Not A Hero-Review (PS4)

Not a Hero, at first glance, seems like a childish game with a simple intro in which you are greeted by  an anthropomorphic purple bunny who is running for mayor. However after stepping into the tutorial, the childish illusion is quickly broken. Your simple character slides along the ground plastering enemies full of led, cracking skulls and gunning down members of the Russian mob, all while gliding through a simple yet pleasing level design. The game is brutally difficult and also extremely violent.

The humor presented in this game is mostly spouted in nonsensical phrases by your purple bunny associate, who repeatedly makes jokes about wombat milkshakes and kittens. This humor actually began to grow on me and some of the jokes actually made me laugh.

Gameplay

The game is very difficult but also rewarding, with varied levels and objectives. You can earn more characters with different abilities and personalities, all of which vary the gameplay dramatically; There's Mike, a speedy, shotgun wielding psychopath. He shouts gibberish as he dispatches his enemies and is very effective at close range. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is Clive, a James Bond-like character who can aim his deadly pistols in two directions at once.  All of the characters in the game are unique and serve very different and deadly purposes. Unlocking these characters requires voter approval, which you gain by completing levels and the smaller, optional objectives within each level. These challenges give you a reason to replay old levels to unlock new characters and rankings, this is further reinforced by the ending of the game(no spoilers) which encourages you to replay those missions. The gameplay itself is very fast paced and violent. It reminds me of one of my favorite video games of all time, Hotline Miami. The game's cover system allows you to have short breaks to gather your wits, but if you take too much time your adversaries will charge your location and finish you off quickly. The only problem I have with the gameplay is the slide mechanic. The button input is the same as the cover button which can result in some unexpected deaths. And death comes often in this game. There are no checkpoints, so death forces you to restart the level. This forced me to think tactically during each encounter. Overall the gameplay is very solid.

Graphics, Design, and Sound                        

The pixelated graphics look excellent, whether it be an exploding helicopter to an angered samurai charging around an ancient temple. I have absolutely no complaints with the graphics, they are a perfect fit for the style of the game. The same goes for the sound, which fits the world they are representing perfectly. Characters shout, bullets whiz and glass shatters in perfect harmony with the chaos you are causing. The soundtrack amplifies the action and keeps your adrenaline flowing. The level design is also very good, with different rooms making you think quickly on your feet and make split second decisions. Overall the graphics, design, and sound are all near-perfect.

Story

The story of the game is very humorous and enjoyable. It does not get very deep or sentimental, it is a light-hearted and goofy tale of a bunny running for mayoral office.

The story serves it's purpose and kept me motivated to find out which exploit I would have to complete next. If you are playing the game for a deep story then you should not expect much. The comedy really shines in this story and keeps making horrible situations into hilarious moments. I am very impressed with the story and the developers did a great job with it.

Is this game right for you?

If you are an average gamer who is looking for an easy experience, then this game isn't for you. It is very difficult and I would recommend this game to players who are looking for a fun challenge with some humor mixed in as well.

Overall

This game has very few flaws and is an absolute blast to play. I recommend this game to any gamer looking to fill the time between major releases. This 5-hour experience is funny and fun and is a must play for most hardcore gamers. I give this game a 9/10.

20% Time Project Week 2

For my 20% time project I changed my tool from Project Spark to The Far Cry 4 level editor because I am much more experienced with it and its tools suit my purpose much better. For my current objective I am working on making a set of levels that have diverse game play. So far I have learned how to use animation points, which allow me to animate entities to do scripted actions and idle actions. I am familiar with every other feature in the editor except for terrain editing, which I hope to improve on in the next week. I have started my first level and have created the starting area. It is completely playable up until the next area were I have not finished yet. My next big goal is to finish the next playable area, which is going to be a lot larger and feature drive able vehicles. One of the funniest moments I have had with this experience is when I accidentally activated some pressurized air tanks during a play test and the tanks went flying across the area and created massive chaos. I think I could find a way to incorporate more of that into my map. That was my Week #2 reflection for my 20% time project

20% Time Project Choice

In my Video Game Design and Development class we are doing a project called 20% time. Every Tuesday in class we work on our own projects. For my project I would like to use Project Spark because of all of the possibilities and flexibility that the game offers. I hope to make 3D exploration and action game were you can explore a sandbox and discover secrets. Some areas will feature combat and if possible destructible environments. I want to make a game in this style because that is the type of game I enjoy and I feel that I understand the genre enough to make my own enjoyable experience. Project Spark will allow me to create this with it's extensive tool set and easy to access interface. Once I learn the basics of Spark I will eventually make my own project that I mentioned above. That is what I plan to do with my 20% time project.