Yearly Archives: 2018

The Sinking City

Developed by Frogwares games and published by Bigben studios, The Sinking City is coming March 21st of 2019 to PC, XB1, and PS4.

Features:

Horror: Nobody did horror like Lovecraft, and Frogwares have stayed true to the dark scribe’s macabre works, bringing them to Oakmont, Massachusetts.

Investigation: Find clues in everything, without the game pointing them out like a giant billboard. You’ll truly have to use your wits to solve the mystery of the sinister flood plaguing this town.

Open World: Traverse flooded streets any way you wish, but beware what lies beneath the surface of the murky waters of Oakmont.

Path of Motus Review

By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)

“Stop.”

“No.”

“Can’t”

“Failure.”

Some people argue words have no power. Others argue that the pen is mightier than the sword. In The Path of Motus, words do indeed have power: the power to destroy. Taking control of the titular goblin, Motus, you set forth from your village on a journey of self discovery and perseverance.

For generations your village has been surrounded by a forest. Other goblins have set off into the forest, but inevitably they return, having succumbed to the challenges they’ve faced. Armed with a magic paintbrush that he inherited from his father, Motus is determined that he will be the first from his village to see what lies beyond. In order to do this, though, he’ll need your help.

Bullies abound along the path whose words can also harm. “Hey,” they’ll shout, or “Nope,” and their words are projected towards you. If they connect with you they’ll force you to respawn a short ways back and try again. You can choose to dodge their words, or use your own to defend yourself.

Sometimes you can even dodge the confrontation altogether, and doing so will reward you with a “high road” award. Taking the high road is often quite difficult, but it does feel quite satisfying when you do!

These aren’t the only challenges you’ll face along the way either. From time to time you’ll come to a gulf that you cannot cross, or a block that hinders your progress. During these times you’ll pull out your trusty paintbrush and solve a puzzle to remove the blocks, or build a bridge, before you continue on.

Motus sets out as a mere 6 year old goblin, but as you progress through the game he’ll grow into a teenager, and then an adult. You’ll also see signs of those who have gone before; namely, Motus’ father, who initially tried to talk him out of setting out, and coming to work on the farm instead.

All in all, the game is a good deal of fun. The early challenges are very basic, but I feel this is just to introduce you to the mechanics in a sort of working tutorial. As you progress some of them are downright frustrating. At one point I kept falling, over and over again, and as I did the game began taunting me. “Just quit the game,” it suggested, “Go do something else, you’re bad at this.” To be honest, it started to get to me, and I almost did as it pressured. I managed to get through it though and boy was it satisfying!

There’s not really too much more I can say about The Path of Motus without spoiling a great deal. The Path of Motus has a message that needs to be experienced first hand. We live in a world where the same people who have decried empathy to be weakness suggest that others should act with more civility. We need to open our hearts and think about what we say, and question how those words might affect the person we direct them at.

I will say that the music and sound play an integral part of The Path of Motus and you absolutely must play with the volume turned on. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Final Rating: Great (4.5/5)

Tanglewood Released Today on Steam and SEGA Mega Drive Cartridge

Turns out the SEGA Mega Drive is alive and well! Tanglewood releases today not only on Steam, but on a SEGA cartridge, complete with old-school box. British independent games studio, Big Evil Corporation released their debut game, a puzzle-platformer, Tanglewood. It’s an authentic 16-bit adventure for Steam, which is available for 17.99. The cartridge version can be found here for 54.00 pounds. Tanglewood was inspired by the SEGA’s classic sidescrollers from Virgin, such as The Lion King and Aladdin, mixed with a certain Blue Hedgehog.

The player controls the fox-like Nymn, who is lost in the dark and dangerous wilds of the Tanglewood. Nymn is desperate to return to his family pack and must survive being hunted by several dangerous beasts. Other creatures, however, will assist Nymn, providing color-changing power-ups to help him on his journey home. Expect chases, puzzles, tricks, and traps, demanding boss fights and many surprises along the way.

Unlike older games, the Mega Drive version of Tanglewood is playable on PAL, NTSC and NTSC-J consoles. The Steam version of the game includes the Mega Drive ROM file, allowing flash cartridge owners to play it on original SEGA hardware.

“My aim for Tanglewood was to create it in the same way as my favourite games from my childhood,” says Phillips. “This idea has been brewing since I was nine years old – the kid in me has long wanted to see my very own Mega Drive box on a store shelf!

The Unexpendables are Back with Jagged Alliance: Rage!

We all age, and it’s always a steady slow decline. But while the heart gets weaker, the knees might ache, there’s still a job to do. Sometimes you just have to clock in, ignite a rebellion, overthrow a dictator or just kill some bad guys. That’s what the mercenaries of Jagged Alliance have been doing these past 20 years. And now Ivan Dolvich, Helmut “Grunty” Grunther, Kyle “Shadow” Simmons and the other infamous fighters have a mission again when they’re stranded behind enemy lines: survive! Jagged Alliance: Rage! is currently in development for PC, Playstation 4, and the Xbox One consoles, and is aiming at a Fall 2018 release. The price is scheduled to be 19.99 on PC and 29.99 on consoles. The name of the game is to survive, with only a few allies and a whole island ruled by a drug kingpin who wants you dead, and has a crazed army that is willing to do just that.

Jagged Alliance: Rage! is the first game to be published by HandyGames, the latest family member of the THQ Nordic network. HandyGames will act as an independent publisher, focussing on small and mid-sized projects or 3rd-party indie games.

The Features:

• 2 Player online co-op mode

• Deep turn-based tactical gameplay mixed with adventure elements

• Choose a variety of tactics ranging from stealth to brute force

• Strong character personalities with own skills, desires and personal conflicts

• Rage skills: Unique character abilities that get more powerful over the course of the battle

• Powerful Commanders coordinate enemy troops on the battlefields

• Face terrifying experimental drugs and use them to manipulate your enemies

Dark Souls: Remastered for Nintendo Switch Receives Release Date

Dark Souls Remastered Announcement Trailer _ Switch, PS4, X1, PC - YouTube

Bandai Namco has officially confirmed the release date for both Dark Souls: Remastered on the Nintendo Switch and the Solaire of Astora amiibo. Both will arrive on October 19th, 2018, and an online Network Test will be scheduled prior to its release, more info on that will be available soon. With the unique portable capabilities of the Nintendo Switch, players will be able to experience the “Souls” challenge anywhere they want, from decrepit towns, deserted castles, and much more. Adapting to the challenges ahead is key to success in the Dark Souls franchise, and having it in a portable format is sure to be exciting.