Gaming Sunday: God Eater Burst

Introduction 

Wow! It has been quite a while since I posted a Gaming Sunday section, eh... Been quite busy, having a retreats and some mid term tests. Didn't have much time to enjoy games. On top of that, assignment deadlines are fast approaching. Why does all assignments have deadlines of the second half of the semester? It is killing me. Thank God two of them are group assignments. Phew! 

Anyway, Introduction is supposed to introduce the game. Got carried away there. Introducing God Eater Burst! A sort of upgrade of God Eater, and the only version available in English! Correct me if I am wrong, but the developers had wanted to translate God Eater, but thought they would save cost by only translating God Eater Burst, since both are quite similar. If it was me, I would have translated God Eater anyway, most people would jump at the chance to buy both. If they were interested enough. 

Vajra, Flagship Aragami, of God Eater anyway

Story

Fast forward into the future! Live as we know it now has ended. Aragami, a form of life that evolves at a fast rate, has become top of the food chain. They dominate the world. Humans are pushed close to extinction. Aragamis adopt characteristics of things they consume to evolve. And there is something about Oracle Cells. Which basically are the cells that make up an Aragami, united under a cell core. God Eaters on the other hand, are humans who wield God Arcs, ridiculously huge weapons that are meant to counter Aragami. These God Arcs literally eats an Aragami, either to salvage materials or to turn the God Eater into a state known as Burst. I think the "gami" part of Aragami means god, hence God Eater. My knowledge of Japanese is limited here. 

For the first time ever, a game this genre has a storyline! Woohoo! Don't quote me on that though. Not sure Monster Hunter had any storyline, at least it didn't when I played. Lord of Arcana's storyline hardly existed. God Eater Burst on the other hand, has Story missions which you must play in order to advance the storyline. Lots of cutscenes and stuff. But you do have to grain through non-story mission to clear a chapter. SPOILER ALERT! I stopped after Lindow went missing, since his character was the only reason I continued playing... Those Aragami takes too long to kill. Only Zygotes, Cocoon Maidens and Ogretails die fast. And Vajra? That is too long. Maybe it was just me not upgrading my weapons enough or something. *shrugs*

Monster Rifles

Gameplay

As mentioned before, you play the role of a character wielding a ridiculously large weapon. This character is fully customizable, like most games of this genre, but his/her weapon is fixed to a New Type God Arc, basically a God Arc that can switch between Blade Form and Gun Form. These weapon however can be customized. Something like add-ons if you will. Choose your Blade, your Gun, your Shield, your whatever to maximize your damage output. This add-ons are forged with the materials you gain on the field. 

You also undertake missions, as said earlier. Missions involve four team members, either from a selection of NPCs or with your friends. This I think is the most exciting part of God Eater Burst. The previous games of this genre that I played had you hacking and slashing alone. Sad. You also enter a state known as Burst if you devour a living Aragami. It basically makes you move powerful, such as having the ability to double jump. 

Other than that, I think this game is largely like Monster Hunter. I guess. 

Graphics

In terms of designs, I seriously like it. From God Arcs to Aragami, to the wolf in the loading screen to the characters around, and best of all, the Post-Apocalyptic look of the mission areas. I liked City of Mercy a lot. Come on, Vajra looks amazingly cool. Although Gboro-gboro could use some cosmetics. 

I terms of the quality of the images, I think it is not quite up to par with other graphic stellar games. Amount of Aragami could also use some boosts. Ogretail to Fallen Ogretail is just not gonna cut it. Which is basically repeated with all Aragamis. Each Aragami has a few forms/species, such as Vajra, Prithvi Mata and Dyaus Pita. 

Conclusion

A pretty enjoyable game for the most part. Good of players who like some grinding. Those who hate grinding, I recommend you stay away. A definite purchase for Monster Hunter and Lord of Arcana, especially if you are in for monsters, grinding and super cool weapons.