video game – Yannie's

Chinese Parents Review: An Honest Picture of Chinese Lifestyle

Chinese Parents is one of a long list of indie games from China that have been slowly making waves on Steam in recent months. Some of them are turning heads as they try to paint what they see as an honest picture of Chinese lifestyle.

Quick Review

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☐ Everyone
☑ Casual players
☐ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☑ OK
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☐ It’s free
☐ Full price
☑ Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥

Chinese parents is a game made by Moyuwan Games, which is a new star of the game companies in China. Although the graphics are simple, I think this game is rather interesting and realistic with full of metaphors. In the game, I play the role of a kid growing up in a Chinese family, from birth to 18 years old, and earn points that can be allocated to various “aptitudes”, including physical performance, intelligence, emotional capacity and artistic talents.

The game process is pushed forward according to the turn-based mode. Players need to schedule and balance learning and entertainment. Depending on the choice, the character will grow different attributes over time, so I can adjust the nurture plan according to the actual situation.

The players’ choices will grow significantly with age. Players may be born with full freedom and all-round development of art and sports, but every year they grow up, the expectations from their parents become more specific. Players must abandon some dreams that may seem unrelated to the National College Entrance Examination. The ultimate goal of the game is to pass the examination smoothly and enter the desired university.

Chinese Parents remind us Chinese players of a lot of memories from childhood, though most of us have gone through the stages of elementary school, junior high school and senior high school with quite different growth environment. The result of the National College Entrance Examination does not represent the result of life. This is also true in the game. There are various factors that affect the growth of a child, and family education accounts for a large proportion.

Life is Strange 2 Review: Bittersweet Adventure of Two Brothers

There are five episodes in this game. At present, we could only play the first episode: Roads. It is about two main things: naivety and sentimentality. It’s a challenging, bittersweet adventure about growing up and facing the responsibilities that come along with that

Quick Review

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☐ Everyone
☑ Casual players
☐ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☐ OK
☑ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☐ It’s free
☑ Full price
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥

Life is strange 2 is the sequel of Life is strange, but the story it tells is totally different from the first one, while this one gives me the enjoyment of the cinematic graphic as well. There are five episodes in this game. At present, we could only play the first episode: Roads.

It is about two main things: naivety and sentimentality. It’s a challenging, bittersweet adventure about growing up and facing the responsibilities that come along with that, framed through the story of two brothers who are far too young to be equipped to deal with their situation.

In this totally new game, we say goodbye to Max Caulfield and Chloe Bishop, welcoming 16-year-old protagonist Sean Diaz and his 9-year-old
brother Daniel, our companion in this new journey.

In the journey, it also requires me to make different decisions and choices, which will have an impact on the development of the story. The game is about, for certain reasons, Sean needs to take his brother to the border of the country.

The two brothers meet all kinds of people on their way. Whether it is Sean, who cares for his younger brother, confused on the way to escape, or Layla, who cares about Sean that we can seen from the text message, or Daniel, who is capricious and naughty, all these characters have their distinct character.

The immersion of the game is so vivid that I can experience Sean’s
anxiety and self-blame for his behavior. Many delicate expressions and actions can also reflect the complex inner feelings.

Similar to the previous work, the first episode of “Strange Life 2” contains some beautiful and peaceful moments that are absolutely rare in video games nowadays. Overall, the first episode is excellent with its depiction of soft emotions. I really look forward to experiencing the next four episodes.

Life is Strange Review: Fantastic Ability and Where to Use It

The idea of gameplay-derived storytelling is what Life is Strange commits to. It takes a totally different path to depict a more personal and warmer story, played with the accessible mechanics of an adventure game.

QUICK REVIEW

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☐ Everyone
☑ Casual players
☐ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☐ OK
☑ Beautiful
☐Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☑ It’s free
☐ Full price
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥

Life is Strange is a game that really surprises me. As a selective narrative game launched by DONTNOD Entertainment in 2015, it has aroused strong repercussions from the industry and players. It’s incredible that when the game first came out, the IGN score of it was only 6.5, which can be said a very low score. However, its highlight still cannot be hidden.

The idea of gameplay-derived storytelling is what Life is Strange commits to. All the rote action mechanics of the past game are gone, and so are the overwhelming sci-fi cityscapes of the skyscrapers. This game takes a totally different path to depict a more personal and warmer story, played with the accessible mechanics of an adventure game.

Here, I simply play as a girl called Max coping with her life in a quiet town. Over the course of the game, I find that Max is not an ordinary girl, and that Arcadia Bay is a very strange town as well, but even as the mystery ratchets up, the roots of everyday life remain.

Max will discover a fantastic ability in the game, but for us players, the most powerful tool to use will be good sense in listening and observing what’s going on around you, because your choices will ultimately be what leads you to the final plot of the game. Also, there is no classes or battles we are going to be involved in.

As two ordinary high school girls, Max Caulfield and Chloe Price, they are intimate friends, and they have their own worries, passions, dreams, and impulsiveness sometimes. Driven by the ambition and the sense of responsibility, Max decided to use her ability, wisdom and personality to make the world a better place. Specifically, I could control her ability to reverse time and remake previous decisions.

The story of the game is not long, but it is memorable. The ups and downs of the story just like the turbulent river filled with unpredictable whirlpools and waves, making me feel irresistible.

I sincerely recommend you to experience this special game which is like a movie directed by yourself. If we have a passionate heart, willing to accompany a person through all spring, summer, autumn and winter, whether she is your friend, lover, relatives, or other important people, if you have something to tell her, and some things you want to experience with her, that’s what we should be going through.

Divinity: Original Sin Review: Spell Your Own Magic

Quick Review

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☑ Everyone
☐ Casual players
☐ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☑ OK
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☐ It’s free
☑ Full price
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥

Divinity: Original Sin is a role-playing game developed by Larian Studios . The game uses a classical game mode, but it has many innovations. Developer Larian Studios seems to be good at stoking the flames of nostalgia. As a player who has been playing games for more than 10 years, I am easily attracted by this kind of game. Only nostalgia itself is not that enough, various game content is the key to the success of this game.

The game combines old-school PC RPG game roots with a brilliant co-op-centric turn-based system. In the game, I take on the role of a young Source Hunter: my job is to rid the world of those who use the foulest magic. I need to find my partners in the game, and form a team of four people. Then, I can Explore many different environments, fighting against all kinds of fantastical creatures, and discover tons of desirable items.

When playing the game, I was amazed at the Pen-and-paper-like freedom the games gives me. I can control the environment and use skill and spell combos to overcome my foes. I need to combine my imagination with my knowledge to use a wide variety of unexpected combinatorial magic. For example,I can warm up ice to create water, and boil the water to create a steam cloud, then electrify the steam cloud to create a static cloud and stun the enemies.

However, compared to the excellent gameplay of the game, its story is rather mediocre. Even so, it is still an excellent game in my eyes. I’ve been exploring the magic world for more than 30 hours. If I have enough time later during the winter vacation, I would continue to enjoy the game.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Review: Legacy of Victorian London

Here I will talk about the classic piece of the series-Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, since now I’m living in London where the background the game has set. The game leaves out multiplayer entirely, and pushes a lot of that baggage into the background, largely freeing itself up to make the most of Victorian London and have fun with sneaking, climbing, and stabbing.

QUICK REVIEW

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☐ Everyone
☑ Casual players
☐ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☐ OK
☑ Beautiful
☐Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☐ It’s free
☑ Full price
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥

Assassin Creed is an action game series produced by Ubisoft, which is known as a famous multi national game company. Here I will talk about the classic piece of the series-Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, since now I’m living in London where the background the game has set.

The game leaves out multiplayer entirely, and pushes a lot of that baggage into the background, largely freeing itself up to make the most of Victorian London and have fun with sneaking, climbing, and stabbing.

The story happens in the era of Industrial Revolution, which is an incredible era for the empire. Technology that once considered impossible has totally changed the lives of millions of people.

The opportunities of this era have driven people to London to join the new world. This is a world no longer ruled by kings,emperors, politicians or religions, instead, by a new ruler: money. At that moment, a violent wave of resistance from the underground world ring through the whole modern history.

In this game, the assassin Jacob Frye, with the assistance of his twin sister Evie, changes the fate of countless people. I can control both of the two leading actors, uniting the people of the underground world and breaking the bondage of corruption and darkness over London in the thrilling adventures of violence, conspiracy and brutal fighting.

Although the game is really engaging and meaningful, there is still some bones. Inside the mostly entertaining and lively packaging, however, what you’re being asked to do feels very familiar. Missions almost always involve the traditional Assassin’s Creed staples of following, escorting, or killing people and/or stealing items.

The most prominent new mechanic is the grapple-gun, which is well implemented and fun to use. When you’re on the ground, carriages can be stolen at any time, and provide a helpful way to cover more ground since London’s a big place.

Overall, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is the most interesting game I have ever played about an Assassin. Apart from its ill-fitting conclusion, it never takes itself too seriously and delights in the rich possibilities of its Victorian setting.

Orwell Review: Big Brother is Watching You

Orwell is a reasoning game, it does not have gorgeous pictures or great background music, the only thing it has are words. Obviously, the game pays tribute to George Orwell, who predicts in his book 1984 that in the future, government will monitor and control every citizen’s private life.

QUICK REVIEW

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☑ Everyone
☐ Casual players
☐ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☑ OK
☐ Beautiful
☐Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☐ It’s free
☐ Full price
☑ Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥

The game questions modern surveillance techniques and the security of online communication. National security and personal privacy, which is more important than the other? This game can give you profound and brand new insights.

In the game, I play the role of the investigator of the monitoring system: Orwell, which allows me to monitor all people and find clues of terrorists from their social media, blogs, e-mails, messages and so on. Every click of me will have some direct or indirect impact, and will even determine an innocent life.

As for the gameplay, with the development of tons of clues, a close and complex interpersonal network-an organization called Thought, gradually exposed, which made me feel an overwhelming sense of achievement.

However,the game does not have Chinese edition, so it needs certain level of English reading ability,otherwise there will be misunderstandings.

Apart from gameplay and storytelling, there is something really worth thinking about: is there a need for an Orwell-like system to monitor the public for the safety of the people? Besides, one of the things I got a little annoyed about was that Orwell finally came out of the water. In my opinion, this is not correspondent with the interest of government.

Government surveillance should look for the unsafe factors in the dark, but not be used as targets to show off. It is also bad for the public, because no one likes to be told that he’s/she’s under surveillance cameras,even if the purpose is to protect him/her, the real surveillance should be as silent as the prism of the United States.

Orwell is a special game. It uses simple mechanics to tell a complex and engaging story, one that feels particularly relevant right now. Friends who are interested in it can learn more about it and purchase from the following link.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/491950/Orwell_Keeping_an_Eye_On_You/

FIFA 19 Review: The Best Gets Better

This is the best FIFA ever, but this does tend to be the case every year. But the addition of China Super League and improved gameplay mean the changes are tangible.

Quick Review

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☐ Everyone
☐ Casual players
☑ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☐ OK
☑ Beautiful
☐Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☐ It’s free
☑ Full price
☐Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☐ Easy
☐Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥♥

FIFA 19 is one of the online/video games that I am interested in. It is a football game produced by EA. In the game, I can experience top football matches such as league, cup and Champions League.

The most attractive part of FIFA 19 compared to FIFA 18 is the introduction of the China Super League. Although Chinese football itself is not competitive in the world, the addition of China Super League is enough to make me feel excited. From the jersey to the athletes of CSL are all original and familiar. To my regret, the domestic football stadiums have not been included in the game.

Operating my gamepad and pressing the buttons rhythmically, I can manipulate football stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, which really makes me crazy. When I win a fierce match, I feel that I am over the moon and have won a football match at the official stadium by myself.

I can not only play against AI opponents, but also other players through the Internet. To my surprise, I can even control a team with some of my friends. To manage a team with friends requires more coordination and patience than myself, and thus I strengthen the bonds with my friends.

FIFA 19 is by no means a simple game but calls for professional reaction and tactics. As is the same with a football match in reality, short pass, long pass, cross, direct plug and shooting are not easy to achieve. Although in-game mechanics are a slight tweak to FIFA 18, and round passes fizz quicker and more satisfyingly, crosses look and feel better and we scored a lot of headers, it’s not the case that FIFA 19 is easier, but it certainly flows better, with AI teammates making clever runs to get into better positions.

I am not expert in playing FIFA 19, but I am a football person and really enjoy it. In my leisure time, I would try my best to play the game to a professional level.

Overall, this is the best FIFA ever, but this does tend to be the case every year. But the addition of China Super League and improved gameplay mean the changes are tangible.

Being able to do what I’d love to do in limited time is really a comforting thing. I could direct fierce football matches and feel that atmosphere. So guys who are also a fan of FIFA 19 please contact with me without hesitation!

Tomb Raider Review: Best Lara Croft of All

Tomb Raider is a fast paced action-adventure-exploration game with gorgeous visuals. It is the best Lara Croft in my mind even compared to the newly released one called Shadow of Tomb Raider.

Quick Review

===[ Audience: ]===

☐ Kids
☐ Everyone
☑ Casual players
☐ Pro players

===[ Graphics: ]===

☐ Bad
☐ OK
☐ Beautiful
☑ Masterpiece

===[ Price/quality: ]===

☐ It’s free
☐ Full price
☑ Average
☐ Refund it if you can

===[ Difficulty: ]===

☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

===[ Story: ] ===

☐ Boring
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

Overall：♥♥♥♥♥

Tomb Raider was one of my favorite games in 2017. It was developed by Crystal Dynamics and as an Exploration Action Adventure Game, the heroine – Lara Croft created by the fantastic story is my favorite character of all TR series.

Lara is obviously my goddess compared to the impression she left in my mind during my childhood. Gorgeous graphics, beautiful movie esque quality features and even the elegant red-brown hair of Lara make me feel the way I was flipped.

However, it is also the most bloody edition of Lara. In the game, the two main parts: Third Personal Shooting (TPS) and Exploration are alternately combined properly, which makes the plot develops smoothly, and the player’s sense of engagement could be gained easily through battle.

As a crazy collector, actually there are still tons of missing collectibles in the game, which means that my achievements/completion of the game is not so good. Also, the proportion of the shooting part is a bit larger than the others of the series. Players who do not like TPS are prone to fatigue after engaging for a long time.

The story begins with Lara in her youth, who has been traveling with her parents in various archaeological teams. When she grows up and graduates from University of Cambridge , she decides to put aside those ancient documents and musty libraries and embark on a career of her own. Her first adventure was to launch a scientific exploration vessel called the Endurance, together with Explorer and bounty hunter Conrad Ross.

In the game, I could manipulate Lara to climb buildings and fly through the jungle like Superman with delicately designed parkour element. Also, I could feel the atmosphere of terror in the isolated islands with the background music. Additionally, the voice actor really made the game. They brought a sense of depth and life to the characters that made them feel real.

Lara Croft was set at the age of 21, when she was just an inexperienced beginner. As a fast paced action sequences, we could quickly get familiar with the game and Lara, acquiring new weapons, equipment and skills, and with our operation getting more sophisticated, Lara is growing significantly.

Overall, Tomb Raider is a fast paced action-adventure-exploration game with gorgeous visuals. It is the best Lara Croft in my mind even compared to the newly released one called Shadow of Tomb Raider.