Author: Trafficblast

Assault Android Cactus, first released on PC back in 2015, is a game that feels perfectly suited to the Switch. It’s the sort of experience that works equally at home on your TV and in your hands during a morning commute. Thanks to a handful of new additions and some excellent port work, this new ‘plus’ edition is the definitive way to experience Witch Beam’s excellent twin-stick shooter.

Assault Android Cactus+ isn’t a major overhaul of the original, but it’s a significant iteration. As before, there are 25 levels to play through, nine playable characters–five of them unlockable–and the game’s focus is on chasing high scores and earning higher ranks for performance by repeating levels. The further you go, the more enemies the game hurls at you in each level, and the more hits it takes to kill them. It’s a frantic experience, one where you’re almost constantly beset by loads of enemies, swarming and firing shots at you. By the end of the campaign the onslaughts can feel unending, even though, in truth, levels only last a few minutes each.

From the outside it looks hardcore, but one of Assault Android Cactus’ strengths is how discernable and navigable the chaos is. Enemy bullets are generally slow-moving, and some enemies are far less dangerous than others. Each android comes equipped with a primary weapon and a more powerful sub-weapon, each of which is given a generously short recharge time, so it’s often possible to slip right into a huge group of enemies, do enormous damage, and slip out again. Enemies can drop power-ups, which let you speed up, give you additional firepower, or–best of all–temporarily cause all enemies to power down, letting you rack up kills. Getting kills in quick succession lets you build chain combos–the key to getting a high score is making sure that one of your enemies dies every 2.5 seconds, which means switching between damaging more hardy enemies and wiping out the smaller, more vulnerable baddies often.

To beat a level, and to maintain a high score and thus earn a good rank, you’ll want to take as few hits as possible. Getting knocked down rips 10% off your total score thus far, which can be frustrating, particularly in the near-endless ‘Infinity Drive’ mode, where your total score can remain static or drop over a long period as knockdowns rack up. Every now and then a downed enemy will drop a battery, which you need to collect to charge your power, so going too slowly will drain your battery right down. You’ll only hit a Game Over screen if you run out of charge, which can lead to great, tense moments as you fling yourself right through dangerous territory to grab a battery at the last moment.

The game supports up to four players, too, with enemy numbers scaling, and unique leaderboards depending on how many androids you send out into the fray. This means that it’s a great fit for parties or multiplayer nights, but as a primarily solo player, AAC never feels lesser for being played alone. If you’re planning on playing it with newcomers, though, it’s worth being aware that some characters are much easier to get to grips with–and thus more enjoyable to play as–than others. Any character with a slow rate of fire can feel ill-suited to the game’s fast pace, and while there are potential strategic advantages to using a railgun or a shotgun, I found myself opting for the faster characters every time.

Levels will typically feature some sort of topographical gimmick. There could be walls that appear and disappear, conveyor belts that make movement tricky, or floors that fall away and rise back up depending on where you’re standing. Each presents unique challenges for how you can move through them, and while only a few of them require that you fundamentally change how you play, each one provides a neat twist. The five bosses, meanwhile, are all challenging and fun in their own ways, changing forms and attack patterns throughout their fights. These bosses are Assault Android Cactus+ at its most bullet-hellish, and learning how to weave between their attacks while doing damage is extremely satisfying.

The campaign is a challenge, but not an extreme one–the end boss gave me more grief than any other level, but I still managed to beat in within six attempts. The new Campaign+, which is unlocked once you beat the final boss and is currently exclusive to the Switch version, will push you harder. It takes each level and boss fight from the original and ramps it up–right from the beginning, there’s a considerable spike in the number of enemies you’ll face in each level, and they tend to be hardier than the ones in the regular campaign, requiring far more shots to kill. Campaign+ might not add any entirely new levels, but doubling the number of leaderboards you have to compete on gives you more incentive to keep coming back and improving.

Curiously, while most levels are noticeably more difficult than they were before in Campaign+, I found that there were some exceptions. Later levels, which were already designed with heavy enemy loads in mind, feel about the same when a few more are thrown in, except the scores you can earn are now much higher. The most profound changes are found in the boss fights, which transform from relative challenges into utter bastards across the board. They’re still an enjoyable challenge, though, and thankfully every level is immediately unlocked in Campaign+, so you can jump around and skip any levels that are causing you frustration.

Less showy, but no less significant, is the new addition of single-stick controls. This is an accessibility option, allowing you to play with a single Joy-Con with auto-aiming enabled, and it works extremely well. These controls even helped me to see the value in some of the more complex androids–Shitake’s railgun, and its ability to hit multiple enemies at once, is much easier to use with auto-aim. You lose just enough control that the absolute highest scores on the leaderboard are still going to come from players who are using both sticks, but in terms of enjoyment, the game loses surprisingly little when played this way.

The other tweaks made for the ‘+’ edition are minor–new costumes, the option to rewatch the game’s few cutscenes, and some balance changes–but there’s also no trade-off in opting for the Switch version. The machine shows no signs of struggle running Assault Android Cactus+, holding a steady framerate in both handheld and TV modes regardless of how many enemies are on screen. The game’s clean, uncomplicated visual style suits the small screen well, and although you’ll need an Internet connection for leaderboards, trying for high scores on the bus, or–if your commute is long enough–plugging into the Infinity Drive feels irresistible.

Assault Android Cactus+ is the ultimate version of an excellent game, and a perfect marriage between console and content. It’s exciting and intense without ever being impenetrable, and the new Campaign+ feature is a great reason to dive back into the game even if you’ve already completed it elsewhere.

The idea of playing games through a cloud streaming service is trending upward due to the likes of Sony’s PSNow, Google Project Stream’s early test run with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now. And many signs point to cloud-based gaming being the next big shift in the industry with names like Microsoft and Amazon making moves in this space. Right now, French company Blade has a stake in cloud gaming with its Shadow streaming service and Shadow Ghost set-top box (an improved version of the Shadow Box we reviewed last year).

Blade has been expanding the reach of its service–it was previously only available in California for US customers, but is now currently available in most states in the US, the UK, Germany, and France. And I spent several hours using Shadow on a MacBook Air and the Shadow Ghost to see if this setup is a viable solution for those looking for a mid/high-end gaming PC.

The Shadow Ghost set-top box runs the application and gets you access to your virtual PC.

How It Works

Any device that runs Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10, macOS 10.10 or later, Android 7.0 Nougat or later, or iOS 11.0 or later can run the Shadow application and essentially turn into a gaming PC (Ubuntu support is currently in beta). You’ll also have to pay $35 USD per month–or $30 per month on a year-long commitment–and use an internet connection that’s fast and stable enough. This isn’t a Netflix-style service, or a parallel to Xbox Game Pass since you’re not subscribing for access to games, you’re subscribing to a powerful Windows 10 PC.

In a sense, Shadow functions similarly to any other video streaming service since you’re simply getting video feed of a PC you’re controlling remotely (located at the closest data center to you). As of now, you can set a Shadow stream bit rate to run between 5 Mbps to 70 Mbps which dictates the visual quality of the stream; just be sure you have the proper bandwidth and are aware of any data limitations you may have. Blade recommends having at least a modest 25 Mbps connection and suggests using wired connections for reliability.

As for the set-top box, the Shadow Ghost is a slimmed-down version of Blade’s previous hardware offering, the Shadow Box. Aside from the redesign that includes significantly condensed dimensions, Ghost has its ports in a more sensible configuration–they’re all neatly positioned on one side of the device and offers one HDMI out instead of two DisplayPort outs. Otherwise, the box serves the same purpose and goes for $140 USD (subscription not included).

Shadow Ghost–the local hardware that can run the service–has the necessary ports for a fully functional PC. This makes Ghost ideal for living room or home theater setups, and if you’re not looking to use another compatible device to control your Shadow PC. Regardless of whether you use the application or the Ghost, Shadow presents you with a home menu to configure settings and access your account. From there, you boot your virtual PC and start getting feed of the Windows 10 desktop.

The Shadow app for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android gives you access to your virtual PC remotely.

Technical Specifications

The Ghost itself features two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI out, one 3.5mm audio jack, and an Ethernet port. It’s powered by a 5V DC plug and runs completely silent since there are no fans. As far as wireless capabilities, it features dual-band WiFi for up to 400 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.1 support. A keyboard and mouse are required to at least navigate the Ghost’s menus and Windows desktop.

When it comes to actual hardware that runs the games you’re streaming, Shadow packs some fairly beefy specs. Blade says that it’ll upgrade Shadow’s specs free of charge in the future, so you’ll be getting a better PC for the same price down the road. But for now, this is the PC you’ll be working with:

• OS: Windows 10 Home Edition
• CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2678 v3 @ 2.5GHz
• GPU: Nvidia Quadro P5000
• Memory: 12 GB
• Storage: 256 GB QEMU Drive
• Connection Speed: 805 Mbps down, 106 Mbps up, 1 ms latency

One thing jumps out when taking a quick look at the spec sheet; you only get 256 GB of storage space. In the modern era where the latest games can take up well above 50 GB, your Shadow drive will fill up fast. For example, I was only able to have Anthem, Apex Legends, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Metro Exodus installed at once with very little room left. Unfortunately, Blade currently doesn’t offer any subscription options that grant you more storage space.

This isn’t a Netflix-style service, or a parallel to Xbox Game Pass since you’re not subscribing for access to games, you’re subscribing to a powerful Windows 10 PC.

If it’s any consolation, your virtual PC accesses an internet connection that’s rated at 805 Mbps down according to Google’s own speed test. This makes games incredibly fast to download; Origin and Uplay were all downloading games at around 130 Mbps. In a way, you’re getting access to gigabit internet via Shadow. Remember, you’re not using your own connection to download games since you’re controlling a PC remotely, but keep in mind that you are using your own bandwidth to stream.

It may sound odd that Shadow’s cloud-based PCs use Nvidia Quadro P5000 workstation video cards as opposed to the more common GeForce gaming lineup–the rough equivalent would be a GTX 1080 in this case. And the same can be said about having an Intel Xeon E5 instead of the popular Intel Core i7 CPUs. Regardless, these specs make for a very capable gaming rig, if you’re not expecting to run 4K with high settings in the latest games at 60 FPS.

Performance And Experience

In terms of performance metrics, I used the Final Fantasy XV benchmark to get a gauge of how the system’s Quadro P5000 video card stacks up against more common cards. At 4K using the High settings preset, the FFXV benchmark gave a score of 3132, which roughly translates to an average of 31 FPS. This puts the Quadro P5000 right next to the GTX 1070 Ti and slightly below a GTX 1080, which are both formidable mid/high-end cards. For an idea of how it can handle 1080p using max settings in a graphically demanding game, we turned to the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey benchmark, in which it got an average of 49 FPS.

One big concern when it comes to cloud-based gaming is latency, but you can largely put that to rest. The moment-to-moment gameplay experience using Shadow Ghost is undoubtedly impressive with little to no perceivable input lag. Games like Anthem, which move fast and pack a ton of action at any given moment, played so well that I soon forgot it was being streamed. This means that other games with forgiving windows for timing and less emphasis on speed, such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, flow smooth and play nearly indistinguishable from a local PC. The level of performance Shadow delivers considering the asking price is quite impressive, but you probably don’t want to rely on it for competitive games that move super-fast and emphasize twitch reactions.

I was able to stay competitive throughout my few hours with Apex Legends using Shadow, but hitches in the streaming feed were a lot more noticeable by nature of the game’s speed and style. It rarely tripped me up, but having a stutter during an intense high-stakes firefight is less than ideal, which happens more frequently when using a wireless connection. I connected to a a WiFi network that had a 200 Mbps download speed and 5 ms latency reading, but hitches tended to happen at regular intervals and bogged down my experience in Apex Legends. It’s readily apparent in audio; if you listen to a steady, sustained sound effect such as a waterfall in Anthem or simply listen to a song, you’ll easily pick up on this issue.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey played on a MacBook Air through the Shadow application.

Another concern that some may have about cloud-based gaming is video compression; the loss of image quality from a streamed feed. You can probably pick up on compression when reading text or looking at smaller, more detailed objects in a game world, even at the highest bit rate of 70 Mbps. But loss in video quality largely goes unnoticed when you’re in the heat of the moment or entirely focused on what’s happening in the game you’re playing.

The Ghost itself had a few of its own issues. My Xbox One controller and USB headset would only be recognized when plugged into the two USB 3.0 ports. The 3.5mm audio jack was inconsistent in sending audio and would occasionally deliver no sound. A restart of the Ghost itself would often resolve the problem, but it’s certainly frustrating. I also experienced hard crashes on two separate occasions that had the Ghost revert to a command prompt screen that stated “Error: No calibratable device found.” It was solved by unplugged the power source before starting it up again, but another inconvenience nonetheless.

If anything, Shadow showcases where gaming can go and where gaming hardware could fit into that future and makes that readily available in a competent form.

Using Shadow to turn my modest MacBook Air from 2015 into a decent rig by today’s standards is more than just a novelty–it’s a convenient, adequate way to play games in the presence of any viable internet connection. For the most part, the compact Shadow Ghost box proved to be a practical way to use the service in the absence of a device that can conveniently hook up to TVs and monitors. And regardless of however you use Shadow, you’re putting very little stress on your local hardware and consuming relatively less power since, again, you’re only streaming.

Final Thoughts

Blade further proves that cloud-based gaming is a viable option for the near future with its Shadow service. It’s already impressive in many cases, especially when it comes to nearly imperceptible input lag and limited video compression on high-speed internet connections. When it comes to the Shadow Ghost set-top box, it decently fills the void for those who have no other means of running the service via Ethernet or conveniently for bigger screens.

It’s not without its faults, however. Minor technical hiccups are bound to show up with the Ghost, but the lack of storage space and noticeable hitches in fast-moving games on a wireless connection prevent Shadow from being the best option for PC gaming. Shadow may be the right solution for the right person, though. For those who don’t have much interest in playing competitive games dependent on quick reactions and don’t concern themselves with pixel-perfect fidelity, it would suffice.

The most cost-effective way to get into Shadow is through a year-long subscription of $30 a month ($360 a year) when using a device with the application. Adding the Ghost to that puts it up to $500 for the initial year. You dictate (and own) what you play instead of being limited to what a service would offer, and that means having to buy games yourself. But as these technologies grow in capability and availability, how important it is to maintain an up-to-date PC at home is something you’ll have to consider. If anything, Shadow showcases where gaming can go and where gaming hardware could fit into that future and makes that readily available in a competent form.

The Good	The Bad
+ Access to mid/high-end specs at a decent price	– Severely limited storage space
+ Little to no perceivable input lag	– Technical issues on the Ghost device to work through
+ Shadow is versatile and works on any device that can use the app	– Minor, but noticeable hitching, especially on a wireless connection
+ Low stress on local hardware	– Slight video compression even at the highest bit rate
+ Prospect of upgraded hardware in the future

Unlike most battle royale games, Apex Legends puts its whole focus on team-based gameplay–it currently only supports games in which you join a squad of three to face off against other teams. For a lot of players, that means jumping into the game to be matched up with random other players as teammates, which comes with its own challenges.

Playing by yourself in Apex Legends, rather than with friends on whom you can rely, can be tough. Random players have a tendency not to work together, they rarely talk to each other, and sometimes they run off and get killed. It’s a lot tougher to be successful in a team game with players you don’t know–but it’s far from impossible. In fact, Apex Legends’ innovations, like its robust ping system, can make the experience of playing with people you don’t know pretty good, all things considered.

Still, there are lots of strategies and situations to consider if you’re jumping onto a team all by yourself. Playing alone with people you don’t know means adapting to the situation if you want to be successful, and it means trying to make the team work even if you’re at a communications disadvantage. Changing the way you play, and paying attention to how your teammates play, can help you take down those championships even if you’re not with your full squad of buds. Use these tips to help you be effective on a squad in matchmaking, or even when you find yourself all alone, whether by circumstance–or by choice.

Ping Like Crazy

Whether you’re playing with randoms or your best friends, the best thing you can do in Apex Legends is share information. Playing with people you don’t know usually means talking is kept to a minimum, but but you can still do a lot for your team by sharing information with pings. This doesn’t mean you should mark every Mozambique you pass–please, stop doing that–but high-power weapons like the Longbow, Triple Take, Spitfire, and Peacekeeper are worthy of sharing, as are high-level attachments and accessories. More than that, letting your team know where enemies are and have been lets everyone keep aware of potential threats, and that makes your random team a lot more likely to survive.

Stick Together

It’s tempting to wander off looting, striking out on your own a bit in order to grab the best gear you can without your teammates getting in your way, but resist the urge if you can. Spreading out so that your team can’t quickly get together to aid one another is the best way to get beat in Apex Legends. What’s more, most fights are won not by one particularly good player, but by the combined fire of a squad on a single enemy–it’s the quickest way to take people out of the fight and skew the odds in your favor. If you let your randoms get picked off one at a time, you’re going to struggle, no matter how clutch a player you are.

Share And Share Alike

Apex Legends is built on working together, and that goes beyond just shooting the same enemies or pinging good guns. Helping your teammates stay well-equipped and healthy will help you win matches. That means using your abilities when they’ll help, if you’re playing as someone like Lifeline, and it also means tossing teammates ammo, health, and shield pickups when they need them. Sharing will encourage players to share with you, and when you’re all looking out for each other, your chances of winning are a lot higher. Keep your teammates alive and they’ll help keep you alive, so share the loot wealth when you can.

Observe And Adapt

If possible, watch how your teammates play and try to find the best way to help them, both with your character’s abilities and with your weapon choices. Are they trying to snipe? You might be better off getting in close on enemies if that’s the case. Do they prefer close engagements? Providing sniper backup might be a better role for you, then. Try to diversify your team’s roles and capabilities so that you can handle a variety of situations and engagements. If you’re all carrying close-range or long-range weapons, you’re more likely to fall to a team that’s more versatile.

Don’t Shoot At Enemies You Can’t Kill

This is a good rule no matter the situation in Apex Legends, but when playing with randoms, it’s especially useful. If you see enemies in the distance, don’t start firing unless you’re sure your team is ready for the engagement, and your chances of winning are good. Taking pot shots at players you can’t reliably down is a good way to give away your position to another team that could ambush you, and it risks starting a fight with a team that might be better outfitted than you and giving away the element of surprise. It’s better to ping an enemy position and try to close the distance before you’re spotted than to start shooting and hope that your teammates will figure out what to do.

When Alone, Pick Your Engagements

The big trouble with being alone is that most players opposing you are going to be sticking together, and any three-on-one battle you enter is highly likely to be a loser. When more than one player focuses their fire on you, chances are, the fight is already over. The key, then, is to pick off enemies when they’re separated, or to get the drop on them. Whether you’ve bailed on your team because you don’t like them, or you’re alone after losing everyone else, keeping yourself alive is job one when solo. If you find yourself outnumbered, try to get away, and move carefully and quietly to make sure you hear anybody who might be coming up on you.

Don’t Just Quit

Be the change you want to see in the world. If you’re downed early in a match or you don’t get the Legend you want, don’t just bail on your teammates. You’re just contributing to everyone’s bad time–your teammates are stuck with a disadvantage, which means they’ll have less fun, and then they’ll be more likely to quit out of their next game at the first sign of trouble, and on and on. Instead of contributing to the frustrations of the community at large, stick around; you never know when a teammate might make a clutch play and manage to revive you at a respawn beacon.

Following the news today that Electronic Arts will not have a traditional press conference at E3 2019 this year, indie game publisher Devolver Digital quickly chimed in to confirm it will have a press conference this year. That’s good news, considering Devolver’s previous E3 press conferences were some of the wackiest, wild, and absurd the show has to offer

Devolver confirmed in its tweet, “FWIW, we’re still going to do an E3 press conference.”

Devolver’s E3 press conferences in the past have been pre-recorded, and they’re known to be truly absurd. The host usually makes jabs at video game industry trends and gaming culture in general. It’s really great and refreshing.

We can only imagine what Devolver will have in store for its 2019 E3 press conference. We’ll be watching, that’s for sure.

EA won’t have a traditional press conference at E3 this year, and, in a major shakeup for the annual summer gaming show, neither will Sony. Nintendo, Ubisoft, and Bethesda have yet to confirm their plans for E3 2019. Microsoft, meanwhile, is going big at E3 2019. The company will reportedly discuss its plans for next-generation consoles and more during the show.

E3 2019 runs June 12-14, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more.

One of Devolver’s latest games, Ape Out, came out at the end of February. Here at GameSpot we gave it a 7/10 and called it a “pleasant, jazzy way to spend a few hours.”

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