Yearly Archives: 2018

Dragon Quest XI – The Legend of the Luminary (E3 2018)

The next addition to the legendary Dragon Quest franchise is coming – Dragon Quest XI, Legend of the Luminary! The Pre-order is available in limited quantities from the Square Enix Online Store, and includes the following:

  • The “Edition of Light” version of the game for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system*
    • Including Supplicant, an accessory with the power to restore magic points, Healer, an accessory with the power to restore hit points,  and 3 Seeds of Skill, a consumable item which confer a players extra skill points.
  • Companion Compendium – a 128-page hardback art book featuring concept art and famed artist Akira Toriyama’s early designs
  • Symphonic Suite – a 2-disc set featuring orchestrated versions of in-game music
  • The Map of Erdrea – a 20”x15” cloth map
  • A Collectible Steelbook® Case
  • Bonus Digital Content – including Pep Pop, a drink that immediately peps up all active allies, and 15 more Seeds of Skill, which confer players extra skill points.**

 

Bethesda E3 2018 Presentation Recap

By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)

 

Ever since their spectacle of a stream on Twitch.tv on May 29th, we’ve been “Standing By” for some big reveals from Bethesda. Speculation ran rampant on what exactly “Fallout 76” would have in store for us. Everything from a Rust-like survival game to a Battle Royale had been theorized after our first brief teaser, showing us Vault 76. The first real look at the next Fallout installment came not during the Bethesda conference, but at Microsoft’s. Be that as it may, Bethesda gave us plenty to talk about during their own show, which followed a video prompt on Twitch and YouTube, and of course, a pre-show. We’ve also got Elder Scrolls and Fallout coverage, but this article is just for the rest of the amazing Bethesda spread, including the announcement of an all new franchise that Todd Howard described as “Epic.”

The pre-show reminded us of some of the previous E3 showcases, including Doom, Fallout Shelter and ESO Unlimited. Bethesda wasn’t above using attractive nerdy girls or puppies to try to make an emotional bond with their audience. Nor could they resist mentioning some of their favorite Nintendo Switch ports (cough Skyrim cough). This was followed by a montage of Bethesda games; Evil Within 2, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, and… Skyrim VR.

They wrapped up the pre-show by replaying the Teaser for Fallout 76 and promising that they had a lot more to reveal during the showcase. They did not disappoint. In case you missed it the first couple hundred times it’s been shared around the internet over the past couple weeks, we’ve got you covered.

The showcase was hosted by Bethesda’s Global VP, Pete Hines, whose stage presence lit up an excited crowd. Bethesda dedicated this year’s presentation to “Create”, and nodded to the creative contributions of the players in their franchises.

Hines began by taking a couple digs at Wal-Mart Canada, who dropped the ball and leaked information of the forthcoming Rage sequel by placing a listing for the game on their website.

Next, Andrew W.K. took stage with a performance of “Ready to Die”, the backdrop to the trailer for Rage 2. Sorry Bethesda, but if the audience’s reactions didn’t tell you that whoever had this bright idea should be sacked, then I’ll do it. While this wasn’t the worst part of the show… wait, yes it was. Please don’t do it again.

CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

After the uh, “performance”, there was an endearingly awkward scene with Tim Willits of id software (Doom, Quake, Rage) and Magnus Nedfors of Avalance Studios (Just Cause 1-3).

Some of the big feature reveals for Rage 2 included utilizing Avalanche studio’s open world talent to enhance Rage’s gameplay. Brief mentions were made of the guns and the vehicles featured in the game before the gameplay trailer featuring Walker. A ranger with super powers. From.. Texas maybe? Despite itself, the trailer for Rage 2 looks like it offers some incredibly fun gameplay, if nothing terribly innovative.

Down the road a bit, Bethesda showed us a gory tableau that could only mean one thing: DOOM. In this case, Doom Eternal. Marty Stratton & Hugo Martin staggered through their presentation, offering few details, but lots of thanks. Thankfully, we’re expected to see more about Doom Eternal at QuakeCon in August. Make sure to check back with us for that coverage!

Joshua Boyle, Community Manager for Quake Champions stepped up next, talking about QuakeCon and esports, claiming to be the progenitors of competitive digital gaming. Quake Champions seems to be trying to keep itself accessible to a wide audience of player types, serious and casual. The early access for Quake Champions is being opened to the public for trial. If you download this week you can play for free through the early access, even after the trial closes.

Arcane studios started off by thanking their fanbase in a video, that also announced the rollout of a free update for Prey offering 3 new modes: Story Mode, Survival Mode, and the begged for New Game+. A DLC was also announced: Mooncrash. This DLC seems to create a sort of randomizer/roguelike functionality for the game, making hazards, enemies, and loot all change up each playthrough. After the video the Arcane studio reps also share word of a new PvP mode for Prey which basically amounts to deadly hide and go seek. 1 player must find and defeat 5 others, who take the role of mimics, blending in with their environment.

Next we heard from Jerk Gustafsson and Jens Mathies from Machine Games who shared that Wolfenstein II The New Colossus is coming to the Nintendo Switch on June 29th.

The next project in the franchise fast forwards the setting to 1980 in Paris, France: Wolfenstein: Youngblood. A Co-op game featuring BJ’s twin daughters who follow in their Father’s footsteps, kicking Nazi ass up the street and back. If you haven’t been waiting half your life for a Wolfenstein game with a Co-op mode, I don’t even want to know you anymore. THIS Wolfenstein game with a Co-op mode looks amazing. Vive la résistance!

Thankfully, Phil Hines came back to the stage next. As cute as the awkwardness of some of the previous presenters was, I was starting to feel like the chaperone at a dance for pre-teens. Phil stepped it up by mentioning Bethesda’s strides into VR, with Doom, Skyrim, and Fallout 4. Tonight he announced that two more of the Bethesda IPs were entering virtual reality: Prey, and Wolfenstein. Prey’s hide-and-seek-like Typhon Hunter will be VR compatible, and Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot will be a standalone offering in which you play as a hacker who infiltrates Nazi war machines and turns them against their former masters. One more step on the path to, quoting Phil Hines, “bring our message of FUCK NAZIS to every platform possible.” His words, not mine (But I love them, and him for them!) Attendees of E3 even had the chance to try the VR games out on the main floor, but the rest of us will have to wait a while longer.

The majority of the next 45 minutes was so awesome that it caused a disruption in the space time continuum, and had to be made into a separate article. You can find that here.

In the meantime, we’ll fast forward to where Todd Howard tells us of Bethesda’s plans to release an all new single player game in the company’s first entirely original franchise in 25 years: Starfield. Little information was given for the title beyond involving space, being epic, and having the folks at Bethesda pretty excited. I have to admit, I’ve been saying they’re long overdue for an original concept for a while now, and am pretty eager to see what the future holds.

Outside of what we’ve got for Elder Scrolls news and Fallout 76, that pretty much sums up the Bethesda E3 2018 offering. Despite some of the awkward presentations, several of the games have me hyped, with startling graphics, and Bethesda’s continuing dedication to push technology into the next generation. QuakeCon in August should give us some more juicy tidbits, but until then, you’ll just have to hold onto your BFG9000. In the meantime, stop by our forums at https://www.onrpg.com/boards/ and tell us what you think of Bethesda’s E3 offerings, or anything else that might be on your mind!

Bethesda E3 2018: Elder Scrolls Recap

By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)

 

While Todd Howard might have stolen the show with his Fallout 76 presentation during the Bethesda segment of the 2018 E3 convention, the Elder Scrolls franchise also had some interesting showings. In case you missed it, do make sure to watch the self-deprecating video that Howard started off his presentation with, to get you in the Elder Scrolls mood.

 

Several people took the stage to discuss various parts of the Elder Scrolls franchise coming up. Howard himself wrapped his segment by presenting us with an interesting offering: “The Elder Scrolls: Blades”. In Blades, you’ll take the role of a member of one of the Empire’s top agents in an organization sharing the titular name. Formerly exiled from your home, you return there to find it destroyed. In Blades’ “town” mode, you’ll be tasked with rebuilding the town. This responsibility comes with perks, however, as you’ll get to shape the appearance of your town. As you progress along the path of rebuilding new NPCs will appear, offering new quests, and new building options will become available. There will also be a procedurally generated/rogue-like mode called “Abyss” where a player can fight against an endless dungeon to see how far they can make it. You’ll also be able to enter the arena and engage in player-vs-player combat.

This game will be going beyond any previous concepts of ‘cross platform’ that we’ve seen before. Not only will the game be offered on PCs, tablets, phones, consoles and even virtual reality systems, but all of those platforms will be able to communicate with each other, in any of the game’s 3 modes. The real exciting part is the fact that they’re bringing amazing console level graphics to next gen mobile devices.

No release date has been give for “The Elder Scrolls: Blades”, other than Howard saying the game will arrive this fall. He did, however, give us its price: free. What sort of microtransactions might monetize this game is unknown. You can pre-register for the game as of now at playblades.com, and possibly gain early access. You can also pre-order on the AppStore or GooglePlay for Apple and Android devices respectively.

Before leaving the stage, Todd Howard also whet the appetites of the audience by giving the merest hint of a suggestion of a taste of the much desired, Elder Scrolls 6. Aside from the video, all we really know is that we probably won’t see the game until well after the next E3.

Matt Firor, president of Zenimax Online, took the stage next in order to discuss the future of “Elder Scrolls: Online”. Matt gave a nod to the incredible pool of designers and creators working at Zenimax on bringing us all ESO, then took a stab at sharing his experiences within the game as a player. Next, we heard about the successful launch of ESO’s latest expansion, Summerset, and two future content additions. A dungeon involving werewolves, as well as a story dungeon set in Blackmarsh which will expand upon the lore surrounding the Argonian race.

If CCGs are your thing, then hopefully you’ve tried and enjoy “Elder Scrolls: Legends”. If so, you’ll probably be delighted by the announcements offered by Christian Van Hoose. It appears Bethesda’s card game is getting a visual overhaul, and will be expanding its platforms from PC, mac, and mobile to also include the Nintendo Switch, XBox One, and Playstation 4. Furthermore, it seems you’ll be able to link your account to Bethesda.net and save your progress in the cloud, allowing you to access the account from any of the offered devices, and play with others on any device as well.

That’s about all we have for Elder Scrolls from Bethesda for this year, but make sure to keep an eye out for “Elder Scrolls: Online” news right here, and check back with us next year to get all the scuttlebutt about Elder Scrolls 6! In the meantime, don’t forget to see our general Bethesda overview for E3 2018, and our in depth coverage of the exciting Fallout 76!

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise Announcement Trailer (E3 2018)

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is coming to North America and Europe on October 2nd, 2018. From the developer of the Yakuza franchise (Ryu ga Gotoku Studio), Hokuto no Ken: Lost Paradise is a high-octane action-adventure RPG set in the world of the Fist of the North Star manga. Kenshiro stars as you progress through an alternate universe of the original story, obliterating hordes of enemies with the Hokuto Shinken techniques. It will also boast the same ludicrous side-missions, wonderful minigames and so much more that fans of the Yakuza studio have come to know and love.

  • Become the Fist of the North Star – Explore an alternate version of the Fist of the North Star canon; take control of Kenshiro as he searches for his lost love Yuria in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. For anyone unfamiliar with the original story, Lost Paradise can be enjoyed as a completely standalone experience.
  • “You Are Already Dead” or “Omae wa Mou Shindeiru?” Why Not Both? – Lost Paradise features English / Japanese dual-track audio, so you can ‘ATATATA!’ in the language of your choosing.
  • Master the Hokuto Shinken Style – Kenshiro’s ultimate assassination techniques, the Hokuto Shinken, are at your disposal in battle. After building up the Seven Star gauge, you can demolish enemies from the inside out with dozens of brutal and iconic Hokuto Shinken techniques, faithfully recreated from the original manga. More lethal techniques will be available as you progress through the story and battles. Keep your fists up!
  • Explore a Lost Paradise and the Wasteland Surrounding It – Even Kenshiro needs the occasional break from beating up thugs. Luckily, even in the dilapidated city of Eden, there’s no shortage of engaging side missions and minigames to take part in. Use the power of Hokuto Shinken to prepare drinks at a bar, manage a struggling nightclub, customize a buggy and race through the barren desert, play retro games at the arcade or your hideout, including the original Fist of the North Star game, and more! Tired of the city? Head out into the wasteland in your buggy to collect materials and complete side missions, but be careful of hidden dangers lurking beyond the dunes!
  • Extra Carnage – Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise features everything available in the original Japanese version, plus extra carnage for the localized version! For the first time, witness the full effects of Kenshiro’s brutal Hokuto Shinken on the lowlifes and thugs of the post-apocalyptic wastes.

 

 

Just Cause 4: Announcement Gameplay Trailer (E3 2018)

Set in the fictional South American world of Solis, Just Cause 4 is coming in hot this December 4th, 2018 for Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC. A key release for Square Enix and a landmark entry into the series, Just Cause 4 brings incredible amounts of destruction and unique physics, with the introduction of tornadoes and other Extreme Weather events. From Rainforests, Grasslands, Alpine and Desert, each area will offer its own simulated weather and challenging events to overcome. In Just Cause 4, Rico Rodriguez is back.

“We’ve taken everything that players loved from our previous games and with brand new features, enhanced physics and core gameplay improvements, we’ve created the most ambitious Just Cause experience to date,” said Francesco Antolini, Game Director at Avalanche Studios. “The introduction of Extreme Weather is a complete game changer – players will not have seen anything like this in a videogame. We have created fully physicalized tornadoes, blizzards, sandstorms and torrential downpours which affect gameplay in a very real way. All of this is now possible thanks to our brand new Apex engine.”

Bethesda E3 2018: Fallout 76 Presentation Recap

By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)

Without a doubt, Executive Producer and Game Designer Todd Howard stole the show with his appearance at the Bethesda conference during the 2018 E3 convention. He was preceded mostly by what felt like an awkward middle school dance, but presented himself as the guy who goes home and bleeps the prom queen. He did so in the most humble fashion possible, however, by starting out with a littler self-deprecating humor. Given that porting Bethesda’s “The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim” to every platform imaginable has taken on a life of its own as a sort of meme, Howard began his presentation with a farcical video involving a port of Skyrim to Amazon’s Echo.

From here, minds were blown. Howard shared that this was his 25th year with Bethesda, and reminisced about E3’s in the past, commenting on the growth of the convention. It’s good that the convention has become what it has, because it took a big stage to hold Howard’s announcements in regards to Fallout 76, none-the-least of which is the fact that you won’t have to wait nearly as long as you think to sink your teeth into this dream, it’ll be here in November of 2018.

Despite each of the previous Fallouts (except Fallout Shelter), back to the original Interplay game, moving forward along the timeline, Fallout 76 is taking us way waaaaay back to the beginning, in the first prequel of the franchise. What we see of the wasteland in the first gameplay trailer (oddly enough debuted during the Microsoft conference), is a whole new wasteland. One that takes place in the majestic green speckled hills of West Virginia. A West Virginia spanning 6 regions and covering 4 times the ground as Fallout 4.

Tercentenary

Howard shares with us that Vault 76 was designed to open on and celebrate the tercentenary of America, from 1776 to 2076. Birth to rebirth. Your character is part of a cadre of the very elite, selected to be an occupant of Vault 76. 25 years are spent within the Vault until Reclamation day. 300 years after the year of America’s first Independence day. The day the vault is opened. In the first part of the video below, we see what appears to be the very first steps a player might take into the new world of West Virginia, before Howard talks to us about the improvements to the engine that Fallout runs on, allowing for impressive new graphics features, including long distance weather rendering. Next he shares with us some of West Virginia’s features, and shows that it’s more than just a pretty John Denver song. He talks about the state’s natural wonders, towns, and even folklore, and how they are all acclimated into the game. From Mothman to the Beast of Grafton, from the West Virginia state Capital of Charleston to the ruins of the famous New River Gorge Bridge, players will feel immersed in Fallout 76’s version of West Virginia.

The real bomb was dropped at the conclusion of this video, though. Howard states that Bethesda has always wanted to tell the story of the opening of the first vault. What makes this story extra special, though, is that each member of Vault 76 will be played by a real person. That’s right, Fallout 76 will be an MMO.

Howard first says that F76 is entirely online. He quickly assures people that there will absolutely be a solo experience before going on to discuss the desirability of a shared Fallout story experience. For 4 years Bethesda has been planning such an endeavor, unable to shake the concept of a Vault occupied entirely by players. He suggests that Fallout 76 should be considered a “Softcore Survival” game (though not in the way that one might describe Softcore in relation to late night cable shows), then promises that dying will not result in loss of progress or character. Howard continues, saying that a player will never see a server selection screen, and that they can expect to see perhaps dozens of players on a server, but never hundreds or thousands, like other MMOs.

Progression it seems will be tied to a character on an account, rather than on a server, and a player can join their friends at any time, on any server. The world of Fallout just got a whole lot bigger, and perhaps a whole lot scarier. Don’t worry though, Vault-Tec prepared this informative video to help you, and your friends, navigate the wastelands. Because of course they did.

What we see here is… well, it’s just beautiful. It’s not a Fallout MMO like Elder Scrolls Online is an Elder Scrolls MMO. No, it’s Fallout, in multiplayer mode, online. No tab targeting, active use of cover, a REAL LMG, and the mother of all Flintlock pistols. This game is Fallout, through and through, but with 100% more Tuba. We get emotes, crafting stations, and mutant tree sloths. Don’t worry, though, you’ll still get to fight deathclaws.

One of the more popular features of Fallout 4 was definitely the building system. Given that you’re going to be one of the first humans to enter the local wastelands, you’re obviously going to need somewhere to hang your fedora. With Fallout 76’s new C.A.M.P. (Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform) system you’ll not only be able to set up a base, complete with defenses, you’ll seemingly be able to pack up that base and move to a new location. Bases will apparently be subject to attack from the denizens of the wastelands; both irradiated foes and former Vault companions. Oh, and players will also be able to acquire nukes. What would a post-nuclear apocalypse be without more nuclear bombs?

Players will be able to team up and assault bases wherein nuclear codes can be obtained, similar to dungeons in other MMOs. Once launched, it appears as though the nukes will not only deal with pesky neighbors the way a bug zapper deals with mosquitoes, but will also leave behind an irradiated field which will offer opportunities for rare loot to players.

The geniuses at Vault-Tec aren’t done yet, though. They’ve also devised a plan most ingenious: The Break-it Early Test Application, or BETA for short. Bethesda will be accepting players to participate in said BETA, in order to make sure that Fallout 76 isn’t a bug-riddled mess, like some titles that we won’t mention.

Hey, did you hear? It’s 2018. That means that you can’t release a Triple-A title without a Collector’s edition! Let’s face it, in the case of Fallout, we wouldn’t want them to. The CE for Fallout 76 is going to offer a map of the game world that glows in the dark. Yeah, you heard me. It glows in the dark. You know you want one, and no, you can’t have mine. There are also little figures that can be placed on the map, or a shelf, or, well, don’t put them anywhere that would get you on the news. Plus… uh…. the collector’s edition will come with a T-51 power armor helmet, complete with functional light and voice modulation unit. Access to the beta appears to be coming with either Power Armor edition, or standard pre-orders, but the date for standard pre-orders has not yet been announced.

 

Shut up and take my Bottlecaps

 

As said earlier in the article, you only have to wait until November for all of this delicious goodness, but if you’re now chomping at the bit to get a Fallout fix, Howard also announced that Fallout Shelter, now celebrating its 3rd birthday, is coming to Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch, 100% free, effective immediately. Having already reached over 120 million people, Fallout Shelter is really an engaging little game, and if you haven’t played it, I highly recommend you try it out.

That’s it for the Fallout segment of the 2018 Bethesda E3 coverage. Make sure to check out the articles covering the Elder Scrolls announcements, as well as all of the other Bethesda offerings including the new Wolfenstein and Doom games coming this year!

Dead or Alive 6 – Reveal Trailer (E3 2018)

Team NINJA is proud to announce that their celebrated Dead or Alive series is back in Early 2019, with Dead or Alive 6! Coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One, it was revealed that the sixth Dead or Alive World Combat Championship is returning, and revealed some of the names coming to the game. Helena Douglas, Hayate, Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa, the host Zack, and the most recent winner, the scorching soul Jann Lee.

Two new locations have been scouted to host key matches in the sixth tournament: the remarkable DOA Colosseum, complete with three bold statues showcasing famous fighting stances, and The Throwdown, a gritty back street where raw unfiltered fighting can take place in its prime. Select locations, such as The Throwdown, allow the live audience to get even closer to the action than ever before – with some unruly fans breaking the rules and pushing fighters back into the centre of the ring.