For Honor | Beta Access Impression

 

This impression covers the Closed Beta Access I participated from January 26-29. Only Multiplayer was available outside of the tutorial with the following online features: 1v1 Duel, 2v2 Brawl, 4v4 Dominion, and Events. All 3 Factions were playable, each with 3 different classes (though there is rumored to be 4) and unique arenas based upon the Faction you choose that will offer level designs around that decision.

Throughout this article, I will discuss the different features of For Honor and my experience with the Beta Access itself.

For Honor

Systems (s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Ubisoft

 

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The Gameplay:

Showcasing a much more mature approach to the traditional action hack and slashes we have experienced before, For Honor incorporates a new melee combat system described as “The Art of Battle. Offering the Faction roles of a medieval Knight, Samurai, or Viking, this title offers a brutal experience set in a beautiful and detailed environment. Combining what seems to be a more in-depth approach to Chivalry: Medieval Warfare and Dynasty Warriors, we see combat that is far more immersive than ever before.

The Art of Battle is a battling system in which the player chooses 1 of 3 stances (left, top or right) to attack and block with. How the player utilizes the different combinations is ultimately up to them and offers a more intimate way of melee combat then experienced with traditional hack and slashes.

Each Hero will have its own different attributes, abilities, and skills that will cater to each player’s playstyle differently. Using class-specific melee weapons, players will utilize different feats which grant different perks for a limited time such as health regeneration, buffed offense/defense stats, different assortments of attacks and much more.

Each Faction offered 3 types of classes:

• Vanguard – Well balanced, offering a solid defense as well as offense.
• Assassin – A combination of fast attacks and strong dueling capabilities but has weaker attacks.
• Heavies – The slowest of the classes but ultimately the strongest. Yielding high damage resistance and slow movement, the Heavies also swing the hardest and are useful with tank-like tactics.
• Hybrids – (rumored to be the 4th class in the full game release) This class is rumored to be a combination of the 3 and will offer uncommon skills.

 

 

 

The Multiplayer:

This was the only option offered to players over the weekend and featured many of the similar aspects expected to be in the Single Player. A.I. minions, the battling system between players and bots, as well as the perks and abilities. Friendly fire is enabled as well, so if players attack a teammate on accident, they can potentially kill them. This will be the only option where players can customize the different classes, going as far as some rather deep modifications to the wardrobe, weapon and much more.

• 1v1 Duel – This game mode is the one that is mainly based on skill rather than character selection. Though upgrades throughout the game changed the way I approached combat overall if I couldn’t damage the opposition it was pointless how strong my weapon was.
• 2v2 Brawl – Players team up in squads of two and face off in an even more brutal take on 1v1 Duel. By utilizing different tactics, the player can essentially keep reviving his fallen comrade until the opposing team is cut down. This game mode becomes especially more challenging when a teammate is slain and the player is left fighting the 2 enemies alone
• 4v4 Dominion – In this game mode 4 players (or a mixture of A.I.) will team up against a team of 4 players or bots in a race to earn the most points. Players earn points by capturing and holding various points while fighting and defeating the other players and team. Once the score cap is hit, the winning team is tasked with hunting down the remaining opposing members and kill them.
• Events – I wasn’t able to experience the Events part of the Beta Access though I was informed it is based on gaining higher grounds for the player’s Factions through different match types. I will be able to confirm more when the game launches.

 

Final Judgement:

The For Honor Closed Beta Access, although lacking any sort of indication of the single player experience, was able to capture my interest to see what the full game entails. Although the idea of having your attacks (R1 for light & R2 for heavy) varying by the 3 different stances shows signs for a repetitious atmosphere but with the combination of abilities and perks, it looks promising that the experience can be played for a considerable amount of time. The combat was on par with what you would expect with an action hack and slash but it goes even deeper with the battling system. The Developers even went as far as allowing your guard breaks to knock players off cliffs or ledges depending on their stance and positioning while in battle. Different items can be scavenged from the battlefield after different battles and depending on the equipment you select, the player’s stats will increase in various areas. Ultimately the player can create a Hero to fit their playstyle and further enhance it with different equipment attachments. The grounds of combinations to find that fit seems almost endless.

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For Honor is scheduled to launch February 14th, 2017 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 & Xbox One

Xbox Insider Program members begin to receive the Creators Update for Microsoft!

Xbox Insider Program members began receiving the first wave of features for the Creators Update starting January 23, and will see more in the future. Aiming to improve hundreds of different areas within the gaming experience, gamers will see updates geared towards system performance, improved social functions, and much more.

These features will not only benefit the Xbox One, but also Windows 10 PCs and smartphones. Basically, any device that you use to sign into an Xbox Live account will eventually see enhancements within the realm of gaming.

Below is just a glimpse of what to expect in the future for the Creators Update!

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Beam –

Opting for instant streaming to Beam from Xbox One and Windows 10,  this update will be leaving Twitch in the shadows. No extra software is needed and streaming will be as simple as pressing one button from within the Guide menu to instantly stream your footage.

Accessibility for Everyone – 

Microsoft is taking steps towards making gaming more accessible for everyone with the Xbox One, even those who normally may not be able to play. By introducing a “Copilot” feature, players will be able to hook up two controllers and use them as one. The player can also configure the setting to use any assortment of body parts to control the gameplay.  We will also see more audio output options, a custom rumble setting for the Elite controller, and new enhancements to Magnifier and Narrator.

Increased Performance –

Several features are  improving the system’s performance, and quality of life upgrades are aimed to keep a gamer gaming:

• The interface is being upgraded to make system updates even easier,  Allowing Xbox one users to keep up-to-date regardless of the power mode they have choosen.
• Developers on Xbox One will now see the addition of Dolby Atmos for Home Theater.
• The Blu-ray drive will now support a beta of bitstreams, which allows the audio to be decoded natively by your receiver.
• A series of Cortana enhancements are on the way, including a redesign of Cortana herself. Within this update we saw additions of alarms and reminders, and in the coming weeks the updates will be geared towards enhancing the player’s gaming experience.

 

Newly Enhanced Guide –

To answer the complaint of having a complex UI, the home menu is now simplified to optimize speed.  The guide itself will require just one button to bring up and will act as an overlay on the left side of the screen. It will show the most prominent features the player has been accessing, as well as quick access to media controls for background music.

Competitive Tournaments and Social Networking –

The Arena on Xbox Live will start seeing more professional organizations (like ESL and FACEIT) starting with World of Tanks and Killer Instinct, with more supported titles to come. Players can invite friends and other gamers to join, record the results, and share them on Xbox Live.

This update will also allow easier communication between friends. Expect to see updates to the Activtity Feed, Clubs/Looking for Group as well as easier ways to connect you to people playing the same game.

Tell us about your favorite feature, and stay tuned for more updates as they become available from the Microsoft community!

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

This article will be discussing the latest entry within the Resident Evil series. It may contain spoilers for some areas of the game.

Since the initial release of Resident Evil on the Playstation, the series has strayed far from its roots. Resident Evil 5 would be better described as an action third-person shooter than survival horror. Resident Evil 6 then tried to utilize both the action sequences and the survival horror concept by introducing campaigns for individual characters. Still, it left veteran fans of the series craving the suspense and fear of the first game. Realizing this, Capcom effectively rebooted the series, and have done a wonderful job. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard brings back those old feelings of dread in a way only this series could.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

System(s): Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Release Date: January 24, 2017

Price: $59.99 USD

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The Gameplay:

The game takes place in the fictional location of Dulvey, Louisiana. Our protagonist, Ethan, is reviewing some old video messages of his wife, Mia, and is visibly upset by them. She had gone missing 3 years ago and has been presumed dead, but Ethan receives a new message from her. She’s alive. Ethan tracks her to an abandoned mansion in the Louisana countryside and begins his search.

One of the biggest differences between this and the other entries in the main series is that it has abandoned the third-person perspective in favor of first-person. This changes the strategy of the game completely. No more manipulating camera angles to scout around corners — you can only see what’s directly in front of you. This makes the game very challenging at points, as you are often being pursued by your attackers. Quick-time events have been removed entirely, making players defend themselves in real time.

While changing major gameplay elements, Capcom has also managed to bring some of the older mechanics out of retirement. The storage trunk returns, making inventory management a must. It is extremely limited at first, but you can expand it as you progress by finding backpacks scattered throughout the game. The item stash from the first few games also returns, allowing you to store things you find that you don’t have room for. Other upgrades are available throughout the game, either through finding them throughout the mansion or buy purchasing them from birdcages with antique coins.

As far as story progression goes, this game is intense. Although I only ran completely out of ammo twice, there were more than a few times I was scavenging for whatever I could find, and scurrying to locate the next safe room. Some of the game’s enemies are absolutely relentless, yet others feel dumbed-down. Keep in mind that this a was a “Normal” difficulty playthrough, and I can only imagine what the new “Madhouse” difficulty brings to the table. This difficulty is locked by default but can be unlocked by completing the game. Other items become unlocked after completion, giving a kind of “new game +” feeling, although you don’t keep any unused items from a previous playthrough. The game does have tie-ins to the Resident Evil universe we all know, but they aren’t really apparent until mid to late-game.

After the end credits, players are gifted with the announcement of a free DLC package titled “Not a Hero”.

Final Thoughts:

Pros – 

• It’s scary. The way survival horror should be. This game will leave you on the edge of your seat
• Integrated storytelling through files and interactive videos keep you in the game
• Limited inventory may seem negative, but adds a level of realism

Cons – 

• The game is too short (8-12 hours roughly first time, there’s a trophy/achievement for beating it in under 4)
• Some parts are difficult to discern whether it’s a game sequence, or you’re actually playing, resulting in cheap deaths
• Replayability is there, but limited. Free DLC is planned for the spring, however.

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Graphics – 14/15

• Graphically this game is beautiful. Aside from the car ride at the beginning of the game, the game is very detailed.

Sound – 15/15

• There isn’t much of a soundtrack to the game, but the games sound effects more than make up for this. Creaky wood floors, heavy winds, and sounds of thunder provide more than enough ambiance to draw you deeper into the game.

Gameplay – 22/25

• In terms of gameplay, Capcom has really outdone themselves. The controls are tight, the story progresses fluidly. The transition to FPS eliminates any wonky camera angles found in previous installments. My biggest concern is the load screens. While there’s not many of them, they do take a considerable amount of time. Also in the post-video flashback load screen, the sound becomes very loud for no apparent reason. I found myself having to turn the volume down during this, and turning it back up when the game resumed.

Replayability – 8/15

• This game is lacking in the replayability department. While the genre kind of works against itself (since you will never jump like the first time you play), the fact that the end credits include a DLC announcement kind of makes the game feel incomplete. The game does have 2 endings and an additional difficulty, but even with that it just doesn’t hold up well.

Fun Factor – 25/30

• If you are a fan of the genre, you will absolutely love this game. Even without the Resident Evil namesake, this game could stand on its own. The game provides an intense atmosphere overall and will keep you guessing on what will happen next. On multiple playthroughs, however, the game loses a lot of the intensity. Not necessarily a fault, but that’s just the way survival horror genre is.

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Final Judgement – 84%

This game demonstrates exactly what the Resident Evil franchise set out to do back in 1996. Provide an atmosphere that gets players blood pumping as they vie for their survival. This installment moves the series back into the right direction, and away from the action-shooter genre that the market is oversaturated with. That being said – the story is very short, and the end-game was kind of a letdown. There are some things left unresolved, and as I mentioned before, the fact that the first DLC is listed in the credits leaves the game feeling incomplete. It is a great game nonetheless, and definitely worth checking out whether you’re a longtime fan or newcomer to the series.

Be sure to check back for our review of the games first DLC “Not a Hero” in Spring 2017!

Wallet Crusaders: Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition

Diablo 3 released on PC in the United States on May 15, 2012. Since then, the game has seen many iterations, including current gen console versions and updates to those releases to try to bring them up to speed. This review will be solely on the current-gen home console versions, as the previous-gen versions do not even hit 1920×1080 resolution, and do not feature things such as the Nephalem Rifts, Greater Rifts, Legendary Gems, and the Vault. The PC version will also not be exclusively covered, as the graphical benefits to playing on a PC are assumed, and because the PC version is naturally favored by Blizzard. That being said, there will be references to it throughout the article, for the sake of comparison, and to be able to explain the direction of the current-gen releases.

For clarity, the base game was initially released first on PC, with the PS3/Xbox 360 versions released over a year later, and the PS4/Xbox One versions (Ultimate Evil Edition or UEE) following almost two years after the release of the first home console versions.

The base game for last-gen home consoles falls into our Wallet Crusaders category but considering Blizzard continues to update and support the game for current-gen consoles, a price drop to $20 for even a used copy of the game is unlikely in the near future. We at Super Game Reviews felt that this was the best way to classify the game, as it is not a new title but it is also not too old to be abandoned by the developer.

Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition

System(s): PS4/Xbox One

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Price: $25-$40

Publish Date: August 19, 2014 (UEE)

The Gameplay:

UEE is pretty accessible to people new to the franchise while being deep enough to keep old and new players alike playing long after the story has been completed. It is a standard dungeon crawler in which the character that you choose uses abilities and spells to fight enemies; in this case, those enemies are demon spawn or area specific. There are 6 classes to choose from: Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Wizard, Monk, and Crusader. There is also the choice to make the character male or female. Here the player can choose to play a normal character or a hardcore character. Choose wisely! When a character dies in normal, you can respawn. In hardcore, that character dies permanently. Each character chosen is then saved (as is the progress), so it’s possible to have multiple characters, depending on which play style the player likes or just out of curiosity. The player gains experience, gold, and maintains armor, jewelry, and weapons, while also upgrading abilities. As the game progresses, weapon/armor/jewelry crafting becomes available as does the ability to enchant those items, or the chance to manipulate stats on those items.

Items can be obtained through several different means. Items (weapons, armor, and jewelry) come in different rarities and are designated by the color of the lettering, and the backdrop color on the item: Junk (gray), Normal (white), Magical (blue), Set (green), Rare (yellow), and Legendary (orange). Item drops can occur when an enemy is killed, and RNG (random number generation) is used to determine the rarity of that item. Items that aren’t Junk or Normal, have added effects added to them; ie stats or bonuses to abilities. Most weapons/armor/jewelry that have magical properties can also have sockets, which are used to set Jewels in (not to be confused with jewelry). These jewels can increase base stats of the character as long as they are socketed into an item.The player also has access to a stash, to hold extra items since the inventory is limited. The stash can be upgraded with gold.

The console versions bring a massive list of features and quality of life improvements that differ from PC. Most notably a redesigned HUD that doesn’t cover a lot of the screen, a dodge feature and the ability to play the story in offline mode. Old saves can also be imported from last-gen consoles. While this is great for keeping characters and items from say, a PS3, it’s not great because PS3 game save data was easily manipulated, and that causes people in UEE on current-gen consoles to be able to have modded items.

The Single Player:

The story mode is broken down into acts. Within those acts are chapters, and within those chapters are areas and dungeons.Each act also contains a Town, where no enemies will be. The base game contained four acts, with the DLC Reaper of Souls adding a fifth. They are referred to as Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV, and Act V.

The game opens with a falling star crashing to the Earth, and the character being curious as to what it is. The motivation for finding the star changes with each character type. After reaching the town in Act I, the player meets Leah, and she explains that her uncle Deckard Cain went into the cathedral nearby when the star fell into it. She asks you to go get him. After finding Cain, he explains that according to ancient scripture, you are a Nephalem, the offspring of an Angel and a Demon, long thought to have been extinct. After then saving the town from an immediate threat, the Nephalem and Leah discover that the fallen star is actually an Angel who was cast out of heaven. It is revealed that the Angel chose to join the humans to attempt to save them from the Demons currently holding dominion over the realm. They would need the Black Soulstone to trap the Demons (known as the Prime and Lesser Evils) into the stone with Diablo, who not only was trapped in the stone already but is also a Prime Evil. This is ultimately the objective of the entire story.

The conclusion of the storyline is fantastic. The only problem with it is that to fully comprehend the story, you must fully comprehend the previous games’ stories as well. Even having played these games, I had a hard time understanding it fully until after a couple of playthroughs.

Post-game content is plentiful. Difficulties are opened based on character level, and once at max level, Torment is unlocked, along with it’s higher modes (Torment 1-13). Playing on higher difficulties increases gold and experience gain, but increases the difficulty in enemies. Playing on Torment and above also allows for Legendary and Set pieces to have a chance to drop with a border called Ancient. The stats are usually higher and effect slots are usually added while retaining the rarity of the item. An all new mode called Adventure Mode strips the story and adds bounties for the character to do for NPCs and various crafting items for Legendary equipment. Adventure Mode also includes a feature called the Nephalem Rifts. While in the Rift the player has to kill enough enemies and collect orbs dropped by them to summon and defeat a Rift Guardian. The Rifts are broken into two categories: Normal and Greater Rifts. Greater Rifts give the chance to have Legendary Gems drop (gems that give unique properties instead of flat stats), and upon killing the Rift Guardian, a spirit allows you three chances to upgrade any Legendary Gem you have. Spending gold to empower a Rift gives the player a chance to get an extra gem upgrade upon finishing the Rift. Rift difficulties go much higher than the games’ Torment XIII. The highest difficulty in the Rifts is 150. The highest normal base difficulty sits at around Rift 64, when playing solo, for reference.

A slightly watered down version of the Horadric Cube from Diablo 2 also makes an appearance in UEE as Kanai’s Cube.

The Multiplayer:

The multiplayer in UEE is integrated within the core experience. The player can choose to play solo (LAN), set to invite only, friends only, or open to the public. Players join the game (up to four) and can assist in completing the story, Rifts, or bounties in Adventure mode. When they leave, they just leave. It almost feels seamless and isn’t a huge hassle to get some friends in your game. But when playing with multiplayer active the game compensates by making enemies stronger, per ally joined. The game feels as if it takes on new life when playing with other people. Whether it be with friends or strangers, running through the game (especially post-game content) with other people helps with understanding everything about the deep experience, and is really refreshing.

Lastly, UEE gives the player the choice of having one of three followers join your party to help you. The followers can be equipped with some items, and they also have abilities suited to their, and the player’s, playstyle. While this is suitable for the core storyline while playing solo, the followers feel almost useless when playing at higher difficulties, if for anything but their abilities to slightly give the player an advantage.

 Final Thoughts:

Ditching pixellated sprites in favor of 3D models, Diablo 3 a big departure from the previous games. While not starting off on the strongest of footing, the ongoing support, patches, and content keep the game feeling fresh, especially in its’ current form on current-gen consoles. For example, the 20th anniversary of Diablo 1 just happened, and to celebrate, the entire game was added into Diablo 3. Pixels and all. The Necromancer class is also soon to be made available in the game. With the addition of seasons also coming soon to the console versions, any residual modding will be eradicated, since seasonal characters do not allow anything to be imported, and because the last-gen consoles will not support seasons. But still with all of that said, it feels like a good console game, but it doesn’t feel like you’re getting the same experience you would expect on PC. It’s almost like there is something missing. Whether it’s the minimalist HUD, the lack of clicking around to walk, something just feels lacking in the experience.

Regardless, this game is a great way to just unwind and relax or a great way to go all-in. It has something for everyone. Hopefully, with time, it will continue to get even better, especially with the 20th anniversary for Diablo 2 coming up around the bend.

Pros –

• Easy to pick up
• Great story
• Helpful and nice community
• Loads of content
• No set style of play and uncountable build options

Cons – 

• Visuals aren’t as good as PC
• Modded items are still around
• Missing that Diablo feel

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Graphics – 10/15

• The initial game released in 2012, and it’s age is beginning to show. This being said, the game still holds up, especially the cutscenes.

Sound – 10/15

• Most of the soundtrack is really hit or miss. In most instances, it’s not an aspect of the game that is focused on. But the songs that play in the areas that the player frequents, like the Town, are perfectly fit the ambiance set by the style of the game. Also, the demon/monster sound effects ar pretty good.

Gameplay – 15/25

• While the game feels optimized for consoles, with the addition of dodging and so forth, the lack of point and click movement makes it feel less like a Diablo game, and more like a game trying to be like Diablo. Regardless, the controls feel fluid and it is a solid dungeon crawler on consoles. Initially, the game locks abilities to specific button inputs, but the player can assign any ability to any button they wish by checking an option in the options screen. The camera being locked in place and lack of dancing/emotes is a real shame, though.

Replayability – 15/15

• The game pretty much allows the player to keep playing the story if they wish, or just dive right into Adventure mode right after beating the game. Since there is no real ending to the game (not counting the story), one could theoretically play this game forever, given the servers are still supported in the distant future.

Fun Factor – 20/30

• On its own, Diablo 3 is pretty fun. Just like with any game, once it turns into just straight up resource farming or Paragon grinding, it can lose its shimmer. UEE‘s saving grace is in the multiplayer, which completely cures any feeling of boredom or monotony. Because everyone knows resource grinding is much better with friends who are doing the exact same thing.

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Final Judgement – 70%

Diablo is a kind of a niche market. While the games have been wildly successful over the past 20 years, it doesn’t cater to the average gamer. Well, that was until this installment. As a game, it is fine. As a Diablo game? It feels almost like the entire project was built with consoles in mind, and while the console version holds up in its own right, I couldn’t help but feel alienated while playing it. It’s just not the same. So, if you are a Diablo fan and somehow haven’t played the third installment yet, I would suggest sticking to PC. If you’re a console gamer, or if you aren’t a hardcore Diablo fan and want to play a game that will soak up A LOT of your time, this is the game for you.

Wallet Crusader: Starbound

Welcome back, gamers! Today I’ll be discussing Starbound; an affordable indie gem that I’ve been following throughout it’s development. After launching a Kickstarter-style pre-order on the Humble Store and Steam back in 2013, Chuckle Fish Games was able to raise over 2 million dollars. After a few years, Starbound was released from its early-access beta. At the moment, Starbound is only available for the PC but will be coming to consoles in the near future. Fans of Terraria will find Starbound’s gameplay to be quite familiar. Despite the similarities, Starbound remains a unique and pleasurable experience. Prepare yourselves for a grand adventure across the unknown universe!

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Starbound

Systems: PC, OS X, Linux (Xbox One, PS4, PS Vita TBA)

Developer: Chuckle Fish Games

Publisher: Chuckle Fish Games

Release Date: July 22, 2016

Price: $14.99 (on Steam)

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The first step before blasting off into space is character creation. Starbound offers 7 different races to choose from. The effects of choosing a race are mostly cosmetic but will decide your characters general appearance, which type of spacecraft they receive, which clothing and armors are available, and the way NPCs interact with your character. The Novakid race, for instance, has cowboy themed clothing, armor, ship, and can craft guns instead of the typical swords and axes that are available to other races. Each race also has their own history, architecture, culture, and settlement types to discover while exploring the universe.

 

One of the biggest additions featured in the final release is the major quest line. The game now begins with a full intro that also serves as a tutorial. The tutorial teaches basic movement controls and how to interact with the environment. But most importantly, this is where you receive your own official matter manipulator. By the end of the prologue, disaster strikes and you have no choice to flee to your newly acquired spaceship and escape destruction. After reaching the starter planet and following the first few instructions, you will open up a gateway to a universal hub called The Ark. This is where you will find the main quest giver who will send you across the stars in search of ancient relics. Each race has their own heavily guarded relic and in order to find them, you will have to track down settlements of each race looking for clues to each relic’s location.

Much like Terraria, Starbound’s main focus is on survival, exploration, gathering resources, and crafting. To survive, you must eat regularly, keep warm/cool, manage radiation, and fend off dangerous alien beasts. Food comes in all shapes and sizes. You have the option to hunt for meat, gather fruit and vegetables, and even prepare cooked meals. If the hunter-gatherer lifestyle doesn’t suit your taste, you may also settle down and build a farm to grow food. There are also some animals for sale at The Ark which produce other foods such as eggs and milk. Once you’ve built a campfire or stove, you unlock different recipes that are much more beneficial than eating raw food.

Exploration is vital in Starbound. You never know what lies in wait at the far edges of the universe. What sets Starbound apart from Terraria the most is it’s HUGE variety of planets and planet types. Planets are procedurally generated with billions of potential variations, so each playthrough will be unique, and you never know for certain what you might find while exploring. Each planet has its own biomes and mini-biomes. This means some will have forests, some may be completely engulfed in darkness, while others may be entirely ocean planets.  Each planet surrounds a star. Stars come in different tiers of difficulty which show on the ship display, so be cautious before venturing onto an unknown planet or you may become some overpowered monster’s next meal.

In order to progress between tiers, you must gather resources from each planet and craft the necessary equipment to survive on the next type of planet. Although this makes the game quite a bit more linear than it had been in beta, it sets a good pace to progress along the main storyline. Each tier of planet type has it’s own types of ore that will be required to craft better sets of equipment, weapons, and other survival gear. To obtain enough ore for crafting, you must dig deep into each planet. Ores and items can also be obtained from within treasure chests, or by performing side quests.

Side quests can be obtained in most of the non-hostile settlements across the univers. Most of them are simple fetch quest.  You may also be given some rescue/escort quests where you must locate a stranded settler and escort them back to their friend. My favorite mission types were the bounty hunting missions. These tasked you with tracking and eliminating a target. Sometimes the target is a group, an animal, or an outlaw. Be very careful when taking bounties because they are often quite difficult compared to regular enemies. Sometimes, when an outlaw has been injured to half of their health, they might surrender and offer to join your crew. Just keep in mind that these outlaws are masters of deceit and if you show mercy, you may end up unarmed with a rocket-launcher pointed at your face.

I learned this the hard way.

 

As you complete side quests and defeat outlaws, other NPCs will begin to become available for recruitment. These crewmembers can come in a variety of roles such as soldiers, medics, engineers, mechanics, and tailors. Each role has with different abilities to aid you during your travels, and two of them can even join you as followers to aid in battle. After recruiting a few crew members, you will need to upgrade your ship before any more recruits are able to join you. Ship upgrades require upgrade modules which can found scattered across the universe. Ship have multiple upgrades and allow you to expand you ship by at least twice it’s original size. I really liked the extra room in my ship to hoard all of my ill-gotten loot and display my finest items collected during my expeditions. Crew members can be helpful, but ultimately seemed more like an extra feature added at the last minute.

Crafting is life in Starbound. Not only is crafting essential to progress, the crafting system is very robust and fun to use. There are so many things to craft and the system functions almost identically to Terraria’s crafting system. Best of all: it’s simple! To begin, you just need to gather basic resources like wood and stone to craft a workbench. There are various workbenches, such as sewing machines, anvils, and alchemical workshops, which can be used to craft different kinds of items. As you scour the dungeons across different planets, you will also collect blueprints for crafting new weapons and furniture. After completing the first planet or two, you will need to craft an Environmental Protection Pack. The first EPP will give you the ability to breathe on moons or anywhere without a breathable environment. Later you must upgrade the EPP to be able to endure harsh radiation and extreme temperatures.

After collecting enough information on the race you have been tasked to investigate, you will receive coordinates to their sacred relic site. Each area has a challenging dungeon area that you must complete. After completing an obstacle course and downing a few baddies you will encounter a checkpoint and a boss arena. Once you reach the checkpoint you will no longer have to start from scratch if you die while fighting the boss. Each boss is completely different and requires a different strategy. Even if you are a skilled combatant, you will still have some problems with these bosses without adequate armor and weapons. I really enjoyed each boss fight and only managed beat one of them on my first try, and that was only because I was over-loaded with health items.

Not only are the worlds procedurally generated, but so are many of the weapons and enemies. There are countless swords, shields, hammers, axes, guns, throwing stars, and so much more. You can mix and match any of the one-handed weapons, so you could even use a gun with a shield if you’d like. Two-handed weapons have an alternate attack instead. These secondary attacks are usually pretty awesome. There are shotguns with grenade launchers, remote control rockets, flame-throwing swords, teleport abilities, and all sorts of other epic abilities. There are other neat items like grappling hooks and flashlights to get you out of a tough situation or to help with mining. I collected hundreds of items during my playthrough and probably haven’t even seen half of them. There are even some pokeball-like items you can use to capture animals to use in battle! Need I say more?!

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Final Judgment: 88%

There is so much to do, explore, craft, and build in Starbound that I could fill a small book trying to cover it all. I really enjoyed the expertly-crafted pixel-graphics and engaging soundtrack. Starbound does a lot of things right. Unfortunately, many of those things have been done before and some of the features that set it apart from it’s competitors (:cough: Terraria :cough:) were a bit too ambitious. I enjoyed the procedurally-generated weapons, animals, and planets but I think after a while they all just seemed kind of bland and repetitive. The fact that they included 7 playable races gives it some replay value but I think I’ll give it a rest for a while or just continue to build fancy buildings on my current character. Terraria fans and anyone else looking for a fun, challenging crafting adventure across the universe should definitely not pass up a great game like this. Especially at such a  great price!

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Pros:

• Amazing art style
• Great soundtrack
• Tons of items
• Unique alien races and ships
• Sandbox building
• Deep crafting system
•  Electrical wiring and rail systems
• Challenging boss fights
• Character creation
• Survival aspects
• Multiplayer
• Permadeath option
• Tons of biomes, creatures, and settlements.

Cons:

• Lots of noticeable lag
• RNG woes
• Lots of the content is purely cosmetic
• Very linear
• Some creatures appeared far too often on most planets
• Items can randomly disappear
• Fetch quests
• Gimped pickaxes (worthless and uncraftable)

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Wallet Crusder: Mad Max

This action-adventure not only emphasizes vehicular & brutal hand-to-hand combat but also exposes the player to some of the harsher elements of survival as well. Set in a post-apocalyptic environment that was decimated by nuclear warfare, Mad Max and Blackhand Chumbucket scour the wastelands. Seeking revenge against Lord Scrotus after a near fatal encounter that left him stripped of everything. Will Max reign victorious over Lord Scrotus and the War Boys of Gastown or will he become another corpse piled up within the “Big Nothing”?

Mad Max

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

Developer: Avalanche Studios

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Feral Interactive

Release Date: September 1, 2015

Price: $15- $20 PS4, XB1

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The Gameplay: 

This title is not only an action-adventure title with several different approaches to combat but it also a survival game with traces of an RPG. The three vital sources of surviving (water, gasoline, and ammunition) within this post-apocalyptic setting seem to deplete faster than you can find them. Water will provide the player with health replenishment, gasoline will refuel the Magnum Opus or else the player will be left walking and ammunition for the quicker methods of execution. Outside the vitals, we have scrap (used for upgrades), History Relics (memoirs of the past before Society became the wastelands) as well as Hood Ornaments (retrieved by destroying convoys). Within this open-world experience, Max will encounter several strong allies that will require help within their Strongholds and around the region in order to help assist with the fight against Lord Scrotus. They will also act as safe havens for him to replenish his needs for survival.

Within the different regions developing within the “Big Nothing” there lies different side quest, enemy fortress (with one boss heading their own base) as well as friendly Strongholds. These allied safe havens can be upgraded to provide Max with food, water, gas as well as ammo. Upgrades for the various Strongholds as well as the car itself can be found in the surrounding regions. Different abilities and upgrades may require a side quest to be completed or may be hidden in a breakable box deep within a fortress, it’s up to the player to dig around and find out. Other upgrades may require the threat level of the region to be lowered by destroying various enemy structures as well as defeating their fortresses and bases.

A huge benefit from defeating these structures is that allies can overtake them and then provide you with a recurring deposit of scrap. Scrap is the main focus for upgrading within the garage but also within the character development. It can be found scattered throughout the map, almost every base as well as left behind in wreckage from destroying enemy vehicles. With a vastly customizable system that will help personalize the player’s experience to a degree, the way the scrap is spent is crucial to survival in many cases.

 

The Single Player:

Although it isn’t necessarily based off of the Mad Max Trilogy or Fury road, to say this title isn’t influenced by the universe of both would be an understatement.

Following a similar take to a highway patrol officer that was crafted to a survivalist, we follow Max’s journey to the Plains of Silence. Disrupted by Lord Scrotcus, the son of Immortan Joe, who then robs him of everything and leaves him for death after an intense fight that resulted with a chainsaw being stuck in Scrotcus’ head. Stripped of his weapons, clothes and his car he stumbles onto Chumbucket, a hunchbacked backhand mechanic and together they work to liberate the wastelands from Lord Scrotcus’ hold and gain alliances across the wastelands in the hope for revenge.

Final Thoughts: 75%

Mad Max is a prime example of what Wallet Crusader is a representation of; finding good games at a great price. One that won’t hurt the wallet. At $60 this title would have been a disappointment for me. With that being said, at $15 I thought this title was well worth the price. The amount of gameplay and post game content with cleaning up everything missed in the initial playthrough, I feel the player will have a fun and enjoyable experience that differs from what is being released. The strong focus on vehicular combat and the more brutal aspects of hand-to-hand as well is a drawing force even with repetition in the way. While combat really won’t differ in aspects of how it will be approached, the boss battles are a bit different and push the level of tactical approach in a Dark Souls way.  The most exhilarating parts of the game lie within the car combat and races, growing increasingly destructive with the more upgrades unlocked. It is a grind to unlock different customizations and parts of the map, and with the wastelands featuring mostly canyons, dirt, and cliffs it can become tedious but the developers did a solid job at having enemies and other threats litter the map to keep the player’s interest. This title screams explosions, mayhem, and death and allows the player to get it any way possible.

 

Pros – 

• Character and car customization
• Intense weather change that gives the game an entirely different playing experience
• Combat with the different War Parties
• Chumbucket’s love the Magnum Opus

Cons – 

• Repetition within the missions and combat
• Glitches with commands made within the game or during combat
• Once you have Stronghold maxed out you can just replenish everything via fast travel before missions to have an upper hand
• Many of the various camps the player will encounter will look similar in appearance with not much changing outside of enemies and objectives

Early Access Review: Rimworld (Alpha 16)

Having launched a successful Kickstarter campaign, Rimworld set some very high expectations for itself. I’m often quite weary of Kickstarter and Early Access Steam games, and avoid playing them until many of the kinks have been smoothed out. This time around I decided to give it a try due to the fact that it reminded me a lot of Prison Architect, and seemed like a fantastic idea for a game. Rimworld is a sandbox simulation/strategy/base-management game where you must build shelter, grow food, hunt, and trade to survive in  a hostile environment. This small description hardly does any justice to the sheer amount of things you can actually do in this game. Even though Rimworld is still missing content and is unfinished, I’m already finding myself obsessed with the gameplay and am very anxious for the final release.

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Rimworld

Systems: PC, Mac, Linux

Developer: Ludeon Studios

Publisher: Ludeon Studios

Release Date: July 15, 2016 (Still in Early Access)

Price: $29.99 (on Steam)

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The Gameplay:

Before getting down to business, the first thing you must do is choose a scenario. This adds a lot of variety to each new game. I was very excited to see how customizable the scenario options were.  Rimworld offers three generic scenarios to start with: Crashlanded, The Rich Explorer, and Lost Tribe. Each option offers unique starting conditions. In the Crashlanded scenario, you take control of three colonists who have crash-landed on an unfamiliar world. The Rich Explorer scenario puts you in control of a single rich entrepreneur who yearns to see the stars and finds themselves stranded alone. Last but not least, is the Lost Tribe scenario which starts you off in control of five tribal people who have been driven from their homes and must rebuild a new life from scratch. Each scenario grants a different amount of starting materials and offers a unique experience. If none of these options please you, you can open up the scenario editor and create your own starting conditions!

Thanks to the scenario editor, I was able to alter the Lost Tribe scenario to my liking. The first thing I did was issue each of my tribespeople one wooden spear and one wooden bow. I also changed the starting amount of colonists from five to three. The next step I took was to limit the age range of potential tribespeople to avoid having any old geezers in my group. The last thing I decided to do was add 100% chance for my tribespeople to have the psychopath and cannibal traits. There was no real reason for doing this at the time but I wanted to test the limits of the scenario editor. The results were so much more satisfying than expected, but I’ll continue that story in a moment.

The next step involves choosing an AI storyteller and deciding how difficult the game will be. There are three different storytellers: Cassandra Classic, Phoebe Chillax, and Randy Random. As their names suggest, Cassandra Classic is the classic storyteller who offers gradual difficulty progression, Phoebe Chillax offers a much more relaxed experience, while Randy Random offers a randomize experience for players who like to live on the edge. Being the sissy that I am, I chose Phoebe Chillax during my playthrough to avoid any unnecessary roughness. After choosing the storyteller, you must choose from one of six difficulties. These basically just increase the amount of horrible events that plague your colonists/tribespeople. There is also a permadeath option for players who want a hardcore survival experience. With Permadeath Mode activated, you will only have one available save that can only be used when quitting. If your colony dies with this option turned on, it’s a wrap. Game over.

After you’ve finished choosing a difficulty, you must generate a playable map. Before the alpha 16 release, Rimworld generated a smaller flat map. Now with the new update, a whole spherical planet is generated. Once the map finishes generation, It’s up to you to choose where to start. Different areas have different types of terrain, temperature, weather conditions, environmental hazards, and various forms of wildlife. Starting your adventure in a Jungle will be drastically different than choosing to set up camp in the artic tundra. Areas can also be mountainous, hilly, or flatland. Hills and mountains can be mined for resources or turned into shelter. Choosing a jungle increases the chance to transmit disease and cause heatstroke, whereas settling in a boreal forest will increase chances of frostbite and slow movement during snowy seasons.

Selecting your colonists comes next. Sadly, there is no character creation in Rimworld (yet, at least). Colonists are randomly generated but can be re-rolled until you get a group with a decent spread of skills. Each colonist has their own backstory, traits, skills, and sometimes even health problems and relationships. Colonists can be anything from bloodthirsty tribal chieftains to optimistic mad scientists. Each colonist also has a certain amount of skill in each of the twelve available skills. Some excel in combat but refuse to do labor work. Others may have lower skills but are fast learners. I loved the variety of possible personalities this system created.  The character generation reminded me a lot of re-rolling stats in Baldur’s Gate. A lot of the time the game generates lousy colonists, so I definitely spent too much re-rolling them until I got a somewhat desirable crew. Once you’re satisfied, it’s finally time to begin the game.

Similar to Prison Tycoon, you rarely take direct control of the colonists. Instead, you give out orders for the colonists to follow. You have the ability to define their schedule, set the priority of each task, and completely design the base layout. This may sound rather limiting, but it takes a lot of time to fine-tune a schedule, find a good work flow, plan a suitable layout for shelter, plan to grow enough food, and tend to each colonist’s mental health needs, and prepare to deal with anything else the world might throw at you. You will also have to choose which technologies to research, which was made easy with the new skill tree introduced in update 16. There are tooltips that work as a tutorial of sorts, but there are no missions or quests to complete. The goal in Rimworld is survival. You are set loose in the world and get to choose the best way for your group to survive. The results are often disastrous.

Throughout the game, you will also encounter visitors from other colonies. Some visitors will be friendly and willing to trade, other times you may be raided by tribal man-hunters or pirates. You can even be given the choice to save a refugee fleeing from their captors and let them join your colony. Maintaining good relationships with other colonies will cause them to visit more frequently or come to your aid in times of need. Attacking friendly visitors will cause their faction to turn hostile. Keeping good relations with your neighbors can mean the difference between life and death. You are also given the opportunity to take prisoners. This, combined with the ability for colonists to perform surgery creates some pretty gruesome possibilities.

There is so much to do in this game, I think the easiest way to sum it up would be to give brief rundown of my most current playthrough. On the first day, my colonists discovered an area that displayed an “ancient danger” warning. I decided to pop it open and discover what was waiting inside. When my tribe member was finished deconstructing part of the exterior to create an entrance, the rest of the tribe entered to find no danger, but instead three cryo-sleep pods. Since it was still only the first day, I decided to leave them be while I renovated the space into a livable shelter. To do accomplish that, I chopped down a few trees to create beds and a door to close the hole I had created in the wall. Meanwhile, my other tribespeople were busy planting a large field of potato plants, plants with healing properties, and also some “smokeleaf”. This plant was rolled up into medicine that was smoked to keep colonists happy but also made them lazy. Once I that was finished planting I hollowed out a small hill to create a small room to hold whatever came out of the cryo-sleep pods.

I decided to risk it and open the cryo-sleep pods the next morning. To my surprise, the contents of the pods were human. Two of them were dead, one was unconscious. This was a delight to my starving group of cannibals who had been living off of foraged berries up until this point. I immediately butchered the dead and prepared their meat into a food called pemmican so that it would last for the rest of the year and not spoil. The unconscious man was dragged to the empty room I had dug out of the hill and taken prisoner. In order to keep his meat as fresh as possible and also to eliminate the risk of escape, I had my most medically-gifted tribeswoman install two peg legs and a prosthetic jaw. After that I removed them all so that the prisoner couldn’t run or talk. Then I removed one kidney, and one lung for kicks. Turns out organs sell for big money! While the prisoner was unconscious, I realized that they could be placed back into cryo-sleep. Thus began the tale of my psychopathic, cannibalistic, organ-harvesting tribe of savages. From then on, they continued to capture and consume anyone who dared to visit what came to be known as “Corpse Rot Cavern”. This all came to an abrupt end when one tribesman went hunting for elephants. After downing the giant beast, the rest of it’s herd went on a warpath of revenge, rammed down my walls, and murdered every last cannibal.

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Final Judgment: 76% (Subject to change due to Early Access)

If you enjoyed Prison Architect, there is little doubt that you will not enjoy Rimworld, even in it’s current state. There is so much potential in this game and each update has added tons of fixes and content. If Ludeon Studios continues to deliver at this rate, Rimworld will be an almost guaranteed success. I loved nearly every moment of it. This truly is a sandbox experience with few boundaries. I loved that they (intentionally or not) gave me the freedom to create a tribe of cannibals and harvest organs for profit. There are tons of items, weapons, clothing types, technologies to research, and challenges to overcome. Rimworld really offers enough replay value to keep me busy for quite a while. I can’t wait to see what else Ludeon Studios has in store for us.

Pros:

• Challenging and realistic survival elements
• Completely sandbox
• Lots of scenario customization and difficulty options
• Tons of weapons, clothing, and items to craft and trade
• Organ harvesting
• Cannibalism
• Fun setting
• Lots of different personality traits and health conditions
• Replay Value
• Randomly generated characters and maps
• Large modding community
• Base building
• Resource Management
• Realistic heating/cooling and weather systems.

Cons:

• Basic graphics
• Soundtrack is nothing special
• No character customization
• Learning curve
• Weird combat controls/commands
• Strange progression for tribes

 

Indie Game Spotlight – Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander

After finishing the lengthy Planescape: Torment earlier this week, I felt that I could use a change of pace. I decided to look for a turn-based strategy game and stumbled across an indie title called Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander. The art style was attractive and the game was inexpensive, so I decided to give it a shot. Halcyon 6 truly sets itself apart from competitors by combining base building, exploration, crew management, tactical combat, RPG elements, and story events together to create a unique Starbase management simulation.

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Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander

Systems: PC, Mac

Developer: Massive Damage, Inc.

Publisher: Massive Damage, Inc.

Release Date: Sep 9, 2016

Price: $19.99 (on Steam)

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The Gameplay:

The game begins by explaining that humanity has nearly been destroyed by fleshy alien ship-creatures. The first task on the list is choosing a commanding officer to take command of Halcyon 6 – a giant space station left behind by an ancient precursor race – which happens to be humanity’s last hope for survival. Each potential captain has their own backstories, traits, and abilities. You instantly get an idea of Massive Damage’s sense of humor while reading each biography. It’s a bit silly at times but I appreciate the less serious approach to the space simulation genre. After choosing a captain of your preference, you assume control of Halcyon 6.

When you first arrive on Halcyon 6, it’s a hot mess. Having been mostly destroyed long ago, the space station only has a few sections left intact. As you explore the galaxy, you will collect various materials and resources from nearby colonies which can be used to renovate the destroyed sections of the Halcyon 6.

Before building or making any new renovations , you must clear the debris and kill off any alien scum that may have taken up residence in each destroyed area. Once all hostiles are eliminated, you are able to choose from a list of rooms to build. These rooms will allow you to upgrade you ships, generate more power and fuel, train new recruits, and much more.

Outside of Halcyon 6 lies the rest of the galaxy, waiting to be explored. Each new game generates a new galaxy and randomly chooses alien races as your new neighbors. Thus, each new game is a unique experience.

Throughout the galaxy there are different settlements set up that can be contacted. Once you’ve made contact with the colonies, they will generate resources for you in exchange for protection. Occasionally, fleshy alien adversaries will spawn using portals in your territory and attack the colonies or Halcyon 6. If you fail to rescue the colonies, they will be lost and no resources can be collected until they are rebuilt. Neighboring alien races are generally neutral and will often visit Halcyon 6 to plead for help. If you decide to aid your neighbors, they will become more friendly over time and offer you rewards for your service.

The commanding officer won’t be alone when entering the fray of battle. Aside from the first officer you choose to command Halcyon 6, you must recruit more officers to join the fight and also to maintain the starbase as the war rages on. Officers come in three different classes: engineering specialists, science specialists, and tactical specialists. Engineers have a wide assortment of skills and generally fulfill the tank role. Science specialists are similar to mages and specialize in healing skills and crowd control abilities. Last but not least, the tactical specialist is similar to a rogue and serves as heavy damage-dealing glass-cannon. I would recommend having one of each class in your squad to ensure you have the ability to deal with any situation you might encounter.

 Not all battles take place in space, however. Occasionally you will be forced to take the battle to the surface. Fighting on the ground is similar to space combat, except it is fought with blaster pistols, knives, and grenades. I really enjoyed the two different modes of combat and both were equally challenging.

The pace of Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is surprisingly fast. If you’re not prepared before the waves of enemies increase in amount and difficulty, Halcyon 6 and it’s crew will be decimated. Upgrading to larger class ships is an important goal to achieve as soon as possible.

 It is very easy to be overwhelmed during the beginning of the game. Attacks within your territory are common enough that you may decided to create additional fleets to cover more ground or to have a backup force to defend the base while the rest are out exploring. Attacks within the base also occur quite frequently as the game progresses, so make sure to have an officer or two around the base in case of emergency.

Combat in Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is easy to learn, but complex enough that it requires some practice to master and use effectively. Space and ground combat are very similar. I enjoyed the amount of status effects that could be applied on enemies and allies. This offered a lot of different opportunities to strategize. Certain moves inflict blindness, while other moves are made to exploit those negative effects. There are also buffs that can increase the firepower and morale of your allies in battle. Once I figured out what each status effect could do, it was easy to set up devastating combos.

When entering ground combat, the game will fill in any open spots on your team with rookie recruits. These rookies must be upgraded as well to keep up with the increasing difficulty, but they are expendable and will automatically be replaced. When higher-ranking officers are killed in battle, their deaths have a much larger impact. Luckily, there is cloning technology that can be researched. This enables you to clone fallen comrades with all of their gained experience and skills intact. Other technologies that can be researched include larger ship designs, better power generation, alien technology, and many other things that will give you an edge in battle or strengthen Halcyon 6.

I was very impressed by the charming pixel graphics and goofy sense of humor throughout the game. The attack animations are varied and look great. The humor really shines when interacting with alien civilizations. Each species has their own personality and motives. Over time they will approach Halcyon 6 to request aid, or offer information. Each alien race also has unique ships and physical appearances. I only finished the game once and had encountered at least three or four different civilizations, but the  developers claim that there are six different races that change during subsequent playthrough along with the layout of the galaxy. This adds a good deal of replay value and makes each new game a bit different, which is huge bonus.

Final Judgment: 80%

Having been an indie-developed game, Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is a very well crafted and enjoyable experience. I finished the game within 24 hours and I’m contemplating anything playthrough to see how different it can be from my first try. The difficulty can be quite high, even on lower levels, so it’s easy to fall behind and become overwhelmed. I thought the pace was a bit too fast, but it did add to the urgency of the situation and forced me to make tough decisions. I also enjoyed building relationships with the other space-faring races, but I felt that the few interactions left a bit to be desired. Another thing that bothered me a little was that the game seemed somewhat lacking in instructions on what do to at certain times. Overall, Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander was an excellent indie game and I hope there is more to come from Massive Damage, Inc.

 

Pros:

• Charming pixel graphics
• Funny sense of humor
• Challenging combat
• Base-building
• Great character progression
• Cool enemies and ship designs
• Exploration
• Decent amount of replay value

Cons:

• Small game world
• Very fast paced/ easy to end up underpowered
• Wonky ship movement at times
• Too few alien races
• Lacking in explanation of certain events

 

A Deeper Look at the 2017 PlayStation Exclusives Lineup

Sony is bringing in the new year with a BANG!  With over a dozen exclusive titles, it seems that this corporate giant is gunning for a strong year and is DEFINITELY not holding back any punches. Here’s a sneak peek of some of the exclusives we’re most excited about:

 

Detroit: Become Human

Developer: Quantic Dream

Release Date: TBA 2017

Detroit: Become Human is a neo-noir thriller game that will revolve around several playable androids in third-person perspective. Different characters can die, which will shape this action-adventure game into a more customized experience for the player. This allows for the continuance of the game’s progression upon the player’s death. The story also has the ability to branch in different directions, and by obtaining clues from different crime scenes will allow for the events to be replayed.

 

 

Drawn to Death

Developer: The Bartlett Jones Supernatural Detective Agency

Release Date: TBA 2017

This third-person shooter not only looks hand-drawn within the notebook of a teenager, but will also be more focused on skill than its peers. Acting within a 4-player arena, the players will have different abilities and attacks as well as the different levels featuring multiple hidden secrets. Weapon progression will be a thing of the past with this title, as the only advantages within the game will be map memorization and muscle memory.

 

 

Dreams

Developer: Media Molecule

Release Date: TBA 2017

This sandbox title not only shines a spotlight on the player’s creativity but will also allow sharing of that content as well. By controlling an imp, the player is able to influence and manipulate different objects. Utilizing the imp’s ability to possess, the player can control different characters featured in the different dreams. Using the variety of obtained characters and items is the main way of progressing the main story, which is heavily based on puzzles.

 

Farpoint

Developer: Impulse Gear

Release Date: TBA 2017

Set in on a hostile and alien world, this PlayStation VR title will take players on a fight for survival. Searching for the fate of your team and stumbling onto the secrets of the planet,  this game will push boundaries of FPS experiences.

 

Gran Turismo Sport

Developer: Polyphony Digital

Release Date: TBA 2017

Finally making its PS4 debut, Gran Turismo Sport is the thirteenth installment in the series. Offering both online and offline racing, the players will see three game modes: Arcade Mode, Campaign, and Sports Mode. Lacking the Day/Night cycle (though the player can choose the time of day prior to racing) as well as dynamic weather, this title is said to be a new era of the Gran Turismo games.

 

Gravity Rush 2

Developer: SIE Japan Studio

Release Date: January 18 2017

This action adventure will allow the player to manipulate gravity and utilize different movements as well as navigations. Offering three different gravity styles: Lunar, Jupiter as well as the original style from the first game. With 3x times the amount of content, this game will also offer a map that is 2.5 the size of its predecessor.

 

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice 

Developer: Ninja Theory

Release Date: TBA 2017

Focusing on ninja combat, strong character development and storytelling, and a unique art vision, we are introduced to a story based on Celtic Mythology. Traveling through an underworld consisting of real and mental manifestations, the player is put to the test with this brutal hack and slash game. Exposed to unforgiving combat and the savagery of the Viking heartland, will protagonist Senua be able to survive?.

 

Horizon Zero Dawn

Developer: Guerrilla Games

Release Date: February 28 2017

This third-person action RPG takes the player deep into a world overran by robots. Playing as the huntress/archer Aloy, the player makes use of stealth tactics, ranged and melee weapons against the mechanical creations. Featuring an open-world experience, different parts of the map are assigned to different tribes which harbor side quests to compliment the main story.

 

New Hot Shots Golf

Developer: Clap Hanz

Release Date: TBA 2017

An arcade sports title that not only offers golf galore,  but also other activities such as buggy racing, swimming and more! Offering updated graphics and character models,  this will be the long-running franchise’s first appearance on PS4. With added options to develop and customize golf resorts paired with an open world design, this is looking to be the largest Hot Shots Golf title to date.

 

Knack 2

Developer: SIE Japan Studio

Release Date: TBA 2017

This action-platformer is a co-op sequel to Knack,  which was released in 2013. Using different methods of combat, the ability to change sizes and much more, the player will experience various puzzles and challenges throughout the different levels. By incorporating the skill tree, the player is encouraged to customize their experience with all the different abilities to find unique solutions to the challenges.

 

Matterfall

Developer: Housemarque

Release Date: TBA 2017

A Sci-Fi action game that not only pits the player against a world infected by “Smart Matter” (a deadly alien material,) but also pushes the limits of survival. Will this be the end of humanity?  Or will the player be able to overcome the alien force that caused this infection?

 

MLB The Show 17

Developer:  SIE San Diego

Release Date: March 28 2017

The 12th  annual installment within the MLB’s flagship game is stopping at no cost to bring you the best baseball title to date. The “Road to the Show” has been improved, and so has the production values  — they’ve added an outfield dance and much more! Utilizing both brand new and retro ballparks, and adding even more advanced stats than previous titles, it seems this game will cater to its fans extremely well.

 

Nex Machina

Developer: Housemarque

Release Date: TBA 2017

Nex Machina is an arcade-style game with explosive competition and challenges. Set in a world where machines overcome mankind, the player is thrown into a fight against eradication. This top-down shooter will offer the player many different styles of gameplay and different ways to satisfy the player’s ruthlessness.

 

NieR: Automata

Developer: PlatinumGames

Release Date: March 7 2017

This action RPG is set in the middle of a proxy war, pitting the remnants of humanity against dark machines created by otherworldly forces. Set in the same universe as NieR, this game takes place in a post-apocalyptic open world environment. Automata will be taking place after the 4th ending of NieR, but has no direct tie to the narrative in the previous game.

 

Nioh

Developer:  Team Ninja

Release Date: February 7 2017

Nioh takes place in the early 1600s,  during a civil war within Japan.  Assuming the role of a Western samurai, the player will be pitted against not only other humans but also supernatural entities called “Yokai.” The player will navigate through the various missions from the menu while the scattered Shrines will act as checkpoints. Utilizing different stances will allow for a more in-depth take at traditional hack and slash combat.

 

PaRappa The Rapper Remaster

Developer: Nanaon – Sha Japan

Release Date: TBA 2017

“Kick, Punch, you all remember!” This rhythm-based title is a remastered version of the original title released back in the mid-’90s. Utilizing unique level and character design to complement the rap-based rhythm levels, this title is said to be the godfather to modern rhythm based games.

 

StarBlood Arena

Developer: Sony San Diego

Release Date: TBA 2017

This virtual reality title offers a unique experience for arena-based multiplayer, pitting futuristic mechs against each other. This title will not only offer Battle Royal, but also Single Player Arena Challenges as well as Team Deathmatches. 2 to 4 players will be able to team up for cooperative gameplay for an intense, close-quarter combat experience.

 

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Developer: Naughty Dog

Release Date: TBA 2017

Taking place after the events in Uncharted 4, this upcoming DLC for Uncharted 4 = will also act as a standalone expansion. Taking place in India, we follow protagonist Chole in her search for the Tusk of Ganesha. This third-person action adventure game will be the biggest story expansion to date, and will be available at your neighborhood local video game store,  as well as available as a digital download.

 

WipEout Omega Collection 

Developer: Psygnosis / SCE Liverpool

Release Date: TBA 2017

This futuristic anti-gravity racing collection not only will offer an enhanced port of WipEout HD (2008) but also WipEout HD Fury (2009) and WipEout 2048. Thriving off fast-paced gameplay and 3D visuals, these titles are also well-known for their consequential difficulty.

 

Yakuza 0 – Kiryu

Developer: Sega

Release Date: January 24 2017

This action-adventure takes place in 1988, in an open world,  and is the prequel to the Yakuza series. Unlike its predecessors where experience was used to purchase skills, the player will use money earned throughout the game via fights or side businesses. Yakuzo 0 features two playable characters, Kiryu and Majima (both with different playstyles and various abilities) who are fighting for their innocence and safety, this title will take the player deep into the power struggle within the dark organizations in Japan.

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Whether it be a big AAA title, expansion, or smaller indie game,  it seems that Sony has a busy year ahead of them. Which of these exclusives are YOU most excited about? Let us know in the comments section.

And as always, stay tuned to Super Game Reviews for updates on these titles!

 

Electronic Sports League unveils rules for competitive Destiny play

With competitive gaming becoming more and more popular every day, it was only a matter of time before one of the more popular FPS’s of this generation, Destiny, jumped into the fray. The eSports giant ESL (Electronic Sports League) has officially outlined their ruleset for competitive Destiny play, becoming the first league to do so.

One of the more noticeable changes to the format is that ESL is abandoning the traditional 3v3 Destiny fireteam in favor of a 4v4 squad, mirroring other FPS tournament styles. In addition to that, heavy ammo will be banned from matches. It hasn’t officially been stated whether it will be “waved off” (In the opening first seconds of the match if all players use the “wave” emote, heavy ammo will not appear throughout the match), or if players will just be forced to ignore it. Year One armors featuring the Special Weapon Ammo perk are prohibited. Certain gun perks such as Kneepads and Crowd Control for shotguns are illegal, and the Luck in the Chamber perk has been banned outright. Exotic armor is not allowed, but most exotic weapons will still be legal, with a few exceptions. Class-specific weapons have also been met with the banhammer. These rules for guns seem to be in place to eliminate any possible one-shot “cheap” kills.

Exotic Weapon Banlist:

-No Land Beyond
-Hawkmoon
-Universal Remote
-Invective
-Ice Breaker

Guns that regenerate ammo, such as Invective, are banned from competition

 

ESL has also developed a new armor rating system, designed to keep all players around the same level of hit points. No players armor stat using this new system may exceed 7. This will prevent “Tanks” from simply trading shots and winning based purely on HP.

 

Game types for competition will include Clash, Zone Control, and Supremacy. Scoring will be set to default values, except for Supremacy which will be set to 100. Matches will have a 12-minute timer, deterring camping. Only one player on a team may use a particular subclass, as duplicate subclasses are not allowed. This eliminates the possibility of teams constructed of solely self-reviving Sunsingers, and forces players to play their part for their teams to be successful. Certain class perks, such as the Bladedancer’s “Backstab” are outlawed, but the Titan’s “Shoulder Charge” perk is still legal (For now). Light Level will be disabled, which is a standard for most Crucible matches.

Destiny’s newest game type, Supremacy, will be featured in competitive play

All in all, I think this is a very good set of outlines for competitive Destiny matches. I’m very excited to see what builds will be utilized in the competitive metagame. In my opinion, Destiny is one of the best FPS experiences currently available, and I feel it will bring a lot of new faces into the world of eSports.