Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age - PS4 Review

Dating back to the first days of the NES, Enix came up with a series that while not as popular as Square's Final Fantasy “in the West”, would be very popular back home. Having released the latest entry late last year and having recently announced the revamped version coming out by the fall for the Nintendo Switch, here is one of the best damned adventures that I've had in a long while.

After several long years of quiet for the main line of the series, Square Enix's Dragon Quest XI: Echos of an Elusive Age brought the series back to the front and center of RPGs minds. Having been in development for both the Nintendo 3DS and PS4 it was unclear of which we would receive until the decision was finally made for a PS4 and PC release giving us the more modern graphical look instead of the more retro one that the handheld provided. Don't worry if you did in fact want that retro style as the Nintendo Switch version later this year will have the option to switch between the two.

A large appeal to this series, for me, has always been the cohesive style and approach that each entry has provided. It isn't just iconic monsters that come back for a cameo, but all of them alongside new ones. Slimes, Golems, Armored Knights, Saber Cats and so much more keep making returns but in higher quality. Combined with sound effects and background music that also keep making returns but with their own refinement and one could question if the series really does anything new.

In case you may be wondering it does. Compared to so many other franchises that make new, bigger, better, flashier styles and gameplay innovations, the Dragon Quest Series both holds on to classics JRPG styles while also inputting modern elements to make it smoother and more enjoyable to play. Featuring some of the smoothest gameplay yet, Dragon Quest XI is a classic turned based RPG designed for today. You can explore vast environments, climb up cliff sides, ride monsters in order to discover new areas, summon a horse and as a blessed first, save in locations other than a church. But maybe that’s getting ahead a bit, let’s take it from the top shall we?

Dragon Quest XI: Echos of an Illusive Age sets you into the role of The Luminary. Prince of a now fallen kingdom, you’ve grown up in a small and quaint village knowing nothing of your heritage other than now is the time in which you must perform the coming of age ceremony with one of your best friends and her dog. Or “your” dog as the two of you are rather close and the loading screens mentioned that you’ve rescued her together.

Completing the ceremony and heading off towards the capital after having read a letter left to you by your adoptive grandfather, things soon turn sour and set the adventure into its proper pace as the King has denounced you as Darkspawn and not Hero of Light after the hero Erdwin from Dragon Quest III which was a prequel to the original Dragon Quest. Rushing back to the village after pulling a jailbreak with a new found friend and party member, you find the village raised to the ground and there’s no other real option than to set out into the world in order to fully come into the Luminary’s power and once again banish the encroaching darkness.

While Dragon Quest, like Dragon Ball as they share multiple similarities in their artstyle and visual creators, looks all nice and cuddly, it really often showcases a rather dark story with plenty of tragedy and sorrow. The visuals help soften these blows but often you’re left wondering if you shouldn’t just go cuddle something fluffy for five minutes in order to get over what you’ve just witnessed. This is honestly the sign of great storytelling and the overall writing of the characters only supports this as the hours go on.

Starting off with only one available party member, you’ll soon be putting a full cast of characters together that only ever compliment one another both in terms of combat and in terms of the story. What impressed me with DQXI is that while they’ve thrown in your typical stereotypes, they aren’t exactly your stereotypical characters. They’ve got depth and they aren’t always what they seem like your most powerful mage Veronica.

Measuring a grand total of three foot nothing, anyone seeing her for the first time would say, oh hey, there’s the loli character that every JRPG seems to have. “Waves a Monty Python flag” yaaaaaaay. However you would be wrong. While Veronica is a grand total of three feet tall, she’s was a fully grown adult like her softer mannered twin sister Serena until a group of monsters stole her age as well as her magic. With only her magic returning, Veronica is kind of stuck that way which suits her better as she’s now got a longer lease on time in order to perfect her craft.

A lot of the other characters are like Veronica in which they aren’t what they seem to be. Erick the thief I kept expecting to stab me in the back or turn tail because no one can act that charming and laid back while easily holding a dagger. He doesn’t. He genuinely follows you because you are the Luminary. Sylvando the flamboyant jester warrior, follows your party because he knows it’s the right thing to do for the rest of the world because of the quest you’re on. Like Erick though you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but it doesn't.

This is just a two second recap of characters that take hours, if not dozens of hours in order to truly see why they do what they do. The pacing is perfect and just when you think you have everything figured out? The end of the world happens. Cue Act 2.

Whether in act one or two though, the dialog and the gameplay showed the same level of care. Exploring the world, whether in the starting kingdom or the surrounding ones, the world feels alive and vibrant even if the only thing you ever really see are tons and tons of monsters. The colors that are used for the series are bright so even in the darkest of days, there's a bright color palette that stays appealing to the eyes.

Where some of the quality of life improvements come in are mostly within the exploration of the world. Returning from the mobile version of Dragon Quest VIII is the auto run feature which lets you take your hands off the controller for a little bit while exploring but what improves upon it is the dash feature that lets you spring across the fields in order to get there that much faster. Adding onto even that is the ability to summon your horse from any campsite which speeds the above up even further including allowing to run over and dispatch smaller monsters that you may not be in the mood to fight.

Being able to explore in peace is a huge bonus as DQXI has done away with random encounters but has amply put in enough goes into the field to help you if you're grinding for experience but not enough that they'll get in the way if you simply want to explore. The balance was great and as mentioned above, having the monsters on the field makes the world feel more alive.

Fighting monsters is pretty standard. You can attack, use magic or use an ability to defeat the foes that come your way. Another returning staple of the series are the bubbly numbers that appear above both allies and enemies heads for both healing and damage. Abilities tend to be a bit more showy than magic and back again in the more fun style of the series is that even if characters have the same moves, they perform them a bit differently than one another which is another small added detail that just improved the overall experience.

Where things change a bit is now instead of learning abilities on certain level ups or by learning abilities from points that you acquire from leveling up, you now do both which is honestly a lot more fun. Points have always been a bit limited and having to save up for abilities that you want has always been a bit tedious. Having moved this new system that expands as you unlock skills instead if a list, characters are all fairly customization with the skills that they also learn as they level up. And to sound like a broken record, the best part is that you can undo these changes for a monetary compensation to the church who will pray to the Goddess on your behalf as they reset you points.

Speaking of the church, it is finally not the only method in which you can save the game, remove curses, check your level status or redirect your allies short of very expensive items. Now instead of only having the church, characters will pick back up once the battle is over as also for a first in the series, you can swap your characters in and out of the entire roster. No longer do you need to figure out who you truly want as a main party.

So what do you do now instead of having to always run back to a church to pray to the Goddess in order to save your progress? You can now pray to her yourself through various statues that grace the lands that you'll explore which leads into the last of the quality of life additions. Each of these statues can be found by campsites that allow your party to set up camp, rest the length of time you want without an Inn, buy items from a travelling merchant, and finally create items that you find recipes for on what is known as the fun sized forge.

Item creation has always been around but what makes it all the more important this time is that often you can create items that you wouldn't find otherwise. These items are worth the material cost and the exploration that you'll need to perform the basic synthesis which does not guarantee a success. Once you have what you need you'll have to hammer in the details on your own which involve working on the heat of your forge and keeping in mind how many points each of your hammer strikes will cost. The closer you get to perfect, the higher the value of the item going all the way up to +3.

Having these tools makes grinding levels to prepare for bosses that much easier as you can even go as far as to modify any equipment that you've purchased as long as you have perfection pearls. These pearls come from either successful forging of items or by a particular merchant that you can find if you make sure to visit every store in every location that you visit.

Between all of the new features, the same robust gameplay that Dragon Quest has always presented and the wonderful story and characters, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is the best in the series yet. So how does something get even better than this? It may be better on the Switch later this year when new features are added including elements that had only previously been available in the Japanese only 3DS version.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Square Enix
Publisher(s):
Square Enix
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Upcoming - Nintendo Switch
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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New Release RTS Titled MarZ: Tactical Base Defense

4th April 2019, Vienna - Austrian indie development duo (and married couple) doorfortyfour today announced that their very first game, MarZ: Tactical Base Defense, launches today on PC.

Mixing both RTS and Tower Defense elements, MarZ: Tactical Base Defense (formerly known as MarZ Rising) follows a team of Mars explorers who must build, manage and defend bases to keep hordes of undead at bay, while also uncovering the hidden history of the Red Planet. Careful management of resources and quick-thinking decisions are crucial to staying alive in the hostile alien environment.

In Early Access since September 2017, this v1.0 launch of MarZ: Tactical Base Defense includes a story-driven campaign with 20 mission and two endings, a skirmish mode which allows custom match-set ups, the Marsform map editor and a Twitch mode that lets viewers sabotage or aid their favorite streamers in-game.

As part of today’s v1.0 launch, the game has just received a massive update. The full launch features are as follows:

• 20 mission story campaign: Hold off the zombie hordes and discover the terrible secrets of the red planet across a fully-fledged story campaign with alternate endings
• *New* Updated Skirmish mode: Create customized procedurally-generated skirmishes as you battle back wave after wave of enemies, with new balance, custom options and improved UI/UX
• *New* Outbreak mode: a new intense game mode within Skirmish that brings you one immense zombie horde instead of multiple waves
• *New* Marsform map editor: Use powerful terraforming tools to sculpt custom maps and share on Steam Workshop
• *New* Weapons and upgrades: new upgrades for all towers including repair drones, mines, tesla towers that can teleport zombies, mortars, prism lasers, and more
• *New* Open tech-tree: Increased technology options and unique new upgrades
• *New* Completely reworked balancing: all three difficulty modes have been improved and updated in line with player feedback
• Twitch Mode: When streaming the game on Twitch, viewers can choose to support or sabotage streamers’ efforts in real-time with powerful Twitch integration tools
• Localization update: translated into nine languages (English, English (US), German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Russian and Polish)

About doorfortyfour

Founded in 2013 by married couple Miriam and Marc Egli, doorfortyfour is a small indie studio based in Vienna, Austria. Marc is a Senior 3D Artist and has previously worked on the likes of The Crew, Forza Horizon, and Crackdown, while Miriam was an architect prior to becoming a games developer. The studio’s main focus is creating strategy and management games characterized by high-end graphics and creative design.


Article by Susan N.

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OMG Zombies! - Switch Review

OMG Zombies! is an interesting take on the apocalypse. Starting off with a very well designed graphic novel intro, it doesn't take long for it to disappear into a multitude of stages in which your now lone wolf police officer must make it out of the zombie apocalypse with very limited ammo in an almost puzzle like shooter.

Originally designed as a PlayStation Mini title back in 2011, OMG Zombies is back in a bit higher definition from its more recent PC port for owners of the Nintendo Switch. Now this title was a bit refreshing for me. Instead of running around shooting at zombies and trying to stay alive, you are instead standing calmly on a higher vantage point view a perfect view of the horde. Holding onto a grand total of four bullets, you are going to have to take careful aim in order to maximize the damage caused to dozens of zombies at your feet. How can you do this with only four bullets you ask? Zombies apparently explode in this world so shooting one can easily take out fifty or sixty.

The gameplay, while being relatively simple and easy to pick up, takes a while to get right because of the sometimes random nature to how things pan out. Starting off with only a few zombie types to work with, you’ll soon learn how each “explodes” once you’ve taken them out. Standard ones just go boom; bigger ones explode much further out; military soldiers’ guns will go off randomly shooting across the map while police officers will shoot straight; electric zombies will shock others; runners will scream their heads off at anything they run into; bile zombies will launch… well bile upwards; and finally the last ones will melt into a puddle melting any other zombie that touches that puddle with it.

Levels become a mix of the above and you’ll have to calculate who you are going to shoot in order to ensure the maximum effectiveness. Honestly though? It won’t always work and part of it could be the randomness and the other part could be your gear. Successful completion of stages will net you money in which you can upgrade the zombies in order for them to make bigger booms essentially. Larger radius means more zombies. More power means more health gone as zombies have health bars and unless you upgrade your rifle bullets, you may not be taking them out in one shot.

And that’s really it. Rinse. Repeat. Try to get a high score because the higher you score, the more money you get which will help you upgrade what you need in order to go back to older stages and get that cash influx to help with the newer upcoming ones.

Overall, OMG Zombies! is a quick and fun little title that you can space between others. I do with that I could have seen a bit more of that graphic novel style of narrative, but the gameplay makes for a good break as long as things go more or less according to the plan set out with what the zombies “should” be doing once they “explode”.

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Laughing Jackal
Publisher(s):
Ghostlight LTD
Genre(s):
Puzzle
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
PC (this version)

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Crazy Monkey Studios Releases Trailer for Warparty!

The Warcave, Belgium – 28 March 2019

Prepare for action – the dinosaurs are at your door. RTS aficionados Warcave and the primates at Crazy Monkey Studios today announced the launch of their RTS labour of love, Warparty, out now for PC, Mac, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. Warparty is a real-time strategy game set in the stone-age era. Players can build, recruit and control a group of soldiers, as well as fight and tame fierce dinosaurs. In addition to the game’s core multiplayer experience, which has undergone months of fine-tuning in Steam Early Access, today sees the addition of the feature-filled Story Campaign mode. Available now on all platforms, the solo Campaign mode offers hours of play, original missions, new maps and cinematic cutscenes to breathe primordial life into the epic carnage.

With Warparty, the battle-hardened RTS fans at Warcave set out to create the total package that every fan of RTS games could enjoy. They took the best of the genre to deliver a complete feature set, and brought it all together in an original fantasy setting.

Warparty addresses both casual and competitive players, with a game that you can play either slow or fast (with a high skill ceiling) depending on your style. The game is packed with features that RTS fans really care about: attack move commands, smart AI opponents, full-featured multiplayer, full hotkey customization, detailed post-game stats and graphs, survival mode, Campaign mode with replay value, and in-game Wiki.

Choose to play as one of three factions – Wildlanders, Necromas, or Vithara – each with their own units, buildings, playstyles and unique talents. Warparty game modes include Survival, AI Skirmish and Custom Online Multiplayer for up to 6 friends on PC and 4 on console. To keep the fight fair on PC, ranked matches are played on the dedicated Warparty servers, and online leaderboards let the community share in all the victories and defeats.

And in the end, who doesn’t like dinosaurs?

Warparty is available now on the following stores: Steam, Nintendo Eshop, Xbox store, and the PlayStation store.

Also, check out the Gameplay Trailer here!

For more information on Warparty, visit the official website and join the live paleo party on Discord.

Article by Susan N.

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Tales of Vesperia - Third Opinion - Switch Review

Welcome all to the world of Tales of Vesperia. One of my top 5 favorite Tales of games in this long running series. Vesperia is a Japanese role-playing game that came out way back on the Xbox 360 (I can say 'way back' right? It has been a decade) in 2008. Exclusively at the time for the Xbox only, I was lucky enough to have owned the system and got to play this beautiful masterpiece. Jump 10 years to today and during, what I assume was short, heated argument we where blessed with Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition. This edition was actually the PS3 port of the game that was only released in Japan back in 2009. I remember huffing and puffing when i was a teenager, whining that I hated when Japan would do this kind of crap. But they say patience is a virtue, No? For those who are first time goers to the series I'll try to explain the intricacies of this game.

Vesperia is a game set in the world of Terca Lumireis. In this world people depend on devices known as blastia to help them through life. It's a tool that absorbs a particle called Aer, the source of all the energy for this planet. The story focuses on our young protagonist Yuri Lowell, who thought a simple blastia thief would be easy enough to catch. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that simple and he gets tangled up with a mysterious pink-haired girl named Estelle. Together with her and his ever faithful K9 companion, Repede (best doggo), they set off on a whirlwind of an adventure.

Since this is a Tales game the battle formula used in Vesperia is the same recipe that's used in most, if not every, installment of the series. Nothing makes me happier then running around combo hitting up some baddies and throwing Artes in their faces. Artes are special attacks unique to each party member that can be learned throughout the game. Each character has their own special kind of moves based on their unique style of class. But nothing is ever free or easy and Artes will always require you to use SP (Specialty or spell points, or super possums, who knows at this point).

There are 3 types of Arte pools to use from: Base, Arcane and Magical Artes. Base Artes are your lowest level of attacks that you can use frequently without consuming too much of your SP and are the only type that allows you to cancel during a combo spam. Arcane Artes are stronger and can only be obtained through leveling up your Base ones, at least 50 times or more, or special events. Though they pack a punch they will munch down on some serious SP to use. Magical Artes (mostly used by the Casters in your party) include novice, intermediate and advance spells. They all have an elemental base to them and a radius of the spell effect on the enemies. Either through line of fire or circular ratio.

Now we dive into the more... complex part of the Arte family. Altered, Burst and Mystic Artes are special attacks that require more specific steps to be used. Altered Artes were new to the Tales series back when Vesperia first came out. They take the place of an old Arte only through the means of unlocking certain skills. Altering its original move it becomes more powerful and usually has an added element effect to it, which can be hurtful to specific enemies.

These next two Artes will require you to have a burst of power through a move known as Over Limit. Over Limit is a meter of power you can store by fighting. As the gauge increases you can activate it during any of its power levels. The higher the number the longer you stay in this mode. It is brief, but with this extra surge of adrenaline you'll be able whack out infinite combo moves. As long as the enemy doesn't attack you during your combo you can go to town on them.

Burst Artes can only be used during Over Limit. They are exactly as they sound and will pack a punch when activated. They can be used multiple times during Over Limit, but I always use this formula as an example. Multiple continuous hits to the face -> Arcane Arte to the groin -> Burst Arte to FINISH HIM. But you can beat' em up however you please. Another thing to know is that depending whether or not you have an elemental based weapon equipping it can change the style of the Burst Arte.

Mystic Artes are the ultimate form of power that can be unleashed, but can only be activated under specific conditions. First you'll need to unlock the skill 'Special', which can be obtained halfway through the game. Some are learned through weapons while others are through events. Second you must fill your Over Limit gauge to level 3 or higher. Finally, once you are in Over Limit mode, you must hold down the 'attack' button after using an Arcane Arte to unleash some serious damage and trust me these are always satisfying to use. They are stupid strong and will use up the entirety of your Over Limit so my advice is to always use it at the last second before your gauge runs out to get one hell of a combo.

Still with me? Good, because I have one final trick to throw at you. There is one more special move that you can use against your enemy. It's called a Fatal Strike and this is another one of those goodies that was added to the Vesperia installment. Fatal Strikes can Insta-kill enemies, except bosses, but they can still do some sick damage. You also have a chance to gain stat boosts, extra EXP, extra LP (Skill Points) and higher drop rates anytime you use a Fatal Strike. How do you use such a move? It will require you to spy on your enemies stats with a fancy tool called a Magic Lens. Once you have that stat window open you'll notice 3 small colored gauges at the bottom (Red, Blue, Green). If you bring any of these 3 gauges to zero (or empty) this will prompt one of the colored circles to appear on the enemy. Be quick when it does , because it will only be visible for a split second. These strikes can be triggered by using up attack, forward jabs or downwards strikes.

Remember that I keep mentioning these 'skills' you need to learn? Well they actually work like Final Fantasy 9's skill tree. During your play through you'll be picking up and swapping tons of equipment for your party, but these pieces of equipment actually have the skills embedded in them. In order to unlock those skills you'll have to gain LP through winning battles. These fill a gauge and unlock the skills from your equipment. Once you've learned that skill it will permanently stay in your skill tree, which you can customize anytime by opening the menu screen. Optimizing and utilizing these skills will help increase your parties effectiveness during battle. I highly recommend taking the time to unlock most of these skills. I say most only because there are skills you can learn that will hinder you, but it can give you more of a challenging run through of the game for the more... Seasoned players. Depending on your new game plus settings, some of these can turn a tough game mode into downright hilarious if used well. Combo exp and minimum damage come to mind with a certain mage and her "blah blah blah " magic.

It might all seem like a lot to follow for a fighting system, but the game does a great job at introducing these steps at convenient times in the story. You won't have to worry about being bombarded in the beginning with all these tricks. Combat is always fun and fluid and can be played by up to four players at once... If you can find three people to tolerate for hours. Whether you play with your friends or just customize the AI's in your menu settings the game is pretty on point.

I've been playing the Tales series since Tales of Symphonia came out back on the GameCube and each installment is a different adventure. Vesperia is no exception to that list. When it was announced that Vesperia was getting a re-release for the Switch I did not hesitate to get a day-one copy of the game. New playable characters, dungeons, enemies and story were just waiting to be played. Boy, was I excited... But that doesn't mean that this newer, shinier version of the game was perfect. When games get re-released I tend to focus on all the things that were changed and these come with pros and cons.

Let's start with the cons. The new playable characters we get in our team are Patty Fleur and Flynn Scifo. If anyone has read our review on Tales character that have been uploaded to the site then you'll know why I think Flynn should be impaled by a Rhybgaro. For those who haven't, I recommend swinging on over and having a very detailed read on the subject, but long story short... I hate him.

Then we have Patty, a swash buckling pirate that's on a quest to look for the infamous Aifread (a recurring character that pops up in most Tales lore) and regain her lost memories. As a whole I don't dislike this character I just find her... Not necessary for the plot line. You can basically feel the cut and paste parts of her story through the game. It just feels rushed and out of place like those YouTube Ads we suffer through that jump out in the middle of streaming a video. As a fighter she's very random. Leaves everything to chance like the battle field is nothing more then a big game of Russian roulette. When I use a spell I like to throw fireballs at the enemies face please, not heal or stat boost a party member that didn't need it in the first place. All in all, these two characters didn't need to fit in the story, granted Flynn was already part of the main story, in the original game, in small sections, but now I have to cringe through the game with him as a party member... Yuck!

The other elephant in the room for me would have to be the voice acting. The only good thing about it was that a majority of the original cast came back to reprise their roles. Great! The new ones are... Noticeable. Patty Fleur is voiced by none other then the great Sandy Fox, who did a great job voicing a previous character in Tales of the Abyss, Mieu. Her performance as Mieu was spot on, as Patty... It was a swing and a miss. Her high pitched, cartoonish voice just wasn't what I had in mind for this pirate lass. It was annoying to say the least.

I take great pride in good dubbing for English releases, but I can notice changes like shiny pennies in the sand. Which brings us to the hero himself... Yuri Lowell is played by Grant George this time around for the added scenes. Why they didn't approach Troy Baker (the original Yuri) is beyond me and a little hurtful. I did some digging and it turns out that Namco Bandai didn't even bring it to his attention. Troy was willing to return to reprise his role as Yuri, saying that it was one of his favorite characters to voice. My guess... A financial issue?

But I noticed the difference during the first 15mins of the game. I'm not saying that Grant is terrible, in fact I think he's got Yuri's attitude down to a T, but... He ain't no Troy Baker. It's a little heart breaking, but not enough to stop me from playing this game. (Editor's Note: Honestly? I like Grant as well since he's a perfect Yuri, but I wish, and as much as I loved Troy Baker as Yuri, that they just re-recorded all of the dialog to make it less jarring.) Judith also got a noticeably new actor, but I had no problem with her performance. In fact I think I like her over her original, but only just a little. If you can't stand the changes in voices the game will allow you to play with the original Japanese audio as an alternative.

The only other small con that I can think to bring up is the voice quality in the new added skits. You think for a game that's been sitting on a dusty shelf for 10 years would have newer, fancier equipment to heighten the games experience, but for some reason when I sat and listen to the skit scenes it almost sounded like a was watching a VHS. I was hoping Blu-Ray quality sound and I got a VCR??? Maybe I'm the only one thinking this, but hey... It's just an opinion.

The pros to this game is still everything that the original one had to offer. Beautiful graphics, a fantastic music score (as much as I HATE Flynn he has one of the most bad ass fighting themes of all times), great characters and an engrossing story. The fighting is always fun to play with friends or solo and all the side story content is just as good. Pretty sure I clocked over 100 hours of gameplay.

To conclude, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a must play in such a large ongoing series. The added bonus content is not entirely necessary, but still curious enough to go through it, but the cherry on top is definitely the whole game itself. Especially on the Switch since you can play it on the go. I'm giving this game an 8.5 out of 10, again I find that all these extras in the game were just not needed for a game that originally is a 10 out of 10.

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s):
Bandai Namco
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
4-Player Battle coop
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Microsoft Xbox One
PC

Source:
Purchased

Article by Natasha

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Sneak Peak at Warp Nexus by Developer Wyrmbyte

DENVER -  March 29, 2019 | Independent studio Wyrmbyte is getting back to their roots this year with the announcement of Warp Nexus - the spiritual successor to the cult classic space MMO Jumpgate. Launching first into Steam Early Access this summer, Warp Nexus will also be cross-platform on consoles and mobile, with cross-play enabled when it launches later this year.

Be whatever kind of pilot you want to be, take whatever kind of job you want, and reap the rewards in a space-flight MMO that takes the emptiness out of space by making sure your next job is just a quick warp away.

“Warp Nexus is the evolution of the ideas we all started with years ago when we made Jumpgate”, said Scott Brown, CEO of Wyrmbyte and Design Lead on Warp Nexus. “The technology and systems we’re building for Warp Nexus will make it a truly unique MMO that you can play on any device anywhere, and we can’t wait to show off more.”

What is Warp Nexus?

Warp Nexus is the spiritual successor to the Jumpgate Franchise. But it's taking the suck out of the vacuum of space. In most space games, there's a whole lot of endless flying to get to somewhere where the action is. Warp Nexus, on the other hand, posits that the universe has been made instantly traverse-able and humanity now takes advantage of this speedy network of warp points for profit and glory... but so do pirates and a whole host of seedy characters. Warp Nexus is also an MMO that runs itself. While the player spends time in their own hangar and around their ship between missions, an advanced server tech is constantly churning several Space Stations against each other. Economies shift and thrive on what they need, driving a constantly changing list of missions for players to work on. Some are solo, some are co-op, some are PVP, and each player has different types of licenses (think of them as classes) that result in different types of content - mining, escorting, bounty hunts, surveillance, etc. There's even a s competitive sport in the Nexus that let's players fight it out in a scale-able Battle Royale combat mode, earn rewards, prizes, gear, and currency.

Players can also hop into conquest mode where it is no holds barred combat as players try to control the known Nexus stars for their side. And even more is that players can actually create their own missions and issue them to the highest bidder. Need a resource but don't have the time or ability to get it done? Make a quest. Need some pirate player taken out? Mark them for a bounty. It's all customizable, and ensures that the players and their stories are at the center of the missions and quests. Heck, they can even make a mission for themselves if they don’t like what’s on offer, which will be intelligently tied into the economy of the many different Space Stations.

For more details about Warp Nexus, please visit the official teaser site here. We’ll be taking appointments at PAX East, so please reach out!

Social Media: Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Site

About Wyrmbyte

Wyrmbyte is focused on games where players play a role in the story. With over 20 years development background in online games, Wyrmbyte uses this experience to focus on games with strong player experience with its MOBA Dragons and Titans, the immersion of DragonWingsVR, and the strong stories of Ashes of Oahu.


Article by Susan N.

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World War Zero - Retro Reflection

Dozens of first person shooters have been produced since the 1990s, when the genre first appeared. Most of them follow standard rules that make them enjoyable even when they are of average quality. World War Zero is one of those average games that offer a few hours of mild amusement and then they are forgotten.

The story takes place in an alternate Earth, about fifty years after the first World War begun and …never ended! It seems that Britain, France and the United States did not defeat Germany and Austria in time and a new force emerged: Russia, which tries to control all Eurasia. The war has been waged for decades and the hero is an officer who undertakes a crucial mission involving the construction of a secret weapon. It is a pity the designers did not take advantage of the game’s unique premise and made it look and play like any other first person shooter. The only thing that shows you are in an alternate world is some text-only, repetitive radio messages and the fact that you fight soldiers dressed in Russian uniforms.

The action starts in the trenches and soon you go to other places, such as an occupied town and an armored, gigantic train. Unfortunately, most locations you visit are generic and boring, for example, empty, repetitive buildings and tunnels. The graphics are average at best, including the blocky character models. As for the sound, there is no music and the moans of dying enemies sound silly.

The gameplay focuses on marching forward and shooting anything that moves. I liked it when I had to escape a prison lab and find a gun immediately or activated a crane to jump on a departing train but most of the time the action is unexciting. Occasionally you are asked to kill an enemy officer and there is only one boss, at the end, which needs about 30 rockets to die; at first I thought I had encountered a bug! The level design is linear and exploration is very limited.

There is an auto aim mechanism, however, it is so effective it requires no skill on behalf of the player: when you point your target near a foe it locks onto him automatically and all you do afterwards is keep the fire button pressed. Weapons include a shotgun, a flame thrower, a rocket launcher and a sniper rifle although most of the time you use the assault rifle, which is deadly at close or long range. You find plenty of ammo lying around and save points that look like radios. Do not play the game on the easy difficulty, though, because it is almost impossible to die.

World War Zero is a first person shooter that does only what is necessary. Though it is highly playable and offers fast action, its production values are mediocre and there are many shooters on PS2 which are certainly better. I am afraid this war will never end…

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 2
Developer(s):
Rebellion Developments
Publisher(s):
MC2-Microϊds
Genre(s):
First Person Shooter
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
PC

Source:
Purchased

Article by Dimitris

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Heaven's Vault Releasing in Spring of 2019!

Uncover a forgotten past and decipher a lost language in this open-world narrative adventure game.

Join archaeologist Aliya Elasra and her robot sidekick Six as they investigate The Nebula, an ancient network of scattered moons.

Discover lost sites, freely explore ancient ruins and translate inscriptions to reveal the secrets of the Nebula’s past.

Decipher an entire hieroglyphic language in a puzzle mechanic with a unique narrative twist: every inscription you find has a meaning, and the translations you choose feed back into story, changing Aliya’s ideas about what she’s found. But be warned – you won’t ever be sure if your translations are correct.

The game has a non-linear design that allows you to approach the story in any order; backed up by inkle’s narrative engine, ink, which remembers every choice you make and every path you follow – and every path you don’t – and feeds that into what happens next.

A diverse cast of characters will react to everything you say, and change their approach depending on how you treat them. Some are kind, some are cautious, and others are out to con you – you have been warned!

Totally unique art style, blending beautiful 3D environments and hand-drawn 2D art.

• Learn and translate the ancient language of the Ancients.
• Interact with a large cast of characters who remember everything you say.
• Journey through an open world where every action counts.
• Sail on the rivers of the Nebula - and into its depths.
• Be a thief, an explorer, a detective, a seeker, a saviour, a rogue...

Heaven's Vault will be releasing in the Spring of 2019 on PS4 and Steam. Later on, the game will be released on Mac and iOS.

More information about Heaven's Vault can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Discord. Don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam!

About Inkle Studios

Inkle was founded by Joseph Humfrey and Jon Ingold, two game developers from Cambridge that have passion for design and storytelling. Since inception in 2011, Inkle Studios has expanded their team which includes talented individuals like Tom Kail, Laura Dilloway, Prian Tremethick, and Sarah Hefford, just to name a few. The studio collaborates with a number of individuals and companies including Steve Jackson - creator of the tabletop card game Munchkin, Kelley Armstrong - a prolific YA author, Black Belt Games, and Penguin USA.

Inkle is a BAFTA-nominated Indie game developer who has released other games like 80 Days and Sorcery! Get more information about the studio on their official website.


Article by Susan N.

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Blaster Master Zero 2 - Switch Review

After the recent announcement and surprise release during the latest Nintendo Showcase, Blast Master Zero 2 became available for fans of the now one off having become a series. Reprising your role as Jason alongside the help of Fred the dimensional frog and the android Eve, you'll now be exploring the Galaxy in a new version of the SOPHIA. Your Goal? Head to Eve's homeworld in order to save her from the parasitic infection of mutant DNA that is currently taking her over, and yes, I love the nod to Parasite Eve!

A bit of disclaimer here, I've never played Blast Master Zero so I can't really compare the sequel to it's predecessor. What I can do however is state what a pleasant and fun experience it is. Merging a side scrolling metroidvania in a flying tank alongside smaller third person action dungeons when Jason gets out of the SOPHIA to explore smaller areas? Hours went by the first time I picked it up and man were they worth it.

Being new to the series however, BMZ 2 starts off with a quick recap of the events of the first while also setting up the direction of the second. Now unable to leave the SOPHIA as it's the only thing keeping Eve's mutations at bay, she, Jason and Fred set out to cross the universe in hopes of finding a cure to Eve's condition.

As nothing ever goes to plan, BMZ 2 starts off with the crew of the SOPHIA crash landing on a random planet that just happens to be inhabited by mutants that will kill you if you're not careful. Acting as a tutorial, it doesn't take long before figuring out that there are essentially three types of gameplays available. Split more into half of one and then two halves of the others, the core gameplay of BMZ will be in the SOPHIA as you drive, jump, wall jump, hover and shoot your way across plenty of alien planets. The controls are simple but add some complexity when you start to get newer weapon types that are more than your simple cannon fire and basic rockets.

Anything outside of your standard attack and jumps uses up power. Rockets, Homing Rockets, Hovering and a lot more, all use parts of your power meter. Your meter will fill up in time but it’s slow and more often than not you’ll probably empty it in the heat of the moment causing the SOPHIA to go into a power drained mode. While power drained, the SOPHIA takes added damage, does less damage, and is all around more vulnerable to enemy attacks. To circumvent this, falling from REALLY high will cause a spike in your power systems as it’s possible to recharge through kinetic energy. Who would have thought dropping from so high would have been a good thing and not kill you? Well in a tank it doesn’t, as Jason leaves the cockpit, you’d better be careful.

Unlike Trogdor who was a Man, a Dragon Man, no, he was just a Dragon! Jason is a Man and a fairly normal one at that. Jumping out of the SOPHIA'S cockpit is definitely not safe but it is often required in order to fit into smaller spaces that lead to either bonus items or items that are required in order to continue exploring.

The first of Jason’s gameplay modes plays out like riding around in the SOPHIA however a fall from what could simply look like a modest height is more than enough to end Jason's life. You have to be quite careful. Only adding to the danger are that the beings that attack you while in your tank are even more dangerous once Jason is outside of it and Jason's blaster is not quite the most powerful. So limiting just how far he needs to go before finding a space to duck into is always best.

Once you get Jason into an area though, things spice up a bit as the 2D platforming is replaced with a 3D action / adventure type of gameplay in which Jason is truly the main star with plenty of weapons at his disposal. Becoming essentially less squishy, these segments had to have been my favorite part. Running around shooting your enemies, solving puzzles and performing boss fights. It was fantastic as it was never overly complicated nor was it ever drawn out to the point of boredom.

Now it’s not that you don't have boss fights in the SOPHIA, but it really isn't the same. There’s a bigger stress as you have a squishy body and all depending on your performance, you’re penalized which can severely limit your combat options. Acting like a reverse power meter, Jason can pick up power ups that allow for bigger moves to be performed that require xth amount of power to perform. While this sounds rather standard, if Jason is hit, the power meter drops. This teaches you very fast to learn enemy patterns and use what you have as effectively as possible.

Blaster Master Zero 2 was loads of fun. Coming out of nowhere for fans of the first and for me, I have zero regrets and will now head out in order to play the first to see just how the two compare to one another. With more or less three varied modes of gameplay, slick controls and plenty of new abilities to pick up and use against standard and boss mutants alike, there’s plenty to enjoy for both fans of metroidvanias and platformers!

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Inti Creates
Publisher(s):
Inti Creates
Genre(s):
Action
Platformer
Metroidvania
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Unbound Worlds Apart Reveal Trailer!

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA, 2 APRIL 2019 - Alien Pixel Studios today reveal their upcoming puzzle-adventure, Unbound: Worlds Apart, in an atmospheric trailer that showcases the game's gorgeous and evocative world and its unique dimension-shifting mechanics.

Unbound: Worlds Apart invites players to take on the role of Soli, conjuring magic portals to travel between different realities in order to learn more about the catastrophe that ravaged his world. Inside certain portals, the laws of physics and abilities of the character can change, opening up new and inventive ways to progress.
As Soli discovers more about the fate that befell this world, players will explore a stunning hand-crafted world and explore a dark fairytale that begs to be unraveled.

The game is already taking shape and an early demo is expected to be released later in the Spring. To help give the game its all-important finishing touches, Alien Pixel Studios are planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign on the 7th of May - and those who back the project early will receive exclusive early access to the demo.


Olga Ciob, Art Director on Unbound, said: "Unbound is a game in which you not only explore a beautiful world and solve environmental puzzles, but also have a number of different mechanics and changeable behaviors that you'll need to learn, adapt to, and use to progress through the story. You'll always have an alternative world available to you by opening a portal. But there's an element of risk and reward, as you never know what will be lurking on the other side."

Game Designer Sergiu Craitoiu added: "In June 2018, we quit our jobs and began developing Unbound full time. Because the game is shaping up nicely and the project grew up to be more than just a 'spare time gig', we found ourselves in need of funds to continue the development without having to compromise on the quality or the content of our vision. Bringing Unbound to Kickstarter will not only give us a possibility to finance the development of the game, but it will also keep us on our toes and ensure we are committed to our community. We see it as a promise to our players to deliver the best game we possibly can next year."

Interested players can already wishlist the game on Steam, join the Discord server, and follow Alien Pixel Studios on Twitter.

Unbound: Worlds Apart will release for PC via Steam in Spring 2020.

About Alien Pixel Studios

Alien Pixel Studios is an indie development company based in Romania. The studio is currently working on Unbound: Worlds Apart but first released a title called Polandball: Can into Space - a campy casual-styled RPG with rockets! Follow Alien Pixel Studios on their website, YouTube, and Facebook.


Article by Susan N.

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The Wizards - Enhanced Edition - PS4 / PSVR Review

Probably the best compliment I can pay to The Wizards - Enhanced Edition, is that it feels like a fully fleshed out game, and not just a quick VR experiment like so many other action games on the platform are. The Wizards has some lofty goals in its design, and while it does not hit all of them - it does achieve most of what it sets out to accomplish.

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Ivanovich Games Announces New Challenges in Beat Blaster

Barcelona, 29th Mar 2019 - Ivanovich Games is proud to reveal Beat Blaster, the original VR game of shooting, running and dodging where everything happens to the beat of the music. An original mix of styles where each game will offer you a new challenge.

Beat Blaster will release in PSVR next 5th April.

30 SONGS

Each level introduces a novelty and all the games are different thanks to the intelligent generation of levels.

4 WAYS TO CONVERT THE MOVEMENT

You can choose between the classic VR controller, the new 3dRudder, tilting the head or the intuitive and original control based on the displacement of the head.

NO WAITING TIMES

There are no loading screens, complicated menus or eternal waiting. Beat Blaster is direct fun without complications.

3DRUDDER AND AIM CONTROLLER

This game has been designed to take full advantage of the characteristics of the 3dRudder. If you also have an Aim Controller the experience is incredible.

NO MOTION SICKNESS

Beat Blaster is a VR game with a high-speed component. But all moves in the game are designed without rotating the player, thus minimizing the probability of motion sickness.

EASY RULES

To clear a level, you must reach the end of the song without dying.
Sounds easy, doesn't it? You have a Blaster with infinite ammunition and a single life to dodge or kill all the enemies that will appear to the rhythm of the music.

Beat Blaster will be released in PlayStationVR, SteamVR, Oculus Store and Viveport Store next 5th April at $19.99.

Check out the Steam page here!

About Ivanovich Games

Ivanovich Games are focused on the creation of original video games with a special focus in VR. Creators of Operation Warcade and Final Soccer. For more information visit their website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.


Article by Susan N.

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Din's Legacy - PC Preview

Because Zombies are just not enough anymore, Soldak Entertainment are back with another ever evolving experience involving mutants. Set in the same world as Zombasite, you’ll once again get the chance to create a custom character in order to set out into the wilds, level up, pick up loot and kill as many things as possible in this open ended Hack & Slash.

Currently within an alpha phase of its Early Access, Din’s Legacy is already moving along rather smoothly. Part of this however may be because Zombasite is being used as an actual base so in loading it up you’ll immediately recognize your home base’s four walls. Within these walls are the various facilities that you’ll need in order to survive the outside world such as a smithy for repairs, a healing obelisk (obvious enough) and the interface that will help you guide the people that are along the ride with you.

At its core, Din’s Legacy is a Hack & Slash and believe me when I say that there is a lot of hacking, and probably even more slashing. The hordes of enemies make the likes of Diablo at it’s worth in Torment 50+ dungeons look like a cakewalk. The main reason for this is that the other can feel like a cake walk is because Din’s Legacy works off of the same scaling factors that its predecessor did. You start at a certain level for the basic enemies and then as time progresses, everything gets more powerful.

Enemies gradually grow stronger on their own but what can make you encounter real problems is that while you are out fighting, or back at the base healing, or finding other NPCs to join your forces, enemies can still kill one another and level up and promote themselves making your life a living hell when they are levels above yours and you don’t yet have the equipment to handle them.

Equipment is more or less locked by classes and features such as having to unlock mail armor, or unlock bows, daggers or swords. You’ll have a fair amount of class choice at the beginning which affect your base skills but there are a lot of open slots for others to be discovered as well as the fact that you can simply make your own which is pretty cool. Further to that, while every play through is random enough with its quests and map layouts, your starting mutations, which are basically other skills that can be leveled up, are just as random so you literally never know what you’re going to get!

So on the overall, if you’ve played Zombasite, you’ve essentially played Din’s Legacy. The biggest difference between the two is that Zombasite is a finished product while Din’s Legacy is looking into new avenues for its style. With Mutations giving access to new and random skills for your classes, there’s plenty of Hack & Slash action to keep you or you and friend(s) going for a while. What will be interesting is to see what comes out of the next patches and if there’s anything game changing that appears once Din’s Legacy hits its Beta.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Soldak Entertainment
Publisher(s):
Soldak Entertainment
Genre(s):
Hack & Slash
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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