SMITE‘s lord of bees receives a futuristic Solid Hornet skin. You’ll have to be battle hardened to earn it though, as it requires winning ranked queues!
Monthly Archives: May 2015
Mayan Death Robots: Beta Impressions
By Jason Parker (Ragachak)
Honor the Gods with Firearms
Mayan Death Robots had a name that, before I had any contact with the game, made me think of a Primal Rage style fighting game. Robotic versions of the Mayan Gods kicking the absolute garbage out of each other, anyone? I could only hope. Turns out I wasn’t too far from the mark! The game plays similar to the W.O.R.M.S. franchise, where two players bombard each other senseless, but with obvious differences. One of the things that I have to say made me excited about this, was it had in-house versus mode. On the PC, this is pretty rare outside of fighting games, so when I invited my friend, Red, over to pummel him with rockets, I have to say I had a blast. No pun intended, I swear. There are ten Mayan Death Robots in all, though some have to be unlocked, and your goal is to garner more worshippers via destroying your enemy, and ultimately blowing up their “Core.” Or at least dropping it into a bottomless pit, the alternative acceptable victory condition.
When I was getting started on this particular title, I did not see any online option, and the idea that this would only be in-house versus was interesting. As I played through the beta, the devs dropped online multiplayer on my head though. Unlike its compatriots in the current artillery genre, each player picks their ability or to jump/build from the ground, and then their attacks go simultaneously, which is kind of nice. It requires you to constantly be thinking and planning, but it’s considerably less stressful than it would be in any other game. Point being, it’s fun; insanely fun. I’m never upset if I lose, because the action is so crazy and constant.
Cast in the Name of God
The primary story of the game appears to be that these robots are fighting to the death for a televised event, and each one represents a member of the Maya Pantheon. However, there are primitive Mayans who find these robots and worship them. The more you destroy of your opponent, the more followers you gain, again with the ultimate goal of breaking their core. Simply destroying the enemy robot won’t grant you the win, but it can gain you an edge, since it takes one turn to respawn. That gives you a free shot at the enemy territory in whatever manner you choose. The game was pretty straight forward until ONE OF THE MAYAN GODS SHOWED UP.
That’s right, Kukulkan, the “Feathered Serpent” appears on one of the stages, and starts fighting both of us! The cores go away, and now the goal is to defeat the God before he wipes out you and your followers! Several of these Gods shows up, and it’s calamity when they do. You still want to win, but you don’t want to be beaten up by the God. . .The character select screen looks very much like a fighting game, with the ten slots for the various Mayan Gods, all with unique abilities. From Hun-Batz (Howler Monkey God) who throws bananas, and a boulder that splits into other smaller rocks, to Hunahpu (God of the Sun) who shoots a rocket-flare, and a nuke!
Yes, the God of the Sun can fire a nuclear rocket. That might seem unbalanced, but take heart: He shoots a bouncy red orb that rolls and eventually stops. But with careful destruction of the land, or bouncing it with your own attacks, you can send it back to your opponent; wherever the orb is, the nuke will descend from the heavens and destroy all it passes through on its way down to the ground. Each God will definitely feel like they are their own, from the look to the gameplay. I think one of my personal favorite attacks was the Moon God, Xbalanque. The Push/Pull rockets are hysterical, and I would launch a pull rocket to jerk my enemies Core off a cliff, and into the bottomless chasm. After playing all the characters on offer, I do not feel that one is any stronger than the others, but the diversity offered with each makes for seriously compelling gameplay. Hun-Batz’ boulder is incredibly slow, and whenever Red would select the boulder, I aimed at the God-Robot to knock him off course so the boulder would not go where intended. It’s all about paying attention and acting/reacting. I also definitely enjoyed that every few turns, a wheel appeared, and a variety of powerful, sometimes ridiculous attacks would be given to both sides. Cross-Missiles, Cluster Grenades, Multi-Rockets, and more! You don’t have to use them the moment you get them either; you can hold it for an emergency, and that’s awesome. I did not try to store more than one, though. Waiting too long to play your trump cards typically leads to an early defeat!
Progress? Progress!
Through the campaign, there are different goals to unlock the next part of the campaign, but you do appear to be able to pick the stage you do it on. Sometimes you have to destroy X amount of Snowmen, or totems, or simply defeat the enemy core. That’s always the goal, but if you say, destroy the other God’s core, but do not between the two of you decimate the correct amount of enemy totems, you have to do it again. Though it does keep track of how many you’ve broken, so it normally should not take more than once or twice to complete a stage and move on. And it’s very distracting when a God decides to interfere, but it happens in phases. The match starts as normal, and after a certain amount of time has passed, a God shows up and starts attacking both players. It has its own HP, and you no longer have to worry about cores at least! After a while they will grow passive, and you can resume your normal combat. I really liked this idea, since it makes Mayan Death Robots stand out in its genre.
There are also single matches, a regular one versus one, as well as short/long tournaments, where you can upgrade your Robot Death God between matches. And while customizing is awesome, and your array of death-causing weapons and rockets are terrific, there is one thing I can’t stress enough: Your God can craft land around your core or wherever your half of the screen is. Functionally it works like building blocks in a Tetris game, complete with a nifty rotation button. Each time you do this you can add a few bricks of land to either create a platform to bombard, or to simply offer temporary protection. However this, and your “Jump” will take your turn, so be very careful. Your jump ability can also break ground, or send you hurtling too far, and on a few occasions, I wound up standing right in front of my enemy’s God.
Hype-Meter: Great
Beta Status: 4/5
I’m pretty damn hyped, I have to say. I was hoping to experience this online in addition to the in-house versus, but I got what I needed to know out of playing against my friends. Even when I lost, there was laughter, swearing, and a ton of fun to be had. I do feel like the matchups aren’t always entirely fair, but that is also attributed to playstyle. The turn-based gameplay is really unique to me in this style of gameplay, but I do not think people will find themselves bored, because you do still have to think fast on your feet. I can see this being a fun party game, too. The matches are not going to be so long that people will get bored; conversely, it will be a blast to watch people try and kill each other, and one player can use the keyboard while the other would use a controller. Heck if you’re really cheap, you can go shoulder to shoulder to both play on one keyboard. There’s a lot of potential in Mayan Death Gods, and if you aren’t keeping an eye on it, you definitely should be.
Epic Everything
Epic Everything is a real-time collectible card game that blends CCG with real time strategy, available for Windows, OS X, Android, and iOS.
Features:
Real time play: Both players put cards on the board simultaneously, adding an additional element of reaction and response to the playing field.
Positioning: Where you place your cards on the board matters, as each card has an attack range. Players will have to think ahead and plan around their enemy’s placements.
Free to Play: All game features can be unlocked with in-game currency.
Power Rangers Dash
Power Rangers Dash is a mobile action game developed by movegames. Based on the popular live-action series, players will take control of their favorite power ranger and protect the earth by racing and doing battle against evil through various levels.
Features:
Tons of rangers: Choose between three of 50 different power rangers across several different Power Rangers series.
Easy controls: Run, jump and attack with easy-to-learn controls.
Megazord power: Summon a Megazord and pull off epic attacks.
Upgrade system: Earn “E-Coins” by defeating minions and monsters, then power up and upgrade your Ranger with E-Coins.
Unboard Games
Unboard Games
movegames
movegames
Warhammer: Vermintide
Warhammer: The End Times – Vermintide is a co-op FPS developed by Fatshark. Set in the Warhammer Universe, players must use their individual attributes to survive an apocalyptic invasion from the hordes of relentless rat-men, known as the Skaven.
Features:
Co-op focused survival: Test your teamwork and your friends to survival in this harsh, unforgiven fantasy realm.
Diverse heroes: Five distinct characters to choose from, each with their own personality, agenda and story to tell.
Multiple play styles: Find your favourite style using a combination of the 100+ unique weapons and trinkets available.
Unpredictable gameplay – Vermintide features a dynamic spawn system providing a constant set of new challenges lurking behind every corner.
Mobile FPS Game of Sniper Set to Launch on May 12th
Awards winning company Beijing Autothink Technology Co.,LTD announces the upcoming release of its premier FPS mobile game “Game of Sniper” to English speaking countries. The game has won numerous awards in China including GMIC’s “Best Mobile Game of the Year 2015”, “Best Single Player Shooting Game in 2015” from Jing Peng Award as well as many others. The game is slated for release on May 12, 2015.
Game of Sniper is the company’s debut game to English speaking countries. “Players will be able to feel like a military fighter for justice, blasting every target and fighting against the boss of terrorist organizations,” Jian Sun, CEO of the company said.
The world is in peril: terrorism is rising, hostages are taken, minds are plagued with fear. Be a hero, only you can end this all! Keep improving your skill to open different modes and engage in a moving story with regular updates. Get all your weapons and bullets and get ready for extreme hunting!
Millions of players already play this game in other countries, so you will never feel bored! Lets have a little sneak peak of some features:
- 3D Angle Shooting
- Magnificent 3D panoramic map
- Provoking story and fierce gun battles
- Varieties of powerful guns and equipments
- Rescue hostages and grow your skills
Game Guide:
- Attack – Tap the enemy to enter Sniper View, slip the screen to adjust and tap to fire
- Exit Sniper Mode – Tap Non-cross area to exit sniper mode
- Aim – Move the scroll bar to aim the target
Items provided to players:
- Health – Supplement blood
- Sniper Rifle – 10 different kinds of sniper rifle with different degrees of damage.
- Military Uniform – Protect you from damage for a certain time.
Heroes of the Storm – Enter The Storm Launch Announcement Trailer
Heroes of the Storm launches on June 2 for all to brawl.
Giana Sisters: Dream Runners – Developer Diary
The team at Black Forest Games published a new dev diary, explaining just what Giana Sisters: Dream Runners is, their inspiration and … owls.






