Yearly Archives: 2017

Turn-Based Strategy Game, Antihero adds new DLC and more

Antihero - Armello DLC

Versus Evil, in partnership with independent developer Tim Conkling has announced that the turn-based strategy digital board game, Antihero has added additional multi-language support: French< German, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Portuguese for Bazil as well as the new Armello  DLC! The Armello Homage Master Thief Character Pack contains four Armello Master Thief character skins based on well-known characters from the Armello universe: Thane, Twiss, Mercurio and The King. In addition, a new free multiplayer map, ‘The Agency’ gives a new location to commit dastardly deeds with a fun bribery twist.

Armello is a fantastic game created by the League of Geeks team.” commented Versus Evil General Manager, Steve Escalante. “Both games live in the strategy, board game world with unique graphics and wonderful aesthetics.  We couldn’t be happier to team up with them in creating some cool characters for Tim Conkling’s Antihero. Indie helping indies is just fun. We hope you all enjoy.”

GDC 2018 Hosts Special ‘Ultima Online’ Classic Postmortem

Ultima Online GDC 2018

Lord British had a huge impact on my life, how I approached gaming, and the need for a compelling story, pretty much forever. Game Developers Conference 2018 (GDC 2018) is proud to announce a team of game dev luminaries, who will take to the stage to deliver a special postmortem look at their work on the online title, Ultima Online. Raph Koster, Starr Long, and Richard Garriott de Cayeux (Lord British) will be presenting this Classic Game Postmortem and they worked very closely on the development of this game (Origin Systems) and it has remained online for nearly two decades. Noone is more qualified to talk Ultima!

It has a storied legacy, and so next year Ultima creator (and “Lord British” himself) Garriott de Cayeux will join Long and Koster onstage to mark the game’s anniversary and share fresh insights into the challenges they faced in building one of the world’s earliest graphical massively-multiplayer online games. From the “death” of Lord British, simulated ecologies, weddings, orcs, and the Virtues are just some of the topics we can expect. This takes place in September of 2018, when Ultima Online celebrates its 20th birthday. It’s something that nobody who is a fan of the Virtues will want to miss out on.  More information can be found at the following link.

Descent Underground Coming To PS4 and Xbox One

Descent Underground coming 2018

Little Orbit is going to cover the publishing for Descent Underground on PS4, XB1, and PC/Mac/Linux in 2018! In August, Little Orbit took over the development of Unsung Story, a crowdfunded tactical RPG project started by Yasumi Matsuno. With Descent: Underground, Descendent will continue to lead development, while Little Orbit is providing completion funding, additional resources, marketing, and distribution. In order to focus on finishing the game faster, Descendent recently delisted the game from early access on Steam and other sites. Little Orbit confirmed that players who purchased Decent: Underground in early access would receive the finished game upon release. So take heart friends, it’s still coming and it’s coming in a big way!

“We’re proud to help give the Descent series the full, modern AAA rebirth it deserves,” said Matthew Scott, CEO of Little Orbit. “Descendent had the experience, the vision, and the drive. Now with our help, they have the support to take Descent: Underground out of this world!”

Open Beta Signups Begin for Classic Action-RPG CONQUERA

Conquera – Forge Your Destiny! - YouTube

Combining its Wuxia-style fantasy world with classic real-time isometric RPG gameplay reminiscent of Diablo and Neverwinter Nights, Conquera is an MMORPG in which the strong and ruthless triumph. The game is set in the richly historied continent of Maia, casting the player as one of the Dragonguard, an elite fighting force that must repel the orc armies of the tyrannical Lord Warmor. Conquera was originally released as The Legend of Mir: Eternal in China to both critical and commercial acclaim, being selected by numerous gaming awards as one of the best Online PC Games of 2016. Its upcoming Southeast Asian release will feature English, Vietnamese and Mandarin localizations, along with dedicated community support from Cherry Credits. Players can join the Open Beta and participate in the community for exclusive in-game rewards at the official site and Facebook page. Players can pick Warrior, Mage or Priest for now, but more classes promise to be on the way in the future. Each has its own skill tree, customizable armor, and weapons. Interested parties can sign up here.

Music Review: Castlevania: Resurrection of the Night

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Resurrection of the Night (Music Review)

Castlevania: Ressurection of the Night comes right in time for Halloween! It’s a “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” inspired album if the title weren’t obvious. Symphony of the Night is probably my favorite in the franchise, outside of Super Castlevania IV (arguably the most perfect Castlevania game ever made) and as Metroidvanias are among my favorite genre to play, it was a perfect fit. There’s so much exploration to be had, and this album also deserves to be explored. I listened to the album while playing the game of the same name (PS3 PSN version). Now, I didn’t listen to the tracks on the appropriate stage, because that’s way too much work! I want to just be able to sit down, relax, turn the in-game down and turn Winamp up, and that’s just what I did! Unlike some of the previous albums I’ve listened to, this one is mostly in-line with the actual game soundtrack. It’s a tribute, but not really reimaginings per se’. These versions of the songs have more life to them, that’s the best way I can explain it. Better instrumentation than the Playstation X was capable of, and if I had a remake of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, I’d want it to sound just like this. Nice heavy brass, sassy percussion in Marble Gallery, somber pianos during Dance of Pales, all the way down. It also has a feel of Castlevania: Bloodlines, as that’s the game that leads into Symphony of the Night. This is Richter’s tale, as he travels through the massive hold of Dracula.

It’s also important to note that there’s an “Inverted Castle” album coming soon to Kickstarter (seen here), entitled Ressurection of the Night: Alucard’s Elegy. Personally, that’s the one I am really waiting for. Inverted Castle made me gnash my teeth and pull my hair in frustration, but it’s really a fascinating dungeon crawl. Plus, Inverted Castle is the home of Crissaegrim, the best weapon in the game. As soon as I hit Inverted Castle, I rush to the Forbidden Library to farm “Moos” until I get one. Before I pick a few pieces as my personal favorites, a word from Wayne Strange, arranger/producer:

The music from Richter’s castle will be laid before you with Resurrection of the Night,” notes arranger and producer Wayne Strange. “We intend to delve deeper into the anguish that Alucard must endure with Alucard’s Elegy. Because we would be moving into more story-driven material we would like to make this experience a truly authentic one. That means hiring a professional choir, and, if our dreams are fully realized, a symphony orchestra. But enough talk, have at you!”

The Tragic Prince (Track 10): It’s very hard to pick a favorite track on this album, as the Symphony of the Night music was phenomenal. But the most iconic piece for me in the entire game is “The Tragic Prince”. The electric guitar combined with subtle brass in the background really sold it for me. This is the song I remember the most from the game, and when I think leaping through the air and slashing the undead to bits, this is the go-to track. I love towards the end of the song you can hear quiet wailing in the background, a chorus of the damned perhaps? Chimes, violins, this song has everything. It’s a terrific rendition of a song useful in exploration, mindless murder, and it feels like it leads up to a dramatic boss encounter as the music swells and crescendos at the end.

Dracula’s Castle (Track 3): The thunderous Bass/Cello at the start, paired with a lilting flute is really a remarkable pairing. Dracula’s Castle is another track that personifies the sound of SOTN and is another one that frankly, whenever I think of the game, I come back to. It starts dark but loud, and swells louder, as you approach the more lit rooms, leaving behind the empty void of the foyer. When I’m listening to the music I can picture Alucard or Richter (though this album is leaned more towards Richter’s travels in the castle) moving deeper, slashing and whipping away at the hordes of Dracula’s servants, avoiding the careful eyes of the Dark Priest, Shaft.

Dance of Gold (Track 4): Kudos to Laura Intravia and Kristin Naigus for their hand in Dance of Gold. It feels like it belongs in a dramatic film, and though it is the shortest piece on the album (at 2:04), it packs potentially the most punch for your eardrums. All it needed was the occasional rattle of bones as Skeletons exploded or the click of footsteps and I would have thought I was actually playing a game. The big cathartic feel of a Metroidvania is in the exploration and finally getting that item you’ve been seeking out or overcoming that obstacle. This music takes me to that emotion, that feeling. It’s very dramatic. It’s music I could see myself listening to, standing on my deck before going to do something tiresome, stressful or unpleasant. It’s great to get the blood pumping and prepared to do what must be done.

Enchanted Bwakquet (Track 13): Not every track must be serious. This is a very grimdark, guitar-filled album, combining the wail of an electric guitar, with ghostly chimes. This particular track, I could not avoid talking about. But I tried… a few times, actually. But I love it! It’s so silly and absurd. It’s the “Enchanted Banquet”, but all the musical notes are Chicken Bwaking. Is that the sound you type for that? Chipring, Bwakking, and more await in the Enchanted Bwakquet! But what really makes this a must-hear is that the music is still ominous and dark, combined with chickens ethereal wail (I never thought I’d explain a chicken as having an “ethereal wail” in my life, so there you go). If you listen to no other song on this album, please listen to this one.

You can find links to the album as well as more information right here. Look forward to more music reviews in the future! I do so love doing these.