Content from Last 48hrs

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy So this is kind of an odd case. I don't feel like I've truly beaten this one yet, but I got far enough for the credits to roll. Thing is, this game is meant to be played multiple times and you won't get the whole story in just one playthrough, but that's all I'll say about that. This is like a blend of visual novel, tower defense, puzzle, and tactical RPG all in one. Sounds bloated, and yet it somehow works. In fact, I expected the tactics side to be an afterthought but this is the best tactics game I've played in several years. Each story battle requires you to defend the shield generators for your school. They are the most important thing, more than the lives of your units. In fact, you're actually encouraged to sacrifice your units in big flashy desperation attacks to both do big damage and boost your score at the end. You get them back after each wave so you don't want to waste their potential by keeping them alive at all costs. Each character in this game is totally unique and has their own role on the battlefield. None of them feel superfluous. You level them up by crafting weapon upgrades, which is where the visual novel side comes in. Instead of building up affection levels, spending time with each teammate will increase a certain skill that you need to access certain upgrades. Spending time with the jock will upgrade your gym class stats, for example. While it may be a little disappointing that you don't get unique personal events for everybody, everything you do with them goes toward making them stronger in combat so it still feels rewarding. The battle system itself is quite interesting. Instead of each unit getting a turn, you're given action points at the beginning of each round and can spend them how you wish. If you want one unit to go several times in a row, you can. Each attack leaves a unit exhausted for one round though so if you want them to go multiple times you either have to spend another AP to refresh them or stick to moving one space per extra turn. Each enemy you kill (except the 1 HP kamikaze units) also gets you 1 AP back. That means that there are times where if you plan out your AP use strategically, you can wipe out the entire enemy force without them ever even getting a chance to attack. It's incredibly satisfying when you can pull it off. Each attack also builds up a meter that you can spend to either buff units, let them use their desperation attack without dying, or even give back spent AP. That's why I say this can feel like a puzzle game at times. Some enemy waves can feel utterly overwhelming at first but if you manage your units and AP use smartly you can turn the tables and decimate the other side in a single round. I won't speak on the story, since I haven't fully completed it yet, but I will say that I ended up enjoying the entire cast of this game, unlike Danganronpa. In each Danganronpa game there was always one or two characters who I hated from beginning to end, but in this I managed to come around to all of them eventually. Don't get me wrong, some of them are really obnoxious, but they get better for the most part. Even the ones who stay obnoxious are at least really useful in combat. I honestly can't recommend this game highly enough. It has a free demo on steam if you're on the fence so you have nothing to lose.