Mario Malagrino and his work in progress, OUT-OF!

Mario Malagrino is not only a multi-awarded designer and photographer, but also an experienced CG artist and character designer. Starting at an early age with gaming, he quickly grew addicted to shoot em ups. He began with the iconic game Vanguard for the old Atari 2600, and didn’t stop until he had destroyed all of the classics for the Amiga 500 and the arcades at the time. All of this gaming experience has influenced the development of his current project, which does a good job of recapturing the familiarity and emotions those old games invoked. He began a few years ago by learning the ins-and-outs of game development, and when he felt that he was ready, Mario began to start his dream project: OUT-OF. This game has been in development since he was 14 years old. Now, many years later, he has developed all the skills needed to deliver the King of all Shmups !

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SGR – In an Indie world that is saturated with different types of shoot-em ups, what is going to draw players to your game? What would you say are the stronger features of Out-of?

Mario – This game has some of the most freaking cool aliens and monsters ever I have ever seen for a side scrolling shmup. Not only that, but I think that there are several points that make OUT-OF a unique experience. The graphics are very detailed and the enemy designs are really unique. Same for the weapons. In my opinion, there really hasn’t been many weapons that will add a tactical feeling to a game. In OUT-OF, every weapon has its own properties. Additionally, it has a story that directly influences the gameplay, so that the player feels immersed in the experience of the OUT-OF universe. This approach helps the game avoid feeling like other shmups, in which the player is just shooting senselessly at enemies. Playing through the story, the player will use different kinds of vehicles. A few are small, a few are bigger, and some are faster or stronger depending on the level and situation. All of these things makes the game seem a bit more in depth and immersive compared to the great classics I grew up playing. There are so many more things, but to avoid spoilers I will stop there …but a few of the details are mind-blowing, that’s for sure.

 

SGR – The varying enemy types and bosses truly are pretty impressive, and as you mentioned you are working as a one man team. How difficult has creating this game been for you since you are working alone?

Mario – It is not easy to create all these graphics all by myself. The entire game has assets which are super detailed, especially the enemies which have many details and cool animations. This should convince the player to kill them as soon they see them. As an experienced designer, 3d software expert and photographer, I have (of course) the benefit of many combined techniques. This allows me to maximize my workflow and deliver an unseen alien world. I think that’s one of the high points of this game. Many shmups are simple clones of the great classics. Frequently these days, we have minimalistic styles or just geometric designs, I try to go beyond and create something unique. Thank GOD I like to design all this stuff. It’s a hard job but I enjoy it. The hardest thing about being in a “one man team” is that I can’t get any feedback or ideas from a traditional development team,  and that is a bit frustrating.

 

 

SGR – What different types of weapons and battling mechanics can we expect to see with OUT-OF? With all the visuals exploding across the screen during combat, were there any trouble with programming or bugs?

Mario – There are over 10 standard weapons. A few kind-of bombs, and a few super weapons that can be used for short time. The player can choose from their inventory what weapon to use depending upon the situation and also from the ammo amount, since almost all of the weapons have limited ammo. This makes the game really challenging. In a few situations, the player usually expend all of their ammo. In other situations, the player must be careful at what they shoot. A few enemies can explode, and from their bodies, even worse enemies will appear. There’s even a few enemies that will be active only after they have noticed the player. There are several mechanics that allow the player to have some challenging gameplay. Sometimes there are moments where coordinating all of the special effects onscreen becomes difficult. Not all enemies have the same explosions, and each weapon has its’ own effects. I think I have managed it all very well so far.

 

 

SGR – Considering your project is still unfinished, what can we expect to see with future level designs and boss battles? Do you have any big plans for development within the game?

Mario – Like for all great shoot’em ups, the boss battles will be very hard. However, I saw in a few classic titles that the first boss can be defeated within 1 minute; this will not happen here. I think this is what the player is waiting for. Long, difficult levels  with no time to have a break, and after a few seconds, the boss battles will begin. The only break the player will have is between the levels, since there will be a few briefings to explain the next missions, or the commands of new vehicles. What I will try to do is to deliver a boss that has a cool design, and have it fit into the atmosphere of OUT-OF. The level designs will bring big variations to the game not only as aesthetics, but also to the gameplay. There will be also an exploration level that is not side scrolling like the rest of the game is, but player guided, similar to a platforming game. And many other cool features (but again, I would spoil the story if I tell more).

 

SGR – What software are you using to develop Out-Of? What are some of the bigger challenges you face in the meantime within the development stage?

Mario – The main software that I use are 3D Studio Max and Photoshop . I think that these are really great software products, and they really allow me to create what I have in mind. Many people ask me what software I am using, but what I think is more important is which software a developer feels most comfortable using. 3d Studio Max. Blender or Maya. Unity. UE4 or Cry Engine. Photoshop or Gimp. In the end, you can create great stuff with all software. The only secret is faith, ambition and to be a great dreamer. Remember, software products are tools but, without a clear idea or a great concept, they are totally useless.

The biggest challenge for me is to group enemies in several categories, which have certain properties, and decide the individual behaviors of the enemies. I have over sixty different enemies ready, and another huge group that has still to be completed. Probably not all of them will be used in this game. This will give me material for “OUT-OF 2” should this one have enough success. But I like to have that big amount of enemies or assets simply to make an accurate selection, and use them as needed to fit a certain aesthetic any given level calls for.

 

SGR – What platforms are you aiming to have your game available on?  Any idea of when you’ll start a launch campaign?

Mario – For sure PC, I will probably also Mac, Linux, and with a bit luck also Xbox One. It is very hard to say when the campaign can start. 2017? Later than that? I don’t know. Every day I have new ideas and enemy designs, so it’s hard to tell you when the game will be ready.

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Stay tune with Super Game Reviews  for future updates with Mario Malagrino’s OUT-OF, for more be sure to vist Out-OF‘s Facebook!

Here is the Steam Greenlight for it! Click below to see gameplay footage for OUT-OF!

 

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | Review

 This article will be discussing the latest entry within the Call of Duty series. It may contain spoilers in some areas of the game.

Continuing the trend with advancing into the Future, we find ourselves in the battle for the Solar System this time around! Utilizing the new mechanizes we find within the Space setting as well as the new Jackal (a combat spacecraft capable of combat in air and space) will we be able to save humanity from the grips of  hostile forces? Read more to see our thoughts on the Single and Multiplayer experience!

Here is our Beta Access Impression!

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Systems (s): Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One

Developer:Infinity Ward

Publisher: Activision

Release Date: November 4, 2016

Price: $60 USD

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The Gameplay:

Infinite Warfare retains a lot of familiar features, including the popular chain-based momentum movement with thrusting, wallrunning as well as sliding. With the drive towards space, we see a lot of zero-gravity type movement as well as on ground combat.

Within the Campaign the Player is given the ability to boost as well as use of the grappling hook. Both of which will help with mobility in zero-gravity areas.

After completion of the game we are introduced to the Specialist mode. Specialist mode  has many handicaps such as the Player has to replenish health via pick ups, if limbs get damage you may not be able to use them as well as the ability for guns to be shot out of your hand. If you die you have to restart the entire game as opposed to just the check point. If only the limb damage aspect of this was included in the Multiplayer, the experience would have improved so much.

 

The Single Player:

Assuming the role of Nick Reyes, Captain of the Special Combat Air Recon (S.C.A.R.S.), the Player joins the war for the Solar System. Introduced to a  more in-depth approach to outer space, we see Infinite Warfare embracing mechanics such as zero-gravity and easier transitions from space to ground combat. Offering different customizable loadouts to help suit the Player better, we are offered a darker take on the War in space.

We arrive in a time where Earth has been stripped of all of it’s Natural Resources, resulting from population and industrial growth. The United Nations Space Alliance (UNSA), with a branch into colonizing in space,  created colonies around the Solar System to mine Resources. Unfortunately Antagonist Rear Admiral Salen Kotch and his Settlement Defense Front (SDF) has different plans for these valuable outposts. Thus the fight for survival begins.

Ship Assaults (Side Missions)

Utilizing our Jackal for both aerial and space warfare allows us to experience the death defying dogfights without overbearing limitations. Although the Jackal missions felt somewhat thrown together here and there, overall it offered a refreshing break from on the ground combat. With such freedom in movement, firefights in space become  heart racing as you maneuver through wreckage in the heat of battle. The ability to customize the loadout and the visual really helped me suit my play style to what I needed to beat the mission.

 

 

The Multiplayer:

Offering players many different options of playstyles with this installment to the Call of Duty franchise, we see a fairly large range of weapons and attachments. With the options to choose from ballistic weapons to futuristic energy-based ones, the Player can also gain upgrades by using Salvage Points. Salvage Points are earned by ranking up in your Mission Team, Supply Drops and by randomly signing in as well. This new weapon progression allows the player to earn different type of prototypes that has different combinations of perks.

The maps are decently in-depth, asserting front-line fire fights within the various maps (Frost, Terminal, Frontier, Throwback and Breakout). Different mechanics, especially parkour, are encouraged by offering adaptable environments to beginners. Veterans of the series will benefit from the fluidity of the flow. While a lot of these features seem favorable, ultimately with the game modes and nothing really innovative the multiplayer felt lack-luster.

Combat Rigs

Capitalizing off of the Specialist System  that was introduced in Black Ops III, we are given an upgrade to the class system called Combat Rigs

Warfighter – The Warfighter Rig is a mobile mid-range Combat Rig that is pretty accessible to all the players and is well-rounded in Offensive and Defensive play styles.

Payloads:

• Claw – A firearm that has rapid fire with ricochet ballistic rounds. Aiming down the sights offers additional focused damage.
• Combat Focus – The ability to gain double streak points for a limit amount of time
• Overdrive – Grants limited surges of speed to the player

Traits: :

• Ping – Any Kills or Assists will activate your minimap of an enemy’s location.
• Persistence – Allows you to continue a Scorestreak after you die, although you can only earn each of your Scoresreaks once per match.
• Resupply – Successful kills with non-explosive or energy weapons grant lethal and tactical grenades when picking up ammo boxes

Merc – The Merc Rig is a battle rig that focuses on heavy defense and providing cover for your teammates.

Payloads:

• Steel Dragon – A heavy beam based weapon that tracks multiple targets
• Bull Charge – A shield that will charge forward and level your oppression
• Reactive Armor – An Electromagnetic shell that protects the Player from damage

Traits: 

• Infusion – Regenerates the Player’s health faster
• Mans-at-Arms – Allows the Player to start with maximum ammo and weapons do not slow down movement
• Shockwave – Performs a devastating ground slam

 

Synaptic – The Synaptic Rig is a designed for speed and close combat, well suited for Players that run and gun.

Payloads:

• Equalizer – Dual integrated machine guns that offer suppressed fire within close combat quarters.
• Reaper – Switches the player to rapid melee combat mode.
• Rewind – Rewinds the players positions and refills health and ammunition.

Traits:

• Combat Burst – Each kill offers a brief boost to movement and speed.
• Propulsion – The Player’s thrusters are improved allowed energy to recover fast and will also damage enemy players below.
• Rushdown – Allows the Players to execute quicker movements by pressing L3

 

Phantom – The Phantom Rig specializes in long-range combat as well as concealment.

Payloads:

• Ballista Em3 – A electromagnectic projectile launcher that is highly accurate and has increased penetration capabilities.
• Active Camo – Will allow the Play to be almost completely invisible.
• Pulsar – An EM Sensor that will allow the Player to visualize the enemy positions.

Traits:

• Marked Target – Damaging an enemy will mark them for death, with the ability to prevent health from regenerating for 5 seconds. 
• Rearguard – Allows the Player to spawn in with a shield attached to their back. Protects against attacks from the back, all melee attacks are prevented besides one to the front.
• Heightened Senses – Aiming down the sight with a sniper rifle will allow the Player to pick up increased audio from nearby enemies. Warning blips will appear if close

 

FTL –  The FTL Rig is well suited for Players that like to run and gun. 

Payloads:

• Eraser – An energy-based handgun with the ability to evaporate enemies .
• FTL Jump- Moves the Player a short distance forward.
• Phase Shift – Transports the Player to a different dimension in which you can avoid damage for a short period. Enemies that are phased is the only way an opponent can damage you .

Traits:

• Power Slide- Not only allows the Player to aim down the sights while sliding but also boost the speed and distance. The cost of boost is lowered as well.
• Supercharge- Whenever the Player kills an enemy, a cooldown pack will drop. Your teammates can pick them up and boost their own super meters.
• Perception- Will notify the Player when enemies are looking in their peripheral directions.

 

Stryker – The Stryker Rig is best suited for team support, and is capable of dealing massive amounts of damage.

Payloads:

• Gravity Vortex Gun – Launches a projectile that pulls enemies towards it and damages them.
• Micro Turret – A deployable turret that will attach to many different surfaces.
• Centruion – Has the ability to destroy enemy projectiles as well as applies a eletromagentic field onto the battlefield.

Traits: 

• Trophy Drone – Has the ability to destroy one lethal grenade.
• Relay- The Player will be alerted when equipment detects the enemy.
• Hardened- The Player’s drones and equipment will have increased health and will still operate even upon death.

 

Zombies –

Following the suit of previous installments of the game mode Zombies in terms of play style, we are also given 4 different characters as well (Poindexter, A.j.,  Andre the Rapper, and Sally the Vally Girl). Set in the 80’s with your typical stereotypes of that era we find ourselves 4 actors trapped in movie set turned into “Zombies in Spaceland”. Together with help from David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight (Knight Rider) we fight our way through hordes of zombies, it’s up to the Player to see how long. I wasn’t able to spend much time with the Zomibe mode but I felt it should atleast be acknowledged.

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Final Judgment: 75%

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare left some rather gripping moments in its wake leading it the end. The additions to the campaign helped complete the feeling of being in space, but at times the story grew bland. Although the side missions were intended to prolong the roughly 8 hr experience, they themselves felt generic at time. The Rig Combat System as well as the new weapon progression enhanced the multiplayer experience to some degree. Unfortunately with games such as Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 having been released around the same time, the Multiplayer wasn’t something that caught my attention.  Though the different Rig Classes did provide some short entertainment, overall I felt the campaign took the cake with reasons to play this title. The focus on rewarding different play styles was a big step forward and the deep reach towards that goal was a great move as a final note.

 

Pros – 

• Strong Protagonist with decent side characters helped build a solid story.
• Different events in the story kept me playing till the end
• Introduction to the new weapon progression system was invigorating
• The 80’s theme with Zombies was fun

Cons – 

• Repetitive Jackal Missions
• Issues with Jackal controls at certain points
• Movement in space can be confusing or nauseating to some
• Salvage Coins were hard to build up
• An uninventive Multiplayer hindered Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s experienced compared to other titles launching around that time.

 

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Below is gameplay footage of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare!

Indie Game Spotlight: Stardew Valley

I admit it. At first glance, Stardew Valley didn’t really look like my “cup of tea”. After it was first released back in February, I noticed the beautiful pixel art and was a little intrigued but farming didn’t seem quite exciting enough to invest in. On October 3rd, ConcernedApe released patch 1.1 on which introduced some new maps and bug fixes so I figured now was the time to see what I’ve been missing. All of my expectations were wrong. Stardew Valley is an extremely charming and relaxing experience. Not only can the player farm, but also fish, mine, forage, make friends, get married, fight monsters and so much more. After a few days in Stardew Valley I was completely addicted. I kept telling myself, “I’ll just play one more day”, before quickly realizing a whole month in the game had passed.

Stardew Valley

System:
PC, OS X, Linux, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One

Developer:
ConcernedApe
Publisher: Chucklefish Games

Released:
February 26, 2016
(Last updated October 3rd)

Price:
$14.99  (On Steam!)

The Gameplay:

After creating an avatar and choosing a farm type (new map types were added in version 1.1), the player begins their stay in Stardew Valley after receiving a letter from their recently deceased relative. The letter mentions that the player has inherited the family farm. After quitting a dead-end job, the player rushes to their newly acquired land and is greeted by a few locals. Upon first inspection, the farm is a complete wreck. Inside the cabin, which serves as the player’s home and base of operations, you are left with a few shoddy tools and just enough seeds to start planting the first round of crops for the season. At this point I would advise players to enter town and purchase as many seeds as they can afford to maximize profit by the end of the season. Before the player can plant anything, they must clear a part of their land from trees, logs, weeds, and any other junk that has piled up on their farmland. The player can chop the trees and logs to collect wood, sap, and sometimes acorns or pine cones. Once those things are cleared out, the player can finish off the remaining weeds and rocks with their scythe and pickaxe.

 

Once a suitable area of land has been cleared, it’s time to grab your hoe and start hoeing. I found that 3×3 plots of land yielded the best results. Now that the farmland is prepared, just plop some seeds down and make sure to water them. After that, you have the whole rest of the day to do whatever you wish. The player isn’t really given any other directions but you will receive a few quests to get you started. I would advise walking around town and getting to know the different shops and locations. Giving gifts to the townspeople is a great way to start making new friends. Early on, you acquire a fishing pole. Catching fish requires a fun little mini-game and there’s a chance you might also reel in some sunken treasure. After introducing yourself to your new neighbors and catch a fish or two, make sure to keep an eye on the clock. If it turns 2:00 AM, the player will pass out from exhaustion. Just make sure to get home and into bed before that happens or else the player will be carried home and charged a fee!

Crafting is also an essential part of the Stardew Valley experience. After collecting enough materials and leveling the appropriate skills, the player will gain access to all sorts of gadgets to craft. Many of the are used to create artisan goods from the plants, fish, and animal products they collect. Mayonnaise machines, Bee hives for making honey, kegs for making alcoholic beverages, and dozens of other gadgets and decorations become available for to the player. The decorations, such as pathways and fences can be used to make the farm look organized and keep grass from growing onto the fields. Scarecrows can also be crafted to keep crows from feasting on the players crops. To gain access to more crafting recipes, the player must level up different skills such as farming and foraging. These will automatically level after gaining enough experience in each skill at the end of the day.

Some features I didn’t expect at all in a farming game were mining and monster fighting. After a few days of farm management, I suggest that the player visit the far northeast of the map and look for the mine. Once inside, you will meet the leader of the nearby adventurers guild who will gift you a beginner sword. As you descend the mines you will encounter various monster types. The adventurers guild will offer contracts for slaying a certain amount of each monster type and give you rewards for each contract completed. The guildmaster also sells improved weapons to make monster killing more efficient. Slaying monsters won’t be the only thing happening in the mines, however. While delving deeper and deeper into the depths, the player will find precious ores, rare stones, and ancient artifacts. Ores can be smelting into bars for crafting new items and upgrading tools. The rare stones and artifacts can be donated to the local museum (which will also offer rewards) or sold for profit.

Besides collecting items, farming, fishing, mining and foraging, the player will be invited to join 2 festivals per season. These events are a good opportunity to interact with the townsfolk and even give the player the chance to purchase rare items or compete for prizes. These festivals made me regret not spending time forging friendships early in the game. I was very sad when nobody wanted to dance with me during a festival when everyone else had partnered up. An interesting part of getting to know the various locals is that the player has the chance to get married to one of the suitable bachelors or bachelorettes if they choose to after making an NPC fall in love with them. This requires them to fall in love with the player and is accomplished by giving them gifts they love and remembering their birthday (which is displayed on a calendar in front of the main shop). Gaining enough friendship points with others will cause them to occasionally send you gifts or open up other interactions with those characters. If the player is lucky, they may even invite you into their bedroom!

No farm can truly be complete with out some animals to tend to. After purchasing the appropriate buildings from the local carpenter, the player has the option to purchase some animals. You can raise and breed all kinds of animals, but until you upgrade your coops and barns you have chickens and cows to choose from. These animals start out as babies and eventually grow up to produce eggs and milk. later on you can purchase goats, ducks and other animals who produce other goods. The player can also purchase a horse to make traveling around Stardew Valley less of a chore since there is no sprint ability. Remember to check in on animals each day because their yield increases depending on how much the love their owner. The player also has the chance to adopt a dog or cat (depending on which one they picked during character creation) although I never really found a use for them other than to keep you company while tending to your land.

There’s so much to do in Stardew Valley I could write a book on it, but one other important aspect I’d like to cover is the local community center. Long forgotten, the community center is in complete disrepair. After visiting the center and receiving some advice from a wizard, the player can begin to deliver bundles to the strange inhabitants to restore different rooms of the community center. These bundles are collections of various goods that you will collect or grow during your stay in Stardew Valley. After completing a bundle, the player will be rewarded with rare seeds, money, gadgets, and other cool items. If you lack a soul, there is another option that might interest you. Instead of helping the current inhabitants, the player has the option to instead sell the community center to a seemingly evil corporation called Jojo Mart and turn it into their warehouse. By doing this, you can skip collecting the bundles and instead unlock rooms with cash. This unfortunately may also have a negative affect for the town and townsfolk. Make sure to consider the long-term effects this decision might have.

Final Judgment: 98/100

Stardew Valley is a work of art. You can tell right away that this game was skillfully handcrafted with a lot of care. My biggest problem with this game is that it was so hard to stop playing! There are so many things to do, new areas to explore, awesome gadgets to craft, and people to meet that Stardew Valley is sure to keep you entertained. The freedom you are given is amazing. You can literally design your farm exactly the way you envision. I’ve heard that there are plenty of mods around to add even more variety to the game. I didn’t expect to enjoy this experience nearly as much as I did and seriously almost rage deleted it from my computer because it had consumed so much of my time. Even if farming doesn’t sound like something you would enjoy in a video game, I encourage everyone to give this wonderful gem of a game a change. Stardew Valley is worth every penny!

Pros:

• So many things to do!
• Beautiful pixel art
• Charming soundtrack
• Cute characters and animals
• Can marry NPCs
• Fun mini games
• Replayablility (even more with new maps added in version 1.1)
• Day/Night cycle and calender
• Multiple farm maps to choose from
• Character creation
• Realistic issues

Cons:

• No sprint button
• Limited NPC interaction
• No skills or magic to use in battle

Tyranny | Review

Obsidian Entertainment strikes again with their new roleplaying masterpiece, Tyranny! Having just finished the game moments ago, I’m struggling to write this review because I’m already planning my next playthrough. If you’ve had the pleasure of playing Pillars of Eternity (Obsidian’s previous release with Paradox Interactive), the gameplay and controls will be mostly recognizable from the start. The player fills the shoes of a Fatebinder; an agent of a god-like ruler, sent forth to dispense order amongst the newly conquered realms. There are various local and invading factions fighting for dominance and it is up to you to settle disputes and forge alliances whenever you see fit.

Tyranny

System:
PC, OS X, Linux

Developer:
Obsidian Entertainment

Released:
November 10, 2016

Price:
$44.99

 

The Gameplay:

The player’s journey begins at character creation. I was pleased that they offered plenty of appearance options allowing you to alter gender, skin tone, hairstyle (unfortunately no dreadlocks!), body type, and even a small selection of cool tribal like tattoos. A unique feature in Tyranny’s  character creation system are the background options. This will define how your life began and how you came to be drafted into the ranks of Kyros’ forces. The background you choose with grant you some unique interactions during your travels. I choose the life of a pit fighter and got a few brutal choices later on like waving the recently severed arm of a warrior I had just defeated in front of his former gang to intimidate them. There are also different classes to choose from in the beginning, but that doesn’t limit the player characters ability to branch out later and acquire skill from other classes if they wish. I played as an unarmed fist fighter on my first run and had no problems beating the game, so feel free to experiment with the different primary and secondary options.

On the final tab of character creation, a feature called Conquest allows you even further control of your characters past. This option involves a choose-you-own-adventure style board game that lets you decide your role in the events that took place during the invasion of the tiers. The player will be presented choices (represented by tabletop game pieces) and must decide which of the two main invading armies to support, or attempt to keep the peace between the two rival conquerors. There are few decisions without repercussions, and neither side is really “good” (although one side is much more chaotic and unpredictable!). The locations you choose will also have an effect because some get blocked by choosing others. This alone gave me plenty of reasons to replay this game and the epic journey hadn’t even begun!

Combat in Tyranny is very similar to Pillars of Eternity, but still reminiscent of classics like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. Expect your typical swords, shields, bows, and magic. I refrained from them all and fisted punched my way through the whole game. After experimenting with different companions’ gear and moves, I’d wager all equipment choices should be equally viable. I had slight reservations about being unarmed after finding a bunch of rare artifact weapons, but beating down armored foes with just my hands and feet was still totally worth it. Magic also deserves an honorable mention. Tyranny offers an interesting spell customization system mixing powers and effects into powerful spells to maim, incinerate, and electrocute your enemies with.

Another unique feature that immediately stands out are combo moves. Some involve amplifying the powers of your teammates or being hurled into the air to deliver devastating effects on surrounding foes. These moves are unlocked using a reputation system where you accrue fear and loyalty points depending on how you interact with your followers and whether or not they approve of your methods. I loved this system because even followers who didn’t like me were far too afraid to ever betray my will. These combos are restricted to either fear or loyalty, but don’t worry; companions can be both loyal AND fearful of their new leader. Each companion also has their own alliances and goals that often will conflict with the motives of other companions. All of the companions are very well voiced and have their own neat backstories to uncover as you travel and fight together.

The thing about Tyranny that I enjoyed and appreciated more than the rest was the weight of your decisions. Conquest mode and the decisions you make actually make a difference. Even the smaller choices you make will have an impact on the way the story plays out. Each faction is surprisingly fleshed out and memorable. Bringing along different companions along to certain areas can also affect interactions and dialogue options. The player will usually have the chance to betray most alliances they make incase they have a change of heart. The player will also notice NPCs commenting on events that took place in Conquest mode. Factions, like companions, have their own reputation and wrath meters which display how much each faction reveres or despises the player (these reputations will also unlock additional powers as they progress).

Final Judgment: 96/100

Tyranny, in my opinion, was an amazing success and featured everything I love about classic  RPGs. There were a few issues I had while playing such as the game lagging a bit in a few areas or during battles, or the cursor disappearing at unfortunate times (first encountered during one of the final bosses). I’m sure most of these issues will disappear after a few patches are released. Bethesda did an awesome job setting the stage for expansions or a sequel which I’m seriously looking forward to. The lore was unique and mysterious. The setting was fantastic and I really felt immersed at all times. I know for certain that I’ll play this game a few more times to see the different outcomes. I encourage all classic RPG fans, especially those who enjoyed Pillars of Eternity, to give this game a shot. The more I write about it, I begin to realize that this has been one of my favorite video game experiences yet. That being said, it won’t appeal everyone but I still encourage players who are new to these types of games to experience what Tyranny has to offer.

Pros:

• Epic adventure!
• Choice matter (really! I swear)
• Excellent character customization
• Great skill progression
• Good voice acting
• Challenging combat encounters
• Superb setting
• Multiple factions to join or destroy
• Acquire and employ god-like powers

Cons:

• Few bugs
• Some companion interactions seemed unfinished
• Occasional performance lag
• No dreadlocks in character creation!?

Titanfall 2 | Review

This article will be discussing the latest entry within the Titanfall series. It may contain spoilers in some areas of the game.

This FPS sequel to the original Titanfall (2014) not only gives us a cross over to Sony, but also a Single Player campaign! We are also introduced to some new game mechanics to make our experience more fluid as well as some new Titans! Utilizing different skills with combat and parkour maneuvering, we will explore the Single Player and Mulitplayer segments of Titanfall 2!

 

 

Titanfall 2

Systems (s): Microsoft Windows, Playstation, Xbox One

Developer: Respawn

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Release Date: October 28, 2016

Price: $60 USD

 

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The Gameplay:

Titanfall 2 is a FPS (First-Person Shooter) that allows the Player to operate not only the Pilot but also engage in battle with advanced mech-like exoskeletons call Titans. The Pilot utilizes different abilities, weaponry and parkour movements in the heat of battle. Tailoring the different customization will allow for more efficient battles but keep in mind that you are fighting waves of Grunts, Spectres, Reapers and other Pilots & Titans as well. Both the Single Player and Multiplayer offer an expansive experiences, the amount of firefights and just ensuring chaos compliments the game overall. The Player’s movement (the parkour movement was slowed down with this installment to be more accessible to newcomers) offers chained combinations to run through the various levels and maps. While you can still crouch, run and slide like typical FPS, wallrunning and such enhances not only the experience but also the Players capabilities.

The Single Player:

Titanfall 2 was met with critical acclaim with the addition of the Single-Player Campaign. The Player assumes the role of Jack Cooper, an infantry soldier in the War with the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) for control of the Frontier Planets. Spread out over 9 chapters spread out roughly around 6 hours of gameplay,  we follow the tale of Cooper as war erupts. During the Player’s tutorial there is a brutal assault by the Apex Predators, a ruthless group of mercenaries hired by the IMC, which claims the life of his Mentor Captain Lastimosa. Sure enough after the battle he is granted access to Lastimosa’s Vanguard-Class Atlas Titan, BT-7274! After restoring power to BT- 7274 we are tasked with finishing Lastimosa’s mission.

 

 

As the story progresses, we encounter different members of the Apex Predators and different parkour type of puzzles. At one point within the game we are give the ability to teleport back and forth through time, and throughout the level the Player has to do parkour moves while simultaneously traveling back and forth through time. It was an inventive and exhilarating experience that provided a breath of fresh air many FPS lack with Campaigns. The ability to choose an option with the limited vocal response gave a more personal feeling to the game and overall the story was extremely compelling and well done. The challenging Titan battles, story and even the puzzles just further proves Respawns’ credibility within the gaming community, not only providing a sequel (listening to its fanbases suggestions) to its successful predecessor but also surpassing it in every way.

 

 

The Multiplayer:

Outside of the Single Player experience, we see some really great improvements with to Multiplayer as well. Armed to the teeth with more customization choices, new abilities and much more, Respawn comes out the gate swinging. 9 detailed environments, complete with different obstacles and buildings to pakour, slide and jump from during your fight. Varying games modes such as Bounty Hunt, Last Titan Standing and Attrition (6 game modes in all, Mixtape will shuffle the modes) offer semi-refreshing playability to the different maps, but eventually (as with most FPS) the maps become rather predictable. Completing objectives and killing the various enemies will garnish points and once the Player has gained enough, will unlock the use of their Boost Card (such as revealing enemy locations, Pilot turrets and more!) as well as their Titan. Even a single Boost Card can change the tide of the game. Improvements to the Skill System makes the Player want to continue matches, because even if you lose, a lot of items will progress with experience depending on your performance. Many items may be useless (such as cosmetic skins) but other items such as sights and attachment unlocks will help better suit the Player’s style. Although the fresh search for new matches is nice, the bigger surprise was the Networks, in which you can join and play with fellow members!

Below, we will go more in-depth with the different Pilot Tacticals as well as introduce the new Titans!

 

Pilot Tactical-

Your Pilot’s special ability. Utilizing and figuring out which one suits you best will help your overall experience. Not to worry, here is the run down on the different Tacticals!

 

• Cloak – Allows the player to become invisible for a brief period with increased effectiveness against Titans. Boosting and combat will reveal the Players movements.
• Pulse Blade – A lethal and deadly blade that can be a one shot kill for an enemy Pilot. Allows detection of enemy Pilots with a brief sonar pulse.
• Grapple – An accessible tool that will pull the Player’s Pilot to hard to reach places fast. You can also pull yourself to enemy Titans for a fast rodeo allowing for faster takedowns.
• Stim – Stim will not only heal the Player at a faster rate when activated but will also boost seed as well.
• A-Wall – A particle shield that is Pilot size and is only destroyable at its base. Will amplify ongoing shots.
• Phase Shift – Teleports the player into an alternate space, allowing for the Player to have a quick escape or line of offense.
• Holo Pilot- Creates an exact mimic of the Player’s Pilot that will continue acting like the Player was when engaged.

 

Titan Classes: 

The three Titan classes from the first Titanfall were modified and are given 6 new loadouts. Titans although much slower than Pilots, can cause some massive damage as well as act as a stand-alone. If at anytime the Pilot chooses, they can eject and the Titan will enter Auto-Pilot proving cover and support for the Player.

 

 

• Ion – The Atlas-Class and overall well-rounded flexible assault Titan that is able to  handle different roles. Blocks bullets with a Vortex shield and shoots a powerful Laser Shot. Armed with a Splitter Rifle and Tripwire, the Ion also utilizes a Laser Core which emits a powerful laser beam from its chest.
• Scorch – A Orge-Class Fire-based Titan that can prevent bullets and rockets with a flame wall. The flame core is an explosive ground attack that sets everything in its path ablaze.  Armed with a single-shot T-203 Thermite Launcher and combined with the incendiary trap, will wreak havoc on the battlefield
• Northstar –  A Long ranger sniper Stryder-Class Titan that can hover, uses cluster missiles and has a Flight Core that rains hell upon the enemy. It’s tether trap will restrain and hold titans in place as well. Utilizing it’s Plasma Railgun which can charge for more powerful shots, it also has a Flight Core which rains barrages of missiles onto enemies.
• Ronin- The Stryder-Class Titan, excels as close range hacking and slashing with a broadsword. Utilizing its arc wave ground attack it can indefinitely reduce damage from bullets and etc. using its sword. With use of phase dash you can travel fast and swiftly. The Ronin Titan is armed with a shotgun call Leadwall and a Sword Core that gains access to new attacks.
• Tone –  The Atlas-Class Titan that uses a semi-automatic rifle with explosive rounds called the 40mm Tracker Cannon and blocks with a depolyable particle wall. Can reveal enemy location with a sonar lock while offering a mid-range with lock targeting ordinance. It’s Savlo Core lauches dozens of guided missles.
• Legion – This heavy hitting Orge-Class Titan has a relentless output of damage, using a Predator Cannon- chaingun (that can be changed from short-range to long). Unforutnely the Cannon requires a long spin-up and slows the Titan down while moving. It’s Smart Core  seeks targets such individuals Pilots and Titans with auto-looking, ensuring full chaos .It’s  Powershot is a single hit blast, gun shield deflect minor bullets and cannon can be short or long-range

 

Final Judgement: 90%

Respawn really out done themselves with this sequel, while also promising more maps in the future as free DLC! The additions of new game mechanics, different customization progression and new Titans really added more flavor to a FPS that has already made a name for itself. Running through the maps using the various parkour movements provided rather seamless and fluid travel. Rodeoing Titans and the endless hordes of A.I. enemies to combat outside of enemy Pilots really kept me on edge with the various maps and game modes while never giving grounds for tedious game play.While the first Titanfall was super predictable during the matches and extremely fast-paced, we see slower movements and encouraging matchmaking. Thought spawn points may eventually become memorized, the ways to approach objectives always allows for different methods of winning. Overall Titanfall 2 is well-rounded, with a beautifully crafted Campaign and a well designed Multiplayer. What’s stopping you from achieving your Titanfall?

Pros – 

• Introduction of a Campaign and also a platform cross-over to the PlayStation 4
• Addition of the sliding mechanic
• Addition of the grappling hook provided some rather fun and unique experiences.
• More weapons, deeper  customization and a more in-depth approach to the skill system is improved.

Cons – 

• Advocate Gifts tend to give the same skins and banners on a consistent basis
• Spawn Points within the Multiplayer become predictable
• Mutliplayer can matchmake into losing matches pretty often.
  

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Below is gameplay footage of the Multiplayer during the game mode, Bounty Hunt!

WALLET CRUSADERS: DUKE NUKEM 3D: 20th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR

January 29, 1996. The same year classics such as Resident Evil, Super Mario 64, and Crash Bandicoot released. It’s also the same year I got a 32x for my Genesis to play Doom from my father, and an original Playstation from my mother, for my fifth birthday. I didn’t know it then, but a game came out on this day that would redefine the first person shooter genre that, at that time, was largely dominated by Doom.

Me in 1996. Presumably about to throw leaves at a copy of Metallica’s Load album.

Duke Nukem 3D etched a place in history along with the greats. It’s original release (and subsequent episodic releases), have been ported endlessly to consoles like the Playstation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and even iOS. In its day, it was praised as “perfect in every way”, and hailed for its performance on low-end machines. Taking the ideas put forth by Wolfenstein 3D, and expanding onto them, proved a good move for the developer studio 3D Realms. But the development cycle for the follow-up game Duke Nukem Forever was marred with company restructuring and was in “development hell” for almost 15 years. The game was panned critically, and a lot of people lost faith in anything more being done with the IP.

All of that changed at the turn of 2016. Gearbox had fully acquired development rights for the IP, and started to take down official downloads of Duke 3D on current platforms. People speculated that a simple re-release would coincide with the game’s 20th anniversary, including myself. What we got instead was a full upscaling of the game, with new content, some original developers on board, and new voice-overs by the original voice actor for Duke. After years of tweaking Duke 3D to work on newer operating systems, and years of frustration from modding updated textures into the original game and having them be just slightly off, all of those days are behind us; we finally have a true remaster with plenty of content to make up for the 20-year wait. But with a $20 price tag, is this a case of a developer knowing that it’s the right price to charge, or them knowing the port is so bad it’s not worth more than that? That is the objective of this review, to determine if the wait was worth it, the game meets current standards, and if the fan service is just fan service, or if it’s to make up for a bad experience

Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour

System(s): PS4/Xbox One/PC

Developer(s): Gearbox Software/Nerve Software

Publish Date: October 11th, 2016

Price:$19.99

 

The Aesthetic Differences

This game is a full remaster. All textures were redone to fit modern resolutions, and nothing is lost in translation like textures would be if the game was simply upscaled to 1920×1080. Trust me, I know this. The textures look exactly the same as they did in the original game, which is nice considering some developers and modders like to take creative freedom with retexturing. The games’ options allow you to toggle “True 3D Rendering”. What this does is add things that OpenGL on PC would add to the game, like dynamic lighting effects on things that generally emit light (rockets, lamps, etc), and shadows. This effect can also be triggered by pressing the down button on the d-pad on consoles. It’s a nice touch, but it is something the original didn’t have, and if I hadn’t have spent years playing this game with mods I would have been thrown off. Subtle lighting does a lot for the game and it is a feature I welcome but isn’t needed for the core experience.

Apart from this, there isn’t really anything that looks different. But the options menu of this game is worth mentioning. The menu is broken up into 5 sections: Game Settings, Sound Settings, Video Settings, Control Settings, and Credits. Here you can do things like disabling mature content, toggle on developer commentary for a lot of the levels in the game, change the HUD, and so much more. There’s even a secret cheats menu that isn’t mentioned in the game at all but only in the trophy/achievement section. This gives God mode, all weapons, and even the ability to turn off clipping (walk through walls)! A quick Google search should be able to point you towards the input to bring up the menu.

Content

The original 4 episodes are included, with a brand new episode added, created specifically for this game. The levels were designed by an original level designer for Duke 3D, and they follow the name of the title itself; the levels are in different locations around the world.

I found myself running through the new episode as fast as I could, only finding one secret level. Some of the levels were really confusing. Although fitting the locations correctly, there wasn’t always a clear path to finish the level. And while this has really always been the point of games like this, in the modern age of games holding your hand or at least make paths clear, this was really frustrating to deal with.

A new weapon was added to coincide with the new episode, along with a new enemy type that uses the weapon too. Called the Incinerator, it is essentially a flamethrower and is pretty fun to mess around with. The new enemy is called the Firefly. It looks like a taller version of the basic alien, but it can shrink on its’ own and fly around. It emits a sparkle while it’s doing this, and is frustratingly difficult to kill in this form. It makes a nice addition to the game.

If you do not have cheats enabled, the game features a replay feature when you die. You are able to basically rewind the game to any point in your gameplay up to the point where you died. To me, it is a feature that is absolutely needed in a game without checkpoints built in.

Lastly, the voice over work of Jon St. John was reprised for the game. New lines for pretty much everything in the original, and new lines related to the new episode. The humor of the game is, dated, to say the least. But the new “duke talk” doesn’t sound like bad in any respect. Sounds just like he did 20 years ago, except that some of the reaction lines sound really weird compared to the original, like when Duke takes a big fall or a rocket.Thankfully, the option is there to toggle all the original voice over, in case the new reactions bother you like they did to me.

Final Judgment

Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour is a great game that has done a faithful recreation of its source material. Apart from minor gripes, as a fan of the original, I can honestly say that is what I have been waiting for. The PS3/360/Steam Megaton Edition pales in comparison to this. A constant frame rate of 59-60fps, face-lifted visuals, and huge fan service for die hard fans, I can strongly recommend this title to original fans and newcomers alike. For $20, I couldn’t be happier.

Final Grade: 95%

Pros:

• Everything that made the original so good
• Constant stable 60fps
• 1080p (1920×1080)
• Comprehensive options list
• Cheats
• Developer Commentary

Cons:

• Some new VO lines sound odd
• One or two levels in the new episode are confusing

Watch Dogs 2 multiplayer still a no-go.

Although Ubisoft dropped a new update today, for the Xbox one and Playstation 4. The multiplayer is still not working. The co-op and normal story modes run fine, but no multiplayer. They haven’t released when it will be out or up and running, but they have said that the patch for multiplayer is in certification with Microsoft as well as Sony. Hopefully it will be released soon, seeing as the game dropped today, technically unfinished.

Here is the official Ubisoft statement on the matter!

During the pre-launch phase of Watch Dogs 2, we were disappointed to discover an issue tied to the seamless multiplayer feature that caused the game to lag and crash periodically. In order to eliminate that issue at launch and for players to enjoy a smooth game play experience, we have decided to wait to launch the seamless multiplayer feature so it would not impact the core gameplay experience.

To be clear, players can fully enjoy the entire single-player experience without any concerns. Additionally, co-op is still fully functional by inviting friends through the game menu. However, the Bounty-Hunter mode and other activities that would occur with other outside players who enter your game will be unavailable until the issue is resolved. We truly appreciate the patience of our player community.

Dragonball Xenoverse 2, and the fight for the future!

*Spoiler Warning!

Have you ever wanted to not only play as a Saiyan but turn Super Saiyan 3 and crush your  enemies?  This is right down your alley! Dragonball Xenoverse 2 gives you all of that and much more!

Dragonball Xenoverse 2

Systems: PC, Xbox  One, PlayStation 4.

Developer: Dimps

Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Release Date: October 25, 2016

Price: $60

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The Gameplay:

Dragonball Xenoverse 2 is an Action-RPG mixture. There are combos, specials, beam attacks, and strike supers. You fly around abusing your opponent. (Or getting abused.) It’s a lot of button mashing but it works for the platform. While using your created character you will level up and make different stats go up, that along with the gear you wearing will affect you on how well your attacks and health and ki will be in the actual fight. You can play as one of 5 races, Majin, Namekian, Human, Saiyan, and Frieza race. Each race has its own combo set and pluses and minuses. I personally played Frieza race first and Golden Frieza is a sweet power-up.

The Single Player:

The single player is a lot of abuse on the CPU. The Story mode is similar to the original game, even repeating some of the same missions, which is kind of let down. If you played the first game on your system of choice, the person that you beat the story mode with will be the hero of the city in this game, giving you access to all the moves that character had. The game has a lot of things to do, story quests, side quests, training with Dragonball characters.

 

The Multiplayer:

You can do parallel quests with your friends as well as expert missions, or you can fight with other players online in battles. There is a World martial arts tournament you can enter. Other than that, the multiplayer is about the same as single player.

 

Final Thoughts:  75%

Dragonball Xenoverse 2 is a fun game for Dragonball fans, I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and easily logged a week of game time in as soon as I got the game and opened it up.  It’s worth the buy and to play because each race has a transformation, as well as there is multiple ways to build your character and play.

 

Pros:

• Extremely fun game, worth a try.
• Multiple races to play so it has replay value.
• You get to fight giant apes!

Cons:

• Some of the missions are repeats from the first game.
• The missions are super repetitive sometimes.
• The scale of difficulty is absurd sometimes.

Space Toads and it’s Mayhem in Space

Space Toads Mayhem is the current project of Luke Snopkiewicz, a very retro-inspired topdown shooter. Aimed to capture the very essence of the 8-bit/16 bit games we grew to love as kids. Paving the way to becoming a bigger and better sequel of the original Space Toads (a simple web game done in HTML5 – which received high acclaim thanks his unorthodox use of Adobe Typekit’s fonts during gameplay), Luke is looking forward to implement new advancements within the series. This includes a hardcore survival mode which is his current focus, as well as a standard campaign mode with different levels to beat (which start out easy and become incrementally more difficult as you play).

 

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SGR – After the initial success of the original Space Toads, what different features and aspects did you incorporate in Space Toads Mayhem to keep the interest of your current audience while grabbing the attention of new players?

Luke – In a nutshell, Space Toads Mayhem is a bigger, better and more interesting game than the original. It looks, feels and plays better. Basically, I’m in a position now where I can take my time and develop each gameplay aspect to a point where I’m really happy with the result. So for example, while it is a simple arcade-style shooter at heart, I wanted to add way more personality to the enemies – that’s why I put some extra work into the animations and implemented what I call “simple emotional states” which affect the enemy behaviour and add some depth to the overall experience. Some enemies might be just chilling as they fly around, some will become angry and start chasing you – but they’re never too careful so they might bump into each other and get scared (which also affects how they act). So other than just blasting away, the player can utilise enemy behaviour to score some points.

In terms of an audience, I am indeed aiming for a much bigger one than with the original game. Currently, my primary market is PC / Mac players (Steam) – and I’ll take it from there once the game is released.

SGR – With various levels growing incrementally more difficult as the Player progresses, what can we expect to see that will pose as challenges to your audience?

Luke – One thing which makes the game increasingly more challenging is the “chance for a good drop” gameplay mechanic (borrowed in a way from RPGs like Diablo etc). Basically, power-ups such as Mega Death Sun or Vicious Red Hole are rather over the top and make easy work of the incoming enemy hordes. However, as you clear the waves of Space Toads and progress through – the chance of getting a good drop like that decreases, to a point where you may even get nerfs that disable your gun temporarily, or ones that can actually kill you. So at later stages you need to be pretty careful about what you pick up. Fortunately Insta Death is rather obvious to spot and easy to avoid – unless you like to gamble and collect all the Mystery Drops that is (identifiable by question marks). Results may vary 😉

Also, there are special types of enemies such as Mr. Greentoad who hovers around and pushes others towards you at high speeds. Ultimately, it’s all about a skill and reflex based gameplay, where a degree of unpredictability requires you too stay focused all the way through.

SGR –  What was your drive to utilize retro top down shooting with the 16-bit feeling? How much different will the Hardcore mode be compared to the regular gameplay?

Luke – I always wanted to make a game like that, and now I can 🙂 Since my childhood, top down shooters where some of my favourite games – River Raid, Galaga, Life Force and many many others certainly kept me busy for looong hours (even though some of them you could beat pretty quickly if you were good) 🙂 And I think in general I have a soft spot for retro games of the 8bit / 16 bit eras. So it was important for me that Space Toads Mayhem has that kind of a feel to it.

Now, in terms of gameplay modes and difficulty – it’s all still very much work in progress. In the current build which takes you through 20 waves, the game starts relatively easy but gets more hardcore towards the end. So perhaps rather than having an easy / hardcore mode split, I’ll stick with the sort of a natural difficulty progression. There’s a number of things which need to be properly polished before I’ll be making a final decision regarding this.

 

SGR – One of the unique features of the first Space Toads was the way you utilized Typekit, which coupled with the sci-fi atmosphere is a very pleasing to play through. How was your experience working with Typekit in this way? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome to make it flow with everything?

Luke –The first game had some rather neat features, such as the Twitter API integration – so for example if you wanted your high score recorded and published on the website you could just sign in with your Twitter. It took no time or registration etc – just couple clicks, and everything was sorted for you automatically.

Typekit itself was super fun to work with – there were a few technical challenges, mainly performance-related whenever I made the Canvas2D work a little too hard for its own good. But it was fun, especially that no one seemed to have thought of using this service the way I did at a time 🙂 I believe it was the best way to have real, dynamic vector fonts in a web game – plus they’ve had the retro / sci-fi styles I was after which added to the overall vibe.

 

SGR – With Space Toads Mayhem you decided to go a different route rather than using Typekit. How has this experience differed for you? Has developing this way potentially opened any other areas of interest up for you in the future?

Luke – Well, this time I’m using Unity which comes with all the tools I could possibly need, so there’s no need for an external font service such as Typekit (plus the game is not going to be web-hosted like the previous one so it would be more tricky to implement in a non-annoying way). I should be able to make ports for different platforms pretty easily shall I want to.

The other big difference of course is, the original game was put together in a Notepad into one, longish script – and now I’m using an actual engine. So there’s more of a proper structure and workflow to what I’m doing – which is good when your project becomes more complex, just makes it more manageable. Not to mention you can prototype all different ideas quicker and easier. I think working like that with Unity has certainly made me think of doing different things for different platforms in the future. Actually, just playing with the engine’s particle system spawned a couple new game ideas in my head!

I’ll take it one game at a time, and Space Toads Mayhem will be my main focus until it’s done and released. There’s still a fair amount of development to do, and most probably a ginormous monster of a marketing effort ahead of me. Plus, looks like we might have just landed a spot in Indie Zone at the upcoming Insomnia 59 so I better sort these pesky frame drops quickly! 🙂

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 Below is some footage of gameplay of Space Toads Mayhem, and an introduction to Mr. Greentoad!

Mr. Greentoad is such a bully! Pushing other Space Toads around like that! 😜😁👾👾 #indiedev #madewithunity #gamedev pic.twitter.com/gLKYYwXePr

— Space Toads Mayhem (@SpaceToadsGame) October 27, 2016

Stay tuned with Super Game Reviews for  our Indie Game Spotlight on it once it releases! To stay current with the latest on Space Toads Mayhem, please be sure to visit the following links: the Game’s Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram!

AFK Discussions: The Strike on Voice Acting

Voice actors within the Gaming community are uniting and taking a stand against at least 11 (if not more) video game publishers, with some heavy weights such as Electronic Arts Productions, Insomniac Games, Activision, Disney and more.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is the union representing or forcing voice actors into this strike until negotiations are met. The result of a merge of two organizations on March 30, 2012, SAG-AFTRA (claiming around 150,00 active members as of 2014)  is fighting for a more updated contract for voice actors, a contract that was  drafted in the mid 90’s. If you can remember, not many video games had extremely in-depth voice acting, and in many cases game producers or developers did the sound effects needed. So as you can imagine the rules and regulations may be a bit outdated considering the vocal ranges we hear within the thousands of games that have released. Before the merge, both the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists attempted something similar around 2005, but both negotiated separately to video game producers since they were different Unions at that time. Ultimately if one Union tried to negotiate anything outside of what the video game producer wanted, they could simply take their work to the other Union without question. Once they formed together, that became a different situation.

After 19 months of negotiations that have yielded no success, the strike was initated at 3:01 a.m. on October 21, 2016.

So why would Voice Actors go on strike? Well, there is a bit more than that meets the eye when it comes down to it. Key items being discussed are:

• Shared Prosperity – Typical voice actors receive around $800+ for a 4 hour vocal session. The negotiations are asking for performance bonuses after a game reaches 2 million units sold or reaches 2 million unique subscribers (with the levels reaching 4 million, 6 million and then capping at 8 million). Often misrepresented at residuals, the difference being that SAG-AFTRA isn’t seeking royalties or payments for every game sold, they are trying to iron out a plan that will offer a full day’s compensation and then a percentage of it once the total amount of sales reach more than 2 million units sold. This is the biggest issue of concern, triggering a response that if they warrant more pay, then why doesn’t the entire team such as the developers putting in weeks and months into a game?

• Transparency – A common issue among voice actors has been being kept in the dark about what parts they are voice acting for. Without knowledge of the role that they are playing, they could potentially represent or become the face of an image they may not want to be particularly, or be given an unrealistic idea of the vocal stress of the job. For instance you could be told it was an audition for X and you would imagine it wasn’t very stressful vocally, but at the time of recording you are told it’s mostly yelling roles. An artist that is difficult to work with in the recording booth is easily replaced, so it’s a bitter dog eat dog world. SAG-AFTRA is seeking to have broader explanations of the roles as well as knowledge of the role upon booking. While it is understandable that video game producers are weary of potential leaks, the voice actor already has to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (aka confidentiality agreement). So it would more or less just be a token of good gesture to allow the actor to know what role they are portraying. This also allows for better terms of negotiations for pay as well.

• Notification of Vocal Stress – Transparency actually goes hand in hand with Vocal Stress, as the voice actors are able to see what vocal ranges are needed and therefore, agents are able to negotiate accordingly. With many typical games having around 4 hour long vocal sessions, and saving the last 15 minutes of the session for the testing parts, the area for vocal injuries widens once that 15 minute threshold is crossed. By injuries we are talking vocal strain, bleeding from the throat and even vocal cord nodules. Voice actors are seeking a maximum of 2 hours long in the vocal booth with the pay of a full day’s work for any type of strenuous vocal strain such as battle screams, death grunts and more that fill the full-time frame. This may seem off the wall, but if you think about screaming lines for 4 hours straight, you could be causing some major damage and in that area of work, that can be bad news.

• Stunt Coordinators – With many action based games, voice actors are donning the motion capture suits and recording stunts without the proper coordinators in place to make sure it’s safe.  With more calmer games, the need for coordinators obviously would be low or non existent. But for war games, action games and etc. SAG-AFTRA is asking to have stunt coordinators be present, which is common practice for other grounds of media such as movies and television shows.

 

Big titles and other games that went into production after February 17 could potentially be affected by this strike. Titles such as the long-awaited Crash Bandicoot Remaster, Injustice 2, several code-named projects that are hinted towards a new Spider-Man game and much more. To be a part of the union you must take several auditions that are union based and must sign a disclosure to say you understand they are union based. After a set amount of jobs (around 3) you are forced into the union and after that you are not allowed to take non-union jobs anymore called “off the card”.

The union also has come up with a low-budget contract to work with independent developers to work with union actors. With the gears turning, are we going to see big backlash from game publishers? Unfortunately many game developers do not have the power nor  the capability to voice their opinions such as SAG-AFTRA has.  The gaming industry, as mentioned before, is a dog-eat-dog world and until game developers can develop a union or alliance to stand together to make their voice more powerful, change will be hard. Shared prosperity should be considered for all entities of the game that went into creating it. With many developers sleeping under their desks in order to crunch to complete a game, I am sure there is anger within that community that their well-being isn’t being as strongly represented as the voice actors with SAG-AFTRA have been. Which is why many union members are hoping this will be the start of a wild-fire that helps everyone.

#PerformanceMatters is the hashtag representing this strike, if you are interested in the full list of game publishers and games on hold (what they will reveal at least) be sure to visit this link!