Monthly Archives: September 2014

Half-Minute Hero 2: Everybody has a Price

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Wood Dragon

Money Money Money Money Money. . .

Marvelous, publisher of such fantastic titles as the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series, plus Fate/Extra and Skullgirls, offers us the sequel we did not know we were waiting for: Half-Minute Hero: The Second Coming! The premise of the game is that every major bad guy can destroy the land that you are in, but it takes thirty seconds to do so!  Enter the Time Goddess.  For a price, the Time Goddess will turn time back so that you can continue forward. At first this game might seem infuriating, with good reason.  However, the game is charming and clever, offering lots of throwbacks to the days of more pixelated RPGs. As the hero you must find like-minded individuals, collect ridiculous (and awesome!) pieces of equipment and fight the clock while fighting the forces of evil.

 

Nomenclature

I admit to a bit of trepidation before I began playing this. I remembered seeing the original, and since I heard that you had to complete each stage in thirty seconds, I thought it sounded like a terrible idea and tossed it aside. This turned out to be a foolish decision on my part!  I did not realize how intricate and funny the title would be. Not to mention that on Steam, now and forever, if you purchase Half-Minute Hero 2: The Second Coming, you get the soundtrack and the original game, a deal that started just this past week.  It is a part of their “Late-Access” to Half-Minute Hero 2 which I thought was quite clever.  The game is a challenge, and despite constantly redoing quests to succeed, I had fun from start to finish. From the ridiculous names and humorous dialogue, this was a real treat.

destroy

Have I Got A Deal For You!

In Half-Minute Hero 2 there are a couple of game modes that offer a surprisingly large amount of content to sink your time into.  The primary mode of the game is the Story, which is separated into several episodes.  As the game progresses, it introduces more game mechanics to challenge the user, while also giving them more tools to solve the puzzles/quests.  Each of these episodes takes place significantly after the others (without spoiling the story too much!) and each of these heroes must balance money, time, and violence to progress to the next chapter of the story.  This is a level-based game, in that your character levels up as time goes on.  But the leveling process is incredibly slow when not in a quest (quests have the thirty second rule in effect at all times).  So how can one possibly proceed through the battles effectively?

 

Rebel up

The Time-Goddess essentially lets you power-level, gaining exp at an incredibly heightened rate while in a quest. When not in a quest, you can level up as well, but at a much slower pace; luckily you start a quest at whatever level you were beforehand.  Bear in mind as soon as the quest or mission is over, you reset to where you were at the start!  While on the main map you can hold a button to dash as well.  But do not get used to this: while in a quest dashing lowers your current hp at a steady rate.  As you progress through the game you might notice that you are missing chests, items, characters and titles. The Goddess will eventually let you travel back to these missions to go back for the sake of completion.

 

Coleslaw

Shaping A World, And Destroying It:

There is a lot to see and do in the story, and completing all of the episodes can take quite a bit of time.  There is more to do though than simply saving the day alone. Edit Mode exists to create your own maps and challenges, and upload them to the Steam Workshop. You can also download someone else’s to test your skills.  There are a few base maps, and you can change many of their facets to make them as easy or hard as you would like. Let’s face it; sometimes it is just nice to punish other people after banging your head against a quest.  Another interesting option is the “Goddess Room.”The Goddess Room offers you an opportunity to spend the gold you gave up at the end of quests to customize your in-game experience. New outfits, skins for your menus, and other things await you. A time-sink, sure, but there is already so much to do in game that it will not be time wasted.

 

MP Options

There is more to do here than just build zones though!  Waiting to test your skill is “Time Attack,” which as its name implies, challenges you to race the clock to best a mission as fast as possible.  Infinite Battle pits you against a never-ending wave of Evil Lords, which must be completed in thirty seconds.  These modes are fun and entertaining but there is one more mode of great importance that must be mentioned..  Multiplayer!  Why not hate your friends in an all-new way?  In Multiplayer, you can co-op, tag team, or simply free-for-all, racing to complete a map before anyone else.  You can also change the settings, such as turning off “Breath of Destruction” (the boss’ monsters thirty second game-ender), among other settings.

 

Horse

Thirty Seconds Or It’s Free: 4/5 Great.

I truly feel that Half-Minute Hero 2 is a sleeper hit, one that has something for just about everyone.  Dramatic, upbeat music, clever references to other classic RPGs, strategy, challenge, and replay value.  Just because you complete a quest in one fashion does not mean there are not tons of other ways to try and succeed. If your friends are playing, there are a limitless amount of edit map/multiplayer options going on here.  Half-Minute Hero is exciting and intriguing, and although its retro graphics style might not be for everyone, it is a clever lampoon at the gaming industry. Too often we as gamers look at graphics first, and if it doesn’t look pretty enough we toss it aside.  Half-Minute Hero has a very simple look but there is certainly more than meets the eye.

Graphics: 4/5

The sprite-styled graphics are beautiful, and the enemy boss art is just fantastic.  It may not appeal to everyone, but to the player who occasionally misses this simplistic art style, it will be a fond trip down memory lane, while playing something current.  The colors are bright and easy to see, and there are lots of little details to observe such as item changes on the main character.

Controls: 3/5

When the controls were working, they were crisp and fluid.  However, Half-Minute Hero 2 did not appear to be too friendly towards the Playstation 4 controller (which is what I use on most titles).  Even with a DS4 tool, a program that allows a PS4 controller to emulate an Xbox 360 controller for the sake of usability, it was almost impossible to use at times.  The keyboard controls however are very sharp and reliant.

Features/Gameplay: 4/5

Plenty of things to do in this game!  The story mode is pleasant, and takes a fair amount of time to complete. The controls are not terribly complex and the ability to fast-forward through dialogue/cutscenes is terribly useful. Especially when you have played a map seven, eight, nine times.

Sound/Music: 5/5

The music in this game is remarkable. There are quite a few composers working on this game  and they all bring something fantastic to hear to the game.  The main title music is suitably heroic and fast-paced, getting the blood pumping and the body ready to experience fastpaced adventure! And that’s just what the game is; the music and sound effects neatly bring this title together.

Stardock /w BonusXP to publish upcoming RTS game

Stardock

Stardock announced today its agreement with BonusXP to publish an upcoming strategy game developed by the Allen, Texas-based studio. BonusXP, founded in 2012 by veteran game developers from Age of Empires developer Ensemble Studios, joins Oxide Games and Mohawk Games as partners in Stardock’s vision for the future of PC gaming.

BonusXP’s upcoming game will take advantage of Stardock’s Project Tachyon initiative alongside titles from Stardock and its other development partners. Tachyon’s cloud-based metagaming infrastructure is being developed under Battle.net engineer Adrian Luff’s leadership in Stardock’s new Austin studio, and complements services like Valve’s Steamworks by allowing easy implementation of matchmaking and league play, cloud-hosted multiplayer contests, web-powered progress tracking, and more.

“Our partnership with BonusXP fits perfectly into Stardock’s philosophy of investing heavily into talented studios of experienced developers,” said Stardock president and CEO Brad Wardell. “The ongoing transition from a retail-centric model to digital distribution has opened up huge opportunities for developers to take control of their own destiny, and Stardock is putting its money in the hands of talented creators, to help them bring the future of gaming that they hold in their minds into reality.”

BonusXP is an independent, self-funded studio staffed with extremely senior, seasoned developers. BonusXP co-founders Dave Pottinger, John Evanson, and Jason Sallenbach filled key leadership and architect roles at Ensemble Studios on classic titles such as Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, and Halo Wars. Post-Ensemble, their credits include Orcs Must Die, Rage, and Hero Academy. Since its inception two years ago, BonusXP has released top-quality mobile games like Cavemania and Monster Crew and grown to a multi-team company working on a variety of game titles.

Acclaimed AIAS Hall of Famer Bruce Shelley has also recently joined BonusXP to help shape and direct the next round of BonusXP titles including this collaboration with Stardock. Previously working with BonusXP as a consultant, Shelley arrives with many design and writer credits to his name for such legendary titles as Civilization, Age of Empires, Railroad Tycoon, and Covert Action.

“Working with Stardock is fantastic opportunity,” said BonusXP CEO Dave Pottinger. “Stardock shares our vision of great games made by passionate people. We’re thrilled to work with a publishing partner that rejects the tired mentality of churning through developers in the name of mindless sequels. While we could have self-published our next title, this partnership allows us to leverage the talent of both companies to create the game we have been dying to make. It’s not often that two veteran studios get a chance to work together on something like this. We cannot wait to share it with everyone.”

BonusXP’s Stardock-published title will be announced at a later date. To learn more about BonusXP, visit http://bonusxp.com.

Trials of Ascension: New Demo Testing Incoming

ToA

Forged Chaos, the creators behind Trails of Ascension, an immersive Sandbox MMORPG, has recently revealed that one of their development goals have been met: Players will now be able to raise dragons from birth to adulthood and take them along on massive adventures.

They also had more demo testing for all those that have backed their game through crowd-funding, with a slew of new screenshots for players to show off functional of several gameplay systems and mechanics.

Lastly, they’re promoting a two-year anniversary sale as a way of saying thanks to all supporters.

Starting September 12th, the sale will include:

  • Add a number of new items to the store!
  • Discount nearly everything currently in the store!
  • Bring back a number of items that were fan favorites!
  • And more.

For more info, visit http://us3.campaign-archive1.com/?u=19704ba629cbb30234848e58f&id=69402b0344&e=04761ba858

Transformers Universe: Wheeljack and Knock Out bots Confirmed

Transformers

Jagex has confirmed today that both Wheeljack and Knock Out, known to fans worldwide as characters from the Transformers TV series, will appear as playable warriors within TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE.

Premature news of their inclusion reached media overnight. While Jagex is willing to confirm their plans to include these, and many other, signature bots, further details of their weapons, equipment, and special attacks will not be forthcoming at this time.

Mark Gerhard, Jagex CEO, said of the unscheduled reveal, “It’s regrettable that such recognisable faces from Transformers lore should prematurely appear in the public domain without the rightful fanfare they deserve. On a positive note we’re delighted that they’re already resonating strongly with both our existing players and the wider Transformers fan-base. It’s immensely encouraging to see this level of interest, especially as we look at our existing road map and the plans we have for the inclusion of many other signature favourites within the game later this year.”

Further details about both Wheeljack and Knock Out will be scheduled for release soon, as will additional information about Chromia and Flamewar – other lore-based warriors who were mentioned in the latest community update of 5th September: https://www.transformersuniverse.com/en/news/2014/9/evolution-transformers-universe-050914

The Repopulation: End of August Update

The Repopulation

The Repopulation team has revealed new details for their current title. Tons of new features have been introduced into this upcoming Sandbox MMORPG in the past month. August brought Open World PvE Housing, Player Tournaments, Minigames, and the usual other updates and bug fixes from Alpha Testing.

The Repopulation team are happy to announce instant access to Alpha is now at the $100 package level, Round 1 backers (all remaining backers) will be getting access this weekend, and we will be getting all current backers who don’t have Alpha access in before the end of the year. Round 2 backers below the $100 level will be getting access in October.

They also have a new Alpha Teaser available with some new footage. We also have some new interviews available that you can find in our social media streams on our website if you are interested.

For more info https://www.therepopulation.com/index.php/news/171-end-of-august-2014-report

Guild Wars 2 Releases Latest Feature Pack

GW2

NCSOFT® and ArenaNet™, publisher and developer of the acclaimed Guild Wars franchise, today released its “September 2014 Feature Pack,” the second standalone Guild Wars 2® feature update for the award-winning MMO. Feature packs focus exclusively on in-game features, and the latest update

introduces improvements to key features, a ‘new user’ experience, balance updates and much more. All new content added to Guild Wars 2, including Feature Packs, is available to players free of charge and without a subscription fee.

Log in today and experience the September 2014 Feature Pack, which includes:

Wardrobe Updates
The April 2014 Feature Pack brought the account Wardrobe, a system that made it easier than ever for players to manage clothing looks and dye colors. Now, it’s being expanded with new features and functionality, including Wardrobe support to store and manage combat Finishers and ‘Miniatures’ (mini-pets), which can be account unlocked and equipped via a new mini-equip slot.

New Trading Post
The update features a brand-new Trading Post interface which provides a better overview and is easier to navigate, meaning it will be much easier for players to find and buy the items they desire.

Collection Achievements
A new Collections Achievement category will reward players for amassing items from all over Tyria. By sampling all of the ales, stockpiling trinkets, and collecting themed sets of gear players can earn rewards like new equipment, recipes or even a rare treasure chest for their home instance.

World vs. World Updates
From Commander tag updates to the Siege Golem ability line and the new Siege Disabler Trick, there are many exciting additions in the feature pack affecting strategy and tactics in Guild Wars 2’s popular competitive mode, World vs. World. Furthermore players from across the globe will have the chance to put their abilities to the test in the forthcoming World vs. Wold Fall Tournament 2014 which commences on Friday September 12.

New Player Experience
The latest update includes a series of improvements designed to ensure that Guild Wars 2’s early levelling and learning experience is more engaging, easier to follow and rewarding.

The points above merely scratch the surface of the many improvements arriving with today’s update. To learn more about the September 2014 Feature Pack, check out the series of blog posts detailing each feature and upgrade at www.guildwars2.com.

Xsyon Introduces Farming & Cooking

Xsyon

The apocalyptic sandbox MMORPG, Xsyon has released its most highly anticipated since launch, introducing farming and cooking systems to the game!

Xsyon players can now plant and raise a variety of different crops, watering, tending and fertilizing them to obtain bountiful harvests.

Xsyon’s innovative cooking system allows players to combine the ingredients and seasonings of their choice to create their own recipes. Players must match ingredient types and flavors to produce dishes that provide buffs and bonuses. Players can save their recipes in a cookbook and create special signature dishes.

This update also ramps up the survival aspect of the game as players now forage, fish, build fires and cook to survive and thrive in this apocalyptic new world!

More information is available on the official Xsyon website: http://www.xsyon.com