This game Looks AMAZING!!! Quil18 has banished videos he got from early access. I highly recommend you to watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gAXcREfjbQ
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
New Game by Paradox just announced! Runemaster!
Runemaster is an RPG set in a fantasy realm based in the rich, majestic traditions of Norse mythology, casting each player in the role of a unique champion in a time of chaotic upheaval. Procedural maps and quests will ensure that no two playthroughs are identical, allowing players to tell a saga that is uniquely their own. Explore vast vistas through the six worlds of Norse myth, command troops in tactical combat, and define your champion through the choices they make.
“Creating an RPG is something new for Paradox Development Studio, and it’s been a dream project we’ve wanted to undertake for a long time now,” said Johan Andersson, Studio Manager at Paradox Development Studio. “We’re always playing RPGs in our spare time and discovering new things we love about them as a game genre; it was only natural that sooner or later we’d have to design our own. Runemaster is the result, and we know our fans will love it.”
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctn_X6UYKwc&hd=1
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Final Fantasy 13-3 (Lightnings Return) Demo Review
I just finished the demo for Lightning Returns and I have some things to say about it and guess what... They are actually good things.
First off I have to say I was not really a fan for XIII to begin with. I found it boring the the characters kind of dull. XIII-2 was a bit better but still meh in terms when it comes to a Final Fantasy good and now this game comes and .... Wow. I actually love it. Although the demo was only a tiny tiny tiny bit of the game I already can see mass improvments.
The First thing I noticed was the how fluent the class changing in this game was. By pressing R1 or L1 you can switch between one of your three classes. I had Dragoon, Black Mage and The Savior. Anytime I wanted to switch it was on the fly and no change or slow up to combat.
At
the start of the Demo you can pick through six and keep three (Can swap
in or out at anytime). They had The Savior (Basic Fighting Class),
Black Mage, Red Mage, Dragoon (Fuck yes), Thief type (it seems) and one
other I can quite think off on the top of my head. My personal Favorite
was the Dragoon class due to the counter attack and how badass Lightning looked
About the combat. It is still the real time action thing we are use to know because most RPG's have this system in place. The way this game has it though is you have three mana pools/action skill meter lengths for each class. One for Savior, One for Black Mage and One for Dragoon. With each skill you use in a certain class the meter that represents the class drains, so once it is depleted or you used up what you wanted to us in that certain class you can switch and it will refill as you drain the current class meter.
They
also added a special ability which slows down time with the R2 button.
It builds up when you are in a battle and doesn't reset until you use it
which is quite awesome to say the least.
The combat revamp is hardly the biggest change in Lightning Returns.
Much more significant is the way it seems to have jumped on the
open-world design bandwagon slightly in advance of the rest of the games
industry.
But I was surprised by just how unbounded Lightning Returns' world has
turned out to be. When I first heard that the game would be adopting an
open-world style, I had concerns about how well they could pull it off
given the tubes 'n tunnels style of FFXIII, and even FFXIII-2. But no;
Lightning Returns looks legit.
It totally kills me that the game operates on a hard time limit, though.
This is the kind of world that makes me want to tell the plot to go
shove off while I wander aimlessly to see the sights. Preferably as my
heroine kills monsters while wearing a pretty a ball gown. Just because
you're stomping slimes in a mission to avert the apocalypse doesn't mean
you can't look good, dammit.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Open Beta Has Begun
Today is the day (As of the 21st) ! If you are one of the unlucky ones to not be invited to the closed beta test of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, then listen up! After months of speculation, the open beta has officially begun. You can download both the PC and Mac clients on the official Hearthstone beta page.
What's different about the open beta? For starters, we can expect less dramatic card changes. This means that those who fancy themselves as expert deck builders will not have to worry about their decks becoming obsolete due to changing stats. We can also expect that most of the bugs are fixed, with only a few stragglers left.
Hearthstone is an amazing card game and it will be exciting to play against all the new players who are getting used to the over 300 cards. However, please be aware that this is still a beta and some bugs may still exist.
Right now, it appears the open beta is only for North America, but Blizzard has stated that it will be moving to other regions over the next few days.
So get downloading already, and I’ll see you in Hearthstone!
+Blizzard Entertainment
+Hearthstone
+PC Gaming Shack
++Gaming
A Look back at Super Mario World
It’s been a long time since I’ve really tried to play Super Mario World from a dedicated perspective. Considering that the game is now available on Wii U Virtual Console, it gives me time to chill out and play some classics on my game pad without having to leave my bed, pretty cool.
Super Mario Bros 3 will always be my absolute favorite, but this is about Super Mario World, arguably the best in the series. I did a 100% completion of Super Mario World when I was around 12-13 years old, so it’s been a while since I’ve gotten into it, and what the hell…this game makes the new Mario Wii games look like baby games.
Super Mario Bros. Wii (1 and 2) and Wii U are such easy games in comparison with Super Mario World. I must have lost 15 lives in 10 minutes just trying to get to one little spot for a 1UP before I realized I’m not really gaining anything and I should just skip it. There are levels where Bullet Bills are just flying at you from every direction. The controls feel a little more slippery when running. There are hidden levels that you have to unlock by finding keys that are in no way just super easy to find.
What does Super Mario Bros. Wii have? 3 coins for each level. Collect them all! You win!
This isn’t to say that the new Mario games aren’t fun, because they are, and they’re especially fun when you’re playing with 3 other people and it turns into a crazy battle royale for coins and everyone struggles to not fall down into pits because you all bounce off eachother. But in the Wii games, when it comes to difficulty, everything is tuned down to disappointing levels. I mean hell, the A button is a suicide button unless you’re playing with a friend, and I specifically remember playing with someone who wasn’t confident in a jump that would just let me cross it and they would turn into a bubble and float over to me. Easy mode.
We need more classic style Mario games that play like Super Mario World, where I feel like there is a real challenge at the heart of the game, rather than just better graphics, weird powerups that don’t feel entirely needed, and silly sound effects. Maybe there is some hope in the future.
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Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Hand-holding seems to be a huge problem in video games
I like to think I’m an intelligent gamer, and I’m intelligent enough to know that my opinion doesn’t speak for anyone else, (though it might) but I think difficulty is what makes me most upset in modern gaming… Or better yet the lack of difficulty.
Now you might be saying, “But there are plenty of difficult games! Call of Duty on Veteran is a nightmare! Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are some of the hardest games ever created! Put up the difficulty, you bitch!”
That’s not my point, though. Maybe “challenge” is a better word than difficulty. There is more to a difficult game than making it hard. I miss the nostalgic difficulty of not knowing what is exactly going on. Zelda is a great example, if you ask me, because the original game is probably one of the hardest games ever created. I know some of you may claim “Pfft! Blah-blah was such a harder game!” and it may be true but I would say “Shut up, nerds! You don’t know anything because…” Where was this going?
Hand-holding! That was the point. Yes.
Hand-holding seems to be a huge freaking problem in video games. I get the concept, I’m not a naive gamer. I understand that Dead Rising has that little map navigation line-thingy because gamers aren’t all hardcore and they want some help figuring out where the hell they have to go. This is why things in games you can interact with always glow or something, or walls you can break have cracks in them. When you break it down? It just becomes a huge game of lock and key. Games make it obvious that something can be done and you need to find the right ‘key’ to do it. It might be a certain weapon, or ability, or item, or whatever… My fear is that this erases so much mystery.
It’s been a long time since I felt it was my own ‘smarts’ that got me through a problem. Uncharted has sometimes gotten this right. Naughty Dog presents you with generally no help outside of a few clues from Drake’s journal, and even if the puzzle WAS simple (to hell with you Uncharted 3’s board game-like puzzle) you felt like Indiana Jones after you completed it… You felt like a bad-ass. Sometimes.
I bought 3D Dot Game Heroes (which is a great game) and I was so excited for a throw back to “Old School”, but I got bored about half-way into it because it felt like it had the same hand holding issues that plague the modern Zelda titles… It was just harder cause you died a lot.
I guess rolling back on the Zelda references isn’t expanding my points but it’s the feeling I miss. The original Zelda had no plot. Well, I guess technically it had a plot, but nothing that couldn’t be summarized in a few sentences. You were dropped into this world, with really no idea where to go or what to do and you slowly just figured things out and… Ya know what? It felt like a freaking adventure. It had mystery. It had action. It had suspense. It had tension. I was afraid, I was filled with joy, I was filled with confusion, I was filled with EMOTIONS.
I realize I sound like some kinda Nostalgia-Twat. I don’t feel that the current industry of gaming is in a bad spot, I don’t think that every game needs to be classically hard and impossible. I just miss the feelings. Journey (not the band, the PSN game) is an example of the type of game I want. Just exploring a world and enjoy the adventure. Yes, there are open world games that let you explore but the worlds never seem to have any real life to them. Shadow of the Colossus did a great job of creating a real world and making me feel like I was exploring it. Even if that world was only occupied by walking giants and lizards… And there is Skyrim (a modern game, yo) which did a pretty good job as well… But it was plagued with other issues that got in the way, but that’s another story.
Maybe one day I will feel like I’m on an adventure again. That Christmas feeling, feeling like a child that is completely bewildered by everything going on around him. What an awesome feeling.
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What Nintendo Needs to do with the Wii-U
Hey Guys. What is going on guys, D1scR3adErr0r here with a little blog regarding my thoughts on the Wii-U so far and what I would like to see for it in future. I had solid faith in the Wii-U before it launched, which is why I was an early promoter and purchased it with a friend during the first week of release. It’s just that some decisions made surrounding the launch confuse me and leave a sour taste in my mouth considering it had such potential.
When the Wii-U was showcased in more detail at E3 2012 with its actual console design and launch titles, I became more excited and had more faith in the console than I had with the original Wii. This time around there was a killer first party app, Pikmin 3, great third party exclusives namely Zombi-U and Rayman Legends, and a strong selection of launch titles to play like Scribblenauts Unlimited. Then the delays came…which I understand, delays happen but to the point where the Wii-U launched with almost no content, I didn’t. For those of us who purchased a Wii-U at release, we basically had only two new titles to play, New Super Mario Bros U and Zombi-U. Both fun games in their own right, but many people are SICK of the traditional Mario, and I am one of them. I do own New Super Mario Bros U because I needed something to play at launch, and Zombi-U didn’t and still doesn’t feel like it deserves a sixty dollar price tag.
The games available for the system now are mostly third party multi-platform games which I’ve either played the living hell out of or titles that don’t interest me. Mass Effect 3, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and Batman Arkham City are just a few of the titles that have been released on the Wii-U that have been out for quite some time on console and PC. Realistically speaking, did Nintendo and the third party publishers really think people would spend sixty dollars on games they have already played?
Nintendo NEEDS to show us what this system is truly capable of, we’ve seen the specifications. We’ve seen the hardware and we’ve seen people benchmark said hardware. But we need a game that can really push the Wii-U to its limits and prove to gamers that it is a worthwhile console. Will it be Bayonetta 2? You know…if that game actually stays exclusive, just look at what happened to Rayman Legends.
The Wonderful 101 was a fun game, but not a title that will push any envelopes. Nintendo may have to wait until the next Legend of Zelda or 3D Mario game to really push the boundaries of the Wii-U. I do plan on playing the living shit out of Monster Hunter, but it won’t be a big seller in the states though apparently, Monster Hunter is digital crack over in Japan. I really do want to see this system do well because I still love Legend of Zelda, Kirby, and Super Smash Brothers, but I do have to slightly agree with the notion that the Wii-U’s launch was stale when you compare it to the Wii’s launch. This thing is just not selling like Nintendo said it would. Get on the ball, Nintendo.
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Always the Birth of a Hero,Never the Death!
Something just recently came to me,
even though it has always been in my face this whole time. Why is it
in every Legend of Zelda game, we witness the birth of a hero, as he
overcomes a new threat to the land of Hyrule, but never his end?
According to the actual Zelda timeline that was confirmed by
Nintendo, we now know what games are in order, what happens between
each story, and every parallel universe within the lore.
Off the top of my head, I can only
think of one Zelda game that ends on a note that gives a little more
closure than others, which is Ocarina of Time. That is, only if you
go by the timeline of Link staying as a child. There are two more
timelines that coexist and split off after Ocarina of time, those
being if Link fails, if he returns to the past being a Child, or if
he stays an adult. Like for instance, what happens to Link when he
stays an adult? What is his life like until he inevitably dies? I’d
like to believe that there is only one Master Sword throughout all of
the games, and only one hylian shield. Why don’t we ever get to see
an ending where Link actually dies, not violently, but even from old
age? What about an adult Link that is in his late 20?s or 30?s?
I would love to see a Legend of Zelda
game where Link hangs up his sword and shield, or puts them away to
be opened again for the next generation. I’d like to see the fall
of a hero, and it doesn’t have to even be in a negative light.
I’m still playing through Skyward
Sword and enjoying my time with it. I still am looking forward to the
birth of the lore behind the series.
How many times have we pulled the
Master Sword from the stone? We’ve seen it get placed back in a few
games, if not most of them, Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past come
in mind here, but what I’d be interested to see is a story about
Link’s fall, even if it’s old age or something tragic. I do see a
bad thing about all of this if they did such a thing, they would
probably make sequels to specific games and I’m not sure how fond
I’d be of that. We don’t need the same thing in Final Fantasy to
happen to Legend of Zelda. We don’t ever need a “The Legend of
Zelda: Links Awakening 2: Link Awakens Again”.
Maybe I’m rambling, but I’m hoping
that there is someone out there that can understand where I’m
coming from. I’d like to see a not so much of a happy ending to a
Zelda game, but something that ties to the fall of Link rather than
everything being great and going back to normal.
Perhaps if they didn’t release this
official timeline, I wouldn’t be pondering such things. I liked it
better when it was all up to the interpretation of the players. I
liked it better thinking that every game was it’s own game and none
of them tied together.
Life used to be so easy!
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N4G Article (Please Approve if it is not):
Day Z Standalone - Alpha Impressions
Is this what we as humans have become!!!!
History of DayZ
DayZ Standalone is what was supposed to be the final and finished product of the popular Arma 2 mod that goes by the same name. The mod was loved for creating a very engaging, long and personal experience that was built upon by other mods later released such as DayZ Epoch and Breaking Point. The Standalone version is the "official” game being published by Bohemia Interactive alongside the creator of the mod, Dean Hall. Even after setting off in creating a complete and polished game starting back in 2012 the release date was continuously pushed back to later dates and people became more and more worried that the standalone would just end up what they had known it to be, an idea forever stuck in development. Then the guys at Bohemia Interactive decided to become one with the current trend of releasing "early access” to their game which is still in the hard alpha stages of development.
What are my First Impressions
My first Impression with DayZ Standalone is actually pretty mellow. Between the crashes starting up the game and bugs that are in the game. Such as my Axe making gun shot noises as I swing it and my bullets magically not hitting it's mark knowing I was right on target with my sniper rifle. I looked up these things as well to make sure I was not the only one with these problems and I was not. There are countless people experiencing these problems with the game which should of been fixed or not there at all due to it's long life as a mod in Arma 2.
Besides that glaring issue the game actually runs pretty darn smoothly, although there are some minor hiccups here and there and graphical features that need optimising as there seems to be the typical issue of perfectly capable computers, not being able to run the game at the top end of the graphics spectrum.
Gameplay
For new players the Gameplay right when you start could be a think that can make you put your fist through your computer screen. No lie. When I first started and I didn't play the Mod for Arma 2 so yes I did go in the game kind of blind but I knew what it was and what it was about. The game put me into a server and it spawned me with no information at all. Again this is not a issue for people who are experienced or have played the mod in Arma 2 but for a new player this is a issue. You spawn in with nothing but the shirt on your back and your lucky or not so lucky pair of pants. A handy dandy flashlight and a few batteries. Nothing else. You could be spawning in a city or out in the wilderness. It could be daytime or nighttime. Whatever the case no matter where you spawn and what time of day it is the game will punish you for not knowing what you are doing and will challenge you even when you figure everything out and find out what to do, but that is just the beginning. Then you have to worry about uneasy survivors who will kill you when the time is right or just flat out and zombies who are around every corner. And when you die, and you WILL die. You go back to nothing, you old body is being picked apart for loot as you cry because you lost everything you had.
There is not set objective to this game other than; Find a weapon, protect yourself. Get a backpack and possibly bring a friend along and maybe hunt down other survivors for more, better loot.
However, with all that said. The Gameplay for the most part is fun. At times boring when it comes to traveling between towns and camps. From cities to military facilities, Yes you can make a car or steal one from another player and yes I know traveling is part of the game but if you are playing solo it comes a choir. With a group of people or friends, it just as fun as the rest of the game with all the silly stuff you can get into.
The shooting mechanics are okay, not great, not really bad but good. They get the job done for a game like this without to much hassel since it is the same engine that powers the Arma series, but on the oppisite side of the coin the Melee combat falls pretty flat. It is fine but with no dismemberment or no rewarding effects there is just no satisfaction when it comes to beating someone with a axe or a bat.
The only big let down for me is that the zombies only really feel like a distraction, rather than a threat. They will always be there and yet they strike no where near as much fear into the player as does stumbling across another potentially hostile player.
In the long run I’d imagine that many of the issues that I have mentioned will have been rectified, and by no means is the game in its current state “bad”. So if you are willing to put up with a few little niggles here and there, and bearing in mind that this is an alpha then I would definitely recommend that you pick up a copy.
Experiences I had in the game
Nothing is better than a in-game story to help you guys picture that stuff you can get into. This is from my personal experience with the game.
While searching for a gun running West of Kamyshovo along the railroad tracks I was stopped by a bandit holding a rifle. He told me to put my hands up in the air, to get off of the tracks and follow him into the woods. I told him because of his distance I couldn't hear what he wanted. He shot me in the leg for not moving after he counted to 3. So I walked a few paces towards the douchebag and he started back peddling not realizing there was a wall behind him. I told shit lips to watch out behind him as he tried sidestepping to swing behind me. This gave me enough time to pull out my fireman's ax and free the beast all over the back of his head. The last words he heard muttered as he bled out on the grass was, "you fucked up now didn't you?" I looted this bastard for everything he had. Guns, ammo, med kits, food."
Another Story is when I actually first started to play. I met up with this one dude, we were cool with each other for awhile but then the man tried to handcuff me and pretty much kill me. He failed, I took it upon myself to book it out of there, he shot a few times and got me good. I managed to find a place to hide, and the guy couldn't find me... Thank god I had med-pack. Anyways after that I log off for a bit (hour or so to get something to eat and drink and calm the nerves). When I log back on I am wary about the man who could still be around, so knowing where I am I book it to the nearest town. I go into the second story of a building, looks out the window, and I sees that same guy getting mauled by zombies. Pure Justice. So I run over and kill all the zombies, which wasn't much as he took down a few himself. As I look around the room I hear over my headset him asking for him. It would seem that he was bleeding out. I tell him okay. He thanks me. As I get closer I pull out my gun and pop a few
Yes I know both of these stories is me coming out on top, but that is the way of it in this game. Eat or be eaten.
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