Monthly Archives: April 2015

Neverwinter: Elemental Evil Available Now

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Today, Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of free-to-play MMORPGs, and Cryptic Studios announced Neverwinter: Elemental Evil – the newest expansion for the action MMORPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms universe from Wizards of the Coast – is now available on PC, followed by Xbox One later this year.

 

In the largest update to the game yet, Neverwinter: Elemental Evil brings a new playable class – the Paladin – increasing the playable class count to eight. Players creating a Paladin will be able to choose between focusing on healing or tanking builds. Neverwinter: Elemental Evil also brings the iconic hero Minsc & his miniature giant space hamster Boo to the city of Neverwinter as they pursue the true nature of four elemental cults dedicated to seeding destruction and instability throughout the Forgotten Realms. The new module increases the level cap from 60 to 70, which brings a new set of quests, feats and slottable class feature powers.

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“Our team is thrilled to revisit one of the most iconic stories of Dungeons & Dragons with Neverwinter: Elemental Evil,” says Rob Overmeyer, executive producer of Neverwinter. “Aspiring to deliver our biggest expansion to-date, our team at Cryptic focused on introducing long-requested gameplay features as well as building more Dungeons & Dragons lore into our game. Introducing a new class, the level cap increase and Minsc & Boo into one expansion was quite a task, but an exciting one in order to continue to build a quality Dungeons & Dragons digital experience.”

 

“D&D players have fought the forces of Elemental Evil before but there is a new twist with cult leaders like Aerisi, the elven prophetess ruling the Cult of the Howling Hatred, and the three other elemental prophets playing a deceptive role as the story is brought to life for Neverwinter players”, said Nathan Stewart, Brand Director of Dungeons & Dragons.

 

Neverwinter: Elemental Evil continues the partnership with Wizards of the Coast as Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment maintain a one-to-one release cadence with official D&D storylines. Neverwinter players will journey through new adventures as they fight the newest threat to Protector’s Enclave – the Cults of Elemental Evil – which are also present in the upcoming tabletop adventure release, Princes of the Apocalypse.

Son of Nor

Son of Nor is a fantasy adventure game developed by stillalive studios and published by Viva Media. Use special powers of telekinesis and terraforming as you fight in the Great War with the Sarahul Empire. Solve puzzles and venture through long forgotten temples with friends in this co-op adventure.

NOTE: This is a buy-to-play retail title

Features:

Mystic powers: Use the power of teleinesis, terraforming and elemental magic to defeat foes and solve puzzles.

Intriguing Storyline: Experience the full 12+ hour storyline of Son of Nor, set in a deep original universe featuring dozens of characters brought to life by professional voice actors.

Co-op Multiplayer: Son of Nor supports four-player online co-op play as well as two-player local splitscreen co-op.

PvP Multiplayer: Prove who is the most powerful Son of Nor in chaotic four-player competitive multiplayer action!

Son of Nor Review – Indiana Jones meets Avatar: The Last Airbender

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)

 

 

Introduction
Son of Nor is an upcoming Action-Adventure game set in a world where humanity is on its last legs and is fighting for survival against an evil power. The game features the ability to control various powers – such as telekinesis or elemental-based abilities – in order to solve puzzles or battle foes. There is also co-op and PVP support, for those who wish to play with friends. One feature that makes Son of Nor shine is the support for various peripherals, such as the Oculus Rift, Steelseries Sentry Eye tracker, or the eMotiv EPOCH brain-computer interface. Son of Nor certainly appears to have what it takes to be a fun game, so lets see how it stands up to review!

 

Customization
Customization is sparse in Son of Nor. As the game is recently released, perhaps more customization options will be released in later updates. But for now, you’ll be working with few options. For the most part, your gender and physical features seem to be dictated by the “Backstory” you choose for your character. After that, you can customize the costume a bit, but even here options are sparse. The method that is used was a bit odd and definitely not what I’m used to. In short, the customization in Son of Nor can be summarized as, “Meh,” but clearly this isn’t what was selling us on the game to begin with.

 

Son of Nor Preview

Graphics
Graphics are definitely not the strong point of Son of Nor either. No, the strong points are the peripheral support and interesting gameplay mechanics. But the graphics aren’t as much of a weak point as the customization. They look good for what the game is. While I was playing, I wasn’t blown away by what I saw – some games make me spam my screenshot button hundreds of times and awe me with beautiful vistas around every corner. But I never saw something that disappointed me when it came to the graphics, either.

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In general, the graphics weren’t something I thought about. Which isn’t a bad thing, but not a good thing either. The style is quite realistic in proportions and sizes, but perhaps some of the coloring felt a bit more cartoony, which I enjoyed. I always appreciate a realistic style of graphics with games that turn you into a “superhuman” as I find it becomes a lot more immersive. So the graphics of Son of Nor get a passing grade from me.

 

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The game has great lighting though.

 

That’s not to say that the game was devoid of beauty. There were indeed some amazing vistas for me to view. And some of the architecture was stunning. The fact that the game uses a very minimalist UI (absolutely none, most of the time) makes it incredibly easy to view these infrequent-yet-beautiful landscapes. After playing the first handful of missions, your first larger open area will probably make you say, “Wow,” because of how different it is compared to the rest of the game.

 

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This is one of those moments where I did say, “Wow.”

 

Controls
For the most part, the controls in Son of Nor were easy to pick up. Basically, if you’ve ever played an adventure game on the computer with a keyboard and mouse, you will almost immediately know what you’re doing. The game did support controllers, but I choose not to use it as I figured this would be a game that benefited from precision. One thing I did not get to try (but perhaps I will in the future) was playing the game with some of the extra peripherals that the game is advertised as supporting. I’ve read up on all of them prior to hearing about Son of Nor – especially the Rift and Epoch – and playing Son of Nor with them would more than likely be an incredible experience. You’ve probably heard of the Rift before, but if you haven’t heard of the eMotiv Epoch I highly suggest you head to youtube and check out some of the fun stuff you can get into with it. It’s one of the really, truly innovative ways that I’ve seen to interact with a game. But fear not, if you’re like me and do not own any of these extra peripherals, the game is still fantastic.

The game is designed with controller support. This is great, as I always love having the option in games (though not so much in games like Son of Nor that can require some finely-tuned aiming). I honestly don’t think that Son of Nor would be the greatest game to play with a controller. But if you’re playing using the Oculus Rift, I can definitely see where controller support would come in handy. It’s probably not impossible to use a keyboard and mouse with the Rift, though it’s probably a heck of a lot easier just using a controller.

Son of Nor Preview

 

Community
The community of Son of Nor is a bit small as the game just entered limited testing last week. I imagine that it will stay that way – the game feels like it will only be popular with a niche, especially those that own the peripherals I mentioned above. This is mostly because, while the game does have very fun PVP and an interesting single player story campaign, it has a very tech-demo feeling to it (which I will get into more in the Gameplay section). The community does seem to be active, if close-knit, though. But this will definitely be one of those games you will want to get together and play with friends over TS or Skype rather than rely on random people to play with.

 

Gameplay
It’s a complete game and worth the money if you’re into the concepts (if you’re an Avatar the Last Airbender fan, you’ll probably be a fan of Son of Nor), but there’s a overall feeling that the game was made to present the cool terraforming, telekinesis, and elemental powers rather than convey a story or experience-driven narrative like most games do. That is, it feels like the story and single player campaign was a tacked on after-thought (not to belittle the story, which is actually quite interesting!), rather than a forethought and integral part of the game.

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One of the coolest portions of the game is the ability to terraform. This is restricted to sand, which is understandable considering the game takes place in a desert. The actions you can do with the sand are limited – just raising or lowering – but the game does a great job of giving your opportunities to use this in creative ways. For example, you may need to raise yourself to reach a high place, or lower the sand into a pit so that a trap won’t hit you. Plus it’s just plain fun. I figure that this is the major way which the eMotiv support will come into play; imagine controlling the sand with your mind.

Son of Nor Preview Terraforming

The campaign, despite being a bit rough around the edges, is actually interesting and can be fun. There were some parts that had me wondering why they were even included, but then there were other portions that really made the experience. The story behind Son of Nor was able to keep my attention, too. If the creator of the story were to author a book based on it, I would buy and read that book. Not many game stories make me think that.

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There are also elemental powers. Unlike with telekinesis and terraforming, you are limited to how often you can make use of your elemental powers. You can recharge your crystals (which sit conveniently at your characters back so you can easily see how much charge they have) by consuming elemental powers from various things in the world. For example, you can absorb wind energy from special vents or even mini-tornadoes that show up in the desert. Personally, I had more fun making use of my other powers rather than the elemental abilities.

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A big feature of the single-player campaign are the puzzles. If you’re the type who enjoys figuring out how to accomplish tasks in some abstract ways, you’ll probably have a blast in Son of Nor. Some of the puzzles even made me think of Portal. Different methods of completing the puzzles, obviously, but a very similar feeling when you figure out how you were supposed to get past a particular level. So this is definitely one of the strong points of Son of Nor, and something they perhaps should have stuck to more closely. But I understand, combat needed to be included, too. Also, props for having the whole game voice-acted and writing in characters that are actually humorous.

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One of the more memorable puzzles I came across was this room. The goal is to rotate each ring to make it possible to jump from one to the next to get to the other side. It’s also one of the more early examples of puzzles in the game and it definitely wasn’t the most difficult. But it felt a lot like if Indiana Jones and Avatar: The Last Airbender were molded into one concept. Right after this room is another room where the goal is a bit more traditional: Re-direct beams of light using moveable mirrors.

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Combat in Son of Nor is actually one of the more brain-intensive combat systems I’ve come across, in some ways. It’s not as simple as just hacking and slashing your way through enemies or spamming your 1-0 keys to throw fireballs and ice beams. You might come across an enemy that has a shield and wonder why you can’t do anything. So you try to pick him up, but he wont be raised and then you realize you have to first telekinesis his shield away before you can damage him. Or you may be out of fire energy but have some left over wind energy with a nearby campfire and use the wind to blow a burst of flame into your opponents. It feels a lot like Magicka in some ways.

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There were some annoyances with the combat system. Mostly, that stems from the ability to attack allies. A lot of the time, this wont be an issue. But there are a few times – such as when in the central “hub village” you are trying to protect – where there are friendly NPCs around and one accidental telekinesis push or flying pot gone awry could result in them becoming hostile to you. This is slightly annoying, but not so bad. You just let them kill you and get on with your life, right? Nope. No matter how many times you die to these angry NPCs, you’ll have to manually reset the level for them to stop attacking you on sight.

 

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Such a short fall has my character almost dead.

 

Not directly related to combat, but kinda applicable, is how easy it is to die from falling. Anything over a few feet will probably result in some damage to yourself. Which brings up something interesting; the game is devoid of gore so far as I could tell. Rather than there being gushes of blood, your character (and other enemies) slowly turn to sand the more damage they take. Some may be disappointed by this, other may not care (like myself), and still others may actually find this appealing. So if you’re looking for a game with a lack of gore, Son of Nor is something you should look into.

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Most of the levels are linear. A handful are larger and more open, allowing for some real exploration, but most just seem like a ride-on-rails adventure. Each level has one or more collectibles that can be gathered. Most of them give things like NPCs that you can spawn in the Proving Grounds. So there’s a real reason to go out of your way to get them.

 

Conclusion
There’s no arguing about it, Son of Nor is an innovative game. It offers the ability to play a game in ways that haven’t been explored much in any other title. The story feels a bit like an Indiana Jones Adventure (or even like Uncharted) mixed with Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you’re a fan of either, you will probably get some joy out of playing Son of Nor. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to make use of any of the extra peripherals that I feel like Son of Nor was created to help showcase – how awesome would it have been to play the game in first-person with the Rift while raising and lowering sand with my mind? The game is definitely worth looking into, I think!

Features: 4/5 – Some very innovative gameplay features.

Customization: 2/5 – Honestly not much.

Graphics: 3.5/5 – Good, but not great.

Controls: 4/5 – No real issues except for a few minor annoyances.

Community: 3/5 – Small, but nice.

 

Overall: 4/5 – Definitely worth looking into, especially if your interest lay in VR tech like the Oculus Rift or eMotiv Epoch!

Heroes of Newerth Avatar Spotlight Patch 3.6.7

Heroes of Newerth reveals new Avatar skins for including:

LightGunblade (8bit Avatar) – Release 4/10
Big Boss (Bubbles, 8bit Avatar) – Release 4/17
Invader Dampeer (A.R.M.S Avatar) – Release 4/22
Soaker Rosie (Engineer, Gold Collection) – Release 4/13
Tidal Magmus (Holiday Edition) – Release 4/8
Chalawan (Riptide, Holiday Edition) – Release 4/15
Minerva (Silhouette, War Effort Avatar)
POG Soulstealer
8-Bit Ward
Songkran MidWars Boss

Big Huge Games and Nexon M Release DomiNations

Dominations Logo

Big Huge Games, in partnership with publisher Nexon M, have released DomiNations, a mobile strategy game challenging players to lead their own civilization from the Stone Age to the Space Age through advancement, exploration, and conquest. Big Huge Games is an independent game development studio co-founded by 24-year industry veterans Brian Reynolds and Tim Train. Big Huge Games’ debut title DomiNations is now available as a free download on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android mobile devices.

“We’ve built DomiNations from the ground up to combine the in-depth strategy gameplay we’ve been creating for over 20 years with a fast, fun, and tactical experience customized for mobile devices,” said Brian Reynolds, Creative Director for DomiNations.

DomiNations is a base-building strategy game where players will choose to lead one of the world’s greatest nations including the British, Romans, Chinese, Germans, French, Japanese, and Greeks. The timeline of DomiNations unfolds across the expanse of human history, where players must research landmark technological developments, leverage unique strategic civilization abilities, and build Wonders of the World in order to pave their way to victory. With famous generals like Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, and Napoleon at the helm, players can relive history’s most famous conflicts at the tips of their fingers.

“Big Huge Games is ushering in the next generation of mobile strategy games with DomiNations, offering players an unrivaled amount of strategic choices and gameplay depth,” said John Robinson, general manager, Nexon M.

Dominations Asian Screen

In DomiNations, players will be able to construct more than 100 unique upgradeable structures in order to expand a civilization and defend against invading armies. Players must manage their food and economy while training troops and hiring mercenaries to colonize neighboring civilizations in real-time combat to expand their influence and earn valuable loot. The robust single player experience in DomiNations will lead players on a campaign from the Fertile Crescent to World War II and beyond. The multiplayer mode will let players wage war against opponents from around the world while also joining alliances to cooperatively crush their enemies.

Download DomiNations for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on the App Store and for Android devices on Google Play.

Celestia: Broken Sky to be Globally Launched on April 16

Celestia: Broken Sky to be Globally Launched on April 16

ZQGame Global , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shenzhen ZQGame Network Co., Ltd (SZSE: 300052) today announced its cosmic RPG, Celestia: Broken Sky will be globally launched on the Google Play Store on April, 16 2015. Celestia: Broken Sky will also be available to download from the Apple App Store in May 2015.

The story begins, when everything ends…..
Earth Realm: The last stand in the war between the dark magic empires and their holy exiles culminated into a great cataclysm, causing the world to shatter into thousands of pieces. These land masses have floated into the Celestial realm and are now overrun by evil of all elements.

Walking demons are worshipped as living gods on each elemental land. As one of the last champions of order, you have sworn your life as a Servant to the remaining innocents of the Earth Realm. Defeat waves of minion enemies to reach their overlord and re-capture the land to unify what has once been broken!

Key Game Features

Celestian Combat System
Ultra-charged turn-based combat. With the Celestian Combat System, the longer a skill charge builds, the more amplified the attack. Destroy single targets or hammer down on enemies by columns and rows.

3D Graphics Supernova
Built using Unity 3D, every spell cast, every swipe of the sword and every monster smash is displayed with console-like quality.

Story-driven RPG
Each Chapter’s stage is a carefully woven piece into the Broken Sky Epic, blending gameplay action with a deep, fantasy narrative.

From Enemy to Ally
Defeat and collect enemies to take on your journey using their special elemental skills to support your party.

Modes Galore
All of the traditional RPG elements are ready for launch in Celestia, along with guild systems, world bosses and some heavy duty PvP.