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[PC] [PS4] Astebreed

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[PC] [PS4] Astebreed

Unread postby shubn » 24 Jul 2014 19:51

Official page: http://edelweiss.skr.jp/works/astebreed/

Playism page: http://www.playism-games.com/games/astebreed/
Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/283680/

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From the Steam page:

Arcade Shooter Evolved

Astebreed takes the classic arcade shooter and breathes new life into it. Using lovingly crafted 3D models, cutting edge particle effects, and tried-and-true Japanese mecha designs, Astebreed delivers an unparalleled atmosphere of beautiful destruction.

A Full Arsenal

Roy has a considerable arsenal to combat his foes, as well. Armed with the mysterious Lucis device, Roy's mech can shoot from a distance, paint targets for precision homing attacks, and even get close for a killing blow with a powerful blade attack. No enemy shall escape your wrath, no matter where they hide.

Dynamically Changing Perspective

Your enemies are not always ahead of you. Your enemies swarm, fly and intercept, and Astebreed's dynamic perspective always keeps the action in view. Seamlessly switching between veritcal, horizontal, and 3D shooter, Astebreed will keep you guessing what your next threat will be, without ever interrupting the action.


From the Playism page:

Astebreed coming to PlayStation 4 in 2014!

Playism is bringing Edelweiss' Astebreed to the PlayStation 4 in all its HD glory! More information coming soon.


English trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYsfyMut3TE
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Unread postby icycalm » 24 Jul 2014 21:36

A true current- (and last-) generation shooter, for what it's worth. Influenced by Sol Divide and Homura. I wonder what other influences the Shmups guys are seeing. I should head over there and check their thread. I'll download it this weekend. Funny that it will cost me almost exactly the same as the 16 "Squeenix" games I just bought on Humble Bundle that include stuff like Just Cause 2, etc.
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Unread postby icycalm » 24 Jul 2014 21:43

Oh, I thought it was download-only but there's at least a Japanese retail version, so I am gonna get that instead. Here's some impressions:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 70#p994570

Ghegs wrote:Got my copy of the game a little while ago, but didn't get around to installing it until now. Very sleek DVD case.

And the game sure is pretty, no denying it. Almost too pretty at times - like somebody said earlier, there's so much stuff going on. Bullets flying at high speeds, popcorn enemies swirling in and out, it feels very chaotic and difficult to ascertain where the threats are. It's a visual overload, a few times I just ended up sitting at the bottom of the screen hitting wide shot repeatedly because I couldn't keep up.

Not that it matters much survival-wise. There's only one life, but with a very generous lifebar that even recharges itself after not getting hit for a moment. And stages have plenty of quiet sections, often before bosses, where the lifebar has a chance to recover fully. I was getting some Gaia Seed flashbacks there. On my first try at the game, I made it to Chapter 5 boss before dying for the first time. And then I died a few more times against the final boss at Chapter 6. I'm sure I could 1CC the game if I were to play it a second time.

Though the graphics are impressive, the gameplay left me a bit cold. I really liked Ether Vapor and was hoping for more of the same, and it kind of is, but the aforementioned overload dropped it down a couple of notches. Ether Vapor's pace, visual clarity and traditional lives system are more to my tastes. Maybe I could get used to Astrebreed's style, but I'm not sure I care enough. The lifebar thing is kind of meh, and it kind of feels it's a concession made due to the chaoticness.

Of course getting hit resets your multiplier, so it's good it's tied to the scoring system, but I don't have much interest in that. I imagine playing the game for score is the only way to get any long-time enjoyment out of the game, as playing it for survival certainly doesn't seem to provide that. It's kind of the mirror image of Ether Vapor that way - EV didn't have much of a scoring system but clearing the game was a nice challenge, while Astebreed has a more complex scoring mechanic with little challenge outside of it.

And there's the story that I couldn't make heads or tails out of, and it's got underage lolis dressed in Eva plugsuit rip-offs, and a few Miranda Lawson-esque buttshots of them. So...yeah.
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Unread postby El Chaos » 04 Mar 2015 18:05

PlayStation 4 promotion video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-emGOXXf170
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