Monthly Archives: March 2018

Play as Geralt of Rivia in SOULCALIBUR VI

There are always monsters to do battle with in the tale of Swords and Souls.

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of the hit Witcher series have teamed up with Bandai Namco to bring Geralt of Rivia to life as a playable character in Soulcalibur VI.  Trained at the elite School of the Wolf, Geralt is one of the most notable and powerful monster slayers. Players who choose to fight as Geralt will wield his incredible swordplay skills in conjunction with his ability-enhancing potions and combat magic. Dougl Cockle will also be returning (the English voice of Geralt) to reprise his role, and Witcher fans will also be excited to know that Kaer Morrhen (home of the School of the Wolf) will be a battleground to travel to, complete with “Hunt or be Hunted” from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s soundtrack.

“SOULCALIBUR is well known in the fighting games genre for including iconic guest characters. When we were approached with the idea of doing a crossover, we thought our community would really enjoy playing as the witcher,” said Marcin Momot, Community Lead at CD PROJEKT RED. “We’ve collaborated with BANDAI NAMCO artists to faithfully recreate Geralt, and shared original Witcher 3 assets like Geralt’s model, animations, and weapons. I think BANDAI NAMCO did an outstanding job of capturing all the details and introducing The Witcher to SOULCALIBUR in a way fans of both series will enjoy.”

Past Cure Review

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Past Cure - Woman

Who is she? Who is she to Ian? Is she the key? A love interest?

I do enjoy a good mystery, and psychological horror coupled with that is a really interesting concept. Phantom 8’s Past Cure has a lot of very ambitious ideas and I sincerely enjoy the concept of the game. However, there are some hurdles to cross, and they are not always worth leaping over. I had some really serious issues getting this started, but I do not know if everyone will. It’s worth a mention though. The game defaulted the camera rotation to 0, so I could not aim or look around and my first probably 20-30 minutes were spent wondering why every pistol shot made me look higher and higher and I could not aim. This meant I died seven or eight times to the second enemy in the game. I couldn’t melee them either, much to my chagrin. Once they get close to you, an event triggers and they kill you. I spent a lot of time trying to figure this out but I could not. This is mostly for the start of the game mind. You get really cool melee combos and finishers after the initial area.

Past Cure - Shooting Range

Sometimes you just have to go to your hidden shooting range to keep up your skills. A day in the life.

Past Cure has us playing as Ian, a former military badass that now lives on a beach in a truly extravagant house. He has these horrific nightmares and takes blue pills to recover his sanity. It’s kind of a catch-22, because he gains powers from these pills as far as I understand, but now takes them to keep from going insane. This game poses a lot of mysteries though: Who is the woman? What does she mean to Ian? Why did his dad make him play chess for cookies? I really like that the game is mysterious, but the plot is just so disjointed and hard to keep up with. Between unanswered questions and things that simply do not make sense, I like the idea, but it’s just not working. Everything about it felt . . . monotone. The acting seldom draws me in to leave me wanting more. The level design, while not terrible, feels very linear. It’s either linear or a maze of rooms that just look the same, like in the tutorial. I do wish the tutorial was not as long as it was. Third person shooters are not all that uncommon, after all. I was far more interested in learning about Ian’s powers.

Past Cure - Disjointed

Yeah, every home just has creepy dolls in them.

The big stand-out for me is the superpowers that Ian’s medication give him. You can astral project, and use it to press buttons and get a look around you, solve puzzles and get a leg up on your enemies. It doesn’t feel like enough was done with this, and it was shoehorned into the game to make the plot more psychological or supernatural. I found myself popping shots into people more than anything. There are concepts that are introduced and never seen again, which really disappointed me. I wanted more of those horrific mannequins/dolls to show up as my sanity meter waned, but alas, they did not. Past Cure is a game with potential, a game that had some really terrific ideas. There are definitely things I like though. The camera work is solid, and the atmosphere of the game is appropriately mysterious and haunting. The horror/nightmare sections of the game are just wonderful. I also love where your sanity meter starts to drop and the screen gets all shaky and trembles as if he starts to lose his mind in some kind of seizure or is beginning to hallucinate again.

Past Cure - Setting

Despite many flaws, it’s still very creepy and spooky in the right ways.

Sure, in the tutorial it’s very clear to see where the horror dolls are coming from (red lights under the doors), but the whole setting is just wonderful. I feel like perhaps they tried to do too much with the character. Did he have to be a rich, badass, smart, Batman-but-former-military character? Kind of took me out of the story, if I’m being honest. I enjoyed the graphics for the most part. Some of the animations feel wonky, but for what they have produced, I have no complaints about how it looks and feels. Phantom 8 has nothing to be ashamed of on that point. The story is intriguing, and if so many things weren’t introduced then forgotten about, I’d probably love it. Combat was very good, as well. You have buttons that work nicely, the animations for the melee combat were pretty awesome, and I will say, once I fixed my aiming issues, they never came back again.

Who’s Cure Is This Anyway? 2.5/5

Past Cure - Chess

It’s not perfect, but I did still enjoy my time trying to unravel this mystery.

Despite the many flaws that Past Cure presents, I sincerely enjoyed the concept. Some of the areas felt very bland and empty, some of the characters did not seem interested in delivering their lines with any kind of emotion, and there are many unanswered questions. I do feel like 30 bucks might be a high asking price for a game that needed some more TLC in the bug-fixing process, and for such a short game. But I don’t want Phantom 8 to be discouraged as an indie stream because they have some very intriguing ideas that I would love to see more of in future games. I like the world they are putting together and I want to see more of it. There are some sincerely frustrating moments, and while I was let down by the presentation, I do still find myself wanting to know more. This is a story that could probably make a terrific psychological horror book too, now that I think about it. I in no way think this is a terrible game, but I do feel it lets the player down in quite a few places. I think perhaps fans of this genre might get more out of it than I did, but I think if it were 20 dollars or so, it might be a bit more palatable in terms of its length and difficulty. What Past Cure needs is some direction. There are simply too many things jumbled together. Too many genres are happening at once. With a bit of guidance and narrowing what the story is trying to do just a little bit, it would be leaps and bounds better.

The Chronicles of Tekken, Part 3 – Tekken 6

By Keith Harris (ShinobiGatana), Guest Writer

Tekken 6. A fighter to end all fighters? Maybe. It was a fierce entry into a genre of already amazing fighters already on the scene including its own predecessor, Tekken 5. But Tekken 6 brought with it things that made this gamer want to squeal like a little girl at a boy band concert. And just like those larger than life idols, Tekken 6 brought the fire!!

Okay, now that I have allowed my much younger 29 year old self out for a minute, let’s put the big boy pants back on and talk about the fighter that is Tekken 6.

Tekken 6 Logo

In 2007 Tekken 6 hit the scene by crashing into the arcades of Japan with the force of a freight train. It took the best parts of Tekken 5, and instead of adding a little spit and polish, but gave it an overhaul like no other. Game developers took each character, first keeping what they thought was great while incorporating new moves. This is nothing revolutionary in fighting games, but the developers also made sure to incorporate the move sets into the game engine to make sure each move was as polished as possible. The end result was that each move flowed into the next, forgoing the lag associated with both moves and the game engine. This meant each move flowed into the next. Skill was still needed of course, and it made the combinations flow far more synchronized, but only after you mastered the new timing system.

Tekken 6’s input initially felt as if it was lagging, in this humble gamer’s opinion. Having played every Tekken game I possibly could (on every Playstation platform) gave me a general idea of what Tekken was supposed to be despite the radical speed increases from Tekken 2 to 3. Specifically Tekken 3, then tag, and so on. When Tekken 6 hit the Playstation 3, I was excited beyond all reason, and ended up playing late into the night, much to my wife’s annoyance for that first week, but that’s a story for another time. What really matters now is how no matter how much I used to be able seamlessly do Ling’s X Marks The Spot, or even counter throws, it just felt off. I loved the visuals and a lot of  the new elements added to the game, but I felt I was losing my edge. I did a little bit of research and some gamers online even recommended playing with a cord connected to the controller for better input control until used to the new input lag without it. This was interesting to me, mainly because I was desperate not to be known as a scrub Tekken player, never that. But truly, would that help? It did.

After many hours of practicing in arcade mode, I finally managed to find my stride. I was finally ready to enter into the foray of what could be known as Mode Of The Living Nightmares… or its more accurately known title: Scenario Campaign.

Tekken 6 Screenshot 1

Scenario Campaign is essentially the story mode for this game that follows the illegitimate son of Heihachi Mishima, Lars Alexanderson.  Lars is a captain in the Tekken Force, the security wing of the Mishima Zaibatsu, The company known to be owned on and off through hostile takeovers by Heihachi Mishima throughout the franchise. Lars comes across Alisa Bosconovich, the android daughter of Doctor Bosconovich, a doctor known for his… unorthodox way of making physical alterations to himself and others. They embark on a journey to essentially save the world from a massive, global threat.

Unlike Heihachi, Kazuya, and partially Devil Jin, Lars does not utilize the Mishima family school of martial arts. His style seems to be his own. Numerous kicks, flips, and deceptive strikes makes Lars just as formidable if not more formidable than his more well known family members. Not a lot is focused on family wise in this Tekken as there is a worldwide issue that holds the focus of the story where, for once, Jin seems to be the villain, and a new hero had to be ‘born.’

A close friendship is made between Alisa and Lars during this ordeal, so much so that one might even say that the two fell in love. That’s just this humble gamers opinion. Who am I to say a man and an android girl with detachable limbs can’t fall in love and live happily ever after. I mean, look at Krillin and Android 18 from the Dragaonball Z and Super sagas. But I digress; on this mission, Lars and Alisa find themselves going through 30+ stages of varying foes. From street thugs, armored troops and various aliens, Scenario mode had it all. It is typical of your standard beat’em ups where a group of antagonist surrounds said hero, and said hero lets loose and kicks ass. The game mechanics are similar to a normal one on one battle, but with the added ‘targeting’ of your foes. If you don’t turn fast enough, or duck, block, parry, or flip out of the way, you can still be demolished. You can be attacked from four or five directions at once. What can you do?

Tekken 6 Screenshot 2

Well, here’s something neat about Scenario Mode: You get access to toys! If you happen to defeat a fortuitous enemy, or come across a box filled with ‘loot,’ your problems are cut in half for a bit. I have come across flamethrowers, machine guns, heck, even a chainsaw and a pole or two. Time it right, and you can take out a large contingent of NPCs (Non Playable Characters) faster than you can count them.  Once you finally make it through the dregs, the scum of the Tekken underworld, you make it to the end of stage bosses. Most, if not all stages have a boss, and this boss is generally one of the actual Tekken characters we all know and love. I for one did not want to face off against Nina, the Ninja (or more accurate, assassin) without the J in her name. Why? Because she doesn’t fight fair, nor do any of the other bosses. They bring backup. So not only do you have to face a boss at the end of the stage, but it could end up being ten, twenty, or maybe even 40 extra enemies trying to stop you from defeating the stage boss.

While I can’t quite place why the stage Ninja, oops, I mean Nina causes so much trouble, it’s nothing compared to the hellish experience of my waking video game horror. The thing that made me late to work 4 times because I was determined not to let it beat me. The stage…’Nightmare Train.’

I arrived on that venomously vile and evil stage starry eyed and bushy tailed confident in my abilities, but I knew after less than fifteen seconds of entering the stage and dying a very embarrassing death I’d come back with a determination like no other in me that I had not had since learning to play the Tekken in the first place. Hell or high water, I would make this stage, this Nightmare Train, my bitch.

Tekken 6 Screenshot 3

After many, many hours of painstaking, back breaking, soul crushing moments of agony, I finally beat Nightmare Train, and was even rewarded with Devil Jin as a playable character. Wasn’t worth it. Not to me anyway. To know I went through all of that trouble… and it wasn’t even the final stage. There were maybe two or three more truly difficult stages, but none that would haunt my gaming dreams for years to come as Nightmare Train did.

This is not a perfect game. There are flaws just like any other game, but there are other aspects of Tekken 6 which make it a gem amongst pebbles. It has an engaging story, an arcade mode where you can fight against a giant bloody mech named Nancy-mi847j. A new girl Zafina who’s movements are either reminiscent of a spider, or she’s got the moves like Jagger. Either way, if you haven’t gotten a chance to play Tekken 6, and not only want a challenge, fierce game play, and a beat’em up mode to ignite your gamers’ fighting spirit, this game might be for you.

Stay frosty gamers, and remember to keep the fighting in game.

 

 

Vayne Revealed as First Season Pass Character for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT

Square Enix announced today that the first character in the Dissidia Final Fantasy NT and that will be Vayne Carudas Solidor from Final Fantasy XII! Vayne joins as a powerful Vanguard who utilizes dizzying combos while also buffing his party with his EX Skill ‘Writ of Conquest’. The Season Pass, for players who own it, will give six new playable characters, skins, and weapons as they come out. More information can be found here.

SEGA Genesis Classics is coming to PS4 and Xbox One

SEGA Europe has a tremendous Altered Beast of an announcement! Set for both digital and physical purchase on May 29th is the SEGA Genesis Classics on both PS4 and Xbox One. Over 50 retro classics across a multitude of genres, from arcade, action, shooters, beat ’em ups, classics and hidden gems alike. These games will include online mutliplayer, achievements, mirror modes, rewinds, save states and much more.

The physical edition will be available to pre-order from US and EMEA retailers very soon. It comes complete with a double sided Golden Axe and Streets of Rage poster, identical to the ones you will see in the game’s 90s inspired retro gamer’s bedroom, the hub through which players can access the entire collection. Details of digital pre-order will be available very soon.

And if that wasn’t enough, players who have the SEGA Genesis Classics on Steam will be treated to a huge free update, giving it parity with the console launch when it goes live.

Earthfall to Invade PS4, Xbox One and PC This Spring

A horrific alien menace arrived on Earth, and with them came horrors from another world with only one goal: To wipe humanity out entirely. Countless battles have taken place involving four-man teams of human defenders, the invaders will be moving to PC, Xbox One and Playstation 4 this spring as Earthfall hits full launch. Get your friends, and with a mix of modern and futuristic weaponry and prepare to stomp out those aliens!

“When we launched Earthfall on Early Access, we received a great response from players,” said Russell Williams, CEO of Holospark. “Now it’s time to bring Earthfall to completion, along with making it available to Xbox One and PS4 players. We think players on all three platforms are going to be stunned by the game’s amazing 4K visuals and will find themselves unable to tear themselves away from the cooperative sci-fi-themed gameplay.”

Features of Earthfall Include:

  • Cooperative Survival For up to Four Players – Team up with friends to survive the alien infestation. Robust multiplayer support and A.I. teammates stand ready to ensure a full team at any time regardless of available players
  • Build Your Defenses – Strategically deploy barricades to block the enemy hordes and install turrets anywhere to create perfect alien killing zones
  • Multiple Campaigns – Each campaign tells a story across several missions, allowing players to dive in and experience diverse settings and mission types across the Pacific Northwest
  • Close Encounters of the Brutal Kind – Deadly aliens come in all shapes and sizes, from massive drones armies attacking in waves to towering behemoths spitting plasma, every experience is different, each time you play
  • Battle Unpredictable Enemies – Earthfall features a dynamic spawn system providing a constant set of new challenges lurking behind every corner
  • An Unfolding Story – Every campaign reveals new content and secrets behind the world of Earthfall and the cataclysmic alien invasion

Any ‘Port’ In A Storm: Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

FFXV - Main Image

Truly, the best version of Cid.

Editor’s Note: Some of these screens were taken while I was still fiddling with visual settings.

It’s no big secret that Square-Enix has developed almost every game that I truly love, from childhood to adulthood. It’s also no great secret that some/many of their ports have been, for lack of a better word, been dreadful. Final Fantasy XII was a step in the right direction, and despite the minor issues I had with it, it was a great port. Then Chrono Trigger happened. My morale slipped and fell right back down Sisyphus’ hill. Then I remembered there was a light at the end of the tunnel: Final Fantasy XV was on the way! And I loved this game on PS4. I think I spent a good 50+ hours on the main story, and that’s not including post-game content or any of the DLC. I actually didn’t play through all of the DLC, but now I can do it fresh on my PC so you know, it all works out! However, I will say, good lord, this game takes up a lot of space. One of the few complaints I’ve heard is from people that already owned the game on console.

FFXV - Cruisin' Eos

Just some good ol’ boys, playin Cruisin’ EOSA.

This version of the game (FFXV Windows Edition) comes with all of the DLC, including the DLC that dropped the day this game released and for a very reasonable price (49.99). I can certainly understand that it would be pretty upsetting to spend money (possibly a lot of it) on DLC, only to see the PC users get it for essentially free, when the DLC was a bit on the pricey side. There’s also the Royal Edition on consoles, which does the same thing. I get it, that has to be awful, but it’s nothing that “Game of the Year” editions haven’t done for years now. I think though if the DLC had come out later, or the release of the game was a bit after that final bit of DLC content, maybe that would not have caused a ruckus. I will say though, some of the bonus content for FFXV on PC is just absolutely ludicrous. Wasn’t Cup Ramen Noct enough? Now there’s The Sims and Half-Life outfits? Ugh. Count me out of that. The game is already phenomenal, I don’t need to dress like a Half-Life character.

FFXV - Cats

Save the world, save your marriage, save a cat.

Final Fantasy XV is a sprawling, gorgeous game that feels both linear and open-world at the same time. The story generally guides you down a single path, but there are so many things you can do in the world at the same time, so it’s quite easy to get lost in the beautiful world of Eos. From the photo side quest, fishing, mastering all of the amazing cooking dishes, training with your team, upgrading your weapons, getting all of the Kings Weapons and that’s not even a quarter of it. Bonus dungeons, the skill system, the Hunts. . . yes, there’s tons to do in Final Fantasy XV. Sure, the story is a bit on the linear side, but that’s not a new or exciting difference in the franchise. Many of the most acclaimed Final Fantasy games were very linear for the most part. It’s very beneficial to do as many of the Hunts as you can and explore the world, and let’s be honest: It’s a very attractive world to be in. However, I am disappointed in a lack of a solid Windowed Mode. The screen gets a little weird if you tab away, and you have to alt-enter to set it right again. This can be fixed in an update though (and I pray it is).

FFXV - Nightmare Creature

This is the best screenshot I took of this scene.

Yes, Eos is gorgeous on Xbox One and PS4, but it’s even better on PC. I didn’t believe the game could get prettier, but somehow they managed to do it. There are lots of Nvidia enhancements of the game, to the world around you, to the boys’ hair. Yes, there’s a separate Nvidia option to make the hair look more realistic. Most of the Nvidia settings will eat up your fps unless you have a truly magnificent machine. Now, my PC is no slouch (1080, i7 7700k, 16 GB of RAM), but I did have some trouble running it on maximum settings while streaming. Simply turning off some of those extra settings fixed that, however. I do not have a monitor that’s set up for 4k, but I have seen the 4k graphics elsewhere and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The graphics are stunning, but I did see one or two very minor issues. The lighting at Golden Quay for example. It was night-time at the restaurant, and the candlelight was shining off the cook’s face. She looked like an eldritch monster from beyond the stars! It was horrifying. Other than that, high/highest look fabulous. The sound is terrific, and the option to listen to the Japanese voices was pretty cool. I didn’t need it because I love the English VAs, but I wanted to experience it in Japanese and was not disappointed.

FFXV - Cars

Just a couple of cool dudes and their car. Arguably one of your most important team members.

Controller support was perfect, which is one of my big concerns. Sure, you could play this on a keyboard and mouse, but why in God’s name would you want to do that? As soon as my controller was plugged in, it swapped to my PS4’s controls and that made me deliriously happy. The controls were responsive, it played exactly like the PS4 version, and I had no problems controlling Noct. There is the odd fps dip when in a really busy/heavy fight, but that’s only on higher settings in my experience. This did not happen very often but it is worth noting. There were some updates I apparently missed on console, such as being able to pick up more than one Hunt at once, and I could not tell you how much joy I felt when I saw this. It was so tedious to finish a hunt, run back, pick up another one, run in the same direction again, do the hunt, and go back, to pick up another. Ugh, so tedious. Now I can do them all at once, and reap the rewards.

But Who Is It For? How Does It Hold Up? 4/5

FFXV - Ardyn

Honestly, Ardyn is up there with Kefka, Emperor, and Garland.

This is easily the best port Square-Enix has come up with, and I hope this is the standard for every other port that comes after it. It’s not a “mobile” port, it’s a real port, with improvements, enhancements that make sense, that players are happy about. This is one of the best Final Fantasy games I have ever played and while I was hoping it would hit PC at the same time as PS4/XB1, I’m glad Square Enix took the game to give it the love and attention all of their ports deserve. But who is this for? It’s always a hard pill to swallow, to re-buy a game after you’ve completed it elsewhere. This is the definitive version of Final Fantasy XV though. Mostly I can see this aimed at players who don’t own a console and want to really get the most out of their PCs, or hard-core, die-hard fans who want to play through this gripping story again, and to be frank, none of these people will be disappointed. Did you hold off, hoping for a PC version? You will not be let down because it’s glorious. However, this is Loading Time the game. Initial load feels like it takes two or three minutes. I did not test it on my Solid State because frankly, I don’t think it has the space for it. Loading times are frustrating, but the game is still quite enjoyable. Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition has all the content you need and want from the original game, and then all the crazy DLC to play through. Looking for a game to sink hours into? Just get it again. Nobody will blame you. Sure,  you could beat this game in 10-15 hours if you really rush. But that’s not the point. The point is to immerse yourself in this world and really get lost in it. It’s not hard to do, and you’ll thank me for it.

A key was provided for purposes of this review.

Battlerite Armored Black Bear Mount Giveaway

We’ve partnered with Stunlock Studios to offer a free Armored Black Bear mount for Battlerite!

Battlerite is an action-packed team arena brawler. Experience the unique combination of a top-down shooter with a fast-paced fighting game. Challenge friends and others in a battle of reaction, unleashing the champion within you.

Learn more in our Battlerite review!

REGIONS: US-East, US-West, Europe, Russia, Japan, India, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia, South East Asia (Singapore), South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru)


This key grants access to an Armored Black Bear mount!

Battlerite Armored Black Bear Model

To Activate Your Key:

  • Download Battlerite for FREE at: http://store.steampowered.com/app/504370/Battlerite/
  • Please follow these instructions to activate a new retail purchase on Steam:
    1. Launch the Steam client software and log into your Steam account.
    2. Click the Games Menu.
    3. Choose Activate a Product on Steam…
    4. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.
    5. Open game and go to the mount collection to find your Free Armored Black Bear Mount.

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