Expedition
Expedition is an MMO action-RPG exclusive released for the Google Nexus, with an Android companion app and a later PC port coming as well. It's a slightly simplified take on the World Of Warcraft/Final Fantasy Online type of MMORPGs, and takes place in a mystical world known as Parathera, in which young ones are expected to begin adventuring and exploring the world (sort of like Pokemon in a way). The game combines Zelda-esque action RPG combat with a massive world full of creatures, loot, and quests, and players are able to explore this world after a few starting missions in their home realm. There are 26 distinct races of character that one can choose from, ranging from typical humans to rabbit-like creatures known as Bunikin to dog creatures called Bowwow to elves, tree creatures, and even robot/human hybrids, among many many others. Each race has its own distinct stat growth and skills, and players are encouraged to create a character best attuned to their skills. The character creator has something called the Creation Lab that allows people to try out different builds before finalizing their character, though the 26 races are all balanced so that one isn't strictly better than any others. Players then choose which realm to start in, 12 in all, each with its own distinct wildlife and features. Certain races are able to start in certain realms, with two realms actually being open to all 26 races (but having a more "jack of all trades" balance of items and opportunities for starting players, rather than the other ten realms which are restricted but allow for more min-maxing). Expedition features plenty of opportunities for customization and loot, with loot able to be dropped by enemies, purchased, or found (though the best stuff is almost always looted from enemies or given as prestige quest rewards). Expedition's combat system is fully action oriented like Secret of Mana or The Legend Of Zelda, with a fairly simple combat system that includes both basic attacks and different types of skills that can be mapped to certain buttons. Most enemies can be taken down by a single player, but like any good MMORPG, there are some enemies that can only be taken down by a coordinated party. Expedition is made with lower skilled players in mind, and it's possible for even low level party members to contribute to battles, with higher level players actually earning rewards for teaming up with low ranked players and helping them out. Players are encouraged to explore, and penalties for dying are almost nonexistent, in contrast with other RPGs that slap players with penalties such as the loss of XP or loot. Loot itself can be upgraded at various merchants or by using it in battle, and there are even some quests that reward the player with loot upgrades. Like most MMORPGs, Expedition has a main story quest, but it also has lots and lots of side quests, with the main story being more of a long introduction to the game. Expedition's world is vast and enormous, not quite as big as World Of Warcraft or Final Fantasy Online, but easily big enough to get lost in and have plenty of adventures along the way. The game features fairly simplistic but gorgeous graphics that hearken back to lots of classic fantasy worlds, but which appear low tech compared to other MMORPGs of its time, and even a lot of other Nexus games, with Google choosing to sacrifice some graphical detail for the sake of having a larger world. The game has a large cast of voice actors, mostly unknowns but a few well known actors in the voiceover community, who play various NPCs or who narrate the game.
The main quest sends players out into the world of Parathera, where they're tasked with visiting six different realms and performing a quest chain for the Questlord in that realm. These quests mostly involve finding a monster and defeating it, though there are also some retrieval quests in there, and some quests also have players exploring and solving puzzles in a dungeon. The quests are designed to acclimate the player to the world of Parathera while also providing plenty of good gear to use in later quests, but as the game goes on, the player learns of an ancient evil force that's been draining the realms of their energy. They eventually are tasked with gathering up the Legendary Hero equipment, which is unique to the player's race, and completing four more quest chains associated with the Temples of Courage, which will give them the power they need to confront this evil force. The Temples are located outside of the 12 starting realms, forcing the player to explore even more of the world, and each one contains a powerful demigod monster which must be defeated. Completing these tasks unlocks the Dark Realm, one of three "secret realms" containing high end creatures and loot. Battling through the Dark Realm leads the player into battle with the Dark Master, an evil being that seeks to taint the journey of the legendary hero in order to gain the powerful artifacts that the hero normally gathers. Slaying the Dark Master closes the main quest line and enables several post-game quests, as well as providing the player with a unique piece of loot to help them through the postgame quests, of which there are many.
In addition to the console Expedition, there's also the Android Expedition, a collection of mini-games, trial battles, and puzzle dungeons compatible with any Android device. This game is of course simpler than the main console title, requiring use of a touchscreen, but it rewards the player with equipment and currency that can be carried over to the main console game, while also unlocking a number of console quests that then unlock quests in the mobile game. The mobile game is intended to both enhance the console title and serve as a way to enjoy Expedition when away from one's Nexus console (of course, one can always remote play the Nexus version of the game on their phone, though that's not an option for everyone). The Expedition app is free, while the Nexus game itself costs $60 (but then can be played subscription free after that). Both the app and the Nexus game have various DLC purchases, ranging from costume DLC to entire questlines for purchase, though the main game itself is huge enough that it can be played and enjoyed for hundreds of hours without purchasing a lick of DLC. Google does plan expansions for Expedition, which are likely to be in the $30 range when they're released.
Expedition is a massive MMORPG endeavor, and certainly even bigger than Dream Garden was. It's released on January 22, 2016, along with the Android app, and both prove to be massive successes at the time of their release, with reviews for the console game averaging in the mid 8s. Expedition is considered extremely fun and extremely accessible, with a vastly less toxic environment than a lot of other MMOs of the time, thanks to the extensive community moderation. While some critics don't like the simplicity of the combat and some of the more noob-friendly features, other critics say it's an excellent MMORPG and the most accessible MMORPG ever. It would become one of the fastest selling Nexus titles at the time of its release, and quickly surpasses Phantasy Star Online 3 to become the second largest console MMORPG in terms of current users, behind only Final Fantasy Online. It also drives Nexus unit sales at a time when Google desperately needs them, proving to be one of 2016's most important Nexus games and one of the most important console exclusives of its generation.
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Social Network
Social Network is an adventure title for the Google Nexus. It combines Watch Dogs-esque cyber hacking and action with the character development and choices of a sandbox/visual novel title, creating a fairly unique gaming experience for its time. Its protagonist is a young hacker named Robbie who discovers a secret government spy database and downloads the program to his mobile device before it's taken offline. Now, Robbie has a superpower: the ability to find out information about people on the street just by hacking into their mobile device, and is able to use that information for various means, though Robbie himself resolves to use his powers for good and it's up to the player to determine how best to carry that out. Unlike a lot of open sandbox titles in which the player can commit crimes at will and cause mayhem and violence, Robbie usually isn't armed, and has to use his wits and whatever he has on hand to help out the people he learns about (this is strictly a Teen rated game). Robbie can learn about people who need help, but can also learn about potential crimes in progress, and the player will need to decide if those crimes need to be stopped immediately, or if they're even crimes in the first place. Social Network is an entirely first person game, and the game has detailed facial animations for characters, along with extensive dialogue trees, making it easy to form bonds with those people in an attempt to make the player sympathize with them. Along the way, Robbie will be able to recruit various allies to his cause, but also attracts the attention of the government agency that developed the program, who wants to take the young hacker out before the world finds out about the spy program. Social Network features a fairly small city to roam around it (compare it to the size of the city in the average Yakuza game, and apart from the realistic facial animations, the graphics are about average for a Nexus title. The game's voice cast features mostly unknowns, with a few decently known voices (and Robbie himself is voiced by Jay Baruchel, probably the most famous actor to provide a voice in the game), and features a soundtrack of mostly licensed modern music, along with a score composed by Philip Sheppard. The game's plot starts out with a few small missions and scenes that allow the player to get acquainted with the college-aged Robbie and his friends, including punky nerd girl Mary (voiced by Ally Maki) and aspiring journalist Nathan (voiced by Robert Bailey Jr.). This establishes Robbie as being a generally good hearted person, albeit a bit reckless, and not exactly careful about who he hacks or when (think Matthew Broderick's character in WarGames to an extent). This leads him to hack into the government's spy database to steal a hacking program called Omni, which allows the government to spy on people and get their personal information. Robbie downloads Omni onto his mobile device, not realizing its significance at first until he's able to start gathering a vast array of information on people, and from there, uses that information for various purposes. Social Network's main quest line is actually fairly short, and basically involves Robbie attemping to use his program to help an old friend of his start up a charity, only to attract attention from the government agency that created Omni, forcing him to go on the run and help his friends avoid capture. However, the real meat of Social Network is in the game's extensive side quests: literally hundreds of quests, ranging from things that can be done in a single dialogue tree, to massive quests spanning numerous objectives and involving many unique characters and situations. Some of these side quests are required, in order to build Robbie's reputation and skills up high enough to pass certain checks in the main quest, but you're only required to do about 10-20 of them to complete the game itself. The main quest sees Robbie and his friends eventually striking back at the government organization that created Omni, learning that it was created by a rogue department within the government with the goal of blackmail, and eventually finding and stopping the scientist who created Omni from using his ill-gotten information to cause chaos and bring the country to its knees. The main game ends with Robbie getting a full pardon for his actions after stopping the scientist and wiping out all copies of the program, while the government itself is forced to reform its information gathering practices to avoid a scandal caused by Omni's existence leaking to the public (it also ends with Robbie and Mary dating, and Nathan becoming a successful reporter after being allowed to report on a small segment of the Omni story that doesn't incriminate the government in a major way).
Social Network is released exclusively for the Nexus on February 9, 2016. It's a really unique and content rich game that gets mostly excellent reviews, though there are some flaws that critics point out. A lot of the side quests, for example, are fairly repetitive in terms of what the player actually has to do, with a surprisingly low number of actually good quests buried in all the short and repetitive chaff. The game does make up for that somewhat with some fun dialogue and well crafted minor characters, but it does become a point of contention for reviews. The main quest is also seen as being fairly short and predictable, and while the game 's storyline seems to raise issues of government surveillance and the hazards of too much public information in the modern age, the game itself doesn't really address those issues except superficially. Social Network could have been a game that made a major statement about the power of personal information, but instead, it too often delves into storylines that don't address the greater ethical and moral issues that the game raises. Despite these criticisms, the game scores fairly well, with reviews averaging in the low to mid 8s, while becoming a decent hit for the Nexus in terms of overall sales, and along with Expedition, becoming one of the most fun and unique Nexus exclusives of the year, despite its flaws.