Yearly Archives: 2018

Wreckfest Review

By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)

People turn to a wide variety of sources for stress relief. Some people like to shop. Other folks might eat away their woes. I’ve even heard that some people like to exercise to take the tension off. None of those methods have ever been quite as effective for me as getting behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle and slamming into another while going 90+ miles per hour. Of course, doing this in real life would get me arrested. Thankfully, there’s Wreckfest! Now I have a place to get my cathartic crunch, without doing 6-10 in the state pen.

Wreckfest was developed by Bugbear Entertainment Ltd, based in Finland. These guys have been making racing games since 2000, including games similar to Wreckfest such as Flatout and Rally Trophy. One could even say that Wreckfest is something of a blend between the two, offering a wide variety of rally style races in vehicles that have definitely seen better days – and are about to see a lot worse.

In Wreckfest players get behind the wheel of a number of different vehicles in different classes; there are compact, midsize and full-size vehicles from America, Asian and European markets. American and European markets also offer a range of wagon class vehicles, which includes an El Camino as well as an SUV. For the more eccentric minded, there are even races and demolition derbies including buses and lawn-tractors, as well as the mighty combine harvester.

There are two main modes to Wreckfest, demolition and racing, each with various sub-modes. In demolition there are Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, and Last Man Standing. Races can include elimination races (where after each lap, the last place car and whoever crashes out are eliminated), banger races, and team races. Different races can be restricted to different classes of cars, etc. All in all, there’s a TON of race diversity.

The events themselves are broken into three playstyles: career mode, custom events, and multiplayer. Career mode is single player and involves collecting championship points from each race or event, which allows you to advance your career from Regional Juniors to World Masters. Custom Events are great for experimenting with different vehicles in limited scale events, such as a school bus demolition derby.

Wreckfest Buspit

Multiplayer is, in my opinion, where the game really shines, allowing you to take your skills online to play against other players, or a mix of players and bots. There are a number of servers players can join, including official dedicated servers hosted by Bugbear. Players also have the option to host a server for specific races. Let me just say, you haven’t lived until you’ve hopped on a riding-mower against 23 other players in a no-holds-barred digital deathmatch.

Wreckfest also has quite the community of players behind it. There’s an active Discord where people can (and do) seek and offer help, share mods (also available via Steam workshop), and set up races or tournaments. I truly haven’t seen any elements of online toxicity that sometimes crops up with games played over the internet, and it’s refreshing.

Among the mods that you can find are skins for cars, paint styles, and new race tracks. The paint jobs are one of the main focal points of cosmetic modifications. You can alter which logos appear, and then additionally change the color of various panels. All in all, this gives you the ability to design a car that feels uniquely yours. It doesn’t stop there though. Most vehicles also have spoilers, rims, and other accessories you can add.

Both in and out of races, you’ll be treated to a variety of Rock and Metal music tracks to get, and keep, your blood pumping. I really and truly enjoyed the soundtrack, to the point where I found it on YouTube and have listened to it while doing dishes or other tedious tasks to make them more enjoyable.

Graphically, the game does leave a bit to be desired. I feel like they’re something I could have gotten from a PS3 game. This certainly doesn’t make them bad graphics, because let’s face it, PS3 had great graphics. At the same time, it doesn’t feel like any real effort was made to advance the craft, and for a game from a AAA publisher that wants 44.99, I would like to see more. For example, when your car gets banged up, the door gets dented in, and the driver’s body is warped with the damage. This in many ways just feels lazy to me, amusing though it might be to see.

I mentioned before that you customize your vehicle aesthetically, but (arguably) more importantly you can also customize its performance. This is done in two ways: 1) by upgrading parts, and 2) by tuning the vehicle.

Parts upgrades includes a variety of familiar things: sports and racing cams, sports and racing pistons, sports and racing cooling systems, etc. Why someone would in reality slap expensive parts into what is essentially a junker, I’m not sure, but hey, vidya games, right?

You can additionally fine tune aspects of the car; gear ratio, suspension, differential, and brake balance. It’s nice because when you select any of the bars for these adjustments the game tells you what you get from different settings. On the downside, you’re limited to 5 specific settings for each aspect. This means that while you can tune your vehicle, it is only within a very strict range. Your gear ratio is “long” or “short” for all gears, for example, or “default” in the middle, as opposed to games like Gran Turismo where you can adjust each gear individually.

Wreckfest Sliders

One other minor complaint is that while the tuning window does give you some guidance on what you’re doing, there are really no tutorials otherwise. Sometimes you might glean a bit of info from a loading screen, but the chances of it coming up before you might have needed that information are low. This isn’t a critical failure, and you can bluster through things with trial and error to an extent, I still felt that some degree of instruction could have been beneficial.

All in all, I had a lot of fun with Wreckfest. There are certainly some really great features to it. The tracks, the scenery, the music and the cars themselves. The fact that the community can create cars and tracks is also a huge boost. I really wish I could give both thumbs up on this game, and urge everyone to go out and buy it. Unfortunately, I feel like the fun I did have is bound to wear off after a short amount of time, and there’s not a lot to do in the long haul. I’m not sure that lawnmower battles would ever entirely get old, but I don’t know if I could play them over and over again all evening. Usually 1-2 matches of that type is good for an unwind, and then I go do some house chores (while listening to the game’s soundtrack on YouTube).


“Howdie!”

Some people might enjoy the races long term, but I think that crowd is going to be limited, and with the game’s real shine being online play, you’d need a much wider audience to create a strong playerbase to keep each other entertained. In my mind, I just don’t see there being enough people willing to pay out 45 bucks for something that generally lacks innovation in a racing game, and I think that’s going to be the downfall of the game. By the time they start having regular sales, it’ll probably be too late to recover the playerbase they need. I do hope that Bugbear can prove me wrong. We’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I hope to see you on the derby grounds. Don’t be a stranger, come say howdie!

Final Score: 3.5/5 (Good)

 

Endless Space 2 – Supremacy – Prologue

Endless Space 2‘s expansion, Supremacy will feature a new faction of The Hissho. They are fearless and dangerous, and always looking for volunteers for their sacrifices. Their main feature is Keii, or honor, which is replenished through combat and powers special abilities that can boost your systems or fleets. The Hissho also include a minor faction, the Illo, which are machines bent on eliminating any species that is unlikely to survive. This expansion arrives on August second and can be pre-ordered here.

Deiland Launch August Release Date Announced

Starting on August 9th, 2018, players can join prince Arco on his grand adventure, as Deiland goes live on Steam! Deiland is a singleplayer survival strategy game with a variety of RPG elements. It tells a story about small planets and their tiny caretakers that look after them. It will be up to Prince Arco who lands on the smallest planet, Deiland to care for it. From constructing buildings, gathering resources, establishing relationships with other planets, to defending Deiland from pirates, it will be available to experience in August 2018. It can be found at this Steam link.

Features of Deiland:

  • A captivating story with 12 unique characters and over 100 diverse quests.
  • RPG elements. Raise Arco’s skills to tend Deiland even better!
  • The possibility to shape Deiland to your liking. Starting on a pristine planet, it will be in your power to craft tools, harvest crops, fish, hunt, gather ore, build workshops, labs, and many more various structures.
  • A multitude of crafting recipes that need to be obtained from the stellar merchants.
  • Adventures. Protect Deiland from alien raiders!
  • Interplanetary travels and intriguing acquaintances.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom DLC Details Announced

Ni no Kuni 2 Review - Explosions

Cool guys don’t look at explosions.

King Evan’s quest has not ended quite yet! Bandai Namco announced three pieces of DLC for Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, the first of which is expected to launch in August and continue through into 2019. The two larger DLC drops, part of the Season Pass will be released this winter and early 2019 respectively. The Season Pass is available for purchase at an MSRP of 19.99.

Adventure Pack DLC #1 – A new challenge for experienced players. The Adventure Pack adds additional floors to the Faraway Forest Cave, two new bosses; Blackhart and Zeta, and new quests that will be unlocked after completing the game’s story. Evan and his friends will find new costumes and additional rewards to acquire in the Adventure Pack, which will be free to all Ni no Kuni II: REVENANT KINGDOM players.

(Season Pass) DLC #2 – Available this winter, this DLC will feature a brand new enigmatic dungeon for players to explore. Evan and friends will plumb the depths of this cryptic dungeon facing increasingly stronger enemies while trying to reach its deepest levels. The journey will be difficult, but the reward will surely be worth it!

(Season Pass) DLC #3 – Expected to release early 2019, an additional story expansion of Ni no Kuni II: REVENANT KINGDOM will be available full of exciting content.

The Banner Saga Trilogy Now Available

Stoic and Versus Evil is proud to announce that the Banner Saga 3 has officially launched, which is the third and final part of the BAFTA-Nominated RPG. It’s now available on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch. This will bring the story to a climax in a tragic and epic form, where players can experience the saga from beginning to end. Starting today, “Banner Saga Trilogy” editions can be found in digital form, and the physical versions for Playstation 4, Xbox One will be available on July 27th. the Nintendo Switch physical release will not be until September 21st. The final journey beyond the wall of darkness will no doubt shock and surprise players, whether they are new to the series or long-time veterans, and choices made in the previous two Banner Saga games will be carried over, while new players will receive a set of default options to play with.

“The end has come.. and it’s hard to fathom that this award winning series has come to its conclusion.”, said Steve Escalante, founder of Versus Evil. “This trilogy is for those that have been waiting for all three games, now is the time to jump in. We started this adventure with Stoic, nearly five years ago and we couldn’t be more proud of the wonderful partnership we have forged on this amazing series. Congratulations to the Stoic team and their supporters. Together you have all created one of the greatest indie titles of our time.”

Steel Division 2 Brings Iconic Tactical RTS to the Eastern Front

Eugen Systems, makers of the Wargame series is pleased to share a first-look for the sequel to Steel Division: Normandy 44, Steel Division 2. Set during Operation Bagration (a gigantic Soviet offensive set in the summer of 1944), Steel Division will let players enjoy massive, frenetic 10v10 multiplayer battles, and hundreds of historically authentic units as well as brand-new, turn-based, single-player ‘Dynamic Strategic Campaigns’. These will offer a replayable experience where players relive history thanks to every detail being realized on a 1:1 scale, from the order of battle down to units, maps, and combat. Each turn will equal a half day, allowing players to plan their strategy and encounters down to the last detail.  Steel Division 2 significantly expands on the real-time tactical battles featured in its predecessor, transporting the player to the massive battlefields of the Eastern Front and offering them a chance to command over 600 units fielded by the Red Army and the Axis powers.

“We’ve made a lot of improvements to Steel Division 2 based on direct feedback from our most avid fans of Steel Division: Normandy 44,” explained Alexis Le Dressay, Game Director and Eugen Systems cofounder. “For instance, we know they will love the new single-player Dynamic Strategic Campaigns. But we are planning much more for Steel Division 2. Expect more details about new features and units after Gamescom 2018. The game is a true passion project for us, and we hope players look forward to seeing more as development continues.”

Key Features:
  • Brand-new turn-based Dynamic Strategic Campaigns
  • New setting, the Eastern Front, with the mighty Red Army and Axis powers
  • Over 600 historically accurate units across 18 new divisions
  • Realistic battlefields spread across 25 different maps
  • Substantial changes to the Deck building mechanics
  • New, realistic art direction to deliver a more immersive visual style
  • Revamped combat offering a more refined tactical experience
  • Host of game modes, offline and online, including co-op and massive 10v10 multiplayer battles

Blossom & Decay – A Pixelart Sandbox MMO Joins Square-Enix Collective

Blossom & Decay joins Square-Enix Collective

Blossom & Decay is a title in development for both browsers and mobile devices with the goal of creating an emergent narrative in a massive, retro-style MMORPG.  They see it as a game world that is constantly shaped by its citizens, and all of the game’s mechanics will serve the idea that the players build and determine everything. This means from respawn points, buildings, cities, networks and quests, even down to laws. The world starts in an empty, vast wilderness with no main quest or ‘Gandalf’ NPCs to guide them. Instead of scripted story-lines, players create their own narratives through a wide set of social mechanics and external pressure from dynamic PvE. Monsters spawn everywhere and drift in higher amounts toward settlements. Monster groups can also be intercepted, diverged and lured. Players must fight as allies to figure out ways to protect their treasures and lands.

There are many levels of play, from being a hermit farmer, being in a mercenary gang, or running a trade clan. The pace will be enhanced by the AI that runs things while players go offline, allowing configuration of their avatar’s tasks and behavior. So you can go from highly involved action combat on PC to asynchronous management of crafting and trade processes with your phone. From active to casual so that time-investment doesn’t become a total advantage.  If you enjoy this concept, we encourage you to vote for it on the Square-Enix collective, where it will be promoted for the next ten days. Blossom & Decay can be found here.

“We wanted to develop a title founded on this vision of emergent narrative for years –like a mix that brought together the best of EVE and Ultima, but accessible and playable for a larger user base– and we were astonished how little the topic was addressed in AAA titles. We came from playing pen & paper games and wondered why digital games can not have the same level of “making your own story”? Often, the classic film-like cutscene-narrative as well as the theme park character of large MMOGs seemed to get in the way.”