Monthly Archives: June 2019

Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter is a survival game created by Bethesda. Set in the Fallout universe, players are put in control of a state-of-the-art underground Vault from Vault-Tec. Players will be tasked with building the perfect Vault, keeping Dwellers happy, and protecting them from the dangers of the Wasteland. Vault-Tec has provided the tools, but the rest is up to you. In the fallout shelter, anything can happen. It is available on XBox 1, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile devices.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes – Purchase Nuka Cola for expediency, lunchboxes for resources and dwellers, Mr. Handy’s to help out in the vault, or pet carriers to give your dwellers a companion.

Key Features:

Build the Perfect Vault: Select from a variety of modern-day rooms to turn an excavation beneath 2,000 feet of bedrock into the very picture of Vault Life.

Customize: Turn worthless junk into useful items with crafting, or customize the look of any dweller in the barbershop.

Explore: Send Dwellers above ground to explore the blasted surface left behind and seek adventure, handy survival loot, or unspeakable death.

Protect: Prepare your Dwellers to protect against threats from the outside and within the vault.

Expansions:

While Fallout Shelter does not have expansions, it does regularly host events, especially around holidays.

Defiance 2050

Defiance 2050 continues the fight that began in the original Defiance title from Trion Worlds. The Defiance universe has been re-imagined with newer hardware, for more modern PCs as well as the Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles. Defiance 2050 is a Massively Multiplayer Online Shooter set in a post-apocalytpic sci-fi world overflowing with alien technology. A vast open world full of excitement and danger awaits long-time fans of Defiance and newcomers alike.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes – Class unlocks (also available through game play) and cosmetics such as vehicle and weapon skins.

Key Features:

A Familiar World Reborn: The popular Defiant Universe returns, rebuilt for a modern era! Whether a long-time or first-time player, there will be excitement waiting.

Free to Play Without Pay to Win: Unlock classes through gameplay, or via the shop. Complete achievements to unlock cosmetic outfits.

Customize: Choose from one of three races and 5 classes, and customize your skills to suit your playstyle. Whether a Guardian, Combat Medic, Assault specialist, stealthy Assassin or the powerful new hammer wielding Crusader, you’ve got options!

Expansions:

Trouble in Paradise: Unleashed the hammer wielding Crusader class on the bay area, as well as new weapon skins and powerful new prototype weapons.

Combat Arms

Combat Arms is a online multiplayer first-person shooter featuring extensive character customization.

Business Model: Free-to-Play

Microtransactions: Yes, there are various optional in-game purchases available.

Key Features:

By the Dozen: Take on a variety of mission types including Blood Money, Operation: Black Lung, One Man Army, and more.

The Emporium: Add a splash of your personality through bought items, crafting, and upgrades.

Achievements: Earn medals to display on your profile.

Finely Tuned: Rank up in battle to earn access to specialized abilities that help give you an edge.

SMITE

SMITE is a third-person perspective MOBA by HiRez Studios where players can choose from a wide variety of deities from different Pantheons to take into the Battleground of the Gods. Fight for favor and worshippers for your gods to increase their mastery levels and prove to the world why your favorite deities are the best around, but don’t forget to work with your teammates in cooperative game modes to take down the opposition. SMITE is becoming increasingly dynamic with every season offering new metas, builds, and brand new deities to mix things up. Dive into the Battleground of the Gods today and find out if you’ve got what it takes to do battle with the Gods themselves!

Features:

Mythological Basis: SMITE is based on mythology from all across the world, stretching from the lands of the Mayans, to the Greeks, to the Japanese.

Third-Person Perspective: This MOBA puts you right into the action over the shoulders of your favorite Gods. Get ready to feel more involved than ever!

Skins: Every God has skins to choose from so you can enter battlegrounds in your favorite style. Whether you’re looking for something modern, steampunk, or something straight-up intimidating you’re sure to find a skin you like.

Ranked: When you’re not practicing in normal matches you can head into ranked versions of Conquest, Joust, or Duel to truly see how you stack up against other players.

Rocket League

Rocket League is a physics-based soccer-style sports game using acrobatic cars instead of people. Fly through the sky using boosts and incredible maneuvers to score goals on your opponent without getting scored on yourself.

Business Model: Retail

Microtransactions: Yes, there is a wide variety of cosmetics available for purchase.

Key Features:

 

Head Turner: Stand out from the crowd with a large selection of color alterations, decals, costumes, and more.

I Believe: Dash into the air to execute or block trick shots.

Getting Better Everyday: Familiarize yourself with how the game works by playing no-stress unranked game modes.

Zero Sum: Test your mettle against the best players from around the world.

Go Goalie: Don’t be a ball hog or leave your goal unattended! Work with your buddies to keep the match manageable.

Highlights: Rewatch your greatest moments with automatic replay recording.

 

The Elder Scrolls Online

The Elder Scrolls Online is a buy-to-play fantasy MMORPG from Zenimax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks based on the popular Elder Scrolls series. The game takes place during the Age of Heroes, 1,000 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and features classic regions of the Tamriel game world, including Morrowind, Daggerfall, and Skyrim. With the fate of the world in the balance and the potential to acquire supreme power in Tamriel there isn’t a moment to lose. Create your character and decide your destiny in The Elder Scrolls Online!

Features:

Vast Character Choices: Players can become one of ten classic races from the Elder Scrolls series including Nords, Redguards, Bretons, Imperials, Dunmer, Altmer, Bosmer, Orsimer, Khajiiti, and Argonians. Further customization includes the choice of one of five distinct classes and the additional choice of becoming a vampire or werewolf.

Factions: The player’s race determines what end of the faction war for the Imperial Throne they will be on: the Daggerfall Covenant, Ebonheart Pact, or Aldmeri Dominion. Player’s that decide to become an Imperial will have the ability to choose the faction they fight for since they are seen as traitor’s to the current Empire.

Large-scale PvP: Conflicts concern more than just simple skirmishes with players of the opposing factions. Players must also collect resources, assist citizens, and capture objectives to truly help their faction take over.

Borderlands 2

So, you’re ready for another story, eh?

Borderlands 2 is the badass sequel to its predecessor, Borderlands, available for PC, Android (Yes, Android) Mac, PS3 and X-Box 360. There’s also a Handsome Collection that brings Borderlands 2 (And the Borderland Pre-Sequel) to PS4 and X-Box One. Return to Pandora as a whole new cast of miscreants as they take on the Hyperion Corporation and its nefarious CEO, Handsome Jack in this award winning FPSRPG.

Now Available for PSVR!

Business Model: Retail Purchase

Microtransactions: Yes – Several DLCs exist. See Expansions below.

Key Features:

New Characters: Meet Salvador the Gunzerker, Maya the Siren, Axton the Soldier, and Zero the Assassin, in a new storyline continued from the original Borderlands. Plus Gaige the Mechromancer and Krieg the Psycho Bandit (DLC or Special Edition required).

It’s a Sequel: Featuring new characters, skills, and environments, live up to the challenge and enter a new story in the world of Pandora alone or with friends. With flexible co-op and intense action, there’s never a dull moment in Pandora.

Local and Remote Co-Op: Play split-screen co-op locally with friends, or online with the ability to drop in, or out, as life demands, with up to four people.

New Weapons and Vehicles: Prepare for a new load-out of randomly generated weapons, plus vehicles with improved physics and support for a full co-op party.

True to the Original: Borderlands 2 still features the same character progression systems, including quests, character specific ultimate skills, and skill tree specializations, that were found in the original Borderlands.

Expansions:

Captain Scarlet and her Pirate’s Booty – New enemies, new loot and new quests, new areas and new missions. Just a whole treasure trove of new playable content.

Psycho Pack – Play as Krieg the Psycho Bandit and go nuts.

Collector’s Edition Pack – Cosmetic unlocks and the ‘Contraband Sky Rocket Grenade’.

Creature Slaughter Dome – You didn’t think Moxxi would miss out on the fun, did you? Slay creatures to pass levels, earn loot, and gain experience, that carries back to the main campaign mode.

Mechromancer Pack – Unlocks Gaige the Mechromancer. Deadly things come in small packages.

Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage – EXPLOSIVES?!

Mr. Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt – Search for a crashed Hyperion ship while battling strangely mutated creatures.

Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep – Tiny Tina wants to play “Bunkers and Badasses,” and you’re going to join her.

Ultimate Vault Hunter’s Upgrade Pack – Play up to level 61 (rather than the 50 from the base game) with new weapons, new gear, and more.

 

Tree of Life

Tree of Life is a 3D fantasy MMORPG where you can become anyone or do anything you’d like: whether it be farming, slaying other players, traveling and defending the world, constructing your own village, or watching over your lands.

Business Model: Buy-to-Play

Microtransactions: Yes, a one time account upgrade is available for purchase.

Key Features:

Village Construction: Build your house wherever you’d like in the world and grow it into a formidable castle.

Class Combinations: Become a grand warrior, master smith, fabled farmer, or become all three at the same time if it so suits you!

Playing for Keeps: That gorgeous castle that you’ve been building up for a month could be wiped out in a single raid if you and your allies don’t defend it well enough.

Guilds: Work together with other players with similar mindsets and dominate the world in the ways that fit you best.

Player-Driven Economy: Build a farm so that you can generate food for you and your allies, or craft mighty weapons to wield in battle.

XCOM 2

XCOM 2 is a 3D sci-fi strategy game developed by Firaxis Games for Mac, PC, Linux, PS4 and XBox One. XCOM 2 continues to plot of the XCOM series, picking up 20 years after the aliens invaded Earth and ultimately forced the human race into surrender. Now that the aliens rule the planet and have been creating new structures and great technologies vastly different than what was available from before, some of the human population has been deceived into thinking that the aliens are actually being helpful and productive. The few XCOM members who are left know better than this and plan to fight back and expose the alien race’s underlying nefarious plans.

Business Model: Retail Purchase

Microtransactions: Yes – DLC Content for sale both individually and as part of package deals.

Key Features:

Classes: The Soldiers of the human campaign are: Ranger, Grenadier, Specialist, Sharpshooter, Psi Operative (requires Psi Lab), and SPARK robot (requires Shen’s Last Gift DLC). War of the Chosen also allows 3 new “hero classes”: The Reaper, Skirmisher, and Templar.

Strategic Combat: When players send their troops into combat they can directly control each unit’s actions and make important decisions like where to move, when to try to kill an enemy, and whether or not to save a downed comrade.

Worldwide Conflicts: XCOM forces have secured an alien supply craft and converted it into their personal mobile base nicknamed the Avenger, enabling them to conduct missions around the globe.

Randomly Generated Multiplayer Maps: Multiplayer maps are randomly generated for each map, ensuring that players will always have a new experience when playing online.

Expansions:

War of the Chosen: New maps, missions, weapons, classes, and enemies, War of the Chosen is just chock full of new content.

Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 is an action MMORPG featuring seamless player cooperation and thrilling fast-paced combat. Unite Tyria’s factions and fight back against an ancient evil threat.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes, new expansions as well as various in-game items are available for purchase.

Key Features:

Races:

Asura: Though small, these fiercely intelligent creatures stop at nothing to pursue knowledge and innovation.
Sylvari: A budding collection of sentient plant beings directed by the mystical Dream.
Human: Numerous and globally scattered with ideals and characteristics ranging wildly from place to place.
Norn: Bundled up hunters from the chilling lands of the North.
Charr: A defiantly militaristic group of soldiers where honor and loyalty come first before all.

Classes:

Elementalist: Utilize the power of the elements to cast a wide selection of spells and swap attunements as necessary.
Engineer: Respond to any threat with a combination of helpful gadgets.
Guardian: Soak up damage and call upon the divine for group-wide blessings.
Mesmer: Conjure illusions to confound foes.
Necromancer: Rise the dead from their graves en masse.
Ranger: Raise up a loyal pet found in the wild.
Thief: Sneak behind enemy lines and deal devastating damage with a well-timed backstab.
Warrior: Build up adrenaline and mow through foes with heavy swords and high powered rifles.
Revenant: Call upon legendary heroes to assist you and your teammates in battle.

Land and Sea: Travel across the world taking in incredible sights and completing a massive amount of content.

Engagement Hunter: Participate in events big or small and come away with grand rewards.

Spread the Wealth: You don’t have to be grouped up or in a clan to receive loot share, everyone is included automatically!

Reborn: Design your character starting from their race, look, and story to what specializations they master in later levels.

My Narrative: See to the conclusion of your personal conflict, then save the world.

Sting Like a Bee: Dip in and out of combat attacking when advantageous and using skills to brutal effect.

Mine’n’Craft: Collect a variety of resources and create any number of useful items.

Fractured Fractal: Challenge tough dungeons with a few pals and defeat the bosses waiting at the end.

Multiplayer Mahem: Take the fight to other players in several game modes including domination, team deathmatch, and the massive World v World v World.

Bling with a Purpose: Put your exhaustive end game effort on display with a dazzling legendary weapon.

Expansions:

Heart of Thorns: Cut your way through thick brush and vines to find a series zones packed with new adventures.
Path of Fire: Head to the blistering hot deserts of Elona and fight the rogue god Balthazar.