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RVA Game Cave #8: The Playstation 5 Makes A Bulky, Yet Impressive Entrance Into The Next Generation

Jonah Schuhart | December 27, 2020

Topics: console generations, DualSense controller, gaming column, playstation, Playstation 5, PS5, rva game cave

It’s big, it’s expensive, and — for now, at least — it’s hard to come by. Regardless, the Playstation 5 has enough to offer that, according to RVA Game Cave columnist Jonah Schuhart, you should probably buy one.

Somehow, the release of a new generation of consoles always seems to amaze. This is in spite of the fact that in recent years, console generations have become increasingly arbitrary. The jump in technological advancement between them has shortened quite a lot from previous eras, and the popularization of both custom-made PCs and mid-generation consoles (such as the PlayStation 4 Pro) has made what remains of these jumps less noticeable. Yet the sheer novelty of a new console never fails to enchant, and while the feeling of technological advancement has dampened as of late, the improvements and innovations that are there make the PlayStation 5 a delightfully impressive new machine.

Still, the PS5 isn’t perfect. As with any new gaming machine, it requires a sizable investment from one’s pocketbook. A PS5 costs either $400 or $500, depending on whether someone buys the digital-only or disc-compatible versions. Additionally, with the added costs of a PlayStation Plus subscription and at least a couple ever-more-expensive games, the total could run someone close to $600 at its most expensive. 

The console certainly looks like it’s worth that from sheer size alone. That’s not a good thing, either. The PlayStation 5 may just be the largest home console to ever hit the market. It makes the Original Xbox, which was chunky enough to double as a doorstop, look puny. It is also oddly shaped, and requires a special stand in order to lay on its side with any stability. It will invariably dominate one’s home theatre space with ease, so if you’re hellbent on procuring one, you may need to do some clearing out. That is, if you can ever get one. So far PS5s have been so popular that they are near-impossible to buy. From the day preorders for the console opened, every sale was overwhelmed, to the point that major sites like Walmart and Target crashed.

However, once the money is spent and the PlayStation 5 is sitting there all shiny and new – sleek as a fighter jet – it is something to behold, if only for its sheer novelty. That oddly shaped frame is aesthetically appealing regardless of its inconvenience, and its mighty size does give the impression that the console is powerful. Watching the PS5 run is like watching a muscle car rev its engine, even if there are PCs out there that make it look more like a secondhand Civic.

Photo From dailystar.co.uk

Extravagantly constructed PCs aside, the PlayStation 5 is an actual beast compared to its predecessors. Slight as the jump between console generations has become, it’s still noticeable. This is especially true of the games that were made for both the PS4 and PS5. Spider-Man: Miles Morales, for instance, boasts an impressive improvement in frame rate and graphical fidelity between versions. 

And in some ways, many PS4 games were made for both consoles. The PS5 is almost completely backwards-compatible with the PS4 library. Players can sync their PlayStation accounts and redownload digital PS4 games onto their new console. Alternatively, they can use a physical PS4 disc or plug in an external hard drive with digital games downloaded onto it. All of these games will run at the same quality they would on a PS4 Pro, so the PS5 all but invalidates its predecessor. As an added benefit, PS4 controllers can be used to play these games as well.

However, it is much more advisable to use the new PS5 controller, the DualSense. With its new haptic technology, it adds extra feeling to the actions players take in games. Vibration and custom resistance functions have been added to the triggers, so players can feel things like the tautness of Spider-Man’s web in Miles Morales. 

But in the end, the quality of a console is not determined by its aesthetic or its controller, but by its games. So far, the PS5 doesn’t have much to its name, but what it does have knocks its competitors out of the park. Games like Demon’s Souls Remake and the aforementioned Spider-Man: Miles Morales are terrific gaming experiences. Even the consoles pack-in games like Astro’s Playroom and Bugsnax are brimming with creative energy. These two games are ostensibly free (Bugsnax is currently free with a PS Plus membership), and are more than capable of tiding a player over until their next paycheck when they might be able to afford a new game. Even then, the backwards compatibility means that even when the player gets bored of these games, they still have a reason to use their PS5.

However, unless someone really wants one of the brand new games exclusive to PlayStation 5, they don’t really have a reason to purchase the console. $500 might be too steep for a new machine that plays 90 percent of your old games. In time, however, this will more than likely change. Unlike their competitors at Microsoft, Sony seems hellbent on retaining the appeal of their console-exclusive games. This has its advantages and disadvantages, but regardless of either, it means that as of now, the biggest appeal Sony has going for them is that their new console has games that can’t be played anywhere else. For that reason, then, the PlayStation 5 is well worth it, given the quality of the games it offers the chance to play. 

RVA Game Cave Issue 1: Devil May Cry 3 for Switch

Jonah Schuhart | March 16, 2020

Topics: Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 3, dmc3, game column, Games, gaming, gaming column, jonah schuhart, nintendo switch, playstation, richmond va games, rva game cave, Switch, video game reviews, video games, xbox

Which button is X again? In the debut issue of RVA Game Cave, columnist Jonah Schuhart reviews The Devil May Cry 3 for Switch — and finds that the release cranks it up another notch by giving an old game some smokin’ new features. 

The Devil May Cry series is best known by Action Game fans (like me) and wisened-up nerds who remember when playing Halo multiplayer meant taking a nine-hour road trip to shoot people they had only talked to in AOL chat rooms. This series has been one of Capcom’s staples since its inception in 2001, and for good reason. The adventures of Dante  — also known as Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man — have grown increasingly more impressive with each iteration. The combat has been refined, the characters have become more likeable, and the action has become more balls-to-the-wall. 

However, even though the series’ most recent addition, Devil May Cry 5, completely outshines its predecessors in almost every respect, it is still very much worth it to go back and appreciate the OGs. Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition for the Nintendo Switch proves this with little to no doubt. The gameplay and absurd, campy storylines are as refined as they were when the game first came out in 2005, and are even improved with the new additions made on this re-release. 

Image via Devil May Cry 3 for Switch

If you’re not already aware, the Switch is a hybrid portable/home console. It functions as a tablet with detachable controllers (joycons) on either side. Users can remove the joycons and slide the tablet portion into a dock, which displays the games onto a television. Thankfully, the Switch does not detract from the game’s playability at all. I felt virtually no slowdown, so the port to this new console feels like it’s been well executed. 

The joycons, while smaller than an average controller, did not affect playability for the entire 20+ hours I sunk into this version of the game. I suppose I still would’ve preferred a regular controller at the end of the day, but so far, no game has convinced me that spending $60 on a Switch Pro Controller is worth it. This game is no exception. The only negative aspect I would attribute to DMC3 for Switch would be playing the smaller screen outside the home — it can be difficult when making sense of the hectic combat, but it doesn’t make the game unplayable by any means. In fact, I beat most of the game in the Switch’s mobile configuration. 

Being able to play this classic game anywhere certainly has its benefits, too, though I can’t say it was especially new for me (since any DMC fan with the PC version and a half-decent laptop has been playing this game on the go for years now). The biggest motivation for hardcore fans to buy this game comes with the addition of its “Free Style” game mode, and a new multiplayer function added to its Bloody Palace mode. 

Image via Devil May Cry 3 for Switch

“Free Style” officially adds a function that PC gamers using game mods have enjoyed in DMC3 for a while now. In DMC3 and its sequels, the protagonist, Dante, has access to four different styles of combat: Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger, and Royal Guard. These styles can do a variety of things, from giving Dante an invincible dash/teleport, to adding new moves for his primary weapons. In general, they greatly increase the depth and freedom afforded to players during combat. In later games, Dante has been able to switch between these styles at any point in the game, with a simple press of the directional pad — which further increases the player’s versatility. In the earlier DMC3 edition, Dante was limited to one at a time, and could only switch his style in the menus between missions or at designated upgrade locations in the game’s levels. “Free Style” changes this, and gives Dante that instant style-switch that later iterations get to take advantage of.

The “Free Style” mode also allows Dante to switch between all five of his guns, and all five of his primary weapons, at any time as well. Previous versions of the game forced players to choose two of each at a time. This addition is great, because it lets Dante have the appropriate weapon for almost every situation. Unfortunately, Dante is also pigeonholed into having these weapons in a strict order. Technically, the player can bypass this by holding the weapon switch button and flicking the right stick in the appropriate direction, but that means they have to take their thumb from the face buttons, and that’s a complete no-no in most circumstances. This almost makes the traditional gameplay a more enjoyable and versatile experience, were it not for the novelty of style-switch being in an official version of the game. 

Vergil. Image via Devil May Cry 3 for Switch

Thankfully, the player can still choose to play the game the traditional way, without style-switch or ten weapons at once. To do so, they need to do play under a separate “save” file, meaning they have to regrind for all of their weapons and upgrades just to play the game through parts they’ve likely already beaten. 

The final addition made to this version of the game is its multiplayer “Bloody Palace” mode. Bloody Palace is a gauntlet of 100 levels that the player must complete in sequence, and now they can do so with a friend. One of the players controls Vergil (the game’s second playable character). Somehow, the developers of this port managed to design it without split-screens or making players fight for control of the camera. For the most part, it seems that two skilled players can conquer all 100 Bloody Palace stages.

All in all, DMC3 for the Switch is an amazing port. It’s a great way for new players to enjoy a classic entry in the series (though they might find some of the PS2-era game design decisions frustratingly difficult). It’s also a great way for experienced DMC vets to enjoy the game in a new way. At the end of the day, it’s the same great game fans of Japanese action games have worshipped for 15 years, but with even more content. 

I give Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition for the Switch an 8/10. 

Top Image via Devil May Cry 3 for Switch

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