issue 09 // volume 42

Beautiful new ‘Tales’ may take a while

» ‘Tales of Zestiria’ video game review

Lauren Paulsen
Senior Columnist

OOOOS

he Tales series, developed

by Bandai Namco Studios,
has been very popular for years.
I'd been meaning to try out
some of the games in the series,
but never got around to it, so it
didn’t take much convincing on
my brother’s part to get me to
purchase the new installment
in the series, Tales of Zestiria.
Though I haven't played too
far into it, 1am glad that I got
the game, despite a few flaws.

The graphics are absolutely
stunning, especially the
scenery. If you have a strong
enough computer system, then
I think you should have the
highest settings that you can
for the graphics to fully enjoy
this experience. If you don’t
and have to lower them like
me, don’t despair—they are
still quite stunning even on low
settings. I think the scenery
and details are among my
favourite aspects to this game.

I cannot attest too much

: to the story so far, as I haven’t

: delved far enough into it since
: this is a massive game that

: will take many, many hours

: to complete. The story follows

: Sorey, a young man blessed

: with magical powers that

: allow him to see the Seraphim,
: angel analogues who aren't

: visible to normal humans. He

: also gains the ability to purify
: hellions, creatures spawned by
: malevolent energy, early in the
: story. Sorey travels the land

: with his friends to defeat these
: hellions and save humanity

: from the malevolence that has
: overtaken it. It’s a very typical
: story that I have seen a lot, but
: Tam still finding it enjoyable.

My biggest peeve is the

: amount of lag in the game. I

: have a really decent computer,
: but even so I’ve had to set all

: of the video graphic settings

: to low just to get any decent

: number of frames per second,
: and even this still has not

: completely gotten rid of the

: lag. Although it’s no wonder

: when you look at the size of the
: game on your hard drive—it

: ig massive. This does not seem
: to be a problem on the PS4

: platform, only the Windows

: version from Steam. I’m going
: to have to look into whether I

: can improve the performance

: more, or I'll be stuck with

: frustration over how long

: it takes to do anything.

Another few problems

: Thad with the game may or

: may not have to do with my

: lag problems. I started off the
: game playing with subtitles,

: but found that they were quite
: late when compared to the

 

: audio. My brother has told me

: that he found this problem too,
: and that there are updates in

: the works to fix it. | also found
: the pauses between characters

: speaking far too long and

: sometimes irritating. I think

: this is actually part of the

: game, as even when I| improved
: the performance for lag, I still

: found the pauses to be the same :
: length. This is different during
: optional cut scenes that you can !
: choose to view when at certain

: save points or points of interest.
: These scenes don’t have the

arts // no. 9

Screenshot from ‘Tales of Zestiria’

: awkward, unnatural pauses.

If you like RPGs as much

: as I do, then you will really

: enjoy playing this game. I just
: suggest that you look into

: your computer’s specs before
: purchasing the Windows

: version. Otherwise, you'll

: probably want to get the PS4

: version instead. The lag can

cause quite a bit of frustration

: and detract from the game, but

if you're able to play it without

: that, then I’d really recommend
: getting Tales of Zestiria.

 

New ‘Halo’ game offers impressive
visuals, same old story

» ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ video game review

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

OOOO

H: 5: Guardians is the first
of the series to grace the
Xbox One, and the second in
the Reclaimer story arc by 343
Industries. The game keeps
the famous Halo gameplay
mostly intact, electing to
innovate through level design,
experimental multiplayer game
types, and storytelling that,
like the entire Halo franchise,
leaves a whole lot to be desired.
The game picks up eight
months after the end of
Halo 4, which ended with
iconic super-soldier Master
Chief experiencing a major
tragedy with the loss of his
AI companion Cortana.
Suffering from immense
grief and knowing that he’s
suspected of war crimes, the
Chief and a squad of three
of his closest confidants
go AWOL, disappearing
with nary a warning.
In an interesting twist on
the otherwise formulaic plot,
unlike every other main series

: Halo title, you spend almost

: no time with the Master Chief

: himself. In response to his

: desertion, the UNSC sends a

: four-man squad codenamed

: Osiris Team to track him down.
: Jameson Locke, the leader of

: Osiris Team, is the protagonist :
: of Halo 5: Guardians and the sole :
: playable character for roughly —:
: 80 per cent of the game’s more
; than 10-hour-long campaign.

The biggest problem I have

: with the Halo series—with the
: shining exception of ODST—is
: the story. Halo 5: Guardians

: is no exception. The Halo

: expanded universe includes

: films, comic books, and novels,
: every detail of which adds

: to the incredibly convoluted

: lore of the universe. Many

: of the tertiary stories in the

: Halo universe are pretty much
: required reading to fully grasp
: what’s going on. This doesn’t

: happen in franchises where the
: expanded universe is done well.

But in the end the plot is

—
Ca
i

a
a

: next gen shooting can be.

Among the things that have

: changed just enough to feel

: familiar and fresh is the iconic
: online multiplayer experience,
: the overhauled ranking system,

: : . : and the Warzone game type,
: only an incentive for these space :

: soldiers to go on a galaxy-wide
: adventure. This new release

: marks the first time that Halo
: is playable in a glorious 60

: frames per second, showing

: off just how buttery smooth

: in which you and 11 teammates
: defend a base against swarms

: of AI enemies. These are

: the kind of subtle changes

: that enhance instead of alter

: the experience you have.

a

 

One change that will

: undoubtedly cause long-time

: Halo fans to scratch their

: heads is the removal of all

: offline multiplayer capabilities.
: Historically, Halo has allowed
players to play with four friends
: offline, sharing the screen in

: campaign, deathmatch, and

: firefight modes. I can’t imagine
: it being a deal-breaker in a

: world where online multiplayer
: is the norm, but it strikes me

Image via 343 industries

: asa super questionable, even
: unintelligent, decision.

In terms of mid-trilogy

: stories, Halo 5: Guardians

: certainly isn’t Star Wars: The

: Empire Strikes Back. But for all

: the little things that rub me the

: wrong way about this game,

: [can’t recommend against it

: because it’s Halo. Sometimes,

: even when it comes to endlessly

: franchised video games, more of
; the same can be a good thing.