Apr
16
2018
April 16th, 2018 by Vega Montanez

Fallout DLC Except It’s Real Life and it’s Pterrifying

Oh snap. It was quite a dull week in the gaming world. For the most part we were all kind of paying more attention to Call of Duty: Trump In Office DLC that opens with bombs over Syria. Not a political site, just letting ya know that’s also a thing that happened. So with the rumored announcement of Fallout: Real Word Crazy around the corner, let us come together as much as we can in honor of our favorite things. This week’s reason to feel like a lucky gamer (you know outside of being alive):

1. A new battle royale enters the battle royale.

And immediately receives backlash over pay to win DLC. The game, from Lawbreakers developer Boss Key Productions (yea, I know), is Radical Heights. And Radical Heights is set in a colorful 80’s inspired world and something about a game show element set in the year 2023. And Radical Heights sounds radical! I don’t know what else to say. Everything about this game sounds exciting as lion brawls. Oh, and did I mention that they immediately responded to the back lashes and made changes to satisfy the gamers? Word. Radical. The downside, of course there’s one, it’s only available on Steam.

2. Expand the universe, more Walking Dead.

Another Walking Dead game coming our way in Fall 2018! That’s right more amazing story telling with zombie blood shed everywhere. Even more incredible, the game looks amazing so far. The new “Maya” Trailer, which is obviously all CGI, makes me feel like they are putting some real intensity into the story being told. There hasn’t been much information about the game so far but it was confirmed to be a first person shooter. By the looks of it so far, this tiny glimpse of greatness, gives me hope that we won’t get another awful game like that first attempt starring the Dixon brothers.

3. Elder Abuse?

Probably the most shocking and outlandish news from the week comes from our sister industry, comic book land. Apparently someone felt that one of the most heralded creators of all time, Mr. Stan Lee, has been being abused by his daughter. He has since confirmed this is not happening and even threatened to go as far as suing the people who reported this nonsense. All reports show that Stan Lee is very upset by the allegations and I’m glad. It would suck to know that something like this is happening to a man I hold so much respect and admiration for. Continue being incredible and ignore the nonsense.

4. Check those warranties.

Like I said, it was a slow week in the games industry so I’m doing a little cross-over work. The FTC recently indicated that void warranty language on video game consoles is illegal. What does that mean? Well in my opinion it applies more to third party repairmen but check it. Threatening to void the console warranty for opening it or tampering with it for repair purposes is a no no. That is, unless they provide all the parts for you to do your own repairs for free. At least in its current phrasing. The companies who received the letters remain anonymous but they only have 30 days to make adjustments before legal action gets involved. Shouts to the FTC for having our backs with this one.

5. More games for Switch.

It feels like very week I’m compiling a list of games coming to the Nintendo Switch. Ports, remasters, new IP all being announced on the regular. This week is no different. First up we have Football Manager Touch. The football is for soccer. The game originally made for tablets and getting a complete remade system of their own. Next up we have more Sonic classics join gn the Switch gaming roster. Well it’s actually a whole slew of SEGA Genesis and Master System games which are primarily known for Sonic. Alongside that we also have the official release window for Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2. It’s coming to all consoles but I figured i’d throw it in this piece here. The games will be available sometime in July.

6. Shenmue.

That header should be enough to garner a few clicks. Shenmue 1 and 2 are being re-released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. And they are coming at some point in 2018. The interesting part is the choice of words. This is a Re-release. So although they are talking about upscaling graphics and adjusting controls, the game is not being remastered. I personally can’t wait to play these games on newer consoles. I loved the Shenmue story and truly believe it paved the way for what is now the incredible Yakuza series. Final words: yes please.

7. Rumors and Relocations?

The first thing on the menu is a rumor that a new Bioshock game is in development at 2K. Yea that one had to come out swinging. Now as I said just a rumor swirling but this is the time of year where rumors really matter. And most of the time turn out true. But also don’t. Who knows. On the other hand we have a medieval style RPG being set in the Middle East. Knights of Light is a brand new RPG still in development that is promising to bring us to 7th century Iraq. The development team, Rumbling Games, is aiming for a 60 hour adventure for your PS4, Xbox One, or PC. Nothing more on that year, but stay tuned we may have some exclusives up our sleeves.

Final note: Our hearts go out to all the people of Syria who are feeling the direct impacts of the crazy world we live. 




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Mar
05
2018
March 5th, 2018 by Vega Montanez

Lucky Gamer Recap!

I don’t know how much longer I can do this. It’s so excruciating trying to find interesting things that have happened this week. Why is E3 so close yet so far? This drought is awful but th show must go on. Here are the reasons to feel like a Lucky Gamer this week:

1. Looks like a lot more games are making the Switch!

As the Nintendo Switch continues to find its footing on its climb to the top, it seems to continue securing its footing along the way. Every step of the way is secured by the most dense supply of vibranium possible. That’s how safe Nintendo is being, they are using imaginary metals to secure their footing. Enough silly analogies, the entire Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch April 26th! Oh, wait theres more. Outlast, one of the scariest games I’ve ever played in my life, is available for Switch right now. The Outlast: Bundle of Terror also includes the Whistleblower DLC and is available through the eShop for only $20. So yea, the Switch is gunning for the throne at a rapid pace. You go Switch, stay strong.

2. Those guys at Sony are up to something.

First they make the announcement that starting next March, exactly one year from now, PS3 and PSVita will no longer be included in the free game monthly benefit of PS Plus. It seems like a really strange move especially considering all the effort Microsoft has put into backwards compatibility but, what do I know? Oh I know what I know actually! As of April 1st, Sony is restructuring again to focus more heavily on first party properties. This move makes sense as Microsoft announced a few months back that they were going to shift focus to first party properties as well. And last but not least, Detroit: Become Human gets a beautiful release date of May 25th, just a few days after this cool kids birthday. I really hope this game lives up to the hype, I cant afford anymore heartbreak this year.

3. Fortnite gets Jetpacks and Overwatch gets more character.

The header pretty much covers the Fortnite news. Fortnite is getting jetpacks in the near future so expect to see players soaring across the sky. Or as Epic put it, “take the fight to all new heights.” Oh boy. On the other hand Overwatch is getting an all new character named Brigitte. Brigitte is more of a support character with her strength being in armor and defense. One of her abilities is throwing a repair pack that can heal an ally. I think Brigitte’s costume design is also incredible and the color scheme is great. I’m looking forward to watching her gameplay in real competition. Who knows maybe she’ll be in an upcoming thing we might be doing.

4. And the vowels are E… A… Rumors.

As I keep saying E3 is around the way and so the interesting juicy stuff is coming in slow drips. Every now and then though we get a nice little splash of refreshing news, EA takes the cake this week with first a rumored leak that this years Battlefield game will be set in WW2. The supposed title of the new game is “Battlefield V” and if the rumor holds true, this game won’t be set in the Bad Company universe. On the other side of EA Rumor city we have a quirky game that I’m surprised is still a real thing. Plants VS Zombies: Garden Warfare will be returning for the third time. That’s right Plants VS Zombies: Garden Warfare 3 was recently leaked by a comic posting on Amazon that was described as “bridging the story gap between PVZ:GW2 and GW3. Imagine that.

5. Take a trip to the jurrasic past or the land of the witchers.

As Microsofts continues to double down on their mission to prove they car about gamers a whole new set of classics are coming to Xbox One. First we have the remasters of both Turok 1 and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. Each title will be available for $19.99 and it was made very explicit that these are remasters not remakes. Its interesting to see this classic title being remastered, could there be plans for a new entry in the series? On the other hand we have The Witcher 2, Crackdown, Fable Anniversary, and Forza Horizon all recently released with Xbox One X enhancements. See all these cool things from the past coming back, you paying attention Sony?

6. More apes in VR!

A new Planet of the Apes game is coming to all the VR platforms on April 3rd. Thats right HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PSVR will all be the next place to enjoy a VR experience based in the Planet of the Apes. The experience is played through the perspective of an ape trying to escape a heavily guarded scientific facility. If you are a fan of the movie series at all, this game takes place five years after the event of the Simian Flu outbreak. There you have it a VR escape game where you get to feel like an ape trying to escape. Wait a sec isn’t this the opposite of Ape Escape?

7. Whats next from the makers of Bioshock?

Blackout. That’s what’s next from the former developers of Bioshock. An all new horror game from the people who made the term “Big Daddy” terrifying. I can’t be more excited for this mostly because I have such a crazy dedication to horror games. As far as bioshock as a series, I played through the first one and had a great time. Never got a round to the rest of them cause I suck at playing video games. Either way, back to Blackout which is said to have some resemblance to Stranger Things. You know the show everyone is hooked on that I don’t like. Yea this game is supposedly gonna be similar to that story. Are you excited yet?




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Jan
10
2018
January 10th, 2018 by Kurt "Chet" Christel

I’ll take “not the original game title” for $100, Alex.

Prey is the spiritual successor to a 2006 title that also simply goes by the name “Prey.” Originally, the old title was supposed to get a direct sequel that involves being a space bounty hunter and chasing after criminals, yet sometime in 2014, the game was unceremoniously axed. Fast forward to 2016 and this new game that shares the same title pops up, and is the center of many debates on whether it constitutes a sequel. Also, can developers just give a new game the same title because it’s been long enough since the last one? Developed by Arkane Studios, makers of the Dishonored franchise, and published by Bethesda, this game raised the bar on the “play it your way” style of games. In this one, you find yourself on a space station infested with aliens that can turn into any object they want as well as aliens who just walk around killing people. Fun times, eh?

GRAPHICS: 2/2

This game does visuals in a stunning and very clever way. When facing enemies like “Mimics” or “Phantoms” the game’s lighting goes a bit haywire and in very high contrast, because you suffer from “fear” when you encounter them. Each weapon in the game is uniquely balanced to fit into the world and designed accordingly. Also, being on a space station, you would be rotating constantly. So the developers took special care to make sure that aspect not only looked good but dynamically affected the rest of the locations. Since the station is revolving in real time, certain locations with windows will slowly change lighting and shadows based on what’s outside your window. It’s very clever and well implemented throughout all of the game’s locations. There’s also the “looking glass” technology that feels like a bit of a technical marvel, serving as a sort of video that can display 3D renderings that look more like they are a window into a new room rather than a simple video.

STORY: 1/2

While the story is good and intriguing, it’s hard to find yourself really engaged in the overall narrative. For all its creative bends and curves, the game does boil down to your average “alien invasion” story. A lot of the drama that unfolded before the alien attack takes place in this sort of game’s favorite exposition dumps, audio logs and emails! It does a good job to express all of the goings-on that happened while you were unavailable, but none of the characters are all that compelling enough to have you really investigate. Plus, once you do finally encounter other living survivors on the station, they seem rather stiff and one-note. The game is constantly finding excuses to make you take the long route to what should be an easy destination because dangling that carrot works for some. It did grow tiresome after awhile. It was also made worse by the midpoint of the game in which you’ve accumulated so many side quests, you might get anxiety in trying to figure out where to go next, or where you even should go to at all.

AUDIO: 1/2

The sound in this just plain “works” for the most part. Most of the conventional weaponry sound as they should, and you also get some individual weapons with unique sounds. The soundtrack is average at best, with a lot of synths roaring over your every encounter with the alien Typhons. It sometimes gets annoying, because you can get to a point where encountering a certain type of enemy is no longer as threatening as it was earlier in the game, but you still get that jarring chord that’s supposed to scare you more than the enemy itself and it comes off as obnoxious. As for voice acting, it’s all just alright. Your character doesn’t talk very much even though you see yourself talking in recordings, which makes your silence more suspicious than characteristic. There’s stuff to be enjoyed here, but it’s brought down by a frequently used battle song you’ll hear when you encounter enemies, and you will get sick of it.

GAMEPLAY: 2/2

As said earlier, this game really does feature as one very well-implemented “play your way” approach to the game. You can sneak, go on the attack, science your way through, or turn yourself into the monsters you’re fighting once you gain the ability to learn new abilities. Just when the upgrade tree seems too oppressive, some more abilities pop up as the first quarter of the game comes to a close. The idea of using the psychoscope, a scanner designed to analyze living Typhon, is a neat one for helping you learn about the strengths and weaknesses of enemies as well as the new abilities based on what they can do. At the time of writing this, I tried to pursue the path of not using any alien mods, as they can affect your treatment on the station. It’s quite a difficult path, but not necessarily due to a lack of capabilities. The difficulty comes in the fact that every enemy encounter is more than just a quick fight. It’s stressful and feels like a big ordeal.

FUN: 1/2

And that’s just one of my gripes about the game. Even on Normal mode, every enemy encounter you have will usually result in your death because they are a lot stronger than you and have a ton of attacks and abilities that make them a real force to be reckoned with. This is okay at first because it makes you really consider how you are going to approach enemy encounters. But as the game rolls on, your ability to dispatch enemies, despite having more abilities later on, starts to feel like a chore. Even on the lowest difficulty setting, the combat does turn a bit wonky, especially if you end up in open conflict with too many enemies. Another problem is the loading times. They are extremely…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..long. When you transition from one map to the next, you get a loading screen, which slowly jogs along from the left to right. But then after that loading screen, you don’t get to play because ANOTHER loading screen pops up, this time with dots and no progress bar. Eventually, the game concedes and lets you play. But it’s a real hassle because paired with the difficulty of the enemies and the loading times, dying over and over again may wear your patience thin.

Prey delivered on what it was supposed to be: a new game that challenges the boundaries of gaming by having some interesting design choices on how you go about getting around the ship and the many ways you can handle a problem. It’s too bad the game has so many buzzkills in the form of enemy aliens absolutely wrecking you and the snore-inducing loading. It’s a game to pick up if you enjoyed its cousins like Bioshock, Dishonored, and Deus Ex, but be prepared for some truly frustrating elements in a game that is extremely well-designed.

SCORE: 7/10




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