Yearly Archives: 2018

Cyberpunk 2077 E3 Impressions

By Noe Ponce (Inohe)

As a journalist, I’ve previewed many a game but have never left a press presentation speechless,  unable to digest what I just saw. That is until my 50-minute gameplay demo with Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt RED’s latest and greatest FPS RPG. I tried discussing what I saw in the presentation with a friend of mine but literally had no idea where to begin. CD Projekt RED has clearly been hard at work since Cyberpunk’s first reveal six years ago. The game blew me away and I only saw one mission.

As you might know already, Cyberpunk 2077 takes place almost entirely in the first-person perspective. The only exceptions are cut-scenes, conversations, and occasionally while driving (yes, you can drive in this game). While I’m used to the first-person perspective in RPGs, it was odd seeing it used in a game by the same guys that made The Witcher. This was not a negative mind you, just unexpected. Character creation looked complex but fun! Instead of choosing a class, players can give V, the game’s protagonist, stats, skills and abilities that fit their playstyle. Some such skills include hacking (which sounded a lot like futuristic lock-picking) and engineering. There’s even an option to create a backstory or “life path” as CDPR called it. Players can also choose V’s gender. The devs made her a girl during my presentation so I’ll be referring to her as such.

CP 2077 screen 3

CD Projekt RED made it very clear early on in the presentation that Cyberpunk 2077 is a mature game for mature players. This is most apparent in the crime-ridden city V lives in and her chosen profession. She’s an up-and-coming urban mercenary known for taking on jobs no one else will, a useful trait in a city where crime rules the streets.

Night City, a sprawling dystopia set somewhere in northern California, is where V calls home. While the actual size of Night City remains to be seen, it’s still a wonder to behold. CDPR stated they have been working very hard to increase the realism of Night City and dubbed it their most realistic environment yet. It’s a fully realized world with no loading screens and hundreds of civilian NPCs out and about: an RPG fan’s wet dream.

CP 2077 screen 2

As V’s main hub, Night City is a player’s one-stop shop for everything in the game (so far anyway). It’s where she sleeps after her nights of debauchery, meets with clients, accepts missions and buys guns, clothes, and cyberware. Cyberwares are technological augmentations and implants commonly found in people throughout Night City, V included.  They play a major role in not only the game but character development as well. The only way to install such devices, however, is with the help of a Ripperdoc.

They’re sort of half-doctors half-engineers and can do everything from stitch you up after a fight to install your latest piece of cyberware. V visited her preferred ripperdoc, Doctor Victor, during the demo. Based on V’s request, the good doctor updated her optic’s operating system and even upgraded her hand. The upgraded cyberware made a huge impact too. V was now able to zoom-in on things and scan objects and enemies for various pieces of information, Horizon Zero Dawn style. Her hand upgrade, the Subdermal Grip, buffed her grip strength, increasing how much damage her guns do and even added an ammo count to her HUD. The coolest part though was that you could actually watch him work on you as he modifies your body in real time.

CP 2077 screen 5

(Doctor Victor)

With V’s new tech installed, she was finally ready to begin her next mission. It was a big one too. She was contacted by Dexter DeShawn, one of the best fixers in town. Fixers are essentially the middleman between those needing something done in Night City and the mercenaries who’ll do the job. This includes anything from burglaries and kidnappings to trafficking and assassinations…for the right price of course. And Dexter has one hell of a mission in store. If V and her mountain of a partner, Jackie Welles, can pull it off though, they’ll finally be working for the big leagues.

CP 2077 screen 4

Combat in Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the few things I could easily wrap my head around. While there was, of course, a few exceptions, at the end of the day players were still ducking behind cover and taking out enemies from afar. Combat looked fluid and fun though. V can swap between weapons on the fly, some of the weapons fire unique ammo that can ricochet off walls or home-in on enemies, and there’s even a “bullet-time” functionality where V is able to slow down time in battle. The real beauty of Cyberpunk 2077, however, is that there are multiple ways to approach nearly everything, including combat.

Should players not wish V to be the guns blazing, terminator-style mercenary, they could pursue a different method of combat. For example, in the presentation, we got to see the stealthy Mantis arm blades in action, as well as a late-game wall-running skill. V was essentially a ninja, making death an up-close and personal experience for her enemies. We also saw V jack into an enemy gang’s personal network, remotely jamming their equipment and unlocking previously sealed doors in their facility. CDPR noted that combat really all depends on a player’s skill load-out and I would assume, weapons/cyberware. This is all assuming the player chooses to fight in the first place, however…

CP 2077 screen 1

As I stated previously, the best part of Cyberpunk 2077 is the freedom to approach the game how you see fit. CDPR brought this up a couple of times during the gameplay presentation but I didn’t realize how strongly they meant it until the demo was done. During the play-through, V had to interact and deal with many people. Similar to The Witcher, V could say a variety of things during these conversations and receive different outcomes. That’s not what blew me away though. CDPR told us post-demo that V could have not talked to the one person that caused her to fight-off a gang in the first place. She got a loan from this person during the presentation but could have simply earned the money herself apparently. Granted that might have taken a bit of time, but maybe then she could have befriended the gang leader and worked with them in the future. Who really knows?

All I know is that a release date for Cyberpunk 2077 can’t get announced soon enough! So far we know it’s coming out for PC, PS4 and Xbox One but the closest thing we have to a date is, “when it’s ready.” While I’ll be surprised if it’s this year, the game HAS been in development for over six years now. And based on what I saw at E3, it can’t be much longer.

CP 2077 screen 6

Cyberpunk 2077 blew my expectations out of the water and then some. It remains one of the best games we saw at E3 this year; definitely the best RPG. It will appeal to so many types of gamers too! RPGers, Shooter fans, Action-Adventurers…they’ll all find something to love about Cyberpunk 2077. So be sure to keep an eye on OnRPG for any upcoming Cyberpunk updates or insights. You should also visit the game’s official website for more information. Rock on.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn: There and Back Again

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Shaq Fu - Bants

One of my favorite lines of the game.

Oh, Shaq Fu. I recall back when Shaq Fu came out on the SNES, back in 1994. I was in Middle School at the time and had only recently gotten a SNES of my own. A buddy of mine got it because he loved fighting games, and thought Shaq was just about the coolest. I barely knew who he was, because I spent more time reading Wheel of Time and a lot less watching Basketball (only if the Hornets were on TV, and barely then). So, we sat down together to try and play Shaq Fu. It was easily one of the worst games I’ve ever played in my entire life. I was already playing Street Fighter 2 Turbo at a buddies house every weekend. So we go from SF2T (which had been out for two years) to … this?! It was clunky, the characters were bland and uninteresting. It didn’t make sense, and the story was trite and barely/poorly written. Story isn’t necessary as much in Fighting Games, but it helps build the world, and the “world” such as it was was a disgrace. I was disappointed and I didn’t even buy it!

Shaq Fu - Double Dragon

Rockets, “and” waves of enemies. What is this, Double Dragon Neon?

Fast Forward to 2018, and Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is on the way. I thought it was all a goof, a joke when I saw it on Indiegogo. Surely Shaq Fu wasn’t coming back! Would it be a fighting game again? No, that well is definitely dry. I will say, to their credit, they acknowledged the original game in their advertising, which was a bold move. This new Shaq Fu game isn’t out to change the world and is definitely not a love letter to its predecessor. But what it is is a very tongue-in-cheek, side-scroller beat ’em up, starring Shaq. It’s here we learn he grew up in a small Chinese village, and surprise of surprise, he’s not really Chinese! He was adopted! I laughed much, much harder than I expected I would at it. So, the ultimate goal is for Shaq to travel and kick the crap out of these Hollywood elites who are out to corrupt and ruin the world. It’s life imitating art if nothing else. It’s very much in the same vein of the arcade beat ’em ups of old. You have a huge wave of enemies on a screen, you kill them, and you move to the next screen. Even more show up, you beat ’em up, and you move on. Then the next screen will probably have a new unit, that has a different way to fight, and they’ll start showing up more.

Shaq Fu - Transform

One of Shaq’s two alter egos. Both are playable.

You fight a huge, annoying boss that’s frustrating to fight, and thank your lucky stars that there are checkpoints, and not inserting quarters. Had this been released in 1994, it would have eaten quarter after quarter without any mercy. I’m talking Captain America and the Avengers level of quarter chewing. Despite that, it’s very enjoyable to play, I’m used to that style of gameplay. You also have power-up forms, where you can just obliterate entire screens of enemies, and the first one, Big Diesel was very Steampunk, where Shaq rode around in Power Armor slapping the crap out of enemies, and it was very satisfying. Combat is simple though. You have an X and Y axis to walk, an attack button, a stomp button (for combo finishers), jump, a button to sort of grapple, and a power move that slams the ground and damages everyone. You wail through the game with fairly easy combos, and while I do appreciate that style of gameplay, I feel like the industry has grown past it.

Shaq Fu - New Enemy

I snorted, I won’t lie.

But what I did enjoy was the humor. It’s kind of hit-and-miss, but it’s not politically correct and may offend some folks, but I honestly enjoyed it. References to the Indiegogo campaign, to Steel, and much more, I enjoyed the back and forth banter, the crude humor that made the grind through enemies a bit more enjoyable. He references both of his major products in the game (Gold Bond and Icy Hot), and like I said, it definitely may (and probably will) offend, with fat jokes and such, but I liked the parody/satirical characters, and Shaq delivers his lines with aplomb that I frankly did not expect. It’s however, not a very long game, and I have heard that some folks said promises made in the Indiegogo campaign were not delivered. Local Co-Op and such, but I cannot speak to those as I was not involved in the campaign in any way, shape or form. This is not a long game, and it can feel challenging if you don’t play arcade beat ’em ups. I did have some issues with the controls, mostly in the up and down roll but all around it was enjoyable as a tribute to Shaq and his earlier game.

His Crew Is Coming For You: 3/5

Shaq Fu - Kind of Familiar

This boss seems kind of familiar…

Shaq Fu is an interesting beast. I was expecting something more, but I don’t really know why. What I played I enjoyed, the repetitive rap track was (surprisingly) good. It would be fun with multiplayer, but I did enjoy this romp all on its own. It breaks the fourth wall, has ridiculous humor, and pushes the mythos of Shaq to a near godlike level. He’s truly on a pedestal all his own, getting ready to defeat Guan Yu, his evil demon boss, and every bad guy that threatens this world. It’s absurd, bright, colorful and action-packed. If you aren’t a fan of the meme, or a fan of ridiculous, borderline tedious side-scrollers, you probably won’t get much out of this. What you see is definitely what you get: It’s a decent side-scroller with a lot of jokes, predictable combat, and is fun for a few hours of gameplay. It’s pretty divisive, unlike the original, which was panned almost globally. It’s fun, a little (a lot) absurd, and it’s important you take it for what it is, instead of what you want it to be. It’s just a beat ’em up starring Shaq, who is a Chinese boy who is not exactly what he seems. My only major complaint is that it’s short, far too short for the budget they had. I hope more is on the way, because the fans definitely deserve it.