and figuring out how to progress through the said room. You have to move through a slew of rooms to get to the ability to jump, which is used to progress elsewhere. That’s sort of the pattern in Lumo, get stuck go somewhere else and get the ability or knowledge you need to progress where you once were. Dying in Lumo isn’t a nuisance thankfully since you are going to be trying different tactics to solve various rooms. Just a quick respawn with no load times and you’re good to go. Once you get the ability to jump the game opens up. Grabbing a once unreachable book gives you access to the save and settings menu; this is honestly pretty cool.
Pushing Boxes, Dodging Fire Pillars and Braving Poison Water Is All in a Day’s Work
Dodging giant fire pillars is just one of the many traps in Lumo
Coming back to the fact that Lumo teaches you, game mechanics, through its gameplay; stumbling around is just the name of the game. It took me a tad too long to learn how to use items in Lumo, a rainbow box is moved by jumping on it, this is a typical item theme. If an item is needed or used odds are it just needs to be jumped on. This includes an adorable box with eyes that loves the main character for some unknown reason. Utilizing boxes, pushing, and befriending love-struck boxes you’ll collect keys, rubber ducks, mixtapes, and SD cards. What you do with all these items I haven’t the slightest clue yet, but I’m excited to push forward and figure it out.
Lumo Keeps the Surprises Coming
Taking a nice elevator ride to a secret is one of the many joys in Lumo
Lumo is a game teeming with personality, it has hidden music tracks on an elevator ride to a robot pavilion. Lumo oozes charm, from the Trophies you unlock to the little bits scattered throughout, you’ll have a smile on your face throughout. As you progress you get more and more things to tinker with. There’s a cannon that can help open doors, a teleporter to move you throughout the world, balls to move over poison water, a giant soap bar to make bubbles to jump on.
Disk Jam Isn’t the Windjammers Remake We Needed but the One We Deserved
A good opening throw is key
Disk Jam is a game that’s a reimaging of an older game called “WindJammers“. That game is a true relic as it’s a unique sports game and a whole ton of fun. This game tries to recapture the magic of WindJammers and it does a stellar job of it. Just ignore the first match as the person seems to just stop playing. A wins a win, though.
Disk Jam Keeps Matches Short and Sweet
You can throw some pretty impressive disk maneuvers
A match in Disk Jam takes a total of about three to five minutes when all is said and done. I failed to notice in the early going how the point system works but I eventually figured it out. The number counter in the center of the arena goes up the longer the disk is in play. Allowing you to get a pretty impressive lead if you play a bit on the defensive side. The basics are that you need to throw the disk soon after you get your hands on it. If you throw it as soon as you get it you throw a “Perfect Throw” and it goes a little faster which is helpful. I’m not very good at it.
Disk Jam Is Pretty Barebones for Now
Online and Split Screen for 1v1 or 2v2 is about it for now
Disk Jam is a game made by two people according to the news box on the side of the screen. What we have now is really impressive and just straight-up fun. I’m willing to wager that the developers are going to try and go the Rocket League route. Get a big player base and just keep pushing out content, which is awesome. I for one am greatly looking forward to seeing this game expand and becoming something amazing. Unfortunately, at the end of the video, the online service broke forcing me to stop playing. After some of these bugs have been ironed out I bet this game will be something everyone’s talking about.
After conquering the burning town on fire we end up jumping right into the first boss fight we get a fairly intense showing. Phasing in with two giant wrecking balls, we see a bigger scarier version of the minibosses we just got through taking out. The fight isn’t too hard to be honest just have to be patient is all. Dodge when needed, attack when an opening arises, and retreat to take a quick breath. I was floored that I was able to topple this big guy on my first shot. Although after losing to him so many times from the beta I really shouldn’t have been.
After some calculated strikes, he decides to drop his chain balls and instead hurdles them at me. This requires picture-perfect timing to dodge; also he does get a lot faster and his openings shorten. Patience, healing items, and a ton of luck are the sweet taste of victory.
Instead of explosions NIOH has burning ships to walk away from
The Big Ol World Map
We get a quick cutscene after the battle but the stories not really why we’re here; although that cat is adorable. Getting to a map we get to see the whole world of NIOH, it’s pretty big with a lot of places to go explore. We can stop at what’s called the “Starting Point” to go to a shrine, visit the Blacksmith to upgrade weapons, sell weapons and change hairstyles, and hit up the dojo to train. After taking a quick look around we jump right into the next main mission for a whole new land to explore.
The world map in NIOH is pretty big
NIOH – Jumping Into The LimeStone Depths
Jumping down into a cave we meet a talking cat, which is fairly unexpected. We get a little backstory on why the cat can talk to us and then it’s back into the action. Although it’s a new area the land stills familiar as long as you’re on your guard. Moving through the caverns we come to a cliffside that takes some careful footwork to not fall off of. The next cavern allows us to face a variety of enemies that require different tactics to vanquish. Unfortunately, I take a wrong turn by opening a door and get surrounded, but fortunately, I was able to grab a key before dying.
NIOH is just full of surprises but this spirit cat is just adorable
NIOH – Pushing Forward Against The Odds
Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, the next section is primarily just pushing forward towards the next shrine. Take a dip in at the nearby hot springs to regain some life and mowing down a lot of enemies. After I get to the safety of the next shrine things take a turn as I explore more than I should have. Falling down a cliff causes me to get lost and try my best to run around for an exit back to the safety of the shrine. It takes some doing but I can return to the shrine and take a breath.
How was your fight against the first boss in Nioh leave a comment below letting me know!
After a strong start, today’s episode starts with a bang as we’re thrown into the claws of a new machine creature called a Sawtooth. After a brief catch up with Rost where we explain that we completed to give back the beads to Grata, get the Tripcaster from Karst, and proceeded to craft fire arrows. To wrap up the conversation we tell Rost that we’re not going to be a total asshole to him once we complete “The Proving“.
I’m perplexed by the laws of the land thing that are happening in the game. On one hand, it kind of makes sense to shun outsiders from your specific tribe. But it seems sort of insane to have laws in place that strictly forbid it. Did something awful happen in the past that justifies this? We don’t quite know yet as everyone keeps it very vague and confusing.
It’s not just me that thinks this should have to be something you have to say to someone who raised you, right?
Horizon Zero Dawn Throws You Right Into The Sawtooths Clutches
After a quick nap at the campfire, we head to the gates and the guards silently open them for us. The path before us is laid with destruction, we see a cabin on fire in the distance and a new creature burning beside the path. We learn that it is a Sawtooth and how it takes a lot of effort to bring one down, as I’m about to find out. Continuing down the path I pick up some items, climb a hill, and out pops the Sawtooth.
It’s only scary if you look at it… oh god run!
Rost being a complete waste here just expects you to figure out how to take down the beast. If games have taught me anything you always aim for the obvious bright parts on the enemy. Much easier said than down in this scenario. Especially after I proceed to screw up this hunt as much as possible. Trying to learn the Tripcaster on the fly doesn’t work out so well.
Just Me and The Sawtooth
After getting the Sawtooths attention I move to a nice stealth location in some large grass. He follows me right into the thick of it and I get a stealth strike that does a nice amount of damage. Then everything falls apart, as the Sawtooth shows it malice. It’s fast, tricky, and sneaky in one scary package. Once it knows your presence its a fight for survival.
When I said run, I meant RUN FASTER
Running in circles doesn’t accomplish anything so I take a stand and try out the Tripcaster. It shoots out a rope that you can use to make a tripwire to electrify your enemies. Aiming behind I can shoot out a quick line that the Sawtooth runs directly into. This stops it in its tracks and buys me time to strike for some massive damage. Utilizing my new fire arrows I aim directly for the yellow canister under its belly. This creates a nice big explosion and leaves the beast with little health. A quick getaway and can get behind the Sawtooth and finish it off with some quick arrows.
All In a Days Work In The Wilds
After taking down the Sawtooth we meet back up with Rost. We learn that once we pass “The Proving” well become a Brave and be expected to fight for the Tribe not just look out for one’s self. We have been practicing just for our gain but that’s all about to change.
Changing lanes seeing as how this will be the last chance we have to do anything before we go onto “The Proving”. We tackle the side quest that I had received in the last episode. A quick jog and were faced with saving Arana from a pack of Watchers.
Sidequests are surprisingly Elaborate In Horizon Zero Dawn
You can have a multitude of conversations throughout a side quest
Some quick stealth takedowns and we’re safely able to talk to Arana. During the stealth, the world’s weather starts to change to a rainscape and it starts coming down hard. It doesn’t affect gameplay but the character makes a comment which is a nice touch. We learn that a Watcher took her mother’s staff and that we should go retrieve it.
A cool detail is that we use our ability to track where the Watcher went and follow a nice clear path. A short hike brings us to some snowy peaks. Climbing to the high ground allows us to survey the situation.
Scouting and Planning to Bring Down The Machines
Being able to scout the area and plan an attack is a useful thing to do
Surveying the situation shows is that there are five machines in total. Planning an attack and executing it is essential here. Don’t worry I manage to blow it spectacularly. Trying to take out the closest one screws up stealth in a big way as being tossed down a hill is never a good thing. Luckily I’m able to recover and take them down by aggroing them one by one until only the true target remains. Quick stealth kill later and we have recovered the staff, now just to turn in the quest. We receive thanks as well as a spear damage upgrade for out troubles.
I am truly sorry to report that my recording of the first part of this series was completely broken and unsalvageable. I was unable to piece the recording and audio together in a way I was happy with, so I scrapped the entire episode. Thus explains why this one’s opening won’t make sense without the context. For this, I apologize but no point crying over something I couldn’t control.
Horizon Zero Dawn for the PS4 is Awe Inspiring
What I will say is that the opening for Horizon Zero Dawn is just fantastic. It manages to build a harsh world in moments. It allows you to sympathize with Alloy, the main character, and sets a tone of fear and awe. After being a hero for a man who had fallen and was about to be killed by the roaming robots. We come out to get hit in the face with a rock and have a choice to make which is where this episode begins.
The choice wheel is pretty interesting
Growing Up One Montage at a Time
Rather than being a simple good or evil choice, you get some interesting stand-ins. From what I’ve seen in the future this will change based on the situation laid before you. You can use your brains, brawn, or heart in this first choice. Deciding not to make the situation worse I decided to drop the rock and let the kids be on they’re way.
Rost, our fatherly figure walks into the scene as we explain what happened and gather some useful knowledge. We learn that we could be accepted if we accomplish something called “The Proving”. But it will take a lot of training and years to be ready. Thankfully this boils down to a quick montage, that’s honestly fun to watch. The part where they transition from young Alloy to teen Alloy is just fantastic.
They grow up so fast when the story demands it
Horizons Missions Structure
After being placed back into gameplay we learn that it’s just two days before “The Proving” but Rost is nowhere to be found. After checking out the menus and grabbing some of the local plant life we find Rost atop a cliff overlooking the world. We learn that we’re ready to take on “The Proving” but we need to get some fire arrows, help old Grata and prepare for something that goes down at night. We hop off the cliff onto a zip-line and begin our adventure in full.
Getting around the world in Horizon is fun
A quick trip and we arrive at Old Grata who won’t talk to us directly since we’re an outsider. But thanks to her ramblings we piece together that we need to go retrieve her beads. Which I’m still confused as to how they got way across the map in the first place, but I digress.
Hunting Animals and Robots
The general gameplay is fun, you use a bow to hunt animals and takedown robots. You can craft new arrows on the fly thanks to all the consumables you pick up along the way. We start with some rabbits but soon enough take on the robots that roam the world. If you make every arrow count than taking them down isn’t too much of a challenge. Just dodge when needed, take aim with the bow and use stealth in tall grass to your advantage. Using parts collected from downed enemies you can improve your bow with some slight perks.
You can modify weapons in so useful ways.
Getting SideQuest Distracted
Climbing in Horizon Zero is a lot like Uncharted’s
After climbing to where the beads are for Grata, we start our trek back. After a super cool rappel down the cliff. We run into a person who has been hurt by the robots, he gives us our first side quest. We have to save his daughter and the rules of talking to an outsider be damned. Unfortunately, I am only level 3 and this quest recommends I be level 4 so I’m going to have to hold off on helping him. Returning the beads to Grata we get a pretty lazy thanks as she still doesn’t talk to use directly but I suppose it’s the thought that counts.
Stealth and Tripcasters
For the last length of this episode, we try out some stealth on some honestly dumb robots. When you whistle to make robots come check you out in the tall grass, they come one by one. This makes taking down a whole herd painfully easy. As once you got the jump on them it’s already over. But being able to go from stealth to open combat and back to stealth is pretty exhilarating.
The first character who isn’t a total asshole to an outsider
For the ending we meet Karst who isn’t afraid to talk to an outsider, he’s a cool character that we’ll probably see a lot of. Seeing as he’s the shopkeeper who’s willing to help us. We buy a TripCaster which is an electric trap setter and call that an episode.
