Source: Youtube Channel steparu
From what I understand, this fantastic looking game is by the same creator (not company) of Ragnarok Online. Ragnarok Online (RO) actually still exists today and was just recently added to the Steam platform. Many other games similar to RO has released in the past decade and even a sequel was made, but none of them had quite the same satisfaction, excitement and wonder that RO did. The creator of RO wants to bring back those feelings in a new original MMORPG called Tree of Savior Online which features 80 classes. With those 80 classes, a player can advance 10 times. I'm not entirely certain yet, but it looks like the game isn't a point-n-click from the gameplay videos and looks similar to how the Ys series plays as a top-down hack-n-slash. The game is said to have an intricate skill tree and attribute level system which opens up many different possibilities of playing. Perhaps it's similar to Path of Exile where the character starts with a class but can extend out to many different playstyles. Needless to say, I am extremely excited to see more of the game and hope that we get a Western/International version available for us to play one day.
Source:
-Steparu - Tree of Savior Online Preview
Showing posts with label GameLight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GameLight. Show all posts
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
GameLight - Project M (SSB Brawl Mod)
Official Site: http://projectmgame.com/en/
Source: Youtube Channel Project M
Super Smash Bros. Melee is really popular. It's actually super popular. It's so highly regarded by fans of the series that play competitively that Melee tournaments are still held over Brawl. Fans of the series wanted the fast, balanced and competitive play of Melee in Brawl but didn't get it. Thus, a group of modders banded together to start Project Melee (Project M) which is a mod of Super Smash Bros. Brawl that bring in elements from Super Smash Bros. Melee into Brawl while having a major overhaul on the game's mechanics, character balances, custom stages, and bringing back older characters such as Mewtwo.
To many Smash Bros. fans, Melee is king of the series and people were really hoping to get more of that in Brawl. Unfortunately, the game went in the opposite direction in hopes of making it more casual. The goal of Smash Bros. was to be a fun party game that anyone could enjoy. Through the strong community and fighting game enthusiast behind Super Smash Bros. Melee, the game became a much more competitive and serious game than what the developers had intended. With slower gameplay, tripping, and such in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it was simply not viewed possible for competitive play. Despite that, people tried and realized that the characters have vast advantages over others when played competitively. Meta Knight never left the spot of the highest tier in the game since the game first came out and remains to be the top choice for competitive play.
With the team behind Project M, they wanted to break that balance barrier and create whole new possibilities with all the characters in the game so that there would be more variety in competitive play. One great example is Sonic the Hedgehog.
Source: Youtube Channel Project M
I was very excited to hear Sonic being added to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but was very disappointed with how he played when I finally got the game. I didn't mind that he deals very little damage due to this advantage in speed, but a lot of his attacks have charged up time, a long recovery delay, and a dive kick that can't be canceled that leaves him open or sends him straight down to his death. Another problem is that he doesn't have many options for finishers. His Back-Air has a long start-up and his forward-smash is very short ranged. This makes both of them very situational and not very reliable. What Project M wanted to do with Sonic was shorten charge up times, shorten recovery delays, give him more options for smashes, and possibly fix priority shots because every character in the game seriously has priority over all his attacks.
The mod has been created so that you don't need a hacked/cracked Wii to play it. You just need a working Wii with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and an SD Card that doesn't exceed 2GB. Still, I don't feel very confident about modding over my original game and hope that there will be alternatives such as being able to use the disc and mod files on PC instead. But I understand that the team behind Project M wants to continue to support Nintendo and the those behind Brawl by preventing piracy, so that's commendable.
I've been playing Melee and Brawl again as I've missed the game very much and am very much excited for the new Super Smash Bros. that's in development at the moment. I'm just hoping to be able to play Project M until the release of the Wii U and 3DS Super Smash Bros. comes out. If you're done with Brawl and like what you see in Project M, click on the top link, go to Download and learn how to safely install the mod to your Nintendo Wii. Project M Version 3.0 comes out on December 9th, 2013.
Source: Youtube Channel Project M
Super Smash Bros. Melee is really popular. It's actually super popular. It's so highly regarded by fans of the series that play competitively that Melee tournaments are still held over Brawl. Fans of the series wanted the fast, balanced and competitive play of Melee in Brawl but didn't get it. Thus, a group of modders banded together to start Project Melee (Project M) which is a mod of Super Smash Bros. Brawl that bring in elements from Super Smash Bros. Melee into Brawl while having a major overhaul on the game's mechanics, character balances, custom stages, and bringing back older characters such as Mewtwo.
To many Smash Bros. fans, Melee is king of the series and people were really hoping to get more of that in Brawl. Unfortunately, the game went in the opposite direction in hopes of making it more casual. The goal of Smash Bros. was to be a fun party game that anyone could enjoy. Through the strong community and fighting game enthusiast behind Super Smash Bros. Melee, the game became a much more competitive and serious game than what the developers had intended. With slower gameplay, tripping, and such in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it was simply not viewed possible for competitive play. Despite that, people tried and realized that the characters have vast advantages over others when played competitively. Meta Knight never left the spot of the highest tier in the game since the game first came out and remains to be the top choice for competitive play.
With the team behind Project M, they wanted to break that balance barrier and create whole new possibilities with all the characters in the game so that there would be more variety in competitive play. One great example is Sonic the Hedgehog.
Source: Youtube Channel Project M
I was very excited to hear Sonic being added to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but was very disappointed with how he played when I finally got the game. I didn't mind that he deals very little damage due to this advantage in speed, but a lot of his attacks have charged up time, a long recovery delay, and a dive kick that can't be canceled that leaves him open or sends him straight down to his death. Another problem is that he doesn't have many options for finishers. His Back-Air has a long start-up and his forward-smash is very short ranged. This makes both of them very situational and not very reliable. What Project M wanted to do with Sonic was shorten charge up times, shorten recovery delays, give him more options for smashes, and possibly fix priority shots because every character in the game seriously has priority over all his attacks.
The mod has been created so that you don't need a hacked/cracked Wii to play it. You just need a working Wii with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and an SD Card that doesn't exceed 2GB. Still, I don't feel very confident about modding over my original game and hope that there will be alternatives such as being able to use the disc and mod files on PC instead. But I understand that the team behind Project M wants to continue to support Nintendo and the those behind Brawl by preventing piracy, so that's commendable.
I've been playing Melee and Brawl again as I've missed the game very much and am very much excited for the new Super Smash Bros. that's in development at the moment. I'm just hoping to be able to play Project M until the release of the Wii U and 3DS Super Smash Bros. comes out. If you're done with Brawl and like what you see in Project M, click on the top link, go to Download and learn how to safely install the mod to your Nintendo Wii. Project M Version 3.0 comes out on December 9th, 2013.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
GameLight - Senran Kagura Burst
Official Site: http://www.hanzonationalacademy.com/
Source: Youtube Channel ContraNetworkHD
I didn't think the game would ever be brought over to the West, but it has been done! North America got its digital-only version launched today while Europe will get physical and digital versions sometime next year. Senran Kagura Burst is a straight-up Beat-em-Up featuring incredibly busty schoolgirl ninjas. I remember first hearing about this game and saw some of the screenshots to the game. It looked really dumb. But then they eventually showed a footage of the gameplay and I saw some combo demonstrations and was then interested. If you can look past the copious amount of fan-service and you like beat-em-ups, this game can be very enjoyable. The combat mechanics is similar to Dynasty Warriors where weak attacks can chain into strong ones and a powerful signature attack can be unleashed. Furthermore, combos can be continued in the air for aerial combos similar to the Marvel vs. Capcom series where the player strikes an opponent into the air and continues another string of attacks in the air. Animations are fluid and the attacks string together really well so that combat doesn't feel clunky. The characters do follow the usual animé tropes, but they do give a fun personality to the cast. The game feels a lot like an animé, overall. It was a bold move for XSEED Games to bring Senran Kagura Burst over, but I'm glad they did. There aren't that many beat-em-ups and we've gotten a good amount of them this year. Senran Kagura Burst is a good addition to the beat-em-ups released this year and hopefully encourages publishers or even XSEED themselves to bring over Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus as well.
Source: Youtube Channel ContraNetworkHD
I didn't think the game would ever be brought over to the West, but it has been done! North America got its digital-only version launched today while Europe will get physical and digital versions sometime next year. Senran Kagura Burst is a straight-up Beat-em-Up featuring incredibly busty schoolgirl ninjas. I remember first hearing about this game and saw some of the screenshots to the game. It looked really dumb. But then they eventually showed a footage of the gameplay and I saw some combo demonstrations and was then interested. If you can look past the copious amount of fan-service and you like beat-em-ups, this game can be very enjoyable. The combat mechanics is similar to Dynasty Warriors where weak attacks can chain into strong ones and a powerful signature attack can be unleashed. Furthermore, combos can be continued in the air for aerial combos similar to the Marvel vs. Capcom series where the player strikes an opponent into the air and continues another string of attacks in the air. Animations are fluid and the attacks string together really well so that combat doesn't feel clunky. The characters do follow the usual animé tropes, but they do give a fun personality to the cast. The game feels a lot like an animé, overall. It was a bold move for XSEED Games to bring Senran Kagura Burst over, but I'm glad they did. There aren't that many beat-em-ups and we've gotten a good amount of them this year. Senran Kagura Burst is a good addition to the beat-em-ups released this year and hopefully encourages publishers or even XSEED themselves to bring over Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus as well.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
GameLight - Dungeonland Free-to-Play
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/218130/
Source: Youtube Channel RatingTheGames
Dungeonland released earlier this year and it wasn't that expensive. At one point, it was $2.49 for a sale. Yet it somehow went free-to-play and re-launched today. From what I understand, content has been ripped out of it and presented as additional content for Free-to-Play owners while those who previously bought the game has everything. I think publisher and developers are abusing the term "Free-to-Play" and not really understanding the difference from a "Demo" or "Trial Version". This "Free-to-Play" version is essentially a "demo" for players to see what the game is like as additional maps, weapons and such are available after paying for the "All Access Pass". A "Free-to-Play" game should be a fully playable game with additional boosters or aesthetic enhancements. I know that not all Free-to-Play games are like that, but they should. Still, it doesn't make too much of a difference as the All Access Pass is still the same price as the game before and is at 50% off for $4.99.
OKAY, so enough ranting by me. Dungeonland is a Multiplayer, cooperative, top-down, hack-n-slash action game where three players fight through dungeons that randomly generate enemy spawn, loot, and traps. A fourth player can join and be the Dungeon Maestro to control the monster spawns and such to screw over the players. The biggest complaint I hear about the game is how incredibly difficult it is. Difficulty as a challenge is fine, but I heard it's so difficult that it's hard to enjoy. Perhaps having the label "Free-to-Play" might attract more players to try out the game to keep the online community active. In any case, I guess I'll give the game a try myself.
Source: Youtube Channel RatingTheGames
Dungeonland released earlier this year and it wasn't that expensive. At one point, it was $2.49 for a sale. Yet it somehow went free-to-play and re-launched today. From what I understand, content has been ripped out of it and presented as additional content for Free-to-Play owners while those who previously bought the game has everything. I think publisher and developers are abusing the term "Free-to-Play" and not really understanding the difference from a "Demo" or "Trial Version". This "Free-to-Play" version is essentially a "demo" for players to see what the game is like as additional maps, weapons and such are available after paying for the "All Access Pass". A "Free-to-Play" game should be a fully playable game with additional boosters or aesthetic enhancements. I know that not all Free-to-Play games are like that, but they should. Still, it doesn't make too much of a difference as the All Access Pass is still the same price as the game before and is at 50% off for $4.99.
OKAY, so enough ranting by me. Dungeonland is a Multiplayer, cooperative, top-down, hack-n-slash action game where three players fight through dungeons that randomly generate enemy spawn, loot, and traps. A fourth player can join and be the Dungeon Maestro to control the monster spawns and such to screw over the players. The biggest complaint I hear about the game is how incredibly difficult it is. Difficulty as a challenge is fine, but I heard it's so difficult that it's hard to enjoy. Perhaps having the label "Free-to-Play" might attract more players to try out the game to keep the online community active. In any case, I guess I'll give the game a try myself.
Monday, October 28, 2013
GameLight - Blade & Soul (US Trailer)
Official Site: http://us.bladeandsoul.com/en/
Source: Youtube Channel loadstart
I didn't think I'd see any announcement for Blade & Soul for the West this year, but here it is! It's funny because I was talking to a friend saying that they need to bring Phantasy Star Online 2 and Blade & Soul over already just last night. And then today, I was presented with this video indicating NCSoft's next step in bringing the stylish Action-MMORPG over to the states. I heard about Blade & Soul years ago when it was in development. It has the stylish Hack 'n Slash vibe that the Dynasty Warriors series does with a oriental fantasy environment. The art style is one of the major factors that has caught the attention of many gamers. The animations for combat are fluid, flashy, and so clean. I've been avoiding looking up the game and keeping up with it too much because I knew it would take a while for it to ever reaching state side. I don't like getting so hyped up and excited for a game and not being able to play it. Even now, I'm still weary about looking forward to playing it as I might be waiting until sometime next year before I'm actually able to play it. Still, this is more progress and news than what Sega has shown for Phantasy Star Online 2. You can sign up for Blade & Soul newsletter to keep up to date on the progress for Beta testing and official launch on their official site on the top link.
Source: Youtube Channel loadstart
I didn't think I'd see any announcement for Blade & Soul for the West this year, but here it is! It's funny because I was talking to a friend saying that they need to bring Phantasy Star Online 2 and Blade & Soul over already just last night. And then today, I was presented with this video indicating NCSoft's next step in bringing the stylish Action-MMORPG over to the states. I heard about Blade & Soul years ago when it was in development. It has the stylish Hack 'n Slash vibe that the Dynasty Warriors series does with a oriental fantasy environment. The art style is one of the major factors that has caught the attention of many gamers. The animations for combat are fluid, flashy, and so clean. I've been avoiding looking up the game and keeping up with it too much because I knew it would take a while for it to ever reaching state side. I don't like getting so hyped up and excited for a game and not being able to play it. Even now, I'm still weary about looking forward to playing it as I might be waiting until sometime next year before I'm actually able to play it. Still, this is more progress and news than what Sega has shown for Phantasy Star Online 2. You can sign up for Blade & Soul newsletter to keep up to date on the progress for Beta testing and official launch on their official site on the top link.
Friday, October 25, 2013
GameLight - Contagion
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/238430/
Source: Youtube Channel MonochromeLLC
I had a lot of fun playing cooperative multiplayer on Cry of Fear with my friends. It was quite an experience because it was scary, but I faced it with my friends which led to many laughter and freaking out together. I've been searching for another game that could offer a similar experience for 3-4 players and there doesn't seem to be that many that interest me. Contagion caught my eye when I saw that it was a "Cooperative Survival Horror FPS". There's one mode where objectives are randomly generated and plotted out in a map, another where you save civilians, and a PvP mode where it simulates a sort of trust and betrayal kind of mentality in an open environment. So it may look like a standard zombie shooter, but it seems to have some interesting mechanics in play for it. Unfortunately, it doesn't look nearly as scary as Cry of Fear and perhaps it's not the developers' goal; however, the game is worth looking into and I hope to see it out of Steam Early Access and become a full fledged game. You can purchase Contagion on Steam Early Access for $14.99 right now on the top link.
Source: Youtube Channel MonochromeLLC
I had a lot of fun playing cooperative multiplayer on Cry of Fear with my friends. It was quite an experience because it was scary, but I faced it with my friends which led to many laughter and freaking out together. I've been searching for another game that could offer a similar experience for 3-4 players and there doesn't seem to be that many that interest me. Contagion caught my eye when I saw that it was a "Cooperative Survival Horror FPS". There's one mode where objectives are randomly generated and plotted out in a map, another where you save civilians, and a PvP mode where it simulates a sort of trust and betrayal kind of mentality in an open environment. So it may look like a standard zombie shooter, but it seems to have some interesting mechanics in play for it. Unfortunately, it doesn't look nearly as scary as Cry of Fear and perhaps it's not the developers' goal; however, the game is worth looking into and I hope to see it out of Steam Early Access and become a full fledged game. You can purchase Contagion on Steam Early Access for $14.99 right now on the top link.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
GameLight - Lineage Eternal
NCSoft: Lineage Eternal
Source: Youtube Channel SurrealMMO
Last year, I was looking up for some Top-Down, Point-n-Click, Action-RPGs to play while I was waiting for Diablo 3 to release. One of the game I had run into was Lineage Eternal. It was to be a sequel to the Lineage series and it looked really interesting. It's been well over a year now and I still haven't heard much of it. I looked it up again to see what other videos might have been posted. More gameplay videos have been uploaded and shows off some of the graphics and class capabilities. I hope NCSoft brings this over to North America as it seems to have a large market for it with mass interests in games like Diablo 3 (yes, Diablo 3), Torchlight 2, and Path of Exile. We can only wait and see if more news about this game will surface.
Source: Youtube Channel SurrealMMO
Last year, I was looking up for some Top-Down, Point-n-Click, Action-RPGs to play while I was waiting for Diablo 3 to release. One of the game I had run into was Lineage Eternal. It was to be a sequel to the Lineage series and it looked really interesting. It's been well over a year now and I still haven't heard much of it. I looked it up again to see what other videos might have been posted. More gameplay videos have been uploaded and shows off some of the graphics and class capabilities. I hope NCSoft brings this over to North America as it seems to have a large market for it with mass interests in games like Diablo 3 (yes, Diablo 3), Torchlight 2, and Path of Exile. We can only wait and see if more news about this game will surface.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
GameLight - Path of Exile
Official Site: https://www.pathofexile.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/238960
Source: Youtube Channel gamespot
I'm shocked I never mentioned Path of Exile (other than the 2013 Anticipated games list) even once! I've been playing in open beta since the beginning of the year and closed beta last year. It's an ambitious take on the Free-to-play, Top-Down, Point-n-Click, Action-RPG genre that's highly influenced by the first two Diablo games and their darker atmospheric environment. It's hard to believe that this 7 year game in development is an indie project. It sure doesn't feel like a free-to-play game either. Some of the aspects that sets this game apart from the other Action-RPGs are they way classes work, items, and the skill tree (how what my friends like to call 'skill jungle'). It most games, the classes you choose defines what role and skills you'll obtain. In Path of Exile (PoE), a class is a starting point and helps influence towards what kind of character and skills you want. Skills are obtained through gems that are socketed into your equipment and can be taken out at any time to be put in other equipment when you find upgrades. Rather than currency to purchase items, you receive other items for selling unnecessary equipment which can be used to help improve your character. The skill tree is reminiscent of Final Fantasy X's skill tree in a much more broader and extensive customization. There are so many possibilities and builds that can be made which leads to a lot of experimentation and replay value for players. The game has had a strong following and community of players for the past year in open beta, so I can imagine that it'll have even more players from today onwards as it has officially released along with a steam version. You can check out Path of Exile on their official website or download it through Steam. If you already have an account, you can link it to your steam account.
For new players, the game might seem a bit overwhelming at first; however, there are tons of videos and guides online that can help you ease into it. Don't be afraid to experiment or even start over a new character. Have fun!
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/238960
Source: Youtube Channel gamespot
I'm shocked I never mentioned Path of Exile (other than the 2013 Anticipated games list) even once! I've been playing in open beta since the beginning of the year and closed beta last year. It's an ambitious take on the Free-to-play, Top-Down, Point-n-Click, Action-RPG genre that's highly influenced by the first two Diablo games and their darker atmospheric environment. It's hard to believe that this 7 year game in development is an indie project. It sure doesn't feel like a free-to-play game either. Some of the aspects that sets this game apart from the other Action-RPGs are they way classes work, items, and the skill tree (how what my friends like to call 'skill jungle'). It most games, the classes you choose defines what role and skills you'll obtain. In Path of Exile (PoE), a class is a starting point and helps influence towards what kind of character and skills you want. Skills are obtained through gems that are socketed into your equipment and can be taken out at any time to be put in other equipment when you find upgrades. Rather than currency to purchase items, you receive other items for selling unnecessary equipment which can be used to help improve your character. The skill tree is reminiscent of Final Fantasy X's skill tree in a much more broader and extensive customization. There are so many possibilities and builds that can be made which leads to a lot of experimentation and replay value for players. The game has had a strong following and community of players for the past year in open beta, so I can imagine that it'll have even more players from today onwards as it has officially released along with a steam version. You can check out Path of Exile on their official website or download it through Steam. If you already have an account, you can link it to your steam account.
For new players, the game might seem a bit overwhelming at first; however, there are tons of videos and guides online that can help you ease into it. Don't be afraid to experiment or even start over a new character. Have fun!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
GameLight - Warface (Officially Out)
Official Site: http://www.warface.com/
Source: Youtube Channel warfacegame
Almost 3 years ago, I posted about a game called Warface and explained how great it looked, visually. Just yesterday, the game officially released internationally after extensive beta testing. The free-to-play cooperative/competitive online multiplayer First-Person Shooter has been in the works for over 3 years and is finally available to play. The weird part of getting the game was that it all ran and played in your browser. I guess that's kind of cool? The problem is that it still installs assets onto your hard drive without really telling you where it goes. It also warns that the game will "Read everything on your hard drive" much like Electronic Art's digital distribution platform "Origin" does. It does make me feel uneasy that it has permission to "read everything" off my hard drive, because there really isn't a need for it to. Ignoring those two aspects about starting up the game, signing up is very easy: Username, Password, email. Once the game starts up, the player can choose different faces, gender and name for their character. The player will then be put through a short tutorial explaining the very basics of the game's mechanics. Once that's done, the player can choose to play a Cooperative game or Versus mode. Cooperative has you and a few other players running through missions to clear out computer AI hostiles. You watch each others backs and take out baddies on rooftops while your buddies are taking care of ground level guys. You can help injured team mates up and even revive them if you're a medic. There are 4 classes to choose from and each role helps the team carry out the mission: Assault, Medic, Engineer and Sniper. Players can help each other up higher platforms and carry them up as well. Cooperative mode is an interesting idea, but if there isn't more scenarios and levels provided in the near future, it can get pretty boring. Versus mode is probably where most of the replay value will come from with various weapons, levels, modes, and players put into play. There are death matches and other modes such as bomb mode which is reminiscent of Counter-Strike where one side plants a bomb while the other side prevents it from being planted or blown up. Level designs having a similar flow and theme to Counter-Strike while the game mechanics feel like a cross between Call of Duty and the newer Battlefield games. Players can vault over certain obstacles, scale up small walls, and slide to cover. The aim-down sight, recoil, spray, and sound of the guns feel a bit like Battlefield 3 while the amount of hits you can take, mobility and close encounters feel closer to Call of Duty. The knife and grenade must be switched to utilize rather than having an immediate throw or stab towards the enemy and so is closer to Counter-Strikes item usage. Overall, I felt the game has a nice sense of quality to it and I had a bit of fun trying it out. I'm not very happy about accepting the terms of giving permission to read my hard drive, not with all the problems with hackers and identity thefts nowadays. Logging in through a browser was one thing that turned me off from playing Nexon games for a while until they introduced it on the Steam platform for convenience, so I'm not very happy about having to log in through a browser over a client. If you're interested in checking out the game, click on the top link and sign-up, login, and play directly in your browser. The game isn't compatible with all browsers (such as Opera), so keep in mind that you may need to download Google Chrome to get it to work.
Source: Youtube Channel warfacegame
Almost 3 years ago, I posted about a game called Warface and explained how great it looked, visually. Just yesterday, the game officially released internationally after extensive beta testing. The free-to-play cooperative/competitive online multiplayer First-Person Shooter has been in the works for over 3 years and is finally available to play. The weird part of getting the game was that it all ran and played in your browser. I guess that's kind of cool? The problem is that it still installs assets onto your hard drive without really telling you where it goes. It also warns that the game will "Read everything on your hard drive" much like Electronic Art's digital distribution platform "Origin" does. It does make me feel uneasy that it has permission to "read everything" off my hard drive, because there really isn't a need for it to. Ignoring those two aspects about starting up the game, signing up is very easy: Username, Password, email. Once the game starts up, the player can choose different faces, gender and name for their character. The player will then be put through a short tutorial explaining the very basics of the game's mechanics. Once that's done, the player can choose to play a Cooperative game or Versus mode. Cooperative has you and a few other players running through missions to clear out computer AI hostiles. You watch each others backs and take out baddies on rooftops while your buddies are taking care of ground level guys. You can help injured team mates up and even revive them if you're a medic. There are 4 classes to choose from and each role helps the team carry out the mission: Assault, Medic, Engineer and Sniper. Players can help each other up higher platforms and carry them up as well. Cooperative mode is an interesting idea, but if there isn't more scenarios and levels provided in the near future, it can get pretty boring. Versus mode is probably where most of the replay value will come from with various weapons, levels, modes, and players put into play. There are death matches and other modes such as bomb mode which is reminiscent of Counter-Strike where one side plants a bomb while the other side prevents it from being planted or blown up. Level designs having a similar flow and theme to Counter-Strike while the game mechanics feel like a cross between Call of Duty and the newer Battlefield games. Players can vault over certain obstacles, scale up small walls, and slide to cover. The aim-down sight, recoil, spray, and sound of the guns feel a bit like Battlefield 3 while the amount of hits you can take, mobility and close encounters feel closer to Call of Duty. The knife and grenade must be switched to utilize rather than having an immediate throw or stab towards the enemy and so is closer to Counter-Strikes item usage. Overall, I felt the game has a nice sense of quality to it and I had a bit of fun trying it out. I'm not very happy about accepting the terms of giving permission to read my hard drive, not with all the problems with hackers and identity thefts nowadays. Logging in through a browser was one thing that turned me off from playing Nexon games for a while until they introduced it on the Steam platform for convenience, so I'm not very happy about having to log in through a browser over a client. If you're interested in checking out the game, click on the top link and sign-up, login, and play directly in your browser. The game isn't compatible with all browsers (such as Opera), so keep in mind that you may need to download Google Chrome to get it to work.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
GameLight - Solstice Arena (Steam)
Official Site: http://www.solsticearena.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/240380/
Source: Youtube Channel SolsticeArena
Five months ago, I mentioned a new MOBA in the making that was releasing on mobile devices such as iPhone and iPad. It was a bit of a surprise to see it on Steam yesterday and I decided to try it out. I was a bit hesitant about the decision since it's published and seemingly developed by Zynga who are known for questionable practices in the Videogame industry. What gave me some hope was that the game was being developed by "A Bit Lucky" studios before they joined Zynga in finishing the product before putting it out in the market. Solstice Arena boasts itself for being the first Speed-MOBA in the market which delivers fast and exciting PvP matches. It takes out minions to farm, lanes to gank and focuses on positioning and utilizing the abilities of all the characters in the team. What's left is a bare-bones PvP action that, surprisingly, was a lot of fun.
Some Pros:
+ Eased into the game: tutorial isn't long and the game has the player play at least one bot match and one co-op match before they're thrust into a real match between players so that they can familiarize themselves with the characters, items, mechanics and map.
+ Matches are short: You don't have to invest a lot of time to get the excitement and action of player vs. player. Even if you lose, it was a short duration and you can jump right back in for another match.
+ Various characters and skills: The characters are rather distinguished and fun, though missing a bit of personality with the lack of story. Each match is dynamic and different as each player will have their own playstyle and different composition of characters brings something new to the game.
+ Intense PvP: A lot of abilities are skill shots which requires aiming and timing
+ Super easy account creation: I've played dozens of Online games and it's quite frustrating when creating an account is a hassle. The account can be created in-game with a display name, email, username, and password. The game can also be played as a guest before you decide you want to stick with the game and create an account to carry over what you progressed.
+ No chat: Why is this a plus? Because if you've played enough online games, you might be familiar with people who consistently argue, yell, and rage throughout a match and ruin the experience for everyone else. There are in-game pings which is more than enough to communicate with the team and a button to say "GG" (Good Game" to everyone at the end of the match.
+ Fast loading: Get into the game quicker. The game isn't very big and loading is very short. Shorter load times = more play time.
Some Cons:
- Imbalanced characters: Some matches can work against you and you won't be able to do a thing when characters leap towards you, slow, stun, knock up, and burst you down perhaps across the map. It can be a bit depressing, but it reminds me of DotA where characters are balanced by fighting broken with broken. It's not a very balanced game, but it sure makes it fun (so it can be seen as a plus).
- Terrible interface: The game is essentially a straight port of the iPad version. Buttons will even have the words "Tap here" on it. It works well for touch screen, but the interface isn't designed very well or elegantly for PC.
- Graphics aren't very good: The game is a straight port of the iOS version which has a lot of blocky lookin' characters. I actually think the graphics are pretty nice for a game that originated from a mobile device, but there will be players that will be turned off by its presentation.
- No chat: Some people want to yell or maybe playfully jeer at the enemy, and not having any form of communication with the enemy other than saying "GG" at the end of the match might not be what some players want. I have met those who enjoy bullying other players in online games and play those games to feel superior. It's rather depressing...
- The meta-game: Players can level up a character that they play often to make their abilities even stronger. This is an interesting meta-game that's a nice incentive to keep playing a single character and have an advantage over players, but players of all levels are matched up against each other which puts lower solstice level players at an immediate disadvantage.
- Everything is incredibly expensive: If you play League of Legends, 6300 IP already sounds like a lot just to earn enough to buy a new character. Characters can get up to 30,000 points before you can get them unless you use real money to purchase them which might be the whole point. This is Zynga we're talking about, the business portion won't be handled by the developers and you can expect some shenanigans coming from Zynga here.
- Cross-Platform Multiplayer: If I understand this correctly, players on Steam/PC will be playing with players on iPads and iPhones. The controls do look pretty good on iPad, but the fact that the player's hand gets in the way of the display already puts a disadvantage on them. Players on PC will be able to kite, react and cycle through their skills much faster than those on touch screen in general. This isn't much a con for PC players, but I find this really unfair to iPad users who have been supporting them for the past 5 months.
To put it simply, the game isn't perfect but is a whole lot of fun. The action is pretty consistent and the experience isn't ruined by other player's complaints and whining. I'm actually very impressed that the developers found a way to give the player the means to communicate within the game without having to add text/voice chat. The game isn't too hard to learn compared to most MOBAs, but has enough customization and depth to keep it interesting. If anything, it's a fun game to mess around in. Solstice Arena can be downloaded through Steam up on the link above.
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/240380/
Source: Youtube Channel SolsticeArena
Five months ago, I mentioned a new MOBA in the making that was releasing on mobile devices such as iPhone and iPad. It was a bit of a surprise to see it on Steam yesterday and I decided to try it out. I was a bit hesitant about the decision since it's published and seemingly developed by Zynga who are known for questionable practices in the Videogame industry. What gave me some hope was that the game was being developed by "A Bit Lucky" studios before they joined Zynga in finishing the product before putting it out in the market. Solstice Arena boasts itself for being the first Speed-MOBA in the market which delivers fast and exciting PvP matches. It takes out minions to farm, lanes to gank and focuses on positioning and utilizing the abilities of all the characters in the team. What's left is a bare-bones PvP action that, surprisingly, was a lot of fun.
Some Pros:
+ Eased into the game: tutorial isn't long and the game has the player play at least one bot match and one co-op match before they're thrust into a real match between players so that they can familiarize themselves with the characters, items, mechanics and map.
+ Matches are short: You don't have to invest a lot of time to get the excitement and action of player vs. player. Even if you lose, it was a short duration and you can jump right back in for another match.
+ Various characters and skills: The characters are rather distinguished and fun, though missing a bit of personality with the lack of story. Each match is dynamic and different as each player will have their own playstyle and different composition of characters brings something new to the game.
+ Intense PvP: A lot of abilities are skill shots which requires aiming and timing
+ Super easy account creation: I've played dozens of Online games and it's quite frustrating when creating an account is a hassle. The account can be created in-game with a display name, email, username, and password. The game can also be played as a guest before you decide you want to stick with the game and create an account to carry over what you progressed.
+ No chat: Why is this a plus? Because if you've played enough online games, you might be familiar with people who consistently argue, yell, and rage throughout a match and ruin the experience for everyone else. There are in-game pings which is more than enough to communicate with the team and a button to say "GG" (Good Game" to everyone at the end of the match.
+ Fast loading: Get into the game quicker. The game isn't very big and loading is very short. Shorter load times = more play time.
Some Cons:
- Imbalanced characters: Some matches can work against you and you won't be able to do a thing when characters leap towards you, slow, stun, knock up, and burst you down perhaps across the map. It can be a bit depressing, but it reminds me of DotA where characters are balanced by fighting broken with broken. It's not a very balanced game, but it sure makes it fun (so it can be seen as a plus).
- Terrible interface: The game is essentially a straight port of the iPad version. Buttons will even have the words "Tap here" on it. It works well for touch screen, but the interface isn't designed very well or elegantly for PC.
- Graphics aren't very good: The game is a straight port of the iOS version which has a lot of blocky lookin' characters. I actually think the graphics are pretty nice for a game that originated from a mobile device, but there will be players that will be turned off by its presentation.
- No chat: Some people want to yell or maybe playfully jeer at the enemy, and not having any form of communication with the enemy other than saying "GG" at the end of the match might not be what some players want. I have met those who enjoy bullying other players in online games and play those games to feel superior. It's rather depressing...
- The meta-game: Players can level up a character that they play often to make their abilities even stronger. This is an interesting meta-game that's a nice incentive to keep playing a single character and have an advantage over players, but players of all levels are matched up against each other which puts lower solstice level players at an immediate disadvantage.
- Everything is incredibly expensive: If you play League of Legends, 6300 IP already sounds like a lot just to earn enough to buy a new character. Characters can get up to 30,000 points before you can get them unless you use real money to purchase them which might be the whole point. This is Zynga we're talking about, the business portion won't be handled by the developers and you can expect some shenanigans coming from Zynga here.
- Cross-Platform Multiplayer: If I understand this correctly, players on Steam/PC will be playing with players on iPads and iPhones. The controls do look pretty good on iPad, but the fact that the player's hand gets in the way of the display already puts a disadvantage on them. Players on PC will be able to kite, react and cycle through their skills much faster than those on touch screen in general. This isn't much a con for PC players, but I find this really unfair to iPad users who have been supporting them for the past 5 months.
To put it simply, the game isn't perfect but is a whole lot of fun. The action is pretty consistent and the experience isn't ruined by other player's complaints and whining. I'm actually very impressed that the developers found a way to give the player the means to communicate within the game without having to add text/voice chat. The game isn't too hard to learn compared to most MOBAs, but has enough customization and depth to keep it interesting. If anything, it's a fun game to mess around in. Solstice Arena can be downloaded through Steam up on the link above.
Monday, October 14, 2013
GameLight - Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Official Site: http://www.lightningreturns.com/
Source: Youtube Channel SQEXMembersNA
Square-Enix is betting on Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII to be really big despite the backlash the fans had with the series. For me, I was extremely excited about Final Fantasy XIII and bought it the first week it came out. But during that time, I was still in school and did not have my Playstation 3 with me. Even after finishing school and being back home with my PS3, I never found the time to play FF13. FF13-2 came out and I eventually picked it up when it was $15 and then Lightning Returns was announced. After years of hearing how the series has become too linear, boring, and unimaginative, I am still very excited to finally getting around to FF13, FF13-2, and anticipating the launch of Lightning Returns. Although the game will be within the realm of FF13, the game play will be vastly different. With a more action-orientated, party-less RPG, Lightning Returns hopes to provide an exciting single-player experience with an open-world environment and an ever changing combat mechanic. Just this past month, Square-Enix has shown the world what to expect from this upcoming sequel. Source: Youtube Channel Square Portal
Source: Youtube Channel SQEXMembersNA
The game is looking great. I'm going to make an effort to get through FF13 and FF13-2 before the end of the year and prepare myself for Lightning Returns when it launches next year on February 11th, 2014 (February 13th for EU). The game will release on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
Source:
-Kotaku - 17 Minutes Of Hardcore Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Action
-Kotaku - Lightning Returns Video Shows A Different Class Of Final Fantasy
Source: Youtube Channel SQEXMembersNA
Square-Enix is betting on Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII to be really big despite the backlash the fans had with the series. For me, I was extremely excited about Final Fantasy XIII and bought it the first week it came out. But during that time, I was still in school and did not have my Playstation 3 with me. Even after finishing school and being back home with my PS3, I never found the time to play FF13. FF13-2 came out and I eventually picked it up when it was $15 and then Lightning Returns was announced. After years of hearing how the series has become too linear, boring, and unimaginative, I am still very excited to finally getting around to FF13, FF13-2, and anticipating the launch of Lightning Returns. Although the game will be within the realm of FF13, the game play will be vastly different. With a more action-orientated, party-less RPG, Lightning Returns hopes to provide an exciting single-player experience with an open-world environment and an ever changing combat mechanic. Just this past month, Square-Enix has shown the world what to expect from this upcoming sequel. Source: Youtube Channel Square Portal
Source: Youtube Channel SQEXMembersNA
The game is looking great. I'm going to make an effort to get through FF13 and FF13-2 before the end of the year and prepare myself for Lightning Returns when it launches next year on February 11th, 2014 (February 13th for EU). The game will release on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
Source:
-Kotaku - 17 Minutes Of Hardcore Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Action
-Kotaku - Lightning Returns Video Shows A Different Class Of Final Fantasy
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
GameLight - Teleglitch Guns and Tunes DLC
Official Site: http://diemore.teleglitch.com/buy
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/234390/
Source: Youtube Channel gamespot
I mentioned "Teleglitch Die More Edition" two months ago and pointed out that one of the problems people had with the game was the lack of music. I guess it's okay to play your own music while playing a game, but it'd be nice to have original music for a game that's set appropriately to the game's theme. Well, the developers decided to come out with a DLC which adds the option for weapon randomization from the get go, 8 new weapons and items, and "5 standalone music tracks that will enhance your Teleglitch experience". That one line threw a lot of people off, including me. At first glance, it seems like there will be music in the game now. In reality, 5 MP3 tracks are downloaded to the game's folder for the player to play and loop in the background while they're playing the game. I guess that's fine since people were doing that with their own music anyways? With the 5 tracks, the player gets 23 minutes of...sounds...running on 2-3 tracks (think of them as layers). They're not very interesting, they're mostly looped sounds from freesound.org, and they don't feel very appropriate to the game's atmosphere. The best thing about the DLC is essentially the weapon randomization at the beginning of the game; however, mechanics like these should have been in the game in the first place. If you had pre-purchased the game before it came out, you get the DLC automatically. But if you didn't, it's $1.99. Whether the DLC was worth the purchase isn't the issue as I'm not certain if the game itself is exactly worth it. It's mildly entertaining and I got it for a very low discount price, but I think I have to play it a bit longer or at least try to clear through it once before I can give any recommendations or not. Teleglitch: Die More Edition is 75% off from its usual $12.99 for $3.25 until October 14th and the Guns and Tunes DLC is $1.99 on steam right now.
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/234390/
Source: Youtube Channel gamespot
I mentioned "Teleglitch Die More Edition" two months ago and pointed out that one of the problems people had with the game was the lack of music. I guess it's okay to play your own music while playing a game, but it'd be nice to have original music for a game that's set appropriately to the game's theme. Well, the developers decided to come out with a DLC which adds the option for weapon randomization from the get go, 8 new weapons and items, and "5 standalone music tracks that will enhance your Teleglitch experience". That one line threw a lot of people off, including me. At first glance, it seems like there will be music in the game now. In reality, 5 MP3 tracks are downloaded to the game's folder for the player to play and loop in the background while they're playing the game. I guess that's fine since people were doing that with their own music anyways? With the 5 tracks, the player gets 23 minutes of...sounds...running on 2-3 tracks (think of them as layers). They're not very interesting, they're mostly looped sounds from freesound.org, and they don't feel very appropriate to the game's atmosphere. The best thing about the DLC is essentially the weapon randomization at the beginning of the game; however, mechanics like these should have been in the game in the first place. If you had pre-purchased the game before it came out, you get the DLC automatically. But if you didn't, it's $1.99. Whether the DLC was worth the purchase isn't the issue as I'm not certain if the game itself is exactly worth it. It's mildly entertaining and I got it for a very low discount price, but I think I have to play it a bit longer or at least try to clear through it once before I can give any recommendations or not. Teleglitch: Die More Edition is 75% off from its usual $12.99 for $3.25 until October 14th and the Guns and Tunes DLC is $1.99 on steam right now.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
GameLight - Tactical Intervention
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/51100/
Source: Youtube Channel Tactical Intervention
Tactical Intervention has been talked about for a few years now as Minh 'Gooseman' Le's newest project for a first-person tactical shooter. Le was one of the original modders for Counter-Strike and has learned a lot since then about First-Person Shooters. So it's no surprise that a lot of people are excited to see what this game is all about. Tactical Intervention is a First-Person Tactical Shooter similar to Counter-Strike where two opposing forces shoot each other down with bomb and hostage modes. Some different aspects in the game are items that changes tactics around such as being able to send out attack dogs, utilize riot shields, using charges to breach doors and having abilities to use hostages as shields and rappel down buildings. The game is free-to-play, so I imagine there will be a micro-transaction shop along with the game. There's already $36.97 worth of DLCs that can be purchased on steam. Unfortunately, there were high expectations with the excitement of this game and they were not met when players tried it out. Both critics and users alike on Metacritic have panned the game for being "outdated", "unbalanced" and "muddled in too many mechanics". The game just got onto the Steam platform last night so Steam users are getting their hands on the game right now. I guess I'll give it a try and see what the game's all about.
Source: Youtube Channel Tactical Intervention
Tactical Intervention has been talked about for a few years now as Minh 'Gooseman' Le's newest project for a first-person tactical shooter. Le was one of the original modders for Counter-Strike and has learned a lot since then about First-Person Shooters. So it's no surprise that a lot of people are excited to see what this game is all about. Tactical Intervention is a First-Person Tactical Shooter similar to Counter-Strike where two opposing forces shoot each other down with bomb and hostage modes. Some different aspects in the game are items that changes tactics around such as being able to send out attack dogs, utilize riot shields, using charges to breach doors and having abilities to use hostages as shields and rappel down buildings. The game is free-to-play, so I imagine there will be a micro-transaction shop along with the game. There's already $36.97 worth of DLCs that can be purchased on steam. Unfortunately, there were high expectations with the excitement of this game and they were not met when players tried it out. Both critics and users alike on Metacritic have panned the game for being "outdated", "unbalanced" and "muddled in too many mechanics". The game just got onto the Steam platform last night so Steam users are getting their hands on the game right now. I guess I'll give it a try and see what the game's all about.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
GameLight - Terraria 1.2 Update
Official Site: http://www.terraria.org/index2.html
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/
Source: Youtube Channel demilogic
After 100+ hours, everything that could be done seemed to have been done. And then a huge update was talked about all year long and people got excited. I wasn't going to be excited until it was downloaded onto my computer and I was already playing it. I would have never guessed how much time I was going to spend playing Terraria or how much fun I was going to have when I first bought it. Along with all the free updates that the developers keep giving to the players, it's perhaps one of the best purchases I have ever made on Steam. With the new 1.2 update launching last night at 12AM EST, many players got to re-experience Terraria in a totally new way. Besides having new weapons, biomes, enemies, items, bosses, etc., there also has been changes in game mechanics and world creation details that improves the game even further. Backgrounds have been redone to look nicer but have been optimized so that it doesn't lag the game anymore. There's seriously a LOT of new changes and improvements. It's no wonder so many people were excited about this. I barely scratched the surface of what has been changed and added from the 3 hours I played last night.
Terraria is an open-world Action-Adventure game that can be played online with friends if someone creates a server for it. There is no particular goal, but there is plenty to explore and a lot to do. It's $9.99 on Steam and a really good deal for what is offered.
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/
Source: Youtube Channel demilogic
After 100+ hours, everything that could be done seemed to have been done. And then a huge update was talked about all year long and people got excited. I wasn't going to be excited until it was downloaded onto my computer and I was already playing it. I would have never guessed how much time I was going to spend playing Terraria or how much fun I was going to have when I first bought it. Along with all the free updates that the developers keep giving to the players, it's perhaps one of the best purchases I have ever made on Steam. With the new 1.2 update launching last night at 12AM EST, many players got to re-experience Terraria in a totally new way. Besides having new weapons, biomes, enemies, items, bosses, etc., there also has been changes in game mechanics and world creation details that improves the game even further. Backgrounds have been redone to look nicer but have been optimized so that it doesn't lag the game anymore. There's seriously a LOT of new changes and improvements. It's no wonder so many people were excited about this. I barely scratched the surface of what has been changed and added from the 3 hours I played last night.
Terraria is an open-world Action-Adventure game that can be played online with friends if someone creates a server for it. There is no particular goal, but there is plenty to explore and a lot to do. It's $9.99 on Steam and a really good deal for what is offered.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
GameLight - Wonder Flick
JP Site: http://www.wonderflick.jp/
Source: Youtube Channel Jeuxvideo24
From the makers of Professor Layton comes another game for mobile devices. It seems Level-5 has really taken a liking to making games on mobile devices lately and their newest RPG is no exception. More than that, their idea for this game is one that players can enjoy over many different platforms with the same progress intact. So with this "Wonder Flick" game, you can play it on iOS, Android, Wii U, PS Vita, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One (or at least that's the plan) and the progress will be kept in the cloud/servers so that you can continue where you left off on any console. As the name suggests, the player will be "Flicking" little coin icons to perform actions: Attack, using potions, defending, special attacks, etc.
What I'm more interested in is the soundtrack. Did you happen to see whose name flashed in the trailer? Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame had his name appear in the trailer with a music note which usually tells the viewer who is responsible for the music for that trailer. Whether Uematsu will be responsible for all the music in the game is unclear at the moment, but it's something to look out for. As for the game itself, it seems rather gimmicky and heavily focused on the mobile gaming audience. But who knows, it might turn out to be really fun! Where's the 3DS version? I see this working better on 3DS than on PS Vita in terms of mechanics. The game will be available in Japan on iOS and Android in November 2013 while PS3, PS Vita, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One versions will be available sometime in 2014. No Western release has been announced thus far.
Source:
-Kotaku - No, This Next-Gen RPG Isn't Called "Wonder F**k"
Source: Youtube Channel Jeuxvideo24
From the makers of Professor Layton comes another game for mobile devices. It seems Level-5 has really taken a liking to making games on mobile devices lately and their newest RPG is no exception. More than that, their idea for this game is one that players can enjoy over many different platforms with the same progress intact. So with this "Wonder Flick" game, you can play it on iOS, Android, Wii U, PS Vita, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One (or at least that's the plan) and the progress will be kept in the cloud/servers so that you can continue where you left off on any console. As the name suggests, the player will be "Flicking" little coin icons to perform actions: Attack, using potions, defending, special attacks, etc.
What I'm more interested in is the soundtrack. Did you happen to see whose name flashed in the trailer? Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame had his name appear in the trailer with a music note which usually tells the viewer who is responsible for the music for that trailer. Whether Uematsu will be responsible for all the music in the game is unclear at the moment, but it's something to look out for. As for the game itself, it seems rather gimmicky and heavily focused on the mobile gaming audience. But who knows, it might turn out to be really fun! Where's the 3DS version? I see this working better on 3DS than on PS Vita in terms of mechanics. The game will be available in Japan on iOS and Android in November 2013 while PS3, PS Vita, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One versions will be available sometime in 2014. No Western release has been announced thus far.
Source:
-Kotaku - No, This Next-Gen RPG Isn't Called "Wonder F**k"
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
GameLight - Puyo Puyo Tetris
Source: Youtube Channel puyosega
Amitie is back with more Puyo Puyo going up against Tetris! A Puyo Puyo crossover with Tetris isn't too surprising, but it's finally being made. I've been a fan of both games for the longest time as most people have who play these puzzle games. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Kirby's Avalanche have been two games that didn't use the name "Puyo" in the title that I played with Puyo Pop Fever being one of my favorite iterations of the series. For Tetris, I'd say Tetris DS by was the best version of Tetris I have played for the best controls, mechanics, color scheme, and variety in modes. So how much will the game change with these two mega puzzle blockbusters put together? It doesn't seem much as both games have had versus mode in their respective games which seems to be the base concept for this crossover. It doesn't seem all that different or game changing. Why not go all out and have a super puzzle crossover! Have games like Columns, Puzzle Fighter, Puzzle League, and maybe even Puzzle Bobble (Bust-A-Move) be part of the action and have the player choose which game they want to play and challenge other puzzle players. Make it even more outrageous with 8 players instead of just 2! But in all seriousness, I hope there's more to the game than just straight up versus PuyoPuyo against Tetris. The game releases next year on PS3, PS Vita, Wii U, and 3DS in Japan. No mention of a Western release has been made.
Source:
-Joystiq - Puyo Puyo Tetris makes sense
Amitie is back with more Puyo Puyo going up against Tetris! A Puyo Puyo crossover with Tetris isn't too surprising, but it's finally being made. I've been a fan of both games for the longest time as most people have who play these puzzle games. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Kirby's Avalanche have been two games that didn't use the name "Puyo" in the title that I played with Puyo Pop Fever being one of my favorite iterations of the series. For Tetris, I'd say Tetris DS by was the best version of Tetris I have played for the best controls, mechanics, color scheme, and variety in modes. So how much will the game change with these two mega puzzle blockbusters put together? It doesn't seem much as both games have had versus mode in their respective games which seems to be the base concept for this crossover. It doesn't seem all that different or game changing. Why not go all out and have a super puzzle crossover! Have games like Columns, Puzzle Fighter, Puzzle League, and maybe even Puzzle Bobble (Bust-A-Move) be part of the action and have the player choose which game they want to play and challenge other puzzle players. Make it even more outrageous with 8 players instead of just 2! But in all seriousness, I hope there's more to the game than just straight up versus PuyoPuyo against Tetris. The game releases next year on PS3, PS Vita, Wii U, and 3DS in Japan. No mention of a Western release has been made.
Source:
-Joystiq - Puyo Puyo Tetris makes sense
Monday, September 23, 2013
GameLight - PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/236450/
Source: Youtube Channel Robert Cram
I'm so ready for some PAC-MAN! PAC-MAN Championship Edition first released 6 years ago on Xbox Live Arcade and I was able to finally try it out 2 years ago when a demo released on PS3's PSN store. The concept of the pellet gobbling PAC-MAN remains the same, but some rules have been changed a little. The game will speed up, slow down, have more pellets appear, have a bunch of ghosts swamp you, and other crazy new mechanics that really change the pace of the classic arcade game. As far as I know, the game is still only single-player, but perhaps that might change as the "plus" version allows "players to challenge their friends". The problem is, it might just mean allowing the player to beat their friend's score on a friend's list leaderboard. A multiplayer version does exist in places like Dave & Busters (Arcades) as I have played it earlier this year with 3 other friends and it was a lot of fun. I don't think it'll provide online multiplayer (listed as single-player only), but it should be a fun arcade experience. I already pre-ordered it a month ago to get the 8 DLCs that come along with the pre-order. I just have to wait 2 more days before I start munching pellets and ghosts.
Source: Youtube Channel Robert Cram
I'm so ready for some PAC-MAN! PAC-MAN Championship Edition first released 6 years ago on Xbox Live Arcade and I was able to finally try it out 2 years ago when a demo released on PS3's PSN store. The concept of the pellet gobbling PAC-MAN remains the same, but some rules have been changed a little. The game will speed up, slow down, have more pellets appear, have a bunch of ghosts swamp you, and other crazy new mechanics that really change the pace of the classic arcade game. As far as I know, the game is still only single-player, but perhaps that might change as the "plus" version allows "players to challenge their friends". The problem is, it might just mean allowing the player to beat their friend's score on a friend's list leaderboard. A multiplayer version does exist in places like Dave & Busters (Arcades) as I have played it earlier this year with 3 other friends and it was a lot of fun. I don't think it'll provide online multiplayer (listed as single-player only), but it should be a fun arcade experience. I already pre-ordered it a month ago to get the 8 DLCs that come along with the pre-order. I just have to wait 2 more days before I start munching pellets and ghosts.
"The update provided improved leaderboard functionality, the ability to challenge friends, and medal support. In addition to this, paid downloadable content was also released. It added four new courses (Big Eater, Championship III, Highway II, and Mountain), three new skins (based on Dig Dug, Rally-X and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures) and two new background music tracks (Pac-Steps and Re-Entrance) to the game. This content was made available in the "All You Can Eat Add-on Pack" bundle." -Wikipedia
You can grab PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+ on Steam for $9.99 or if you want to save a little you can grab it at GreenManGaming and use their 25% off coupon (GMG25-J4B0D-FLH8M) and get it for $7.49 with all the DLCs. The game unlocks on September 25th at 12PM PST.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
GameLight - Heroes of Loot
Official Site: http://www.heroesofloot.com/heroesofloot/
Source: Youtube Channel orangepixelmobile
If there were ever a modern-day version of the classic Gauntlet, it'd probably be this game. With the same exact 4 characters as the classic Gauntlet, the player traverses an endless stream of levels that randomly generates while grabbing loot to purchase items and take on quests to get even more items. There's a free demo for PC/MAC that you can try out. Being a fan of Gauntlet, dungeon-crawling and retro graphics, I quickly downloaded the demo and tried it out.
I'll be honest, the game's not very engaging playing on PC/MAC. It's clear that the game was designed for mobile devices and doesn't change its mechanics at all for the PC/MAC. Essentially, you hold down the attack button and just move around and dodge danger as your attacks automatically home-in on the nearest enemy. There are no other buttons or abilities or such other than picking up runes that give you a short duration of power. Also, the game is single-player only which leaves having actual buttons/keys to play and a larger screen the main reasons for playing on PC/MAC. So although I compared this game to Gauntlet, it's missing a lot of aspects that made Gauntlet fun. The game feels very barebones, yet it works really well in terms of a mobile device. Having randomly generated levels keeps the game fresh which seems like an interesting distraction to have on my phone when I'm out and waiting somewhere. I'll probably get this game for my phone, but not for PC.
Heroes of Loot is available for iOS in the App Store ($1.99), Android in the Google Play Store ($1.99), Ouya & Gamestick (price unsure), or PC/MAC ($4.99)
Source:
-Kotaku - Heroes of Loot Is The Most Retro Game You'll See Today
Source: Youtube Channel orangepixelmobile
If there were ever a modern-day version of the classic Gauntlet, it'd probably be this game. With the same exact 4 characters as the classic Gauntlet, the player traverses an endless stream of levels that randomly generates while grabbing loot to purchase items and take on quests to get even more items. There's a free demo for PC/MAC that you can try out. Being a fan of Gauntlet, dungeon-crawling and retro graphics, I quickly downloaded the demo and tried it out.
I'll be honest, the game's not very engaging playing on PC/MAC. It's clear that the game was designed for mobile devices and doesn't change its mechanics at all for the PC/MAC. Essentially, you hold down the attack button and just move around and dodge danger as your attacks automatically home-in on the nearest enemy. There are no other buttons or abilities or such other than picking up runes that give you a short duration of power. Also, the game is single-player only which leaves having actual buttons/keys to play and a larger screen the main reasons for playing on PC/MAC. So although I compared this game to Gauntlet, it's missing a lot of aspects that made Gauntlet fun. The game feels very barebones, yet it works really well in terms of a mobile device. Having randomly generated levels keeps the game fresh which seems like an interesting distraction to have on my phone when I'm out and waiting somewhere. I'll probably get this game for my phone, but not for PC.
Heroes of Loot is available for iOS in the App Store ($1.99), Android in the Google Play Store ($1.99), Ouya & Gamestick (price unsure), or PC/MAC ($4.99)
Source:
-Kotaku - Heroes of Loot Is The Most Retro Game You'll See Today
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
GameLight - Ridge Racer Driftopia
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/226410/
Source: Youtube Channel gametrailers
Namco Bandai Games are on fire with the Free-to-Play games with Tekken Revolution out and a Soul Calibur: Lost Swords on its way. Ridge Racer Driftopia was announced earlier this year as a Free-to-Play racer and showed up on Steam Early Access yesterday. I quickly downloaded it and tried it out last night to see what the game was all about. I'm not a huge racing fan unless I have the wheel and pedal to play with, but I do still enjoy a racing when the controls and feel of the game are fast and tight (I generally like the more unrealistic racers). I started up the game and it didn't require me to do a bunch of registrations, signing in and all that. It just asked me to optionally give my e-mail to get a bonus in-game item. Then it explains a lot of mechanics of the game with pop-up text blocks and arrows showing every little aspect of the game. I guess I appreciate the help with finding my way around the game, but it did feel like it dragged on.
I finally picked my car and got through all the text and started up the game. I drove straight forward and tried to turn but bumped into a wall and *BAM* "GAME OVER" you have to use some repair kits to fix your cars. This was a bit of a concern for me that if you ever ran out of repair kits, you couldn't play anymore (or at least for the rest of the day). But then I found out it was really easy earning more. So after a few tries of crashing into walls, I got comfortable with the controls playing on keyboard and was able to get through without blowing up into a ball of fire. As the name would suggest, there is a lot of drifting. Drifting is one of my favorite things to do in racing games, and they generally feel too slippery or uncontrollable to be any fun in most racing games. But it felt really good the very first time I drifted in-game and it looked really nice too. The only mode beside Time attack is spirit race which is kind of like a single-player/multiplayer mode experience where you race against the ghosts of other players rather than live time. This eliminates the problem when a player plays at a low player count time in the day and doesn't have anyone to play with/against. On the other hand, the ghosts can't really react to the players actions and respond to them.
The graphics are beautiful and the music is amazing, but the mechanics of how the game works worries me. The actual game during a race feels fine and I actually like how it feels despite not liking blowing up after one bump into the wall and starting over. The real problem is everything in-between racing: having to use repair kits to repair cars you total, not being able to play the next level until you level up, you have to replay the same two levels several times over before you unlock the next level and you have to replay that a few more times before unlocking the one after, you can only own a certain number of cars unless you pay real money to unlock more slots, you must log-in/start-up the game every 24 hours to receive bonuses, etc. The entire game just felt very "facebook", time orientated with a lot of repetition. So in the end, I wasn't having that much fun and it felt like I was playing under a very limited restriction. I did like that actual "in-game" play and that's when I looked up more about Ridge Racer Driftopia and realized that the levels, graphics, music, gameplay and such are all assets from Ridge Racer Unbounded. Despite being disappointed with Ridge Racer Driftopia, my new found interest in Ridge Racer Unbounded made trying the game out worthwhile. Keep in mind that Ridge Racer Driftopia is still in beta/early access and will continue to grow, so it might get better in the future. For me, I want a full game with no restrictions due to micro-transactions or heavy time investment and I think Ridge Racer Unbounded might be the thing for me.
Source: Youtube Channel gametrailers
Namco Bandai Games are on fire with the Free-to-Play games with Tekken Revolution out and a Soul Calibur: Lost Swords on its way. Ridge Racer Driftopia was announced earlier this year as a Free-to-Play racer and showed up on Steam Early Access yesterday. I quickly downloaded it and tried it out last night to see what the game was all about. I'm not a huge racing fan unless I have the wheel and pedal to play with, but I do still enjoy a racing when the controls and feel of the game are fast and tight (I generally like the more unrealistic racers). I started up the game and it didn't require me to do a bunch of registrations, signing in and all that. It just asked me to optionally give my e-mail to get a bonus in-game item. Then it explains a lot of mechanics of the game with pop-up text blocks and arrows showing every little aspect of the game. I guess I appreciate the help with finding my way around the game, but it did feel like it dragged on.
I finally picked my car and got through all the text and started up the game. I drove straight forward and tried to turn but bumped into a wall and *BAM* "GAME OVER" you have to use some repair kits to fix your cars. This was a bit of a concern for me that if you ever ran out of repair kits, you couldn't play anymore (or at least for the rest of the day). But then I found out it was really easy earning more. So after a few tries of crashing into walls, I got comfortable with the controls playing on keyboard and was able to get through without blowing up into a ball of fire. As the name would suggest, there is a lot of drifting. Drifting is one of my favorite things to do in racing games, and they generally feel too slippery or uncontrollable to be any fun in most racing games. But it felt really good the very first time I drifted in-game and it looked really nice too. The only mode beside Time attack is spirit race which is kind of like a single-player/multiplayer mode experience where you race against the ghosts of other players rather than live time. This eliminates the problem when a player plays at a low player count time in the day and doesn't have anyone to play with/against. On the other hand, the ghosts can't really react to the players actions and respond to them.
The graphics are beautiful and the music is amazing, but the mechanics of how the game works worries me. The actual game during a race feels fine and I actually like how it feels despite not liking blowing up after one bump into the wall and starting over. The real problem is everything in-between racing: having to use repair kits to repair cars you total, not being able to play the next level until you level up, you have to replay the same two levels several times over before you unlock the next level and you have to replay that a few more times before unlocking the one after, you can only own a certain number of cars unless you pay real money to unlock more slots, you must log-in/start-up the game every 24 hours to receive bonuses, etc. The entire game just felt very "facebook", time orientated with a lot of repetition. So in the end, I wasn't having that much fun and it felt like I was playing under a very limited restriction. I did like that actual "in-game" play and that's when I looked up more about Ridge Racer Driftopia and realized that the levels, graphics, music, gameplay and such are all assets from Ridge Racer Unbounded. Despite being disappointed with Ridge Racer Driftopia, my new found interest in Ridge Racer Unbounded made trying the game out worthwhile. Keep in mind that Ridge Racer Driftopia is still in beta/early access and will continue to grow, so it might get better in the future. For me, I want a full game with no restrictions due to micro-transactions or heavy time investment and I think Ridge Racer Unbounded might be the thing for me.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
GameLight - Chaos Code
Official Site: http://www.fkdigital.net/chaoscodeps3en/
Source: Youtube Channel PlayStationAsia
Another overseas fighting game has made its way to North America as a downloadable game on PSN. Chaos Code is a 4-button 2D Fighter with a lot of modern mechanics such as air-dashing, double-jumps, invincible frame dodges, specials, grabs, and cancels. If I were to compare it to any fighting game, I'd say it's closest to The King of Fighters series with a bit of Melty Blood. I'm not sure what to think of the game by looking at it, but it is $11.99 so I might try it out. Honestly, I think Phantom Breaker looks a bit more interesting, but no release date for that game has been made yet for North America. Chaos Code is available for download at $11.99 on the Playstation Network for the Playstation 3. Keep in mind that the game doesn't have online play at the moment, but will possibly feature it in the future as the developers patch it in.
Source:
-Shoryuken - Chaos Code Now Available on PlayStation Network in North America
Source: Youtube Channel PlayStationAsia
Another overseas fighting game has made its way to North America as a downloadable game on PSN. Chaos Code is a 4-button 2D Fighter with a lot of modern mechanics such as air-dashing, double-jumps, invincible frame dodges, specials, grabs, and cancels. If I were to compare it to any fighting game, I'd say it's closest to The King of Fighters series with a bit of Melty Blood. I'm not sure what to think of the game by looking at it, but it is $11.99 so I might try it out. Honestly, I think Phantom Breaker looks a bit more interesting, but no release date for that game has been made yet for North America. Chaos Code is available for download at $11.99 on the Playstation Network for the Playstation 3. Keep in mind that the game doesn't have online play at the moment, but will possibly feature it in the future as the developers patch it in.
Source:
-Shoryuken - Chaos Code Now Available on PlayStation Network in North America
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