The latest Sea of Thieves Developer Update discusses the barrel inventory system, Commendation changes, and “Cursed Crews Bilge Rat Adventure”.
Yearly Archives: 2018
PIllars of Eternity II: Deadfire Goes to the Arena in September
The next major DLC to come to PIllars of Eternity II: Deadfire was revealed during their panel during PAX West. The paid DLC will be called “Seeker, Slayer, Survivor” and releases on September 13th. Challenges, puzzles, and deadly adversaries await in this update, alongside bug fixes and balance improvements. Combat trails the likes of which players have yet to see will be available in the Crucible.
“Seeker, Slayer, Survivor” is heavily focused around combat with a wide variety of deadly adversaries’ hell bent on destruction as players face down everything from dueling wizards to regenerating spiders. Based along three pillars of combat, the DLC will challenge Deadfire players in a new way. Choosing the Seeker, combat tasks players with looking for a solution to take down their foe, while the Survivor has combat that challenges fighting skills against waves of enemies, and finally the Slayer puts players in combat that will see their party go up against some truly fearsome creatures in a battle to the death.
Satisfactory – Fauna/Flora Teaser
It’s time to get some glamour shots of the world of Satisfactory. While Jace recovers from surgery, Joakim has some gorgeous flora and fauna shots to behold.
My Friend Pedro: PAX West 2018 Impressions
by Andrew Skelton (Outfoxed)
What do you get when you mix a masked protagonist, quirky humor, spectacular gunplay, copious violence, and a talking banana? You were thinking a certain mercenary just now, until the talking banana part, weren’t you? My Friend Pedro is a blend of platforming and twitch combat, with a little time distortion thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the talking banana, Pedro. He’s the most important part.

At its core, the game seems like a typical run-and-gun, though with a style all its own. It also borrows heavily from freerunning, though imagine parkour while dual wielding pistols or wielding a shotgun. By design, My Friend Pedro is fast paced, frantic, and violent. Enemies around the map aren’t mindless either. They will take aim and fire without hesitation, take cover behind objects, and position themselves to make reaching them as difficult as possible. The demo was mostly a tutorial level in this case, with Pedro helpfully and happily teaching everyone how to shoot, dodge, and kick their way to victory. What else would you expect a sentient banana do be able to do, right?

Part of the joy of the game is the style it exudes. From the yellow and black jumpsuit, to the various dress of the enemies, the characters stand out from the often plain backgrounds. In fact, more detail would likely hinder a game like this, where making shots counts. Further into the tutorial you’re also taught how to split your aiming, letting you fire in two different directions. The amount of options this gives you is astounding. Picture this: you burst into a room, jump over the first of four enemies in the room, and slow down time. You split your aim, firing one gun at the far enemy, and the one you just leaped over. Once they’re down, and once you hit the ground, you dodge (pirouette, really) the second mook’s salvo of bullets, and leapfrog him, too. You fire both of your guns at the third man in the room, taking him down, and quickly turn around to deliver a lethal boot to the head of the second. That’s just one of many, many ways you can handle rooms in My Friend Pedro.

Let’s not forget about other fun amusements, like hanging from a cargo hook to rain gunfire on your opponents, kicking a skillet into the air to ricochet shots into unsuspecting victims, or casually riding a skateboard down the street as you mow down your enemies. There are even boss battles in the game — the demo had the main character zipping along on a motorcycle as he plastered countless cars into explosions for whatever reason. The boss himself wields a shotgun, and as you pepper him with gunfire, he retreats into the back of his meat wagon to chuckle explosive barrels at you. You can dodge these, sure, but it’s far more fun to shoot them midair to make them explode.

In essence, My Friend Pedro is all about style. It wasn’t so difficult that I ever felt truly in danger, but it was also never so easy as to feel like the bad guys were just bullet magnets. I mean, they were bullet magnets, sure, but for different reasons! I know this because my banana told me so.
Meeple Station is Now Live on Kickstarter
Vox Games announced today that their Rimworld-inspired space station building simulator, Meeple Station is now on Kickstarter. Scheduled for a PC release in Q1 2019, the team is led by Regions of Ruin developer Stephen Lucerne. Furthermore, backers of the game’s Kickstarter campaign will be treated to the opportunity to stock up on copies for friends, get immediate beta access to the game, and even take part in designing in-game content. Considerably different from their first game (Regions of Ruin), players manage their own space station. From demanding officers, meteor showers, and Giant Electric Man-Eating Space Squids, there’s a lot to see and experience. Players can drop in and out of the game from any save file, and help each other tackle the ins and outs of station management. For those interested, the Kickstarter is right here.
‘We always keep in mind why we’re here’ – says Alex Poysky, producer. ‘We want to make the games we want to play ourselves as gamers. Meeple Station is something different, a building and management sim you can play together with others. This is something we feel gamers want more of and we can’t wait to deliver a co-op experience in the genre.’
Key features:
· A Space Station all your own — There is a wide range of paraphernalia for a space station. From simple furniture, like bedding and seating, to complex machinery, life support, and power grids. You choose where and how to build it all, and your Meeple will have to adjust to your changes.
· Play it your way — Undertake a campaign, building difficult stations and meet pressing deadlines. Or sit back, relax and run your own little station, at your own pace, moving around the quadrant, exploring nearby planets and being a centre for trade and commerce.
· Manage your Meeple — Meeple are simple creatures. They’re not human, nor are they incredibly intelligent. They’re a race of space-faring creatures who enjoy industry, work, and exploration. But they need a lot of guidance, YOUR guidance!
· From a scrap heap to a Space hub — A bustling station will bring in a lot of trade and commerce, traders will fly in from all over the quadrant to dock at your station. Which is fortunately very lucrative for you!
The Gardens Between: PAX West 2018 Impressions
by Andrew Skelton (Outfoxed)
Atmospheric games are an interesting trend in gaming. Focused on the narrative versus gameplay mechanics, they’re designed to invoke thought and emotion on a deeper level. The Gardens Between is an upcoming title in that genre, and just on the surface, the game looks gorgeous. It follows the adventures of best friends Arina and Frendt as they explore surreal islands. Along the way, the player will unravel their story and find out how they ended up in the world they’ve found themselves in.

The first thing that I noticed about the game is that you don’t control either character directly. Instead, you’re manipulating time around them both in order to solve puzzles that help them advance. The demo I played had four different islands that told one singular story (in this case it seemed a story of when they built a treehouse together). There are a few puzzles to solve, mostly involving activating objects that remain in that state after you’ve rewound time.

Visually, the game is stunning, and the environmental sounds and simple soundtrack really aid in the immersive quality the game possesses. As I progressed from puzzle to puzzle and place to place, I got a small sense of the overall story the game seems to be going for. That’s the fun of games like this, where there is no dialogue, no stories told through text, or anything similar. You’re left to fill in the story for yourself, and for me, I worried strongly of what was going to happen to each of these characters.

Imagine connecting with two characters that you don’t control, that never speak, and that you’re there simply to guide along a path. That’s how The Gardens Between hooks you.
The game is quickly approaching launch, and if you’re a fan of atmosphere, you’ll likely find The Gardens Between right up your alley. Or island, I suppose. Just prepare yourself for what I anticipate to be a very emotional ride.
Find out more on the official website.
Fallout 76 – Vault-Tec Presents: Atomics for Peace! (Nukes Video)
Vault-Tec’s Tricentennial Committee has more information for upcoming visitors to the wasteland. Nukes are powerful armaments, and let’s learn about them for Fallout 76.
HITMAN 2 – Welcome to the Jungle Teaser
Welcome to the Jungle, Agents. Things are about to get mighty hairy in HITMAN 2, and there are some incredible ways to do your job.
R-Type Dimensions Coming to Nintendo Switch and PC in 2018
Tozai Games announced that they are bringing arguably one of the greatest shoot ’em up franchises in history to the Nintendo Switch and PC with R-Type Dimensions. It’s coming in late 2018, and includes both titles originally published by Irem: R-Type and R-Type II. Each can be played in their classic mode or with an upscaled, hi-res 3D/remastered version.
Two new features will be introduced in this edition: Full power-up mode, allowing players to power their ships to maximum weapon in Infinite Mode, and Fast forward, the ability to speed up the game in any mode. The Switch version will also feature in-game achievements.
- Two complete games: includes all 8 original R-Type levels and all 6 original R-Type II levels
- Switch between hi-res 2D/3D graphics with revamped music, or play the classic versions with the push of a button
- Infinite Mode and Level Select: learn the levels inside and out for the perfect, 1CC runs
- Co-op Mode: 2 players can play together “couch co-op” style or add collision for competitive play
- Slow motion play function: weave through bullets and enemies with ease
- Custom controller configuration: change the button layout to match your play style
HITMAN 2 – How to Hitman (Assassin’s Mindset)
It’s not easy to step into the shoes of a Hitman. But this Hitman 2 video might help you get into the mindset of an assassin.