A look into the multiple features soon to be available through Final Fantasy XI’s November update.
Monthly Archives: November 2014
Mistwalker
Mistwalker
Terra Battle Trailer
Terra Battle lays out its development plans dependent on total downloads.
Assassin’s Creed Unity – Under Arno’s Hood Promo Trailer
Go inside the mind of Arno in this special gameplay and voice actor interview looking at how Ubisoft brought the Assassin’s Creed Unity star to life.
RuneScape Patch Notes #45 – Nov 3 2014
RuneScape offers some serious and needed quality of life improvements in their latest update.
Guild Wars 2 Adopt a Dev- World V World Experience
ArenaNet developers discuss their time on loan to various organized factions and the way visceral organized World Vs World combat feels in Guild Wars 2.
Infinite Crisis Autumn Queen Poison Ivy Skin Giveaway
Infinite Crisis and OnRPG have partnered to give away Autumn Queen Poison Ivy, a rare seasonal skin that cannot be purchased in-game!
Infinite Crisis is an all-new, free-to-play MOBA featuring a deep roster of DC Comic characters and delivering a competitive player vs. player battle experience set in the legendary DC Multiverse. Unlock 7 FREE DC Legends and the rare Autumn Queen Poison Ivy seasonal costume!
Autumn Code Includes:
• Poison Ivy Champion Unlock
• Autumn Queen Poison Ivy Costume (skin)
Play now and also receive 6 DC Champions, including Batman, Wonder Woman, & Green Lantern.
To Redeem your Key:
- After receiving your code, log onto http://www.infinitecrisis.com with your WBID account. If you do not have a WBID, you can register a new account at account.infinitecrisis.com.
- To redeem your code, visit your account page at https://www.infinitecrisis.com/account/beta/code.
- Enter your code and select the region that you play on. Make sure that you select the right region, as your code will be applied to that region server.
- After your code is accepted, simply log in and play Infinite Crisis to enjoy your reward!
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad Arrives on PC Friday November 7th
As all you flight simmers out there will know, IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad is the continuation of the legendary IL-2 Sturmovik series that has set the standard for PC combat flight sim games for more than ten years. This new entry into the series will offer virtual pilots an even more accurate simulation of the most famous air battles of World War II. Better quality of content, bigger scale, new physics, more realistic aerodynamics and new game elements set this title apart from all which came before. IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad has only one goal – to give you a new, higher level of immersion.
PLAY:
- Realistic graphics and unique visual effects: clouds, lightning, tracers, explosions and huge smoke plumes – all of them fully realised to recreate the aerial combat scenery of war time Stalingrad
- Flexible Quick Mission mode that allows you to create your own custom combat scenario in just a couple of minutes
- Classic multiplayer game play with dedicated player controlled servers with your favourite settings for team battles and dogfight duels
FLY:
- Realistic sounds and physics, detailed aircraft systems modelling, advanced aerodynamics and state-of-the-art flight modelling gives you a real sensation of flight
- Become an ace fighter pilot or try your hand at flying attack planes and bombers where you can destroy tanks, trucks, artillery units and even armoured trains
- Unique and detailed damage model shows how deadly the weapons can be and will challenge even the best pilots
- For those who won’t make it back to base, each plane comes equipped with a handy parachute
LEARN:
- Action takes place on a 358 х 230 km map – The largest and most detailed recreation of the Battle of Stalingrad theatre ever modelled in a flight simulation with unique structures, buildings and landscapes
- Single-Player campaign scenario follows the real chronology of the battle starting with Operation Uranus on November 19th, 1942 and continues to the complete liberation of the city on February 2nd, 1943
- Ten legendary aircraft of the era have been thoroughly re-created using original drawings and blueprints from the central archive of the Russian Ministry of Defence
- Precise simulation of the flight model allows everyone to learn the special character and limits of each and every plane in the game. Use each of their special abilities and performance characteristics to complete your mission and survive the brutal fight,
Unlike the digital version of IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad available on Steam for the same price, this box version includes:
- Awards and medals poster
- Double sided action poster
- Map and aircraft recognition guide
- Keyboard, mouse and joysticks guidesTo check out the game’s trailer and pre-order, click here.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Now Available Worldwide
Power changes everything starting today, as Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition is now available worldwide. Eager fans lined up at midnight at thousands of retail locations around the globe to get access to the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition, available today. The new title from Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. [Nasdaq: ATVI], marks the first Call of Duty ® game led by developer Sledgehammer Games and the first time for a three-year development cycle. Advanced Warfare also introduces the exoskeleton – the biggest core movement change in franchise history. With the power of the exo, players can boost jump, dodge, slam and more through a visceral and compelling new story; built from the ground up multiplayer experience; and a brand new cooperative mode for the complete entertainment package that only Call of Duty can deliver.
“Three years ago we made some big decisions to invest in a three-year development cycle and to enlist Sledgehammer Games to be the first new lead studio for Call of Duty in a decade,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “We believe that those decisions have paid off, resulting in a fantastic game, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which features a kickass story, an epic performance by Kevin Spacey, beautiful graphics and new core mechanics that make Advanced Warfare even more of an adrenaline rush than Call of Duty already was. And that’s saying something.”
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare envisions a powerful future, where both technology and tactics have evolved to create a ripped-from-the-headlines-of-tomorrow story. Kevin Spacey stars as Jonathan Irons – one of the most powerful men in the world – shaping this chilling vision of the future of war. Based on plausible technology and extensive research, the all-new story, conceived by the storytellers at Sledgehammer Games, introduces a world where private military corporations (PMCs) wield more might than national governments, and soldiers fight not for country but for profit; militaries for the highest bidder. These PMCs are outfitted with the latest in combat technology – the exoskeleton – empowering soldiers to overcome enemies with incredible and varied abilities, giving them a whole new way to traverse the battlefield. This is war like never before.
“Calling Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare a passion project is an understatement,” said Glen Schofield, Co-Founder and Studio Head, Sledgehammer Games. “The studio’s commitment to excellence has driven every decision made about the game, big and small, and has resulted in an unparalleled, packed-to-the-brim experience we’re extremely proud of. ”
Michael Condrey, Co-Founder and Studio Head, Sledgehammer Games added: “This represents three years of the team’s dedication to the most ambitious project of our careers. We’re humbled by the chance to usher in a new era of Call of Duty for fans. From the rich, narrative-driven single player experience, to the transformational new movements and features of our multiplayer and co-op modes, we cannot wait to share the team’s labour of love with fans.”
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare also drops players into an adrenaline-filled multiplayer experience, allowing fans to take the exoskeleton and its array of special abilities online. A first for the franchise, the power of the exoskeleton introduces all-new ways to manoeuvre combat situations on the ground and in the air, alongside an arsenal of futuristic weapon technology that affords players more ways to take opponents on, all while maintaining the signature breakneck Call of Duty multiplayer feel. Fans have more options than ever when customising their multiplayer soldier with the new Create-an-Operator system, featuring gear and appearance personalisation from head to toe. Players and their tailor-made advanced soldiers will benefit from the all-new Supply Drop system, unlocking weapons, gear and cosmetic items through extended play. With 13 included maps out of the box and several new modes, Advanced Warfare is the complete multiplayer package.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare also debuts Exo-Survival, a 1-4-player, new cooperative experience. The new mode is a frenetic, cooperative battle to fight off waves of unrelenting exoskeleton-suited enemies in a struggle to stay alive. Players can upgrade their weapons, exo abilities, scorestreaks, perks and more as they try to survive. Communication, teamwork and positioning are crucial components for a successful strategy to handle the Exo-Survival swarm.
In addition to up to 24 hours of early access, the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition also gives players access to two custom in-game weapons, the AK-12G assault rifle and Crossbow-B2, a full day of double XP on 3rd November, and access to the Advanced Arsenal. The Advanced Arsenal consists of an in-game custom Bullet Brass exoskeleton and in-game custom EM1 Quantum weapon.
Also available today, is the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Season Pass. The Season Pass lets gamers access four Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare DLC Map Packs to be released in 2015 at a bundled discount. With Season Pass, gamers get instant access to the Atlas Gorge Bonus Multiplayer Map, a re-envisioning of the fan favourite Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® map. Pipeline. The DLC Map Packs will be available on the Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft first and pricing and release dates may vary by platform.
Dungeon of the Endless – Early Look
By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)
Dungeon of the Endless is the latest game in the Endless Universe, brought to us by AMPLITUDE Studios. This time around, instead of another amazing 4X title, they’ve decided to delve into the realm of rogue-likes and give the genre their own unique twist. Combining elements from strategy, turn-based RPGs, 4X-like resource management, and tower-defense, the game is set up to be just as wonderful as the other titles in the Endless Universe. As such it should come as no surprise that I jumped into this review with a bit of excitement filling my sails.
Similarities
As this game shares the same universe as the other Endless games, there’s going to be some similarities. For example, Dungeon of the Endless uses the same resource system of Food/Industry/Research as the other games. Dust also makes a return, once again acting as a sort of currency. The ancient race of the Endless make a sort of return, as the creators of the massive complex you crash land on. There are also a lot of 4X-like elements mixed into this rogue-like game, a lot of them mirroring systems in Endless Space and Endless Legend.
Graphics
The graphics in Dungeon of the Endless are not very detailed. They have an intentionally blocky-and-pixelated nature meant to give the impression of a retro game. They’re not quite as retro as the original Rogue, but they’re still 2D. Despite all that, if you’re a fan of the retro look, the art style is definitely fitting for the game and I have to say I enjoyed the aesthetics a great deal. However, I can see how some people could be turned off by the graphics and I can’t blame them. This type of art-style is either something you appreciate or you don’t, and if you don’t, that can often mean you can’t make yourself stand playing the game.
Might just me, but this looks beautiful.
An Interesting Story
Like Endless Space and Endless Legend, Dungeon of the Endless has a fairly interesting background story to give the game some meaning. You are one of several prisoners who are on a massive prison ship on its way to colonize a planet. However, the planet turned out to be protected by a massive complex built by the Endless that came to life and shot your ship to pieces. You start the game with two of the prisoners and nothing else but the power core of your escape pod to help you get started.
So, your goal is to get from the very bottom of the complex to the very top. To what end, I don’t know yet. All that matters is survival and that seemingly hinges on finding the next elevator and transporting the power crystal to it to unlock the next floor. It’s a simple enough story, but it gives you just the right amount of substance to become invested in it without making you read dozens of paragraphs beforehand. This wouldn’t be so impressive if not for a fact that a vast majority of games completely fail at giving you a story that you care about.
Gameplay
As Dungeon of the Endless is meant to be a “rogue-like” it plays a lot like other rogue-likes. You start with a character or two, you progress them through the dungeon and develop them, and search for a way out. There’s a lot of dungeon crawling and plenty of enemies waiting behind closed doors to end your life. However, AMPLITUDE has given the genre their own twist, such as resources and technology research. So while you can expect some of that good ole’ Rogue-like gameplay, there’s a lot of new stuff to learn and do as well.
Randomly generated for each game.
The game consists of various levels of this massive complex built by the Endless. You start at the very bottom, and there are plenty of different tiers for you to go through. As you might expect, the closer you get to the top, the harder things will get. The maps get bigger, too. As you enter new rooms on each level, you’ll usually find some enemies along with some useful resource. Your job is to explore the level, set up infrastructure to make things easier and safer, all building towards a successful escort of that power crystal.
As I mentioned, there’s some 4X elements for you to play with such as the resources. There’s food for leveling up your characters and healing them in combat, industry for building new infrastructure and defenses, and research for researching new stuff to kill things with. There’s also dust, which is used to buy things from the shop as well as power rooms so you can build things and stop enemies from spawning in them. It’s probably a good idea to build lots of defense lasers in the room immediately in front of the room holding your crystal, for example.
Ignore that my crystal is under attack.
You can build infrastructure, such as nodes that will help generate industry or food. These can help you along and also act as a sort of defense. If enemies are focusing on destroying your food generator, it’ll take them that much longer to get to your crystal. Having the extra resources to research new ways to protect your crystal, level up your characters, or build more defenses is nice, too. You start out with very few options to build and I’m wondering if they’ll end up adding more stuff as development continues. Right now, even with research, the building options feel kinda sparse and after a while it gets boring. There are some interesting things, though, such as a defense laser that starts out weaker than the default laser, but gains more damage the more science/research points you have.
You’ll die. A lot.
Combat is very straight forward. The only control you have in combat is healing (using the aforementioned food resource) or moving to a different room (AKA running away). You can also make use of special abilities that your characters might have, which may help you out in some situations. While there can definitely be some intense combat scenarios, you won’t be doing much while it’s happening. The combat is not as involved as most of the rogue-likes I’ve played.
You can find shops sometimes, and these will give you access to some equipment. Early on, you’ll probably find yourself not making use of these shops at all. I didn’t. I’m hoping that they’ll get a bit more interesting later on, but right now I’ve been able to get by on drops for the most part. Maybe they’ll be more useful in the harder game modes once they’re available (you can only play on Very Easy and Easy for now).
At the start of the game, you pick two characters. Later on you’ll be able to pick up more prisoners to add to your group, but you start with just the two. These are all prisoners and they all have various things they’re good at, and some they’re not so good at. The thug, for example, is great for killing things but isn’t the fastest guy in town. The selection is sparse as, once again, the game is still in Early Access and not complete yet.
The Album & Journal
As you play the game, you will get messages about new pictures being added to your album. This acts as a sort of achievement system for the game. As you play new characters, fight new enemies, or generally whenever you come across something new it will be added to your album. You can then go back and look at your album, seeing the things you’ve done or the things you may have missed. It can also be a useful tool, as it’ll keep notes for you about the enemies you’ve fought – such as what kind of attacks they do and their weaknesses.
Nothing like keeping a scapebook of all the things that have killed you.
There’s also the Journal. This is basically the “scoreboard” where you can see how well you’ve done. If you’re interested in how many enemies you’ve killed or how many doors you’ve opened, this is the place to look. You can see your score for both single player games and multiplayer. So if you’re a stat junkie (which a lot of rogue-like players are) you’ll enjoy having this. It’s also worth mentioning that there are plenty of characters and even escape pods, that will give you special bonuses, to unlock. So there’s lots of hidden content for you to find, boosting the overall replayability.
Multiplayer
Speaking of multiplayer, it is a thing in Dungeon of the Endless. A majority of rogue-likes are strictly single player, so it’s odd for one to show up with multiplayer. It plays very similar to the single player, with the major differences being you only control a single character and that it’s multiplayer(duh). Also, you apparently don’t share food resources. I can imagine myself playing a lot more frequently because of the ability to play with my friends.
Playing with my friend, Tahujoe.
Conclusion
AMPLITUDE has a near perfect track record when it comes to their games. Each time I’ve played one, I’ve been in a state of non-stop amazement. Dungeon of the Endless is no exception to this, either. It’s got the features I love from the 4X genre, Tower Defense games, and rogue-likes. Basically the perfect blend for wasting away a weekend in front of the computer. I don’t even need to say this, but I’ll say it anyways. I definitely suggest you pick up this game, especially now that it’s in Early Access on Steam and is only $13.














