Monthly Archives: June 2019

No Straight Roads Announces Publishing by Sold Out, For 2020 Release

No Straight Roads news

No Straight Roads is a new music-based action game from Wan Hazmer (Lead Designer of Final Fantasy XV) and they announced that it will receive a Playstation 4 and PC release in early 2020. This partnership means it will also receive a physical Playstation 4 release, alongside the confirmed digital edition.  Pre-orders will be available soon, for 39.99 (digital pre-orders available at a later date).

“Partnering with Sold Out has given us the opportunity to turn the volume up to 11 on NO STRAIGHT ROADS, and we’re thrilled to also release a physical edition,” said Wan Hazmer, CEO of Metronomik. “Pushing the game to early 2020 wasn’t an easy decision, but the extra time will let us fully deliver on our vision for NO STRAIGHT ROADS while sticking to our studio’s core values of providing a friendly, healthy workplace. We’re so proud of everyone on the team for what they’ve achieved so far, and we can’t wait to bring Vinyl City to life…!”

NO STRAIGHT ROADS is an action game that puts music and sound at the heart of the gameplay. Playing as Mayday and Zuke, two members of the indie rock band Bunk Bed Junction, players must fight back against the NSR mega corporation, an EDM empire that has taken control of Vinyl City and banned all other types of music. Explore Vinyl City’s eclectic districts and use music to transform objects into weapons, face colossal bosses and change the world.

“Excuse the pun but NO STRAIGHT ROADS immediately struck a chord with us and we’re really excited to be working with Metronomik to release the game around the world,” said Garry Williams, CEO of Sold Out. “It’s a genuinely unique title. It’s loud and in-your-face with some fresh gameplay mechanics, bringing back memories of games like Jet Set Radio while delivering something new and innovative.

SEGA Announces The Final 12 Games for the SEGA Genesis Mini

SEGA Genesis Mini

SEGA sent out the list of the final 12 games that will be featured on the SEGA Genesis mini, with an additional two games! Originally 40, now it’s 42 games. Darius, the classic shoot ’em up, and the iconic puzzle game Tetris will be joining the party. In addition, this list also has one of the best platforming action titles, in the near-perfect arcade port of Strider. If you’re attending E3, you can also play the SEGA Genesis Mini!

The Final 12:
  1. Tetris®
  2. Darius
  3. Virtua Fighter 2
  4. Alisia Dragoon
  5. Monster World IV
  6. Kid Chameleon
  7. Road Rash II
  8. Eternal Champions
  9. Columns
  10. Dynamite Headdy
  11. Strider
  12. Light Crusader

SEGA Genesis Mini Q&A:

Q. Which version of the Genesis is the Mini based on?
A. It’s based on the original Model 1 Genesis which launched in Oct. 1988 in Japan, Aug. 1989 in North America, and Nov. 1990 everywhere else.

Q. How big is it in comparison to the original console?
A. It’s approximately 55% of the original Model 1 size.

Q. What do you get in the box?
A. The Genesis Mini comes complete with 42 games, Two replica three-button USB Genesis controllers, One USB to Micro-B power cable, One power adapter (North America only), and One HDMI cable.

Q. Who handled the ports?
A. M2 is handling the porting process. They’ve previously worked on SEGA AGES and SEGA 3D Classics Collection, with a fantastic reputation based on the quality of their emulation projects and their faithfully recreated ports.

Q. Can I use original Genesis controllers with the Mini?
A. No, only the provided USB controllers or the Retro-Bit® SEGA Genesis 6-button controller.

Q. How much will it cost at launch?
A. $79.99 US/£69.99/€79.99/AUD$139.95

World of Warships Update 0.8.4 Adds Soviet Battleships and More

Wargaming has released the latest update to World of Warships, 0.4.8, and with it comes the mighty Soviet Battleships! The new Kreml, Sovetsky Soyuz, Gangut and Knyaz Suvorov join the battleships that became available in Early Access last month and will be mighty armored warships, with powerful weapons. They are best used in close to medium range and are designed for more aggressive playstyles. These ships are leaders on the battlefield and will let their captains penetrate enemy lines, and dole out huge amounts of damage.

As part of the continuing “Victory” event, alongside these new battleships comes a special new Soviet Hero commander, Nikolai Kuznetsov, leader of the Soviet Navy during WWII and the 3rd
commander with unique abilities in the game, after Halsey and Yamamoto. He is unlocked via a temporary resource, Provision tokens. These tokens can also be exchanged for the popular Tier V premium ship, Murmansk, or new “In The Service of the Motherland containers. Besides regular rewards, containers will also contain elements of the new Soviet collection, which pays homage to Soviet naval architects, and their legacy as shipbuilders.

This update also adds the new “Greece” map for Tier IX and X battles. It was inspired by Santorini Island and features low islands, so ships can attack enemies lurking behind them. Update 0.8.4. will also feature a new season of Ranked Battles, where the teams will be composed of seven Tier X ships each and the battles will take place in the “Domination” and reworked “Epicenter”
modes, where the center and rings can now be captured separately. One of the key features of the new season is the return of aircraft carriers into Ranked Battles alongside with the introduction of free ship rentals, which will give more players the opportunity to participate.

Ports have also been updated and will have dynamic environments. With this, players can view traditional Ports in new colors, and day will succeed night in “night-time ports” Ports. Saint Petersburg will have a hazy mist, and the Ocean Port will have the sun rolling off into the horizon.

What Makes a Randomizer Fun?

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Randomizer Discussion - FF4

Randomizers are growing more and more popular than ever before. The Final Fantasy IV Free Enterprise randomizer is a massive community of people that are running, racing, grouping up and improving the overall knowledge of a game we all love – Final Fantasy IV. But what makes these randomizers successful and fun, and what makes them a little more frustrating? Some of my favorite games of all time have randomizers that I run at least once a week, and some of them I try, but just can’t seem to get into, no matter how much I love the base game. The best part of these games to me is being able to challenge something I love in a new, exciting way. If you had told me ten, fifteen years ago that I was going to say, “Boy, I sure am glad Edward is in my party”, I probably would have laughed until I had a hernia. But Edward, equipped with a Spoon Dagger and the Adamant Armor? He’s carried me to glorious victory. So what do these games need to be interesting and fun? Please note this is not an all-encompassing list, because some games can do a lot with a little (Dragon Warrior).

  • A plethora of interesting items, chests, characters, and key items: One of the things that makes a randomizer fun, is having a different party each and every time you play. This can be changed for games with smaller casts, by randomizing their stats/skillsets. But never knowing quite who you have to work with can really make these exciting. Key Item swapping can also be a wonderful challenge, provided you have a decent way to get around the world and find them. Final Fantasy IV and EarthBound do a pretty good job of this (as long as you’re good at teleporting in tiny areas). Each treasure chest/gift box can have just about anything in them, and as long as the game will permit you to deal with threats without being 100% reliant on this, it will be great. This last point I’ll get to when I discuss games in particular. Having tons of potential routes, or being armed with the knowledge that every single playthrough will have different paths and options? That does it for me, friends. Super Metroid+Zelda 3 is another great example of this, even if it does make me howl with anger more often than not.
  • A game that does not require X character for Y event: I’ve been wondering why there hasn’t been a Breath of Fire 1 randomizer for a while now, and I started to consider the complexity fo the coding. Karn has a special power that needs him to have specific party members to access his transformation powers. So if even one of them is locked behind an event/hidden/not even in the run, his whole purpose of being on the team could be useless. Even worse, there are items that would be potentially locked away forever because you can’t turn into Shin. I don’t think the Dragon Shrines would be too bad to randomize, but you could not do a lot of Key Shuffling without the ability to fly, and I cannot help but think it would break the game somehow starting with it. Now requiring certain characters for events in the late game isn’t bad, if it’s a nice wide cast (say, FFVI), when you know they will all be there. But that in particular for Breath of Fire warranted being discussed, I think.
  • A game that flows from the action, not cutscenes: Dialogue cutscenes that don’t cut away to AMVs/etc are fine – Lufia 2, Dragon Quest 1-4, EarthBound, Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI all do this just fine. But I imagine having actual cutscenes that are required would create problems and slow-down, not to mention coding issues. The story needs to be focused on the action in the game, not what you see in video clips. In addition, not needing to know a whole lot about the story helps, and watching a bunch of cutscenes just slows everything down. I don’t know a lot about Crystallis, for example. I played it as a kid, but I don’t know it as well as I do basically every other RPG that there’s a randomizer for. But I was able to just jump in, read the help file and get started. I wasn’t bogged down by having to watch a bunch of stuff, I just had to figure out the route I was going to take.

Randomizer Discussion - FFVI

So what Randomizers are doing this well for me, and which are not? There are too many to list, and they’re very easy to find on the internet. An honorable mention for me is the Dragon Quest Randomizers. They’re incredible, and especially Dragon Warrior 1, does a lot with a little. It randomizes the world map, where the key items are, et cetera. It can be insanely hard though since the game doesn’t exactly go out of its way to help you find anything. So it helps to have prior knowledge of the world around you. Knowing where the vanilla items can drop will be a godsend, and I still highly recommend it. Breath of Fire 2 is another really sound one that offers a lot of complexity and challenge when I can get it to work.

  • Final Fantasy IV: Free EnterpriseIs this a surprise? FFIV FE is the undisputed leader in randomized gameplay, and that’s what Super Metroid/Zelda 3 on the table. It’s a game that I love turned into something I normally do not enjoy – open world exploration. Every single run of FF4 FE is different, from the party I use, the gear I have, and the route I take to get to the end. Plus, it’s made me a better Final Fantasy IV player and has given me the courage to speedrun this, with the goal of having enough knowledge of the game’s mechanics to try and speedrun the base game. It has brought immeasurable joy into my life, with a great community, and a fun, exciting new way to play one of my all-time favorites. It’s regularly updated, the community is active, and I never feel stupid asking them questions. I have learned something new every time I’ve livestreamed FF IV FE, and that’s a great thing. (5/5, 100% recommend)
  • EarthBound RandomizerNow, I love EarthBound, it’s my all-time favorite game, next to Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals. However, the Keysanity and even the Vanilla Randomizer are so frustrating that they make me physically angry. That’s no easy feat, I’m pretty calm most of the time (unless I’m on a losing streak in MTG Arena – that’s another story). But what really makes this one a bit harder for me, is the Gift Box Randomization. More often than not, I get consumables in my first chests and reach a point very quickly where I not only cannot fight any of the regular enemies, I cannot proceed because I also can’t afford to buy anything. I’m not so good at manipulating RNG and things like that, so I just die and die and die. I had a livestream where I died to the first enemy outside of Ness’ house seven times in a row. I consider myself pretty good at EarthBound normally, but without extreme knowledge of the speedrun, I felt like there was just no way I could proceed. Love the game, love the randomizer, I do not feel smart or good enough to run it.
  • Crystalis RandomizerI’m still very new to Crystalis, but even with that, I feel like I can actually run the game. It’s a classic NES RPG, and it’s not the most complex, but it still has lots of items, key items, and events to get through in order to see it through til the end. The community is also incredibly welcoming and helpful, and the website has tips and helpful advice to get you started on top of that. It also offers tips on how to use some of the glitches to make the most out of your start (shop glitch, as a prime example). I’m still new to this one, and I’ve begun an offline playthrough before I start streaming attempts, but I will. I can promise you that. If you love the classic RPG, but want a little something more out of it, here you go.
  • Final Fantasy VI: Beyond ChaosFinal Fantasy VI: Beyond Chaos is a randomizer that I have not completed for a few reasons, but I love it anyway. This is the hardest randomizer I’ve played, outside of FFIV FE’s Cata runs. It can randomize an overwhelming number of things, from enemy names, packs, skills, creating new skills for characters, removing cutscenes, randomizing the final dungeon, who can do what, who can learn what, and so so much more. It has secret codes, new sprites, gives items new skills, and randomizes the little things (Blitz Inputs, Rages, The Zozo Clock Tower). It’s probably the most complex randomizer I’ve played, and since it’s not a game that relies on Key Items too heavily, you have to go through in the normal flow of things. It’s harder than other Final Fantasy VI randomizers, but it’s far more exciting. It also comes with a handy printout of who can do what, so you can prepare for them unless you don’t like to peek (I usually don’t). The only major downside for me, is I’ve been in spots where unless I hardcore grind, I couldn’t get around fights that were dealing 9999 every hit. They felt unwinnable (but weren’t. It would just require far more time than I wanted to invest).

Now, while I can’t do more than point you out to the fact they exist, the particulars have to be found out on your own – I do love these and want more people to enjoy randomizers with me.

Eudemons Online Lucky Media Pack Giveaway

We’ve partnered with TQ Digital to giveaway the Lucky Media Pack in Eudemons Online.


Lucky Media Pack Contents:

  • 1,000,000 gold
  • Graceful Fiery Soul Pack (30 Days)
  • Elf Nevaeh Pack (Eudemons)
  • Sea of Stars (14 Days)
  • Luxury Moonlight Pack
  • One Set of Super Equipment
  • One Super Weapon

 
Redemption Instructions:

Step 1: Sign up for FREE on our Event Page.
Step 2: Download the game and login to create a new character.
Step 3: Login the event page with your account and input the code.
Step 4: Login the game and find Lorraine (Cronus 221,632) to claim the pack.

Event Rules:

  1. Event Duration: June 1st to June 30th (PST)
  2. One gift per newly created character.
  3. There is no limitation of the server you play on or the date you registered on.

Jurassic World Evolution: Claire’s Sanctuary to Launch in June 2019

Bryce Dallas Howard returns to the role of Claire Dearing (former Jurassic World Park Operations Manager) in Jurassic World Evolution! She returns in a new standalone campaign, on Isla Nublar, in a race against time to rescue the island’s remaining dinosaur inhabitants. Mt. Sibo is soon to erupt, and it’s time to get our dinosaur friends to Sanctuary Island. It is scheduled to arrive on the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC for 14.99, and will also have a free update, with new creative options in the game. Players will have total control over terrain types, as well as rock and flora. The free update also introduces changes to Spinosauridae care, Pachycephalosauridae defense, and improvements to the Gyrosphere system, monorails and a selection of other quality-of-life improvements.

Alongside the new campaign, Jurassic World Evolution: Claire’s Sanctuary introduces all-new structures, features and three new dinosaurs to Jurassic World Evolution – the Albertosaurus, Euoplocephalus and Ouranosaurus – bringing new challenges to players’ islands. New paleobotany features and a new Greenhouse facility let players research and develop extinct plant species for their dinosaurs’ feeders, and a new off-road truck ride tour for park visitors can be dispatched from its own new building.

IMVU

IMVU is a social game wherein users create avatars and join public or private chat rooms. Everything in IMVU is virtual, with a visual element and the ability to interact with one another and the environment in a limited fashion. Players are capable of creating and selling their own cosmetic content to other players.

IMVU is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as a standalone app for Windows.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes – Players use real money to purchase credits in game with which to buy cosmetics for their avatar.

Key Features:

Player-driven Content: Players in IMVU are capable of creating their own cosmetic items. These items can be resold to other players for in-game currency – this means that the possibilities for avatar customization are actually limitless, capped only by the creativity and imagination of the community itself. Currently over 25 million virtual items to choose from.

Huge Community: IMVU is the largest game of its kind, boasting over 5 million players from many different countries. At any given time, an individual can find hundreds of active rooms in which to socialize with a wide variety of people.

Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go is a mobile RPG developed by the Pokemon Company. This mobile game lets pokemon fans venture out into the real world in order to catch monsters on the go. Using your phone’s GPS the app will move you in-game as you move around in the real world. Pokémon Go is the game that revolutionized the way we think about augmented reality. Download the app on your phone today and start building your perfect Pokémon team!

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes/No

Key Features:

True discovery: Explore neighborhoods, communities, and the world you live in to discover Pokémon alongside friends and other players.

Teams: Join the red Team Valor, the blue Team Mystic, or the yellow Team Instinct so you can fight for gyms.

Gym Battles: Battle against other players at gyms and try to hold them as long as possible for your team. Hold them long enough with one of your pokemon in it and you’ll get coins that can be used to purchase useful items.

Pokémon GO Plus: Enjoy Pokemon Go with a small bluetooth device in order to detect nearby pokemon and other events.

Expansions:

Update Blog: To find the latest news on Pokemon GO updates check their update blog here.