Monthly Archives: June 2019

Goodgame Empire

Goodgame Empire is a free-to-play, strategy game which charges you with the task of developing an empire from a simple castle. A variety of units, siege tools, buildings, and other extensions are available to help you not only build your city but help conquer the rest of the world. Build up your own city, amass vast armies, and create a true empire in Goodgame Empire! Available on your browser, as well as iOS, Android and Amazon Fire devices.

Business Model: Free to Play/Freemium

Microtransactions: Yes – Players may purchase rubies, which allow them to speed up production of buildings and that which the buildings produce.

Key Features:

Resource Management: Manage several different resources that give you the means to create new units, buildings, research upgrades and more!

Quests: Complete different quests that will give you an idea of what you should be looking to do next while providing you with rewards for your efforts.

Population: Manage your population carefully and try to expand it as much as you can. The more people living in your empire, the more taxes you can collect.

Battlefield Hardline

Battlefield Hardline is a multiplayer first person shooter (FPS) for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Miami is now in a full on drug war and Officer Nick Mendoza has just been promoted to detective. Alongside his partner, Nick will go on the search for the source of a drug supply chain in a series of off-the-books cases. What they find reveals just how far the grasp of corruption and power has grown.

Business Model: Retail, $7.99 for base game, or play on Origin Access.

Microtransactions: Yes. It’s an EA Battlefield game. You can pay to unlock anything and everything.

Key Features:

Classes: Professional, Enforcer, Mechanic, or Operator.

Dramatic Single Player: Inspired by television crime dramas, Battlefield Hardline offers a tense single player story.

Thrilling Multiplayer: Choose your side of the law and worth with your team to pull off heists and busts.

Environment Destruction: Shootouts aren’t all that Battlefield has to offer; prepare to use explosives and other tools to blow vaults, cars, and more to dust.

Modern Gadgetry: Explore the urban jungle with ziplines, sawed-off shotguns, grappling hooks, tasers, tear gas, and riot shields.

Expansions:

Criminal Activity: These are no petty crimes. Something is organizing the dirt bags, and they’re terrorizing the city. Featuring four new maps (Backwoods, Code Blue, The Beat, and Black Friday), Bounty Hunter Mode, and new gear including masks.

Robbery: The Big Score; Will you make it, or break it? Featuring four new maps (Precinct 7, The Docks, Museum, and Break Pointe), Squad Heist Mode, and more gear.

Getaway: Play as a wheel man for the crooks, or a professional chase driver for the boys in blue. Featuring four new maps (Pacific Highway, Train Dodge, Double Cross, Diversion), Capture the Bag mode, Legendary Camo and more.

Betrayal: Crook on Crook action! Featuring four new maps (Alcatraz, Cemetary, Chinatown, and Thin Ice), and an assortment of gear.

The Crew

The Crew is an action-driving online multiplayer game taking players on a reckless ride inside a massive, open-world recreation of the United States.

Business Model: Buy-to-Play

Microtransactions: Yes, there are a collection of optional in-game purchases available such as additional cars.

Key Features:

Calling Company: Seamlessly jump in and out of others’ games at any time, joining forces at opportune moments to overcome tough challenges.

Unrestricted Exploration: Discover areas across a re-imagined North America without any restrictive barriers.

Driver’s Delight: Earn new vehicles as you progress and customize them according to your preferences.

In-Touch: Use an iOS device, Android tablet, or web browser to access The Crew companion game, tinker with car parts, and browse player profiles on-the-go.

Expansions:

Wild Run: Introduced a graphical overhaul as well as new cars, motorcycles, and vehicle specifications.
Calling All Units: Take on the role of a peace-serving cop and chase down road-bound crooks.

Robocraft

Robocraft is a vehicular-action online multiplayer game featuring the building, and subsequent piloting, of futuristic battle robots.

Business Model: Free-to-Play

Microtransactions: Yes, there are optional in-game purchases available including pay-to-progress tokens.

Key Features:

From Scratch: Create a mobilized mech from over 100 cubes and components – there are endless design possibilities!

Eagle One: Pilot your custom-created vehicle in a wide variety of game modes.

Behind Enemy Lines: Evade deadly encounters and secure valuable resources for your crew.

Keeping Tidy: Autorepair your bot before each battle, store creations in a garage, and access your game from anywhere through the Robocloud.

Vainglory

Vainglory is an exciting new mobile MOBA from former Blizzard and Riot Games employees. Prepare for a new, free-to-play, battleground! Available on Steam, Android, iOS, Amazon devices, or direct PC Download.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes – Unlock heroes or buy them special skins.

Key Features:

48+ Heroes: Each hero plays different, so find your favorite to master.

Fast Paced: Matches last around 25 minutes, or jump in for a 5 minute brawl.

Cross Play: Now you can play against any of the available platforms.

7 Days to Die

7 Days to Die is a buy to play 3D survival game developed by The Fun Pimps for PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, and Xbox One. 7 Days to Die presents players with a hardened, post-apocalyptic world where the undead are rampant and taking over. Players will need to work with or against each other in an open world to survive against gruesome creatures and other hostile players. By building, crafting, collecting, and fighting you can show just how much skilled you truly are and that no man, or undead can stand in the way of you and survival

Business Model: Early Access Retail Purchase

Microtransactions: None

Key Features:

Base Building: Create bases from already existing ruins or start from scratch in an area that looks good to you, but make sure your structures are well-built otherwise they might collapse under their own weight.

Skills: With both active and passive disciplines to invest in you can make sure that you’re prepared for any situation you might be confronted with.

Scavenge Loot: Find new weapons, armors, clothing, resources and more throughout the world that you can use to help your survive even longer.

Vehicles: Find recipes and parts that can be used to craft vehicles that will help you get around much more quickly than you ever would on foot.

Zombie Nomad Mode: Play the game as a survivor, bandit, or zombie in a multiplayer competitive survival experience.

Heroes of the Storm

Heroes of the Storm (previously Blizzard DOTA and Blizzard All-Stars) is a MOBA/ Hero Brawler in which the worlds of Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft collide in a battle for dominance. Each hero has its own unique play style and set of skills, which players can choose from (even their ultimates) to adapt to each battlefield. Meanwhile, each map has its own unique objectives and challenges. Blizzard has also made attempts to eliminate many of the MOBA barriers or challenges, including last-hits, to offer a definitive twist to the genre.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Players purchase heroes using Gold which can be either purchased with real money or earned in game.

Key Features:

Years of Gaming Collide: Heroes represents more than 20 years of Blizzard gaming history, settings, and iconic characters, all mashed up into an epic, off-the-wall team brawler. Fight out classic showdowns between characters or settle those debates you’ve had in your head about who is the strongest Blizzard character of all!

Customization: Customization is an important part of playing in Heroes. There are plenty of ways to customize how your hero fights and looks so you can take your own personalized version of them into battle.

Team-Based Gameplay: Whether it’s joining with allies in a group fight, or working together to overcome each battleground’s unique challenges, you’re rewarded for playing as a team. There are even heroes that sacrifice their own head-to-head abilities to instead help the entire team by affecting the battleground as a whole.

Anthem

Anthem is BioWare’s open world third-person shooter with strong Action-RPG elements. Players don advanced Javelin exosuits to traverse multiple types of terrain, fight challenging bosses, and work to protect the world.

Business Model: Retail Purchase: Origin Access Premier or $59.99 for basic version on Origin Store. Legion of Dawn special edition for $79.99 on Origin Store.

Microtransactions: Yes – Developers have claimed no loot boxes or blind drops. Only cosmetic, non-gameplay affecting items.

Key Features:

Play Online: Set out alone or join up to 3 friends as you explore a challenging open world setting full of adventure.

Original Story: If there’s one thing BioWare is known for, it’s engaging stories with characters you love. Anthem promises to hold true to this pattern.

Customization: Each Javelin exosuit can be given a unique load-out to help you fine tune to your preferred play style.

Evolving World: Time of day, weather and even the terrain will change over time, keeping things fresh in the open world.

Space Engineers

Space Engineers is a realistic sandbox game focused on engineering, constructing, and maintaining space machinery. Players build space ships and space stations for different tasks (civil and military), pilot ships, and perform asteroid mining. All objects can be assembled, disassembled, damaged, and destroyed.

Business Model: Retail Purchase, $19.99 USD

Microtransactions: Yes – DLC

Key Features:

Spaceship!: Build your own modular craft by component. Attach engines, gyros, rocket thrusters, mining attachments, wheels (for ground based vehicles) and so much more. Just remember, physics are a thing!

Automation: Use scripted programming for a variety of automated tasks, such as building a solar panel that can follow the sun’s path, or automated mining arms for your land bound craft.

Multiplayer: Team up with friends and show your style with special cosmetic items that fall from space.

Infinite Replay: Procedural generation ensures that no two play-throughs are the same, unless you choose to tackle one of the game’s preset scenarios.

Tree of Savior

Tree of Savior is a 2.5D MMORPG with artistic visuals and fast-paced, hack n’ slash gameplay.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes – Cosmetics, convenience, and gameplay boosting items available.

Key Features:

Excellent Musical Score: Fans of the original Ragnarok Online might remember the game’s catchy, masterfully-composed musical tracks. That same standard of quality makes a return in Tree of Savior, with soulful music that makes every environment truly distinct. Combined with the unique and colorful art direction, every scene and zone of Tree of Savior will come alive for players in truly harmonious way.

Player-Driven World: Tree of Savior is more than just another grindfest. The gameplay is centered around player interaction and community. Crafting and economy are a big part of the game. Group content is the centerpiece of the game, though there are plenty of solo-friendly things to do. There’s plenty more for players to do beyond combat, as well, from taming and charming animals, to party events, and more.

Staggering Boss Fights: The bosses in Tree of Savior are truly colossal. World bosses are a big part of the game, and the creatures you’ll find at the bottoms of dungeons are truly challenging. Players need to coordinate with one another to avoid devastating attacks from anything from giant golems, dragons, gun-toting giants, and charging beasts. Players will be pushed to the limits of their skills to earn the best rewards.

Expansions:

Tree of Savior: Re:Build Expansion: A new class advancement UI, New Skills & Attributes UI, Improved rank and class system. Various balance changes.