Yearly Archives: 2018

New Kingdom Hearts Compilation Announced – The Story So Far

Kingdom Hearts - The Story So Far

Square Enix and Disney announced today that a brand-new Kingdom Hearts collection will take players through nine chapters of the beloved franchise. “Kingdom Hearts – The Story So Far – will have Keyblade wielders teaming up with Sora, Donald Duck, Goofy and more to stop the Heartless invasion. The collection arrives on October 30th for 39.99 and will only be available on the Playstation 4. The following games will be available in this collection:

KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX

  • KINGDOM HEARTS FINAL MIX
  • KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories
  • KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days (HD Remastered cinematics)
  • KINGDOM HEARTS II FINAL MIX
  • KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep Final MIX
  • KINGDOM HEARTS Re:coded (HD Remastered cinematics)

KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 FINAL CHAPTER PROLOGUE

  • KINGDOM HEARTS Dream Drop Distance HD
  • KINGDOM HEARTS 0.2 Birth by Sleep –A fragmentary passage–
  • KINGDOM HEARTS χ Back Cover (movie)

Shadow of the Tomb Raiders Announces ‘The Forge’ as First DLC

Shadow of the Tomb Raider - The Forge - DLC -image

Square Enix has announced the first of seven new DLC adventures for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, entitled “The Forge”. It’s free to download for all Season Pass holders, and sold separately outside of that. “The Forge” launches on November 13th, for Xbox, Playstation and PC/Steam. In “The Forge”, Lara must brave the lava-flooded Forge of the fallen gods to uncover the secrets of Kuwaq Yaku. Throughout her journey, Lara will uncover details about a friend’s ancient legacy, and overcome a danger long thought to be lost in flame. This adventure will offer new content, challenge tombs, co-op experiences, weapons, and outfits. This adventure will also feature Score Attack, Time Attack, and additional narrative side missions.

Citadel: Forged with Fire – Can Reignited Rekindle Citadel’s Fire?

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

Back in August of 2017, I reviewed Citadel: Forged With Fire. It’s been a year since then and I’m back again to review the latest major update to the game, Citadel Reignited. The name is a bit of a spoiler, as the aim of this update was to ‘reignite’ the fun in the game by changing almost every part of the game in both small and big ways, introducing some new mechanics, and to overall just give the game a ‘second chance.’ Some of the biggest changes are the introduction of farming and cooking and the complete re-haul of the spell system. So, is it worth getting back into Citadel: Forged With Fire? Or giving it a chance if you’ve never played before? Lets find out.

Customization

One of the big chances in the Reignited update is the addition of more in-depth character customization options. It’s still not as complex as what is found in Dark and Light, but it comes pretty close. You can make your character look like a wise old sage, a long-armed giant, or a short and squat little goblin complete with green skin. There’s some things that you can’t change, though, that I feel like you should as the ability to drastically change your characters limb length while you can’t do too much with hips or shoulders means it’s really easy to get something that looks like it would beg you to kill it if you were to come across in in real life. That being said, the new customization options are definitely a big improvement.

Citadel Screenshot

You can almost hear it begging, “Kill meeee, kiiiiillll meeeeeee.”

Gameplay

After sinking a fair amount of time in the game (having to regrind a character after the developers completely wiped server data), I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m 50/50 on the update. Some things I’m on board with: I love the new systems, and the new Spellcrafting system is a lot of fun once you figure it out. However, the game was incredibly easy to progress in (just requiring a time investment and a lot of repetitive gameplay) prior to the update. To fix this, the developers made everything a lot harder to grind and only introduced a minor bandaid to help speed things a long (quests and daily quests). So, you still have a lot of time investment required to grind out a character, it just takes a lot longer now. Getting to level 10, for example, will be a headache that’ll take several hours of non-stop gameplay because potions were turned into a level 10 knowledge spell, and the only decent food only becomes available at level 5. This means grinding monsters (and even completing quests) is a lot harder and a majority of your experience up until level 10 will end up coming from gathering and crafting.

The increased time to level up and some of the re-workings of the skill tree are the only negative things I have to say about the update. Everything else is splendid. I just wish the developers had come up with a more enjoyable solution, especially for new players, who haven’t sunk 50+ hours into the game like I have, avenues to gain experience and level up instead of increasing the length of the grind to reach higher levels (where the game starts to get really fun). The only way to make the early game feel bearable at this point, in my opinion, is to play with friends. Which I suggest no matter what, because playing with others makes any game a lot more fun.

Citadel Screenshot

I’m not a fan of how long it takes to unlock potions.

Cooking

The new cooking systems introduce a new line of knowledge that unlocks various recipes that will allow you to create foods with both instantaneous effects and over-time effects, similar to potions. In a way, this makes it feel like the cooking system is an extension of the potion making system that was already in place. There’s also new crafting stations to facilitate the crafting (such as the campfire, which you’ll see in great numbers around the starting keeps thanks to the new New Player Tutorial Quests). I honestly didn’t have much interest in the system, but hey, I’m up for anything that increases the content of a game.

Citadel Screenshot

Each keep has two exits, and both exits are usually filled with campfires now due to a quest.

Farming

Another system that goes hand-in-hand with the cooking and potion making systems is the Farming system. Now you can place down plots and grow the various herbs and plants you’ll come across in the enchanted wilderness within the game. You can also create automated watering systems to help you take care of your new gardens and farms. This is a system that has a usefulness depends on your playstyle. Some players may feel it’s not worth the effort to come up with farms as they can manually go collect most of what you’ll get from farming in no time at all. I can see it being really popular with medium sized groups who may not always be on time at the same time, but usually has at least one person online, though. A lot of solo players will love it, too.

Spellcrafting

This is my favorite part of the update. At first it was a bit frustrating trying to figure out what did what. But following the tutorial and exploring fixed that. Previously, you would simply use skill points to unlock spells which was a simple and boring system. Now, based on the weapon you have equipped, the a few parameters are clicked, and you throw in an essence and you have what feels like a huge number of possibilities. Throw in the ability to add-in components when crafting your spells (such as random plants, or perhaps rare items for better effects) and those possibilities grow in number a lot. It’s a fun system that actually fits the game and setting perfectly. Now you have to share knowledge and work together to figure out how to cast magic instead of just throwing some skill points down a linear skill tree.

Citadel Screenshot

This is a huge improvement to the game, but could still use some fleshing out.

Raid Changes

One of my biggest issues with the game when I first played it when it went into EA in July 2017 was how easy it was to raid other players. Changes were implemented, but it was (in my opinion) too little too late. Well, things have changed and with Reignited the developers introduced a massive improvement to the raiding within the game. It’s now more difficult in a meaningful way.

That being said, the developers employed their favorite method for increasing difficulty: They made it more of a grind to prepare what you need to siege player bases. I’m kind of worried what effect this will have on the games population. Right now things are booming with the update still fresh and everyone wanting to check it out. However, will the increased time investment required to raid someone help stabilize the population or cause it to decrease?

Other Content

Of course there’s a decent chunk of other content added to the game. New multi-person dungeons are one of my favorite additions. There’s also a smattering of new monsters and enemies. I’ve yet to experience a ‘Broomstick’ league because there’s never been enough people willing to join in (if there’s not enough people the game just kicks you out of it after a bit). If you’re a fan of base building, you won’t be disappointed.

Conclusion

Citadel: Forged with Fire has received a new lease on life with the Reignited update. A few things still need to be smoothed out, but the plethora of new features and content are more than enough to rekindle the magic that I felt back when the game first opened for EA and I spent 40 hours in the game in just a few days. I hope the developers figure out a way to make the early levels more enjoyable though, because I felt like I had to force myself to play the game just to get past the first ten or so levels so that I could start having fun. Overall though, I would say that Reignited was definitely a success. So, do I suggest getting the game? Personally, I have a lot of fun with it.

  • Features: 4/5 – More features are almost always good.
  • Customization: 4/5 – A lot better than before.
  • Graphics: 5/5 – I still love the way the game looks.
  • Controls: 4/5 – No real complaints.
  • Community: 3/5 – Not as strong as I’d like.

Citadel: Forged With Fire Reignited Screenshots

Civilization VI Expands to the iPhone

Civilization VI - iPhone Edition

Aspyr Media has expanded the Civilization empire into the mobile realm, with the iPhone release of Civilization VI. All players are able to try the first 60 turns of the game for free as well. iPad users are also able to play the iPhone version for free, and the full unlock is 60% off, so players who want to get in on the iPhone version can for 23.99 (Sale ends October 16th, 2018). Civilization VI requires iOS 11 on an iPhone 7 or 7Plus or higher. iPad 2017, iPad Air 2, and any iPad Pro can also run Civilization VI. The iPad version only includes the base game, and no expansion content comes with it.

Originally created by legendary game designer Sid Meier and published by 2K Games, Civilization is a turn-based strategy game in which you build an empire to stand the test of time by leading a civilization from the Stone Age to the Information Age. Explore a new land, research technology, conquer your enemies, and go head-to-head with history’s most renowned leaders as you attempt to build the greatest civilization the world has ever known.

Features of Civilization VI:

EXPANSIVE EMPIRES: See the marvels of your empire spread across the map like never before. Each city spans multiple tiles so you can custom build your cities to take full advantage of the local terrain.

ACTIVE RESEARCH: Unlock boosts that speed your civilization’s progress through history. To advance more quickly, use your units to actively explore, develop your environment, and discover new cultures.

DYNAMIC DIPLOMACY: Interactions with other civilizations change over the course of the game, from primitive first interactions where conflict is a fact of life, to late game alliances and negotiations.

COMBINED ARMS: Expanding on the “one unit per tile” design, support units can now be embedded with other units, like anti-tank support with infantry, or a warrior with settlers. Similar units can also be combined to form powerful “Corps” units.

LOCAL MULTIPLAYER: In addition to traditional multiplayer modes, cooperate and compete with your friends in a wide variety of situations all designed to be easily completed in a single session.

A CIV FOR ALL PLAYERS: Civilization VI provides veteran players new ways to build and tune their civilization for the greatest chance of success. New tutorial systems are designed to introduce new players to the underlying concepts of Civilization so they can easily get started on a path to victory.

Fast Striker Brings 2D Shoot ’em Up Action to Playstation 4 and PS Vita in October

A unique take on the vertical shoot ’em up is coming to the Playstation 4/Vita on October 16th – Fast Striker! Fast Striker is a fast-paced, reflex action vertical shmup taking cues from 80s classics of the genre to deliver an eyeball-searing slice of sci-fi, mechanized action. With a strong emphasis on its elaborate score system, players must blast their way through six sizzling stages, unforgettable boss encounters, and over 40 unique enemy types, all at a gorgeous 60 frames per second. Fast Striker will release for 6.99 on PS4 and the PS Vita and the physical release will come with a region free physical copy, full-color manual, original soundtrack CD, an individually numbered collector’s certificate and a Collector’s box. This physical release has a limited availbility starting October 11th from Play-Asia.com and will be 34.99 including shipping.

“We’re thrilled to bring our unique twist on the classic vertical shoot ’em up to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita owners,” said René Hellwig, Game Designer at NGDEV. “Fast Striker will test the hand-eye coordination of even the most experienced arcade players.”

Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics Launches on Steam Today

Achtung Cthulhu Tactics

Based on the hugely popular tabletop RPG from Modiphus Entertainment, Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics has officially released on Steam today. It’s a turn-based strategy title where players deal with an army of Lovecraftian beings that are controlling Nazis. Set in an alternate history of World War II, the Nazis’ investigations into occult powers bore fruit, and it’s up to the elite Charlie Company to deal with the problem. The Nazis and the horrors bound to them must be stopped once and for all.

Developer Auroch Digital and publisher Ripstone Games are proud to announce that its Weird World War game Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics has launched today on Steam for $24.99. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases will follow later in 2018, with a Nintendo Switch release following soon afterwards.

There are two things we love to fight: Nazis and Lovecraftian monsters,” said Nina Adams, Producer at Auroch Digital. “Modiphius did a smashing job combining these pulp favorite villains into a cohesive, tactical package with the original tabletop game, and it inspired us to adapt this universe into a vibrant, fleshed out video game with limitless tactical potential.”