The war genera is one of the most heavily delved upon topics in the video game medium, with World War II in particular being adapted to the video game format more times than I can count. Many developers have given their go at successfully portraying World War II in a compelling way, that can keep the player entertained and engaged. With all the options available for experiencing this sub genera of games, standing out is both crucial, and difficult. Many World War II games come out and quickly become unspoken of. Partisans 1941 enters this genera in a unique way by looking at the war from a prospective that isn’t told as often as the average war story, from the prospective of a small depot of people fighting and surviving on enemy lines. Partisans distinction in story type goes well with its tactical strategy playstyle. Despite the games promising distinctions from other titles in the genera, the overall experience is lacking in some departments.

Partisans 1941 is a tactical strategy game with an emphasis on stealth. Most missions consist of taking parties of four or more through large levels full of enemies who you need to avoid, or quietly dispose of in the way of your main goal. As you progress you unlock more party members, equipment, and level up your characters through individual character skill trees. Along with this, in between missions you return to your base of operations. From here you can heal your allies, research new items, and manage your camps resources, food supply, and moral.

The missions themselves are fun! The map layouts are fair enough that I never feel like a mission was impossible, but complex enough where it may take me a while to figure out how to approach whatever obstacle I encounter. Enemy layouts are balanced very well. I never had a moment where I thought there were an unreasonable number of enemies in the way. When the game would feature an area with a large number of enemies, their layout was fair, and challenging. Taking out enemies in this game is incredibly satisfying. Picking the right time to run in with a silent melee attack or coordinating all your party members to quickly take out a group of enemies feels fantastic, especially when getting to utilize character specific abilities. Partisans 1941 is at its best when the player is able to analyze the enemy’s locations and movements, wait for them to line up in the perfect position, and then carry out a well-organized attack.

Sadly, despite Partisans 1941’s enjoyable combat and level design, there are many components of this experience that are underwhelming at best and intrusive at worst. One component that feels incredibly underwhelming is the games skill tree system. Every character gains skill points after leveling up, and each character has their own skill tree. Although character specific skill tress sound like they provide the player a lot of freedom, the number of times new skills would feel as though they actually had an affect on the game were slim. This made going through the process of individually going through each character and leveling up specific abilities feel like a chore that could have been streamlined by having characters gain abilities automatically as they level up.

The inventory system is incredibly underwhelming. There are so many items that the player picks up just to immediately forget about. Every inventory slot is taken up by a low detail black and white outline of whatever item it may be. Some items like medicine packs and rifle rounds are easily distinguishable, but there are multiple items that are unclear as to what there may be. Unlike most games with a multitude of items, hovering the mouse over an inventory item does not tell you what it is. This becomes incredibly annoying when you have all of your equipment for the mission, possible key items you may have found, and random junk from across the level, all separated across four different character inventories. Also, some ammo is incredibly hard to differentiate from other ammo types, especially when trying to separate the ammo across multiple different characters, all with up to two different weapons. The sub machine gun ammo’s design is four tiny bullets, and the pistols is three tiny bullets, and of course hovering over the ammo does not tell you what type it is!

The story was subpar. As far as World War II Stories this is very generic despite the unique perspective of people stuck behind enemy lines. You start as a general who must escape a German war prison. During the escape you encounter a young man and his injured comrade and you all escape together. This opening feels incredibly over done, and the characters feel very typical as well. Even the missions feel as though they have been recycled from other places. For example, one missions involves stopping an execution in a certain amount of time. This mission is not terrible, in fact it is very fun, but the concept behind it is nothing that hasn’t already been done. The voice acting however is fantastic. Each character’s dialog never feels forced, and nothing feels over or under delivered. Even in moments where the script starts to become generic and typical of an average war story, the actors still manage to make it sound convincing.

Overall, the skill tree and inventory issues, as well as subpar story are nothing game ruining, but do make the game less reasonable to recommend due to the extensive library of media in the genera. The games stealth mechanics, combat, and level design were a good time, but unfortunately those moments are interluded with an extremely unenjoyable, confusing, time waster. After completing each mission, the party returns to their camp. From here players must manage their food and resources, as well as raise moral, upgrade the camp and complete missions. Players assign Partisans with jobs every day, and the tasks are completed when the day ends. This entire portion of the game feels like an incredible waste of time and is the antithesis of fun. Managing your camps food and recourses feels like it only exists to waist your time. It is not difficult to send a Partisan to get food, or go fight a mission since these actions are done automatically without the player seeing them. The action of sending them to do these tasks is not fun either. At the end of the day it makes managing the camp feel like a drag. Sure, gaining resources allows you to upgrade your medical station to heal your party members after missions or gain new items and weapons, but couldn’t items be gained simply by beating the missions? Most items gained from missions directly go into the camp, allowing you to upgrade your base, which then allows you to upgrade things such as weapons. Also, healing your allies feels like a waste of time. Making the player send an injured member to the medicine tent is not required when they could just heal on their own in between missions. I would much prefer playing the actual missions consistently instead of taking a five-to-fifteen-minute detour between missions to manage a camp without any interesting gameplay. I understand that some people enjoy base management mechanics, but this certainly was not my cup of tea.

Partisans 1941 is a good game, with small issues, and a few major annoyances. Where the core gameplay and level design succeed, other elements such as UI and other gameplay elements really get in the way. The camp mechanic was certainly my biggest problem with the game, and it takes up a lot of time. With there being so many options in the World War II genera it makes recommending this game difficult, but I do think there is enjoyment to be had. The stealth mechanics are enjoyable, and missions are overall a fun experience that is certainly worth a try. If you think the camp mechanic sounds fun then I definitely recommend Partisans 1941, but as someone who did not enjoy that aspect I must say proceed with caution.

Launching itself into the world of 3D, SNK’s King of Fighters (KOF) series has joined the fray of modern 3D fighters, managing to make substantial changes from previous instalments, meanwhile capturing the core essence players are familiar with. With a brand new story, 3D models, and a host of DLC to tide players over, all signs look positive for the Ultimate Edition of KOF XIV – however, this is not quite how it plays out. Despite some remarkable strides taken by the developers, the game certainly falls flat in several areas. So, how exactly does KOF XIV fare in the arena of 3D fighting games? Well, let’s take a look.

KOF XIV Ultimate Edition is a re-release of the 2016 instalment, and comes packaged with the base game, as well as all DLC characters and costumes. I’ll mention these extra add-ons later on, but the primary focus here will be on the base game – KOF XIV. The game is essentially split into three core areas: story mode; tutorial/training modes; online multiplayer, and I’ll tackle each of these elements, before breaking down the gameplay mechanics and other key areas. We’ll start with the story, as this is the mode I certainly have the most (and least) to talk about.

Story (Spoiler Warning)

Simply put, the story mode included in KOF XIV is abysmal. I’m well aware that many fighting games, and to be honest most games with online functionality, forego single player content in favour of a greater focus on multiplayer. This is fine, however what irks me the most about KOF XIV’s attempt at a story mode is the sheer lack of effort put into contextualising it. Despite opening with a gorgeous and promising cinematic, players will be thrust into 10 consecutive fights (with a single cutscene midway through), before the story wraps up with zero explanation. Bearing in mind your opponent AI is mediocre at best, being thrown from fight to fight with absolutely no idea why you are there simply divulges into and endless grind of auto-combos and boredom. You’ll find yourself suddenly pitted up against the current King of Fighters, with minimal build-up, before a (totally unexplained) demon-thing appears, resulting in you apparently saving the world… from a threat that had appeared 5 minutes earlier. Roll credits. Honestly, the inclusion of this mode as a ‘story’ is an insult to every narrative designer to have ever lived. Had SNK decided to completely remove the story mode, that would have been fine. Had they openly placed players in a challenge mode instead, that also would have been fine. But what SNK had opted for is both lacklustre, and blatant content-padding. Frankly, there are many more issues I could point out with this mode, but I’ll leave it here on one final point – don’t bother playing it.

Side Modes

With the horrors of the story mode out of the way, let’s talk about the remaining single player content of KOF XIV. Training and Tutorial modes, a staple in any fighting game, come as expected, both giving beginners a chance to learn the ropes, and more experienced players the platform to hone their skills. There is not much to say about these modes – they will be very familiar to anyone who has played a fighting game – but I will note that I found the UI quite unfriendly for beginners. Disclaimer, I’m by no means an expert on fighting games, however I’ve played my fair share of them, and so probably sit somewhere in the middle in terms of experience. Nevertheless, being told to press ‘HP+LK’ for example, meant absolutely nothing to me without looking up the button list in the options menu. Granted, this isn’t the biggest of flaws, but I do think the inclusion of controller keys in the UI would have gone a long way in improving accessibility for new players. Aside from this, both modes are comprehensive, and are a great way to learn the plethora of combo moves available. The Missions mode is a surprise hit in KOF XIV, as one would expect a list of meaningless challenges, with no real value outside of beating your personal best. However, I found these a great place to practice combos, and become more familiar with each fighter’s move-pool, whilst simultaneously striving towards a greater goal. I’d definitely recommend players check out this mode, even if it is only briefly.

Multiplayer

OK, here we are at the bread-and-butter of KOF XIV – multiplayer. Your standard range of modes are all included: ranked; non-ranked; local multiplayer, and so you’ll get what you’d expect upon entering multiplayer. Connectivity was fine for me (provided I was playing someone in the same, or similar, region), and I had little difficulty playing an opponent once I was in a match. However, this part is important – once I was in a match. Playing in 2021, the player-base of KOF XIV is astoundingly small, ultimately meaning I could only find a match in non-ranked rooms, which often only had 3-4 players in them. Considering you often cannot jump straight into another match, as you are dependent on an opponent joining your match (or finding an open one yourself), this results in more time spent waiting for a match than actually being in one. Ultimately this is the major issue with the online multiplayer – there’s almost no one to play with. Nevertheless, I will note that once you do find yourself an opponent, multiplayer can offer you the very best of what KOF XIV has to offer.

Gameplay

As previously mentioned, KOF XIV has made a sizeable departure from previous series’ entries, breaking new ground in the world of 3D. Nevertheless, SNK should be applauded for maintaining sharp, frantic gameplay, ensuring that the core of the game is neatly polished. With a huge roster included, creating your team of three fighters can feel fresh each time, as each fighter offers markedly different move-pools. This is a standout feature of the game, as it offers players an endless supply of content as they learn to perfect each fighters’ combos, and build their ultimate team. Once in the fight, fast and fluid movement allows you string together these newly-learned skills, and the inclusion of the rush mechanic certainly helps tip the fight in your favour when you need it most. Admittedly, the learning curve of KOF XIV is a steep one, but as with all great fighting games, it is the mastery of each fighter that provides the player with a sense of reward that drives them back into another fight. I do wish there was a little more, outside of the rush mechanic and auto-combos, to give beginners a chance of said mastery, but those dedicated to the cause will certainly reap their rewards.

Audio & Visual Design

Although the audio design of KOF XIV is nothing to write home about, with some decent backing tracks and suitable SFX, the visual design has plenty to note. I personally found SNK’s foray into 3D to be a successful one, with character models, fighting stages, and visual effects all looking sharp, albeit somewhat lacklustre considering the console generation. Much more could have been done in this regard, as I feel like SNK play it safe with much of the visual effects, however overall I was satisfied with the game’s visual design. I would expect KOF XV to make some notable improvements, but considering the base game came out almost 5 years ago, I have little to complain about. Lastly, considering how beautiful they were, I would have loved to have seen more cinematics throughout the game, as these almost always managed to ramp up my anticipation before a fight. However, that would require me to start again on the story mode… *shudder*.

Ultimate Edition Extras

Anyone already familiar with KOF XIV might want to know why they should opt for this version, rather than just the base game. Well, in truth, I can’t really give you an answer. Yes, you’ll get 8 new fighters, as well as a handful of new costumes to match, but that’s about it. New players probably won’t see the value in this, whereas fans of the series may wish to consume every drop of content they can. If you do find yourself falling into the latter bracket, then by all means, the Ultimate Edition may just give you what you had been wishing for. But the rest of us, these extra tidbits do little aside from prompting an “OK, cool”, before getting lost in the already existing pool of content. Ultimately, as with most ultimate editions of games, the extra content is great if found on sale, but often they are not worth paying extra for.

Conclusion

So, in 2021, is it worth picking up KOF XIV? In all honesty, no. With an appallingly-bad story mode, and notable absence of online opponents, there is really not much content to justify a purchase. Yes, the gameplay is fantastic, and these other flaws are not indicative of that, but simply put, you’ll be getting a very empty game. Waiting on KOF XV would likely be your best bet, but if you do opt of the 14th instalment, you will still get a fighting game with sharp, fast-paced and rich gameplay. Nevertheless, although I do have to hand it to SNK for their successful attempt at entering the 3D fighting game market, considering the other options available, I find it difficult to recommend KOV XIV over them. Who knows, maybe KOF XV will continue to build on the foundations laid here, but that awaits to be seen.

Rivalling N++ for the crown of worst video game title of all time comes Injection π23 ‘No Name, No Number’, a survival-horror game that pulls no punches with its painstakingly difficult puzzles and terrifying soundtrack in an homage to the Silent Hills and Resident Evils of old.  

Set in Malaga, the unnamed protagonist has his dog stolen from him, tipping him over the edge and forcing him to leave the relative comfort of his home – into a zombie apocalypse. Unfortunate, I’m sure you’ll agree.    

In typical survival-horror fashion, you’ll need to find items, unlock doors and solve puzzles to find your way through to your goal. Simple enough, you’d think, if it wasn’t for the fact that these required items can’t be clearly seen in the environment, meaning that you find yourself running along the walls of the room hitting ‘X’ in attempt to find something – anything – to get you into that locked room. Not exactly my idea of fun. 

Some conventions have changed for the better in video games over the years, like a game’s ability to save automatically for one, but Injection shuns that for save points with a twist – a puzzle that needs solving. Puzzling by modern standards, this counterproductive ‘feature’ is incredibly frustrating, especially considering the challenge the game’s puzzles already provide. It’s almost like you’re being nostalgically trolled.

Perhaps the game’s biggest flaw is its failing to provide anything of substance to entice the player to continue beyond the first chapter of the game, making me wonder how many people gave up on it within the first few hours. Injection’s slow start does improve as you begin to pick up your weapons, but even then you are restricted to just a few enemy types and very few bosses to speak of throughout the entire game. 

If that wasn’t reason enough to get you to dig out and dust off your PS1 and play the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill, the graphics and animation of Injection’s enemies are PS2 standard, which makes it hard to feel afraid of them as they hover about rather than provide any jumpy movement or suspense by appearing out of nowhere. They can attack you through walls and doors and disappear for no good reason though, which is impressive I guess.  

So little excitement does this game inspire that it’s quite difficult to know where to begin when describing areas in need of improvement, but its generic cutscene-driven story is exempt, getting a free pass for it’s genre-standard plot, until its cutscenes revoke it, looking like a VHS cassette tape has been put through a blender. Notes littered around the levels that might have added to the story are mostly in English, but are occasionally in Spanish, without any English subtitles, which also doesn’t help the conveyance of the story. Above all though, it’s the lack of any real communication between characters, or even with yourself, that makes the game feel one-dimensional – you don’t even get to see your dog until the end! Who’d have guessed the zombie game would be lacking life.   

Attempting to offer respite from the mediocrity surrounding it, the game’s decent features exist through its puzzles, which vary from lock picking, code-breaking to item crafting; the detailed, but relatively empty environments, and the effective soundtrack which mostly consists of monsters moaning. Wroooaahhh.   

Despite all its failings, it’s clear that a lot of love and care has been put into this project by its one-man developer, with plenty of collectables and extra features available, but with it not being cheesy enough to pull off ‘so bad, it’s good’, Injection exists only as a hardcore fan’s guilty pleasure, with its below-average production values and lack of variety creating a functional but dull game. 

Waves Out is small game about using magnetism. I hesitate to classify the genre as I’m not sure what it would be. In the game you have to transport spheres to goal holes as each world gets progressive harder. Each level has around three rounds with a timer counting down. If you don’t get enough spheres in the holes in time, you have to restart.  

There are three different ‘worlds’ which have four levels each, but they’re just slightly varied versions of the same level. That coupled with the rounds makes the game very repetitive, even with the variance. The last two levels somewhat deviate from this, but I doubt most people will get to that point. The score goals are way too easy to achieve for almost the entirety of the game, so much so that I often found myself standing around in the last round as you can continue to score even after you’ve achieved your goal for that round. Not only that, but each level has up to three stars you can get for extra spheres and I got all three half the time. There are also powerups to help, but they’re not really needed. There are also goals that offer two times or four times points, but you again you don’t really need them. 

The time trial idea really holds the game back, discouraging you from even going to collect powerups. Towards the of the game at the last two levels there’s an attempt at a longer level, but I’ll tell you that getting stuck in the floor on the third part and having to restart from the beginning of the level all over again was pretty frustrating. The game would have been better if there was no time component at all and instead a set number of spheres needed to open up the next part of the level. As it stands everything that gets added to increase the difficulty it either not fun or doesn’t make the game that much harder anyway.  

That’s about all there is to the game. There’s a two-player mode, but I doubt you could get anyone to play this with you. There’s also a time trial mode, but the core gameplay makes it not worth playing.  

The only good thing about this game is the magnetism idea. Even then, I not sure if the way I’m using it is intended, as I often mash the button to keep the spheres sticking to me without overloading, although you do need to hold the button down for a bit to drag spheres up slopes. The fact that you have to walk over them to activate them before putting them in the goal is fine, but like everything else in the game the challenge of it is basically irrelevant most of the time. 

Overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this game to anyone unless you really like magnets for some reason. The game’s short, the gameplay’s boring and there’s no story. I could also mention other things like how the music in the main menu isn’t very good and a couple of the glitches I saw, but I think you get the picture.