A new update hit Red Dead Online today, that added new gameplay improvements, such as new cooperative story missions. Also included are Free Roam activities, and the addition of Poker. This is in addition to other improvements and updates to the game as a whole to strengthen its foundation.
Image & Form’s RPG SteamWorld Quest is officially coming to Steam (for Windows, macOS and Linux) on May 31st, 2019! In SteamWorld Quest, you lead a team of heroes who take on whatever stands in their path using a crafted deck of cards. There are over 100 unique punch cards, and beautiful worlds filled with magic, dragons, gold, and more awaits. it also has an XP system, turn-based combat, and the typical features that RPG fans love. It’s a mix of steam-power and traditional fantasy, and it’s coming soon to PC.
By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)
If you’ve ever seen a toddler learning to walk, it’s kind of an amazing thing. The process happens in a number of stages. First they pull themselves up onto their feet, then they let go and fall on their butts. Then they get to the stage where they hold onto things and shift their feet a little side to side. Next, they take a few tentative steps away from support, and again, they fall down. After a while, they begin taking those cute little bow-legged steps across the floor. Finally, they get walking down and try running. They’re not quite ready for it though, so they sort of lean forward, and their heads cause their center of gravity to shift, and their feet pump beneath their little bodies, trying to keep up. And then they slide across the floor, face first. It’s absolutely adorable.
In many ways, VR games are in the toddler stage. The racing game/arena shooter JetX, which actually offers VR and PC crossplay, is one of these toddler VR games, and it is definitely in that last phase. It’s not ready to run yet, so it puts everything forward, and then pumps to keep up, but inevitably it’s going to fall flat on its face.
You can see, things are pretty easy. I didn’t die until I switched weapons, which I did just to show you folks. The basic brawler is definitely the most reliable imo.
That’s a real pity, too. The game’s premise isn’t terrible: you’re in control of a robotic jet (I think?) doing things in far distant locals. The graphics are bright and catchy, if a bit monotone within their own structure. For example, one of the race tracks is called “Ruins of Raymar”. In it there are these large brown rocks that rotate, and you’re supposed to fly within the gap of the rocks. The problem is, the gap is really small, and the rocks all look like the rocks right behind. Furthermore, you’re going really fast (or trying to, it’s a race after all), and so you really can’t see the gap until you’re slamming face first into the boulder.
The controls aren’t the tightest either. I played the game both on VR (Oculus Rift) and on PC, and feel like the controls were definitely designed more with VR in mind, and PC as an afterthought. For example, there’s no way to look behind you on PC, where in VR your view is tethered to your head. It’s actually tethered to both your head and the thumbsticks, but I couldn’t find anywhere to adjust the sensitivity of the thumbsticks, so they were really jumpy.
In fact, there weren’t really options at all, to speak of. Yeah, there’s a few graphics options, and the PC version lets you adjust mouse sensitivity, but you can’t remap the keys at all on the PC version. You can on the VR version, but there’s only so many buttons to use, so there’s really very little point. The audio options were limited to volume controls and muting other players. I didn’t see any place for push to talk options, either on PC or on VR.
Here the AI is set to normal, and they just absolutely leave me in their dust from moment one, until the very end, when they’re fighting each other.
Not that there was anyone to talk to. I tried a few times to join matches, which I was always able to do, quickly. Unfortunately, this is because the matchmaker will simply drop you into a fresh game or, presumably, whatever game is currently going. This is somewhat troublesome, because if you’re in a deathmatch where the objective is to get 15 kills, and you get dropped into a game where a person has 13 kills, it’s rather unlikely you’re going to catch up. Again though, this doesn’t seem to be much of a problem, as it mostly seems like the multiplayer in JetX is a ghost town.
It’s also a little frustrating that a lot of the content is progression walled. There are seven guns total in the game; five guns for both VR and PC, and then one weapon which is exclusive to each platform. You can equip a different weapon type to each hand (or mouse button for PC) and they fire independently of each other. When you start the game, however, only three of these weapons are unlocked. It seems that the AI only ever use the basic weapon, the brawler, which is generally a sort of fast firing repeating laser.
Then there’s the AI itself. It has three difficulty levels: easy, normal, and insane. It should be: pathetic, insane, and just don’t bother. Easy wasn’t even remotely challenging, especially on PC, even as a new player, but normal was very very tough. I guess it’s for the best they don’t use power-ups, but even this seems like a failure on the part of the developers.
The AI essentially doesn’t miss in deathmatch, and in races they go unerringly towards the target. It’s possible to beat them in races, but basically only by shooting them. The game in fact knows that the AI is too good, it seems, because if you fall too far behind it gives you a magic portal on the track to help you catch up.
One of the better ways of taking AI out is power ups. There’s a decent little selection, from the black hole, which sucks enemies in and damages them, to the homing missile, which delivers a sound pounding. In some ways, it’s like Mario Kart, but without the randomness, and with 3D tracks that it’s very easy to lose your way on.
Sorry I couldn’t get a clearer picture. There’s no way to not lock on that bot.
I’m loathe to simply say to avoid JetX. For all its foibles, it’s a pretty adorable little bit of tech. Playing around in VR is fun, at least for a time, and the game has a pretty low price point. As of the writing of this article, it’s only $14.99. That being said, there’s a certain element to it that makes it feel like it’s Early Release. Not so much that it’s terribly buggy or anything, but it definitely feels like they should have done some market testing before releasing it to fine tune the mechanics. Bottom line is, if you’ve got a VR system you can probably afford to blow $14.99 on something you might get a couple hours out of. Just don’t expect too much, and you won’t be disappointed.
I give JetX 2 out of 5 afterburners.
We’ve partnered with AMT Games to offer visitors the Ice Bastion Pack for the freemium MMO, Battle for the Galaxy!
Battle for the Galaxy is a freemium cross-platform MMO strategy video game.
Your code offers the Ice Bastion DLC Pack on Steam, which includes additional content which will become available in-game after purchase:
To Redeem your Key:
Darewise Entertainment announced today that players are now welcome to apply for access to their Project C. This is an as-of-yet unnamed open-world multiplayer title, and interested parties can click here to sign up. This is to gain access to the pre-Alpha test, that will cover multiple elements of the game. The goal of Project C is to give players a persistent open-world multiplayer experience, where they can join clans, build societies, and explore an otherwise abandoned planet. Corvus is the planet that this will take place on, and it has exotic wildlife, resources, and also powerful technology.
But players will have to take a survey to join this test, and once approved, they will go through an onboarding process that includes a live video chat with a member of Darewise. Darewise is a new studio led by Charbit, a former lead on Assassin’s Creed, who has assembled an all-star team of development talent including Half-Life 2 and Dishonored visual design director Viktor Antonov. The team is intent on evolving open world gaming and has partnered with Improbable to use its SpatialOS development platform.
“Players are always at the center of a great multiplayer gaming experience, which is why we’re inviting a select group of gamers to join Project C now in such an early stage of development,” Darewise CEO Benjamin Charbit said. “The greatest adventures happen with friends and that’s the real ambition of Project C – to give players a truly dynamic open-world gaming experience to play with and compete against one another.”
“Developing a truly world class video game has always required a standout vision, great team and technical know-how,” Darewise chief technical officer Samuel Kahn said. “Today’s best games are also deeply connected to their community. For us to reach the vision and goals we’ve set for Project C, we’re going to need players to join us on this adventure and help us make an entirely new open world experience.”
Oddworld: Soulstorm shows off the second game in an upcoming pentalogy, and is the sequel to the best-selling Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty. That was a complete remake of Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. In Soulstorm, Abe finds himself (along with the newly emancipated) 300 Mudokons, without food, water, or a home. Alone in the desert, they find a new drink, which has serious ramifications for their newfound freedom. Oddworld: Soulstorm will show off themes of environmentalism, capitalism, consumerism, and addiction, and is coming to PC and Consoles in 2020.
Rebellion is proud to release a new trailer for Sniper Elite V2 Remastered, which shows the gameplay, the revamped visuals and much more. It’s coming tomorrow to the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and the PC. Players will go back to Berlin, 1945, the heart of World War 2. Karl Fairburne will prove that one bullet can change history – again. Your mission is to prevent the Nazi V2 rocket technology from falling into the hands of the Red Army, with deadly aim and stealth skill.
Sniper Elite V2 Remastered amplifies the original’s iconic sniping and advanced ballistics with a host of improvements and added extras. In addition to impressive 4K and HDR support on available platforms, the game features stunning remastered visuals, from overhauled assets to modernized rendering and much more.
Sniper Elite V2 Remastered also adds a versatile new photo mode that lets you pause and move the action frame-by-frame for that perfect X-ray Kill Cam shot. You can also play the campaign and multiplayer modes as one of 7 new characters from Rebellion’s Zombie Army series. And now multiplayer is expanded for up to 16 players online (8 on the Switch) across all modes. All of the DLC originally released will also come with the game, including the “Assassinate the Führer” mission.
by Jason Parker (Ragachak)
My Xbox One robbed me of the awesome video I took of this fight.
Final Fantasy XII, for a very long time, was my least favorite Final Fantasy title, for a number of reasons. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age changed that permanently. One of the primary ones is that Vaan has no personality, no character. He’s Disney’s Aladdin, but in Ivalice and without the cool, hip Genie to get him going on his adventure. From what I understand, he’s supposed to be a blank slate for people to project on, but I’m not as big a fan of that. I wasn’t a fan of the Gambit system, and the overall approach, despite the game being very visually appealing. At the time, I didn’t want something this drastically different. I also loathed the License Board. Having to spend points to unlock new gear, that I also had to spend money on? The board was massive, and it was a very daunting task to figure out where you need to go on it. A few years later, I found Final Fantasy XII: International Edition, and it conveniently had English subtitles.
How can this be set in Ivalice? They all have noses!
The International Edition had several changes, but most importantly, a new way to use the License Board. Now it feels more like Final Fantasy Tactics (the game it shares a universe with), in that there are job classes, and each has its own specific gear/ability licenses. That way you can focus easier on what you want each character to do, but it can be a double-edged sword. You could have too many damage characters, have no tanks, no healers and could be in a sticky situation. FFXII’s combat feels very much like an MMO to me, so having a balanced party has never been more important. Between FFXII: International Edition, and this HD Remaster, my opinion on the game has really changed. I have less time than ever before, so the ability to create Gambits to help me get through fights, and there are a few other things about this edition I love. There are also “Zodiac” versions of older weapons in the game, that are cool, upgraded versions. There’s plenty to chase, unlock, and discover. So I’m going to offer up some things I love and things people ought to know, in case they don’t.
1. The Zodiac Spear: In Final Fantasy XII, there’s a hidden, incredibly weapon known as the Zodiac Spear. It’s the best in the vanilla release of the game. Now there are only two weapons better, but they are insanely hard to acquire – Great Trango and Seitengrat. In the original game, you could miss the Zodiac spear, by opening certain treasure chests. In Rabanastre, the Royal Palace of Rabanastre, Nalbina Dungeon, and Phon Coast – if you open particular chests in any of these dungeons, the Zodiac Spear is lost for the rest of that playthrough. If you don’t do this, the Necrohol of Naubidis will grant you the Zodiac Spear. There’s a second one in the game too, thankfully, which ignores this rule, but it’s not easy. Though there are better weapons to get now, the Zodiac Spear was moved to the Henne Mines (Special Charter Shaft) and is a very rare drop. The chest has a 1% drop chance but respawns, and after the respawn, it will always contain the spear.
2. Jobs: Sure, it can feel limiting to have one of these smaller License Boards, instead of the giant one, but personally, I like it better this way. Fortunately, if you decide you don’t like what you’ve done, you can go back to your Clan Hall in Rabanastre, and talk to Montblanc. He offers a reset so you can choose a different license board. If you decide you’re unhappy, just speak to him. Another fun edition is you can acquire a second Job! It’s not very far into the game either (about 8 or 9 hours in my personal playthrough). Once you complete the Tomb of Raithwall and acquire Belias, you can unlock a second Job for 30 LP. Now you can make some incredible combos, and create way more awesome opportunities. Want a Knight that can buff/heal himself with Bubble/Protectga? You’ve got it! Want a Marksman that also can cast Black Mage to take advantage of those Magic Boosting licenses? No problem!
3. Grind: Do it! There are incredibly easy places to grind, especially in the early going. Find a location where many of the same enemies spawn over and over, such as the Skeletons in the Lhusu Mines. You can run back and forth over a Bridge with Skeletons that spawn (in your first trip – the second trip there for Hunts/etc changes this and adds more stuff). Each time you kill an enemy of the same type back to back, you gain a Chain/Combo. The longer the chain, the better the items the mobs drop. This is especially important because you don’t receive gil for defeating most enemies. In the early going, gear can be very expensive, and this will make it significantly better. You can also farm Panther pelts in the Golmore Jungle (500 gil per!), and also get the Thief’s Glove to help you steal rare drops. Personally, I find a spot like the Lhusu Mines, or the Nam-Yensa Sandsea, and kill 50-60 of the Urutan-Yensa. They’re easy to kill, and ultimately will benefit you with some great stuff to sell.
There’s a lot of grinding to do, but Gambits+Speed Up make life so much better.
Needs More Zodiac Stones: 4/5
This is an amazing release of Final Fantasy XII, and I’m so glad to be playing through it again. Some final helpful hints: Don’t be afraid to use the Speed-Up function, because grinding is boring, and combat can feel very slow in Final Fantasy XII. Don’t be ashamed to google up some good Gambits either – I certainly did. It will make your playtime far more enjoyable, and help you get through this incredible story. If you don’t like a character, for whatever reason, just don’t use them! I dropped Vaan from my party immediately, but I do keep up with his and the other non-party members License Boards and gear, just in case I need them for something. You should too! Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a game I already reviewed on PCPS4, and I’ll drop a link to it here. This version is just as great, without any of the things I grumbled about on the PC (such as it not remembering my Borderless Window settings/alt-tab issues, because it’s on console). It’s a beautiful game visually and in terms of the story. The soundtrack is gorgeous, the characters are interesting (except Vaan and Penelo). For every challenging aspect of the game, there’s a way to break it and make Final Fantasy XII overwhelmingly easy. That’s half the fun of the game though.
A.V.A: Dog Tag is a competitive modern military first-person shooter built around diverse class-based strategies.
Business Model: Free-to-Play
Microtransactions: Yes, there are optional in-game purchases available.
Key Features:
Gunsmith: Customize your weapons with addons modifying attributes like damage, range, rate of fire, accuracy, and stability.
Kill or Be Killed: Work with your squadmates to find victory in Team Deathmatch, Demolition, or in a dogtag-collecting Hog mode.
Global Mercenary: Head to conflicts in diverse locations across the world.
Looking Out: Become the highest ranked player in a match and earn the ability to spot enemies with a pair of binoculars.
Clip That: Enjoy a suite of integrated esports options including a fully featured replay system.
Classes:
Rifleman – An all-around soldier comfortable in any situation. Utilizes strong and reliable weaponry like the AK47 and M4A1 assault rifles.
Pointman – Swift moving close-quarters-combatant and short-ranged weapons expert.
Sniper – Unmatched marksmen taking shelter at the edges of the battlefield. Makes up for a slow movement speed and low rate of fire with a high 1-hit-KO potential.
Brave Frontier: The Last Summoner is a 2D adventure role-playing game featuring gorgeous handcrafted visuals and massive turn-based battles. Rise up against tyranny and reveal the mystery behind a brand new fantasy world birthed a millennia after the original.
Business Model: Free-to-Play
Microtransactions: Yes, there are optional in-game purchases available.
Key Features:
Revengers: Build and train up an army of of the greatest warriors and mercenaries from across the land.
All Out War: Manage up to 25+ characters in hectic battles fought with synchronized attacks, brave skills, and spirit summons.
Fighting Technique: Mix and match nine diverse, upgradeable weapon professions complete with speciality abilities.
Open Challenge: Measure your might against rival players in the arena.