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Hands-on with The Legend of Korra on PS4

L

Loudninja

Member
It’s no easy task to adapt the critically acclaimed animated series The Legend of Korra into a third-person action game. The beloved show fuses martial arts, varying philosophies and world cultures, and an exquisite story that follows in the footsteps of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

What better studio to take up the challenge than PlatinumGames (Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)? The team has spent years meticulously crafting combat systems that marry style and substance into a visual maelstrom of fast, addictive action. And with Platinum’s knowledge of martial arts choreography, Korra couldn’t be in better hands. Revealed just yesterday, The Legend of Korra is coming to PS4 and PS3 this year. And we got to play it.

The Legend of Korra follows our rough-around-the-edges-but-ever-so-charming hero after the events of Book Two, but before the start of the upcoming Book Three. For those unfamiliar with the Avatar universe, Korra is the latest incarnation of a long, long line of peacekeepers meant to preserve order between four nations, as well as bridge the human world with the spirit world. At the start of The Legend of Korra game, Korra has suddenly lost her ability to bend (manipulate the elements) following a strange encounter with a shadowy force.

In the interest of avoiding spoilers, let’s just say the demo Platinum showed off revolves around Korra recovering her bending abilities, unlocking each element in turn — starting with waterbending.
Click to expand...
The moment that Korra sets foot on Air Temple Island, it’s clear that Platinum has invested a great amount of energy into making this an authentic experience. While Korra and her opponents are rendered using cel-shaded visuals, the backgrounds are an eye-catching fusion of 3D set pieces and painted backdrops. The Legend of Korra runs smoothly even in its incomplete state, a key requirement for a combat-heavy game.

Korra’s ability to bend all four elements means that the player can harness four different fighting styles that each play a role on the battlefield. Korra can throw whips of water to attack chi blockers at a distance, or meet aggressive mobs with slow and powerful earthbending techniques.

The Square and Triangle buttons govern the different attacks, with each strike in a combination capable of an additional charge for extra damage. This system is easy to pick up but also provides more weathered gamers room to develop finesse — especially when it comes to counters.

In true Platinum fashion, hitting block at just the right moment will enable Korra to reverse an attack, leading to a spectacular counter move. Like Metal Gear Rising, these counters are snappy and satisfying, layering a much-appreciated need for precision on top of Korra’s moveset.
Click to expand...

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014...ps4-platinumgames-joins-the-avatar/#sf3451114

Destructoid
As Korra re-discovers her various bending skills, she'll find that she's stuck using more of the basic attacks with each element. But as you progress and level up, you'll upgrade your attacks and learn new combos. What makes the fighting top notch here is how seamlessly you can swap between your four powers as you're unleashing combos on enemies.

Water bending, for example, is good for long-range attacks -- either throwing out projectiles, or using a "water whip"-like move to reel enemies closer to you. On the other hand, air bending is best as an area-of-effect attack when dealing with a group of enemies surrounding you. Each bending style offers something unique, and it's best to mix up your attacks as much as possible. Oh, and you totally can summon an air ball and ride it around just like in the show.
Click to expand...
Between your light and heavy attacks, you also have a special charge attack for more powerful bending moves, plus there's a dodge and counter move as well. Countering is especially encouraged, most of all when dealing with boss-type enemies. It's a similar counter system to that of Revegeance as well, where you have to learn the enemy patterns to best time the counter over being babied and getting some notification to time the counter correctly. Though, admittedly, the learning curve for timing is way smaller in The Legend of Korra.
Click to expand...
And yes, you can go into the Avatar state. The specifics of what will allow you to summon your special ability haven't been quite nailed down yet, but ultimately the game will let you know when you can go full out, and at that point you'll be unleashing all your bending abilities at once for a duration of time.

Again, for an alpha, the combat system was pretty damn fluid. The camera was a little finicky during my hands-on time, but didn't ultimately hinder my session. I was impressed with how far along the game was already, and there's going to be loads of time for polish between now and the release date.
Click to expand...
http://www.destructoid.com/platinum...rra-game-and-it-s-pretty-awesome-277032.phtml

Gamespot:
But the developer's devotion to the show's art doesn't stop there. Like in the show, environments are designed to look hand-painted so that backgrounds seem more like murals than in-game places. At one point during the demo, Kurooka paused at a lookout to show off the world and the detailed environment spreading out in all directions. Because of the flat, painted style, the game has an impressive draw distance and I was able to see everything in a huge area around the character. The developer also emphasized that the game's sounds, especially the ambient noises of the world, are virtually identical to those in the show. It's clear that Platinum wants you to feel like you're walking around in an episode.
Click to expand...
Each set has several different attacks, split between light and heavy strikes. Holding down either button will charge Korra and make her attacks even stronger. Different levels of charge are unlocked as the game progresses. The developer promises that the four different elemental sets allow for numerous different combos. Leveling up Korra will also unlock different light moves and collecting the game's currency lets you purchase heavy strikes and finishers.

When I saw Korra fight in the demo, I was struck by how interesting and exciting the system of elemental powers can be. Platinum has made sure that attacks are as fluid as possible, which means you can switch between elements on the fly, even mid-combo. He showed us sequences where Korra would bounce an enemy in the air with an Earth attack, shoot him with long-range Water strikes, jump up and land a dozen punches on him in rapid succession with Fire moves, then blow the guy away with a Wind attack. Finally, he would land and use one of the element-specific finishing moves to kill the enemy for good.
Click to expand...
When I got to play a little of the game, I was initially impressed with the smoothness of combat. It was satisfying to string together several different elemental attacks into one long combo that ended with Korra punching an enemy into the sky. It was fun to use the elements and see the results of their power, especially when fighting other benders. These battles created chaotic scenes with huge ridges of rock punching up through the ground, fireballs flying all over, and tornadoes of wind sweeping enemies away.
Click to expand...
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/i-...inum-game-s-the-legend-of-korra/1100-6420711/
 
S

sjay1994

Member
It sounds good!

avatar-foamingmouthguy.gif
 
D

DedValve

Banned
The game will be better than the show.

Well that's not saying much but the game will be platinum nonetheless. I hope the animation is also just as good as the combat and stays true to the fighting styles. Though this preview did leave a bit to be desired, such as how the bending elements work.

Still this is great, I'm excited. Now give me a release date and make it snappy!
 
C

Crimson_Gold

Member
jschreier said:
Ask yourselves: would the PlayStation Blog make a PlayStation game sound bad?
Click to expand...

Of course not, but you know that there is no stopping the hype. I hope this game turns out good. Please let it turn out good. I guess I'l be buying it and finding out.

Will cry if bad
 
S

sjay1994

Member
jschreier said:
Ask yourselves: would the PlayStation Blog make a PlayStation game sound bad?
Click to expand...

Ask yourselves: would Kotaku show unfinished footage for a game for hits?

Anyways Kotaku's preview will probably contain 5 whole paragraphs gushing over the fact the game has a female character in it, or how its offensive to someone.
 
M

Mr-Joker

Banned
jschreier said:
Ask yourselves: would the PlayStation Blog make a PlayStation game sound bad?
Click to expand...

Well considering how this is Platinum only PS4 game, probably not.

But I am still not holding any hopes, partly due because it's a licensed and because it's from the Korra universe and not the superior Aang or Wan universe.

Hell I will take any Avatar but Korra, she is the worse of the lot.
 
S

Shaanyboi

Banned
The fact we're getting a Korra game AND that it actually sounds good... I... I don't....

Thank you, Platinum. Thank you.
 
I

icespide

Banned
this is so crazy I still have a hard time believing it. I almost feel like Activision had no idea who Platinum Games was and just stumbled into this
 
J

jschreier

Member
Supermanisdead said:
So where's your preview huh
Click to expand...
Previews are boring and increasingly useless to readers, and this is testament to that. If a preview written on a game company's blog reads just like a preview written on a game site, something's horribly wrong in the way game sites are approaching their coverage, don't you think? Maybe we need to take a long hard look at preview culture and think about who it's really serving.
 
L

Loudninja

Member
As Korra re-discovers her various bending skills, she'll find that she's stuck using more of the basic attacks with each element. But as you progress and level up, you'll upgrade your attacks and learn new combos. What makes the fighting top notch here is how seamlessly you can swap between your four powers as you're unleashing combos on enemies.

Water bending, for example, is good for long-range attacks -- either throwing out projectiles, or using a "water whip"-like move to reel enemies closer to you. On the other hand, air bending is best as an area-of-effect attack when dealing with a group of enemies surrounding you. Each bending style offers something unique, and it's best to mix up your attacks as much as possible. Oh, and you totally can summon an air ball and ride it around just like in the show.
Click to expand...
Between your light and heavy attacks, you also have a special charge attack for more powerful bending moves, plus there's a dodge and counter move as well. Countering is especially encouraged, most of all when dealing with boss-type enemies. It's a similar counter system to that of Revegeance as well, where you have to learn the enemy patterns to best time the counter over being babied and getting some notification to time the counter correctly. Though, admittedly, the learning curve for timing is way smaller in The Legend of Korra.
Click to expand...
http://www.destructoid.com/platinum...rra-game-and-it-s-pretty-awesome-277032.phtml
 
D

DedValve

Banned
tempest3 said:
It says a good amount considering how much praise the show gets and how successful it is.
Click to expand...

Praise?

Well first season yeah I can totally agree with you but second season has been criticized to hell and back. So much so that they lost half their viewers during that terrible season.

EDIT: Just read the destroictoid article. I AM HYYYYYYYPPPPEEE.
 
W

wildfire

Banned
Platinum being brought in for their combat wasn't in question. I was more curious about if it would strictly be a combat oriented game or will the various bending styles allow us to manipulate the elements to solve difficult challenges? Even if it is strictly just a beat em up how are the stages arranged and how advanced are the enemies?

It's cool that art direction is coming together and the basic storyline synergizes well with a videogame.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
jschreier said:
Previews are boring and increasingly useless to readers, and this is testament to that. If a preview written on a game company's blog reads just like a preview written on a game site, something's horribly wrong in the way game sites are approaching their coverage, don't you think? Maybe we need to take a long hard look at preview culture and think about who it's really serving.
Click to expand...

This is a really weird place to bring this up.
 
V

Vigilant Gambit

Member
The game is apparently being produced by Atsushi Kurooka. Google says he programmed for Megaman and Bass, as well as a One Piece game for Wonderswan Color.
 
F

FlashbladeGAF

Member
icespide said:
this is so crazy I still have a hard time believing it. I almost feel like Activision had no idea who Platinum Games was and just stumbled into this
Click to expand...

LMAO

Imagine if it was dumb luck!
:p

Platinum working on this reminds of a time when licensed games used to be decent.

A long, long, time ago...
 
P

Phades

Member
Loudninja said:
Not seeing the issue, all people care about is the details they give.
Click to expand...

I think the point was that it is impossible to guage the the amount of spin distortion on those details.

That said though, these "news" bits make it seem like the game is pretty far along. For whatever reason, in the announcement thread, it made it seem like they just announced the intent to do a game, not that it had already been in production for a signifigant period of time.
 
S

Shahadan

Member
DedValve said:
Praise?

Well first season yeah I can totally agree with you but second season has been criticized to hell and back. So much so that they lost half their viewers during that terrible season.

EDIT: Just read the destroictoid article. I AM HYYYYYYYPPPPEEE.
Click to expand...

They lost their viewers before people realizes it went bad iirc. Something something timeslot and forever between seasons.
 
J

jschreier

Member
Antiwhippy said:
This is a really weird place to bring this up.
Click to expand...
Maybe. But seeing a GAF thread titled "Hands-on with the Legend of Korra on PS4" that could've been about any game site, but is instead about a game company's blog post, made me think about how weird and uncomfortable this situation is.
 
N

Neuromancer

Member
jschreier said:
Previews are boring and increasingly useless to readers, and this is testament to that. If a preview written on a game company's blog reads just like a preview written on a game site, something's horribly wrong in the way game sites are approaching their coverage, don't you think? Maybe we need to take a long hard look at preview culture and think about who it's really serving.
Click to expand...
Yes what we need is less information about games before they come out!
 
N

NotLiquid

Member
I need to see a video first before I decide. I'm surprised Activision hasn't released a trailer yet, this is a very downplayed announcement. Then again since this seems to be a small title from Activision I don't even trust them to provide much of that, especially considering how little expectations they had for Deadpool and how it had no game play footage what-so-ever up until right before launch.
 
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