Monthly Archives: October 2017

Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates Impressions

Written by Remko Molenaar (Proxzor)

It’s 1911 and the coastal cities have been flooded. Avenues are underwater and people move around over the rooftops of the many buildings in the iconic city of New York. The people who remained found themselves in a terrifying crisis, where different gangs have taken over the city and any form of society is now long gone. You will have to help solve the crisis in Empyre: Lord of the Sea Gates, moving around in this steampunk world from rooftop to rooftop in an attempt to save the city.

Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates Screenshot

Empyre is a very story rich game that throws you into an adventure where you will get to influence the direction of the story. In the campaign you get to choose between four characters, each one with their own set of abilities and styles of playing. I went with a character that used a rifle and had a pretty good aim along with it. This helped me to take out enemies from afar, instead of going up close and either sneaking past them or stabbing them in the back.

Since the story still follows a set plot, there isn’t necessarily a lot of moving around in the city by yourself. Frequently you are thrown into a different part of the city, and have to search for a quest objective yourself. The maps aren’t necessarily all too linear, and thus sometimes you will actually have to look around, making you interact with the environment some more. This is a nice touch, especially in turn-based games, that brings the RPG elements a bit more forward. On your journey to attempt to fix the crisis you will meet with different personas with their own set of tools and abilities, and you will have to come up with a proper strategy so you ensure you will get the least amount of injuries progressing through the levels.

Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates Screenshot

I really have high expectations for the controls of turn-based games; after all, the game is mostly played by clicking on the ground, and using hotkeys to use your tools or abilities. The controls seem clunky in EMPYRE: Lords of the Sea Gates. While the game does use the expected control system, sometimes it really is hard to tell what you specifically clicked and what exactly your character is about to do. The game also isn’t really turn based in the traditional way, where you only get a few interactions per character and then let your enemies move; it is instead a constant flow of interactions with no actual breaks in between. The game does pause itself when you are in the specific mode to do your interactions, but you can do almost everything on the fly and the game is rather fast paced considering it resembles turn based fighting.

Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates Screenshot

Since the game tries its hardest to be a RPG, there are a few progression systems in place. Like when a character levels up, you get skill points to spend on skills that make your character stronger in one way or another. But since the characters are all different from each other, leveling is very linear and straight forward. If you have taken a stealth character, you obviously aren’t going to level up a lot ranged attacks, and vice versa. There are a few skills that help you pick locks better, notice things around the world, or improve your social interactions, but so far I haven’t seen a lot of effect from this as the missions are very straight forward, and usually just require you to clear levels. Besides the progression, your character will also be able to find loot and money. With money obviously better equipment or items can be bought, but weapons or other nifty tools can also be found that you can use on your missions.

Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates Screenshot

Empyre tries its absolute hardest to focus on the rich story, and the adventure itself of saving the alternative New York. While saving the city, you will kill everyone on your path, be it gangsters or the police. No one is able to walk away freely, and I do have to say this turns me a little off from the story. You are essentially trying to save everyone and be unlike the rest, by doing the exact same thing the criminals are doing in the game. I’m not really sure that’s the right way of saving the city, but I thought it was a little ironic. Empyre does offer a very interesting RPG in a steampunk world and it is definitely a game to consider if you enjoy isometric RPGs. Find it now on Steam!

Note: A game key was provided for review purposes.

Gundam Versus Review

Gundam Versus - Starting

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

I’m incredibly bad at Gundam Versus. It’s not a franchise we’ve seen much of in the West though. I even had the chance to practice on the Vita with the previous Gundam Versus title, but I was still terrible! And that’s okay. Despite that, I love the game, I love the franchise. It’s incredibly authentic and accurate to the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. The gameplay relies on skill and not upgrades/stat boosts for which I’m grateful. I haven’t used a single Mobile Suit that was not enjoyable (though I’m willing to bet mass-produced like Guncannon, Ball, GM are probably considerably weaker than Zeta Gundam, Hyaku-Shiki, Sazabi, or Justice Gundam). Every suit isn’t “amazing”, but every suit looks/plays like it would in the show/manga it came from. That’s important. The idea behind Gundam Versus is pretty simple. It’s an Arena Battler/Fighting Game and doesn’t really have a story like say, Gundam Musou/Dynasty Warriors Gundam does. You pick your Mobile Suit, and if applicable, you pick a pilot (some suits have several pilot options as you level them up) and finally a backup/summon. You only start off with a few of those, but by leveling up your Mobile Suits you’ll increase your options for backup too. After all, why use a Ball for a backup when you can use Psycho Gundam?

Gundam Versus - Losing

I did a “lot” of this online.

The controls, for the most part, are very solid. The only complaint I have for controls is that to block you hit down then up on the D-Pad, and that’s cumbersome and incredibly frustrating to do while you’re being shot at. Other than that, the controls make sense, once you’ve done the Tutorial. Please, do the tutorial. Take the time, because this isn’t like any fighting game you’ve likely played before. One of the things I definitely appreciate though is the cast. I’ve heard some people throw actual temper tantrums for certain characters not being in. Am I bummed that Johnny Ridden’s not in the game? Of course, he’s awesome! But is that any reason to take a dump on a solid game? Again, the answer is no. But the game is fairly simple in essence. You have 1,000 points, and so does the other team/player (there is multiplayer).

Gundam Versus - Mobile Suit Selection

Whether you’re a Newtype, Oldtype, Meister or Civilian, you have options.

When you shoot someone down, they can redeploy, but it takes whatever the cost of their Mobile Suit is. For example, one of my favorite Mobile Suits is the Sazabi, piloted by Char Aznable. It’s got a 500 cost, so I can deploy one more time if it’s a one-on-one. Or if I use the X2 Kai, it’s only got a cost of 300. You have hitpoints, and taking damage lowers that pool and when you hit 0, kaboom! Each Mobile Suit has a variety of ranged/close range attacks, and you can clearly see your ammunition on the screen. The UI’s pretty intuitive, I have to say. In most of the matches I played online, people were playing some pretty low-point Suits to redeploy more than just once and were incredibly skilled with them. Ranked and Casual matches were both very fun, and I never felt upset that I lost, because I knew they had as much/more skill than me.

Gundam Versus - Four Player

You can also set up whatever crazy fights you want!

The real game mode in my estimation is the Ranked/Casual Online modes, but I had way more fun playing the offline modes, Ultimate Battle/Trial Battle. I’m not very good at this, so playing modes where I can try new stuff without having to wait all that long for a match was pretty great. Plus Ultimate Battle’s “survive against wave after wave of Mobile Suits”, limited-time events, and the Arcade feel of Trial Battle definitely felt like I was getting the full Mobile Suit Gundam experience. Something worth noting is that this is an Arena Battler like I said before. In Ultimate Mode you play against 10, 30, 50 waves of Mobile Suits and with your partner, do your best to win. It’s simple, straightforward, and challenging. Trial Battle is again, an Arcade Mode. You have Easy, Normal, Hard, and Ultimate. Each Route has alternate routes to take, and each stage has its own difficulty/encounters to worry about. Since this game has 70+ pilots, I’m grateful you can set your favorite Mobile Suits on a list, and now you can pick much faster. The cast is gigantic, and there are options for any fan of any series of Mobile Suit Gundam. Sure there are people that were left out, but most of the major stars are waiting to be plucked up.

Gundam Versus - Colony

From Colonies to Huge outdoor areas and space, each stage has its own tactics.

You can’t just spam your buttons and win. These are huge battlefields, all in notable locales from the franchise. Ducking behind buildings, sweeping from around mountains, it’s all about position, strategy, and location. And not wasting your shots. Your weapons do reload, but it takes quite a while, especially for the stronger weapons. 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 battles are fast, furious, and genuinely feel as intense as the Mobile Suit series these came from. Another thing I enjoy is that leveling the Mobile Suits does not make them stronger. There’s no way to enhance their stats, change their weapons, or get a statistical edge on someone other than probably playing a better Mobile Suit (and being more skilled than your opponent). Leveling a Mobile Suit gives you titles, banners, new pilots, things of that nature. The game all boils down to skill. In addition to the weapons/armaments of the mobile suits, you also have Lightning Gear/Blaze Gear, two power-up options, for either one giant power attack or a series of quick, lightning-fast attacks. They’re both solid, so pick whichever suits you. I do admittedly wish I could change the armaments of a Mobile Suit to something else they used, but I can see why that might be left out.

I Can See Them … I Can See The Enemy: 4/5

Gundam Versus - Level Up

You can adhere to a tierlist, but ultimately, play what’s fun for you.

I genuinely love playing this game. Even if I weren’t a Gundam fan, I’d probably enjoy the incredible combat. If you love giant robot battles, lots of cool designs, characters and stages, this has something for you. No matter what Gundam era you’re a fan of (Universal Century, Fight Century, Beyond Colony, et cetera), no matter what actual series (Thunderbolt, Iron-Blooded Orphans, Zeta, Stardust Memories) this will have something for you. It’s challenging, rewards skill and not button-mashing madness, and is also very visually appealing to boot. However, there is something I’d like to address. Normally, I complain when a game drops tons of DLC immediately. These are all in the form of new Mobile Suits/Pilots, at 5 bucks a pop. There’s already a lot of them. But why am I not mad? Because this game already has over 90 playable Mobile Suits at launch! If there were a Gundam I desperately wanted to pilot that’s not on that list/is DLC, I’d honestly probably just get it. This isn’t a game that gave me six characters and launched three DLC characters month 1.

But there is already a host of playable suits I love. It’s something I’d certainly have to practice and hone my skills for if I wanted to be good at it. The controls are still something I struggle with a little, but that’s down to not being used to them, not playing another game with similar settings. If you love giant robots, big laser swords, and guns, and want to do battle in an environment that promotes skill? This is for you. There is even a Tier List, for fighting game enthusiasts, you can definitely find what people think are the strongest/weakest (Or you can click here). Is every Mobile Suit in the game “great”? Probably not. But can you use any Mobile Suit and make it your own? You sure can. I do feel it’s probably going to be a niche’ title, and a lot of the Mobile Suit names are going to look like gibberish to the uninitiated. But I hope it’s not. I hope it brings a resurgence of Mobile Suit popularity to the West. I need a PS4 Gundam Musou! But Gundam Versus does scratch that itch, and feels like an incredibly authentic experience. We are Gundam. 

 

 

Virtual Earth Online

Virtual Earth Online is an upcoming free-to-play 3D sim MMORPG developed by VEO Games for PC and is expected to release on Steam. In Virtual Earth Online players can take part in one of the most ambitious sandbox MMORPGs ever attempted with a massive open game world the size of the entire Earth. Houses, streets, and other facets have been reproduced in a virtual world that players can travel, explore, and shape to their liking. Do what you wish and be whoever you want to be. The entire world is yours to explore, discover, and shape in Virtual Earth Online!

Features:

Be You: In this game you can truly play the way you want to! Become a farmer, builder, traveler, or something else entirely! Take in the sights of other players’ creations as you make your way around the world or purchase your own land and build to your heart’s content.

Voxel-Based Building: Building in Virtual Earth Online is voxel-based, meaning payers can build nearly anything from building blocks of all kinds of shapes and sizes. The blocks don’t even have to be square and can take custom shapes when needed!

Massive World: With every house, street, park, and corner of the Earth reproduced in the game there will always be somewhere new for you to go! Travel instantly across vast expanses or take the long route to different famous locations, big cities, or the most remote corners of the world.

Custom Blocks: Create your own custom textures for blocks to unshackle any creative limitations. Whether you want to create one of the most modern skyscrapers available, a humble abode, or the garden of your dreams the options are there to make it all happen!

Starborne

Starborne is a free-to-play sci-fi 4X strategy game developed by Solid Clouds and will be available in open beta during Q2 2018 on PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. Combining 4X empire building with the real-time strategy elements of the MMORTS genre, Starborne puts players in the role of a space commander competing against thousands of other players. If you’re looking for a game that will reward you over time for your well-thought-out strategic decisions then look no further! Only time will tell how grand your strategies truly are and how strong your alliances have actually become!

Features:

Unique Gameplay: Starborne seeks to do what no game has done before by marrying the feeling of traditional board games with epic, long-term gameplay and political conflict. Games will culminate over a total of six months with decisive endgame content before resetting, giving players more shots at taking over the map with different strategies.

Card-driven: The entirety of your experience in Starborne is card-driven. New cards can be discovered and collected as you play, enabling you to do anything from upgrading your stations and fleets to gaining special bonuses and changing your avatar picture.

Strategic Points: Each map has numerous strategic points in the form of planets which players will strive to take for their own and expand their sphere of influence.

Lordmancer II

Lordmancer II is a free-to-play mobile fantasy MMORPG developed by Active Games for iOS and Android and is the sequel to Active Games’ previous title Lordmancer I. It is expected release in Q1 2018 and improves upon its predecessor in a number of ways, but stays true to the popular core features and mechanics of the original. Players can explore a huge game world that doesn’t tie users to any particular home town, giving them complete freedom in choosing where to go and when to experience both PvE and PvP content. Numerous beautiful arenas are waiting to be desecrated in intense battles with engaging content, different types of units, and various magical effects in this game!

Features:

Open World: Explore a huge open world with freedom to go and do as you choose, taking part in both PvE and PvP content.

Clans: Experienced players can create a clan or join an existing one to expand their potential goals and the level of their engagement. Clans can seize and own castles, but the number of castles in the world is limited which leads to conflict between clans over ownership of these massive structures.

Market Conversions: Players can level up their characters to craft even more valuable weapons and artifacts that can be sold in the game for LordCoins (LCs). LCs can later be sold on a cryptoexchange for your choice of BitCoin or Etherium, giving you the chance to cash in on your in-game efforts!

Doomtrooper

Doomtrooper is a digital CCG based on the diesalpunk sci-fi Mutant Chronicles universe from the ’90s. Choose a faction, craft cards, build a deck, and face off against cunning opponents from all around the world, available for Windows.

Features:

Interplanetary Adventure: Explore a domain of chainsaws, hostile encroaching aliens, corporate conspiracy, stylized mechanical vehicles, and legion vs. horde warfare.

Board Battlefield: Learn the distinct tactics behind your various possible actions including playing a warrior unit card, supporting the frontline, equipping them with attachments, activating a faction power, or changing destiny with fate.

Personalized Playstyle: Mix, match, and see what works with 8 different classes and over 400 cards to choose from.