The American Revolution is coming back on the Xbox One, with Assassin’s Creed III Remastered! It comes with enhanced graphics and improved gameplay, as well as all of the solo DLC!
Monthly Archives: February 2019
Conqueror’s Blade Announces Upcoming Free Weekend
My.com announced that their medieval warfare MMO, Conqueror’s Blade will be opening its doors to all registered Warlords. Presently in the Closed Beta phase, they are swinging open the gates this weekend. The dedicated European and North American servers will run from February 15th until February 17th, all registered players will be able to tackle this upcoming MMO. The servers will be open 24 hours a day during this test, until February 18th, 2019. There is also a brand new tutorial to explore, a quest-based tutorial to teach the fundamentals of the game.
Warlords will also be encouraged to explore the world, whether it’s to secure resources (through trade or conquest) and to establish themselves in competition with other players. Time not spent in battle will likely be spent researching and gathering resources so they can craft weapons and armor, as well as develop their recruits into mighty armies that can take on the world. On alternate days armies can take part in Territory Wars, which are effectively declarations of all-out war. Attacking armies will converge on their pre-preferred targets, while the defenders must effectively come together to try to send the invaders packing.
As well as new siege maps, there are new field battle locations that simulate the kind of skirmishes that occur when opposing armies meet on the open road or away from major settlements. Some of these battles can be played in PvP or PvE (using the same matchmaking system).
BlazBlue: Central Fiction – Special Edition Review (Nintendo Switch)
by Jason Parker (Ragachak)
I’ve been a fan of BlazBlue since BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. I have fond memories of sitting in my home with all my friends, everyone desperately trying to find a main character to play as. Years have passed since then, and everyone has moved off to different states, so those days are sadly, long gone. The memories remain though, as does the formula of the BlazBlue franchise: You take two parts insane story, and three parts wild, powerful characters. Blend until smooth, and there you have BlazBlue. The original Central Fiction came out in 2016, and while I love ArcSys, and I love all of their fighting games, some things simply have not changed. ArcSys has a habit of releasing ports for their games several years after release, and at least Central Fiction has the excuse of “The Switch is still fairly new”. But this could be a test to see how BlazBlue does on the Switch (aside from Cross Tag), because this is not the last BlazBlue title. Now, I do believe this is the last part of the current storyline, but I doubt it’s the last game in the franchise.
Fortunately, I’ve had Central Fiction since it originally hit PS4, so the Switch version to me is more a question of portability. Sure, I wish it would have hit the Switch last year, but there are positives to having BlazBlue: Central Fiction on the Nintendo Switch. After a few years, people in online bulletin boards tend to yell “Dead Game lol”, but for what it’s worth, the BlazBlue Central Fiction side tournament at CEO 2018 had 70 entrants. It also appeared at AnimEVO 2018 with 117 players. Does it have the same audience as Street Fighter V or Tekken 7? No, of course not. But it’s still alive, and people are still playing it. I don’t know if the Switch version is going to create a wild new influx of interest at tournaments, but I do hope so. It performs great on the Nintendo Switch, and you can take it with you to a tournament much easier than you would a Playstation 4 or a PC. Plus this, the Special Edition comes with all of the DLC characters (including my newfound main, Mai Natsume), giving everyone access to the whole cast, all 36 of them.
Compared to the previous iteration of BlazBlue, Central Fiction does have a pair of new, interesting game mechanics. The first is Exceed Accel, which is a type of Distortion Drive and is executed by pressing A-B-C-D during Overdrive, or by holding them after Overdrive is activated. Overdrive is also activated by pressing A-B-C-D and tends to enhance a character’s abilities in some fashion. Jin Kisaragi’s is “Frost End”, and all of Yukianesa’s Frost Attacks now freeze the opponent (Yukianesa = his sword). Tsubaki Yayoi, as another example, has her Install Gauge automatically charge.
The Exceed Accel attack deals a great deal of damage but ends Overdrive immediately. The next new mechanic is Active Flow, which is the opposite of the Negative Penalty status. Negative Penalty penalizes players for turtling (playing defensively and not attacking), and instead, Active Flow boosts damage and the recovery of the Burst Gauge. Active Flow also increases your Exceed Accel, and you can tell when you’re in it as the emblem on the health bar glows purple-pink and the announcer yells “Active Flow”! These aren’t new to Central Fiction on the Switch, but were additions to this iteration of the game in general. There are also two ways to play the game, as far as controls go: Technical and Stylish. Technical is the traditional way – you need to know combo strings, button inputs, everything. Stylish is for newcomers, and it lets them mash A, B, or C to create combos, and they also have the SP button to easily perform special attacks.
BlazBlue: Central Fiction is still very much a 2D anime fighter, with a four-button system. You have the three attack buttons, A, B, C, and the “Special/Heat” button, D. D is typically where the character’s special focus or features are found. That’s one of the things that makes BlazBlue both stand out, and also feel a little difficult for newcomers. Every single character has their own special trait or skill that makes them stand out and has their own special gameplay mechanics. To me, that makes it fun though, figuring out who does what, and which of those feels right for you. In previous iterations of BlazBlue, I played Jin Kisaragi, though that has changed in Central Fiction. Each attack button’s properties and animations change depending on what direction you held when attacking, which offers so many tactical and combo possibilities. With that in mind, combo strings can feel daunting, sometimes impossible to practice and improve upon. But they really aren’t – like any fighter, you have to practice and make time for it.
The story in a Nutshell – Terumi’s a Jerk: 3.5/5
But how does it actually handle on the Nintendo Switch? I played a few ranked and casual matches on my wireless signal, and personally, I didn’t receive a lot of lag in the match itself. Now, if I were going to regularly play ranked, I would be leery, since the Switch doesn’t have a port for a cat-5 cable. I do however play in the same room as my router, so it’s not a signal that’s going far. I experienced smooth framerates and internet connectivity, but of course, that second point is also dependent on the opponent. So far it’s been positive though. It felt good and responsive in both docked and portable mode, but I prefer to play in docked since I have access to a bigger screen. Fighting Games on a small screen can be terribly frustrating. Thankfully, BlazBlue has a very easy-to-follow tutorial system, and each character has their own special tutorial that goes over the gameplay of said character.
So, after spending time learning, I think there’s a lot to offer here. I didn’t wait very long for matches either, so there have to be people online playing. Most of the lobbies I saw for casuals had a decent amount of players in them, but I’d rather go into Ranked Matches and not wait through a lobby. Though my friends in the BlazBlue scene always tell me the best players are in casuals. BlazBlue: Central Fiction handles great on the Switch, and playing using the Pro Pad felt exactly as I hoped it would. I don’t own an arcade stick for the Switch but I believe there’s only one real option for that at the moment. 2D anime fighters though, in my opinion, feel better on a pad. Though Central Fiction is a few years old, I hope this will still get some attention. It’s a solid fighter, and one I enjoy more than Cross Tag if I’m being 100% honest. I just hope these releases in the future, come out closer together. Plus, being able to take your fighting game on the go to play with your friends? Even better! With the Switch release, it’s never been easier to take your game on the go to practice with members of your fighting game community.
BitMeUp
BitMeUp
Noah System
Noah System
Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Burnt Horizon – Outback Map
Australia is the setting for the next map, quaintly called “Outback” for Rainbow Six Siege‘s “Operation Burnt Horizon”. This is the 21st map created for Rainbow Six Siege.
Yakuza Kiwami Review (PC Port)
by Jason Parker (Ragachak)
The Yakuza franchise is one I found a little late – during the release of Yakuza 4. But by now, I think I’ve played through Yakuza Kiwami something like four times. I wasn’t really upset when my save file got destroyed, because it meant I could go through the game again with a clean slate! It’s definitely worth it. Now PC fans no longer have an excuse to get into what is, to me, the best sandbox franchise that exists. Another positive is that it will still be 19 dollars, the same price PS4 users can get it for.
This release of Yakuza 4 is a port, but it does have 4k capability for those with the power to do so. I do, but alas, my monitor does not, so I’m missing out. On that note, PC players have been missing out on this series, but that ended last year with the arrival of Yakuza 0 on PC, with thanks to SEGA. Yakuza Kiwami is definitely a game that feels better with a controller, but you can play with keyboard and mouse if that’s more your thing. You can also adjust the buttons in the config, something you can’t do on PS4.
Yakuza Kiwami is a solid entry point to the franchise since it’s a re-release of the original Yakuza, which debuted in December of 2006. Somehow this escaped me, despite owning and regularly using my PS2 during this time. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to Kiwami, and while I do definitely recommend playing it, if for no other reason than to control the super-cool Goro Majima, Kiwami is where the main story begins. The only thing I’ll say about the main story of Yakuza Kiwami is that it is known as the “Ten Billion Yen Incident”, and Kiryu Kazuma, the Dragon of Dojima inevitably gets involved. This game sets a precedent, where each Yakuza title is a wild, unstoppable, emotional rollercoaster.
Each time I load this game up, despite knowing what’s going to happen next, I still feel a little thrill down in my belly about it. It looks just as good, if not a tiny bit better than the PS4 release. Both are certainly gorgeous. However, on the note of loading the game, one of my complaints comes here – The game does not seem to recognize that I have settings that need to be saved. It does not keep my “Fullscreen (Borderless)” setting in graphics and rarely keeps my audio settings. It’s not a big deal to set those before I play, but it is something that is a little annoying.
While the main story of Yakuza Kiwami is an emotional beatdown, there’s lots of laughs and tears to be had in the side missions, which are fantastic palate cleansers, for when you need to take a deep breath. The story for Yakuza can sometimes be a bit emotional, so having side missions where you play the Crane Game for a guy, or play a high-fanservice card game featuring large-breasted women dressed as bugs, who hit wild wrestling moves, or get offered a job at a “Banana Bar”, there’s plenty in Yakuza that is less serious. Kiryu Kazuma’s journey is an unforgettable one.
The first couple of chapters are mostly straight forward and story-based, with little-to-no side-missions or side content to tackle. That changes in Chapter 4, when most of the game opens up. Chapter 4 has so many side missions that open up, that I tend to spend about 10 hours in that chapter alone. Sometimes more! These missions might be hard to find without a guide, that’s why Kiwami Bob Utsonomiya exists.
Tenkaichi Street is where the game sort of begins, and there’s a taxi cab there to take you to other destinations. This is where the weird clown Kiwami Bob Utsonomiya stands and waits for you. For those who will ultimately be new to the game, he’s where you get all of your DLC items, and where you trade in your CP. Your Collection Points can be seen on the character menu (pressing Options on the PS4 controller), and as you complete things in the game, you’ll earn a point here and a point there.
You can keep track of them under “Completion List”. The reason I point all of this out is Kiwami Bob has an item you will need to make Side Missions a lot easier to find. Once you’ve farmed up 12 points, go back to him and go through the first tab to see “Trouble Finder”. Equipping it will display an Exclamation Mark on your map for each Side Mission you have access to. Get this, keep it on, and love it. You’re welcome.
The meat and potatoes for Yakuza, besides the story, is the combat. Kiryu Kazuma is known as the “Dragon of Dojima”, and due to events, he’s lost a lot of the power that came from his unique “Dragon” style. So instead of only relying on it, he has three other styles – a Brawler Style (Blue), a Speed Style (Purple), a Beast Style (Yellow), which can be swapped between at will. You can also equip a weapon, and double tapping one of the styles will swap to that weapon. Combat is easy to get into, and the tutorial will give you all of the knowledge you need.
The fun part of combat though is building up your Heat Meter, grabbing an opponent, and using Heat Actions as you unlock them. They’re brutal, violent, and do a lot of damage. One of my personal favorites is Kiryu vertical suplexing some poor thug onto a guard rail. You can unlock heat actions for weapons too, and though you can buy weapons, there are lots of things you can violate your foes with on the streets. Bicycles, syringes, chairs, storefront signs, swords, traffic cones…The world is your violent oyster. This does lead to one of the big changes from the original Yakuza – Majima is Everywhere. Goro Majima’s a little mad, has a cool eyepatch, and loves to fight.
Goro Majima is out to help Kiryu get back to his former self, by kicking his ass at any opportunity. The game says Majima is Everywhere, and that’s not a lie, that’s not a rib. From the sewers, as a cop, inside of hidden items, he even interrupts fights you’re in to join in and start bashing you with a baseball bat. Defeating him repeatedly will give you a Majima Sense ( you can see where he is on the map and seek him out). Each of these victories leads to new powers in your Dragon Style. This is the only way you can learn these techniques, mind. Your Majima Everywhere grade starts at G, and goes all the way to SSS.
I was unable to hit SSS in the first playthrough and had to go back for it in a second. He gets progressively more difficult, but the rewards in terms of damage and technique are worth it. He will also occasionally have one of his flunkies send you a text message, hinting at a place where you can encounter Majima. Eating food, completing side missions, and beating up thugs will give you experience, and those exp points can be used in the other traits, exempting of course, Dragon Style. You can spend exp on Soul (Heat Actions), Tech (Battle Style moves) and Body (HP/Power). Going into the Dragon Style in this menu will show you what you have earned, and how to earn the other powers.
Wholesome but Violent: 4.5/5:
Kiryu Kazuma is what heroic-style protagonists aspire to be. He’s such a wholesome, but violently powerful character. He supports his friends, doesn’t bring other people down regardless of race, gender, religion. But if you’re a bad guy and you’re hurting people, he’s not afraid to put those people into a hurt locker. Yakuza Kiwami has so much stuff to do in terms of side content too. Baseball, Bowling, Arcades, Karaoke, Cabaret Clubs, RC Cars, you name it. On a personal level, I’m not a fan of sandbox games. Most of them try to offer too much in too large of an area. They wind up feeling empty, and I get overwhelmed. But the city of Kamurocho is just the perfect size. It’s not a massive city that takes a half hour to run across, but every single square inch of it has something to see, something to do. It’s a pretty faithful recreation of Kabukicho, to boot. Yakuza Kiwami is one of the best sandbox games I’ve played, and it’s a great entry point into the series. I’d also recommend 0, and if this trend keeps up, perhaps we’ll see Kiwami 2 on PC before too long. Sometimes ridiculous, most of the time serious, always unforgettable – that’s Yakuza Kiwami.
A code was provided for purposes of this review.
Total War: Three Kingdoms Announces New Release Date
Creative Assembly announced today that Total War: Three Kingdoms will be delayed, moving the release date back to May 23rd, 2019. It will mark new depth and tactical possibility for the Total War franchise, but fans will have to wait just a bit longer.
“We’re lucky to be in a position to do the right thing for our games, and in this case, it means taking the time to get everything ready for you,” said Rob Bartholomew, Studio Brand Director at Creative Assembly. “It’s important that we give you a game that you can enjoy to the fullest, and we’re excited for you to see what we have in store.”
Jump Force – Join the JUMP FORCE Launch Trailer
Jump Force launches on February 15th, but those who pre-ordered the Jump Force Ultimate Edition can begin tomorrow, February 12th. This latest trailer shows off the heroes and villains who are ready to go into heated battle.
Rainbow Six Siege: Emmanuel Teaser (Behind the Siege)
Emmanuel Bajolle is the Narrative Director behind Rainbow Six Siege, and in this brief profile, he goes into why he’s looking forward to the 2019 Six Invitational. It’s coming on February 15-17th.


















