Yearly Archives: 2019

Pawarumi to Release on Nintendo Switch and Xbox This July

Pawarumi is an upcoming shoot ’em up, in a futuristic, yet pre-Columbian inspired universe, and in it, the player has one life to live. If that weren’t dangerous enough, every hit you take reduces the strength of your shields by a third. But it does feature a mechanic known as the Trinity. The three basic weapons are controlled by colored divinities – Condor (laser) is blue, Serpent (Gatling gun) is green and Jaguar (missiles) is red. Enemies you face are powered by the same divinities, and by targeting with the same as them, or different color, you trigger one of the three bonuses of the Trinity – Boost, Drain or Crush. But be warned, there are both positive and negative consequences. Get ready, Pawarumi hits the Switch and Xbox One on July 24th.

Daniel Borges, Manufacture 43, “There are no boosts, ammo, extras or anything. We kept what’s essential in a shoot’em up – shooting, dodging, blowing stuff up – and added our own “trinity” mechanic instead. This very simple directive really works resulting in hand-eye blasting coordination of the highest level!”

Features both unique and standard:

  • Three difficulty settings, each with its own alternate storyline.

  • The difficulty curve is designed so that a player that beats the game in easy mode gets ready to play in normal mode and then in hard mode.

  • The three weapons of the player are red, green and blue and are tied and linked, to enemy factions and divinities: jaguar, serpent and condor.

  • Cool eye candy special effects.

  • The Nintendo Switch™ version of Pawarumi has a unique ship, the Joyful, that adopts the colours of your Joy-Con™!

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam Heads to the Beach with ‘Green Army Men Beach Party’

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is bringing a fun twist to their game for the summer, with the classic army-green plastic men. After the success of the Christmas Green Army Men seasonal event, Tripwire Interactive, Antimatter Games and the Green Army Men Mod team agreed to do it again, with the Green Army Men Beach Party. This DLC add-on will have players beating the heat in a beach bash, with supporting artillery, mortars, and rockets all turned into toys.

The Green Army Men Beach Party DLC also removes fall damage, in order to create a more realistic experience, and includes multiple classes with over 12 weapons. Players can keep it cool on four maps: Beach Party, Backyard, Pool Party, and the returning Green Army Men Christmas map! To celebrate this update, Tripwire is also kicking of fa Free Week and a sale on Steam, that will start today, and run until July 16th.

As a way to support the modding community and grassroots game development that helped Tripwire Interactive’s founding members get their start in the industry, all revenue from the Green Army Men Upgrade purchases is shared with the Green Army Men mod team to support their valuable efforts and accomplishment, building high-quality content in their spare time.

Ragachak’s Favorite Clowns in RPGs

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

“Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, “Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up.” Man bursts into tears. Says, “But doctor…I am Pagliacci.” – Alan Moore, The Watchmen

Clowns invoke a variety of emotions in people, ranging from jovial laughter to the terror that makes our skin crawl. Panic, nausea, fear, you name it. Clowns have been used as villains, antagonists, and fear-inducers for decades, that’s not a new trend. Steven King’s IT anyone? But what about in video games? There have not been quite as many Clowns as I originally thought, but boy were there some good ones! Harle from Chrono Cross is a fine example of a clown-style character or the various iterations of Batman games, with The Joker. The Joker’s the epitome of what an evil clown is supposed to be. Chaotic, destructive, awe-inspiring, but also pants-wetting fear. I wanted to pick a few obvious clowns, and probably a few lesser-known, interesting clowns. Seldom are clowns used as the main foil for our heroes – but that’s not always the case. So, let’s send in the clowns!

Clowns in RPGs

Official Goof Off artwork – Literal clowns.

Goof Off (Dragon Quest III): The Goof Off counts! In Dragon Quest III, there’s a joke class called the Jester/Goof Off, and I know I’ve talked about it at least once on this website. If you manage to get this worthless jerk to level 20, you can turn him into a Sage. Goof Offs have incredible luck, but are basically useless in battle, just clowning around and giggling like dorks. However, the pay-off is huge. Sage is a powerful spell caster that has access to the most magic in the game. They’re silly, wacky, but definitely a worthwhile investment in casual playthroughs of Dragon Quest III.

Clowns in RPGs - Zorn and Thorn

Their FFXIV counterparts aren’t much better.

Zorn & Thorn (Final Fantasy IX): The Final Fantasy wiki lists Zorn and Thorn as “possibly human”, but I’m not so sure I believe it. These two are far and away the creepiest, weirdest clowns/jesters in any video game I have personally spent time with. Zorn and Thorn wear red and blue (paired with white) and are the attendants/advisors to Queen Brahne of Alexandria. They also have the power to draw Eidolons from a person, making them indispensable to Brahne’s overall evil plans. You also do battle with them, when they take on the form of Meltigemini, but that’s not the weirdest part about these little clowns. They use a type of speech called Antimetabole. In Antimetabole, speech is mimicked by in reverse order. So what one says, the other says in essentially reverse, and is very unnerving, even in text.

Clowns in RPGs - Pierre

It’s a Clown Throwdown!

Pierre & Danielle (Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals): This was a brief, often forgettable encounter in Lufia 2, within the Treasure Sword Shrine. This is the first major battle for Selan, and there’s a lot that made this fight sort of interesting. Pierre & Danielle are technically immortal, only able to be killed if they die at the same time. So when they go into battle, so if adventuring parties want to defeat them, they have to split up. That puts any party at a distinct disadvantage, and these two hit hard. In a world as serious and dark as Lufia, having immortal murderous clowns just felt right somehow. My only gripe is that they appeared so early, and never returned to the limelight again. This fight also added some depth to the implacable Magical Girl Selan; she was a career military woman, and ultimately recognized that Maxim’s idea was a solid one, and went along with his plan to defeat these two clowns.

Clowns in RPGs - Entertainers Shack

The more I think about this, the worse it gets.

Traveling Performers (EarthBound): This one’s kind of a gimme, because you know if I can find a way to talk about EarthBound, I probably will. But EarthBound is a game that hides a lot of darkness and despair behind such a bright, cheerful exterior. One of the first examples of this were the traveling performers. Whether they were hobos or clowns remains to be seen, but you unlock their shack for them, which was locked off by the Mayor of Onett. It seems like such a nice, friendly town, but it has corrupt cops, a corrupt Mayor, and Mayor Pirkle even locked off the Touring Entertainers Shack so those clowns had nowhere to live. Is that even living? When you enter the Shack, it’s even worse than the house that Lier X. Agerate offers to sell you. You never fight these Clowns but instead make their sad lives a tiny bit better, and they give you the only thing of value they have other than their gratitude. Man, EarthBound’s a dark game, the more you think about it.

Clowns in RPGs - Kefka

This is basically your first impression of Kefka.

Kefka (Final Fantasy VI): Come on, is this a shock to anyone? Now, I know what you might be saying – Kefka’s basically a god, how can he be a clown? Look at his sprite/artwork! How could he be anything but a clown? The jester-turned-advisor is not a new trope, but it’s one of my favorites. Kefka’s a murderous, chaotic evil psychopath. He has delusions of godhood, but are they really delusions? He’s the one Final Fantasy villain I can think of that not only had a plan, but it succeeded! He destroyed the entire world, killed his boss, and reshaped the land in his image because he could. Because nobody could stop him. He all but erased hope in the World of Ruin and drove Celes to attempt to take her own life (or so it seemed). He looked like a joker, made clever quips and ran away like a coward when the chips were down, or at least it seemed that way. It seemed like Kefka always knew what he was doing. He poisoned a town because he could, he destroyed Thamasa, murdered General Leo, all behind that hideous smile. If there’s a better clown in an RPG than Kefka, I simply don’t know who it could be.

Eastward Legend: The Empyrean

Eastward Legend: The Empyrean is a mobile MMORPG featuring historically-inspired martial arts combat and traditional Chinese brushwork-style visuals.

Business Model: Free-to-Play

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

Key Features:

Squad Commander: Engage in real-time 3v3 battles packed with intense tactical action.

This Chinese Life: Explore the narrative rich storylines of characters like the Loyalist General to the Wandering Swordsmen.

Guild Master: Serve under respected instructors and learn their hard-earned secrets to success.

Time Seer: Piece together disjointed past and future events with the power of Mind Mode.

Pool of Truth: Navigate through a world dynamically reflecting your own personal journey.

Zombie Army 4: Deadwar

Zombie Army 4: Deadwar is an 3rd-person action-shooter taking place in a zombified 1940s Europe. Although a brave band of heroes were able to send Hitler straight to hell, his reign of terror is far from over. The dead rise again and humankind must be saved from an undead Armageddon.

Business Model: Buy-to-Play

Microtransactions: No

Key Features:

1-4 Online Co-Op: Dive into a hectic solo campaign or team up with a few friends to combat the endless waves of Nazi scum.

Kodak Moment: Mutilate your enemies with a satisfying slow-mo X-Ray kill cam.

Get Off Me!: Dispatch a whole lotta love to the ones that make it a little too close with a variety of up-close-and-personal melee moves.

Now You’re Thinking: Utilize the power of the elements to electrocute, burn, and smite groups of terrifying foes.

Unspeakable Atrocity: Learn to adapt to the varied enemy types including Abominable Occultists, Shamblers of the Damned, Ghoulish Grabbers, Armoured Elites, Shadow Demons, and Explosive Suicide Generals.

Post-Apocalyptic Personalization: Customize your slayer suit to match to your own personal playstyle with perks to soak up inhuman amounts of damage or carry around previously stationary turrets.

Straight Through the Heart: Navigate through corpse-ridden canals and grotesque Zombie Zoos as you make your way to the source of the horde.

Monster Jam Steel Titans

Monster Jam Steel Titans is a 3D truck-racing game featuring arcade-style physics.

Business Model: Buy-to-Play

Microtransactions: No

Key Features:

VROOOOOOOOM: Compete for the best times on 25 fan-favorite tracks across both indoor stadiums and outdoor events.

No Hands!: Catch some air and pull off sick stunts like backflips, bicycles, moonwalks, in-outs, and much more.

Destruction Derby: Crash through an open-world environment demolishing structures big and small beneath your massive tires! Just be careful not to completely destroy your own ride while you’re at it.

Brushing Up: Take a few classes at Monster Jam University to train your pro driver champion.

Bless Unleashed Closed Beta Key Giveaway

We’ve partnered with Bandai Namco to give away keys for the Closed Beta Test for Bless Unleashed on the Xbox One.

 

Redemption Instructions:

  1. Boot up your Xbox One console.
  2. Head to the “Store”.
  3. Select “Use a Code”.
  4. Input your Bless Unleashed Key
  5. Install ahead of time if possible for quicker access.

Please note: These are for Xbox One only and access will not begin until the Beta Begins on July 11th (ends on July 15th).

Forager Heads to Retail Outlets on Switch/PS4 in September

Forager Review Screenshot

All of this visual noise is satisfying.

Forager revealed some huge news today, courtesy of distributors Nighthawk Interactive – it’s coming to retail outlets in North America in September! On September 10th, 2019, for 29.99 in North America, and September 13th for Europe (with equivalent pricing). Pre-orders are available now through GameStop (Nintendo SwitchPlayStation), and coming soon to retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Target.