Monthly Archives: April 2017

CD Projekt RED and the “Cyberpunk Controversy”

Cyberpunk Editorial 1

Is there really any controversy? Is it really a big deal at all?

Okay, so. This is apparently a thing. I’ve seen a few people post about it, and while some folks are a bit confused, I don’t really understand why. CD Projekt RED’s next project is going to be based on/set in the “Cyberpunk 2020” universe by Mike Pondsmith. It’s a Cyberpunk game [duh], which began in the 80s. It had a few authors tied to it, and definitely, has a lot of that 80s feel to it. Stylish and interesting, it was not the only Cyberpunk style game, especially not in the 80s. It was all the rage, as computers were becoming more and more popular, people were having wild fantasies about what the future would hold. Soon we’d see Ghost in the Shell, just to name one art piece inspired by a Cyberpunk Future. In 1989 we’d get Shadowrun, probably the longest-running cyberpunk tabletop franchise ever, with not just the tabletop RPG, but games on the SNES, Sega Genesis, and PC. So, with that in mind, it’s not the only Cyberpunk game, but probably the only game with “Cyberpunk” in the title. That’s the big takeaway.

Cyberpunk Editorial 2

The 80s were a weird time. That’s TOO MUCH INFORMATION.

All CD Projekt RED did was buy up the “Cyberpunk” franchise copyrights. The copyrights to the actual “Cyberpunk” games by Pondsmith, not the concept of Cyberpunk. That’d be ludicrous. I’m reasonably sure you can’t copyright something like that anyway. So, you can still make Cyberpunk RPGs, tabletop games, books, comics, manga, without being sued. But if you make a game called “Cyberpunk Tales of Intrigue” or something stupid, they can and probably will take action. What they’re trying to do, is make sure someone doesn’t piggyback off of their success, assuming it will be a hit. But if the Witcher franchise is anything to go off of, it will make piles of money, they’ll make several sequels, and they don’t want anyone horning in on their territory. There’s nothing wrong with that in the least. You don’t need the word Cyberpunk in your game title to tell you what the game or book is about. Hell, I read a list of the top 23 best Cyberpunk stories, and not a single one used that word in the title. Not. Even. One. It’s nothing to get in arms about, or even be upset about. It’s going to be magnificent for sure, if you’re into that kind of story. I am, to be certain. Though I do wish they would have worded the news a bit better. That way they didn’t have to go and explain it on IGN or other websites. It makes sense to me right away.

At the end of the day, I’m very curious to what we will see come out of their studios, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.

Starship Assassin

Starship Assassin is a 3D MOBA shooter developed by Blackcloud BSG for PC set in a dystopian future where all resources have been extracted and corporations are seeking new ways to make money. Many companies are now investing in their own A.I. and trying to develop the smartest one possible that will make new business plans for them. Hopes are that the A.I. might become strong enough to devise a plan to travel to other universes that could be mined for their resources. Take to space in Starship Assassin and help your corporation create the most powerful AI in the universe. Resources are limited and time is of the essence!

Features:

Resource Collection: Collect resources during battle that will help fuel the development of your team’s A.I.

Laser Battles: Use your trusty laser to blast down your enemies while maneuvering around on your jetpack.

Special Abilities: Every character has their own special ability that will help their team either offensively or defensively.

Randomly Generated Arenas: Maps are randomly generated at the beginning of the match, meaning exploration will pay off with knowledge of resource locations and other secrets.

Holodrive

Holodrive is a free-to-play MOBA developed by BitCake Studio for PC and is available for download on Steam Early Access. In Holodrive a company called Holocorp created companion robots intended to become man’s new best friend, but it turns out these robots had their own initiative. Turns out they just love to blow each other up! Now all dolled up and equipped with the most destructive weapons and power-ups out there, these robots are ready to battle and compete in special arenas to figure out who is the best!

Features:

Customizable Robots: Customize your robot to your liking with different skins that will help you stand out from the crowd.

Weapon Management: Your robot can hold up to 7 different weapons, which means 7 times the combat possibilities for you to consider!

Map Elements: Anti-bullet barriers and teleporters can be used to your advantage on each map. Keep in mind where they’re located at and how they work!

Power-ups: Collect power-ups scattered across the map to give you an advantage mid-battle.

Mirage: Arcane Warfare Beta Thoughts

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

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I think one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed this so much is that I did not play Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. I was curious about it for a long time but for this or that reason, I never really got into it. I’ve heard a lot of “hardcare” Chivalry fans complain about not wanting to play a 6v6 melee/fps game. I imagine a lot of those people have not given the game a fair shake or gotten into the beta though. Most of my thoughts on it are pretty positive. Of course, they aren’t all, because what fun would that be to read, yeah? Mirage: Arcane Warfare is a PVP game made by the makers of Chivalry. It offers team-based combat on gorgeous stages, plenty of violence, gore, lots of damage, and a solid offering of game modes.

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The tutorial covers the basics of the game, but it’s up to learn the characters, learn the maps, and get good at it. Sure, it will hold your hand through the tutorial, but that’s when they let you go to fall down into the canyon like Mufasa. I’ve encountered some bugs that make the game almost unplayable though. The worst one was when I was queueing solo I could not just join a game mode queue. After a few seconds, it would say the group was too big or somesuch, and would remove me from queue. It didn’t make sense, and it was incredibly frustrating.

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One of the things the game definitely needs is the ability to read class skills outside of combat. I couldn’t figure out how to do it, short of being in a queue and on the character select menu. Thankfully you can switch classes while in a match, look at what they do and go from there. However, I wouldn’t dawdle. The match does not stop just because you aren’t happy with what you are trying to play. It’s especially frustrating that each class/character has six abilities, so that each “main” ability has an alternate that you can choose to sub in. As of this writing, you can sub a new power in to reset a cooldown, but I do not know if that’s intended [bet it’s not]. You have a considerable amount of moves you can make though. You have your main attack [LMB], a Parry [RMB] a pair of bigger, slower hits [Scroll Wheel Up/Down], and then your abilities, and jump. You can also bounce off walls and climb up smaller ones, which can make for some hilarious tactical surprises. Of course, if you parry someone, you throw them off their guard, and you can parry anything. Fireballs, Giant Boulders, Spears, you name it. This to me, makes the projectile/magic users kind of worthless unless they sneak up on you, because a solid ability to predict/parry their shots will render them useless.

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A bit about how the game actually plays; you have several game modes. The Objective Mode has several types of gameplay “within” it. It’s not just one Objective. There’s Capture the Flag, where you grab an item and try to get it back to your base, which is always popular. There’s Capture [secure spots on the map, get points, win the game], and Push/Payload. There’s always a damn payload mode. It’s my least favorite in any game ever. I will say for theirs at least, I felt like there was a way to win even if behind. You both compete for the payload, and even if it’s an inch from their point, you can still wipe their team, command it, pull it away, and if you can hold out, you can still make the comeback! It’s a lot more skill-based, this game, in every single mode.

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Of course, there’s also the Team Deathmatch, which feels like it absolutely bloody goes on for a million years. First to 100 kills wins, and it’s a lot slower than CoD is. Maybe it goes faster normally, but I’ve yet to have a game with a full team. I’ve had 1v1 TDM, and 4v4, and that’s about it. Occasionally a 2 or 3 person team.  There are always full modes, but that doesn’t help me when I’m trying to get a game in. There will be more modes too, but I haven’t seen any of them yet. The next one in talks is “Arena,” which I imagine will just be a big circular deathmatch. See, that sounds pretty good to me. I like that you gain EXP for what you do in a match. Depending on your kills, assists, and objective time, you gain what could be quite a lot of EXP if you do exceptionally well. But I don’t know what the end-game is for it. You gain Ranks, but I haven’t seen any point to them. It won’t carry over from Beta to the release anyway, so I’m not overly concerned with it. In a skill-based game, one that doesn’t give me new skills/tools/characters when you progress, I’m not as interested in what it does. Maybe if it’s new skins or something. . .

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This will definitely share some things in common with Chivalry. It will probably feel pretty similar in a lot of little ways. It’s going to have the brutality: Limbs flying, blood gurgling out of bodies, chaotic, wild, but devastating combat. I feel like it’s a more… expanded Chivalry though. You have magic which was not present in the last game, which means you can do far more ludicrous stuff to your foes. Surprise them from a rooftop by dropping fire or boulders with spikes down on them, leap a ridiculous distance and push them into the water to their deaths. Throw up a shielding barrier to protect yourself and your allies, while nimbly dancing around their attacks. But it is still just as complex as Chivalry, possibly more-so with the addition of these new styles of attacks. It’s still incredibly important to dodge and parry though, so you Chivalry addicts will still get your fill here.

 

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Fun, But Missing Something. . .

State of the Beta: Good

Honestly, I love playing this. The servers make me fairly cross, but that’s mostly due to it being in beta, and not as many people are playing right now. Not a big deal. Especially after all the keys that are being released to the public today. And the Quick Play bug will be fixed, I’m sure. I did submit it way before I started writing this. This is a pure PVP game though, and it’s definitely not for everyone. I’d like to see the Chivalry crowd really latch on and make something great of it though. It’s not a game you’re just going to jump into and start winning immediately unless perhaps, you played the previous game. I feel like a lot of the skills will carry over. It’s got modes I love, and modes I don’t love so much. Like, I love TDM normally, but 100 kills in this style of game is, like a side, forever in a smaller crowd of people. I don’t like that servers [not Quickplay] will start as soon as there are at least two people, one on each side. So if the other player is highly skilled [and there is no way to pair off according to skill in those servers], you will begin losing quite fast. Made only worse when people who join the game on your side will be butthurt and will probably abandon you. There doesn’t seem to be any penalties for that. They can just leave, perhaps, and join the winning teams. When you join a match for example, it asks which side you want to join, or for it to be random. Found someone streaming who is doing awesome? Join their server, their team, and start bodying! You can be carried pretty hard that way.

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Carry me harder! 3x the enemy team’s lead player’s score isn’t nearly enough!

 

Regardless of the little things, this game is intense. Every moment, every action matters. You can come back from virtually any situation, and as a game where you don’t gain powerups, it’s all up to teamwork and skill… and OP classes. However, I think all the classes are pretty awesome. It’s still in Beta, so it will no doubt gain more modes, maps, and fun stuff. Even now as it stands, it’s pretty damn fun. That’s what matters in the end.

 

Mirage: Arcane Warfare Beta Key Giveaway

OnRPG has partnered with Torn Banner to welcome a lucky batch of players into the Steam beta test of Mirage: Arcane Warfare!

Obliterate your enemies with powerful magic or silence them with a sword in Mirage: Arcane Warfare, a multiplayer FPS from the creators of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare.

To Redeem your Key:

  • Launch the Steam client software and log into your Steam account.
  • Click the Games Menu.
  • Choose Activate a Product on Steam…
  • Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.

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