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This Week in GTA Online: Bonuses on Double Down and Short Trips, Triple Rewards on Lamar Contact Missions, and Much More

Philip Federico
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Get into Trouble as Franklin and Lamar with Bonuses on Double Down and Short Trips

Plus, Triple Rewards for Lamar Contact Missions and Pursuit Races, Discounts on Weed Farm Businesses, and More This Week

Friends don’t let friends lose a tense standoff — that’s the lesson of Double Down, where Franklin and Lamar come together to fight off a squad of attackers armed with shotguns and unlimited lives. Whichever side you end up fighting for, both teams earn Triple Rewards for the next seven days.

2X GTA$ and RP on Short Trips
Visit the Smoking Room in the back of Record A Studios and hit some of Lamar’s strongest proprietary product for an out-of-body experience like no other: swap lives with Franklin and Lamar for a bit and help LD Organics find its foothold in the Los Santos legal cannabis market in Short Trips, paying out 2X GTA$ and RP to all this week.

Free Black LD Organics Tee for Completing All Three Short Trips

Complete all three Short Trips and emerge from the haze healthy and happy to collect the Black LD Organics Tee, added to your wardrobe before December 16.

3X GTA$ and RP on Lamar Contact Missions

Lamar is also a born-and-raised stickup artist. Get in touch or answer his calls, and complete Lamar Contact Missions this week to cut your teeth on street-level crimes and earn triple the usual GTA$ and RP in one fell swoop.

2X GTA$ and RP on Biker Sell Missions

Despite the best efforts of local activists, not all substances have been decriminalized in the state of San Andreas. That means there’s still plenty of money to be made. Completing Biker Sell Missions of all sorts will net you Double Rewards, all week long.

Get the Turquoise Beat Off Earphones

In addition to the obvious fiscal incentives, complete any single Biker Sell Mission by December 7 to receive a pair of Turquoise Beat Off Earphones for your efforts.

3X GTA$ and RP on Pursuit Races
Forget traffic laws — Pursuit Races ask you to abide by a different code of conduct, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic to avoid squad cars on your tail and get ahead of fellow racers at the same time. Find your own way to the finish line to earn Triple Rewards through December 7.

2X Nightclub Warehouse Stock Production Speed
Warehouse Management is a skill all its own — visit the computer terminal in your Nightclub’s office to move staff around and take advantage of doubled Warehouse Stock Production speeds across all asset classes, all week long.

This week also marks the return of several Jobs to GTA Online, namely The Vespucci Job (Remix), Collection Time, Resurrection, and Trading Places (Remix).

Only on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S 

Premium Test Ride: Grotti Turismo Classic 
Visit Hao’s Special Works anytime this week to upgrade eligible vehicles and see for yourself what the next generation of automotive engineering can do for you. This week, get familiar with the specs and controls of this week’s Premium Test Ride, a super-charged version of the Grotti Turismo Classic.

This Week’s HSW Time Trial

Once you’ve crammed a full suite of upgrades into your HSW-eligible vehicle of choice, take in the sights and sounds between Ron Alternates Wind Farm and Elysian Island to see if you can beat your personal record in this week’s HSW Time Trial.

Premium Deluxe Motorsport Showroom

Peruse Simeon’s Premium Deluxe Motorsport showroom to see his latest weekly selection of legitimately sourced vehicles, including a collection of veritable classics with 30% off their regular sticker price:

  • Declasse Yosemite (30% off)
  • Bravado Gauntlet Classic (30% off)
  • Dinka Jester Classic (30% off)
  • Bravado Youga Classic (30% off)
  • Dewbauchee Specter

Luxury Autos Showroom
Visit the Luxury Autos showroom window, but don’t smudge the glass while getting a closer look at the Truffade Nero (30% off) and Pegassi Tempesta. Compare stats, and buy either (or both) cars right from the showroom.

Try Out the Pegassi Tezeract, Dewbauchee Rapid GT, and Obey 9F Cabrio
While you meander around the car meet, feel free to give this week’s Test Rides — the Pegassi Tezeract, Dewbauchee Rapid GT, and Obey 9F Cabrio — a trial run around the Test Track’s painted course and push their limits in Scrambles and Time Trials, all at no personal cost.

This week’s Prize Ride goes to all car meet members who manage to place Top 3 in a Pursuit Race for five days in a row. Determined competitors who complete this challenge will win the Vapid GB200, the pit bull of the rally-racing world known for its considerable power, unpredictable temperament, and the fear it strikes into suburban pedestrians.

On The Diamond Casino Podium: The Enus Windsor Drop
The Lucky Wheel in the lobby of The Diamond Casino & Resort is the perfect meeting place. Not only is it within walking distance of the bar and gift shop, but it also affords you the opportunity to win various prizes, including the Enus Windsor Drop whirling alluringly on the podium nearby.

GTA+ 

GTA+ Members can claim a free Buckingham SuperVolito helicopter and Penthouse Suite 1 atop Eclipse Towers. Plus, get a free Apartment Style change for any of the three Penthouse Suites at Eclipse Towers, as well as: 

  • Guaranteed Panther Statue target once per week on The Cayo Perico Heist
  • 50% extra GTA$ on The Fleeca Job, The Prison Break, The Humane Labs Raid, Series A Funding, and The Pacific Standard Job
  • Free Utility Vests and Bulletproof Helmets, plus the Still Slipping Tie-dye Tee and Cap
  • 2X Car Meet Rep on all LS Car Meet Races 
  • Additional Member bonuses

Visit the GTA+ website to check out all the GTA+ Membership Benefits available through December 12. To learn more about how to make the most of your GTA+ Membership, check out the GTA+ Guide. 

Discounts:

Set your grow operation up for less this week: Weed Farm Businesses — plus their Upgrades and Modifications — are all 50% off, while Biker Business Resupply costs are 40% off through December 7.

Once you’ve completed all three Short Trips, visit the Requisitions Officer inside your Agency this week to pick up the Organics Finish Upgrade for the Micro SMG at 50% off. Meanwhile, Hairstyles, Tattoos, and Weapons released as part of Lowriders are all 40% off.

Converting and customizing eligible vehicles at Benny’s Original Motor Works costs 50% less this week, while upgrading to Benny’s Bespoke Wheels and adding Hydraulics are both 40% off.

In addition to the above, players can boost their roster of rides by taking 30% off the following vehicles:

  • Truffade Nero
  • Bravado Youga Classic
  • Declasse Yosemite 
  • Bravado Gauntlet Classic 
  • Dinka Jester Classic 
  • Överflöd Zeno 
  • Mammoth Patriot Mil-Spec 
  • Nagasaki Shinobi 
  • Western Reever 
  • Enus Jubilee

Prime Gaming Benefits 
GTA Online players who successfully connect their Rockstar Games Social Club account with Prime Gaming will get GTA$125K just for playing anytime this week. In addition, by playing anytime before December 7, Prime Gaming members will receive a one-time log in bonus of GTA$500K. Those who are also GTA+ Members will receive an additional GTA$500K on top of this bonus. 

All bonus GTA$ will be deposited into your Maze Bank account within 72 hours at the start of the next weekly event. To ensure access to future benefits, make sure to visit Prime Gaming and sign up. 

Check Rockstar Support for details and limitations.

Raw Fury’s annual end-of-year celebration offers new announcements, gameplay reveals, demos, deals and more!

Philip Federico
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STOCKHOLM – Dec. 1, 2022 – Starting today, Raw Fury is kicking off the most festive time of the year with a flurry of new announcements, gameplay reveals, and so much more! From now until December 24, Raw Fury will unwrap new surprises for both its currently available titles and those games still to come in 2023 and beyond.

Kicking off Raw Fury’s month of celebration, fast-paced rhythm FPS GUN JAM’s playable demo, which premiered briefly at October’s Steam Next Fest, returns to Steam today and will be available through the end of the year! Carefully match your shots to the beat pattern and fight off hordes of tranced-out troopers to survive a musical dystopia and restore freedom to the masses.

The coming weeks will feature even more new announcements, releases, demos, and content updates… but we’ll keep those a surprise for now. All we can say is that players on PC, consoles, and even VR headsets are getting gifts this time around. And if you must peek in one bag, perhaps you’ll glimpse a glittering, snow-covered holiday demo for friends everywhere to enjoy together.

Be sure to check Raw Fury’s Twitter and Steam Publisher Page each day for the new surprises in store! And in the meantime… a word from definitely Jonas Antonsson, CEO of Iceland Raw Fury.

About Raw Fury

Raw Fury is a boutique indie (un)publisher founded in 2015 by Jonas Antonsson, Gordon Van Dyke, and David Martinez. We do not care about genres or mechanics. We care about experiences and emotions. We want to help developers make magic.

Evil West Review

Claudio Meira
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Evil West Review

Evil West

Developer: Flying Wild Hog
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows (Reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Release Date: 21 November 2022
Price: – $69.95 AUD / $49.99 USD Available Here

Overview

It’s been a while since I saw the first trailer for Evil West back when it was announced. It looked very promising, perhaps a bit too much. Fast forward to the present time, the game is finally in our hands. It’s the fast paced action game combining shooting and brawling that I wanted it to be with some caveats. With that out of the way, let’s take a deeper look at how everything falls in place.

Story

In the old, wild, weird west, vampires are a real thing. To combat them, a secret organization was created. Named after its founder, the Rentier Institute was able to harness the power of steam and electricity to create weapons that instill fear among the vampire ranks. A group of rogue vampires fear that humanity has gone too far, and they then decide that it’s time to conquer humanity once and for all. As one of the last capable field agents from the institute, Jesse Rentier must confront the vampire menace.

This is a great premise for an action game; a properly characterized “cowboy” secret agent facing hordes of powerful undead creatures using a variety of steampunk contraptions in the wild west. Unfortunately, the story leaves a lot to be desired. After the first few stages which set up the war against the vampires, the writing takes a deep dive in quality, and it feels mostly like filler until the final stages where it picks up the pace again.

Gameplay

Evil West may look like an over-the-shoulder third person shooter (TPS) at first glance, but that’s not the case at all. Your pistol and rifle act more like support weapons: They’re mainly used to interrupt distant or flying enemies. There are other ranged weapons that you can acquire, sure, but they have a cooldown period between each use and are more of a tool for crowd control or when facing bosses. Jesse’s main weapon is the versatile Rentier gauntlet, which you’ll use to punch, eviscerate and electrify enemies. In fact, Evil West shares a lot of similarities to games like the newest God of War – questionable game design choices and all – but it never devolves into a QTE fest – it gives full control to the player even if it’s mind numbingly boring at times. Surprisingly, the combat feels a lot like a beat ‘em up with precise controls and cool mechanics. 

Missions play out like you’d expect from a modern action game which means that there’s a lot of exploration, skills to unlock as you level up and also some “puzzles.” This RPG-esque foundation that Evil West uses is a very simple blueprint of “go from point A to B while taking slight detours to gather money, skill “scrolls” and notes from characters that try to give more flavor and context to what’s happening overall. What this means in practice is that there’s a considerable amount of downtime between waves of enemies. Also, the player has no agency when choosing how to engage enemies. Sometimes you can see them prancing inside a corral like cattle. You draw your rifle and shoot only to be met with an invisible barrier. You need to literally jump the fence to start a brawl. Once enemies are defeated, you go back to pressing switches, pushing carts so they’re neatly positioned to be used as bridges or watching some cutscenes and dialogues. Sometimes I almost dozed off as I was looking for the next glowing platform to climb.

The good news is that the combat is fairly good, even if it’s repetitive and somewhat limited; a few stages in and you’ll have all the basic tools that you’ll be using for the rest of the game. Take the zapper function of your gauntlet for example; you can use it to pull or dash towards enemies stunning them on contact. It’s an essential ability that allows you to isolate some enemies or even use it as an evasive maneuver. Trust me when I say that you’ll be using the zapper a lot throughout the game especially on harder difficulties. It’s a cool ability, and it also helps the combat feel fast and fluid. What’s disappointing is how the skill tree is set up so that new abilities are mostly upgrades or variations of the base ones. Enemies are varied in design but not that much in regard to their moveset. Evil West’s estimated playthrough is 15 hours, meaning that will encounter the same enemies over and over again. This, coupled with an unimaginative set of skills for your character and also how battles play out in such a similar fashion almost made me give up halfway through. The solution for my dilemma was cranking the difficulty up to hard; battles became less predictable that way. The amount of enemies thrown at you and their damage output was also increased. This provided me with a good challenge that kept me invested until the end. Boss battles are few, but they are well designed and fun.

Visuals

Evil West features simple but beautiful graphics with sprawling and varied areas that feature awe inspiring vistas. The lighting and fog effects are very well done fitting the game’s themes to a T. Textures are detailed and crispy for the most part. Jesse’s model is intricate and cool looking although the same can’t be said about the rest of the cast.

Audio

The sound design is also well done but a little lacking in ambient sounds. The soundtrack is mostly quiet “wild west music” which is disappointing to a degree. As for the sound effects, I expected more variety and impact. Jesse’s and Edgar’s voice-overs sound cool and appropriate. All I can say about the rest of the cast is that they are able to land their lines well enough.

Overall

Evil West offers an interesting take on the “weird west” concept. Its mix of TPS beat ‘em up-shooter gameplay is something that I definitely want to see done more often. Despite suffering from padding issues and unimaginative level design, Evil West’s combat is solid and fun.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

NEXON LAUNCHES UPDATE FOR THE BLUE ARCHIVE EVENT STORY “AN UNCONCEALED HEART”

Philip Federico
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Follow the story of the Ninjutsu Research Club’s struggle to become an official club – Event Story Pre-Registration Reward, Pyroxene x1,200 – New Students: Iroha, Kaede, and Michiru

SEOUL – Dec. 1, 2022 – On Wednesday, Nov. 30, NEXON Korea Corp. (CEO: Jung-Hun Lee) announced an update to their latest story event, “An Unconcealed Heart,” for subculture game Blue Archive, developed by its subsidiary company Nexon Games (CEO: Yong-Hyun Park).

This event story follows the Ninjutsu Research Club in its journey to become recognized as an official club. Sensei attends to oversee the scrimmage between Allied Hyakkiyako Academy and Gehenna Academy. In addition, players who pre-registered for the event will receive Pyroxene x1,200 if they log in before Thursday, Jan. 5.

Three new students have also been added. Gehenna Academy’s Iroha is a mystic-type Special Student and battles from atop the T.S. Toramaru when she uses her EX Skill. Toramaru fires an artillery shell every 15 seconds to deal damage to a single enemy proportional to its ATK. The shell then splits up to deal the same amount of damage to multiple enemies.

Kaede is an explosive-type Special Student affiliated with the Allied Hyakkiyako Academy. Her EX Skill grants a shield proportional to her Healing to allies within range for 16 seconds. Michiru, affiliated with the same academy, is a mystic-type striker who shoots a firework straight at an enemy when she uses her EX Skill. The firework deals damage proportional to her ATK to the first enemy it hits and deals continuous Burn damage for 20 seconds.

Further details regarding Blue Archive’s event story update, “An Unconcealed Heart,” can be found on the official homepage and community.

Blue Archive Official Forum: [LINK]
An Unconcealed Heart Event PV Video: [LINK]
Blue Archive Official Twitter: [LINK]
Blue Archive Official Facebook: [LINK]

About NEXON Co., Ltd.

Founded in 1994, NEXON Co., Ltd. (Nexon) (3659.TO) is a company engaged in the production, development and operation of online games and Virtual Worlds. First listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 2011, Nexon was placed on JPX400 in 2015 and added to the Nikkei Stock Index 300 in 2017. In 2020, Nexon was added to the Nikkei 225. Nexon currently has more than 45 live games on multiple platforms including mobile and available in more than 190 countries. Major game franchises include MapleStory, KartRider and Dungeon&Fighter. In 2021, Nexon completed the acquisition of Embark Studios AB, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden, developing multiple projects for global release.

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PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalogue lineup for December revealed

Philip Federico
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Today, PlayStation Australia is happy to reveal the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for December. Battle other gods in mythical brawls in Divine Knockout: Founder’s Edition, which launches directly into PlayStation Plus. Take on galaxy-saving quests and make tough decisions in Mass Effect Legendary Edition and venture through a post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable in Biomutant. 

These titles will be available for PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra and Deluxe members to add to their game library from Tuesday, 6 December until Monday, 2 January. The PlayStation Plus Extra and Deluxe Game Catalogue lineup for December will be announced later this month.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the Monthly Games.   

Divine Knockout: Founder’s Edition | PS4, PS5 

Launching directly into PlayStation Plus, this third-person platform fighter adds a whole new dimension to the genre. Damage enemies to make them vulnerable, then smash them out of the arena in a unique, third-person perspective. Choose from one of 10 playable gods to hurl boulders as Hercules or wield Mjolnir as Thor. Then battle across diverse arenas with their own mechanics to master. Play 3v3 Arcade mode with friends to explore a variety of game modes, or duke it out in hardcore 1v1 and 2v2 Duels. DKO features cross-play and cross-progression. This Founder’s Edition unlocks DKO and bonus content for the game, plus a DKO-inspired skin in Smite.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition | PS4 

Relive the legend of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy with the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armours and packs — remastered and optimised for 4K Ultra HD. Experience an amazingly rich and detailed universe where your decisions have profound consequences on the action and the outcome.

Biomutant | PS4, PS5 

Mix melee, shooting, and mutant ability action in this open-world, post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable RPG. A plague is ruining the land and the Tree-of-Life is bleeding death from its roots. The Tribes stand divided. Explore a world in turmoil and define its fate – will you be its saviour or lead it to an even darker destiny? Re-code your genetic structure to change the way you look and play. Mix and match parts to create your own unique slash, crush, and pierce melee weapons, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and more. The PS5 version features native 4K and HDR support and three different graphics modes. 

Last chance to download November’s Monthly Games

PlayStation Plus members have until Monday, 5 December to add Nioh 2, Lego Harry Potter Collection, Heavenly Bodies to their game library. 

PlayStation Stars 

This month, PlayStation Plus members can earn additional points for playing through our PlayStation Stars loyalty program. Simply redeem, download and play titles from the December Monthly Games line up, and get 50 points.

PlayStation Plus Spotify Playlist 

Also, check out our PlayStation Plus monthly games-inspired playlist on Spotify, which will be refreshed with new songs every month.

To find out more about the updates to PlayStation Plus head to PlayStation.com.

For the latest PlayStation news, follow on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

NBA 2K23 Season 3: Winter Comes to the Court Starting December 2

Philip Federico
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Icy Trae Young heats up wintertime with a flurry of great shooting in Season 3, where players can explore a winter wonderland, experience holiday events, chill with new 2K Beats debuts, unwrap new rewards, and so much more 

Today, 2K revealed that NBA® 2K23 Season 3, featuring new icy content coming to MyCAREER and The W*, is bringing winter and the holiday spirit to fans this Friday. Season 3 also features music from Grammy Award winning producer Hit-Boy with Dom Kennedy, plus Lil Pump and Jovaine make their 2K Beats debut.  

In NBA 2K23 Season 3, Atlanta Hawks’ All-Star guard Trae Young shows off his cold-blooded approach as winter comes tothe court, bringing an avalanche of new rewards and content and turning The City (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S) and The G.O.A.T Boat (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC) into a winter wonderland for players to ice out the competition. More updates include:

  • MyCAREER additions include a festive version of the North Pole and holiday events to experience in The City and the G.O.A.T. Boat, new chilly courts and arctic artwork, and a special Santa outfit as a Level 39 reward for players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S or Level 40 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. New Core Badge Patterns are exclusive to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players who reach Level 40. Additionally, earn rewards like Ski Goggles, Trae Young 2 “Forever Young” Shoes, a Magic Carpet vehicle, and even more.
  • MyTEAM offers up all new rewards, including Free Agent Damian Lillard as the Level 1 reward for simply entering the Season menu, and Trae Young as the first Galaxy Opal Level 40 reward. Additionally, for the first time in 2K23, Beyond Level 40 returns with more agendas and opportunities to improve teams. Also, Tim Duncan and Julius Erving are now available to those who have collected the entire Eastern or Western Conference’s Trophy Case, with 15 more Centerpieces and other rare Trophy Case event cards available this Season.
  • The W* additions include refreshed challenges, updated Community rewards such as the Dream Logo MyTEAM Card, and Vicki Johnson Coach MyTEAM Card. NBA 2K23 continues its roll out of the 60 WNBA player jerseys coming to the City and the G.O.A.T Boat in MyCAREER. Season 3 brings Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale, New York Liberty standouts Natasha Howard and Sabrina Ionescu, and Washington Mystics Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud’s jerseys onto the court.
  • 2K Beats continues to bring the hype with new music additions, including the latest track from Grammy Award-winning producer Hit-Boy and Dom Kennedy and the 2K Beats exclusive in-game debut of new tracks from Lil Pump and Jovanie. Additionally, the NBA 2K Producer Series adds beats from well-known producers Kosine and JohnG. Players can record their own verses over these new beats while playing through the game and share it on social media. 

For all the details for Season 3 of NBA 2K23, check out the latest Courtside Report. NBA 2K23 is currently available for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms. For more information, please visit the game’s official website.

Developed by Visual Concepts, NBA 2K23 is rated PG by the Australian Classification Board. 

Follow NBA 2K23 on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook for the latest news.

Visual Concepts is a 2K studio. 2K is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

*The W Online mode and related content are available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S new gen consoles only.

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CELEBRATE NI NO KUNI: CROSS WORLDS’ 200 DAY MILESTONE WITH SPECIAL EVENTS AND NUMEROUS REWARDS

Philip Federico
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LOS ANGELES – November 30, 2022 – Netmarble, a leading developer and publisher of high-quality mobile games, announces a new game update for Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds. Commemorating the 200-day milestone since the game’s global launch, several new in-game events, rewards, and content have been added for all players to enjoy.

Starting today, players can take part in the 200-Day Celebration with the following in-game events:

  • 200 Day Celebration Check-In Event: Players will have the opportunity to obtain various rewards for checking in including a 200-Day Celebration Catarumpus Hat, 200-Day Celebration Rare 4★ Familiar Selection Capsule, 200-Day Celebration Rare 4★ Equipment Selection Chest and 200 Summon Coupons.
  • 200 Day Celebration Roulette Event: ‘200-Day Celebration Roulette Coupons’ can be acquired by completing various missions including Swift Solutions & Conquests. Spinning the Roulette will give players the opportunity to receive various rewards including a 6★ Toy Selection Chests and Equipment Summon Coupons. Mileage rewards include a Rare 4★Equipment Selection Chest and 20 Familiar Summon Coupons.
  • The Wishing Tree Episode Eve Event: Completing Daily Missions will reward players with Evermore’s First Snow, which can be exchanged for various gifts, including the 4★ Episode Familiar Dururu and 4★ Decoration Chests.

The newly added Cross Field matches two servers for 1:1 competition. Players will be able to compete with and hunt each other when the Cross Field is in season. Numerous rewards will be available, including materials for the new “Spacetime Cube” power up system, upon defeating the Cross Field Boss or occupying the buff towers.

Additionally, players can equip the new Masquerade Outfit and reliable bear-themed Water Familiar Ursa Glacier.

Developed based on Level-5 and Studio Ghibli’s original fantasy RPG series ‘Ni no Kuni,’ Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is available on mobile platforms and playable on PC using cross-play.

For the latest game info and updates, visit the official website (https://ninokuni.netmarble.com/) and follow the game’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Discord channels.

About Netmarble Corporation

Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Corporation is a top developer and publisher pushing the boundaries of the mobile gaming experience with highly innovative games including Marvel Future Revolution, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, Lineage 2: Revolution, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Blade & Soul Revolution and Marvel Future Fight. As a parent company of Kabam, and a major shareholder of Jam City and HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment), Netmarble strives to entertain audiences around the world with a variety of mobile games based on its powerful franchises and collaborations with IP holders worldwide. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com. 

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The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me Review

Travis Bruno
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The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me Review

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me

Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here $59.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

Living near Chicago, you always hear about the countless things that have happened in the Windy City through the years and perhaps one of the most interesting yet horrific aspects is that it once was the home to a man believed to be America’s first serial killer. H. H. Holmes and his infamous “Murder Castle” hotel have lived in infamy with an ever growing tale about what the man was capable of in the late 1800s and now Supermassive Games has taken Holmes’ story as inspiration for their final entry in the first season of The Dark Pictures Anthology. Setting itself in a far more grounded setting compared to previous entries and seeing the addition of a number of gameplay elements have made The Devil in Me a unique entry in the series but is it a worthwhile horror game?

Story

The Devil in Me takes the rumors that surrounded H. H. Holmes’ Murder Hotel to heart as the man not only managed to succeed in opening his hotel for the World’s Fair in 1893 but had already begun slaying any guests that had dared to step inside. Holmes’ methods involved hidden rooms, deadly traps, sliding walls and more as his victims found themselves trapped inside with a man more than willing to get his own hands dirty. As such he is the perfect subject for a struggling “True Crime” documentary film crew to focus on for their next breakout episode. Lonnit Entertainment is struggling to hang in there but when Charlie, the director of the group, receives a call from an eccentric and mysterious benefactor by the name Du’Met who has created a perfect replica of the World’s Fair Hotel on his estate on a private island out on Lake Michigan it seems like the perfect opportunity has fallen right into the crews’ laps.

Despite the crew having some misgivings regarding the sudden nature of the job, the extremely private nature of Du’met, and struggling with some personal issues, the five of them agree to travel to the private island. It doesn’t take long for the crew to realize that the eerie nature of the hotel is all too real as this recreation of the Murder Castle is just as deadly as the original and that they have fallen into the web of a mastermind that has deadly plans for each and every one of them. With the crew’s only hope for survival being an attempt to find out how to outsmart this meticulously planned plot, will they manage to survive the deadly maze that they have found themselves in?

The maze-like hallways and dilapidated areas that players will travel through while exploring the mansion and witnessing the twisted creations within are filled with tension as the development team has done an excellent job at making sure players never feel safe. Traveling a bit too far one direction may see the walls shift, closing the previous area off or examining an object or window may trigger a scare. Even the numerous risks of death that players come across feature a number of cliffhangers making players wonder if they’ve actually managed to avoid danger or have suffered a gruesome fate. Add to this the fact that certain characters possess specific items and in a few cases will need to explore using sound as their guide, this sound being the whimpers and screams of the killer’s previous victims. This level of tension and dread carries over quite well into adding plenty of mystery to the game as players will still find themselves scouring areas looking for clues into the mystery of learning just who is really behind the murderer’s mask. In fact, this mystery easily becomes one of the best parts of the game’s storyline.

Part of the reason is that the actual characters this time around are a bit too bland and don’t really have the same characterization that fans have grown used to over the course of the series. They all have various issues, such as a budding romance, a pair going through a fresh break-up, and a leader with a serious addiction to cigarettes but outside of these little tropes players won’t see much actual character growth or development and this is partly due to how poorly paced the actual game is. This is thanks to a number of “puzzle” segments that make use of new gameplay elements that have been added to the game that draw scenes out far longer than necessary and take away from the actual character interactions that could otherwise be happening. In fact, The Devil in Me has probably the fewest actual dialogue choices in the entire series and it certainly feels like it also has the least amount of talking between the cast even if players make it through with everyone alive, leading to a cast that is by far the least interesting in the franchise so far. As such, while the characters may not be the most interesting in this murderer’s twisted game, the mystery behind who is behind it as well as what twisted machination is around the next corner is as thrilling as ever.

Gameplay

For the most part The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me features the same type of gameplay elements that fans have come to expect from the series. This includes making various dialogue choices throughout the game, some of which can have important consequences depending on the choice made, completing QTE sequences, and even taking part in “keep calm” sections. However this release adds a number of new mechanics to help add some variety to the game but come off as more of a double-edged sword. In fact, the only new mechanic that feels fleshed out at all is the hiding system that simply has players run to a location and hide there until the threat goes away.

As mentioned before, every character will have a unique inventory and while this may seem like it will add extra options, it doesn’t really come into play too often. Each character will have their own way to light up a room, be it a lighter, flashlight, make-up kit, or more and some can reach distant objects using an extendable camera arm or track down noises with a special microphone but these items only come into play in a way that makes them seem like they could easily have been worked into cutscenes and instead opted to have players have a bit of extra interaction. Even certain objects used in puzzles are implemented in a way that they are either used automatically or make no actual difference in how a puzzle is solved beyond requiring a character to hold it up while they flip switches.

This level of interaction comes into play with a number of other aspects as well. This includes numerous sequences that randomly see players needing to grab a cart/desk/bookshelf on wheels and move it into a location that will allow them to jump a gap, being able to climb up and down ledges, shimmying along walls, and even balancing across gaps. These puzzle sequences are fairly redundant and often drag the game’s pace to a standstill as players navigate through a basic environmental puzzle that feels like it simply is there to pad the game out more than anything else. It is also worth noting that since the environments that players travel through in The Devil in Me are often quite cramped, players will occasionally find themselves struggling to move around other characters traveling alongside them or having to wait as they progress through a gap or shimmy on a ledge. In one case an entire scene needed to be restarted simply because a character refused to move, locking me in place for minutes until quitting to the menu.

Another new element that comes off a bit hit and miss comes in the form of a new type of collectible. While players are always on the hunt for a “dark picture” that may contain a useful premonition or an item that will reveal a clue about what is happening, there is now a new collectable to be found in the world and they come in the form of obol coins. These coins can be used to purchase extra visual content on the main menu and can but considering these obols in the environment shine the same exact way as clues, players will quickly start to feel disappointed when they go out of their way only to find a single coin in a corner or open up a drawer with a business card and obtain a coin worth five points. 

Visuals & Audio

With The Devil in Me players will find that they can either select to play the game using performance mode or selecting the quality mode. The quality mode does offer an improved looking game with some fancier lighting and, from the looks of things, more expressive character models, but it does require a bit of loading here and there including a few awkward pauses in the middle of a scene. That being said, the game is quite impressive looking and as mentioned before the team has done a wonderful job making the claustrophobic halls of the hotel feel dreadful in nature and there are plenty of gruesome looking scenes to witness, both in the forms of previous victims and potential deaths for the player if they aren’t careful.

The voice work for the characters is handled quite well with the voice cast sounding believable, though the accent on Kate’s voice actress Jessie Buckley does slip through in places. It is nice to note that Charlie’s voice actor Paul Kaye comes in strong as the leading celebrity role this time around. The soundtrack features a great collection of atmospheric music that really pulls the tension of a scene together and of course features the same classic opening music that fans have come to know from the series, including a more classic take on the piece for the credits.

Overall

While The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me struggles with its pacing by adding in superfluous feeling gameplay mechanics that can bug out, it still tells a satisfyingly tense and thrilling mystery with high stakes around nearly every corner. Supernatural elements are all well and good but by basing the horror this time around a more grounded threat of a killer who adores H.H. Holmes creates a creepy environment that helps The Devil in Me pull past its less than interesting characters. As such, while it may not be the strongest entry in the series so far, fans of the series won’t be disappointed as they try and survive this fear and tension filled murder house.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Pokémon Scarlet Review

Dustin Spencer
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Pokémon Scarlet Review

Pokémon Scarlet

Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms:Switch
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 – Available Here | $79.95 – Available Here

Overview

Pokémon is now over 25 years old. The namesake is known as one of Nintendo’s most valued and successful franchises and has been a bit of a yearly timeline as of late since the release of the Nintendo Switch. While Legends: Arceus gave us something different, Scarlet and Violet look to bring things back to basics. This main-line installment features a large, open world and an array of new creatures placed on top of the more traditional experience most were fond of. Does Pokémon Scarlet and Violet move us forward, or is it one of the first major misses? Let’s find out.  

Story

As much as I love Pokémon overall, the story has never been the strongest part of even the main titles released over the years. Scarlet and Violet attempt to act as a major shift for that, as it takes risks to deepen the narrative by dividing it into three parts. The first is what we usually get, which is a path to a Pokémon Master, where the player takes the gym challenge, eventually going up against the Pokémon league. The next portion features the newest evil “squad”, which is known as Team Star. This squad has bases all over the Paldea region and is known for bullying trainers. Yeah, it’s a step down from the usual forces we’ve seen in the past, but their motives and menace work well enough here for some interesting moments. Finally, we have the Academy fare, where the player takes courses and interacts with other trainers. Naranja Academy (or Uva Academy if you are playing Violet) is basically the thread that ties the game together, acting as a huge part of the lore for the region as well as a background theme for the overall experience. 

These three narratives go more at the player’s pace and fit well with the open world design, but the execution does leave some things to be desired at times. For example, all three plots start in the beginning – but it almost feels like everything is set up so fast that the player has little time to take in any excitement or purpose for the journey ahead. I get how open world pacing plays out and eventually things do take shape, but not without a bit of searching. The core experience of simply “catching them all” does well to keep the foundation in place however, as despite a slow takeoff, I never felt like I wasn’t enjoying this new region and most of the characters within it. The Academy itself along with the courses are a great way to get history, and despite some odd implementation and pacing, I do think the plot here is still good enough, even though it doesn’t flesh itself out well enough to truly push this entry to the next level this franchise should be at. 

Gameplay 

The gameplay for Scarlet and Violet has quite a few elements at work, but still feels like Pokémon through and through. Players can navigate the world at their will, barring they’re not in a cutscene or story segment, and there are little restrictions when it comes to progression other than level. Yes, for the first time, you no longer must worry about thirsty security guards or some kind of “wall”, as freedom really is provided to the player. You will still have limits, but they’re all within the standard formula one would expect. You can have a team of six, which you can catch, level up, trade, and so on, which all feels familiar and fine. Almost all the favorite mechanics return, and some are more refined than others. 

Battling feels great, and players can carry their Box with them from the start, with the ability to swap team members on the go. Newly added is a picnic element, which adds food into to equation. Food is found everywhere in Paldea. Players need to collect ingredients and collect food such as sandwiches and ice cream, which will allow for boosts to nearly everything on the battlefield. Even though there is an open world to explore, there still are two different types of environments that play into this. Towns act as hubs for quests, shops, and so on, while the routes are where you can find the Pokémon themselves. Using the picnic option allows you to interact with your team and take pictures, but also feast on your findings to boost encounter rates and the skill power of your team overall. It’s a neat idea that works well enough in execution, as it gives a reason to visit every shop and test different recipes. We have seen this in the past with poffins and so on, but never has it felt as fleshed out than it does within these two entries. Battles also have new Tera Evolutions, which allows players to manipulate type advantage with a stunning transformation that can be performed with any team mate. Sure, it isn’t as deep of a gimmick as we have seen in the past, but it is a nice regional change that makes battles feel more interesting this time around.

Gyms also are a bit different. While the battles are more of the same, new “tests” come in to replace environmental puzzles. These get a bit better later, as the first couple feel overly simple and tedious at best. It’s not that I don’t enjoy rolling an olive around a maze or hunting for Sunflora, it just feels a bit lax in comparison to the older, far more intuitive challenges that we were met with when arriving at a gym. Catching Pokémon is a bit of a mixed bag. A lot of the mechanics from Legends: Arceus are here, where players can toss out their teammates quickly to do battle, which feels great. Trainers now also must be interacted with to battle, eliminating the stress and annoyance of being caught off guard. That said, there is something still missing. Among the large, open spaces – we can now see the Pokémon run about and do battle with them at will. Items are more plentiful and can be found nearly everywhere. The world is fun to explore because of this, but it feels at times that the mystery and intrigue of battles has faded a bit too much, as nothing really comes off as a threat or challenge. Don’t get me wrong, the game is fun. Without the element of surprise and the wonder it causes for exploration, there does seem to be a void that the game never is able to fill for older players who enjoyed that excitement of finding a random encounter. 

Koraidon & Miraidon are the two main legends within this set, acting as a new replacement for HMs of the past. Players can ride on these transformable beasts, which can gain new powers as you progress that opens new areas and routes by sea, land, and air. Both compliment the world well and make exploration a breeze. With all these things functioning in one experience, there is a lot of praise Game Freak deserves. What is a bit of a disappointment however is that the game feels unfinished and rushed. I will touch on more during the visual aspect of this review, but the game has a lot of weird design choices that do affect gameplay in a traditional sense. Some shops go straight to the menu when you enter the door. This would be fine if this were any other series, but it really is just some shops, as if the need to design interiors for many rooms were cast aside to quickly staple everything together. There are also a lot of holes like this with the game, and glitches that come up often (mainly when riding Koraidon and Miraidon) that can cause some grievance on the field itself, like finding yourself getting stuck in terrain or getting into areas that typically would be unexplorable without upgrades that would normally be obtained later. It feels a lot rougher than what traditional Pokémon titles have in the past, and overall – feels like a lesser title because of its current state. 

Visuals 

Performance may be Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s biggest issue. There are little things that are everywhere that show rough edges. Multiple sprites on the screen causes awful slowdown where animations are crippled, with NPCs and Pokémon alike walking and moving jarringly slow with a terrible framerate. Getting closer usually fixes the issue, but it seems that the game is just not powerful enough to run on the hardware. Docking the system seems to only make this worse and more noticeable. Yes, there isn’t enough to ruin it overall and the game is still playable, but outside of the environments and general character models which mostly look fine without much issue. I don’t want to overstate the visual flaws as while there are many, the game still runs well enough and most won’t have too much of an issue, but it is a bit surprising that such a large publisher would release the game in such a messy state. 

Audio 

The soundtrack luckily is great. There are new vocal-backed tracks that really hype up important battles, and while a lot comes off as new, remixed favorites still do well at capturing that Pokémon atmosphere many will love. The creatures themselves still use their cries, and while I do wish there was some more voice work within the game, the audio still sounds well enough and does its job to add personality to the characters involved. 

Overall 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are an odd duo for the longstanding franchise. While both implement new ideas and features that push the franchise forward, the game still feels rushed like never before, which was the biggest surprise to see with a series with so few black marks. What makes this pair even more puzzling is that despite so many visual bugs and glitches, I still loved my time in Paldea. Sure, not everything is perfect, but this may be one of the finest efforts in some time for Pokémon as a whole. This is still an entry that one can get hundreds of hours of gameplay from, as all the ingredients are present, the game itself is just a bit half-baked in those little areas that most would easily overlook. For better or worse, this is our step into the next generation of Pokémon, and Scarlet and Violet do a good enough job to break new ground, even if it isn’t without a few stumbles that will hopefully be addressed with patches in the future. 

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Gungrave G.O.R.E Gameplay

Philip Federico
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Gungrave G.O.R.E Gameplay

Join us as we go through the first three levels of Gungrave G.O.R.E to rack up some combo points, unlock new skills, and take down two bosses along the way. Ever wanted to return a missile from a rocket launcher to the original owner by kicking it back? This game can make that happen.

Gungrave G.O.R.E is a stylish third-person action shooter by South-Korean Studio IGGYMOB in which you take on the role of Grave, a gunslinger of resurrection and badass anti-hero of your dreams, mowing down tons of enemies in a gory ballet of bullets.

Gungrave G.O.R.E
Developer: Iggymob Co.,Ltd
Publisher: Prime Matter
Website: http://www.iggymob.com/
Platform: Windows
Release Date: 23 Nov, 2022
Price: $49.99 USD

Available now on Steam – https://store.steampowered.com/app/1630110/Gungrave_GORE/

Summary:

Not Recommended – “The only impressive thing about this game is how it fails miserably on every front. Who was this for, and what was the idea behind it – all those questions will remain unanswered.”

Check out our Review for Gungrave G.O.R.E here!

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