Yearly Archives: 2018

Nintendo Switch News – 3/5/18 – 3/9/18

Nintendo Switch News 3.5 - 3.8

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Good morning, Internet! Well, it’s been quite a week for Nintendo! Yesterday, the March Nintendo Direct hit the Internet, and boy did fans erupt with joy for some of it! Now on a personal note, I’m only really excited for one of the games coming out that was announced: Octopath Traveler! It received a release date (July 23rd, 2018), Crash Bandicoot was announced as well. His trilogy remake is coming to the Switch, making a lot of folks very happy. More Wii-U titles are on the way too! Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is the next Wii-U title that many might have missed out on. Then there’s the Dark Souls Remaster (And the Dark Souls Amiibo that is a must-have for me at the very least), not to mention Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. I will say that I’m shocked that South Park: The Fractured But Whole is coming to the Switch. But perhaps the biggest news to arrive from this Direct was Super Smash Bros. Now, we don’t know much about it, other than that Splatoon’s Inklings are playable. If you’d like to watch the full thing, I’ll embed it below. But let’s look at some more viable, playable games!

Scribblenauts Showdown (March 6th): Scribblenauts is an adorable, wonderful franchise, and the latest title, Showdown, is a party-style Scribblenauts game. With a 35,000 word dictionary, conjure just about anything you desire in over 25 games. It also has a fun Sandbox mode where you can exercise your creativity in truly phenomenal ways. Up to four players can get down with some colorful action, where using your words is the way to win. But you can also play against the CPU in a Versus Mode, so even people playing alone can have fun. 39.99 Retail/Digital.

Fear Effect Sedna (March 6th): From Square Enix and Forever Entertainment, an action/stealth game also seen on Steam/PS4/XBox One, it’s enhanced by what it calls the “Fear system”, you can harness your team’s dynamic abilities to solve puzzles in unique ways. A sequel to the 1999 hit, Fear Effect on the Playstation, enter the spirit realm to stop mystic forces, only if you are brave enough. The weapons are cool, the cutscenes are stylish and intriguing, there’s definitely a lot on offer with this stand-out title on the Nintendo Switch. I’m glad Nintendo consoles are getting edgier, Mature content and Fear Effect Sedna’s on that list with a Mature rating. 19.99 Digital

Steredenn: Binary Stars (March 8th): Do you love roguelikes and SHMUPs (Shoot ’em Ups)? Well, Steredenn: Binary Stars is the pixel-art game for you! Gorgeous pixels, with co-op and solo action, you fight the worst scourges the universe has to offer. It’s also very much in the style of the Japanese Bullet Hell, where pixel-perfect timing helps to avoid huge walls of colorful, aggravating bullets. A host of weapons await you, the pilot, as does an engaging soundtrack. Travel through gorgeous space-scapes and unleash laser-based Hell on any that try to bar your path! 12.99 Digital

Immortal: Unchained Alpha Thoughts

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Immortal Unchained Alpha - Start

Looks hopeless, right? That’s okay, we’ll learn to kill.

Now I know this is some kind of crazy hot-take, and it’s going to make some folks on the internet boil with anger, but here goes: Immortal: Unchained is a Dark Souls style game. Yes, yes, I know. Dark Souls is a pure, unique creature that nothing can ever be but a pale imitation of, but hear me out. Immortal: Unchained takes that formula of “die often, learn a lot” and puts it in a more futuristic setting. Instead of dodging forever, and swinging a few times, you . . . well, you still do fancy rolls and dodges, but instead of wielding medieval weaponry, you have a host of different guns to equip, each with their own stats, sprays, and damage to account for. Instead of “souls” you have “forgotten bits”, and that is your currency to up stats and do a variety of things. You’ll see a lot of similarities, but that’s not a bad thing. I’m universally bad at this style of game, so my time spent learning was a little higher than normal. But you know what? I did it. I learned what I was doing, even if it meant I spent well into eighty minutes on the tutorial stage, mostly because of the final boss. I was trying to do too much at once, and dying for it.

Immortal Unchained - Combat

You might call this a real clash of styles.

Immortal: Unchained has you playing a nameless man, muscular and mute. Awakened with no weapons, no memories and no chance, he travels through these tombs, scrounging for a pistol, a knife, and a prayer. The game will give you some brief tutorial hints, like which button does what, how to reload, how to equip weapons (at Obelisks), and briefly mentions the targeting system. This is what makes this stand out from its brethren in the genre. You can aim and shoot, which is normal, but you also have a body-part/aiming system.Each enemy has a set of body parts you can target, and in addition to their health meter, there’s also a stun-bar. As you hit body parts, that meter will drop (less if they have a shield to defend themselves). When it glows red, they’re staggered/stunned, and you can really lay into them. This is harder to do when multiple enemies are on the field because you have to dodge one, shoot the other, dodge one, shoot the other until you’re incredibly powerful. That never happened to me, sadly. What I found worked the best, was aiming at a leg, swapping to the other leg, then to whatever arm they were shooting you with. I rotate parts until stunned, then shoot them in the head. Unless they’re very weak, then I just go for headshots and move on.

Immortal Unchained Alpha - Stats

There are no stat resets (yet if ever), so be careful.

This is such an interesting system, adding a lot to the tactics and strategies of trying to fight for your life, because if you die, you lose all of your bits. Like the Souls games before it, you can go back and retrieve them. Just don’t be like me, store 5/6k bits, die, then die a second time. That’s the most frustrating thing because now you have to start farming again. That leads me to Obelisks. Obelisks are where you upgrade stats, equip weapon blueprints, restore your medkits/grenades, and upgrade weapons if you have the requirements to do so. Activating it also resets all the encounters, so you can’t just kill something, run away, heal at the Obelisk then move on unmolested. This is a great way to learn patterns, and farm up bits because leveling stats is expensive. Oh my goodness. Each time you level a stat, you level up, but I highly advise waiting to level stats too quickly. The cost ramps up very high, and I learned this lesson the hard way. The first “random” weapon I picked up was a sub-machine gun (to compliment my pistol and assault rifle), and it was a higher rarity, had an elemental effect (acid) and was, in general, amazing.

Immortal Unchained Alpha - Guns

I needed guns, bits, and half-a-chance. Who provided these funds?

However, it required 15 in two stats, one of which I had been working on, the other I was not. So I had to farm for what felt like an eternity to just get the second stat at 15, so I could equip this amazing gun. It was worth it, but at this stage of the game’s development, there are no resources to look online as to what you can equip, what it’ll cost, and what you should focus on. In this case, Finesse and Perception. Each stat has its own purpose, and you have eight of them. I feel like something could be modified here. Either fewer stats, or decrease the costs just a little. It’s very overwhelming, to except the most hardcore players, I imagine. I’m not suggesting you make it easy, but the early gun stats I found were just nuts in terms of stat requirements. I didn’t need it to defeat the first boss, but I bet money it would have helped. I do wish you didn’t have to activate Obelisks to simply equip weapons, but here we are. I’m not a fan of it, but it is an interesting concept. It’s also important to note that every weapon has a “power” ability, which is used via the R1 button. It uses your blue/mana meter, so don’t spam these either, unless you’re farming via Obelisk.

Immortal Unchained Alpha - Levers

Levers … how do they work?

You also have a variety of consumable items, from items that increase your resistances, grenades, medkits, and possibly the most interesting, Cyanide. Yes, you can commit suicide in this game. At first, I thought this was just insulting and stupid, then I came to a realization. Maybe you’re out of health, in a bad position, no other handy items, but don’t want to give up all of your bits. Retreat somewhere near an obelisk, perish, then go back with full medkits/etc, and acquire your bits. So it made way more sense than I was giving it! You also uncover these items called “Cerium Decree”. They open doors, activate levers, open some treasure chests. What I like about this, is that they aren’t consumed once you activate an item. So, think of them like Super Mario 64 stars, and you need to collect as many as possible. They’re very important, and it looks to me like you’ll have to backtrack to use some of them. I found a chest that required 10 very early on, and there was no way I’d have that many. So I have a feeling we’ll be going back and exploring areas as we grow more powerful. I don’t think it will be required, but will certainly be useful.

Immortal Unchained Alpha - Auto Target

Tight corridors like this make auto-target incredibly frustrating.

Combat is as complex as it needs to be. You have a finite amount of ammo, but the Undead you fight are pretty good about dropping caches of ammo for you. You have a melee attack (which is honestly, for lack of a better phrase, absolute godawful), your aim, using the right stick to aim at body parts, a run/dodge/jump button, and your item button. The melee just feels weak because almost every enemy I’ve encountered has a gun, and the melee units hit incredibly hard while you do not. How you press the dodge button changes what it does. Tap it lightly, and he hops in the direction you’re holding. Pressing harder is your roll, and holding it down is run (which consumes stamina). If you press R3, you’ll lock on to your closest opponent, but can shift to others with the Right stick. This is definitely a sticking point for me because once you’re in that lock-on mode, your movement is seriously hampered. If you’re trying to move back behind cover/around a corner, it’s going to be very stiff and slow going, and that is the cause of about 40% of my deaths. If you could perhaps use the targeting system without locking your movement down, that would be a huge benefit. I’m, of course, not discounting that I could simply be doing it wrong, that’s feasible. But as a newcomer, it definitely felt stiff and unforgiving, even in that movement system. Bosses are powerful, big, and mean. They have predictable patterns that you can certainly learn and will have no choice but to do so if you want to survive. All enemies have some kind of pattern, and as all things in this style of game, you learn or you die. It’s all about learning. Learning when the enemy needs to reload, what points you need to hit to stagger them.

 

Immortal Unchain Alpha - Boss

These bosses do NOT mess around.

Hype Train: On Schedule:

Normally, I don’t really play these kinds of games. I’m bad at them, and while I can learn how to get good, I don’t really have that kind of time in my day-to-day. But Immortal: Unchained feels solid, the world is intriguing, the controls are pretty smooth and are definitely responsive. They recommend using a controller, and I certainly agree. There’s already lore in the game when you click on certain monuments and other in-game items, where you learn alongside your character. The maps are well-designed, and so far, a lot of them feel like mazes, which I assume is the idea. I kind of wish I had a mini-map to use, but I feel like that would take away from the game. I just want it because I’m bad! A tactical, careful approach is definitely the way to tackle this game. Don’t assume just because you have guns you need to go in blazing, because you will die, repeatedly.

Immortal Unchained - Snow

It’s not all grim moody bleak darkness either.

Immortal: Unchained is in Alpha, but it’s definitely got the right idea, and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how it is adjusted, and how it grows from here. I was disappointed that my file got reset until I realized that it would be a great way to see just how much I’ve learned over the last couple of days. And for the most part, I just blew through the first stage, until I got cocky. Then I paid for it and lost 4,000 bits. But it was my own doing, and I cannot blame the game. It’s still in need of some polish but it is in Alpha after all. The major issues I involved the targeting system and movement. I stand my thoughts of adjusting the stat system somehow. It just seems too high for what you’re getting off of regular enemies, especially with that many stats. Or perhaps making it more clear what weapons need what stats? But it’s coming along, and I’m excited about it. I think Souls-fans will enjoy it and get a ton of new challenges and excitement out of it.

We have a limited number of closed alpha keys available!

Note: A game key was provided for preview purposes.

More Immortal: Unchained Screenshots

 

Immortal: Unchained Closed Alpha Giveaway

We’ve partnered with Toadman Interactive to offer access to the limited Closed Alpha for Immortal: Unchained!

Unleashed and unforgiving. Can you rise to the challenge?

Immortal: Unchained is the latest addition to the genre of ultra-hardcore action RPGs. Take the role of a living weapon, unleashed to stop the source of a cataclysmic event threatening to end all worlds. Discover the secrets of these worlds, master the unique but lethal gun combat, and defeat legendary bosses.

Being an ultimate weapon, you have been locked up for millennia by those who fear your potential. It will require many harsh lessons to unlock this potential in an unforgiving universe full of murderous foes. On your journey, expect no mercy and no assistance: Those that aren’t trying to kill you, will instead try to use you to further their own agenda. Trust no one.


Your key grants you access to the Closed Alpha for Immortal: Unchained on Steam (PC). This alpha runs from 2pm GMT / 6am PST on Thursday, March 8 through 2pm GMT / 7am PDT on Monday, March 12. More details on the Closed Alpha are available in this FAQ.

Read our thoughts on Immortal: Unchained here!

To Redeem your Key:

  • Launch the Steam client software and log into your Steam account.
  • Click the Games Menu.
  • Choose Activate a Product on Steam…
  • Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.

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Laser League’s First Early Access Update Hits Steam

Laser League is an arcade-style multiplayer action sport of the future from 505 Games and Roll7, and it is presently in Early Access on Steam. Today receives its first content update, expanding on the title in a big way. The update offers a new Stadium with four new maps, two new teams, 2 new powerups, and 3 additional maps for the original arenas.

Introducing a new location in Doha, the modern and impressive Al Shama Stadium, home to two of the region’s most formidable teams – the Falcons and the Cobras. A cool blue oasis in the harsh desert, Al Shama stadium’s Laser maps flow like water, with intricate, constantly morphing designs that require perpetual movement in order to survive.

 They are:

  • CHEVRON: Restrictive. Requires constant movement
  • VEXATION: Complex. Breaks into regions
  • SLINGSHOT: Dynamic. Dangerous long lasers
  • SINGULARITY: Centric. Centre domination is key.

Teams playing in Al Shama will experience the effects of 2 new powerups:

  • Stun, which briefly downs the opposing team.
  • Lockdown, which prevents one team from wall wrapping!

But this is not all, as the original arenas also see new maps added:

  • [Empire Campus] WRAPGAME: Tactical. Wall wrapping is key.
  • [Geng Hao Megaplex] CROSSFIRE: Shred. Long spinning lasers.
  • [SilverTip Arena] TURBINE: Locomotive. Kinetic domination of space.

Hearts of Iron IV Expansion ‘Waking the Tiger’ Now Available

The latest expansion to Hearts of Iron IV releases today, drawing the players attention to the Chinese Front in “Waking the Tiger”. The Chinese Republic, barely 25 years old has not found a stable ground to stand upon, but are being pressed by Japan. A set of new focus trees and new leaders await Nationalist China, Communist China, Warlords States, while Japanese Vassals add depth variety to one of history’s forgotten fronts. This will be released alongside a major update that’s free to all Hearts of Iron IV players.

Hearts of Iron IV: Waking the Tiger includes:

  • Chinese National Focuses: Divided and under threat, China has great reserves of manpower and diplomatic flexibility
  • Chain of Command: Unite your armies under a field marshal who can take advantage of the many skills of the generals under his direction.
  • Decisions and Missions: Historical decisions and national missions give you new places to spend Political Power, as you deal with domestic politics or start special projects.
  • Commanders’ Traits and Abilities: Commanders’’ traits can now unlock powerful Command Power abilities, allowing great flexibility and creativity.
  • Updated Axis Focus Trees: Alternate historical paths for the German Reich and Imperial Japan, including parliamentary rule in Japan and the return of the Kaiser to Germany.
  • Acclimatization: Over time, troops will learn how to survive in the desert or harsh winters, giving these veterans an edge on the battlefield.
  • And More: Capturing battlefield equipment, and a revitalized air war system that has room for Volunteer air wings.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Releases Today

Independent Studio Fatshark Games are proud to announce that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is now available on Steam today! It will also be on the way to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, but for now it is only available on PC. Grisly and dark, Vermintide 2 is a compelling first-person co-op melee RPG. It’s set during the End Times of the fantasy Warhammer world, and as if the Skaven weren’t enough, the Chaos faction also arrives to cause death and destruction. Other new features include 15 hero careers, new environments, talent trees and the proprietary Heroic Deeds System.

Northgard Officially Launches Out of Early Access

Shiro Games is pleased to announce that their Viking strategy game, Northgard, has left Steam Early Access and is officially live! The standard edition is available for 29.99 USD. The official release also launches with a major update called ‘Rig’s Saga’. It brings forth a new campaign of 11 chapters, 7 new environments for solo/multiplayer, a retooled combat system, achievements, and a wealth of other changes. The full patch notes can be seen here. Exploration, village building, resource management, diplomacy and tactical combat all await players, as they are plunged into a mythical world that fuses well with Norse mythology. It’s filled with giants, wyverns, and the undead.3

The full release of Northgard allows players to:

  • Build your settlement on the newly discovered continent of Northgard

  • Grow the village by assigning Vikings to various jobs (Farmer, Warrior, Sailor, Loremaster)

  • Choose between six different Viking clans, each with unique benefits, buildings and units

  • Manage your resources carefully to survive the harsh winters and vicious foes

  • Expand and discover new territory with unique strategic opportunities

  • Achieve different victory conditions such as Conquest, Fame, Lore and Trading

  • Play against your friends or against an AI with different difficulty levels in single player or multiplayer modes.

  • Follow the brave Viking Rig in his quest for vengeance in a brand-new single-player campaign that spans 11 chapters.