Yearly Archives: 2018

Death Road to Canada Now Out On Consoles

UKIYO Publishing, alongside ROcketcat Games and Madgarden are proud to announce that the randomly generated, zombie-filled road trip, Death Road to Canada is now available on the Nintendo Switch, in addition to the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Travel from Florida to Ontario, taking in the pixel art sights, and surviving horrific amounts of zombies. Tough, but also funny decisions will have to be made as players travel alone or with a local co-op partner, as they make their way to Canada. It’s available for 14.99, with a 20% launch discount for the first two weeks.

“We’re thrilled to finally release Death Road To Canada for consoles,” said Kepa Auwae, Co-Founder of Rocketcat Games. “The game translates incredibly well to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It plays great, the pixel-art looks suitably blood-splattered and local co-op is  blast. Onwards to Ontario!”

Rend Begins Their First Public Alpha Test

Rend PUblic Test

Starting today, players worldwide can participate in the invite-only PC public Alpha Test for Rend. Rend is an upcoming faction-based fantasy survival game from Frostkeep Studios. Frostkeep boasts more than fifty years of combined experience, with founders who worked on everything from World of Warcraft, Overwatch, League of Legends, WildStar and more. Players can register for a shot at joining the public alpha on their official website. Combining RPG elements and survival genre tropes, it boasts a survival experience never before seen.

“Our goal at the start of this project was to continuously grow and improve Rend by gathering
direct feedback from our players every step of the way,” said Jeremy Wood, co-founder and CEO,
Frostkeep Studios. “As we lovingly craft this game with the help of our players, this project remains
just as much theirs as it is ours, and this public alpha marks a significant milestone as we offer
even more players around the world the opportunity to enter the world of Rend and join our
community.”

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia Review

Total War Saga - Cinematic

Ominous music intensifies.

Creative Assembly excels at bringing history to life in interesting ways, and Total War Saga is no exception. Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia is focused on a more narrow point in time: specifically the British Isles post-Viking invasion in the 800s. The British Isles are fractured, there is no unity, little-to-no loyalty, and the Vikings have a foothold on the Isles. They have no plans to leave. There are loads of provinces and factions across the islands, but players pick from five of them. Each Faction and Culture have their own traits to make them stand out, from the English Kingdoms being able to pull part-time soldiers from their farms to serve to the Viking Sea Kings gaining Tribute from other kingdoms for bonuses and as a sign of their submission to your might. Like Warhammer and games before it, they also come with their own difficulties and Victory Conditions.

Total War Saga - Confusion

When in doubt, just keep killing. That’s what I did, anyway.

Total War Saga does not have what would be called an in-depth, detailed tutorial. After you’ve picked your faction, difficulty, looked at the victory conditions, and started the game, you’ll get a fantastic teaser that shows what your faction is fighting for. Your Advisor is essentially your tutorial, and you can set how frequently they show up to give you advice/tell you what to do. The whole of the tutorial is basically a battle against rebels, to get your feet wet in the combat system. Whatever starting troops you have will be enough, and honestly, you can auto-battle it down if you’re familiar with the gameplay and don’t have time for tutorials. While this is great and lets you just dig right into the game, there were things I simply could not figure out, even hours into the game; one of these is resupplying a unit. As I was waist-deep in the blood of my enemies, pillaging and destroying my foes to the north, I somewhere along the way ran out of food and people were deserting. Despite my faction producing plenty, I could not figure out “what” to do.

Total War Sagas - Strategy Window

See that red stuff? That’s me. Except that darker red. That’s a civil war.

The Advisor said “click here” to deal with it, but that did little. I tried waiting in towns/castles that I had taken over, reasoning that since they were in my control, that would solve it. I never did figure it out and wound up fortifying those provinces and going back to my capital to relax. For the most part, you are on your own in this game. Total War veterans won’t have an issue with it, but I’m not so sure that it’s accessible to beginners. I do appreciate that each faction has their own rules/traits and their own narrative. Their main story missions/quests, however, are terribly aggressive. A fine example is the powerful West Seaxe, who are first tasked with eradicating East Engle (Guthrum of the Vikings). You are surrounded by vassals who may or may not decide to help you, so you have to keep everyone appeased. Or you can do what I did, amass a humongous army, sail north, land on their shores, and start kicking their asses immediately.

Total War Saga - Choose Your Destiny

All paths lead to violence.

No matter which faction/culture you pick, the goal is the same: You want to be on the throne of the British Isles. You do not have to go on a spree of murder though. If you truly wanted, you could fortify a small part of the land and simply build up fame and win that way. It’s not quite as exciting but you definitely can if that’s what you care to do. But the order of operations is simple: pick a faction, figure out their ultimate goal, check out their win-cons, and decide which one is right for you. This is a game I feel planning and preparation are key. While solid planning is fine, I gained great joy simply building giant armies and marching into whatever landmass didn’t have my color on it already.

Total War Saga - Army Life

Recruiting at a pub means you have to wait for them to sober up and recover.

Recruiting armies and upgrading towns/cities is a bit different in this game too. Unlike in other games, where you can build basically anything you want somewhere, these towns tend to be a bit more specialized. You’ll have towns that focus on livestock, on grain, towns with more churches, etc. So instead of figuring out what to build where, you determine which of these towns deserves your immediate attention and which of them are your priority. You can recruit any unit type from any town, which is fantastic. You have to wait on them to be at full health though, so think ahead. Some of the better units require research, but the standard units can be drawn from any hole-in-the-wall town on the isles. This means that you can only pull so many people at a time, and then you have to wait for the number of people to replenish. Most of your towns are basically defenseless though, especially when you have multiple provinces. This will create the challenge of keeping whoever is in charge happy, and figuring out where your enemies are on the borders, so you can keep your kingdom intact. This is key because if a general/governor/officer reaches 0 loyalty they will without delay break off and cause a civil war. There is a lot to keep track of, but it’s all worth it.

Total War Saga - Discussion

Politics can be such a pain.

Fans of the Total War franchise will recognize a lot of the game, from picking wives for their officers, setting up an heir (do this without delay. If your leader falls in battle, it could prove disastrous), poisoning people, and smashing through your opponents’ cities with protracted sieges. Sure, the quests will urge you into battle, but you can do that at your leisure in many cases. You don’t have to rush to that conflict right away. Hell, you don’t even have to conquer the islands if you don’t want. A definite positive is if you want to go for that Fame victory, you can. I was almost done with the Short Fame victory before I even realized it. It’s important to note that the game’s not over just because you achieve a fame victory. Creative Assembly did tease that long victory unlocks the events that lead up to the Ultimate victory condition.

Total War Saga - Research

You can see what path I walk clearly.

This is a turn-based strategy game, so every turn will have you building structures, recruiting troops, making diplomatic choices, and researching technology. In Saga, you don’t have access to many research choices out of the gate. Every technology has a requirement, but they are not terribly costly. Most of the military ones require you to recruit a unit x times, attack enemies x times, and so on. The civic ones also vary, typically by having a building at its highest level, or conquering a territory that already has it. Combat feels a bit stripped down, but that’s probably because the last Total War I played was Warhammer, which had absolute tons of special units, magical abilities, and ridiculous characters. There are fewer units here, though each faction has their own cool units, this is not going to be a game where you juggle 45 unit types and strain under the weight of all of their stats.

Total War Saga - Bad STrategy

Battlefields are gorgeous, even when littered with failure and the dead.

But combat is what makes many of these games fun. It truthfully feels a bit simpler than some of the earlier Total War games, but the gorgeous landscapes and battlefields make up for that. You can still hide units in forests/behind terrain and sneak attack, crush your foes in pincers, and make use of buildings/pathways to funnel your foes into death traps; that has not changed. Something about it simply feels easier. Sieges were easy to set up and with a few siege weapons, I would ultimately wind up with an advantage. It probably helped that I was going in with overwhelming numbers. Nevertheless, you still have to have an idea of what you want tactically because simply clicking on your whole force and moving them forward is going to get them killed, even with superior numbers on your side. there is simply so much to do and see, despite it being stripped down. There is quite a bit of depth to this game though. Every faction has a different experience. My time with West Seaxe was all about politics and soothing peoples nerves. I didn’t want anyone to feel more important than someone else (me). When I played as Flann in Ireland, it was an absolute bloodbath. People were dying in piles, mostly from me. No matter what you want from a Total War game, you can find it here.

A Game of Thrones: 4/5

Total War Saga - Victory Conditions

There are several different ways to play, offering lots of replayability in how you approach the game.

I’ve truly enjoyed my time with Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. It feels more like a regular Total War game though than one of the spin-offs like Napoleon. Though the battles might not seem as thrilling or engaging as some of the other titles in the series, the tighter focus on this time period means there is a lot more in terms of depth, lore, and historical accuracy. Each one of the factions felt different and fun for me, each one having separate goals, and tactics required to succeed. With events, alliances, vassals and more, there’s simply so much to discuss. Though the game has plenty of challenge, I did feel like I was capable of bulldozing through most of the content, simply by overwhelming my foes with superior numbers and unit types. That was fun, but I cannot forget how great the intrigue/loyalty system is.

There is simply so damn much to do there, and it is key to keeping all those annoying nobles in line. If you don’t utilize the intrigue system to keep people happy, you’ll have a civil war on your hands. However, I solved civil wars the way I solved so many other problems: with my army. There is a solid amount of replayability to be found in playing all of the different factions and trying to win in different ways, and there is sure to be DLC factions. The game features an absolute wealth of factions covering all of those provinces, but many of them melt away within the first few years, being obliterated by their countrymen. I can’t wait to see which of them we get to play first! My issues with the game are few and far between, but I can definitely see newcomers to the series having a hard time here.

Note: A game code was provided for review purposes.

Any ‘Port’ In A Storm: Saturday Morning RPG

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Saturday Morning RPG - Retro

Everything I love about the 80s in one spot.

As a child of the 80s, I can confirm that Saturday Morning RPG is a 100% accurate representation of 80s life. It has everything I remember: Trapper Keepers, Giant Robots, evil foot soldiers with guns, sweet dance moves, and bright colors. The Nintendo Switch also continues to capitalize on wonderful games that need a new audience, and Saturday Morning RPG is again, no exception. Originally released for iOS, then Android, Windows, Playstation platforms, and even the Ouya, this turn-based RPG is definitely still worthy of narration and note. Marty is the main character, and through a strange set of circumstances, he winds up with a special notebook (that is not at all a Trapper Keeper) that can bring inanimate objects to life so he can use them in battle. This nerd just might have what it takes to brave all the tropes of the 1980s and save his girlfriend in the process. Saturday Morning RPG really did take me back to when I was a kid in some of the best, most entertaining ways. The storytelling is irreverent and fun, the attacks are wonderful, and it has a nice, easy-to-digest plot. There are absolute swarms of references to retro culture (movies, games, et al), and even the main character is one (Marty, Back to the Future)!

Saturday Morning RPG - Combat Defense

This was not a Radical Defense. Just.. “Good”.

Saturday Morning RPG is a blend of modern-day techniques with the retro style we’ve come to love. Let’s be honest: Retro things never really, truly die. Retro-style is alive and well, and while it does have Quick Time Events (timed hits), it does not shoehorn in dumb, annoying motion controls. That’s one of the things that I sincerely detested in so many modern Nintendo games: The forced motion controls. It reminded me of Super Mario RPG in its combat system because if you time abilities right, they have extra effects/more damage/reduce incoming damage. You also recover your HP/Charge Meter at the end of each battle, which felt like an 80s cartoon also. After all, everything’s better in the next episode. In the vein of JRPGs/anime, you can also power-up, using that charge meter. Mash the buttons as fast as you can when prompted (or you can go for the safe, guaranteed charge), which multiplies your damage by a factor depending on what choice you made. This meter can be regained by attacking, thankfully. But what kind of attacks can Marty do?

Saturday Morning RPG - Thriller

In the words of James Rolfe, “He made … Thriller. THRILLER.”

His basic attack is a sort of underwhelming punch (but come on, he’s a nerd in the 80s. What did you expect him to do?), and he has that above option to charge up (in the form of a battery). Or he can utilize his notebook! You attach certain objects into your notebook and use them X amount of times in battle. He can eat a cookie to regain health, put on a rhinestone glove and moonwalk up to an enemy (which comes complete with Michael Jackson spin, spotlight, and sound effect), summon a “Giant Transforming Robot”, a basketball that sets enemies ablaze. You have so many status effects you can apply to enemies, “Stripe Gum” (which is totally not Fruit Stripe Gum in any way, shape or form. Which is good, that stuff was disappointing), Share Bears, and so many other moves. You have a limited amount of space in the Notebook, but you can replace items whenever you’d like outside of combat.

Saturday Morning RPG - Hoverboards

It’s 2018 – still no hoverboards.

There are five “episodes” in Saturday Morning RPG, that can be done in any order you see fit. It’s chock full of references to 80s shows/movies/life, the comedy is solid, and the storytelling is top-notch. You have the main quest, side-quests, and Marty is a pretty engaging character overall. But probably the most important part is The Notebook. As someone who grew up in the 80s, having a cool notebook/trapper was incredibly important. His is magical, so it’s clearly way cooler than ours. Radical, one might say. It affects more than simply capturing inanimate objects to use in battle though! Changing the cover also changes his stats, and the stickers in it are equally as important. When a battle starts, you scratch off the stickers (by rapidly moving the joystick), and each one you scratch gives stat bonuses in that fight. So if you want to be magic-based, and use awesome magical items you certainly can modify that with stickers, or be more melee-based, it’s up to you! But the items always seem to be better, and I seldom had a reason to use a melee strike unless something was just simply almost dead.

Saturday Morning RPG - A Notebook

Compelling narrative, this.

Some of the fights are incredibly frustrating because you will almost always be outnumbered in Saturday Morning RPG. That is just the nature of it. Luckily, you can dole out the harshness with plenty of damage, but you must learn which enemies are a threat and which are less so, so you can balance your special attacks accordingly. I almost never felt like a fight was hopeless (unless by design), and I sincerely enjoyed every single moment I experienced with this game. It was clearly designed and composed by people who loved the 80s as much as the rest of us. Hell, the composer (Vinnie DeCola) worked on Rocky IV, the Transformers Movie (the good one, not that bollocks we got from Michael Bay) and Staying Alive. The game is not incredibly long, but every moment will be worth experiencing, I can promise that. But the real question is: Who is this for?

Use the Schwartz: 5/5

Saturday Morning RPG - True to Life

This was truly the most important thing. Don’t dispute it.

Whenever I do one of these “Port” reviews, I have to ask myself who the game is really for, and if it’s worth picking up (even if you already own it) and in this case, I’d have to say 100% yes. I already owned Saturday Morning RPG on Steam, and I probably would have bought it again for my Vita if I had remembered it was there. The primary audience is quite clearly people who were born in the 80s/90s that love that culture. Some of the jokes might go over the heads of the younger crowd, but I think even with that, it could lead some of the younger gamers to go seek out some of the wonderful things from generations past, to see why they are so treasured and beloved. The past is not always such a wonderful thing though. For every great memory, there’s something terrible and disappointing. Saturday Morning RPG does not disappoint on any level. From the story, the items, combat, music, and the retro visual theme. Even without my Rose-Colored Glasses, this is a pleasant trip back in time that I look forward to doing more of. If you skipped out on this game because it’s inexpensive/weren’t sure of trying an indie RPG, you need to correct that, and get it. Get it for the Switch. It’s without a doubt worth it. Bask in the lingo, the colors, and the story.

A key was provided for this review.

Nintendo Switch News – 4/30/2018 – 5/4/2018

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Not too many Nintendo Switch games launched this week that I can see, so it’s sort of slim pickings. Though there is one major release today that myself and Colton are both pretty excited about, let’s talk about some upcoming news first. Last week, we announced that Death Road to Canada was postponed, in light of the recent attack in Toronto, they did not feel it was right to release on April 25th as originally intended. However, Ukiyo Publishing did announce this week that a new release date is confirmed of May 8th, 2018. I’m pretty excited about this one, it looks like it’s going to be frustrating, but also a lot of fun.

Bandai Namco also announced that “Little Nightmares – Complete Edition” will be coming to the switch this month. Launching digitally on May 18th, 2018 on the Switch, it has been re-tailored for the Switch with 720 (upscaled) resolution, and 30 FPS in Handheld Mode. It also features 720 (native) resolution and 30 FPS in TV Mode. It features the pre-order bonuses from the original Little Nightmares, and all of the original stories to experience separate stories through the eyes of Six (the main protagonist) and The Runaway Kid. There’s also the exclusive Pakku mask, which can be unlocked when a Pac-Man amiibo is scanned. There’s also the upcoming “Pode”, a co-op puzzler title that’s coming to the Switch sometime in the Spring. This one is another to keep your eyes on.

As a final bit of “coming soon” news, I’m very excited that Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is on the way to the Nintendo Switch on May 18th, 2018. I know that I harp on the Wii-U a lot, but it was such a lackluster, disappointing system. So when I heard that another title I missed out on was coming to the Switch? Pure, unadulterated excitement hit my brain. It only took four years, but I can finally play it! Hopefully, we’ll have more in-depth coverage of this as it comes to life in a few weeks. I’m going to look into it, so fear not.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (5/4/2018): One of my favorite games for the SNES was Donkey Kong Country. I wasn’t as big into the other two titles, because I liked the Donkey/Diddy team more than Diddy/Dixie. But Tropical Freeze, unfortunately, was a game that falls under the “Would be great if it weren’t for the Wii-U” category that I seem to rail about quite a lot. This version of Tropical Freeze lets you play as Donkey, Diddy, Dixie, Cranky, and Funky Kong! Yes, the new “Funky Mode” lets you play as the coolest of the Kong family. Personally, I’m more interested in playing as the surly, grumpy Cranky Kong with his pogo abilities. I have a feeling it’s going to feel like Sonic & Knuckles, with each character having their own ways to get to secrets. Donkey Kong Country games are among my favorite platformers of all time, and no matter how I feel about the characters themselves, the actual gameplay is sharp, smart, and DKC has some of the best music of any game I have ever played.

 

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a vibrant and colorful action platformer combining three titles of the series in one convenient package. Journey through the various realms and homeworlds answering the calls of help wherever you are needed. Available for PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.

Features:

3 for 1: Enjoy the original Spyro the Dragon, Ripto’s Rage, and Year of the Dragon one after the other!

Fun for All Ages: Fans new and old will be able to easily access the game’s intuitive controls and beautiful aesthetic.

They Call Him Hero: Jump into action! Fight back against the Gnasty Gnorc wrecking havoc, save homeworlds, recover eggs, and close out the epic adventure by taking down an evil sorceress.

Far Cry 5

Far Cry 5 is an openworld first-person shooter taking place in the massive rural Montana area where a deadly and dangerous cult calls home. Explore the vast region causing havoc in any way you see fit. Available Windows, PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One.

Features:

Humanoid Typhoon: Destabilize the evil organization by destroying their bases and killing their leaders without falling victim yourself either to the brainwashed followers or the hostile environment.

Undying: Utilize a variety of weapons and vehicles in addition to the various skills such as hunting, fishing, shooting, driving, wingsuiting, and crafting.

Getting Help: Join a friend and travel across the land battling realistic AI and experiencing all kinds of adventures.