Yearly Archives: 2014

Infinite Crisis Refresher Review

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

Infinite Crisis OB Review MOBA

What Makes a MOBA?

Specifically, what makes a successful MOBA?  MOBAs are the popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena style of game, such as League of Legends, DOTA, and SMITE.  But what is it that makes some MOBAs successful while others fail?  Just recently, Dawngate announced that it will no longer try to compete against Riot Games’ titan, League of Legends, and will be closing down in a little less than 90 days. Turbine meanwhile has an interesting title coming in Infinite Crisis, a DC Comics MOBA title that merges several alternate realities into one game. IC creates a “save the universe” goal while pitting players against one another in combat, pushing towers and trying to destroy the other base. But is one side or another clearly the heroes? If they are supposed to be fighting this ominous force, why fight each other instead? This is not made very clear at all.

Infinite Crisis OB Review Champions

Let’s return to the main question about MOBA success. When the rash of World of Warcraft clones hit the market, every single one of them went free to play or simply disappeared.  They were trying to fight against an established game with millions of players, expecting to have similar numbers right out of the gate. Fighting against titles like SMITE and League of Legends is the exact same problem.  DC Infinite Crisis feels in many ways a clone of DOTA , and while MOBAs traditionally feel the same, a successful game will find a way to make its own mark.  SMITE, for example, uses third person and skillshots as well as a variety of other techniques to be its own game.  I feel sadly that there is a lot of confusion going on in this game for fans that are not comic book aficionados to start with. While Infinite Crisis scores big on solid gameplay and easy hero ability recognition for fans of DC, anyone else may feel a bit lost and overwhelmed when trying it out.

 

Infinite Crisis OB Review Dominion

In Brightest Day. . .

Thankfully calling out a game for only drawing in DC fans is a lot less niche than one might suspect. It’s a humongous intellectual property that has only grown its presence with the gamer community thanks to the recent barrage of movies and success of SOE’s DC Universe Online. Virtually everyone is familiar with at least one character in the DC Universe, whether it is Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, et cetera.  But uninitiated MOBA fans might become overwhelmed piecing together the lesser known characters powers with the tweaked take on classic MOBA gameplay. The multiple universes only make this newbie learning curve steeper, as most will mistake the two variations of Batman as skins rather than unique heroes. Gaslight Batman is a ranged lane character.  Nightmare Batman is more of an assassin, who isolates opponents before dealing hefty burst damage.  Batman is … also a stealth based character, who gains damage when in stealth or on a stealth pad (IC’s version of a bush).

Sure, character builds and skills are different between these similar characters, and having several Wonder Women, Supermen, and Batmen might mean that everyone can play their favorite hero each match.  Maybe.  But this could confuse someone new who sees three different Green Lanterns and not know how to deal with them. Trial and error (after error after error) is the only answer. Unfortunately the tutorial addresses most of the tedious basics that veteran MOBA players don’t need to be told again, but at least you get rewarded for your time with five hero unlocks (1 per mission). Gaslight Batman, Wonder Woman, Doomsday, Batman, and Green Lantern will be yours for going through this tutorial.

Infinite Crisis OB Review TrainingTutorialUnlocks

At its core, Infinite Crisis is still a MOBA. Each of these characters has at least one skin.  You still have lanes with turrets and minions reskinned to fit the DC Universe.  Instead of a jungle, you have an “Urban Jungle.” The bushes are purple lengths of space known as Stealth Pads.  Instead of monsters we have robots and mecha that fight for you or against you.  As with all MOBA titles, the goal is to ultimately destroy the enemy base by strategizing, pushing, purchasing items, and utilizing your character’s unique skills.  One definite change that stands out is the ability to be able to buy items (called artifacts) while at one of your turrets, instead of going back to base. These artifacts upgrade as you spend credits on them, making them increasingly powerful. But you cannot restore hp/willpower by standing at a turret, or restore the use of your healing items. That must be done at the base.

Infinite Crisis OB Review Airquotes-Jungle

One particularly aggravating problem with Infinite Crisis’ gameplay is its lack of AFK punishment. In one match, a teammate failed to pick a character before the match began.  Instead of dropping this player out of the game, however, the game randomly selected one and dropped them in the match. It’s an infuriating mechanic that peeved League of Legends players for years before it was fixed. Since the technology is available to prevent this from happening, I feel that Turbine is dropping the ball on dealing with AFKers.

 

Infinite Crisis OB Review There-is-a-joke-here

More Common than a Locomotive

“It’s all been done” is a common argument used by existing MOBA players that prevents them from testing the competition. Abilities used in League of Legends are familiar and very visible in DC’s Infinite Crisis.  You will see common themes that also crop up in DOTA 2, possibly even Smite.  But it can become very hard to find new ways to use abilities and powers, especially when there are so many MOBA titles going at this very moment with character rosters already in the 100s.  So yes, many of these powers will not go unnoticed.  The “summoner spells” (called “Stolen Powers”) however are a new take on extra spells.  There are several of these and you can choose two at hero selection.  As you continue to play a character over a series of matches, you can unlock their unique version of a super power. For example, playing as Catwoman will unlock her “Teleport,” while Gaslight Catwoman will receive her unique “X-Ray Vision,” letting you spot stealth enemies or see enemies hiding behind walls.  Another good example is the Super Strength power. There are meteorites littered on the ground that can be picked up with this and thrown at enemies, or even automobiles! Incorporating the environment into battles is a very nice touch indeed. For players that don’t have the patience to grind it out on a single character, they can alternatively spend Merit (which is gained by playing and winning, or by completing achievements) on super powers in the shop. This is a nice motivator to get players to test out new heroes.

Infinite Crisis OB Review Hookshot

Don’t think we forgot about customizing your character though!  There are two additional items you can customize your character with, similar to Runes and Masteries in other games.  They are Mods and Augments.  Mods modify your item purchases, changing them in a variety of ways. This is kind of nice, because there are many of them to choose from, all of which cost Merit. Augments affect two stats at a time.  These are much cheaper (merit-wise) compared to Mods.  You find these on your home screen under “Amplifiers” instead of on the store directly.  Your Amplifier pages can hold up to 3 Mods and 4 Augments, and accounts offer three slots for Amplifier pages (and another can be purchased for merit or Crisis Coins).  Crisis Coins are the in-game currency that requires real money.  You can also gain Crisis Coins via Achievements in-game, and can also be used to purchase heroes.

 

Infinite Crisis OB Review TeamUnite

What’s The Bottom Line: Needs Work (3/5)

DC Infinite Crisis is in the extended end of its open beta at the time of this article. The game has been in development for quite some time, and while I do love MOBAs and comics, I am disappointed. The pretense lore for the game seems quite flimsy and does not appear to hold much sway over what actually occurs.  There are so many characters in the DC Universe that are not in game yet.  Instead of focusing on the alternate reality characters, perhaps they could have given a role to the less popular heroes and villains, and use it as a platform to get some other comics press (and thus more revenue)? I’m thinking of Booster Gold, The Question, Deadman, and Larfleez, just to name a few.  I think the Alternate Reality thing could still work, but releasing a bunch of those characters all at once might become overwhelming.  I would hate this to go the way of Dawngate, and it is with that in mind I say that trying to compete or overthrow established big guns at their own game in the genre is a fools endeavor.  Focus on your niche and make it work!  Infinite Crisis is certainly on the right track. I believe it just needs the right promotion and continued content updates to grow into its paws.

Warhammer Quest Announced for Windows PC, Mac and Linux

Warhammer

Independent publisher Chilled Mouse today announced a partnership with Games Workshop and Rodeo Games to bring Warhammer Quest to Windows PC, Mac and Linux via digital distribution service Steam on January 7th, 2015. Based on the classic Games Workshop board game, and set in the Warhammer Fantasy world, the turn based strategy game allows players to control a team of heroes and explore hidden dungeons around the borders of the Empire in a mix of adventure, strategy and role-playing.

“As massive fans of the Warhammer universe, we have spent our development time working with Rodeo Games and focusing on what made Warhammer Quest such a great table top game,” said Ian Baverstock, Director of Chilled Mouse. “With truly unique hero characters, epic role-playing action, awesome loot and randomly generated dungeons, Warhammer Quest is a true digital incarnation of its namesake”.

Lead a party of brave adventurers through the dangerous winding dungeons of the Warhammer world in the search for wealth and glory, as players uncover and explore new settlements. In their quest for legendary weapons, players encounter enemies including evil Night Goblins, dangerous Orcs, gigantic River Trolls and hordes of the evil Skaven, hellbent on destroying the band of adventurers.

Through encounters and exploration, heroes level up their skills and quickly gain new abilities, spells and blessings as they battle it out to become one of the Heroes of Legend and fight such devilish foes playing as the Marauder, Wood Elf Waywatcher, Dwarf IronBreaker and the Grey Wizard.

Available on January 7th, 2015, through Steam for Windows PC, Mac and Linux, Warhammer Quest will be available at £10.99, €14.99, $14.99 including three areas and the Vampire and Zombie content pack. The Deluxe edition, priced at £19.99, €27.99, $29.99, includes all of the in-game content available in the standard edition plus more than £19, €25, $27 of additional extras. Warhammer Quest is available through on Steam Pre-Order: http://store.steampowered.com/app/326670/

Total War Arena: Closed Alpha Sign-ups Available

Total War Arena

SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe, Ltd. today announced Total War™: ARENA is now entering Closed Alpha, and interested players can sign-up to get involved in shaping its future development.

Total War: ARENA is a free-to-play, team-based strategy game, putting players in the middle of epic-scale battles.  Using key elements of award-winning Total War™ design, it is made from the ground-up for multiplayer realtime-strategy fans, with two teams of ten players going head-to-head.  Each player controls three units of warriors, led by an iconic commander from history, each with their own battle style.  Players level up commanders and units to open up more specialist skills, weaponry, armour and abilities.  Decisive strategies, combat tactics and teamwork decide who is victorious.

First announced at Game Developers Conference in March 2013, the game represents a new direction for the Total War franchise, and is in development by a dedicated team at Creative Assembly, focused on a purely multiplayer experience.

“We have spent time since the announcement evolving both the gameplay and the supporting technology, to ensure we deliver smooth online service for multiplayer gamers,” said Gabor Beressy, ARENA Project Lead. “We are excited to say that the game is now in Closed Alpha, and we welcome feedback from players to inform the next stages of development”.

Sign-up for the Closed Alpha at https://nda.creative-assembly.com/total-war-arena-closed-alpha

Guns and Robots: Christmas Event Available

Guns and Robots

Masthead Studios announced today two events that will run this Christmas in their free to play cartoon-style shooter Guns and Robots.

Players of the online game can take part in two separate events that will run from this Thursday 18th of December till next Thursday 25th of December.

Everyone will have the chance to win free holiday-themed accessories by gathering cookies that will be spread all over the maps in this year`s Cookie Thieves event. The competition will give the top three players sufficient amount of sparks to upgrade their lethal machines or a random Christmas-themed accessory.

The Ghost of Christmas is the second event that will run simultaneously and will present players with opportunity to bash open presents and get their hands on Frostie’s head.
Numerous deals with huge discounts and many giveaways will run on the Official Facebook Page.

For more info, visit www.play-gar.com

Broforce: User-Generated Island Discovered

Broforce

In a shocking development from the world of Broforce, a mysterious new User-Generated Island has been discovered just off the coast of the Broforce world map in today’s update. The planet’s smartest scienticians have speculated that the newly discovered landmass is quietly being populated with the best, most patriotic user-created missions from Steam Workshop in time for the game’s full launch later next year.

“The Free Lives team has been incredibly impressed with the creativity and craftsmanship in the custom levels created by the community over the past few months,” said Free Lives’ Artist Jarred “The Junt” Lunt. “There were suspicions that our own Broforce level designers were grossly incompetent and obsolete but this new initiative confirms it.”

Through the powerful Broforce level editor and a newly launched bimonthly level design competition – the Weekend Workshop Brodown – talented level architects will be able to design custom Broforce missions based on a specific theme for a chance at free Devolver Digital games and to see their level immortalized in Broforce itself. For more details on the bimonthly Weekend Workshop Brodown visit the Broforce community hub on Steam (http://tinyurl.com/WWBrodown).

King of Wushu: PS4 Trailers and initial release date revealed

King of Wushu

At the Sony conference in Shanghai last week, representatives from Sony laid out plans for the future of the PS4 gaming console in the People’s Republic of China. Among these announcements, key representatives held a joint release with Chinese developer Snail Games, in which Snail VP Dahu Sun showcased the impressive graphics of the console with Snail’s upcoming 3D martial arts MOBA, King of Wushu, as well as revealing some exciting details about the game’s launch, one of the first PS4 games to hit China.

According to representatives, Sony and Snail are working in cooperation to promote King of Wushu while simultaneously showing off the PS4’s capabilities. Due to its impressive graphics, using the new Crysis 3 graphics engine, and unique art style, King of Wushu earned a key place in the spotlight at the conference, marking a new phase of collaboration between Sony Entertainment and Chinese developers.

During his introduction of King of Wushu, Mr. Sun from Snail revealed that an initial version of the game would be released for PS4 on January 11th of 2015, making it one of the first games to hit the budding Chinese PS4 market. In this version, players would be able to access four free beginner characters, as well as being able to unlock 9 masters representing unique schools. In addition, the PS4 version of King of Wushu will also feature 2 exclusive characters for the PS4, for a total of 15 characters to choose from, with more promised for the future. Mr. Sun concluded with optimism about the possibilities for the PS4 and King of Wushu.

For more info, visit http://games.snail.com/news/2014/1215/468.html

Battle for the Throne: Now Available on iOS

Battle for the Throne

NHN Entertainment USA and its mobile publishing arm, TOAST today announced that Battle for the Throne, a fast-growing, social legion-building TCG, is now available for iOS devices across North America.

A kingdom under siege by the Devan Empire is nearing the brink of annihilation. Players must take control of the scattered armies and take their place as Lord in Battle for the Throne, the grand fantasy strategy war game from TOAST.

Ranked as the #1 free downloaded game on the T-Store in Korea, and featuring strategic kingdom-building gameplay and TCG-esque combat, Battle for the Throne combines the most engaging elements of social war gaming, card battling games, and strategic city creation into one stunningly-animated package. Players can collect and upgrade hundreds of heroes to compete against thousands of players in real-time.

For more info, visit www.facebook.com/BattlefortheThrone, and register on the Battle for the Throne forum at forum.toast.com/BATTLE_FOR_THE_THRONE/forum.nhn.