Monthly Archives: July 2014

World of Speed: Mazda RX-7 & Mercedes Benz Evo Revealed

World of Speed

My.com has released brand new gameplay trailer for World of Speed. The short video features the Mazda RX-7 and Mercedes Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution battling it out on a couple different tracks and in some particularly nasty weather conditions. The Dream Drive trailer also teases a few iconic London landmarks from the London Eye, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

For more info, visit http://wos.my.com/

Cast & Conquer: Now available on Android

Cast and Conquer

Global game publisher Reality Squared Games (R2Games) announced today that Cast & Conquer, its mobile action CCG, has been made available on Android devices. This latest version of the game offers cross-platform play, so players will be able to stay in touch and compete with each other on the same servers as their friends.

The game is free to download and play, and will work on any device running Android 2.3.3 and up.

Cast & Conquer is a collectible card game, offering a fresh take on popular CCG gameplay from titles such as Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone, and putting it in the palm of your hand.

For more info, visit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.r2games.castandconquer&referrer=af_tranid%3D3Q1NEAMJ8CJKCNXC%26c%3DCNC%26pid%3DPR

Camelot Unchained BSC: Stat and Magic Systems Revealed

BSC Banner

Camelot Unchained’s BSC (that’s “Bat Shit Crazy”) Days are in swing all week, and in the past two days, City State Entertainment has revealed both the game’s basic stat system and their magic system.

The stat system for CU aims to bring back the style of early pen and paper games that reward smart player choice (and punish poor player choice). It will not include experienced-based progression, but will use the “usage-based” system in which you take logical actions to increase the stat you’re after (such as swinging a sword to increase your strength).

Stats will be divided into primary, secondary, and derived stats, and have three levels of caps which determine how fast progression in gaining the stats are. These stats will act as a gating mechanic for abilities and gear, and not as a bonus to performance – as such, equipment will also not have stat bonuses on it. You can see the full presentation on stats here.

Today’s reveal of the magic system aims to, in Jacobs’ words, “put the magic back into magic.” The system is very ambitious, and includes multiple resource systems including runes, reagents, blood, and a spellbook. Spells will be created by the player by combining runes and other reagents. Spells will also have the ability to interact with each other (both friendly and hostile spells) and the environment to change: even Veilstorms can be created if too many spells are cast in an area.

This system is in part referred to as AIR (Action, Interaction, and Reaction), as each spell is more like an object in the world that can be manipulated by friends, enemies, and the environment. More on the spell system can be seen here.

In the mean time, stay tuned for our full BSC recap on Friday!

 

Elsword’s New Raid Boss is Larger than Life

Elsword Eltrion Boss

KOG Games, a leading developer and publisher of popular free-to-play action MMORPGs, today announces the launch of the impressive Raid Boss Dungeon.

Knee-deep in crazed creepy crony carcasses, Elsword’s aspiring mob of would-be heroes has all but slain the last mass of minions that would have stopped at nothing to halt their progress. As the final sword falls, and last shot rings out, quelling the final miscreant… the menacing visage of the Gate of Time rends reality asunder and throws its doors wide open. Finally, through the archway the heroes march and all cast their weary gazes upon the magnificent City in the Sky. Perched aloft the clouds up high, spires of technology and magic keep his ancient capital afloat. The sheer mastery of techno-magic and masonry can only be taken in for a fleeting moment before the air crackles with power unlike anything this world has ever seen. The entire earth beneath them begins to shake, and an ear-piercing howl ravages their very souls. From the heavenly expanse surrounding the floating city, soars up to the sky, a behemoth so great that its form eclipses the sun itself. At the pinnacle of its ascent… this techno-leviathan, the mechanical dragon guardian of the City in the Sky, descends upon them with break-neck speed and the explosive fury of sun itself.  See the new video here.

Elsword Eltrion 2

Enter Eltrion: The first Raid Boss of Elsword.

The new Elsword Raid Boss encounter is the biggest and toughest fight in the game. Players unlock the Gate of Time by defeating a ton of baddies in the Sander and Hamel Fields. Once defeated, the Gate of Time materializes, and all 12 players join in to fight Eltrion together; the toughest boss in the game. If there aren’t enough players in a group, the Gate stays open for 15 minutes.
Sounds easy right? On the contrary! Players have to bring their “A” game. Though you may take Eltrion on with an epic party of 12 players, you only have 12 minutes to destroy the beast or lose the fight.

Battle the big boss, with a big raid for big prizes. With Elsword’s new Raid Boss beatdown… Size is everything.

Transformers Universe First Impressions: Too Slow and Easy

By Mohammad Abubakr

transformers-universe Logo

Whether you are a fan of the comics, TV shows, or movies, we have all heard of The Transformers. These robots with the ability to transform into vehicles are loved by many all over the world. Knowing this, Hasbro and Jagex have teamed up to release a free to play online Transformers game. Which side will you be on? Will you fight the Decepticons or kill off the Autobots?

Transformers Universe is an online free to play… shooter? This game is a mix of many types of games including shooters and RPGs (role playing game). You play the game from the 3rd person perspective and at first look it looks just like any other shooter game. However, there are skills and stats available making it a little more like RPGs. Even the shooting portion of the game differs from the traditional shooters you see on the market. The combat consists of locking on to enemies, there is no cross hair used to aim your weapon. These features make Transformers Universe make up a unique type of game featuring elements from multiple genres being labeled as a MOTA.

As mentioned above, the game features a control scheme most people would not expect. In the Transformer mode, players can move using the WASD keys and aim with their mouse. You do not have a cross hair and must simply lock on to enemies by holding the right click button and then using your weapon of choice. When in the vehicle mode, the driving feels a little bit awkward. You cannot turn with the WASD keys as is expected when the Transformers movement is using those same keys but you accelerate and brake with WS and turn with the mouse. It takes some time to get used to but even now I prefer having the mouse to change camera and turn with keys when driving a vehicle.

TU SS1I personally enjoy playing the healing warrior.

Players enter the battle field with their choice of warriors. I was hoping for the ability to create my own unique Transformers by mixing and matching skills and weapons. Instead we are locked to Transformer templates called warriors. There are many warriors available in the game with many more to come in the future. These warriors must be unlocked by using in game or cash shop currency. As expected, there are warriors of many types allowing players to play with their own unique play styles. Some are better suited for absorbing damage while others support and heal the team. It is unfortunate to see some warriors being limited to only paying users by requiring the purchase of founder packs.

These warriors have three weapons and three skills. Each of the weapons have special abilities which can be used if players have enough energy that is regenerated over time. Skills are different for each warrior including shields and power ups.

Players can also purchase warrior skins, consumables, and items such as augments providing bonus stats. Skins are basically different colours of paint on your warriors but having some customization is appreciated. Consumables allow you to gain bonuses for a short amount of time and have limited uses. Augments and other items are similar to equipment found in RPG games as they provide bonus stats. Some of these items exist only for a limited time and must be crafted again after expiry.

TU SS2You can purchase Augments using Energon or Relics, but you must wait if using Energon.

Aside from the founder warriors, everything is available even for free players. At the end of each match two currencies are rewarded to players: Energon and Relics. Relics are the same currency given to paying players but is given out at a reduced rate at the end of each match. Theoretically you are able to buy anything as free players, but you gain Relics at a much slower rate than Energon.

Alongside receiving Energon and Relics at the conclusion of each match, you also gain experience points which can be spent to level up your warriors. These points received after leveling up can be spent to increase the stats of your choice. It is important to keep in mind that stats are linked to each warrior and not to your account. Your account has an overall level but each warrior has separate stats.

Once you are done customizing and selecting your warrior, you can queue up for matches. In the beta the queuing algorithm seems to be quite buggy as it keeps jumping between game types, causing you to waste a lot of time waiting for matches. You cannot select maps or matches and it is up to the system to decide for you.

There are currently two game modes available in the game: Elimination and Meteor Storm. Elimination is your traditional death match mode where teams fight to reach the kill target within a limited time. Usually this is one of my favourite game modes but it just feels so slow in Transformers Universe. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to kill a warrior and when someone gets low, they simply transform into their vehicle form and run away. To top it off, your shield and health regenerates over time even if you do not have a healer on your team! This makes the combat feel very slow and causes these matches to last very long.

Meteor Storm still has the same problem of kills taking too long but since it is not focused around kills, it is a bit more bearable. This game mode is a King of the Hill mode where your team must control points to harvest energy from meteors. Teams race to reach the target within the time limit.

In each of these game modes, if your warrior dies, it is out of combat for some time. You must select a different warrior until your fallen warriors can be repaired. You also have the option to spend relics for an instant respawn.

TU SS3The only fast thing in the game are the transformations to and from vehicle modes.

Even the game engine isn’t highly optimized and doesn’t run smoothly at times on my high end machine. This comprise had to be made to offer the game in the web browser but I would rather have a beautiful and smooth game that only runs out of the browser. The web browser version runs even slower than the desktop client. I feel that Jagex was aiming for a younger audience and this can be seen by the players found in game. These optimizations and other bugs should be fixed by release… hopefully.

State of the Beta: Stay away unless you like a slow game.

The game had a lot of potential with Transformers battling each other in a fast paced environment but they didn’t pull it off. The game feels very slow and easy due to the high health, regeneration, and lock on attacks. I do not see the overall game play changing even after the beta so we cannot hope that official release will be any better. I was really expecting and hoping for more fast paced action when it came to Transformers. There are still some features such as missions to be added after beta but these things cannot change my opinion of the game. There are a lot better games on the market and the only reason to play this game is because it is related to the Transformers. Even then, I would just play the single player Transformer games.

Want to see it in action? Catch JamesBl0nde’s first look at MMOHuts now.

Transformers-Universe-First-Look-2-620x348

Shadowbound Open Beta Test Launches This July

Shadowbound OBT

Global game publisher Reality Squared Games (R2Games) announced today that its latest browser title, Shadowbound, has entered the Open Beta stage of testing as of July 15th. R2Games encourages all gamers to experience the title for themselves, as there will be no future character wipes moving forward.

The Open Beta will run for 6 days, and will offer players chance to explore the character classes, quest areas, and tactical challenges of the Shadowbound world. With character progress now permanent and the in-game microtransaction system having been activated, players are free to experience the full Shadowbound experience. As the testing process wraps up, R2Games encourages all participants to join the conversation on the forums and let their opinions be heard.

The Shadowbound Open Beta will be available exclusively at http://shadow.r2games.com.

Second Chance Heroes

Second Chance Heroes is an intense, fast-paced, arcade-style co-op game featuring the cloned avatars of historical legends. Players crush the apocalypses back into the dark in co-op mode, up to four players. The game features a dedicated server, and plenty of satisfying violence.

Features:

Bizarre Aesthetic: The game hardly takes itself seriously – despite featuring historical heavyweights, there’s no shortage of over-the-top carnage and comedy. Players fight everything from aliens, to zombies, to sentient cheeseburgers in a world filled to the brim with chaos and mayhem.

Arcade Co-op: Like the video gaming days of old, players can team up in groups of four and smash enemies together. The game’s true potential is unleashed in co-op mode, and with a large roster of historical heroes to choose from, synergies will be easy to find. With a dedicated server, the game is easy to pick up and play with friends online.

Huge Roster: The roster of historical characters is as large as it is whimsical. Each historical figure has powers and weapons that are in-line with their lifetime accomplishments (or simply weird), and history buffs should delight in taking control of some of their favorite past role models.