Monthly Archives: June 2018

Subnautica Teams Up With Steam to Support Whale/Dolphin Conservation on World Oceans Day

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The developers of Subnautica are trying to make a difference this World Oceans Day, by running a weekend sale with Steam. This will help raise funds for the conservation charity WDC (Whale and Dolphin Conservation). From June 7th till June 11sth (10 am PST), Subnautica will be available for 20% off of the regular price of 24.99. 15% of the net developer profits will go directly to WDC to support work all over the world. The game can be found right here.

Subnautica invites players to descend into the depths of a fascinating underwater world filled with wonder and peril. After crash-landing on an uncharted world, explorers will navigate a wide array of ocean biomes in search of answers. From sun-drenched coral reefs to deep-sea trenches, the surroundings and life forms change as they delve deeper – posing new threats.

Head of Strategic Partnerships at PWE, Whitney Henderson, said: “It’s really exciting for us to be able to work with WDC on the Oceans Day promotion and to be able to use Subnautica to help make a difference. Only this week, a pilot whale in Thailand died of starvation after eating 80 plastic shopping bags that he had mistaken for food so it’s wonderful to have the chance to increase awareness of the important work that WDC does to help keep our seas healthy and to give players the chance to donate to such a great cause.”

 

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight Coming to the West

Attention, Dancing Queens, Dancing Kings, Robots, Cats, whatever you identify as – More hot Persona dancing is coming in Early 2019! Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight as well as Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight will be released in the Americas and in Europe for the Playstation 4 and Playstation Vita. Fans of both games will have incredible music to dance to in 2018, as both are well on their way. In both games, join the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) and the Phantom Thieves are whisked away to the secret Club Velvet. They will have no choice but to dance away, unaware of what lies ahead.

A playable demo of both will be available at the ATLUS/SEGA booth at E3 2018 (West Hall #5222) from June 12-14 in Los Angeles, California.

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight features include:
  • Memorable Soundtrack – Return to the worlds of Persona 3 and Persona 5 and relive cherished memories with the games’ most memorable songs by Shoji Meguro, composed by Ryota Kozuka, as well as all-new remixes by ATOLS, Lotus Juice, ☆Taku Takahashi (m-flo / block.fm), Jazztronik, and more! Unlock a total of 25 fan-favorite tracks in each game.
  • Dancing! – Choose from several difficulty levels and dance alongside the members of SEES and the legendary Phantom Thieves in a customizable rhythm game experience. Characters can tear up the dance floor with a partner by performing well during a song and entering “Fever” mode; try out some of your favorite character combinations!
  • English and Japanese Voiceovers – Choose to listen to your favorite characters’ voices in either English or Japanese with dual audio options! English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish subtitles are also available.
  • Social – In “Social,” players can connect with their favorite characters and deepen their social bonds through conversations and mini-events. Fulfill character-specific conditions to unlock special events and unlock new items.
  • Collect Costumes – Collect and equip a variety of costumes and accessories to create an even flashier dance experience.

Wreckfest is Gearing Up for Release

Wreckfest leaves early access in just one week and is the racing game Bugbear has been aiming to make for almost five years. They are grateful for all the early access patrons who helped get Wreckfest this far, and until June 14th, as a thank-you, it will be available for the lower price of 44.99. The Backer Car will finally enter the game once Early Access is over, but will no longer be available for purchase. The Deluxe Edition will be unavailable for a short time but will return with a unique car, a soundtrack, as well as an exclusive wallpaper.

Wreckfest will also be hosting a Streaming Event on June 7th, where almost 40 international streamers will do battle and smash their cars into bits and pieces. The details can be found at this link.

Features of Wreckfest:

  • Awesome Cars – Old, banged-up, patched-together cars that simply ooze style! From old American heavy-hitters to agile Europeans and fun Asians, you won’t find anything like this in other games.
  • Meaningful Customization – Change not only the look of your cars but also upgrade their body armor.
  • Multiplayer – Wreck your friends online and take racing to the limit while chasing for demolition dominance!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Inspired Battle Royale ‘Fear the Wolves’ Starts Early Access in Summer

Today we have the first glimpse of the Battle Royale title coming from Vostok Games – Fear the Wolves. It’s player vs. environment and end-game extraction added into a Battle Royale for a unique experience. Deadly mutants, radiated wildlife and more are in the way of you and 99 other players who are seeking the helicopter at the end of the journey. That extraction is your ultimate goal, but you’ll need powerful equipment and powerful survival instincts to get there.

As the radioactivity of an area worsens, reality begins to break down. Dangerous areas distort and enter flux as they pulse with radiation. In the early stages, the adrenaline from sprinting will stop you taking damage, but after that only gas masks and hazard suits will keep the poisonous air and deadly rays out. You are never safe, but you can be more protected than your enemies, using this advantage to access areas they can’t, to loot more and flank them. Fear the Wolves will arrive on PC in 2018, later for consoles, and Early Access will hit this summer for PC.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Review

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

I’m only really new to one of the franchises in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, and that’s RWBY. Haven’t really followed the series, but I know the characters from the last RWBY game I played. But I do love BlazBlue, Under Night: In-Birth, and Persona 4. In fact, Persona 4’s my favorite in the series. So when I saw that these series were going to come to life in a 2v2 anime fighter from ArcSys, my hype levels were very high. But before I jump into the mechanics and how I feel about the actual gameplay, I’m very disappointed it’s also going to go the route of “lots of DLC characters”, which is the current trend. At least it won’t do what Dragon Ball FighterZ is, and have the exact same two characters in update after update. Yes, I’m tired of seeing different versions of Goku and Vegeta. Who knew? However, the cast at launch is decent, providing a ton of options for team-ups, and there really is something for every kind of fighting game fan.

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I’ve found tons of people to play with at all hours of the day.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle brings aboard the beginner-friendly auto-combos, where you can do fairly basic, but decent damage combos by simply mashing A or B (Square or Triangle by default on the PS4).  This is also a five-button game: A, B, C, and D. A and B are your basic attack buttons, C is Clash, D is Change, and P is Partner. Much like in the Marvel vs. series, the P button will bring your partner in for one of three attacks (Neutral, Forward or Back + P), and at the cost of 50% of your Cross Gauge, they can perform an Active Partner Skill while your current character is also performing an action. You can really pair anyone with anyone else, but there is synergy to be found with certain gameplay styles/characters. BB: CTB has pretty much everything a fighting game player could want: Push Blocking, Throw Teching, Reversal Actions, Tags, Sweeps, and an X-Factor style mode, in Resonance Blaze. When you’re down to one character, you can hit P to enter this mode, where for 15 seconds, you power-up. You automatically gain Skill Gauge, red health is recovered, chip damage is increased, and more. You become a damage dealing machine, as long as you can get hits in.

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Can’t escape from crossing steaks! I mean! Persona! Huzzah!

It also has a fairly robust tutorial, where you learn all the basics of the game itself, as well as an option to go into every character and learn combos, abilities, and what makes them tick. The combos don’t seem as viable to me, but I’m used to insane button inputs for anime fighters, Blazblue in particular. I’d like to know “when” these combos would be viable, but that might be a little too much. However, the greatest lesson to be had when trying to get into a game like this is not the tutorial, not getting into training mode – It’s going online. One of the best players I know warned me about something when I got into the Blazblue series, and it stands true here – Don’t waste time in ranked. If you want to play against people and get better, go into the online casual lobbies. That’s where all the skilled players are. BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is an incredible game with sharp mechanics, amazing characters, but it’s definitely going to be a challenge to master. All ArcSys games (hell, all fighting games really) are like that.

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Gotta grind hard to get good.

The only serious negative in the books for BB: CTB is that approximately half the cast is locked behind paid DLC, and we’ve known that for about a year now. Those DLC characters do appear in the story mode, so that tells me they’re all there, and able to be played, but locked behind a DLC paywall which reminds me of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. So many fighting games these days leap to the DLC character list, and a few characters, I’m probably not going to argue. Tekken 7 had what, three? But Street Fighter V is working on their third full season of characters, and it is not a business model that I agree with on a personal level. Though speaking of the story, I can’t really talk about it here in this review, but it is pretty damn funny and worth a spin around. It seems to be less complicated than your standard BlazBlue storyline, which to me is a godsend. I still don’t really know everything about the BB story, except that it’s nuts, and that Terumi is a pretty giant dick.

Can’t Escape from Crossing Fate: 4/5

I seriously love this game. I mean, really. There’s so much fanservice and love for each of these series, and you can tell hard work was put into the creation of it. The gameplay is so smooth, and while I have a lot to learn, I’m going to enjoy doing it. Though I do want to share something that a good and dear friend send to me. I get very frustrated when learning a fighting game because I (like many others) get wrapped up in “trying to win”.  Trying to Win has ruined a number of games for me because they no longer feel “fun” because I’m not focusing on what’s important. I’m here to learn and grow – winning is just the icing on the cake. I would get so wrapped up this week, seeing players with 80 wins and I’m here just trying to get one or two. Learning is a process, and with thanks to Takanub, and Core-A Gaming, I’m rediscovering what matters. I’m glad BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle landed in my lap because now I have something to study and practice that will help me grow as a player, and as a person. With that said, this game is incredible, outside of the DLC debacle. That is a hill I won’t back down from, and I’m sincerely disappointed so many characters are DLC right out of the gate. Outside of that, it’s a wonderful game and has a lot to offer fans of the 2D fighting genre.

Realm Royale Enters Steam Early Access

Realm Royale Hunter

 

Choose your class and be the last champion standing in Realm Royale, the new battle royale game from Hi-Rez Studios which enters free-to-play Early Access on Steam.

Players begin each round of Realm Royale by selecting one of five traditional fantasy classes. Each class offers a unique playstyle; Mages can soar above the battlefield and rain down fireballs, while Engineers deploy turrets and shields in hero shooter-style combat.

“Realm Royale’s class-based, ability-driven combat brings a new experience to the battle royale genre,” said Rory “Drybear” Newbrough, Realm Royale Executive Producer. “It’s a battle royale that feels like the perfect mixture of an open-world PvP MMO and your favorite hero shooter.”

Each round unfolds in true battle royale style, with 100 players dropping from a zeppelin into a massive fantasy-inspired map full of goblin villages and mushroom forests. Players loot weapons and abilities from chests as the fog closes in, customizing their character and effectively creating their own personal champion. In another fantasy twist, players are able to summon a mount at any time to quickly cover open ground and get right into the action.

Realm Royale’s Squad-focused design adds to the excitement as players join each match as part of a four-player team working together to win the Crown Royale. The classes are designed to support one another, with Assassins planting Sensor Drones to scout for their teammates, while Warriors can toss Shielding Potions to protect squishy Hunters.

Forges located throughout the map become focal points for conflict as players craft unique Legendary Weapons, fight for control or look to stealthily steal weapons, driving action throughout the match.

“You can’t win a round of Realm Royale by hiding in a bathtub,” Newbrough said. “Gameplay elements like Forges reward players for staying active and taking risks.”

Realm Royale started development as “Paladins: Battlegrounds,” announced in January at the annual Hi-Rez Expo as a new mode for the hit hero shooter Paladins. After seeing positive feedback to the mode’s announcement, Hi-Rez Studios spun off Realm Royale as a standalone game with a larger scope.

To download Realm Royale and play free now, visit www.RealmRoyale.com or https://store.steampowered.com/app/813820/.

Eonia Early Access Preview

By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)

Growing up, I logged a lot of time playing adventure games under the LucasArts banner: ‘Sam and Max Hit the Road’, ‘Loom’, ‘Secret of Monkey Island’, and ‘Day of the Tentacle’. These were adventure games where you had to discover and combine things in order to advance to the next part of the story, where you would find a new puzzle that often required you go all the way back to the beginning of the game to unlock a chest you saw in the first act with a paperclip you found in the third. Judging by first impressions, if you took a LucasArts adventure game, slipped it a mickey and set it up for a naughty romp with early 3D Legend of Zelda games, the lovechild would be Eonia. And I mean that in the best way possible.

For as long as he can remember, young Albius wanted to be the apprentice of Master Enodio. At last his moment of triumph is at hand, and upon reaching adulthood on his fifteenth birthday, the hero of our story sets out for his Master’s tower to begin his new life. On reaching the tower, alas, he finds not the Master, but instead a set of directions on tasks to complete. First up: Larceny!

No, seriously. The very first thing the Master does is have you learn to pick locks (which has a minigame that you might find familiar). The only thing better than this is the fact that when you do pick the lock you get a sword – which you learn how to use by reading a book. Once you stop having fun riding the elevator, anyway.

All kidding aside, I can’t help but find myself intrigued and enraptured by Eonia. Created by a single developer named H Juan M Silvetti, and produced by Poysky Productions, Eonia is a self-proclaimed labor of love. That love shows through in the detail-oriented gameplay. You’re encouraged repeatedly to take your time, explore, read carefully, and think. You find many letters and written clues in the game and it is in these that the impetus of the story is carried; from Master Enodio’s instructions on how to commit petty crime, to well-wishes left by your mysteriously absent best friend. You would do well to read anything you come across if you want to advance, both in the main story and in the subquests.

Eonia Quote

Another of the driving forces of the game is recording information about the Alebrije-like wildlife you encounter along the way in your trusty appendix, the “Beastarium”. Typically, in the early game at least, you have a picture on a page, along with a name; it’s suggested that you can add more blank pages to the book later in the game, after visiting a specific NPC. Once you’ve spotted the creature, you have to get close enough with your spyglass to observe and record its behaviors. Once this is done you can return to Master Enodio’s tower where the Beastarium is kept and unlock the information about the creature, which will in turn give you tips about how to defeat or bypass said creature, if necessary.

I found the concept of multiple methods of ‘defeating’ an enemy to be one of the cooler aspects of the game. Many adversaries can be defeated in more than one way. Yes, you can go in hack-and-slash sometimes (or lob spears from a distance in certain cases), but other times, even on the same foe, you might choose a more subtle approach, such as finding something that creature dislikes or its natural enemy, and using that to thwart your obstacle instead.

The next thing that I must talk about is the style of the game. I find it to just be completely and utterly relaxing to play. The music is soothing and pleasant. The animations aren’t clunky… mostly. Best of all, the game is really freaking pretty. It almost feels like you’re meandering through a Dr. Seuss book. I found myself wandering around to look behind this rock or that, climbing things, ducking under fallen trees to get to hidden nooks, usually to be rewarded for my curiosity in some way or another. Eonia is definitely a game that reinforces the adventurous and explorative spirit. Sometimes, it also just encourages standing in one spot and watching the leaves flutter in the wind, as though hypnotized.

I really can’t wait to play more of Eonia as content updates roll out. As it stands I’ve been seeing at least one update per day for the game, sometimes more. H Juan M Silvetti is hard at work on his project -which is good, as it needs that work. The title launched into Early Access on Steam May 24th, 2018. With the status of Early Access comes bugs, missing content, and tweaks needed. The translations to English can be a bit rough around the edges, but the meanings can generally be discerned. What’s not to understand about “All your base are belong to us”, after all?

The game also has a variety of other features that I haven’t really touched upon because I’ve only seen the vaguest hints about them. Crafting appears to be a major part of the game, as well as gathering and cartography. In order to unlock the map for a given area, you have to climb a cartography tower and use your spyglass to orient the cardinal directions. Once done, you’ll see the points of interest on the map for you to explore.

Eonia Cartography

On the first map, these include a number of mail towers (one of which your best friend works at), a fishing dock, a mine, and several other places of note. Alas, at the time of writing this article, I wasn’t able to progress far enough into the game to tell you how some of those features work or how entertaining they might or might not be. If future features follow the pattern set by what’s already in the game, they promise to be a delight.

If you still feel fondly for late 80’s/early 90’s adventure titles, and would enjoy playing them in a modernized first-person format, I think you’ll find yourself being drawn heavily into Eonia. I believe there’s a lot that could appeal to fans of games like Animal Crossing as well, though I can’t quite put my finger on why. Call it a hunch. Perhaps just the style and feel of the game, with its bright vivid colors and calming mindset. Eonia is the type of game that many people will enjoy coming home to play after a stressful day at work, where they want to just escape to someplace far more pleasant.